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[title]The Time Out Recommended list for 2024 has officially dropped, highlighting some of our favourite establishments across the city. Among the many local coffee hangouts on the list, Central's On The Hill Coffee Bar has a special place in our hearts. We caught up with the founder and local coffee guru, Dorothy Kwok, to chat about what makes her cafe special and her dreams for the coffee scene here in Hong Kong.
Six years ago, Dorothy opened the first On The Hill location in To Kwa Wan, making it one of the few cafes in Hong Kong dedicated exclusively to fruity beans. “Initially, I just wanted to open a cafe that served the coffee I loved,” she shares. “I didn’t care much if others liked it or not.”
Many people in Hong Kong associate fruity coffee with a tangy taste, but after trying Dorothy's brews, they’re often surprised by the depth of flavours and the varying levels of sweetness these fruity beans bring. The success of her To Kwa Wan shop led Dorothy to hone in on promoting fruity coffee beans in Hong Kong, establishing her own roasting facility that has since produced over 200 unique espresso flavours.vWith branches in North Point, Ngau Tau Kok, and Kwun Tong, Dorothy made her mark last year by setting up a new space inside the historic grounds of Tai Kwun. “We’re carving out a niche in a very mainstream environment, and we’re focused on perfecting that,” she explains.
The On The Hill Coffee Bar at Tai Kwun is a unique space. With old prison cells as its backdrop, featuring white walls, black iron gates, and sleek silver tables. They even custom-designed a bar table that mimics the natural landscape, topped with a glass surface that transitions from colours of grey to turquoise depending on where you stand to bring a touch of nature indoors, a theme that runs through all their locations. However, opening inside a heritage site came with challenges. “Tai Kwun is a heritage site so we have to respect the rules – even hammering in a nail requires approval! One time we tried to put up a poster and within minutes, a guard came over to say that it wasn’t allowed,” she laughs.
Despite these hurdles, Dorothy's vision is clear. She recently travelled to Malaysia to source a premium type of bird's nest which she introduced into an exclusive bird’s nest coffee. They've also launched an evening bar service to offer cocktails inspired by sour, sweet, and bittersweet flavours, melding the world of coffee with mixology. Unlike the typical coffee-by-day, bar-by-night concept, On The Hill offers nine coffee cocktails that promise to give coffee lovers a one-of-a-kind experience.
Dorothy is also planning to open more heritage-inspired cafes across Hong Kong. “Combining our coffee philosophy with historical sites is an exciting idea! We get a lot of tourists here every day, which gives us a great opportunity to share our love for coffee with the world.”