An unobtrusive doorway in the middle of Dixon Mall in Chinatown leads to an elevator, and then you walk into a Blade Runner-style idea of the Shanghai wine bar of the sci-fi future: pulsating screens, mirrors, giant ads for Hennessy and serious terracotta statues. You’ve got a choice of either private rooms or taking your chances on the big main stage, and staffers here seem to think that if they keep you fed and watered, you’ll stay all night. They’re right.
The system:
Touchscreen, and it’s the familiar system used by many of the K-rooms around town. Videos are mainly the original clips, allowing you to either sing along if you’re a timid little K-coward (koward?) or mute out the vocal.
The songs:
The selection is adequate in the department of ’80s ballads and Brittney Spears hits, but we were missing bangers from the last decade or so. Still, you can only send out good vibes in an uplifting group rendition of ‘Unwritten’ by Natasha Bedingfield or Kilye’s ‘Spinning Around’.
K-factor:
For a proper rager of a night, this rules. It’s gaudy, shiny and over the top, with statues on everything, one-way mirrors in the private rooms, unisex toilets, touchscreen tabletop games if you get bored with the singing and generous jugs of Hennesy and green tea. Rooms range from $8 per person per hour to $198 for a party room that’ll fit around 25 screeching singers.