Hong Kong-based restaurant Mott 32 eyes off Sydney for next venture

Hong Kong-born restaurant chain Mott 32 has gained a reputation for refined Chinese food and even more refined interiors.

The luxe restaurant is also expanding internationally at a rate that might make it the next Nobu. And Sydney is part of its plans.

So firm are those plans that two companies have been registered with ASIC: Mott 32 Sydney Pty Ltd and Mott 32 Holdings.

And in recent months, they've had a tape measure out on a site on Clarence Street, in the Sydney CBD.

What is all the fuss about? Name a major design award and chances are Mott 32 has had its name engraved on the trophy since it opened its first restaurant in 2014.

Good Food spoke to a restaurateur who was keen to buddy up on an international launch. "They spend $5 million to $7 million on each fitout," he says.

Mott 32's parent company, Maximal Concepts, has been rolling restaurants out from Singapore to Vancouver and Las Vegas. Dubai and Cebu in the Philippines are next.

Good Food was unable to reach its Sydney team, who were overseas on business, but the second part of the local Mott 32 speculation involves Michael Jiang, founder of Lotus Dining, which has grown into a restaurant group with seven venues in Sydney.

"One of the founders [of Mott 32] is a close friend of mine," Jiang says.

Jiang has just returned from Dubai, where he toured the latest Mott 32 to roll off the production line.

With the Clarence Street site proving challenging, Jiang says if they can find the right location he'll enter a joint venture on the restaurant. Stay tuned.