Unchanged melody
LEOPARD-PRINT CUSHIONS. Straw-encased chianti bottles. Vargas-inspired pin-ups of shapely girls in tight sweaters. Posters and album covers of everyone from Barry Manilow and Olivia Newton-John to Paul Anka and Whitney Houston. While the 1950s might bring to mind images of poodle skirts, gas-guzzling cars and a time when 'girls were girls and men were men', this is The Fifties, Hong Kong-style.
Most of the hipsters who hang out in Lan Kwai Fong would never notice this dark restaurant, unless they stumble upon it by mistake on their way to one of the more fashionable establishments in the California Entertainment Building. But while other restaurants have come and gone, The Fifties has remained a constant presence for almost 16 years.
Managing director Holind Leung, a former piano teacher who started the restaurant with freelance interior designer Paul Sim, describes its look as 'rustic European antique store'. But there are also nods to Asia and America's Wild West: photos of 50s Chinese movie stars; an old lantern and rifle that look like they came straight out of a John Wayne movie. 'The name came about because we were both born in the 50s,' Leung says of her collaboration with Sim. 'We love old things, old songs and movie stars, antiques and music.'
The menu is as eclectic as the decor, offering Western dishes such as roast rack of lamb ($82) and charcoal-grilled American short ribs ($72), and 'Oriental Flavour' favourites such as tum yum kung ($42), fried rice with salted fish and chicken ($62), and Hainan chicken rice ($72).
The restaurant has a small dance floor for clientele who get down and boogie to tunes played by Magic Touch, the resident band for the past seven years. 'They play mostly old music - the Platters, Frank Sinatra, Connie Francis,' Leung says. 'The customers come here because they like the old music and they like to dance the cha-cha, rock'n' roll, the waltz. This place is different from other places in Lan Kwai Fong.'
Leung gestures to the walls which display the autographs of Hong Kong celebrities who have graced the premises, including singers Jacky Cheung Hok-yau and Leon Lai Ming. But the Western celebrities featured didn't visit the restaurant, which doesn't seem to be on the 'must-see' list for tourists.
'People come here to relax and feel free,' says Leung. 'They come to have fun, not just to get drunk.' The venue still attracts enough customers to warrant a per-person minimum expenditure after 9.30pm of $128 on weekdays and $158 on weekends. 'This is an original,' says Leung. 'I can't think of another place like it.'
The Fifties, 3/F California Entertainment Building, 34-36 D'Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, tel: 2523 0238
