Hong Kong

So I’ll do a quick one night in Hong Kong on my way to Taiwan.

Landing on Saturday September 30, planned 14:30.
Staying at an airport hotel.
Leaving day after.

I figure I’ll have time to head into the city and go in search for 1-3 places easily accessible via MTR or other public transportation.

Anyone got experience from the area to share with a first time visitor?

Looking through the places at ratebeer seem to require some knowledge about Hong Kong areas, since they seem built together.

First idea is mainly go from airport to Hong Kong Station, walk to Tipping Point Brewing Co.
Next if still enough time head to Wan Chai Station and walk to The Trafalgar Brewing Company.
If not enough time, search for a few of the listed bars around the Tipping Point.
Go back to airport before second to last MTR / Airport Express leave for the night.

Plenty :)

My first tip is to take a hoodie with you. The weather is always nice outside, but nearly every place blasts the air conditioning. There also aren’t many places in the city with outdoor seating.

As for bar tips, I’d recommend the following:

TAP: The Ale Project in Mong Kok (15 Hak Po Street, closest to Mong Kok MTR)
Kowloon Taproom (26 Ashley Road, closest to Tsim Sha Tsui MTR)
65 Peel (65 Peel Street, closest to Central MTR)
Woft (100 Shan Tung Street, closest to Mong Kok MTR and around the corner from TAP)
Roundhouse (they have two locations, but I prefer the one at 29 Amoy Street, closest to Wan Chai MTR)

To be honest, I’d recommend avoiding Tipping Point completely, as it is easily one of the worst brewers in Hong Kong (you’ll note that all of their beers are at the bottom of my list of local ratings: https://www.ratebeer.com/user/335427/country/93/ ) ; and while I haven’t been to Trafalgar myself, I haven’t heard any positive reviews from locals when asked. Neither of these breweries are anywhere close to the city’s best breweries. Due to the major shortage of space in Hong Kong and the even more extreme prices of leasing land, the best breweries have largely remained breweries only (i.e., without a brewpub), so you’re best going to bars and shops.

The best breweries you’ll want to keep an eye out for are:

Heroes
Lion Rock
Moonzen
Young Master

These are the big four, if you will. Beyond that, there’s a number of quite serviceable beers out of the following breweries, but I don’t find them to be nearly as imaginative and/or consistent:

Black Kite
Gweilo
Hong Kong Beer Company
Kowloon Bay
Mak’s
Nine Dragons
Yardley Brothers

There are two taprooms for foreign breweries that I am aware of: Coedo (from Japan) and Zhang Men (from Taiwan). I never visited Coedo, but Zhang Men’s brewery was alright. They constantly seem to be out of their own beers, though, and the bar itself isn’t that cosy. You might as well wait until you actually get to Taipei to try them :)

If you’re looking for stores, my favourite is the HK Brewcraft in Tsim Sha Tsui (26 Hillwood Road, closest to Jordan MTR). They’re open until 22h and carry some interesting HK breweries. They also have a small standup bar thing outside of the store complete with a bottle opener on the wall (you can ask for plastic cups inside) if you want to have a bottle there.

If I were to recommend an itinerary, I’d do the following:

1. Take the Airport Express to Hong Kong. Get a tasting flight at 65 Peel and have a bite to eat if you’re hungry.
2. If the weather is reasonable, just walk over to the Star Ferry pier and take the ferry to Tsim Sha Tsui. Hong Kong has the best skyline on the planet and the ferry itself is super cheap.
3. Walk over to Kowloon Taproom. It takes about 10 minutes from the Star Ferry Pier.
4. Walk over to HK Brewcraft on Hillwood Roadto pick up some bottles, cans, or at least have a beer outside.
5. Take the MTR (Jordan to Mong Kok) and head over to TAP. Drink there for a bit and maybe go to Woft afterwards, as they are open a lot later.
6. Take a taxi (25-30 minutes) or night bus (75 minutes but definitely cheaper) instead because Hong Kong is worth maximising your time in :)

Thanks!
I’l have a look at this :)

Oh, and going to Kaohsiung in Taiwan, seriously difficult to get craft beer info there, likely will start a thread for that as well to see if I can get any inside info.
At least I have a few days in Kaohsiung, hopefully work will allow some beer hunting.

Happy to help! Feel free to ask further if you have other HK-related questions :)

I’ve never been to Taiwan before, but I did have a small amount of Taiwanese beer while in Hong Kong. Zhang Men and Taiwan Head Brewers were the only two I came across to be worthwhile (supposedly Taihu, Jolly, and Sunmai are all breweries worth seeking out, though).

Originally posted by gnoff
Thanks!
I’l have a look at this :)

Oh, and going to Kaohsiung in Taiwan, seriously difficult to get craft beer info there, likely will start a thread for that as well to see if I can get any inside info.
At least I have a few days in Kaohsiung, hopefully work will allow some beer hunting.

I’m going to Hong Kong in a few months. Any tips on good craft beer places for food / non-beer drinks? Going with my partner and it’s usually an easier sell if there’s a nice cocktail / wine list or something good to eat.

Originally posted by explosivedog
I’m going to Hong Kong in a few months. Any tips on good craft beer places for food / non-beer drinks? Going with my partner and it’s usually an easier sell if there’s a nice cocktail / wine list or something good to eat.

I get to HK 2-3 times a year;for a first time visitor,especially a first time visitor who lives in Europe who might be making a 1 time only trip to HK,do your thing on the Kowloon side.

How common is it to use debit/credit card for payment in Hong Kong (and well Taiwan also), is it generally accepted?
I hear e.g. in China most things are done by phone these days, but would a Visa/Mastecard take you a long way, or is cash recommended?

Originally posted by gnoff
How common is it to use debit/credit card for payment in Hong Kong (and well Taiwan also), is it generally accepted?
I hear e.g. in China most things are done by phone these days, but would a Visa/Mastecard take you a long way, or is cash recommended?

Originally posted by gnoff
How common is it to use debit/credit card for payment in Hong Kong (and well Taiwan also), is it generally accepted?
I hear e.g. in China most things are done by phone these days, but would a Visa/Mastecard take you a long way, or is cash recommended?