Wagyumafia
2,015 SQFT, Commercial, Hong Kong
When overseeing the project of this renowned restaurant, Stanley Kwok understood that the client wanted to cement the kitchen as the focus of the space. After all, 90% of the food cooking at WAGYUMAFIA is done in front of the guests. Having spent quite a bit of time with the restaurant’s founder, Hisato Hamada, and also visiting his kitchen in Japan, Stanley recalled Hisato frequently mentioning the frozen meat cabinets and his fascination for the stainless steel doors and low-temperature freezing. This spurred Stanley’s inspiration - to turn the entrance door into part of the frozen meat cabinet and the result speaks for itself.
Behind the ingenious design however, Stanley shares the team’s challenges. "The ceiling height of the space is very low and it was equipped with a lot of structures and pipe ducts, so we spent a lot of time tidying it up to make it simple and sleek.” Another challenge of the project was to master the height ratio between the counter and the bar stools. Stanley continues "Hisato san wanted diners to be able to everything that happens in the restaurant, so the kitchen counter could only be one single level. This limited the storage possibilities above the counter and inside the cabinets. At the same time, the bar stool heights needed to fit the counter table height, without the guests feeling awkward or uncomfortable. As most bar stools are not designed for sitting for long periods of time, we conducted many mock ups and trials productions. Once people sit down, they’ll all realise it fits like a glove.
