EVERY SATURDAY EVENING a queue of night owls wraps around a high-rise building in a quiet Wan Chai neighbourhood. All of them are good-looking, slick and silent. Sharp-eyed door staff keep the chatter to a minimum and an Earth God shrine glowers menacingly in the background as people are gradually let into an upstairs bar. Five decades ago the Buddha of Star Street would have cast its knowing eye over bomb shelters; 10 years ago it would have seen old-style printing houses and an area teeming with small industries. Now it sees an exclusive crowd of diners and drinkers who want a hip alternative to the streets of Lan Kwai Fong and SoHo. It's been two years since Elite Concepts' twin restaurants Cinecitta and Kokage, and the New York-esque bar One-fifth started to lure punters into the celestial-named streets at the tip of Wan Chai. A recent string of bar and restaurant openings suggests the area may be turning into Hong Kong's next place to be seen. No-one seems to know why Star Street and the adjacent Moon Street and Sun Street have been given such heavenly names. Just above Queen's Road East, under the hill at the Admiralty end of Wan Chai, they branch out like an ancient Chinese celestial map. When I suggest to Jason Wordie - the Hong Kong historian who recently published Streets Of Hong Kong - that perhaps there is a magical riddle to the naming of the streets (surely they must lie on an ancient energy hot spot in tune with the circling heavens?) he scoffs and calls me something along the lines of an idealistic idiot - then admits he hasn't got a clue how the names came about. He does, however, know the Earth God shrine 'has been there for well over a century. It's an interesting continuity within apparent change,' he muses. The sense of old and modern Hong Kong at such close quarters is what makes this area so fascinating. Stroll down Sun and Moon Streets during the day, to the right of Star Street, and you will find tiny printing shops and garages lining the streets. The recently opened Red Dog Art Space on Sun Street lies next door to an old-fashioned printing house in a leafy terrace that overlooks Queen's Road East. Set up initially as a photography studio, it has evolved over seven years to become a thriving community of fashion designers, stylists, photographers, models and artists. With successful commercial careers, they decided to give back to the community earlier this year, by opening a non-profit, 800-sq-ft art space next door to their studio. Recent exhibitions have included a celebrity auction that raised funds for the Hong Kong Blind Union and the recent mixed-media exhibition Moving Violations - which was eagerly received by the city's art critics. 'We just thought why don't we do something to promote more local artists,' explains Ricky Wong, an art director and producer at Red Dog. 'The crowds we get for our opening parties come from all walks of life. It's good to get together to communicate - you need to have a place for people to express themselves.' Near Red Dog is Panthian, an intriguing looking shopfront with ceiling-high bookshelves full of old books and ethnic Chinese artefacts inside. This eclectic and cheerful place is the hobby of television and film producer Michael Wong. As he shoots regularly on the mainland he decided to exhibit the pieces he picks up along the way, turning the front half of his Sun Street headquarters into a public space - and naming it after the ancient warriors who roamed the deserts of the Silk Road. The people who run the next door Solstice, a visually striking restaurant that shimmers behind glass doors, are thrilled about the street's lack of traffic - and its alfresco dining potential. 'People like my food and they like their privacy,' says head chef Gary Cheuk. 'We've been looking in this area for three years.' Moon Street houses a stretch of warehouses for Japanese food suppliers. Rumour has it the owner may open a Japanese restaurant in the near future, not surprising in this rapidly gentrifying pocket. Take a left out of Moon Street and enter St Francis Yard - a quiet street which houses an authentic dai pai dong (street cafe) with tables set out on the pavement. The owner, Man Chan-keung, welcomes the idea of developing the area. 'I wouldn't mind at all if it got more lively,' he says. 'I'm very happy here, I think it's a special part of Hong Kong.' St Francis Street branches down to Queen's Road East - and the Wan Chai we all know so well. It is dotted with eccentric hangouts - the two-year-old Little Prince restaurant which features live acoustic jazz on Saturday nights, a European bakery and a string of cool design shops. Swire Properties, responsible for the Starcrest development in Star Street, is building another office block development and while Cheuk eagerly anticipates it could make the area 'the second SoHo' others are against the idea. 'It's not like SoHo, it's not about bars,' says Wong. 'This is a local community. There is a pub around the corner where local bands have been playing for years, there are dai pai dongs that you hardly see any more on Hong Kong Island.' Paul Hsu, executive director of Elite Concepts and the man behind the Star Street establishments, agrees. 'We're nothing like SoHo,' he says. 'I think Star Street is neighbourhood dining. It's upscale, but it's not like the city dining of Lan Kwai Fong or SoHo.' Where to find them Red Dog Art Space: open daily 10am-3pm. 4 Sun Street. Tel: 2865 3999 Panthian Co Limited: opening hours vary. G/F New Sun House, 7 Sun Street. Tel: 2890 6067 Solstice: open daily noon-2.30pm, 6.30pm-10.30pm. G/F, 8-9 Sun Street. Tel: 2866 3089 Cinecitta: open daily noon-3pm, Sun-Thu 6pm-midnight, Fri-Sat 6pm-1am. Starcrest. Tel: 2529 0199 One-fifth: open Mon-Sat, 6pm-late. Happy Hour 6-9pm. Starcrest, 9 Star Street. Tel: 2520 2515 Kokage: open Mon-Fri noon-3pm, Mon-Sat 6pm-11.30pm. Starcrest. Tel: 2529 6138 Little Prince: open daily noon-10pm. 4-6 St Francis Street. Tel: 2528 5828
