"Hong Kong's Legendary 'M at the Fringe' to Leave the Historic Fringe Club After 20 Successful Years..."

(Hong Kong December 3, 2009) -- After 20 successful, multi-award winning years at the forefront of Hong Kong’s vibrant and ever evolving dining scene, the legendary M at the Fringe restaurant is to leave its current premises in the historic Hong Kong Fringe Club on Lower Albert Road at the end of the year.

The Dairy Farm Building, which is its official name, will undergo lengthy and extensive renovation to comply with new Government regulations. The building dates back to 1913 and is one of the few historic landmarks left in Central, its role as a former ice storage depot giving its name to the street.

In the meantime, the M Restaurant Group is continuing to look for a new Hong Kong venue for its flagship restaurant. “We have been offered many locations but as yet have simply not found the right one to take M at the Fringe into the next chapter,” said owner Michelle Garnaut. “But our search continues and we urge our many loyal fans everywhere to watch for further news.” she added.

Meanwhile, regulars have been queuing up since the announcement earlier this year, eager to make the most of M’s famous signature dishes such as the Salt-encased, slowly baked Leg of Lamb, M’s Famous Crispy Suckling Pig and Hot house-smoked Salmon, as well as a variety of special promotions showcasing memorable and much loved dishes and desserts on the menu. The restaurant will close straight after the New Year’s Eve celebrations on December 31st 2009.

Created by Australian entrepreneur Michelle Garnaut, M at the Fringe opened its doors in November 1989. From the outset, Michelle was ahead of her time, blazing a culinary trail that has always been pioneering and adventurous. Her inventive style was not confined to the kitchen, however. She created a distinctive and artistic environment in which to present her modern European food, which both played with the classics and introduced new flavours and ideas to Hong Kong, and subsequently attracted a loyal and illustrious clientele including local and international celebrities such as Pierce Brosnan, Barry Humphries, Kate Moss, Chow Yun-fat and Hong Kong’s last Governor, Chris Patten which has made this one of the places to be seen dining in Hong Kong.

Opened at a time when independent European restaurants were few and far between on Hong Kong’s dining scene, Michelle says, “We did not want to reproduce another hotel-style restaurant, but rather create something individual and with character. We wanted an interesting, good, down-to-earth restaurant that served excellent European food in atmospheric surroundings.”

Twenty years on, having survived and flourished through the exciting pre-Handover and the challenges of the past decade, Michelle adds, “We’ve seen it all, we’ve partied like it was 1997, gone through the turbulent years which followed the crash of summer 1997, bird flu, SARS and whatever else Hong Kong has thrown at us, and we’re still here and as strong as ever.”

“Of course it’s sad for all of us, our staff and our loyal patrons, the prospect of leaving our original Hong Kong home, but we look at this as an opportunity and not the end of our story,” added Michelle.

M at the Fringe is part of the M Restaurant Group, which similarly pioneered the renaissance of elegant European dining and entertaining in Shanghai with the opening of ‘M on the Bund’ in 1999 and subsequently the highly successful ‘Glamour Bar’ in the same historic building at No. 5 The Bund.

The company just recently unveiled its second restaurant in China ‘Capital M’ which opened its doors to great fanfare in September in Beijing, overlooking the city’s famous Tiananmen Square.

“These are exciting times for our company,” said Michelle, “and we will continue to look for another special location to take M into a new era, and hopefully find our new home for another 20 years. Watch this space…” she added.