HK’s PDT in pictures

Hong Kong discovers the dark world of prohibition in this speakeasy pop-up from bartenders Jim Meehan and Jeff Bell of the infamous Please Don’t Tell bar in New York.

Jim Meehan and Jeff Bell of Please Don’t Tell

Presented by Diageo World Class, Jim Meehan and Jeff Bell, co-founder and head bartender of speakeasy-style bar, Please Don’t Tell in New York will take over the Shell at the Landmark Mandarin’s MO Bar for the whole of January.

Recreating the dark, wooden interior of the original, Meehan and Bell have transported 12 cocktails from New York to Hong Kong with three mixed exclusively for Hong Kong’s drinkers.

Richard Ekkebus, executive chef of the Mandarin Landmark Oriental along with Matt Abergel of Yardbird, Jowett Yu of Ho Lee Fook and Alvin Leung from Bo Innovation have also devised hearty hotdogs (inspired by the Crif Dogs stand that guards the entrance to Please Don’t Tell) for Hong Kong’s drinkers to get their palates around.

Click through to discover the hoochy hook-up in pictures…

Not quite from Dr Who but this phone box will certainly transport you back in time to the dark days of the Prohibition era… made all the more difficult/amusing when you’re left to figure out how to get to out once the door closes…

The brains behind the operation, Jim Meehan and Jeff Bell have worked together for five and a half years in New York and have taken Please Don’t Tell to Paris, Tokyo and Melbourne. Speaking the boozy creations, Meehan said, “We just love these drinks, It’s been six years since my last visit to Hong Kong, which has emerged as one of the most dynamic cities on the global cocktail scene in my absence.”

The pop-up bar incorporates several elements from the original Please Don’t Tell bar in New York, with a wood panelled ceiling, exposed brickwork and subdued lighting.

This doorman disguised as a reindeer keeps a watchful eye on Hong Kong’s boozers.

Just for Hong Kong: The 1-2 Punch with 12 year old Singleton of Glen Ord Scotch, lemon, grapefruit, citrus oleo-saccharrum and crisp lager. 

All for mi? Jowett Yu from Ho Lee Fook has created the Banh Mi Trap Dog with grilled beef, pickles, cucumber, chicken liver pate topped off with sriracha mayo, coriander, fried shallots and chilli.

Jim adding the final touches to a Red Velvet – made with Bulleit bourbon, coconut water, John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum and Peychaud’s Bitters.

A citrus-y take on an Old Fashioned with lashings of Yuzu Ginger Cake syrup and Bittered Sling Lem-Marrakech Bitters with Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

A Top Toddy indeed: Ketel One vodka, Emperor’s Genmaicha tea, Talisker 10-year-old and Canton ginger liqueur is just the ticket for January’s current wet and dark conditions.

Spirited away: The impressive PDT Bar brings a flavour of New York to Hong Kong.