Keep dancing: Let the good times roll

Top: Hong Kong is still very much the party city. Above: Alan Zeman, the "founder of Lan Kwai Fong", is so positive about Hong Kong's future, he's taken up citizenship. Photos Provided to China Daily

The year is 1980. At the Furama Hotel in Central, the ballroom is buzzing with English and American expats dressed to the nines. When the inevitable discussion rose about where to head for a nightcap, the options were limited to the nearby Hong Kong Hilton on Garden Road or the Peninsula across the harbor.

Fast forward to 2011. On any given night, the tiny square south of Central known as Lan Kwai Fong is packed with people ranging from office workers to tourists looking for a fun time. Further up the hill in Soho, or south of Hollywood Road, couples walk hand in hand as they bar hop from pub to sake bar.

Hong Kong 14 years after the handover still knows how to party, and harder than ever.

The scene has become a lot more international in flavor and arguably rivals Tokyo, New York and London, and most of it is due to the entrepreneurial spirit of two men.

Allan Zeman, acknowledged as the "father of Lan Kwai Fong", is a German-born Canadian who grew up in Montreal. He has lived in Hong Kong for more 30 years and feels so patriotic towards his adopted home that he took Chinese citizenship.

He came to Hong Kong in the late 1970s and quickly saw the opportunities.

"I was entertaining a lot of clients from overseas, and there just wasn't much choice," Zeman laments. "It was either Chinese restaurants, which scared some of my visitors with whole fish or chicken heads, or it was Western restaurants in hotels. So I picked a space in Lan Kwai Fong, which everyone at the time thought wouldn't work because they said nobody would walk up the hill from Queen's Road. I chose California as a theme because it was cosmopolitan - quality, but with a fun attitude. It was an instant hit." The year was 1983.

Meanwhile, Gilbert Yeung was in Toronto, hanging out at pool halls when he wasn't at school. The eldest son of Emperor Entertainment Group media mogul Albert Yeung instinctively knew the best places filled with beautiful people for a great time.

Upon his return to Hong Kong in 1991, he worked as a stockbroker until the crash of 1997. Then, while having a haircut in 1998, he had a Eureka moment. His stylist was planning to open a new salon and Yeung convinced him to let him arrange the launch party.

"My best friend Gordon Lam proposed we set up a company with the name 'G Spot', as both of our names start with the letter 'G'," recalls Yeung. "In 2001, we came across the venue of dragon-i and we thought it's just perfect for our club plus restaurant concept.

"Tasmania Ballroom was a Toronto nightclub we went to enjoy the music, play pool and check out pretty girls. I always wanted a similar place in Hong Kong." That led to the Tom Dixon-designed Tazmania Ballroom.

Though Yeung concedes that the years following the handover were tough, he believed in his hometown's buoyancy.

"Some said Shanghai would take over to become Asia's hottest city," he scoffs. "However, I strongly believed Hong Kong people could prevail. It is still one of the best cities I have ever been to."

"I wasn't worried for a moment about the handover," says Zeman. "I've been working with China since I first came to Hong Kong, so I knew there would be massive opportunities opening up to give Hong Kong the edge.

"The market was originally driven by expats who craved what they missed from home. But today it's a complete mix, with locals and visitors combining their tastes to create all new concepts."

Yeung agrees. "The nightlife in Hong Kong has changed so much. I used to go to Tokyo, Bangkok and Singapore for parties but I rarely go anymore."

"Customers in Hong Kong appreciate different experiences and are always looking for the latest new thing," says Zeman. That craving for the next great time means that serious partying in Hong Kong has only just begun.