As a lead-up to the highly anticipated Asia’s 50 Best Bars announcement, every bar worth their margarita salt in town has upped the ante in promotional activation and a sprucing-up of the menu to showcase the best of their wares. We expect a double whammy of headlines in the making, so it’s a great time to hit all the top drinking spots in town as every cocktail hour seems like happy hour. Every top button polished, every crystal glass gleaming, every champagne flute spruced, it’s a generous pour everywhere to quench your every thirst.
Strong in the reckoning is Island Shangri-La’s Lobster Bar. Old school charms meet a new manager; the affable Enrico Gonzato (who managed to get fresh roses for all the ladies who had come in for a visit) can be seen standing tall beside all-star mixologists from around the region for a creative pop-up at the Island Shangri-La’s signature bar. Colour us intrigued as we hopped along to meet some of the best talents in the industry, namely Shingo Gokan from The SG Club in Tokyo (who represented from 13 to 15 July), Gina Barbachano who showcases the best of drinks from Hanky Panky (16 to 17 July), and Volkan Ibil from The Back Room at Shangri-La The Fort in Manila (19 to 20 July).
The guest mixologists have carefully crafted and brought to the high table four of their signature cocktails that garnered them fame and accolades from epicurean editors who deemed them worthy contenders among the best in the world.
In a classic case of who won what where, when, and why, find out for yourself as all the talents have poured their hearts into martini glasses, available for guests in Hong Kong this month. A superlative entry among the printed menus, as a special tribute to the hotel, each headliner has thrown into the mix a unique cocktail to inspire guests to “find their personal Shangri-La.”
Stepping up to the plate, as the expression goes, Enrico Gonzato brings his savvy Italian sips to the table with five exclusive cocktails—Adonis, Garibaldi, Highball, Martini, and Rubber Duck Negroni. As a first drink, we tried Gonzato’s Martini. What makes it special is that “Shangri-La Gin mingles with the elegance of Mancino Secco and the allure of pickled grape, all brought together by the essence of Essentia Mercato Coperto,” as the menu reads.
Surrender to the whimsy of the Rubber Duck Negroni, said one of the cohorts in attendance, and so we did to the “concoction that combines Rinomato Bitter Scuro, Mancino Rosso Amaranto, and a hint of banana, enveloped in the intoxicating aroma of Essentia Jasmine,” reads the increasingly incoherent ingredient list on the menu.
For a star sighting, we were bowled over by the presence of visiting Japanese guest mixologist Shingo Gokan from The SG Club in Tokyo, which ranked 21st in Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2022. A heady concoction slid to our side: Martini Over Rice, filled with Roku, Mancino, and other ingredients that are but a blur. It went down easy as we asked Gokan if the pressure is on to maintain status quo (or better) when these annual “best of” lists are churned out.
“After a while, it really doesn’t matter too much where we stand in the listicle as whether we go up or down; the quality of the ingredients, the service, the locale doesn’t really change,” he says rather matter-of-factly. “But new entries make the list, so there’s some of the old shuffle in and out of places. But does that mean we work any less hard? Do we decrease the quality? No. Our standards remain high all the time. And our customers keep coming back.”
Indeed, Shingo’s SG Group features eight cocktail bars and restaurants in China and Japan, which have garnered an impressive collection of 42 cumulative awards. His tailored drinks served at the Island Shangri-La include the Kagoshima Geisha, Martini Over Rice, Speak Low (a non-alcoholic gem for teetotallers), Vino de Lequio, and Lobster Mary (tailored exclusively for Lobster Bar). Each pour was second to none, bar none (pun intended).
Due to limitations of the hour, we didn’t have the chance to meet or try Gina Barbachano’s signature cocktail, Latino Americano, or the intriguing Lion Milk prepared by Volkan Ibil, or sample the infinite pleasure of Sweet Liberty, but there’s always next time. Well, until the end of the week, that is.
The limited-time cocktail menus created by these jet-setting mixology masters will be available during their scheduled staging time at Lobster Bar. Watch this space as Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2023 is announced on 17 July.
Lobster Bar at Island Shangri-La
13–20 July 2023
6/F, Island Shangri-La Hong Kong, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Tel.: (+852) 2820 8560
All images courtesy of Sinclair and Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong.
