The Canton Library Open
Aqua Restaurant Group announces the grand opening of two culinary destinations at the penthouse of One Peking. Occupying the 29th floor, The Canton Library celebrates the vast culinary landscape of Lingnan — China’s historic southern region.Directly above on the 30th floor, the newly transformed Vesu Pizza Bar, Hong Kong’s very own 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific award winner, reopens with its signature pizza program alongside innovative non-dough Italian creations, cheeky inventive mixology, and a calendar full of elite international pizza guest chefs scheduled to tempt pizza lovers.
A Contemporary Homage to Southern Chinese Cuisines
The Canton Library celebrates the rich culinary heritage of Lingnan — spanning Guangdong, Guangxi, Chaoshan, Hakka territories, Hong Kong, Macau, Hainan, and as far south as Southern Vietnam and Eastern Myanmar. Helmed by Executive Chef Junno Li and Executive Dim Sum Chef Leung Kwok Wa, the kitchen pays homage to time-honoured tastes and textures using contemporary cooking techniques and ingredients, driven by their passion to showcase the distinct flavour profiles across Lingnan’s vast multi-cuisine landscape.
The menu begins with starters that showcase classic regional techniques through inventive temperature play. Honouring Chaoshan's cold-marinating tradition, the Chiu Chow Chilled Master Stock Sea Cucumber (HK$368) replaces traditional hot braises with a cold-marinated sea cucumber that locks in crisp texture, finished with a house-made Sichuan red oil infused with green peppercorns and scallions.
For main courses, the Spanish Red Prawn with Steamed Egg White (HK$328 per guest) offers an adaptation of classic Cantonese lobster over egg white, pairing silky egg whites with sweet Spanish red prawns and a rich chicken stock glaze. The Steamed Pork Belly with Black Beans and Chilli (HK$328) is a nod to Shunde's dry-steaming method, allowing tender pork belly to deeply absorb fermented black bean aromatics without taming its rich juices. The Sizzling Yellow Croaker in Claypot with Fermented Soybean Paste (HK$458) is cured overnight and cooked using the raw claypot method over ginger, garlic, and shallots. A trio of fermented bean pastes brings it together: aromatic Yangjiang black beans from Guangdong, savoury Puning bean paste from Chaoshan, and local Hong Kong sweet yellow bean paste, creating an intensely fragrant dish.
Executive Dim Sum Chef Leung Kwok Wa extends this narrative and transforms Lingnan’s nostalgic street foods into bite-sized creations. The Wonton Noodle in Dumplings (HK$108) reinterpret iconic wonton noodle bowls in a single bite, enclosing bouncy shrimp, dried flounder, chives, and a clear shrimp roe soup inside a delicate skin. The Dama Zhan Pan-fried Bun (HK$128) draws inspiration from late-Qing Dynasty culinary lore, when Governor Zhang Zhidong accidentally named a roadside dish after Guangzhou's Dama Station street. Pan-fried to a light golden crisp, the buns feature a naturally dyed chive-green dough packed with roasted pork belly, tofu, Tai O shrimp paste, and chives, delivering an intensely rich flavour profile.
Complementing these are Chef Leung’s take on the traditional banquet fare with Buddha Jumps Over the Wall Soup Dumplings (HK$148), served in a clear scallop-and-chicken consommé with abalone, sea cucumber, and fish maw. The Braised Tofu and Lingzhi Mushrooms Rice Noodle Rolls (HK$118) pair silky handmade rice sheets with tiger-skin fried tofu and lingzhi mushrooms that soak up an aromatic dark soy glaze.
Bridging Southern Chinese tea culture with modern mixology, The Canton Library offers a curated tea selection and tea-led signature cocktails (HK$148 each), including Oolong Old Fashioned, Osmanthus Fizz, Chrysanthemum, and Lap Sang, designed to seamlessly complement the food.
From refined regional specialties to nostalgic dim sum and tea-led mixology, The Canton Library brings the full, vibrant spectrum of Southern China’s diverse culinary landscape.
