HK bar veterans open city’s first zero waste venue

Led by bar veterans Agung Prabowo and Roman Ghale, Penicillin, Hong Kong’s first sustainable bar that boats a closed-loop model of production, is set to open this October.

Sustainability and zero-waste cocktails is currently a huge global movement in the industry.

With a focus on either locally sourced or up-cycled food and drink ingredients, Penicillin’s bar menu claims it “finds innovation in the true flavours of Hong Kong while constantly looking for ways to minimise [its] carbon footprint”.

Named after the group of mould-derived antibiotics, the ultimate mission of the bar is to become Hong Kong’s first “scrap-less” bar which produces minimal or even zero waste if possible.

Prabowo and Ghale, and their team pour have sought to come up with all manner of creative ways common waste or kitchen by-products can be recycled and up-cycled, while simultaneously self-brewing, fermenting, growing, and re-using ingredients that can be used in cocktails.

The bar is even going to install a lab designed to showcase the experimental behind-the-scenes cocktail production and ingredient fermentation.

Ingredients including botanicals are all sourced locally within Hong Kong, trying to minimise transport distance in order to conserve energy and reduce carbon emissions.

Prabowo and Ghale are no strangers to the industry as they used to be the masterminds behind The Old Man Hong Kong, which last year was crowned top at the Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2019 list and currently sits second on Asia’s Best Bars 2020. They also developed The Old Man outpost in Singapore.

Following soon after the opening of Penicillin in mid-end October, the duo is going to launch their second venture the following month. The bar, named DEAD &, is going to be a “modern take” on the Dive Bar.

Address: G/F, 23 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong