Cool Local Places Where Travelers Can Experience the Fun Side of Hong Kong
One of my favorite parts of international travel is meeting new people. I just returned from an amazing trip to Asia and although I saw a lot of incredible things, it's the people I met that really made it a special experience. My first night there was spent in Hong Kong in a whirlwind of food, drink and fun, guided by a group of locals who are now my friends.
My traveling companion had a friend in Hong Kong and as our first stop on a trip to also include Cambodia and Vietnam, we made arrangements to meet at a local restaurant a few minutes from our hotel. Aside from my friend and myself, she arranged to have three or four of her friends also join us. My travel partner's flights were delayed, so I ventured out alone to meet the group, with him scheduled to arrive later that night. Here's a recap of where we went and what we did. All these places are guaranteed to provide a good time, and will expose travelers to locals and expats, not other tourists.
Dinner
We started the evening at a cool Moroccan restaurant called Kasbah (4-8 Arbuthnot Road, Central) in Hong Kong's Central / Lan Kwai Fong neighborhood. The restaurant is just a few blocks away from trendy Hollywood Road, filled in this area with bars, nightclubs and restaurants. Kasbah featured authentic Moroccan cuisine and we enjoyed hot and cool mezze as an appetizer. The main course was amazing, a selection of shish kabobs with chicken, beef and spicy lamb. My favorite was the spicy lamb. The atmosphere was inviting and it was a great place to get to know my new friends.
Dancing
After dinner, we walked down the big staircase to one of the city's hottest new restaurants and clubs, tivo (ground floor, 43 - 55 Wyndham Street, Central) where they were having salsa night with local legend Dj SalsaGodfather We had some drinks and danced to some great salsa music. Amateurs beware, Hong Kong is salsa-crazy and there are some amazing dancers out there. The bar's name, "tivo" is short for "apertivo", Italian for a light before-meal drink. Aside from featuring some great salsa, tivo is also a modern Italian restaurant serving lunch and dinner.
More drinks
By this time, around 11 PM, my friend was finally scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong, so we returned to my hotel, the Island Shangri-La and its Lobster Bar and Grill (Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Central) Aside from being an amazing seafood restaurant, the Lobster Bar and Grill has a great bar and bar scene, an outdoor patio and cool music. We had some specialty cocktails and enjoyed the music, and were finally joined by my friend who arrived after 20-plus hours of flying from the US. With their great drinks and sumptuous chairs and couches, the Lobster Bar was a comfortable way to welcome him to Hong Kong.
Live music and dancing
After the final member of our group had arrived, we decided to head out to Central's Wanchai neighborhood for some late night fun. Once the city's Red Light District, the area, while still a bit dodgy, is home to some great music clubs. We went to a place called Dusk till Dawn (76 Jaffe Road, Wanchai) which featured a series of really good cover bands. They had the whole bar dancing and singing along as they played songs from Coldplay, Psy, Lenny Kravitz and other current and classic hits. Drinks were cheap and we left around 3 AM with everyone still rocking out inside. I also have to mention how great the service was here, they really made us feel welcome.
Late-night food
After a long night of great music, we made our way to Pizza Bar (53-55 Lockhart Road, Wanchai), a little place in a basement location in Wanchai. They had a big selection of Italian and Chinese food, along with cold beer at 4 AM. They have some unique pizzas like steak and seafood, along with flat screen TVs showing whatever soccer match is playing.
Written by Fred Sherman
Published on:
Source URL:
http://voices.yahoo.com/a-fun-night-out-hong-kong-11953864.html?cat=16
(Jan 11, 2013)
One of my favorite parts of international travel is meeting new people. I just returned from an amazing trip to Asia and although I saw a lot of incredible things, it's the people I met that really made it a special experience. My first night there was spent in Hong Kong in a whirlwind of food, drink and fun, guided by a group of locals who are now my friends.
My traveling companion had a friend in Hong Kong and as our first stop on a trip to also include Cambodia and Vietnam, we made arrangements to meet at a local restaurant a few minutes from our hotel. Aside from my friend and myself, she arranged to have three or four of her friends also join us. My travel partner's flights were delayed, so I ventured out alone to meet the group, with him scheduled to arrive later that night. Here's a recap of where we went and what we did. All these places are guaranteed to provide a good time, and will expose travelers to locals and expats, not other tourists.
Dinner
We started the evening at a cool Moroccan restaurant called Kasbah (4-8 Arbuthnot Road, Central) in Hong Kong's Central / Lan Kwai Fong neighborhood. The restaurant is just a few blocks away from trendy Hollywood Road, filled in this area with bars, nightclubs and restaurants. Kasbah featured authentic Moroccan cuisine and we enjoyed hot and cool mezze as an appetizer. The main course was amazing, a selection of shish kabobs with chicken, beef and spicy lamb. My favorite was the spicy lamb. The atmosphere was inviting and it was a great place to get to know my new friends.
Dancing
After dinner, we walked down the big staircase to one of the city's hottest new restaurants and clubs, tivo (ground floor, 43 - 55 Wyndham Street, Central) where they were having salsa night with local legend Dj SalsaGodfather We had some drinks and danced to some great salsa music. Amateurs beware, Hong Kong is salsa-crazy and there are some amazing dancers out there. The bar's name, "tivo" is short for "apertivo", Italian for a light before-meal drink. Aside from featuring some great salsa, tivo is also a modern Italian restaurant serving lunch and dinner.
More drinks
By this time, around 11 PM, my friend was finally scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong, so we returned to my hotel, the Island Shangri-La and its Lobster Bar and Grill (Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Central) Aside from being an amazing seafood restaurant, the Lobster Bar and Grill has a great bar and bar scene, an outdoor patio and cool music. We had some specialty cocktails and enjoyed the music, and were finally joined by my friend who arrived after 20-plus hours of flying from the US. With their great drinks and sumptuous chairs and couches, the Lobster Bar was a comfortable way to welcome him to Hong Kong.
Live music and dancing
After the final member of our group had arrived, we decided to head out to Central's Wanchai neighborhood for some late night fun. Once the city's Red Light District, the area, while still a bit dodgy, is home to some great music clubs. We went to a place called Dusk till Dawn (76 Jaffe Road, Wanchai) which featured a series of really good cover bands. They had the whole bar dancing and singing along as they played songs from Coldplay, Psy, Lenny Kravitz and other current and classic hits. Drinks were cheap and we left around 3 AM with everyone still rocking out inside. I also have to mention how great the service was here, they really made us feel welcome.
Late-night food
After a long night of great music, we made our way to Pizza Bar (53-55 Lockhart Road, Wanchai), a little place in a basement location in Wanchai. They had a big selection of Italian and Chinese food, along with cold beer at 4 AM. They have some unique pizzas like steak and seafood, along with flat screen TVs showing whatever soccer match is playing.
Written by Fred Sherman
Published on:
Source URL:
http://voices.yahoo.com/a-fun-night-out-hong-kong-11953864.html?cat=16
(Jan 11, 2013)
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