Your Mediterranean summer holiday may still be a month or two away, but you can still enjoy a taste of Europe with an early evening bar-to-bar stroll around Wan Chai.
The focus of the area has changed considerably in recent years and a decent wine list is no longer a Wan Chai rarity.
The sun is over the yard-arm, so meet up with two or three friends, take the MTR to Admiralty and then follow the subway system to the Star Street exit. You are only a two-minute walk from a little piece of Italy recreated in the unlikely location of Queen's Road East.
This branch of the delicatessen chain Il Bel Paese has a ground floor devoted mostly to food imported from Italy, and a wine storage and tasting room on an upper level.
Most people enjoy their purchases at home, but if you want to soak up some of the shop's Italian atmosphere you can open a bottle upstairs for a modest mark up of 10 per cent to 20 per cent on the retail price, depending on the wine.
Why not buy a few olives and perhaps some slices of San Daniele ham to accompany a light refreshing Italian white? Villa Antinori Bianco at HK$132 per bottle should fit the bill nicely, and if there aren't enough of you to finish the bottle you can always drink the rest at home later.
Your next stop, depending on your pace, is a five- to 10-minute walk away, also on Queen's Road East. Newly opened on the fifth floor of QRE Plaza is Alberto's Bar and Grill, the successor to Ship Street's Tasca, which closed recently. The bar is part of the Nino's Cozinha Group, which also operates a restaurant on the sixth floor, and is noteworthy for its excellent list of Portuguese wines. Exit the lift, and you might think you are stepping into a bar in Lisbon or Porto. Sit inside or, for those who prefer to drink al fresco, the terrace has fans to keep you cool.
