Tatler Weekend Hong Kong: Food and drinks trends to watch in 2025
Editor’s note
“This will be as big a deal as the personal computer,” Steve Jobs declared upon seeing the Segway prototype. Yet history tells a different story—the Segway became nothing more than a novelty vehicle limited to niche uses.
Predicting the future is challenging. The complex interplay of technology, human behaviour, and commercial viability makes forecasting an intricate task. Yet our fascination with what lies ahead remains undiminished.
Growing up, I loved the movie “Back to the Future.” In one memorable scene, Marty tells Doc they lack enough road to back up the car. Doc responds, “Don't worry—where we’re going, we won’t need roads,” as the car blazes into the future transforming into a flying vehicle. While flying cars remain science fiction, other scenarios from the movie, like video calling, have indeed become everyday reality.
In this Tatler Weekend, we explore what 2025 might hold for markets, architecture, dining, technology, and finance. We’ll explore how artificial intelligence and sustainable practices are reshaping these sectors, while examining their economic and cultural implications.
Incidentally, when Jobs finally saw the finished Segway product, he reversed his prediction, anticipating its failure due to design flaws. This reminds us that while predicting future trends is one thing, bringing them to life depends on human endeavour and brilliance.
Wish you a brilliant 2025!
Parminder Singh
Parminder Singh
Chief Operating Officer
Food and drink trends 2025: Insights from Asia’s culinary and mixology leaders
From elevated comfort food to plant-forward menus and reimagined cocktails, Asia’s top F&B minds share their predictions for 2025
Asia has cemented its role as a global tastemaker in both culinary and cocktail culture, blending heritage and modernity to set the stage for bold ideas and innovation. As 2025 approaches, the focus is shifting toward food and drink that not only delights but also aligns with evolving priorities like health consciousness, sustainability and authenticity.
Beyond the plate and glass, there’s a growing emphasis on accessibility, flavourful innovation, and creating fairer, more inclusive work environments. From elevated comfort food and plant-forward dining to a resurgence of classic cocktails and the rise of complex non-alcoholic beverages, the industry’s evolution is as thoughtful as it is forward-thinking.
We spoke to six of Asia’s leading voices about the trends they see shaping 2025 and the changes they believe are long overdue.
See also: Tatler Best, celebrating the best 100 hotels, restaurants and bars in Asia
Looking to raise funds in 2025? These three venture capitalists highlight the trends, challenges and opportunities that will shape the future
Following a less-than-stellar 2024, these experts predict that artificial intelligence, web3 and health tech will continue to be on the radar of investors in 2025
Reminiscent of the 2001 dot-com bubble, 2024 was a challenging year for startup funding. Global venture funding fell significantly, with Asia experiencing a decline to US$13.2 billion in the third quarter, its lowest total since 2015. Startup data platform Tracxn noted in a recent report that this was due to a weaker global economy, adding that the region’s tech ecosystem experienced a steep decline in financial inflows and major shifts in the market landscape.
Southeast Asia’s tech ecosystem saw startups around the region secure a total of US$2.84 billion across 420 funding rounds, a 59 per cent drop from 2023.
Despite the downturn, Singapore led the region in 2024, raising US$1.9 billion, and representing 67 per cent of the total funding in Southeast Asia. Key sectors like fintech, cleantech and blockchain remain strong, fuelled by government initiatives and frameworks.
Against this backdrop, we have to ask: what does 2025 hold? We turned to three Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow and venture capitalists to share their insights on the opportunities, challenges and industries to watch.
Read more: 5 multigenerational entrepreneurs open up about working with family
The new language of luxury: Architecture and design in 2025
Tatler Homes editors envision Asian design’s new luxury narrative in 2025
As economic headwinds and environmental challenges reshape Asia’s architectural landscape, Tatler Homes editors from across the region identify the profound transformations underway in how we conceive, design, and inhabit spaces.
The region stands at a crossroads where tradition meets innovation, sustainability confronts luxury, and technology intersects with craftsmanship. These evolving dynamics are creating new paradigms that will define residential architecture and interior design in 2025 and beyond.
Read more: 8 decadent furniture pieces that nail the Pantone Colour of the Year 2025, Mocha Mousse
2025 Market forecast: What nature can teach us about the emerging trends and opportunities that will shape investments in Asia
James R. Sullivan, the managing director and head of Asia Pacific equity research at J.P. Morgan, reminds us that nature can teach us a lot about fickle market movements. Here’s how the year ahead is shaping up
Currents are fickle things. One moment they are sweeping all before their path, dislocating things from their proper place, moving in unison a range of discrete items. Mindless, currents push forward. Fighting against such a thing means fighting nature—which is likely to be a futile attempt.
The next moment, the currents split into myriad streams, collect in adjacent tidepools, and begin to move at different speeds and in different directions.
Market dynamics often mirror the flow of currents: Strong trends dominate before splintering into diverse opportunities. It is the same with the global equity and currency markets—and, as in nature, it’s futile to fight it.
In 2024 market trends were carried along by the way the United States’ economic growth and corporate earnings outperformed the rest of the world—call it “US exceptionalism” at play, or momentum fuelled by stimulus measures totalling over $5 billion US dollars. This was further amplified by the movements of central banks worldwide: interest rate adjustments drove significant capital into risk assets (i.e., assets that people are more willing to take risk on when money is cheaper), creating a broad and synchronised market surge.
However, momentum also led to extremes. For example, US equity valuations reached levels seen only twice in the past thirty years, while market volatility hit a three-decade low.
But by late 2024, these strong currents started to change.