After a mind and wallet numbing two months of pedantic bureaucrats, Zinc (G/F, 35 D’Aguilar Street, 2868 3448) has finally received its liquor licence and opened its doors. Am I biased? Of course. Ahdy, part-owner and general manager, is a long-time friend and has been responsible for many of my worst hangovers – preceded, of course, by some great nights out. And it’s good to see him with his own place. The modern minimalist interior is a mixture of Egyptian and Thai, simple and classy with a long bar running down the left side. A large bell dominates the rear end – sadly you won’t get much of a ding-dong from this bell, missing, as it is, its clapper. Check out the Zinc dancers and their Vegas style dance routines. Happy hour is 5-10pm daily, while ladies night is on Wednesday when there’s free cosmo-zincs and funky male dancers 9pm till 1am.

Sai Kung stalwart Steamers (2792 6991) closed down recently, their landlord taking a large chunk of change from 7-11 and Starbucks for the old site. But fear not, Les and the crew are back with a “bigger and better” Steamers just around the corner on Yi Chun Street, opposite Poets (55 Yi Chun Street, 2791 7993) and The Boozer (57 Yi Chun Street, 2792 9311). The new location offers a large non-smoking indoor section and an equally large outdoor patio for smokers and diners. Landlord Les says look out for some exciting new promotions and drop by in early March for the Grand Re-Opening party.

Devils Advocate (48-50 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, 2865 7271) will be showing live sports, including the final two rounds of the Six Nations (March 8-9 and 15) plus the first Formula 1 Grand Prix of the season live from Melbourne, Australia, at 12:30pm on March 16. Devil’s 2-4-Tuesday promotion continues: buy one main course get one free, and house spirits are 2-4-1 or make it a double.

Not a regular frequenter of what HK Islanders refer to as “the dark side” known to the real world as Kowloon (and contrary to the urban legend you don’t need to bring your passport)? Then it is definitely worth heading out to Hung Hom to catch Zingaro, the horse extravaganza that is part of the HK Arts Festival. After your bite of culture, stop in at All Night Long (9 Knutsford Terrace, 2367 9487) which is offering some great live music, from their stable of house bands, to go with your beverage from 10pm till late. During March, Carlsberg is $22/bottle until 9pm.

Drop by the Hard Rock Cafe (G/F, Silvercord, 30 Canton Road, 2375 1323) and get a copy of SERVE2 ($95) a new charity compilation CD with the proceeds going to Artists Against Hunger & Poverty.