The Black Bird rooftop bar makes up for Tai Po disappointment

The next five days will see this correspondent spending most of his time in a conference in central Hong Kong, so an opportunity was taken to explore an area outside the mainstream. I’d read a little about the area of Tai Po, which supposedly had a few bars worth visiting. Tai Po is in the exotically named “New Territories”, but is easily accessible so long as you are prepared to change trains a few times on the MTR. The only problem is that every single bar I found was closed. This included the Bobby London Inn, which is actually referenced on the web. Sunday trading in Tai Po perhaps? Luckily Tai Po has a pretty phenomenal wet market. The fish floor had so many varieties that I reckon not even illiards would know them all. Not a bust, but by the time I got back to Hong Kong Central I was thirsty.

Now I love a good rooftop bar and as I huffed and puffed up a steep laneway towards Lyndhurst Terrace I spotted a couple having a drink on open roof. There was no signage, but by trial and error I discovered on the 6th floor of 8 Lyndhurst Terrace the Black Bird. This is a very smart and swanky place. The bar is laden with weird and wonderful spirits and it is clear that this a serious cocktail place.

The open area can probably seat about sixty people and has looks up and down the steep lane that crosses Lyndhurst Terrace. A young couple were having their wedding photos taken down below. The other treat was that even though the Black Bird is first and foremost a cocktail bar – they had two pretty cool beers on tap. One was Speckled Hen and the other was from an up and comer on the HK beer scene – Young Master Ales.

Young Master Ales has emerged in the last year and is in it for the long haul. They’ve got a brewery with a cellar door and they are working hard to get their beers into the Hong Kong pub scene. They make a solid range and my first Young Master was their “Classic”. This is an American Pale Ale, which was sharp and zingy. Great start. Tap heads are magic as well. Looking forward to getting into more.