They changed the Hong Kong food scene. Can Yardbird’s founders do it again?
Ahead of their first restaurant opening in 12 years, owners Lindsay Jang and Matt Abergel talk restaurant design, team dynamics and the evolution of their vision
When I meet him over lunch at Testina, Simon Wilson is slightly flustered. “Yesterday was interesting,” he says, in his signature Irish lilt. “A lot of people were forwarding a certain video to me. Do you know about it?”
As a matter of fact, I did. It was a parody skit by a certain steakhouse chain that had appeared on my phone screen as I browsed Instagram: one man, a mic in hand, interviews the founder of said chain about his local restaurant recommendations in a facsimile of Wilson’s viral, F&B-centric social media brand, Fork Lore.
“Best place for breakfast?” asks the host.
“Yardbird,” the founder states, matter-of-factly.
“Best Cantonese food?”
“Yardbird.”
“Best vegetarian?”
