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5 things we love about Kennedy Town right now
Trendy but not try-hard, buzz-worthy yet still tranquil: Kennedy Town is where it's at
Kennedy Town was the western section of Victoria City, Hong Kong's first urban settlement after if became a British colony.While parts of Kennedy Town look and sound like a construction site right now, anyone with their finger on the pulse is pointing to it as Hong Kong’s next up-and-coming hot spot.
By 2014 the three-kilometer extension of the MTR's Island Line from Sheung Wan will be complete -- the neighborhood is bracing itself for big change.
Much like New York’s Meatpacking District, for more than 100 years the Kennedy Town neighborhood served as a cattle depot and slaughterhouse after animals were landed the nearby pier. The slaughterhouse closed in 1993 and for the next 10 years the neighborhood ambled along as a quiet residential area.
That was until the government announced plans to give Kennedy Town an MTR station and suddenly all entrepreneurial eyes turned to the neighborhood. The public transit system will turn the waterfront locations in Kennedy Town into Hong Kong's new prime destination.
As Kennedy Town metamorphoses, we look at five things we love about the place in its past, present and future.
Mega swimming complex at Sai Cheung Street North.
1. The new swimming pool
When construction for the MTR started in February 2011 one of the town’s first casualties was the long-standing swimming pool, quickly demolished to make way for a subway exit. But the loss was short-lived and Kennedy Town’s residents were swiftly rewarded with a new swimming pool last May.
"Swimming pool" is quite an understatement: occupying 0.8 hectares, the complex currently has two outdoor pools; hen the second phase of the works is completed in 2016, there will be an additional multi-purpose pool, a teaching pool and a Jacuzzi.
Bigger, better, more fun and with a brilliant view over Victoria Harbour, the swimming pool is the first sign of the goodies that come with an MTR line.
Kennedy Town Swimming Pool, 2 Sai Cheung St. North, Kennedy Town, +852 2817 7973 www.lcsd.gov.hk
2. Budding restaurant scene
After NoHo, David Lai opens in Kennedy Town.
Nothing reveals a neighborhood’s character more than the restaurants on offer. For the most part, Kennedy Town’s neon-lit restaurants with no-frills decor cater to local laborers, fishermen, and families that count their time in the town by decades.
Towards the west of the town is where the restaurant scene really points to the future. Savvy restaurateurs, quick to cater to the stream of yuppies moving in, opened restaurants and cafes with a strong emphasis on international menus and ambiance.
On Davis Street is the local standby Davis, where the blue cheese deep-fried shrimp balls are worth the journey alone. Next door, Marc Mostacci, owner of Beach Club in Stanley, has opened his second Italian restaurant, Zig Zag. Next door to that David Lai recently opened his second restaurant called Bistronomique.
On Catchick Street, Percy’s -- very much a Kennedy Town gastronomic long-timer, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this summer.
There is also a selection of affordable Japanese restaurants scattered throughout the town catering to students from the nearby University of Hong Kong. For an authentic izakaya (and if you don’t mind the queues) try 28 Izakaya on Sands Street or Oonami on Cadogan Street.
28 Izakaya (28 居酒屋), G/F, 28 Sands St., Kennedy Town, +852 3482 5738
Oonami Japanese and Oyster Restaurant, G/F, Cado Building, 39A Cadogan St., Kennedy Town, +852 2817 6626
Davis, Shop 7, G/F, Grand Fortune Mansion, 1 Davis St., Kennedy Town, +852 2818 2727
Zig Zag, G/F, 1 Davis St., Kennedy Town, +852 2886 5004
Bistronomique, Shop B, G/F, 1 Davis St., Kennedy Town, +852 2818 8266
Percy's, 68 Catchick St., Kennedy Town, +852 2855 1882, percys.hk
3. Chilled-out nightlife
Enjoy a pint while ogling Green Island, part of Kennedy Town's seaview.
Davis, closest to the harbor, is an ambient place to start for the fantastic selection of wines and view of the sunset. Two doors down, The Pier is popular for pints, cheap cocktails, cheesy music and staffed by a friendly team.
Each bar on Davis Street is open-fronted making it perfect for people-watching and for regulars to bump into each other.
A recreational area on the opposite side of the street has become a meeting spot for dog owners and their pampered pooches.
Prices are lower than the nightlife hot spots in Central, which is just 10 minutes away by taxi.
For details on Davis, see above.
The Pier, Shop C, G/F, 1 Davis St., Kennedy Town, +852 2865 1181
4. The waterfront
The proposed redevelopment of Kennedy Town's praya.
One of the best things about Kennedy Town is the million-dollar seaview afforded by a relatively undeveloped waterfront. As such, luxury residences such as The Merton, Manhattan Heights and The Sail command high prices that rival neighborhoods closer to the center of town, but with less vista.
Locals have long used the waterfront for bouts of swimming, fishing and exercise but looking forward, should the busy bypass that currently runs the length of the harbor be transformed into something more recreational, Kennedy Town might really find itself on the map.
The good news -- or bad news for rents -- is that this may happen sooner than expected.
Working under the aegis of The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong’s mammoth "A Harbourfront for the People" project is a team dedicated to "Revamping Kennedy Town."
"Living standards have risen in Kennedy Town over the last 20 years and a better recreational area needs to reflect this," says Charles Chan, a spokesman for the revamp team.
Chan's plans include converting the old Kennedy Town incineration plant and abattoir into a shopping mall, which at over 34,000 square meters will be bigger than the one at the development felicitously named The Belchers.
Towards the eastern end of the neighborhood, the Western District Public Cargo Working Area is slated to become a waterfront promenade and pet’s park. The former poultry market in the Western Wholesale Food Market may become a restaurant complex and open-air eateries are planned to line the pier of the coastline.
Now might be the time to negotiate a 10-year lease on your Kennedy Town apartment.
5. The past, the present, the future
For better or worse, the MTR is coming.
There’s the longing for things to remain just the way they are, the worry that rents and prices will push locals out; the excitement of new opportunity and the appreciation that the town, right now, is balancing expertly between the old way of life and the vibrancy of a city living.
But this all makes it an ideal time to be in Kennedy Town. From the mechanics working in greasy workshops near the fire station each with a weathered guard dog tethered to the front, to the anglers discreetly dotted along the front of Victoria Bay; the early morning backstrokers in Victoria Bay and tai chi on mass in Belcher Bay Park; youngsters consuming burgers at the cheap chain restaurants around the center and others popping out for organic produce -– could there really be a better snapshot of the anything-goes culture of Hong Kong?
As Mark Percy, from Percy’s deli says: "Kennedy Town has a bit of grittiness to it. It is still an area that has a local charm and it feels like you’re in an old part of Hong Kong. It may lose a bit of its charm, but still, it will be easier to get into town when the MTR comes. I’m surprised it’s lasted this long really."
