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A Sai Kung institution. A faithful crowd of regulars can be found every night and weekend propping up the bar of this renovated boozer. Very good pub grub, too.

Away from the rowdy main strip of Staunton Street bars sits this unremarked gem, with its inconspicuous entrance, fin-de-siècle gold drapes and sofas. The crowd is young, arts and media-slanted, and cliquey. One of SoHo’s better kept secrets: would it could stay that way (see Feather Boa).

A former antique shop, now a bar, but with much of its old stock left in situ. Like drinking in a camp relative’s front room.

The shining pinnacle of Hong Kong bars is set in Kowloon’s famous Peninsula Hotel. Philippe Starcke designed Felix, and the result is coolness incarnate. Let the experience envelope you, beginning with the dedicated elevators and their light effects, to the untrammelled delights of Felix’s restrooms. The harbour views are an added bonus. If you plan to visit just one bar in Hong Kong, make this the one (see Felix).

Any club that has brass plaques screwed to the bar top, commemorating members who died drinking on that spot, deserves to be a legend. Open only to members and their guests.

One of Sha Tin’s many hotel bars. Reasonably priced beers but not much atmosphere.

Hong Kong’s alternative arts venue offers a respite from Lan Kwai Fong’s rowdier beer halls.

Notorious meat market by night, good pub food by day. Avoid at all costs during Rugby 7s week (see Rugby Sevens).

A discreet keypad and unmarked doorway on Wellington Street is the entrance to this spanking new and seriously happening club. Everyone worth knowing in Hong Kong is on its members’ list, but this means that it can be hard to gain access. Inspired by the Enlightenment concept of literary and discursive salons, Kee can sometimes be too arty by half, but it’s always worth an invitation. Assuming you’re lucky enough to score one.