post

An ambitious restoration and revamp to the tune of US$485 million has breathed new life into a once closed-off historic compound made up of the former Central Police Station, Central Magistracy, and Victoria Prison. Opened to the public in 2018, Tai Kwun is Cantonese for “Big Public Building,” the informal name given by those who once worked within its mighty walls. On the old parade ground, visitors can sit or even dine alfresco beneath a majestic mango tree, the legacy of Indian officers who constituted a sizable proportion of the colonial-era police force.
“Heritage storytelling spaces” across the stepped hillside site narrate facets of the precinct’s past, but there are also contemporary galleries to explore: Swiss architecture studio Herzog &amp; de Meuron deftly inserted a multistory visual art center and a performance space into the complex, each with perforated cast-aluminum facades echoing the brickwork of their older neighbors. All that wandering between Tai Kwun’s different buildings and levels is bound to make one hungry. Luckily, high-end restaurants here range from Aaharn—the Hong Kong outpost of famed chef and Thai food specialist David Thompson—to Magistracy Dining Room, where European fare is served in a converted law court that looks straight out of London. —James Louie
<a href="https://www.taikwun.hk/en/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taikwun.hk</a> 
+852 3559 2600 
<a href="https://goo.gl/maps/8TEzxDKJeoPYxQ2B8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">10 Hollywood Rd., Central, Hong Kong</a>