A few nights ago I celebrated my birthday in Hong Kong. The advantage of celebrating a special occasion in a foreign place is that no matter what you decide to do you will be doing something new or different. There is no much planning needed, at least for me.
We went out in the neighbourhood and ate an exquisite sushi dinner. Later, a friend joined us and together we headed over to a very popular dessert place in the Jordan area called Chung Kee Dessert. I will be going back there for sure as the desserts are to die for.
Around midnight, we were ready to go home. We started walking towards the MTR station to say good-bye to our friend when we realised that there was a brand-new Cuban bar across the street named Castro’s. Before I even thought of getting into the place, my friend was on the other side of the street, opening the bar’s main door and announcing that he was there with a Cuban friend.
It turns out that the bar is about to open this weekend and only the owners where there. They invited us to sit down and have a drink with them while we talked about Havana and all sort of subjects. The two owners, one from Ireland and the partner from New Zealand, have been living in HK for a many years and already have another Castro’s bar not too far from this new location. Â They suggested to show us the original bar and to treat us for a Mojito. We did not think it twice.
There, the bartender prepared an awesome Mojito for us and we made a toast for my birthday. Suddenly, I was listening to Los Van Van, talking about Cuba and drinking Havana Club Rum and Mulata Rum shots. To me, that was unbelievable!.
Whenever I walk the streets of HKÂ I find little things that remind me of home but that is because Havana is always on my mind. We are too far from Cuba to find Cubans around or any evidence of Cuban influence. I was so happy with my piece of Cuban birthday that I will always remember this day.
