Why Hong Kong speakeasy PDT (Please Don’t Tell) is worth talking about
PDT (Please Don’t Tell) bar located inside the Landmark Mandarin Oriental offers a great mix of classics from the original branch and new creations made especially for locals
One of city’s worst-kept secrets is PDT (Please Don’t Tell) Hong Kong, a modern speakeasy that is everything you’d imagine – and more.
The bar, which opened in January 2018 after a wildly successful pop-up stint at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental two years before, has been a hit with the local crowd.
The decor is dreamy with a touch of eccentricity that PDT is known for (taxidermy, anyone?), the food is on point – everyone recommends the hot dogs and the Takoyaki Tots – and the drinks are always carefully crafted.
The highlight, for keen-eyed observers, is the little ways in which certain details of the original bar (which opened in 2007 in New York’s hip East Village) was brought over and thoughtfully mixed with local elements.
And if there’s one thing you need to know, PDT – which has been regularly voted among the world’s best bars – takes its commitment to drinks very seriously
One such detail is the entrance, cleverly hidden behind a vintage telephone booth. After all, half the reason for going to a speakeasy is to find out the “how” – as in, how do you actually enter the bar?
In New York, the entrance is through a telephone booth located in the hot dog restaurant next door. In the Hong Kong location, it is located on the mezzanine level, up a flight of stairs within the Landmark Mandarin Oriental’s MO Bar.
Yet clever entrances are only as good as a cheap gimmick if the drinks aren’t up to par.
And if there’s one thing you need to know, PDT – which has been regularly voted among the world’s best bars – takes its commitment to drinks very seriously.