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Moonshine & The Po Boys (CLOSED)

  • Bars and pubs
  • Wan Chai
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Recommended
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Time Out says

3 out of 5 stars

We just love Sun Street. Tucked away on the edge of a terrace overlooking a canopy of trees along Queen’s Road East, it’s a quaint area, exuding an ethereal charm few areas can boast of in Hong Kong.

Here to cast a different kind of magic is Moonshine & The Po’Boys. The Cajun- and Creole-themed bar and restaurant comes bedecked with mason jar light fixtures, alligator head and Mardi Gras throws strewn about the interiors, all seeking to provide a seedy kind of Southern gothic charm.

Still in soft opening, there are only five cocktails on offer with another eight classics you can just order off-menu at the bar. We select the rosemary blossom ($120), which is a concoction of gin, rosemary syrup, milk and grenadine. Garnished with a sprig of rosemary, the fresh fragrance of the herb overwhelms the olfactory senses, though the flowery flavours are smoothed out by the milk upon first sip. Next comes a smoky bacon old fashioned ($120), which is all about the presentation. Served in a fancy skull-shaped bottle, coffee beans are torched on the spot to infuse the bourbon with smoke, which is funneled into the skull and creates an eerie voodoo effect when the stopper is removed for decanting. Theatrics aside, while the cocktail is pleasant, we fail to discern any bacon flavours at all. Given the name, it’s a little disappointing.

Peckish, we try an eponymous garlic shrimp po’boy ($118) to soak up the alcohol. The bread is toasty and crisp, the slaw tangy, but the shrimp is missing certain dimension that comes with the careful layering of marinades and spices to add complexity to the flavours. We’d love the flavour to be ramped up a notch, so some tweaks need to be made in the recipe.

Not everything shines at this Sun Street joint, but its quaint Southern charm actually fits with the atmosphere and ambience of the area, and it makes a solid addition to neighbourhood. Naomi Locke

Details

Address:
4 Sun Street
Wan Chai
Hong Kong
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