This new branch of an expat hangout in Hong Kong’s Soho neighborhood serves its fiery Sichuan cuisine with a choice of three levels of spiciness–ma, la and tang (which mean, respectively, “numbing,” “burning” and “neutral”). The dishes can be further intensified with the house’s signature hot sauce. The restaurant, done in rich reds and furnished with elegant low tables surrounded by cushions, has a long, serene patio overlooking a man-made beach.

We loved: Searing-hot jumbo prawns.