My time in Hong Kong was passing quickly and there was so much I needed to get done at work. I had spoken to my friend Anna in Singapore and she had booked a flight out to HK to come visit! I was excited to see her and even more excited because I was actually going to take two days off when she was in town. I knew that I would have a ton to follow up on work wise but knew I needed to take a few days off for my own sanity. Anna's flight landed in HK at 5pm and by the time she arrived in Central it was about 6pm. I thought that I would have been done at the office by then, but I was running late. I quickly ran to meet her at my apartment to let her in and then head back to the office to finish a few things up. As I was shutting my laptop off I realized I had a production conference call at 8pm. RATS! I couldn't miss this conference call so I opted to take it from my cell phone rather than in the office. I figured I could multi-task when on the call and that way when I got off we'd be ready to head out to dinner. Thank goodness Anna works as much as I do and totally gets it when things like this arise. She made use of the time when I was on my call and Skyped clients and got some work of her own done. We could write the book on efficient use of time!
After catching up and getting ready, we headed out to a restaurant called Cafe Gray in Upper House. We were meeting Anna's long time friend Stephane and I had invited Regina to meet us as well. Anna and I were the first to arrive and I was impressed by the restaurant upon walking in. The whole back side was floor to ceiling windows and there was an amazing view of the Hong Kong city line. We decided that we wanted to sit on the bar side and were shown to a booth by the window.
Both Stephane and Regina were only going to be joining for drinks, so Anna and I placed an order. What else would we order but cheese plate? We let the waiter know that we wanted the food order placed while we decided on drinks. Anna knew straight away what drink she wanted off the drink menu, and I of course was frantically scanning to see if they had my Tom Yum martini on the menu. No shock, they didn't :( The waiter must have seen the disappointment on my face and asked if something was wrong. I replied by asking if they could make me my favorite martini and he said they didn't have Kaffir lime but could make me something similar. I was content with that answer and our drinks were on their way. I have to admit while my drink wasn't exactly right it was still delicious!
Stephane arrived and we all exchanged hellos and started to catch up. Regina soon joined afterwards and the conversation barely halted for quick introductions and then we were back on to talking about recent events. After we had finished a few more rounds of drinks we decided to move on to the next venue. Stephane suggested a bar called Le Boudior in Central and we all agreed that we should head there. It was a short taxi ride away and when we arrived the entrance was very quaint. The door was a simple archway that was painted red and just beyond the door was a long draped curtain that parted in the middle. Off to the left there was a small gold plaque that had the workd Le Boudior etched in black cursive. We walked past in to the archway and I was expecting it to open up in to the bar. Not exactly. We walked down three flights of stairs and through another door. The bar was small but definietly had style. It reminded me of an old European lounge from the 1920s. The main color scheme was a deep red with flecks of gold, and there were chandeliers that hung through out the space. The walls were covered with vintage photo frames and the furniture was reminiscent of what you would find in a ladies formal dressing room; a lot of velvet, silk, and printed fabrics. The music was spot on and the DJ was mixing old school beats with new school ones. There was not one song that he played that was off. We posted up at the bar and we looked over the drink menu. Regina started laughing and I looked down to see what was so amusing. She had turned to the last page of the menu and this is what we saw:
Simply NO! We scanned the actual drink menu and made our choices. I returned to my classic (champagne), Anna chose an apple pie martini, and Regina picked a drink that was supposed to have a hint of rose essence. Our drinks were promptly made and when Regina's drink arrived she said, "Wow. I had no idea my drink was going to be electric pink, nor that it was going to taste like a field of roses!" Indeed, her drink did scream girly.
We stayed awhile and I had an amazing time. How could I not? I had the proper mix: great friends, great music, and great drinks.
Stephane asked if we wanted to go to one more bar around the corner and we ended up walking in the the center of Lan Kwai Fong (the main party area in Central). We ended up at a bar called Insomnia and chose a table that was off the dance floor. I thought it was ironic that there was a massive dance floor, but a sign that implied no dancing.
We stayed for one drink then concluded it was time to head home. We all parted ways and Anna and I began to walk back to my apartment in Soho. The cool thing is that everything in Central Hong Kong is so close to one another.
We got back to my apartment and decided that we were craving something sweet. What better option that to raid 7 Eleven. Anna and I changed out of our dresses and into shorts and flip flops and began the two block hike to get our 5am sugar fix. We stocked up on candy, chips, and bottled water and made it back to my place as happy as could be. We stayed up for about an hour talking about the night and finally decided it was time to sleep.
The next morning Anna and I decided the day was going to be an easy one. First thing on the agenda? COFFEE. After a long night we desperately needed it! I took Anna to a coffee house that my friend Lev had told me about called Holly Brown. This place has amazing coffee and serve gelato, ice cream, and food as well. The coffee is what we were after.
We sat down and had a nice cup and decided that shopping was next. We made our way through Central and then decided we would stop for a manicure and pedicure. Once that was crossed off the list, we realized that it was almost 3:30pm and we hadn't eaten anything all day. There was a wine bar on the corner a few blocks away that I had wanted to try called La Piola. The bar is located on the corner of Wellington and Lyndhurst Terrance and is really cute. It's small but gets pretty packed for after work drinks. Anna and I ordered some food and champagne and enjoyed the fact that we were having a laid back day.
Finishing up at La Piola we decided that we'd hit some boutiques in Soho and then head back home to shower and get ready for the night. We were walking back to my apartment after shopping we noticed there was a pub that was filled with people. We decided to stop in for a drink. As we pushed the door to the pub called The Globe open, it was apparent that we were the only girls in the place. I shot a look to Anna as to say, "Should we stay?" and she shrugged her shoulders and smiled. We ordered a drink and met some new people before taking off to go home and relax for a bit.
Anna and I were on our own that night and we decided that we would check out dragon-i. I had heard so much about it from people and it seemed like it would be a good time. How wrong I was. We walked up and there was absolutely no order to the front area. It was unclear if there was a line or you were to just walk right in, but there was a mass of people. I walked up to the hostess and said we were on a list (totally weren't) and just then a guy came out of no where, moved me aside and said "I'm with Stephanie's party." The hostess looked at him for a minute, found his name on her clipboard, stamped his wrist and shooed him to the side. At first I was in disbelief at how ill mannered this man was, but then felt the hostess' attention turn back to me. She asked who's list I was on and I quickly said, "My friend Steph is having her party here tonight." The hostess nodded and asked who else I was with. I pointed at Anna, and she stamped our wrists and said that our friend (Steph) was already here. I kindly said thank you and we moved on. We walked in and I instantly noticed that the music was amazing. Whoever the DJ was, he was killing it. Anna and I walked up to the bar, ordered a drink and decide to find our way around the bar since we had never been there before.
dragon-i is separated in to two main rooms and an outside deck area. One of the rooms has tall tables and a long bar along one wall. The other room has the DJ booth to one corner and the VIP tables and booths along the other sides of the bar. I use the term VIP very loosely as there is no one regulating the flow in and out of the room and people who are at the tables have randoms standing around their area. I spotted one of the tables had a ton of balloons and 20 people crammed in to a table built to hold 10. I deducted that this must be our dear "friend" Steph and her party. As the night went on it was clear that the best place to be was the outside deck.
Anna and I got asked several times to join a table but politely declined as we would rather for go spending time with douchey guys. Even after a few drinks we were over the scene and the only deciding factor to stay was the music. So we stayed a bit longer and chatted with what appeared to be some nice people. Anna asked if I was ready to move on to another bar and I nodded. We made our way down the bars on Wyndham Street and it was the same sort of scene in most of the places. We found humor in every place that we went and made our own fun. We ended taking a taxi back home around 5am and were happy to call it a night.
The next day Anna was flying out at 6pm so we had the morning and afternoon to explore a little bit more. We met Stephane at the ferry terminal and took the ferry over to Kowloon for lunch. Stephane grew up in Hong Kong and was taking us to what he claimed was "the best Chinese dumpling restaurant in Hong Kong." It was a placed called China Jade, and I must admit it was very good.
After lunch we walked around Kowloon and ended up grabbing a drink at a bar near the W. We said our goodbyes to Stephane, and Anna and I were off to get her suitcase from my place and call a taxi to the airport. I sent Anna off and decided it was time for a rest. I was invited to a BBQ that night by my friend Minner and then out to a bar called Sugar afterwards but just couldn't find the energy to get up and go. Minner had said she wasn't going to stay out late as she had to be up early the next day for a junk boat. The BBQ was on the other side of the island and I was exhausted. I took a quick nap and decided that I was going to meet my friend Cynthia at a bar called Blk Brd for a drink. It was only three blocks away and it seemed like a much more logical option. Regina was going to meet me and had invited Sarah as well. Cynthia was out with her boyfriend and a bunch of friends of theirs from Melbourne. We all go along very well and were happily exchanging stories and getting to know one another. Cyn said they had gotten a few tables at a bar called Fly and so we all finished drinks and made our way there. Cynthia said, "I take no responsibility of the craziness that might happen tonight. Bottles being ordered left and right, drinks being handed to you before you've finished the one in your hand, champagne showers, etc. I take NO responsibility!" I laughed as I thought that she was joking at how rowdy her group of friends could get. Clearly there was a reason she was inputting a disclaimer: All of the above mentioned happened.
We ended the night in good spirits and walked to a local pizza place to eat a slice or two. Sitting down, we made friends with some random tourists and felt generous and offered them a slice of our massive pie. The rest of the crew was re-energized and off to the next club. I made the executive decision to call it a night and take myself home. I got some grief from the others but it was 3:30am and I was planning on being in the office at 9am. Trying to explain this rationally to a group in the wee hours of the morning is pointless. None-the-less I made my escape and was happy I left when I did. I don't think that I could have managed anymore champagne showers!
