Hong Kong's newest tiki bar has just opened in Central. Honi Honi Tiki Cocktail Lounge is on the third floor of an office building - hardly an obvious location, but according to the owner and chief mixologist Max Traverse, "a tiki bar should be hidden. You should have to find it."
Honi Honi is worth seeking out. Now that we are getting into autumn, its terrace should be a popular spot after work.
Tiki bars - cocktail lounges with a slightly kitschy Polynesian theme - began with a Hollywood bar and restaurant called Don the Beachcomber in the 1930s.
Traverse's inspirations for the look and ambience of Honi Honi were the original Trader Vic's, founded in Oakland, California, in 1936, and the Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, opened in 1945.
Traverse, formerly of the Hoxton Pony in London and Le Boudoir in Wyndham Street, also likes his American whiskeys. Another of Honi Honi's signature drinks is the Devil's Tiki Man, made with Michter's Rye, a high-priced small-batch spirit. Woodfords Reserve Bourbon, he says, would also be suitable.
The fresh ginger and Jerry Thomas' Own Decanter Bitters from the Bitter Truth range both add touches of spice to the cocktail.
