DestinAsian – August 01, 2019

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

These five

bars attest

to the city’s

boundary-

pushing cocktail culture.

Recently awarded top spot on the

2019 ranking of Asia’s 50 Best Bars,

The Old Man (theoldmanhk.com)

is a cozy Hemingway-inspired venue

founded by celebrity bartender

Agung Prabowo and two of his fellow

industry veterans, James Tamang

and Roman Ghale. The trio recently

debuted their second bar, The Sea

(fb.com/theseabytheoldman), with

10 cocktails that turn the spotlight on

mineral flavors derived from natural

elements like rock, salt, and peat. Over

at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental

hotel, you’ll find the first international

outpost of famed New York speakeasy

PDT (Please Don’t Tell), accessed

through a “secret” phone booth within

the MO Bar. Two other must-visits

are Coa (coa.com.hk), an agave-

focused spot helmed by mixologist

Jay Khan, and Quinary (quinary.hk),

where Antonio Lai gives experimental

cocktails—like his Earl Grey Caviar

Martini—the molecular treatment.

On the Kowloon waterfront, a longstanding

cultural institution gets a major upgrade.

November will see the reopening of the Hong Kong Museum of Art

(hk.art.museum) following a four-year overhaul and expansion to

the tune of US$119 million. The peach-hued “bathroom tile” cladding of the original

1991 structure—designed by 1970s government architects—has been swapped

out for textured wave-like patterns, and what was once a largely windowless

building now sports a large glazed facade befitting the museum’s prime position

on Victoria Harbour. Inside, the total exhibition area will increase by 40 percent to

10,000 square meters, with higher ceilings throughout to host large-scale

showcases. A specially built annex features a nine-meter-tall space to make room

for monumental contemporary pieces, while sweeping harbor vistas await at the

new glass-walled rooftop gallery.

Stretch your legs with a hike in the New Territories.

Winding for 100 kilometers across a series of protected country parks, the

MacLehose Trail (hiking.gov.hk) is divided into 10 sections that can be tackled

separately depending on your level of fitness. On the idyllic Sai Kung peninsula,

Section 2 takes in a string of postcard-perfect beaches including Ham Tin Wan,

a popular weekend campsite backed by a creek and several open-air eateries.

From there, a short clamber over the headland brings you to the wilder and even longer expanse

of Tai Wan beach. Experienced hikers with a head for heights may want to take the detour to

468-meter Sharp Peak, where the steep, vertiginous climb is best attempted with the aid of

trekking poles and hiking gloves. Over on Section 5, a separate trail allows walkers to scale Lion

Rock, one of the territory’s most recognizable mountains. The summit beckons with panoramic

views over Kowloon, extending across the harbor to Hong Kong Island on most days.

Approaching

Ham Tin Wan on

Section 2 of the

MacLehose Trail.

A Farewell

to Arms, a

cocktail at

The Old Man.

2

3

4

JAM

ES^

LOU

IE^ (

CEN

TER

)