bc magazine

Bar Leone Named World’s Best Bar…

At an event in Hong Kong, sponsored by the Hong Kong Tourist Board, “The World’s 50 Best Bars” this week announced Hong Kong’s Bar Leone as the World’s Best Bar in 2025.

Bar Leone is certainly a good bar – sadly now to be drowned in people wanting to say they’ve ‘drunk in the World’s Best Bar’! – but is it the World’s Best? Sadly, The World’s 50 Best Bars website doesn’t list any criteria to support the award.

What constitutes ‘best’ is apparently left to the judgment of 800 “drinks experts”. Each voter casts eight votes based on their best bar experiences of the previous 18 months, with a maximum of five bars in their own country. The list is the result of a simple vote count – no totals are released. No breakdown of where the ‘experts’ are from or how many are based in each country/region.

So congratulations to Bar Leone and the other bars on the list, but take the list with a large pinch of salt and get out and explore different bars to find those you enjoy.

Bar Leone
11-15 Bridges Street
Central
Hong Kong
Open: Tuesday-Sunday 17:00-late
No Reservations

images: The World’s 50 Best Bars

Bangladesh 3-4 Hong Kong

Raphaël Merkies completed his hat-trick in the 11th minute of added time to give Hong Kong all three points with a 4-3 victory over Bangladesh in the AFC Asian Cup qualification game in Dhaka.

Bangladesh v Hong Kong – AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers
Date: 8pm, 9 October, 2025
Venue: Bangladesh National Stadium, Dhaka

images: HKFA

80 Years Ago Today, Japan Surrenders in Hong Kong

16th September, 1945

RIP to all the HongKongers that died – Never Forgotten!

And there are not words enough to thank the troops – those who lived as well as those who died – who freed Hong Kong from Japanese occupation.

image: national archives

T10 Wipha in Mongkok

Normally, typhoons announce themselves in Hong Kong with heavy rain… Wipha arrived, almost exactly as the HK Observatory Storm Track predicted, but with barely a splash of liquid sunshine.

And even after the T10 signal was hoisted, Mongkok was breezy but dry until late afternoon when the walls of rain arrived and I retreated indoors for warm, tasty lai cha (HK-style milk tea).

Gotta keep my hair tidy even in a typhoon

Chapeau to all the restaurant and MTR staff who stayed open to feed and transport workers and tourists alike, offering shelter from the elements.

Ryan Choi Chun-yin Wins Foil Gold

Ryan Choi Chun-yin won the foil gold medal at the Asian Fencing Championships in Bali, dominating China’s Mo Ziwei 15-6 in the men’s final.

The 27-year-old entered the tournament in fine form, and went undefeated in pool play before beating China’s Xu Jie in the semifinals and teammate Lawrence Ng Lok-wang in the quarterfinals.

Kaylin Hsieh Sin-yan Wins Epee Bronze
World No. 7 Kaylin Hsieh Sin-yan won bronze falling 15-11 to China’s Yang Jingwen in the semifinals.

Hong Kong 1-0 India

A 93-minute Stefan Pereira penalty saw the red tide, which had engulfed the new Kai Tak Stadium, erupt in joyous celebration as Hong Kong beat India 1-0 in an AFC Asian Cup qualification game.

A record crowd of over 42,000 packed the stadium, creating an atmosphere quite unlike any previous Hong Kong football international. To celebrate the first football game in the new stadium, the HK Football Association arranged the city’s first-ever massive Tifo – the massive banner, covering three sections, screams “Hong Kong Team Kick Ass”.

Fan representative Chester, who helped coordinate the surprise, revealed on a radio program today that the Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA) masterminded the project.

“I cried multiple times last night,” Chester admitted. “First, when we raised the Tifo, then again during the players’ entrance video – something we’ve only seen in Premier League or J.League matches before.”

“You could really feel how much preparation went into making Kai Tak feel like home,” Chester added, describing the experience as “goosebump-inducing.”

Hong Kong v India – AFC Asian Cup
Date: 8pm, 10 June, 2025
Venue: Kai Tak Stadium
Tickets: $200, $80

images: HKFA

Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races 2025

Under blue skies and bright sunshine, Victoria Harbour provided a stunning backdrop for the 2025 Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races. Fans packed the shoreline to watch local and international teams compete to be the best of the best.

Click on any photo to see more images

Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races Results

Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races
Date: 31 May 0-8 June, 2025
Venue: Central Harbourfront
Tickets: Free

images: HK Tourism Board

Hong Kong Pride!

The fly on the wall in the offices of the Hong Kong Tourist Board and the Chief Executive might be excused for pissing itself while listening to the discussions about the latest Hong Kong prommotional image…

All those tourists coming to Hong Kong looking for big balls and lots of action… finding none and leaving empty, longing and unfulfilled… Hong Kong’s strong ‘tourist satisfaction’ rating will become limp in the eyes of the world. With not even Jia Jia and De De able to raise some excitement.