Designer Takeaway: Kasa Hong Kong by Lim + Lu

“Healthy, take away, fusion cuisine.” That was the brief given to New York-born multidisciplinary design practice Lim + Lu for their latest project, Kasa, in Hong Kong. Located in the bustling central district, Kasa makes the latest edition to a street full of food options catering to the busy lunch-hour rush.

Freshness, by extension, was key to their design concept and subtle cues hint at it throughout the restaurant. For example the pendant lights hanging from the roof mimic those found at the nearby wet markets; a huge part of Hong Kong culture they’re full of fresh seafood and local produce.

Above the kitchen floats a neon sign reading “healthy eating” in Chinese which both reiterates the brief while mirroring the neon signs characteristic of the Hong Kong streets.

The colour palette, a bold contrast between green pink, also helps to drive home this all-important concept of freshness as and youth. Both Vincent Lim and Elaine Lu have ties to Eastern culture as well as Western (they were born and raised in the East while educated and practice in the West) so their work tends to present a fusion, a perfect fit since the owner were after fusion cuisine. Just as the colours do, the materials used were specifically chosen to play off one another while elements emblematic of a traditional Chinese restaurant are amongst those typically found within a western dining room.