Hong Kong Nightlife Guide: Wan Chai - Clubs, Bars, & Pubs

Hong Kong is one of the most vibrant cities in the world, with its nitelife being no exception. While the city has several entertainment districts, each offering their own charms. I will focus on the two most popular, Lan Kwai Fong, & Wan Chai. In this segment I will go into detail on the latter.

Wan Chai (Wednesday is lady’s nite)
Sometimes known as the "Filthy Chai", Wan Chai is Hong Kong's resident red light district. Home to Filipino hookers, seedy strip clubs, & the occasional American sailor. There are also some legitimate nitelife establishments here, it is one of the most popular party areas in the city, offering a much better weekday alternative than Lan Kwai Fong. I'll take a closer look at some of the more famous bars & clubs.

Bridge
The hardcore drinker's 24 hour paradise. Even when every other club is shut, Bridge is still going strong, in fact it doesn't start going at all until the other club's are all shut. This is in large part due to the fact that no one would ever come here if it weren’t there only option. But with that said, I have had many a good drunken times on the dance floor at Bridge. The crowd here is a mixture of Filipino hookers who had no luck scoring a John that nite, John's who had no luck scoring a Filipino hooker that nite, & people who just refuse to go home without a few more drinks. I often find myself the latter.

Carnegie's
Home to the notorious "Free Vodka Hour Tuesday" where the vodka flows free of charge to everyone, men & women alike, between the hours of 10 to 11PM. Carnegie's is the only place that has a valid party scene on Tuesday, & that is much appreciated. Often I find myself waking up Tuesday afternoon thinking where can I go, drink for free, & have a good time. There is only one place, & that is Carnegie's, where the 1970's power ballads sound through the speakers, the cheap vodka swirls in the glasses, & for some reason male customers dance on the bar shirtless. You can't pay for fun like that, or at least you wouldn't, the point being here you don't have to! Carnegie's is also quite popular on Wednesday nites when they offer free champagne for the ladies. And on Friday's the 10 Dollar Corona's attract a large crowd.

Devil's Advocate
Possibly the worst bar ever. Located just above Kangaroo's, the Devil's Advocate is the most boring place you will hopefully never go to.

Kangaroo's
The bar, the myth, the legend. Kangaroo's is styled after a typical Australian pub, & is the meeting place for the young expatriate community in Wan Chai. Some of the cheapest drinks in the city help to explain that, but also there's a sense of friendship between the clientele, this is Hong Kong's version of Cheers, & it does feel like home after a while. The bar is also popular with the local international high schools seeing as the bar never got around to enforcing the drinking age.

Mes Amis
This is where the middle aged professionals choose to drink in Wan Chai. And everynite they come in flocks to dance, mingle, & flirt with everything that walks. It's hard to walk across the dance floor here without having a 40 year old woman touching you inappropriately. However on the bright side, if ever you're looking for a place to go MILF hunting, Mes Amis would definitely be the place. In general though I try to avoid this club, the music's stale, the drinks are expensive, & the clientele is less than desirable. The club's highlight is its late closing time somewhere in the proximity of 5AM on the weekends.

New Makati
An upstairs dive joint, frequented by hookers & strippers, this bar is respected for only one thing, & that is 15 Dollar mixed drinks & pints before 9PM on Friday. And that my friends is enough reason to visit.

Seven-Eleven
No this isn't some cool club, I mean an actual 7-11. You can't make it through a Wan Chai nite without putting down a few at this popular corner-straddling location. Finally it's a place in Wan Chai that's both cheap, cool, & sells M&M's. SCORE!

Skitz
Popular with exchange students from the local universities, namely HKU, every Wednesday Skitz is the most happening club in all of Hong Kong. There's a 160 Dollar entrance fee for guys (free for girls), & the drinks are free flow all the way 'til close at 3AM. There aren't too many people who come here & leave with their sobriety intact. The cover band is complete shit, & the dance floor is a tangled mess of drunken bodies, but no one seems to mind. Skitz is the place for all those looking to hook up, & is also home of the beginning to everyone's embarrassing drunken stories, including a few too many of my own. The only downside to Skitz on Wednesday's is that it's sometimes too crowded.

Swindler's
A ridiculously bad bar that you should not frequent, even drunkards know better than to do that. The music is horrible, & there are no redeeming qualities.

Tribeca
Popular with the underage crowd, Tribeca is jam packed with 16 year olds every weekend. This is due in most part to their lax ID policy. However the club does have one redeeming quality & that is Thursday nite, Lady's nite at this club it has an open bar until 3AM, free entrance for women, & 180 Dollar entrance for men.

Typhoon
The yuppie paradise of Wan Chai, Typhoon has one of the better locations, & layouts, however the crowd is only interesting on Wednesday's & Friday's. The bar has an open air feel, & a small but happening dance floor, it's a good option when you're in Wan Chai. One of the benefit's of the bar is that you can take your drinks outside & hang out on the sidewalk.

'xperience
A niteclub/bar/restaurant, 'xperience isn't exactly the coolest of places, or the most fun. Their food however is rather good, namely their pizzas.