Former diplomat turns Shouson Hill warrens into a unique cellar
A collection of dilapidated second world war bunkers 60 feet below ground on Shouson Hill might not seem a prime location for an upmarket private dining club and wine cellar.
And a less determined man than Gregory De'eb might have wilted when faced with the red tape and 22 government departments necessary to get the project approved. It was 2001 and the then acting consul-general of South Africa had reason to persevere.
First, having been the youngest and longest-serving acting consul-general in Hong Kong, he felt he had reached the glass ceiling of his diplomatic career in post-apartheid South Africa. He passionately wanted to stay in Hong Kong and make it home for himself and his wife, the renowned doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, Cecilia Xiu Ying The. But if he bowed out of diplomatic life in his mid-30s, he would need a new career.
A number of events came together to seal his fate. First, Donald Tsang returned from trips to Australia and South Africa in 1999 and early 2000 fired with enthusiasm to make Hong Kong the wine trading and distribution centre of Asia. But there were no proper wine storage facilities here.
At the same time, the government was under pressure to restore the city's few remaining historic sites but felt it couldn't allocate funds to this right after the Asian financial crisis. It was decided to marry the two together, by getting private-sector investors to restore old wartime bunkers that could be used for wine cellars.