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TAP had the best beer selection of the places I visited during my most recent visit to Hong Kong. They are serious about local as well as international beers and had a great showing for most types of beer, everywhere from stouts to sours to IPAs. I dug the chill atmosphere with attentive people working here. The descriptions on the menus were helpful, and they were nice about letting me taste two beers before choosing one. Unfortunately I did not eat, but all the food coming out of the kitchen looked awesome. Oh, and there's a mega large A/C running here, so if you're looking for a "cool" spot with good beer, you've got to swing by.
Coming from San Diego, I was spoiled with the plethora of breweries and craft beers, but lo and behold, I found out about TAP and I knew this was the place to be. Wonderful place for craft brews and delicious food! My friends and I happened to come to Mongkok as we were going to attend the Bon Iver concert at MacPherson Stadium. Turns out we weren't the only ones trying to get their fill of good beer before the show, because it was packed! Luckily, one of our friends arrived early and put us down for a table. He said it was the busiest he's ever seen TAP be. We were seated at the high table, which has hooks for us ladies to hang out purses. We placed our drink orders while waiting outside - an Oriental Pearl Oatmeal Stout for the two of us, and a Jade Emperor IPA. The oatmeal stout was very smooth and bold, and the IPA was hoppy/bitter as usual. I'm not a big craft beer expert, but I can definitely say it's one of the best I've tried in HK! Once you go craft, you can't go back. The food - holy cow, the sandwiches are the BOMB. We ordered the Cubano, which came with a local Cantonese twist of char siu pork and siu yok (crispy pork belly)! They had sriracha on the table, so yes, red sauce heaven. Tickled my taste buds! The beer-battered shrimp sandwich was just as delicious, and big - had to eat the shrimp first before diving into the sandwich haha! In addition, my friend ordered a fried chicken on kaya toast, which I didn't get to taste, but she said was great. Will definitely return to try more sandwiches and their beers!
Wait, wait, wait... CRAFT BEER exists in Hong Kong?! Damn. I am already sold. Being in a region of tea lovers, I was surprised to hear that craft beer places were starting to pop up in HK. During our last visit, our friends took us to TAP: The Ale Project for drinks and appetizers, and it certainly did not disappoint. Upon rolling up, we could see how packed it was even on a Sunday evening. We were told to wait if we wanted a table inside the small restaurant, but they were able to accommodate us outside with the standing barrels. Despite being pretty busy, servers were still friendly and checked up on us. To no surprise, their English here is spot on, so don't worry if your Cantonese is not up to par. Now... the SELECTION here was fantastic. Coming in at all different sizes and origins, I was shocked to find they had so many beers on draft. We ordered a round of drinks as well as wings and fries. The food itself was pretty standard for bar fair, but the beer here is the real winner. I'm so glad we got to check this spot out, and is for sure on my list to return to the next time HK rolls around. Cheers!
I'm surprised to find a place like this in MK. We were actually cruising around looking for dessert (this particular part of MK has tons of different dessert spots to choose from) and accidentally stumbled upon this place and Cheers (another tap room literally just next door). We decided to get beers instead as we noticed it was all local craft brews on tap. I don't find myself in MK too often as I don't like dealing with having to shove through the flood of shoppers and slow walking tourists unless it's later into the evening. This place definitely gives me another incentive to do so (besides the late night grub if I'm feeling keen on when munchies hit). They are fairly packed on any given night as we came to their neighbor a couple nights before and then this place on a Wednesday evening, even when it was way past 12. Besides that, if you don't score a seat you can at least stand by the bar. The staff are all very well experienced with their brews and know their stuff. And they were extra attentive as well. Beers are fairly priced and now you can feel better about spending cash on good beer instead of blowing another $80-100 on stuff like Carlsberg!
A great selection of on tap points, offering half-pints as a bonus. The sandwiches are really good and generous, I had a half with cross and a half pint of beer, which was perfect for lunch. Not a huge place and most of the seating is on stools but they are reasonably comfortable. It's very clean and has great service.
I LOVE IT!!! A 5-star beer pub in my opinion would be: 1) Staff must know and love beers. All beers in general, not just the beers at this bar. 2) Staff must be friendly!! And must provide beer insights! 3) Local beers on tap. 4) Staff-picked imports on tap. Not GENERAL shi***** All of the above are important. This is a statement using the AND operator, not "OR." A very tiny bar, crowded seating and your neighbours will hear all your conversation. The staff are very friendly here!!! Some speak perfect English also. Yes you can order half pints! You can order: 0.2L (half a pint) 0.4L (one pint) 2L 2L to-go!!
TAP - The Ale Project was our first food (and beer) in Hong Kong after touring Beijing and it was an absolute burst of fresh air. For one thing, there was Yelp and we were able to choose a restaurant ourselves (as opposed to a tour guide) and order for ourselves. I went wild and ordered the most expensive beer and more food than what I could handle. I ordered The Living End beer and I'd probably pass on it next time. It was good, but there were less expensive beers that were smoother and more delicious (M's Moon Goddess, for example). We got fries with garlic, Cajun wings, and the Mouth Watering Chicken Wrap. There were all kinds of toppings you could add to the fries (such as garlic) which was tons of fun. If I lived in the area I'd be a regular and try different fry toppings each time! M said that the wings were good but she didn't finish them. My wrap was delicious. I've never had a wrap with that combination of ingredients before and I really enjoyed it. My only disappointment is that I noticed too late that I could have ordered a half order instead which is all I ate. The atmosphere at TAP - The Ale Project was really cosmopolitan. There was a surprising amount of racial and ethnic diversity. Some people seemed like locals on dates and others seemed like expatriates. Everybody seemed at home scrunching around a very narrow communal table. TAP - The Ale Project was a fun stop during our visit to Hong Kong. I'm definitely thankful to Yelp in helping us find such a cool spot close to our hotel.
This is a must-visit for beer nerds and those slightly less nerdy but still fastidious about what they pour down their gullet. For those of you counting calories, this one is for you too, there is absolutely no reason in the world for you to be wasting calories on big commercial brews when there's a whole exciting world out there of beer that'll actually broaden your mind and give your tastebuds and primitive mid-brain something to remember. Stop settling and make the effort to have something truly good. The craft scene in Hong Kong is actually pretty nippy and hopping right along with more options than you can shake a drunken finger at. As mentioned by other reviewers, TAP is closely associated with Young Master and so their beers are well-represented here. When I visited, there was also a very good selection of Lion Rock ales which were very solidly brewed and all had sound flavor profiles. Again, there was a menu of bar food which I usually eschew. For me a craft beer bar is a temple and when I visit, it is always as a supplicant to Aegir...or some local equivalent. In other words, it's like visiting a local coffee roaster that puts all their effort into churning out an awesome single-origin and all you can talk about is their tiramisu or some outsourced carrot cake muffin...to me, that's missing the entire point. From the reaction of the absolutely packed to the gills bar, I would have to say that the food is likely to be very very decent. They do flights or tasters here so you can quite easily work your way through all the ales on tap. The service is responsive and the atmosphere is warm, convivial and devilishly conducive to the continuous imbibing of very very very fine ales...with or without food. TAP does get crowded, so don't expect to sit alone at the bar and nurse that one beer as one tends to do in local dive bars. If you are looking for that kind of an experience, TAP is not for you. I had the following ales that really made my day and my trip to Hong Kong: Lion Rock. Signature. Pale Ale. Lion Rock. Grand Maestro. IPA. I remember calling this a leather-bound dominatrix of an IPA or something along those lines...I was sooooo happy. Young Master. 1842 Island. Imperial IPA. A very well-provisioned and thoughtfully put together brew with a degree of consistency that reflects deep expertise and most importantly love. Young Master. Hong Kong Black. Porter. Winter Seasonal. Oh so very very rich and full of Christmas cheer. The ales I had this visit made me want to come back again...very soon. I am sure that even though these are rotating taps, every iteration will make you feel just as welcome and the sense of loss will just as deep when you leave TAP.
I had high expectation for Tap but sadly they were not met on this occasion. First things first on a positive note Tap does have a great selection of local beers at pretty decent prices and it's in an area of Mong Kok that is a bit deprived of non-Chinese bars so for that reason it is a welcome addition. Tap probably holds itself out as a bar more than a restaurant and after sampling the food their beer offering is certainly their strength. The wraps and sandwiches were underwhelming and very quite disappointing. The prices too are too high, they offer an option to get a half a sandwich and at almost 50 dollars this is way too much for essentially one slice of bread and some fillings. Will I return? Maybe for the beer but definitely not for the food.
This place is located 2 blocks away from sneaker street. The surrounding area looked kinda run down when walking here. Inside is a bit small and cramp. Two rows of seating. The beer selection if fairly large. When looking at the list on the beer menu, the whole first page was Hong Kong beer and the imports were the next 2 pages? I recognized some from California. The two I selected were Hong Kong beer. Hong Kong black tasted weird for me. It was fairly light and tasted kinda like a coke (more the texture than the taste). Seemed different from California beer. Second beer I don't remember where it was from. I basically agreed to drink with my cousin, so she selected it. Turned out the beer was 10% and very juicy flavor. Strong beer. Between the two, I enjoyed the second one more based on taste alone. For food, we ordered several small bites and shared amongst the 4 of us. We got the chicken wings with fermented tofu sauce. It tasted good, but nothing crazy and weird about the sauce (this is coming from a guy who doesn't like stinky tofu). To me, basically tasted like blue cheese? Garlic fries were good. Cousin thought it was really strong, but I didn't think so. I've had stronger. Fries were nicely cooked. Pork belly nacho was pretty weak. Kinda disappointed....I thought it would taste the best, but it didn't. It had flavor, but I felt it was cheaply made. Overall, a pretty cool spot. Would I come back? If I ever come back to Hong Kong, yes. P.s. - service was ok. Not great, but they were nice. Tried to help us best they can. Maybe the language barrier might of had something to do with it. My cousin believe the guy seemed new? Could be it too.
6 months ago
7 months ago
Who doesn't love a good draft beer? Unfortunately, in many Asian countries, breweries and places that serve real draft beer can be hard to find. So when I stumbled across one (the Ale Project) in the middle of Mong Kok a couple of weeks ago, it felt like striking gold. The place had a great vibe, the beer was excellent, and it was full of friendly people just enjoying the afternoon. A perfect little discovery in one of the busiest neighborhoods in Kowloon, Hong Kong. read more
TAP had the best beer selection of the places I visited during my most recent visit to Hong Kong. They are serious about local as well as international beers and had a great showing for most types of beer, everywhere from stouts to sours to IPAs. I dug the chill atmosphere with attentive people working here. The descriptions on the menus were helpful, and they were nice about letting me taste two beers before choosing one. Unfortunately I did not eat, but all the food coming out of the kitchen looked awesome. Oh, and there's a mega large A/C running here, so if you're looking for a "cool" spot with good beer, you've got to swing by. read more
Coming from San Diego, I was spoiled with the plethora of breweries and craft beers, but lo and behold, I found out about TAP and I knew this was the place to be. Wonderful place for craft brews and delicious food! My friends and I happened to come to Mongkok as we were going to attend the Bon Iver concert at MacPherson Stadium. Turns out we weren't the only ones trying to get their fill of good beer before the show, because it was packed! Luckily, one of our friends arrived early and put us down for a table. He said it was the busiest he's ever seen TAP be. We were seated at the high table, which has hooks for us ladies to hang out purses. We placed our drink orders while waiting outside - an Oriental Pearl Oatmeal Stout for the two of us, and a Jade Emperor IPA. The oatmeal stout was very smooth and bold, and the IPA was hoppy/bitter as usual. I'm not a big craft beer expert, but I can definitely say it's one of the best I've tried in HK! Once you go craft, you can't go back. The food - holy cow, the sandwiches are the BOMB. We ordered the Cubano, which came with a local Cantonese twist of char siu pork and siu yok (crispy pork belly)! They had sriracha on the table, so yes, red sauce heaven. Tickled my taste buds! The beer-battered shrimp sandwich was just as delicious, and big - had to eat the shrimp first before diving into the sandwich haha! In addition, my friend ordered a fried chicken on kaya toast, which I didn't get to taste, but she said was great. Will definitely return to try more sandwiches and their beers! read more
2 years ago
Wait, wait, wait... CRAFT BEER exists in Hong Kong?! Damn. I am already sold. Being in a region of tea lovers, I was surprised to hear that craft beer places were starting to pop up in HK. During our last visit, our friends took us to TAP: The Ale Project for drinks and appetizers, and it certainly did not disappoint. Upon rolling up, we could see how packed it was even on a Sunday evening. We were told to wait if we wanted a table inside the small restaurant, but they were able to accommodate us outside with the standing barrels. Despite being pretty busy, servers were still friendly and checked up on us. To no surprise, their English here is spot on, so don't worry if your Cantonese is not up to par. Now... the SELECTION here was fantastic. Coming in at all different sizes and origins, I was shocked to find they had so many beers on draft. We ordered a round of drinks as well as wings and fries. The food itself was pretty standard for bar fair, but the beer here is the real winner. I'm so glad we got to check this spot out, and is for sure on my list to return to the next time HK rolls around. Cheers! read more
I'm surprised to find a place like this in MK. We were actually cruising around looking for dessert (this particular part of MK has tons of different dessert spots to choose from) and accidentally stumbled upon this place and Cheers (another tap room literally just next door). We decided to get beers instead as we noticed it was all local craft brews on tap. I don't find myself in MK too often as I don't like dealing with having to shove through the flood of shoppers and slow walking tourists unless it's later into the evening. This place definitely gives me another incentive to do so (besides the late night grub if I'm feeling keen on when munchies hit). They are fairly packed on any given night as we came to their neighbor a couple nights before and then this place on a Wednesday evening, even when it was way past 12. Besides that, if you don't score a seat you can at least stand by the bar. The staff are all very well experienced with their brews and know their stuff. And they were extra attentive as well. Beers are fairly priced and now you can feel better about spending cash on good beer instead of blowing another $80-100 on stuff like Carlsberg! read more
3 years ago
8 years ago
A great selection of on tap points, offering half-pints as a bonus. The sandwiches are really good and generous, I had a half with cross and a half pint of beer, which was perfect for lunch. Not a huge place and most of the seating is on stools but they are reasonably comfortable. It's very clean and has great service. read more
3 years ago
I LOVE IT!!! A 5-star beer pub in my opinion would be: 1) Staff must know and love beers. All beers in general, not just the beers at this bar. 2) Staff must be friendly!! And must provide beer insights! 3) Local beers on tap. 4) Staff-picked imports on tap. Not GENERAL shi***** All of the above are important. This is a statement using the AND operator, not "OR." A very tiny bar, crowded seating and your neighbours will hear all your conversation. The staff are very friendly here!!! Some speak perfect English also. Yes you can order half pints! You can order: 0.2L (half a pint) 0.4L (one pint) 2L 2L to-go!! read more
TAP - The Ale Project was our first food (and beer) in Hong Kong after touring Beijing and it was an absolute burst of fresh air. For one thing, there was Yelp and we were able to choose a restaurant ourselves (as opposed to a tour guide) and order for ourselves. I went wild and ordered the most expensive beer and more food than what I could handle. I ordered The Living End beer and I'd probably pass on it next time. It was good, but there were less expensive beers that were smoother and more delicious (M's Moon Goddess, for example). We got fries with garlic, Cajun wings, and the Mouth Watering Chicken Wrap. There were all kinds of toppings you could add to the fries (such as garlic) which was tons of fun. If I lived in the area I'd be a regular and try different fry toppings each time! M said that the wings were good but she didn't finish them. My wrap was delicious. I've never had a wrap with that combination of ingredients before and I really enjoyed it. My only disappointment is that I noticed too late that I could have ordered a half order instead which is all I ate. The atmosphere at TAP - The Ale Project was really cosmopolitan. There was a surprising amount of racial and ethnic diversity. Some people seemed like locals on dates and others seemed like expatriates. Everybody seemed at home scrunching around a very narrow communal table. TAP - The Ale Project was a fun stop during our visit to Hong Kong. I'm definitely thankful to Yelp in helping us find such a cool spot close to our hotel. read more
3 years ago
This is a must-visit for beer nerds and those slightly less nerdy but still fastidious about what they pour down their gullet. For those of you counting calories, this one is for you too, there is absolutely no reason in the world for you to be wasting calories on big commercial brews when there's a whole exciting world out there of beer that'll actually broaden your mind and give your tastebuds and primitive mid-brain something to remember. Stop settling and make the effort to have something truly good. The craft scene in Hong Kong is actually pretty nippy and hopping right along with more options than you can shake a drunken finger at. As mentioned by other reviewers, TAP is closely associated with Young Master and so their beers are well-represented here. When I visited, there was also a very good selection of Lion Rock ales which were very solidly brewed and all had sound flavor profiles. Again, there was a menu of bar food which I usually eschew. For me a craft beer bar is a temple and when I visit, it is always as a supplicant to Aegir...or some local equivalent. In other words, it's like visiting a local coffee roaster that puts all their effort into churning out an awesome single-origin and all you can talk about is their tiramisu or some outsourced carrot cake muffin...to me, that's missing the entire point. From the reaction of the absolutely packed to the gills bar, I would have to say that the food is likely to be very very decent. They do flights or tasters here so you can quite easily work your way through all the ales on tap. The service is responsive and the atmosphere is warm, convivial and devilishly conducive to the continuous imbibing of very very very fine ales...with or without food. TAP does get crowded, so don't expect to sit alone at the bar and nurse that one beer as one tends to do in local dive bars. If you are looking for that kind of an experience, TAP is not for you. I had the following ales that really made my day and my trip to Hong Kong: Lion Rock. Signature. Pale Ale. Lion Rock. Grand Maestro. IPA. I remember calling this a leather-bound dominatrix of an IPA or something along those lines...I was sooooo happy. Young Master. 1842 Island. Imperial IPA. A very well-provisioned and thoughtfully put together brew with a degree of consistency that reflects deep expertise and most importantly love. Young Master. Hong Kong Black. Porter. Winter Seasonal. Oh so very very rich and full of Christmas cheer. The ales I had this visit made me want to come back again...very soon. I am sure that even though these are rotating taps, every iteration will make you feel just as welcome and the sense of loss will just as deep when you leave TAP. read more
10 years ago
I had high expectation for Tap but sadly they were not met on this occasion. First things first on a positive note Tap does have a great selection of local beers at pretty decent prices and it's in an area of Mong Kok that is a bit deprived of non-Chinese bars so for that reason it is a welcome addition. Tap probably holds itself out as a bar more than a restaurant and after sampling the food their beer offering is certainly their strength. The wraps and sandwiches were underwhelming and very quite disappointing. The prices too are too high, they offer an option to get a half a sandwich and at almost 50 dollars this is way too much for essentially one slice of bread and some fillings. Will I return? Maybe for the beer but definitely not for the food. read more
This place is located 2 blocks away from sneaker street. The surrounding area looked kinda run down when walking here. Inside is a bit small and cramp. Two rows of seating. The beer selection if fairly large. When looking at the list on the beer menu, the whole first page was Hong Kong beer and the imports were the next 2 pages? I recognized some from California. The two I selected were Hong Kong beer. Hong Kong black tasted weird for me. It was fairly light and tasted kinda like a coke (more the texture than the taste). Seemed different from California beer. Second beer I don't remember where it was from. I basically agreed to drink with my cousin, so she selected it. Turned out the beer was 10% and very juicy flavor. Strong beer. Between the two, I enjoyed the second one more based on taste alone. For food, we ordered several small bites and shared amongst the 4 of us. We got the chicken wings with fermented tofu sauce. It tasted good, but nothing crazy and weird about the sauce (this is coming from a guy who doesn't like stinky tofu). To me, basically tasted like blue cheese? Garlic fries were good. Cousin thought it was really strong, but I didn't think so. I've had stronger. Fries were nicely cooked. Pork belly nacho was pretty weak. Kinda disappointed....I thought it would taste the best, but it didn't. It had flavor, but I felt it was cheaply made. Overall, a pretty cool spot. Would I come back? If I ever come back to Hong Kong, yes. P.s. - service was ok. Not great, but they were nice. Tried to help us best they can. Maybe the language barrier might of had something to do with it. My cousin believe the guy seemed new? Could be it too. read more
10 years ago
We went there during happy hour on a Saturday around 6pm, it's around 70% full. We were seated in the middle of the long bar table as we have a total of 9 people. They have a full selection of draft beer and I think this is a rare place in Kowloon. Most of these craft beer bar are always located in central. Every one of us ordered a beer. I ordered dark alliance which full of a coffee favor, a very interesting beer. After enjoying the first round, we shared a sample of beer platter which contained 6 small glasses of craft beer. For snacks, we had 2 orders of wings, 1 Nachos, 1 sandwiches, 1 cheese fries and a dessert. I love the wing as they do have a taste of America there! Crispy and tasty! But the Nacho disappointed me as the chips are all in very small pieces, and guacamole are not well-made. I do not recommend this dish at all. Recommend to people come here for drinks, and just snacks, but not a full meal. Our bills are round $1500. Ok- price. read more
7 years ago
TL;DR: Great local brews and sandwiches at an unexpected location. Who would've known that a place like TAP exists in Mong Kok! Just a couple blocks from the train station amidst auto repair shops is this little gem. Unless you're looking for it, it's easy to overlook the place. Due to its size, seating may be limited at times, but hey, mingle with people and chat! They have many local and import craft brews on tap as well as a good selection of bottles. We tried the Celebration Ale and the Classic Pale Ale. The Celebration Ale is a winter seasonal, hopefully you still get to try it later because it really tastes like the holidays. The pale ale is crisp and pairs well with their sandwiches. We came during lunch time and they have a lunch special along with any of their sandwiches. You can get soup, salad, or fries and a drink with the addition of $20. Make the drink to a half pint beer with additional $30. We got the Retired Superman and Thanksgiving Yesterday. The runny egg in Superman definitely makes the whole sandwich 10 times better and the chicken liver stuffing is amazing! These sandwiches are served on their beer bread, also a must try. TAP is a quaint place on the Kowloon side if you don't want to go all the way to Central. We would love to get a growler to-go if we were staying longer in Hong Kong. read more
5 years ago
8 years ago
10 years ago
The pale ale tasted a lot like an IPA; it's hoppy. I'm more of a lager and pilsner guy. Really liked the red bean beer. No, didn't really taste like red bean, but it was good. Also got the lap cheong schmear which came on a slice of grain bread. Tasty, sweeter version of pate. Nice hipster place, I recommend! read more
We went to TAP on a Saturday night and found this bar with the help of Yelp, which I had no idea even existed in Hong Kong. When we arrived it was busy but we found two seats on the side and sat down. We were quickly greeted by an awesome young lady who refers to herself as "Fish" because it is easier than her given name she explained. She is incredibly friendly and warm and even gave us suggestions of beers to try because she could see that we were enthusiasts. I stuck with the Classic Pale Ale because I really enjoyed it but did try the other beers that we ordered and they were all incredibly flavorful and brewed to perfection. "Fish" asked us how we found the place because it is on a very quiet street a little ways away from where most tourists might be sight seeing so I told her. She was impressed and engaged us in friendly conversation and even offered us advice and gave us some insight into things we should do while visiting Hong Kong. When the bar was about to close and activity quieted down a bit, she even wrote down the name of a street for us to give to the taxi driver for easier communication for the next night. She suggested we go to The Peak, which we did, and are glad that we did. This bar not only has superb locally crafted beer but the service is top notch. I wish this bar a huge amount of success and would suggest it to anyone who enjoys a satisfying pint. read more
6 years ago
11 years ago
9 years ago
11 years ago
11 years ago
This place is good if you're up in the Mong Kok area of Hong Kong. Good selection of craft beers and plenty to do in the area. The sandwiches are pretty tasty too. I had a grilled cheese which was served on some nicely toasted thick bread. Good for soaking up all the beer you'll drink there. read more
10 years ago
8 years ago
10 years ago
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