It seems particularly appropriate for a restaurant without a liquor licence to be called Moonshine 1928. But that is where the tenuous link between this new Wan Chai club/restaurant and the romance of the American prohibition era ends.
Not for a minute is it possible to imagine, unless you close your eyes and ears, that you are in bootleg territory. And the rustle of 7-Eleven bags as patrons bring their own is not the answer to the discrepancy between expectation and reality.
So what is this place? The short answer is: another Wan Chai hangout, a lot better and certainly no worse than the hundreds that have come and gone before it.
Both the inside and outside still look new and shiny, with plenty of wood and brass trimmings, a giant lamp-post, and three incongruous but useful television screens. How long it will be before Wan Chai claims the venue as one of its slightly tatty own remains to be seen.
Whatever criticism that can be levelled against Moonshine 1928 is tempered by the fact that any place that offers a fairly credible set meal for less than $100 should be commended for its efforts.
They also have some of the friendliest service in Wan Chai. And there is no service charge, which is an added bonus.
While the focus at this time may be on food, Moonshine 1928 is meant to be primarily a bar with live music, a destiny it will grow into when the Hong Kong liquor licensing authorities break out their rubber stamps.