Kowloon Area and other Hong Kong Nightlife Tips

Kowloon is a famous and popular area for nightlife. It has an abundance of bars of all types. We found a few good spots such as a newer bar called Mes Amis, but overall we were disappointed with this area. It seemed like every other bar was a "hostess" bar full of Filipina girls wanting expensive drinks. The other bars in this area we tried were all pretty old and run down. After trying four or five spots over the course of a few hours, we moved on to other areas of the city.

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Theme: Other
Dress Code: very casual

Though Wanchai has a somewhat shady reputation, it was our favorite nightlife area in Hong Kong. We found a few great spots in Wanchai like a second branch of Mes Amis and a dance club called Joe Bananas. This area does have its share of hostess bars and other seedy joints, but these can be easily avoided. Highly recommended!

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Theme: Other

Lan Kwai Fong (or LKF) is the top nightlife area in Hong Kong. This small spot has dozens if not hundred of bars, dance clubs, and restaurants of all types from German Biergartens (such as the Bitburger Bar) to Middle Eastern bars (like Beirut).

During our visit, the place was shoulder-to-shoulder with tourists and locals, out to have a good time. Our favorite spot was Mad Dogs, an Irish Pub that turns into a dance club later in the evening.

LKF is located in Central.

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Theme: Live Music
Address: D'Aguilar Street
Directions: Top of D'Aguilar Street in Central, Hong Kong Island
Website: http://www.lankwaifong.com

Nightlife Spot: Night Clubs

Joe Bananas was our favorite night spot in all of Hong Kong. Early in the evening, it is a casual bar with large glass doors opening into the street, giving it a very open feel. Until midnight, they have two-for-one drinks. If you order a beer, they will give you two. When you are ready to drink the second one, hand it back for them to open, and they will swap it out for a cold one. Just keep an eye on your beer that is on-deck. We saw a few questionable characters sneaking other people's spare beers off their tables for their own consumption!

After midnight, the glass doors close, two-for-ones stop, and Joe Bananas starts to rock! The DJ played a good variety of music that kept people on the dance floor all night. The clientèle was a good mixture of locals, westerners, and quite a number of Thai girls of questionable motive...

This bar is great!

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Theme: Nightclub
Phone: 2529-1811
Address: 23 Luard Road, Wanchai

Nightlife Spot: Irish/Bristish/American Pubs and Bars

Mes Amis was my favorite nightlife spot in Hong Kong. The Kowloon location is a small bar, but packed full of people enjoying drinks and quiet conversation. It has a very clean, comfortable, modern feel with good food and many choices for drinks. To top things off, they had several cute waitress! This place is a gold mine compared to the other Tsim Sha Tsui/Kowloon bars we visited, most of which were dirty, run-down, and pretty much deserted. The only drawback here: the prices are higher than average -- Tsing Tao beer was HK$46 per bottle).

Mes Amis has another location in Wanchai that we enjoyed, and there's a third elsewhere in Hong Kong that I never tracked down.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Address: 12 Ashley Rd
Directions: Tsim Sha TSui on Ashley Road just north of the intersection with PekingRd. Beside Ned Kelley's Pub

Mes Amis is a great spot in Wanchai to relax with a beer and watch the people go by. It is a large, clean bar with several seats along the window facing the street. The window was open, so we chatted with a few people as they walked by -- including a homeless guy who stopped to ask for money. Tsing Tao beer here was HK$49 per bottle, HK$3 more than at the Kowloon Mes Amis!

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Dress Code: casual
Phone: 2527 6680
Address: 81-85 Lockhart Road Wanchai

Nightlife Spot: Lan Kwai Fong

Bulldogs was our favorite spot in LKF. Early in the evening, their long bar was full of patrons just sipping beer and watching football (soccer). Later, the dance floor in the back opened and their live DJ kept the place hopping until the early hours of the morning!! It really has something for everyone depending on the time of day and where you plant your butt in the bar/restaurant/dance floor. I enjoyed squatting on a bar stool talking to the other barflies while my friend danced and made (unsuccessful) passes at the women.

Bulldogs claims the biggest pub menu in LKF, and they feature a set lunch for about HK$110 along with an a la carte menu seven days per week.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Phone: 2523-3528
Address: 17 Lan Kwai Fong
Directions: Entrances on both LKF Street and D'Aguilar
Website: http://www.lankwaifong.com
Other Contact: Fax: 2523-3428

Nightlife Spot: Lan Kwai Fong

I have lived in Germany for two years, so the "Bitte Ein Bit" phrase is well ingrained in my memory (a Bitburger (beer) please!). When I saw the Bitte Ein Bit bar in LKF, I knew we had to stop. Other than the fact that they had Bitburger on tap, this place was nothing like a German gasthaus or biergarten. It was much too clean, sterile, and brightly lit. The place had a few people, but was not too popular. Perhaps it's a better place for dinner?

Nothing special.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Address: D'Aguilar Street
Directions: Top of D'Aguilar Street in Central, Hong Kong Island
Website: http://www.lankwaifong.com

Nightlife Spot: Lan Kwai Fong

The bar in LKF called Beirut has a distinct Arab feel (as you could probably guess by the name!). When we stopped in for a quick beer, we were the only non-Middle Eastern men in the bar, and there was also one western woman. It is kind of an interesting place, and it serves a decent variety of beer and hard liquor. It seems they also serve the water pipe to their middle eastern customers.

All in all, Beirut is not worth writing a VT Tip about and there's really no reason to return.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Address: D'Aguilar Street
Directions: Top of D'Aguilar Street in Central, Hong Kong Island
Website: http://www.lankwaifong.com

Wandering around Kowloon looking for a good place to grab a drink, you might end up on Hart Street. We had a drink at the CQ-Bar, and we peeked in a few others such as the Swiss Chalet and the Commander's Bar. All were pretty dead and definitely are not worth a visit. One place we stopped that was actually very busy was a gambling establishment where people were betting on horses and playing dice.

After a little wandering, we got bored and headed straight to Lan Kwai Fong for the real nightlife! Another spot that is a better option is Wanchai.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking