Tap into the best little pub in Mong Kok

COCONUT’S CRITIC’S TABLE – When you think of microbrews, craft beers and interesting pub menus, Mong Kok is probably not the first Hong Kong neighbourhood that comes to mind. Yet one of the city’s best new watering holes has opened on a nondescript side street. 

The Michelin sign on Hak Po Street, near Wylie Road, is not to denote any gastronomic honours among its street-level proprietors. The cartoon tyre man is there for one of the area’s long-standing car repair garages only. 
 


Exterior

But Hak Po is fast becoming gentrified by youngster-filled dessert shops, artsy cafes and quaint diners and restaurants. 

Among them is Tap, a homey neighbourhood pub focused less on frills and decor and more on its carefully curated selection of ales and brews. There’s also a nice sandwich and snack menu that punches far above its weight class. 

The bar has a very industrial look and still boasts traces of its former existence as a cavernous mechanic’s shop. A new coat of blue poster paint keeps the space masculine but not brutishly macho. Out front, an old oak barrel and a reclaimed oil drum become makeshift tables for smokers and al fresco types.  
 

The Cheers-like ambience is made even more welcoming by the interesting and eclectic selection of mostly Hong Kong-brewed beers, in bottles and, of course, on tap. Tap also claims to have invested in the city’s “most advanced beer dispensing system”, to store and pour your pint to perfection. 

We tried a one-off special ale from the Young Master brewery called Ashes of Time (HKD65 for 400ml), which was as woodsy and full-bodied as the name suggests. 
 


Ashes of Time

For something sweeter and cider-like, there was a peach and pumpkin infused ale called Fussy Peachkin Man, while there were other fascinating Hong Kong brewed items – like Rye On Wood and 1842 Island – and imports like Blood Orange Gose by Anderson Valley that will no doubt tempt us back for a return visit. 

Even if you’re a teetotaller, Tap’s inspired bar grub holds its own against any pub in Hong Kong, let alone Mong Kok. It’s still mainly finger food and sandwiches, but there’s a real effort to explore local flavours in unconventional ways. It also helps greatly that they use really excellent bread. 

A mix and match of three topping spreads (HKD58) came on the house speciality beer bread, a sourdough baked with fermented malted barley. 
 


Mix and match bread and spreads 

The apricot butter, melted brie with local honey, brought us a touch of refined France. The Pintxo de Antxoa – an anchovy-type fish (boquerones) with vinegar on a bed of romesco paste and green olive relish – took us straight to the Mediterranean, while the scoop of Lap Cheong Schmear returned us to Hong Kong via a marvellous pâté of duck liver blended with sweet cured Chinese sausage. 

The Crispy Cajun Chicken Wings (HKD58) arrived with a Fermented Tofu Ranch dip, which raised eyebrows and nostrils alike. The chicken was tender and juicy but not as spicy as the Cajun name would suggest, but the fermented tofu (fu yu) which replaced the standard blue cheese, delivered the same contrasting punch. 
 


Crispy Cajun Chicken Wings 

Personally, I think good chicken wings like these should render sauce unnecessary. If only they served some celery sticks too to give us more reason to appreciate the fermented tofu as a dip.

The only disappointment in terms of the snacks was the Pork Belly Nachos with Kimchi Sour Cream (HKD58). The pork was thin and soggy and the kimchi sour cream just tasted like a Sriracha sauce with thousand island dressing. 
 


Pork Belly Nachos with Kimchi Sour Cream

Simple goodness ruled the sandwiches. The Toasted Gai (HKD42 for half, HKD74 for whole) – gai is Cantonese for chicken – is a take on American-style chicken and waffles. Two pieces of deboned and very crispy fried chicken were accompanied with thick sourdough French toast, a big hunk of Kaya butter, likely made with sweet condensed milk, and malted barley syrup. The dish went straight to my heart, in every meaning that phrase conjures.
 

The Toasted Gai 

The Jiu Yim Po Boy (HKD42 for half, HKD74 for whole) put four thickly battered shrimps on a baguette loaded with slaw and a squeeze of sambal mayo. The sandwich was piled so high the shrimps keep falling off, but the bigger crime was that there wasn’t quite enough peppery salt (jiu yim) to make an impact on the prawns. 
 


 Jiu Yim Po Boy

More satisfying was the Thanksgiving Yesterday (HKD45 for half, HKD78 for whole), with turkey breast that wasn’t too dry, a chicken liver stuffing that could be a sandwich on its own, and a cranberry marmalade to perfectly recreate the American holiday experience. 
 

Thanksgiving Yesterday

Local inspiration returned in the Siu Yuk Cubano (HKD45 for half, HKD78 for whole), a pressed Ciabatta with a Hoi Sin mustard, cheddar, Chinese pickles and Hong Kong-style roast pork (siu yuk). It was comforting and brilliant. 
 

Siu Yuk Cubano

During our happy feast, the soundtrack alternated between classic Cantopop and Britpop hits from Oasis. It’s an apt metaphor for Tap’s clientele too, a mix of smartphone-addicted local kids and Westerners gulping down ales, both appreciating something special in an unlikely part of town. 

It’s quickly becoming one of my favourite places too. 

Tap: The Ale Project, 15 Hak Po Street, Mong Kok, (+852) 2468-2010.
 
 


Got a tip? Send it to us at hongkong@coconuts.co.




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