Always Joy Hong Kong – Tiny Urban Kitchen

Perhaps one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in 2025, Always Joy (a modern Izakaya from Yardbird co-founders Lindsay Jang and Matt Abergel) finally opened its doors in March 2025.

I am a HUGE fan of Yardbird, Jang and Abergel’s other restaurant. Bryan and I go regularly, and never tire of it. We’re not alone. The place is always buzzing with people, with a constant line of people trying to get in. Chefs all around world love it and also seek it out when they travel to Hong Kong. It’s no surprise that we’ve been trying to find a chance (when we’re both not traveling!) to try Always Joy.

We finally got to go last weekend with two other friends (woo hoo, the best way to try more dishes!)

A Warm Welcome

Little things made the restaurant a “joy” right from the start. The service was professional and very attentive, very reminiscent of the Yardbird style. I loved how they expressed the Korean “banchan” concept, giving us a number of complimentary little vegetable starters to enjoy while we perused the menu.

The cocktails are creative and fun, not to mention delicious! Bryan tried the Palomita Rosa, made with Codigo Rosa, Montelobos mezcal, grapfruit, and jalapeno. It was deliciously savory, spicy, smoky, and citrus-y all at the same time. I loved it (and I stole more than just one sip!).

Baby “Banchan” Bites

I loved the refreshing tomato and passionfruit salad topped with shio kombu (salted Japanese seaweed).

Celtuce and red shiso salad

Mountain yam with Mandarin dashi

Small Plates

The server suggested getting 4-5 smaller plates and maybe 2 larger plates. It was a good suggestions, and we felt like we had plenty of food.

One of the restaurant’s signature and most popular dishes is Cucumber Flower Tempura. I loved it! These cucumber flowers include the baby cucumber, and each one is lightly deep fried in tempura batter. It’s surprisingly addictive, and I think we could have easily finished two plates of it.

Shima aji sashimi served with mizuna in a ponzu salad reminded me of the Yardbird salads, several of which are also made with mizuna, a Japanese salad green, as the base. It’s a nice, light and refreshing dish.

Sucking pig with jasmine foam, pickled apple, and shiso was another favorite at the table.

Deviled Egg “since day 1” came with smoked sturgeon, vinegar, and gochujang. I didn’t have a chance to ask what “since day 1” meant. However, considering that Always Joy only opened 2 months ago, I’ll have to assume the co-founders are referring to another restaurant? Perhaps Yardbird, or even Ronin, one of their previous restaurants.

Black bean butter grilled market greens (bok choy) had a nice umami, especially on the very charred grilled bits. It reminded me of the way we used to grill bok choy at our home grill in Boston (though without the black bean butter).

I normally wouldn’t order flank steak skewers, but our friend wanted to order this, and I’m so glad he did! We were all blown away at how flavorful the mushroom XO sauce was! As bits of XO goodness fell off the flank steak during “transport” (back to my plate), I made sure to go back and pick up any lone pieces that had fallen off. It was THAT good.

Fish Collar Karaage reminded me of a delicious fried chicken batter, but used on fish collar instead! As long as you are OK with there being a bone, the dish itself is fantastic.

“Clams, corn, joy bread” consisted of clams steamed in a flavorful corn based broth. The broth has the delicious combination of clam juice and fresh corn “soup”. No wonder they give you all this lovely bread to soak up the yummy broth. We even asked for a second helping of bread (and guarded our plate of corn broth from the server taking it away . . . )

The oden with daikon, carrot, and an oxtail tofu-puff dumpling is the type of warming, comfort food that would be perfect on a cold day.

We don’t get many of those in Hong Kong, but it was still satisfying and comforting nonetheless.

For dessert, we tried their Hokkaido Milk soft serve ice cream (they call it a “swirl”), served with okinawa black sugar, pineapple, and soba granola. I have always loved Yardbird’s soba buckwheat desserts. This one reminded me of a fancy “Dole Whip”. The portion size is reasonably generous, so I think it’s fine for 2 or even 3 people to share it if you don’t want too much dessert.

Always Joy Hong Kong – General Thoughts

Always Joy Hong Kong has only been open for 2 months, but it’s going strong. The restaurant – located just steps down the street from Yardbird was pretty packed on a weekend night. The service was casual yet very attentive, similar to the higher level service you see at Yardbird. The space is quite comfortable. Unlike Yardbird, which I always find a bit too loud, Always Joy has invested in acoustic treatments, and therefore it’s waaay more comfortable to have a good conversation there.

The food is creative and delicious. I love the izakaya “small bite” sharing concept – you just get to try so many more dishes, especially if you add in the little “banchan” bites at the beginning. Although Yardbird may still be our favorite (food-wise), Always Joy is certainly worth visiting as well, especially if you’re looking for non-chicken focused Japanese bites in a much quieter, comfortable environment.

Always Joy Hong Kong
Shop 1, G/F, Nam Wo Hong Building
148 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

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Always Joy Hong Kong – Tiny Urban Kitchen

A Warm Welcome

Baby “Banchan” Bites

Small Plates

Always Joy Hong Kong – General Thoughts

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