Trance DJ Taking Control

Ferry Corsten, the legendary trance DJ, is spinning in Hyde on Saturday, May 5, and although the show is sold out – we’ve got the last tickets left in Hong Kong. We’re giving them away which is a little disappointing because we were hoping to shift them outside like a proper East London tout. A certain black market seems to have sprung up for this weekend's music, mostly to see that heinous tramp Lady Gaga. We're just thankful they're keeping her away from us in the Expo.

HK Wine Co. Launch Party in Landmark Men

A new online wine retailer, Signature French Wines, launches tonight (May 3) in the Landmark Men with the help of Thomas Pink, Tassels and Gentlemen’s Tonic. It’s basically a male bonanza with new wines, shoe shines (thanks very much), shaves and music on the agenda. It bears all the hallmarks of a Thursday night that starts refined but ends sloppy. You go out for a couple and wake up as one half of the newest couple in Hong Kong.

Hip Hop Legend Coming to Town

Grandmaster Flash, one of the great pioneers of hip-hop, will be playing in Hyde on Saturday, April 21. Advance tickets cost HK$250 or its HK$350 on the door, but either way it's an absolute bargain to see the first artist ever inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame (in 2007). He looks terrifyingly cool and we'll wager that you'll never have seen more baseball caps in one room before.

Gentlemen’s Club’s Returns - Bigger & Better

The Gentlemen's Club returns to Shore on Saturday, April 14 with all the treats that made the first edition an epic occasion as well as a couple of other extras. NecesCity is co-hosting the event for the second time, which is a perfect storm of entertainment because it makes no excuses about being just for men. We interact with women largely to reproduce and pay homage to the family paradigm but when it comes to social time, we like to be with other men. And the Gentlemen's Club is just the tonic.

HK's First True Sake Bar

According to founder Ayuchi Momose, Sake Bar Ginn is the first genuine bar in Hong Kong devoted entirely to sake. Although it doesn’t have the most charming interior, if you like your fermented rice wine, it’s the place to fill your tiny ceramic cup. And then keep re-filling the tiny little bugger. Why do they make them so small? We know it’s to regulate temperature, but they could make them a little larger.

Spiciest Vodka in the World

Naga Chilli Vodka has just been crowned the spiciest vodka in the world, measuring 100,000 on the Scoville scale, the official measurement of heat. To put that in perspective, Tabasco offers 2,500-5,000 Scovilles, while the volcanic vodka delivers the same spiciness as a Habanero chilli. If you’re a guy who prides yourself on the curry you can handle – ordering your Vindaloo loudly enough for everyone to hear – this is the spirit for you.

Irish Band Performing in April

The Cranberries are a great band, a proper band - none of this X-Factor cover of a classic rubbish - and they'll be performing in Hong Kong on April 8. Three guesses for where they're playing? Actually it's not the Expo as you might expect but the HKCEC in Wan Chai which is infinitely more appealing. A 15 minute journey is all Hong Kongers can handle before it's officially called an expedition under the auspices of the Royal Geographic Society.

New Bar App Launched in HK

OpenBar, a play on OpenRice and the phrase ‘open bar’, is a new app that tells you where to drink in Hong Kong. It’s a useful tool because we’re forever wondering where to go next on a Friday night. We find ourselves on the street in large groups taking 20 minutes to decide on an appropriate watering hole. It’s even more stressful than picking a film with three girls.

When and where did humans start drinking alcohol? Who made the first Martini and how much beer does the world drink over a weekend? A quick history on booze.

Cool Bar with Cigar Basement Opens in SoHo

L’étage is a new bar on Staunton Street which is heavy on design, has a compelling drinks list and a cigar lounge downstairs. It’s an interesting addition to SoHo, tweaking rather than revolutionising where you can drink in the little strip of Hong Kong. It’s an area of the city where you bump into all and sundry, a game of chance that normally ends badly. Stumbling into your boss at 2.30am is not the natural order of things.

Epic Duo Playing on Sat

Plump DJs are playing in Macau this Saturday and that's reason enough to wheel out your favourite fluoro t-shirt. We’re not entirely sure why some people are so much better at twiddling buttons than others (DJing) but Plump DJs are household names in stale, dirty living rooms the world over.

If you haven’t got organised already, we’ve got a line up of the five best New Year’s Eve parties in Hong Kong.

Festive Party with Prizes in CWB

mamoz, the lofty bar in Causeway Bay, is holding a Christmas party on December 24 with plenty of treats in store. As we approach the festive season, office parties take their toll, our work ethic evaporates, our bellies extend and we generally live a life better associated with the courts of Henry VIII than the 21st century. Thankfully this party will be just as indulgent, but hopefully gout free.

Natural Patch Cures Morning After

Bytox could be the future of drinking. It’s a small patch you place on a hairless area of your body (such as your upper arm) which let’s you booze without the fear of a hangover. It works by replenishing the vital vitamins and nutrients you lose on the lash - and the potential's enormous. Can you imagine the billions it would save the global economy each year? A ready solution to Europe’s economic woes perhaps.

Cool Cuban Bar with Cigars in TST

We’ve discovered a Cuban bar in Tsim Sha Tsui, Cuba Castro’s, which sells cracking cocktails and cigars – the latter somewhat under the table. Well, not really under the table – the cigars sit in a humidor in the middle of the bar – but they’ll tell you to be discreet when you’re having a puff. How you can be discreet with a huge brown stick smoking out of your mouth is another matter but it’s their problem and we're the ones left smiling. And spluttering.

There’s plenty going on this weekend for Halloween, which for whatever reason, is the biggest night of the year in Hong Kong. As we grow up sweeties are replaced with booze, or in some cases sweet booze, and trick or treating gives way to liquor treating. Grown men dress up in strange clothes and get utterly bungallowed - there’s no doubting the world is a weird place.

Armani/Privé is the latest bar to open in Central, along with its sister restaurant, Armani/Aqua. They’re not places you’d visit regularly – not least because it would bankrupt a small country – but because they’re also too flash to visit once a week without feeling your life's a slick advert for a new perfume.

Karaoke’s a jolly part of life in Hong Kong but when we delved into this cultural institution we found whispers of Japanese shame, triads, celebrity mania and an ingrained aversion to Freud.

The extraordinary Galaxy Macau opened on May 15, comprising three hotels and a stellar casino - which is just as well really, because we love a good suite nearly as much as gambling. Of course you don’t want to be the muppet on the end of the blackjack table ruining the game for the seasoned pros sitting next to you - who make the seat about as attractive as bathing in stinky tofu - but that feeling when you hit big and have your first hug with your bundle of chips is unmatched.

Secretest Bars in Hidden Soho

Jaa Bar is a secret establishment hidden off Peel Street, and we mean genuinely hidden rather than the: ‘no one will notice - it’s the Watergate’, kind of seclusion. Its relative obscurity is also the key to its charm. There’s too much staring, assessing and posturing in Hong Kong but Jaa Bar is out of sight so there are no passers-by to examine. Not even the poor, little lady who hobbles around on her wooden splint.

Splash Party with Lil Jon Tomorrow in Macau

Macau’s Hard Rock Hotel will hold the second volume of its Splash pool party series tomorrow, featuring Lil Jon and recorded by MTV. Sadly everyone turns into a bit of a donut when there’s a camera around - and the stakes will be even higher because it’s MTV - so make sure you’re watching rather than performing and you’ll see plenty of people acting like complete tools.

New Underground Club Causing a Storm in Sheung Wan

XXX is a new underground nightclub-cum-art gallery that’s been making waves ever since it opened in Sheung Wan. It’s the opposite of what you’d expect from Hong Kong, a city saturated with black, shiny clubs filled with models whose heads touch the ceiling and men vying for their attention by comparing the sizes of their bottles.

Unique Party Planned at HUSH this Sat

HUSH is pairing up with Vivid Rhythms this Saturday to present a unique night they’ve called Eklectronic. The concept is to combine various artistic mediums from painting to percussion to provide a multi-sensory experience that could be as confusing as Inception but also sounds pretty cool. (Also like Inception). What's more, we’re always behind clubs trying new things.

Extraordinary Bacchanologist Cocktail Session in Mandarin Oriental

Mark Jenner, an award-winning Bacchanologist from London, will be in the Mandarin Oriental this Saturday to show you how to make some extraordinary cocktails. What is a Bacchanologist, you say? We didn’t have the faintest clue either but it sounds like someone trying to convince the world they're more important than they are. Amazingly, Google couldn't help but apparently a Bacchanologist is an advanced mixologist who not only creates drinks but is also dedicated to studying their preparation and history.

Norman Jay Playing in Drop Tomorrow

Norman Jay, the legendary British DJ, is to play the headlining Saturday session in Drop, bringing to Hong Kong a wealth of talent and experience as rare in these parts as civil disobedience. He’s a man who makes even the most fossilized of party-goers get up and test their new hip, grooving around to his musical madness. A man distinguished by the diversity of his influences - as colourful and numerous as Hong Kong public holidays - Jay was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002, a prestigious, honorary title.
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Belvedere BEAT Kick Off Party Tomorrow Night

We’re all partial to a splash of vodka. It’s just so rugged. Whether it's images of high-ranking, female Soviet Union tank drivers drinking it for breakfast, or gregarious Polish families plonking down a litre on the dinner table before the salt and pepper - it appeals. Even if vodka & cranberry juice is no longer on the menu thanks to The Departed.

Classy Champagne Bar Opens in Soho

Champagne really did well for itself. It sits at the top of the alcohol pile, the pinnacle of drinks, and it all comes down to one bloke in 1781, probably, who found out he wasn’t being posted to Kathmandu like he thought and said – screw the vino, get the bubbly – this calls for a celebration. It's caught on since then.

Cool Bar Serving Dim Sum Opens in CWB

mamoz is a very trendy little bar-cum-restaurant that has just opened in Causeway Bay. The new destination serves cocktails, dim sum and western snacks which calls for a celebration because there’s a dirth of places in CWB where you can have a decent flirtini.

Grand Opening of CUBIC in Macau

Macau’s a binary place where fortunes escalate wildly, making the difference in mood between the ferry ride over and the ferry ride back wonderfully stark. Men trudge onto the return boat to pass out angrily, wondering why on earth they went in the first place – and how much they would have preferred to have taken a holiday rather than spunked all their cash on blackjack.