China Club is a private members club owned by Sir David Tang housed over three floors in the former Bank of China Building (the new Bank of China Building towers sleek and angular across the road - you can’t miss it, look for the glossy black building with criss-crossing white lights). Although you usually have to be or know a member to get a reservation, most hotels should be able to get you a booking with enough notice and Black Amex Card holders can get Amex to book for them. The grey, brightly-lit street level entrance appears unimpressive but ride the Old Master Q cartoon lined lift up to the thirteenth floor and prepare to be wowed.
As the lift doors open you’re greeted by a lobby crammed with striking modern art, dark wooden floors and a wrought iron Art Deco staircase curving upwards to your left. The extensive Chinese art collection deserves a mention in its own right, and alone justifies a visit to the China Club. From Yu Youhan’s diptych of Whitney Houston next to Chairman Mao hanging on the stairs to Liu Jianhua’s porcelain fish bowl in the lobby - home to five pairs of protruding, disembodied legs as well as several live goldfish who casually swim around the scattered limbs. The restaurant is designed to resemble a decadent 1930s Shanghai club and everything from the ceiling fans to the lamps conjure a bygone colonial era.
Start with aperitifs up on the 14th floor in the Long March Bar, a glamorous slice of art deco opulence. After you gin & tonic, head back past the shoe-shiners and an enormous pair of wooden shoes to the main dining room. Slip into one of the red leather and dark wood booths and get your chopsticks at the ready for the Cantonese feast to follow. Be sure to order the Peking duck, I think it’s the best in Hong Kong. While you eat, if the people watching doesn't keep you entertained enough (Victoria Beckham visited on her recent trip to Hong Kong), prepare to be wowed by the chef who spins ribbons of noodles right in front of your table and the waiter with the watering-can-like teapots who serves your tea with a side of drama. After dinner, decamp upstairs to the elegant terrace for nightcaps under the stars overlooking the city lights.

12/F, The Old Bank of China Building, Bank Street, Central, Hong Kong Island.
+(852) 2521 8888
Google map: bit.ly/IQcv85

* Natalie is our local for Hong Kong. You can read all about her here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/hong-kong-local-natalie-robinson.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/NatalieRobinson
She also has her own blog at: www.3badmice.com/

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Gambling is a national obsession in China. In Hong Kong it’s illegal to gamble unless it’s through the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Unsurprisingly then, Hong Kong’s largest single tax payer, largest private charity donor and largest employer is the Hong Kong Jockey Club. If you want to see Hong Kong doing something it passionately loves, head to Happy Valley Race Course on a Wednesday night between September and June.
The race course in itself is pretty impressive. The floodlit loop of sweeping green track is dramatically set against the backdrop of encircling, towering apartment blocks glittering against the night sky. For a bargain HK$10 entrance fee (about 80p) you get access to the public stands and public betting hall. If you’re a tourist and you present your passport, you can pay an extra HK$100 (about £8) to get entry to the Members’ Enclosure but for atmosphere and value for money, I don’t think the public stands can be beaten. Tourists and expats tend to gather by the beer tent next to the race course, for a glimpse of the locals at play and a superb birds-eye view of the action head further up the stands. Races run approximately every thirty minutes from 7:30pm. Get there early, grab a good spot by the railings and study the form ready to place your bets before the first race. If all else fails, my failsafe tip is to choose the horse with the best name.

www.happyvalleyracecourse.com/
2 Sports Rd., Happy Valley, Hong Kong Island
+(852) 2895 1523 or +(852) 2966 8111
Google map: bit.ly/JwXuJP

* Natalie is our local for Hong Kong. You can read all about her here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/hong-kong-local-natalie-robinson.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/NatalieRobinson
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New York has the Statue of Liberty and Central Park; London has Big Ben and Trafalgar Square; Paris has the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe; and Hong Kong has Victoria Harbour. Lots of my tips so far seem to feature the harbour in one way or another but that’s because it’s pretty spectacular.
Whenever I have visitors in town I always kick-off with some harbour view drinks on the Island side (mainly because I'm lazy and live on the island but also because I usually then do a set of light show drinks from the Kowloon side - see my Light Show tip). Whatever the time of day, it’s a great introduction to the city.
For the luxe drinks with a view option, head to Sevva in the Princes Building in Central. I've never eaten at Sevva but all reports seem to be along similar lines, disappointing and overpriced. I suggest sticking to liquid refreshments, sinking into one of the white-cushioned, comfy rattan sofas on the fabulous wrap-around terrace and imbibing while marvelling at the views across the harbour to Kowloon and back across the city on the island side. Service is erratic and the drinks are pricey, but with views like these, it's worth it.

For all the views without the hefty drinks bill, I have the perfect insider's tip for a budget option. Red Bar on the rooftop of the IFC mall is located on a big terrace facing onto spectacular harbour views. But here's the great bit - the rooftop is officially classed as public space, so although Red Bar has furnished the terrace, you're perfectly entitled to nab one of the tables even if you're not ordering drinks from the bar. I suggest popping into CitySuper, an international supermarket on level one of IFC mall, grabbing a bottle of wine and some nibbles from the delicatessen counter and then heading on up the escalators to bag your prime harbour view spot while smugly saving yourself enough cash to treat yourself to a smart dinner. My only caveat is that you need to grab paper cups while you're in the supermarket too, Red Bar are not particularly fond of people bringing their own wine and then asking to borrow glasses!

Sevva
www.sevva.hk/
6-14A Chater Road, Hong Kong Island.
+(852) 2537 1388
Google map: bit.ly/J5DV93

Red Bar IFC
www.pure-red.com/en/hongkong/index.php
4/f, IFC Mall, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong Island.
+(852) 8129 8882
Google map: bit.ly/J5E5gN

* Natalie is our local for Hong Kong. You can read all about her here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/hong-kong-local-natalie-robinson.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/NatalieRobinson
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Each night at 8pm, 40 of Hong Kong’s harbor-front buildings stage the light show. Its official name is the Symphony of Lights and if you believe all the hype you’ll be expecting a magical spectacle beyond anything you’ve ever seen, something crossed between the Aurora Borealis and the Disney World fireworks.
Let’s reset those expectations as a starting point.
Lots of buildings flash and shoot lasers into the sky on both sides of the harbour, if you stand in certain locations (the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront between the Avenue of Stars and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre; the promenade outside the Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai every Monday, Wednesday and Friday night) there’s accompanying music. There’s no real spectacle, there are no fireworks and Cinderella’s Castle doesn’t feature. It is however yet another excellent skyline photo opportunity and, in my opinion, a very good accompaniment to a gin & tonic.
The guidebooks will tell you to head to Felix bar to watch the show. Designed by Philippe Starck and located on the top floor of the Peninsula Hotel, Felix is a nice spot for a cocktail but it’s not an ideal light show vantage point as rather bafflingly, the bar’s windows are obscured by venetian blinds. Instead, I’d suggest heading to the Lounge Lobby bar of the Intercontinental Hotel which affords panoramic views of the harbour through huge waterside windows. The cocktail waiters mix a mean martini, which come complete with a miniature cocktail shaker full of top-ups. A couple of pre-8pm martinis and perhaps the Symphony of Lights will take on a more Northern Lights air after all …

Felix
www.peninsula.com/Hong_Kong/en/Dining/Felix/default.aspx
The Peninsula Hotel, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.
+(852) 2920 2888
Google map: bit.ly/ICR9fm

Lobby Lounge
www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/overview/hongkong
Intercontinental Hotel, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.
+(852) 27211211
Google map: bit.ly/IjfKnC

* Natalie is our local for Hong Kong. You can read all about her here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/hong-kong-local-natalie-robinson.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/NatalieRobinson
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For arguably Hong Kong’s best cocktails in a bar so cool and under the radar that a lot of Hong Kong locals don’t know about it yet, head to 001. That’s if you can track it down. Hidden away in the Graham Street wet market, this Speakeasy is accessed via an anonymous black door sandwiched between a fruit stall and a stall selling paper lanterns. Bustling by day, at night the market takes on an eerie, ghost town nature. Gingerly pick your way around stray tomatoes squashed underfoot by the day’s shoppers and through puddles from where the pavements have been hosed down of fish guts after a day’s trading and turn down Graham Street a side alley off the main market road. Come to a stop outside the unmarked doorway, keep your fingers crossed that you’ve picked the right door and ring the spotlight-illuminated doorbell. At this point I should warn you that a prior booking is essential, I’ve seen a couple who decided to drop in for a spontaneous drink turned away by the bar staff on the basis that the bar was full, on entering the bar this very clearly wasn’t the case. This may sound petty, but as long as you’ve had the foresight to book, giving your name and whizzing straight past the floundering people being turned away is all part of the fun. Once you’ve made it in, you’re greeted with a moodily lit bar full of shadowy nooks which hint at secret liaisons and misbehaviour. Low jazz hums below the burble of the bar's patrons' conversations and waiters glide around proffering silver trays of cocktails and bowls of nuts. The Earl Grey Martinis are legendary and deservedly so. The Elderflower Caipirinha and the Strawberry Blonde come a close second but be warned, the Pear Side Car is deadly. A few cocktails down, order the grilled cheese sandwich and a plate of fries, a deliciously naughty midnight feast. For an elegant evening of liquor and languid lounging, 001 can't be beaten.

LG/F Shop G1 Welley Building 97 Wellington Street, Hong Kong Island.
+852 2810 6969
Google map: bit.ly/KmS1lo

* Natalie is our local for Hong Kong. You can read her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/hong-kong-local-natalie-robinson.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/NatalieRobinson
She also has her own blog at: www.3badmice.com/

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The views are amazing. It's on the 118th floor of the Ritz Carlton and although the prices for a glass of wine are London prices, you can nurse a glass all evening and enjoy spectacular views of Victoria Harbour as the sun goes down.

www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/HongKong/Dining/ozone/Default.htm
International Commerce Centre, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong
+(852) 2263 2263
Google map: bit.ly/nPeS5I

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Music, color, laser lights and all for free. wayfarersall.net/2010/07/13/the-symphony-of-lights-victoria-harbor/

8 p.m. every night
Best place to watch: Victoria Harbor, Kowloon

Google map: tinyurl.com/3yc2n8p

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A great soho bar in Hong Kong that is just enough off of the beaten path of the escalator and hollywood road, but not too far away that you can't get to Lan Kwai Fong in five minutes.

The staff friendly, the nights funky, the drinks cheap, and the atmosphere a little different than most of the surrounding bars/restaurants.

13 Old Bailey Street, Soho, Hong Kong.
www.vodkabar.com.hk

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