Triads, mafiosi and Norwegians … life was never dull at Joe Bananas

The bar-room brawls alone made Joe Bananas stand out from the crowd - sure, the odd triad was involved, but also old-school Italian mafia, Chelsea Football Club and - in a way - the Norwegian government.

On May 21, 1986, Joe Bananas was born when Scottish business partners Andy Neilson, now 65, and Laura McAllister, now 60, took their Mad Dogs franchise on Wyndham Street, Central, to Wan Chai.

McAllister, now based in the States, says the name Joe Bananas was dreamed up in a brain-storming session over a bottle of red wine. "We wanted a name that was fun," she adds.

However, the name led to a run-in with a relative of mafia don Joseph Bonanno, whose picture decorated the premises. The result was a hole punched in the wall by one of the photographs.

Then there was the animal welfare stunt to save the whale that triggered a diplomatic incident. A banner designed by Neilson reading "Save a whale, harpoon a Norwegian" caused a row with Oslo and a protest from the Norwegian consul.

Arsenal soccer star Ray Parlour, then 22, ended up apologising to the people of Hong Kong after being fined for drunkenly punching a 65-year-old taxi driver after a Wan Chai pub crawl.