The team behind the lauded Sheung Wan gintonería have opened their second act: a bar serving classic long drinks chilled with artisanal ice
West side hipsters have long frequented Ping Pong 129 since it first launched in 2014, and five years later the team have brought their experience and expertise into presenting a sister bar in Sheung Wan: Dai Bing, or “big ice” in Cantonese.
Dai Bing’s USP is on serving refreshing long drinks, served in tall glasses with plenty of "artisanal" ice. As the name of the bar suggests, there’s been a lot of thought put into the cold stuff—so much that the venue has its own “Artisanal Ice Suite”, a series of rooms that are reserved simply for producing crystal clear, quality ice cubes. We’re talking Clinebell directional freezers, ice band saws, and a walk-in freezer for storing the immaculate long ice blocks at -18 degrees celsius.
The cocktails have been designed in collaboration with Japanese mixologist Yuta Inagaki of Bar Butler, with around a dozen long drinks and a handful of mocktails—categorised by strength rather than style. With the group’s pedigree it’d make sense to sample their version of a G&T (gin, Dover shiso, tonic, shiso leaves) before moving onto other renditions of classic drinks, from the Julep (Bourbon, Cynar, grapefruit juice, mint) to the Whisky Highball (whisky, soda, pepper tincture). There’s even the ultra refreshing Rebujito, a favourite of the Andalusia region, with its light mix of dry sherry, 7-Up, and mint.
