This little barfly has tired wings from flapping its way round all the new bars opening in the city, not to mention all the revamped establishments with name-changes. Food, fun and cheap drinks galore – who ever said summer’s the quiet time in Hong Kong? In fact, I think I’ve gotta get myself to a bar to wind down – perhaps I’ll try the mysterious new place in Central, or maybe I can just stay home and mix a nice gravy cocktail…

If the Aussies know how to do anything, it’s eat and drink, so the Australian-style bar Lotus (37 – 43 Pottinger Street, Central, 2543 6290) should be well qualified to present a satisfactory new food and cocktail pairing menu. At dinner on the remaining Tuesdays in August you can take advantage of a special five-course menu, with five accompanying cocktails. Modern Asian cuisine meets inventive beverages every step of the way through this tempting meal – but be prepared to dig deep: the special menu is set at $550 a person.

Sticking to the Australian theme: the country’s iconic marsupial has a grown a third leg. In addition to being a mainstay of Wanchai and TST, the Kangaroo Bar (Lvl 2, The Winner Bldg, 37 D’Aguilar St Tel: 2138 8578) has now found its way to Lan Kwai Fong. You can find this Aussie palace where happy hour runs from 4-8pm above Agave on D’Aguilar St .

If you’re looking for somewhere a little more chilled, up the way and around the corner you can find Barco (42 Staunton St, SoHo, 2857 4478), which boasts a 4pm – 8pm daily happy hour with two-for-one everythings – cocktails, prime liquers, you name it. And every second Thursday they hold a backgammon tournament with prize-money and drinks for winners. Give ‘em a shout in advance if you’re interested in competing. The next one is on August 24.

The cosy little Gecko lounge and wine bar (LG/F Ezra Lane, Lwr Hollywood Rd, SoHo, 2537 4680) imports a special French wine every month. This month they’ve brought in RinQuinQuin – a lovely white wine infused with peaches, peach tree leaves and sugar. The drink can be enjoyed straight up, chilled and even with ice cubes if preferred.

Over at The Globe (39 Hollywood Rd, SoHo, 2543 1941), you can bag yourself some of Tasmania’s finest James Boag beers, which will be going at happy hour prices all night – that’s $32 a bottle. It’s the same for Belgian beer Duvel, for which you can fork out $75 and get a 750ml bottle in return. The deals continue to mid-September. If a spot of Grolsch is more your thing, then you can head round the corner to The Spot Bar (G/F, 11 Staunton St, SoHo, 2973 6886), where you can find the Dutch beer for $33.

If that’s not enough for you, you could always mosey on over to Klong (G/F, 54 – 62 Lockhart Rd, 2217 8330), where every night seems to offer a new special. On Wednesdays, ladies get free Absolut vodka drinks, while on Fridays, giant 48oz margaritas will be going for $150 (usually $280), and you can pick up six tequila shots for the same price. And for the Saturday night revellers, Klong’s Flaming Thai cocktails will be sold at happy hour prices all night.

True happiness is to be found at Bliss (1 Elgin St, SoHo, 2147 2122), where for $200 you can drink as much as you like on Magic Mondays, or enjoy all-night happy hour prices on all standard drinks on Tuesdays. If you’re keen to make it a mid-weeker, you might wanna try the Wednesday and Thursday cocktail nights, where cocktails, Moët and Chandon Champagne and wine will be at happy hour prices all night long. It’s all part of the bar’s sizzling summer drink special, which runs until the end of September.

Still in the area, the old Loft 9 is no more. Rising in its place is the brand new Mink bar (19 Hollywood Rd), a new destination for Hong Kong’s chic and elite, featuring international DJs, a relaxing lounge feel and etched mirrors. Their mixologist will also be bringing a fresh list of martinis, including the Peppered Mink Martini – a blend of pepper infused vodka, seared pineapple, caramel liquer and lemon. That’ll do me.

On the first floor of a dusty apartment building on D’Aguilar Street there’s a suave new bar that’s unsigned, unadvertised, unknown, and – officially at least – unopened. We’re not going to tell you where exactly, or what it’s called, because that would spoil the mystery, but we can report that it is decked out almost entirely in red suede and velvet, is very comfortable, and it’s a most agreeable place to spend an evening drinking vodka.

Brecht’s Circle (123 Leighton Rd, CWB, 2576 4785) is one of the esteemed hosts of the International Beer Fiesta, which runs until the end of the month. You can be in to win a trip to Thailand if you go to the bar and correctly guess the number of plastic pellets in the Hoegaarden inflatable question mark. Plus, there’s a special promotion just for you lucky bc magazine readers: spend $100 and you’ll get a free shot of the bar’s special Absolut Garlic Vodka, worth $40. But you gotta say the supersecret password: “I’m so BC! Hit me quick!”
Deep down in the bowels of Hell – or rather, Lockhart Road – the Devils Advocate (48 – 50 Lockhart Rd, 2865 7271) is up to more sinful shenanigans, with another party to tempt you the way of Lucifer. Polish your horns and head along to the Aloha Summer Party on August 26 from 4pm onwards to take advantage of the Hawaiian cocktail bar and lucky draw prizes – but you have to be dressed according to theme, Island Cool and Hawaiian Honeys, to be in to win.

Meanwhile, if you’re looking for some wholesome fun in Wanchai, you could check out the “best” quiz in Hong Kong at Chinatown (78 – 82 Jaffe Rd, 2861 3588), or slide on over to the Lobby Lounge at the Novotel Century (238 Jaffe Road, 2598 8888 ext. 6332), where you can treat yourself to two-for-one standard drinks from 5 – 8pm, Monday to Friday. The Lobby Lounge also serves up complimentary snacks with the purchase of drink. Not far away, a bar called the Bull and the Bear is sprouting up at the site of the old Pepperoni’s on Fenwick Road, and the new Bar 109 (109 Lockhart Rd, next to Agave) is now in business, so get along and check it out.

As of August 18, the bar formerly known as Venue (G/F, 15 – 19 Luard Rd, Wanchai, 3105 8990) will transform into Bar Amazonia. The evening will start with an invites-only opening from 6pm – 9pm, with an all-night party to follow. And there’s yet another new Wanchai bar: Swindlers will be moving in beside Big Ernies Diner at the site of the old Sultan bar-restaurant on Lockhart Road.

And don’t forget: the English Premiership season starts on August 19, so you might want to start thinking about where you’ll be heading to watch the matches. But keep an eye out for those CASBAA agents – you know, they’re the ones who like to prosecute bars for screening sports events broadcast by companies other than Cable TV and Now. Curious how they have only targeted western owned bars. Wow, that must mean there’s not one bar in Hong Kong that caters for Cantonese speaking customers that doesn’t have a dodgy decoder - maybe CASBAA could teach M$ and the RIAA a trick or two. We would like to have given you CASBAA’s opinion on the subject - especially as their own website advocates an open skies approach - but they declined to answer our questions.
Leaving the bars for a moment, the upcoming Fat Boy Tens Charity Rugby Auction on August 26 is going to be bigger and better than ever. Check it out for a fun day of drinking and a chance to get your mits on some sporting memorabilia. Find out more from www.potbellies.org.

And finally this week, an adventurous new cocktail from New York. Ladies and gentleman, may I present to you the gravytini – made with 2 oz of vodka, a dash of dry vermouth and 1 oz of gravy. Combine in a shaker with cracked ice, strain into a martini glass, garnish with leftover turkey, and voila: you have get nourished and drunk at the same time. Meatastic!