It’s where everybody knows your name. Well, it isn’t exactly Cheers, but craft beer bar Tap Ale comes close with its quaint, cosy and completely unpretentious venue which features a veritable mix of customers, including ale enthusiasts, hipsters and chilled-out folk. And the bar sits on the outskirts of Mong Kok, away from the crowds and next to some of the most popular dessert joints in the city on Hak Po Street.
We trickle in on a breezy, shorts and flip-flops-type of Sunday evening and admire the simple space here. Stools, wooden tables, blue brick walls and lines of bottles on the shelves. All you need. And then we salivate at the sight of 18 different types of craft beer on tap. There are no fewer than six local brews alongside ales from New Zealand, USA, Italy, England and Belgium. About every month or so, the selections on tap shift around with new choices. And if you want a bottle, there are about two dozen options.
We support our local breweries, so we go for an In the Mood for Spring by Young Master Ales ($65), which is available in 0.2 litres, 0.4 litres or a whopping two litre jug that’s also offered in a takeaway service. There are zippy floral notes of chrysanthemum and osmanthus that are gentle on the palate, resulting in a light and refreshing sensation. We pair our drink with the triple happiness ($74), which is a grilled cheese sandwich with three types of cheese, tomatoes and caramalised onion on sourdough. It’s well-balanced with a good ratio of cheese to bread and it seamlessly combines with our beer. Quadruple happiness. Just for good measure, we taper things off with a 0.2 litre glass of Rye on Wood ($42), also by Young Master. It has a malty, smooth texture and a bold coffee taste that piques our palate.
We can’t wait to return to Tap Ale so we can try out the other beers and bar bites. Nothing beats downing a coldie in this bar where everyone, surely, is soon gonna know our name. Cheers!
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