or: Is It Time To Find Somewhere New?

Things change pretty quickly in HK and I’m reminded of that each time I return. Not even the things we consider HK institutions stay the same…

Two institutions (that I’ve noticed so far) have been impacted – one is being refurbished and the other is permanently closed.

Stormies LKF is transforming itself into Vespers and Al’s Diner no longer exists.

These certainly weren’t the classiest establishments in the history of the world. They were definitely two of the more entertaining ones. They could almost guarantee a good time. Well, they could for me and the people I was with.

In HK, it is legal to drink in the street. No need to hide in a brown paper bag. You can drink with a glass in your hand or straight out of the bottle if that is your preference. On top of this, some streets are closed to traffic at certain times of the night. It’s as if the planets were aligning to turn Lan Kwai Fong (LKF) into an area where street parties would be legal. And that’s what they were.

Every Friday and Saturday night as well as public holidays and during HK Rugby Sevens (and some other times too), there was a street party in LKF.

Stormies and Al’s were located opposite each other. Both had a playlist heavy on the 80s tunes with a smattering of popular other music too. Video was beamed from the front and inside of Stormies. For Al’s, I never needed to go inside so I have no idea if they had video or not. I’m guessing they probably did. Depending which side of an invisibility line we were standing, a staff member from that particular bar would come onto the street to take the drink orders and money. This same line appeared to mark where the music of both blended to create a suboptimal auditory experience which is how it was easy for the bar staff to see who they were serving. We all moved based on what tune was playing at either.

This was where we would often begin a night out (after dinner of course) and depending on the atmosphere, we were likely to follow it with a short taxi ride to Wan Chai before probably ending the night at Dusk ‘till Dawn – hopefully still the best place in HK for cover bands.

Stormies has now been painted into the geometric shapes and colours of a court jester’s costume. Al’s has its shutters pulled down with a note online saying “permanently closed”.

Since I left a couple of years ago, other friends have also left, others have had children, some are now pregnant.

It feels like the end of an era.

Perhaps it’s a sign I’m meant to find another venue.

 

 

* Thanks to Paul Young for the title to this post.