Hong Kong’s best karaoke spots to sing your heart out

Cosmos is Hong Kong’s first-ever karaoke lounge that combines the casual vibes of a cafe with full-on karaoke. KTV usually entails a night of loud music and even louder singing, but here, things work a little differently. Rather than staying inside a dark room (like most karaoke venues in Hong Kong), each room here has colourful interiors and plenty of natural light seeping through. They’ve also got a surprisingly good food menu for a karaoke place, with dishes like crispy chicken skin, mentaiko fried rice, Sichuan spicy skewers, as well as lunch sets. It’s just up to you to figure out how to sing with your mouth full.

The modern renditions on Filipino dishes at Dara may be a great way to pass an evening, but don’t get too distracted yet. A nondescript section of wall along the hallway to the bathrooms opens to reveal a spacious karaoke lounge which can easily fit a party of around 20. As you might expect from a Filipino karaoke spot, they use one of those old-school systems where you have to find the code for each song and manually input them into the machine, but here’s a pro tip: download ‘The Platinum karaoke’ app so you have the entire songbook digitally and can search by title or artist instead of flipping through a huge tome. Thank us later!

Unlike other karaoke venues around town, Junels Restobar’s karaoke system is set up in their dining room. While the thought of singing in front of a room full of strangers can be daunting, the atmosphere of this Filipino restaurant couldn’t be any further from that. Their microphones are open for anyone who’s in the mood to sing a tune, and everyone else is encouraged to sing along, which makes the karaoke experience at Junels enjoyable and friendly.

Red Mr is one of the biggest players in town. Depending on what you’re after, you can either opt for a traditional karaoke experience or get a room replete with beer pong, dart board, Xbox, and a host of other goodies that serve as ample distraction. Red Mr’s rooms can typically accommodate any number and as many as 30 people. The prices vary depending on when you visit, so be sure to call ahead and check.

Tucked away in the same building as Bing Bing, Singsing can be considered its younger but more sophisticated sibling. As the name suggests, this is very much a singing-focused venue, with the vibes of an upscale karaoke lounge. Visitors can line up their song choices on Singsing’s huge electronic tablet before heading up to the two-seater podium with a dedicated karaoke setup. They also host singing competitions where the best singers can stand to win bottles, so keep an eye on their socials.

Head to Wan Chai to find Club String, a member’s only karaoke club that’s been running since 2005. If you’ve got a specific song in mind that you want to belt out, Club String allows patrons to select songs from their phone. In addition to their state-of-the-art karaoke system, Club Strings also provides guests with entertainment like billiards, darts, live acoustic performances every Tuesday night, as well as full-band Fridays.

One significant advantage Neway has over its rivals is its exclusive licensing contract with some of the biggest record labels in the region. That means they almost always have official videos and backing tracks for the latest Korean, Taiwanese, and Cantopop tunes. Prices differ depending on your choice of branch and what time you visit.

This popular gay bar (supposedly a bear haven, though from what we hear, that’s an exaggerated reputation) is another great spot for some convivial public karaoke. It’s also one of the more reasonably priced bars around, so you can sit back and enjoy a drink without emptying your bank account. Once you’ve built up sufficient liquid courage, you can try out Boo Bar’s state-of-the-art karaoke system, which has a diverse selection of tunes for you to choose from.