Bar review: Tikitiki Bowling Bar Sai Kung brings Polynesia to the New Territories

The vibe: not your usual Sai Kung local. With a Polynesian tiki theme originally dreamed up in California, entering the bar, in an ugly high-rise car park, is a surreal experience. It is a vast, comfortable space with two main bar areas, a terrace and generous seating for bowlers. Money has been lavished on Tikitiki, and it was well spent. The rustic, beachcomber decor extends through the wooden floor to colourful distressed-wood furniture, dangling buoys and coconut lamps, vintage ship parts, and an old diving suit. Marbled glass lamps harmoniously tie the eclectic design package together. When the live band is not playing Latin music, the tunes are distinctly ’80s, with large video screens above the nine pins you’re focusing on. The vibe is chilled. Staff are laid-back and chatty, happy to share notes and exchange opinions on the cocktails they shake.

The drinks: if it’s not a bowling alley, it’s a cocktail bar. The tiny beer list hides near the back of the drinks menu, as if an afterthought, where you’ll find a bottle of San Miguel for HK$58 and a pint of Asahi for HK$72 – more SoHo than Sai Kung prices.

Cocktails are the draw and include four signatures, half a dozen “bubbles”, and classics. Appealing to partygoers, much of the menu has prices for glass and bottle, for wine, whiskies and rums, the largest category with listings from Antigua to Venezuela.