By Arthur Tam
Need of a stiff drink to take the edge off your workweek? Just come to Quarry Bay! Taikoo Place is collaborating with Diageo World Class to create Cheers@Taikoo Place, the one-and-only cocktail pop-up bar serving food and tailor-made cocktails on Tong Chong Street from 12 to 15 June.
The four-day pop-up event offers delectable dishes and artfully mixed cocktails prepared by some of the biggest names on Hong Kong’s food and drink scene. The festivities run from 12pm-2pm and 4pm-10pm each day.
In conjunction with the event, six of our city’s finest bartenders – Samuel Kwok from Quinary, Ana Souza from Pontiac, Lok Cheung from Angel’s Share, Alexander Ko from The Woods, Nokoy Mak from Topiary and Valerio Politano from SKYE at Park Lane Hotel – are going to battle it out to see who will compete in Diageo World Class Global Final in Mexico City, where the winner earns the title World’s Best Bartender of the Year. There's a lot of excitement that you won't want to miss. Here’s the programme:
Monday, 12 June
Mr and Mrs Fox will serve Texan-style brisket sliders at the pop-up event, with Bulleit Bourbon to go wash them down. Once you’re happy and full, watch the top six bartenders face-off in a speed challenge requiring them to make a round of classic cocktails in under 10 minutes. The best three will move on to the final challenge on 15 June.
Tuesday, 13 June
It’s Taco Tuesday! Hong Kong’s go-to modern Mexican restaurant Brickhouse brings its tacos from Central to Taikoo Place. It will be serving beef cheek tacos and other Mexican bites at the pop-up, along with cocktails made with Don Julio tequila. This will escalate quickly, so tread lightly.
Wednesday, 14 June
Vicky Cheng of Michelin-starred restaurant VEA is known for his creative cocktail pairings and conceptual dishes blending Eastern and Western flavours. On this day, he’ll give Hong Kong street food an elevated twist at the pop-up event and pair his dishes with an exclusive Johnnie Walker Blender’s Batch from former World Class winner Antonio Lai of Angel’s Share.
Thursday, 15 June
After a week of build up, Cheers@Taikoo Place will culminate in a showdown among the remaining three bartenders. Each of the contestants will, at their own pop-up bar, serve their signature drinks to the audience and a panel of esteemed judges, including influential bartender and former Tanqueray gins global ambassador Angus Winchester; Diageo Global single malt ambassador Donald Colville; Nolet Distillery ambassador Dennis Tamse; celebrity chef Jowett Yu of Ho Lee Fook; and last year’s Hong Kong champion of the World Class bartender competition James Barker of 208 Duecento Otto. Come enjoy the exclusive cocktails by the best three bartenders!
Exclusive Cocktail Workshop
Lunchtime cocktail workshops will be hosted by Diageo Reserve Brand Ambassador and local master mixologist Cherry Lam on Tong Chong Street from 12 to 14 June. 36 winners of the Taikoo Social App lucky draw will get hands on experience mixing different ingredients and concocting their own cocktail.