Savory Home-Coming cocktail I Photo by Tatum Ancheta
Getting to know a city through taste is a great and immersive travel experience, and for imbibers, Hong Kong has a lot of bars that offer locally inspired drinks, from its ingredients, concept, and menu presentation.
To explore Hong Kong through drinks, bars like Kinsman in Central, and DarkSide in Kowloon have been serving cocktails that tells the history of the city, now if you want to experience the city through different times of the day, Stanley Street’s hidden upstairs bar, Twenty Fifth Hour (25:00), just launched a new Hong Kong-inspired menu spotlighting the concept of time that the bar is known for.
Watch the video below for a preview of the cocktail menu:
Twenty Fifth Hour has been in Central for five years, located just above Hong Kong’s time-honored Lu Yu Teahouse, which dates back to the 1930s and is popular for its yum cha and nostalgic dishes. The bar is helmed by beverage director Kenzo Lee, known for incorporating culinary touches into his drinks.
Aside from their seasonal cocktail menus, this is the first time they have changed their main cocktail offering since they opened in Hong Kong. The cocktail program reflects different times of the day, capturing how Hong Kong transforms from sunrise to midnight. Enjoy everything from a tea-infused morning cocktail to a rich late-night drink, all while celebrating the city’s heritage with local ingredients and reimagined classic flavors.
The new menu, titled “A Day in Hong Kong,” presents 15 cocktails divided into four time-themed sections, inspired by local food and drink. The menu features ingredients spotlighting local brands like Two Moons Distillery, Magnolia Lab, Ho Wong Brewing, and Pat Chun, among others. Each section presents different drink styles, beginning with light, low-abv, tea-inspired citrus drinks representing the morning, followed by medium alcohol content, with lively citrus and effervescent fruity notes for the afternoon. The evening is represented by more complex, spirit-forward drinks, and the collection concludes with a rounded nightcap with liqueur-based, savory, and dessert-inspired cocktails to mark the 25th hour of the day.
Guests can start with the fizzy, milkwashed Opening Chapter ($158), made with gin, jasmine tea, grapefruit, muscat grape, green apple, lemon, peach bitters, and grapefruit bitters. It’s floral, fruity, easy to drink, and an instant crowd-pleaser.
Moving on to the noon chapter, try the fizzy savory Viva ($178), a milkwashed blend of Flying Fairy Moutai and reposado tequila, strawberry, lime, topped with grapefruit soda and served in a glass with soy sauce salt rim. One thing you can’t miss in this section is the savory piña colada, Sun-Kissed ($138). This one is for meat eaters, as it’s made with cured meat fat-washed rum combined with melon, roasted pineapple cordial, coconut, and a saline solution, served with crispy pork jerky. Its salinic tropical notes will transport you to the beach with every sip.
Those who enjoy bolder flavors should try the New York sour twist, Dark Moon ($158), made with bourbon, mezcal, pickle young ginger vinegar, ginger cordial, and topped with Syrah, served with a slice of century egg. It tastes like a Penicillin and pairs perfectly with the century egg’s creamy, savory, and earthy flavors.
For the last chapter, a must-try is Home-Coming ($138). Think typhoon shelter crab—this is the counterpart drink, a clean twist on the Bloody Mary. It’s spicy and savory, made with lobster oil-fatwashed vodka, tomato water, garlic salt, and umami bitters. This drink is definitely something you want to order at the end of the night, as it’s rich, complex, and an umami bomb. It pairs well with 25:00’s complimentary homemade soup, served on Fridays and weekends as a warming treat for guests.
Twenty Fifth Hour (25:00) is located at 13/F, Luk Yu Building, 24-26 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong. Opens from Monday to Wednesday, 6pm to 1am, and Thursday to Saturday, 6pm to 2am. Connect with them on Whatsapp +852 5546 8540 for reservations and follow them on Instagram via @xxv.hr.
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