Trendy escorts hit Lan Kwai Fong

IN MOST Lan Kwai Fong clubs, $26 just about buys you a drink, but in a controversial newcomer to Trendy Street that sum earns you five minutes in the company of a ''public relations'' girl.

Sandwiched by McDonald's and the Yelts Inn Bar on D'Aguilar Street, the 38 Central Entertainment Club is an exclusive basement-level karaoke lounge where a room costs $500, young women are available for duets and laughs, and their time comes at a ''hostess rate'' even though they are not regarded as hostesses.

Manager Isabella Cheung insisted: ''We do have public relations staff to serve the customers but they do not go out of the club. There is no escort service.'' The arrival of the club - ironically in the same premises that once housed Lan Kwai Fong's first dance club, Disco Disco - has prompted mixed reactions from its neighbours.

''Lan Kwai Fong's first girlie bar,'' said one veteran of the scene, who preferred to remain anonymous. ''I guess it had to happen sooner or later.'' A staff member of one of Lan Kwai Fong's newer bars agreed, saying: ''There are so many different types of entertainment here that we will just have to see if karaoke lounges are right for the area.'' Richard Feldman, chairman of the Lan Kwai Fong Association, said: ''It's a free market - that's the reality of Hong Kong. If people are running legal businesses they should be free to do so.

''We have a very high profile and we also have a very good relationship with the police so no 'seedy' element will be able to seep in.'' Ms Cheung said the club was owned by a Vicky Lee who had been running similar ''entertainment services'' for a decade.

''She is bringing a new concept to this area. There are a lot of office workers who might not want to go to a pub to have a drink after work. What they want to do is sit down with their friends and sing before they go home.''