{"id":71091,"date":"2026-07-23T21:03:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T13:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=71091"},"modified":"2026-07-23T21:03:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T13:03:21","slug":"hong-kongs-continually-evolving-japanese-bar-scene-with-a-twist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=71091","title":{"rendered":"Hong Kong\u2019s continually evolving Japanese bar scene, with a twist"},"content":{"rendered":"


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You don\u2019t have to visit Tokyo to sample a Ginza-style cocktail bar<\/span>. Ever since Ichiro Hiidome opened BAR Executive Bar in Causeway Bay nearly 20 years ago, these most particular of drinking establishments have held a quiet sway in Hong Kong. Bar Butler (2011), Mizunara: The Library (2014) and Bar De Luxe<\/span> (2016) all followed, bringing a shokunin<\/em> (artisan) mindset to the city\u2019s bartending industry, and they have all helped Hongkongers develop a taste for Japanese cocktail culture\u2019s quiet precision and ritual.<\/div>\n

But what, exactly, defines a \u201cJapanese bar\u201d in a city that isn\u2019t Japan? Is it the hushed reverence, the exacting technique, the spirit-forward recipes, or something more intangible? The last 10 years have seen numerous popular bars come and go. Yet Hong Kong\u2019s Japanese bars have not only endured but evolved with a cadre of new concepts like Madara, Gokan, Bar Tincture and Bar Sepia swelling their ranks, and a redefinition of what the label even means.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are more Japanese bars now because before, there weren\u2019t many who trained in the style properly,\u201d says Ivin Hui, head bartender at Bar De Luxe. \u201cUnless you know Japanese, it\u2019s very difficult to apprentice. These days, there are more who make that effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ivin Hui of Bar De Luxe. Photos: Handout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Bar De Luxe\u2019s origins are the most authentically Ginza of any Hong Kong bar. The establishment was founded in partnership with industry legend Hidetsugu Ueno of Bar High Five, a Ginza icon. All full-time hires at Bar De Luxe are required to go to Japan to train with Ueno-san personally \u2013 a factor that helped establish the venue\u2019s credibility.<\/p>\n

Yet even the most traditional establishments are not immune to change. Bar De Luxe\u2019s original format was more solemn and reverential. After moving from Asia-Pacific Centre to H Code in 2021, the new setting fostered a more convivial atmosphere.<\/p>\n

According to operations manager Joiz Wong, it was necessary for Bar De Luxe to \u201cshift from a \u2018pure\u2019 Japanese style which some feel is rigid, reserved and very serious\u201d.<\/p>\n

Roy Chung, co-owner and director of Bar Anima<\/span>, does not even consider his recently relaunched venue a Japanese-style bar, despite his 10 years\u2019 experience at Bar Butler. \u201cI don\u2019t think the label, \u2018Japanese bar\u2019, is important,\u201d he says. \u201cI just happened to have worked at Butler and learned a lot that I now take into operating Anima. In fact, our hospitality compared to Japanese bars is quite different \u2013 it\u2019s much more local.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Bar Anima\u2019s cocktails look further back into Japanese history for inspiration. Photo: Handout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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