Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [152]
The aural wallpaper at these clubs is most often Cantopop covers, a genre often written about as if it’s a separate, exotic, original music unique to Hong Kong. In reality it consists of Western-style pop melodies sung in Cantonese by local hunks and starlets. If you like pop music it might do for an evening, but don’t expect any musical epiphanies.
As in any world-class city, the club scene in Hong Kong changes with the speed of summer lightning, so it would be in your interest to flip through Time Out, HK Magazine or bc magazine (see click here).
Live music, never a great scene in town, is enjoying growing interest of late – albeit from a modest base. Rock bands (both local and imported) have been playing more around town, and numerous bars have house bands that play dance music. Many hotel bars and clubs employ Filipino bands that can play ‘Hotel California’ and ‘Love is a Many-Splendoured Thing’ in their sleep (and yours).
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HONG KONG ISLAND
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Lan Kwai Fong & Soho
BEIJING CLUB Map Bar, Club
2815 7919; 2-8 Wellington St, Central; 8pm-late; MTR Central (exit D2)
A wildly popular recent arrival on Hong Kong’s nightlife scene, Beijing Club is often packed with hot and sweaty revellers attracted by the neon interior and the mix of R&B, hip hop and dance music. Dress up.
CLUB 97 Map Bar, Club
2186 1897; Ground fl, Cosmos Bldg, 9-11 Lan Kwai Fong, Central; 6pm-2am Mon-Thu, 6pm-4am Fri, 8pm-4am Sat & Sun, happy hour 3-8pm; MTR Central (exit D2)
This schmoozy lounge bar has a popular happy hour (it’s a gay event on Friday night) and there’s reggae on Sunday. It has a members-only policy to turn away the underdressed; make an effort and you’re in.
JOYCE IS NOT HERE Map Bar, Live Music
2851 2999; 38-44 Peel St, Soho; 11am-late Tue-Fri, 10am-late Sat & Sun, happy hour 3.53-8.04pm; 13, 26, 40M
Cosy and friendly, this little cafe has something for everyone – from poetry readings and live music on Thursday to booze and Sunday brunch. It’s seldom packed so it’s best considered as a place to wind up (or down) for the night.
DROP Map Club
2543 8856; www.drophk.com; Basement, On Lok Mansion, 39-43 Hollywood Rd, Central; 7pm-2am Mon & Tue, 7pm-3am Wed, 7pm-4am Thu, 7pm-5am Fri, 9pm-5am Sat, happy hour 7-10pm Mon-Fri; 26
Deluxe lounge action, excellent tunes and potent cocktails keep Drop strong on the scene. It’s like walking into Wallpaper* magazine, but the vibe here is unpretentiously inclusive and the crowd reaches a happy fever pitch on big nights. The members-only policy after 10pm Thursday to Saturday is (flexibly) enforced to keep the dance floor capacity at a manageable ‘packed like sardines’ level. Enter from Cochrane St.
HOMEBASE Map Club
2545 0023; 2nd fl, 23 Hollywood Rd, Central; 10pm-3am Mon-Fri, 10pm-9am Sat, happy hour 10pm-midnight Mon-Thu & Sat, 8pm-midnight Fri; 26
A meet ‘n’ greet for the styled and beautiful early on, this place turns into a bump ‘n’ grind after hours (there’s a cover charge of $100). It’s one of the more popular after-hours venues and one of the few places that is still partying well after dawn in a city that does, in fact, sleep. Great house and breakbeat music and a small dance floor.
INSOMNIA Map Club
2525 0957; Lower Ground fl, Ho Lee Commercial Bldg, 38-44 D’Aguilar St, Central; 9am-6am Mon-Sat, 2pm-5am Sun, happy hour 5-9pm; MTR Central (exit D2)
This is the place to come to when you can’t sleep, as it fills up only when other nearby bars are starting to wind down. It’s a people-watching place with a wide, open frontage, and there’s a live Filipino band doing covers out the back. If the munchies strike in the witching hour, you can get food here, too.
YUMLA Map Club
2147 2382; Lower Basement, 79 Wyndham St; 8am-1pm Mon-Thu, 8am-3am Fri & Sat, 8am-9pm Sun, happy hour 4-8pm; 26
Tucked away Yumla is worth seeking out not for its scruffy looks but rather for the relaxed vibe and DJs who spin an eclectic but cutting-edge mix of excellent dance, hip hop and guitar stuff.
BOHEMIAN LOUNGE Map Live Music
2526 6099;