Words: P Ramakrishnan
It bordered on the tragic. She was a well cropped mop of hair, standing next to, what could have very well been, the stunt double from the Incredible hulk, as she requested the bouncer in the private enclave of Dragon-I to let her in.
Hong Kong’ most notoriously hip Chinese dim-sum restaurant by day, that morphs into an über-club at night, Dragon-I has more star dust and celebrity sightings than your average ream of Hello! mag. The place where both the Brazilian and Manchester footballers partied the day before their match in Hong Kong two years ago (much to the chagrin of the managers when they failed to turn up the following day for practice), where Kanye West dined and jived after his one-night only concert, the guardians behind the velvet ropes of the club are to be feared and loved and, as the case was that night, to be genuflected over.
“Please let me in, I’m the friend of the DJ,” she squeals but it can be debated if her pitch reached the ears of the bouncer, four foot above her. The DJ had a name, but it wasn’t the pseudonym that appeared on the gigantic posters littered across the cavernous room. His “real” name was code to let his “real” friends in.
“You’re not on the list ma’am,” says the bouncer in monotone, clearly having seen this song and dance oft enough to know better.
Having graduated from the first round of velvet ropes where “the door bitch” let her in, she was emboldened enough to believe the VIP room was just a matter of conviction over credit… card.
All that fuss as Dragon-I celebrated its fourth anniversary with a host of the who’s who of Hong Kong (with a good dose of ‘who’s that?’ thrown into the mix). And yes, even I was dragged in on behest of the very able event coordinators, the wily minxes who promised free drinks (um, no!) and models teeming about (ah yes!). As the Centrium, apart from housing the club, two bars (the minty new “Solas” and “Waagu”, a pricey Aussie restaurant/bar with excellent wine) was also an aegis for two modeling agencies and a fashionable hair salon.
Oh and need I mention that Mischa Barton and entourage were there too? The 20-year-old OC starlet was expected under a shower of awaiting flashbulbs. Invited by Christian Dior to attend the charity gala premier of Hong Kong Ballet’s latest production, Barton’s mug had dotted every paper and magazine in town all week. As predictable as the social circuit is, bright sparks had long figured out that the young pout would swish into the club once her Dior duties were over. And lo and behold, with the entourage of the luxury brand, with a new outfit (and we believe new boyfriend) in tow, the princess walked in just after the clock struck midnight. Defrocked from her earlier, middling gown, the outfit she donned was far more paparazzi friendly. Still Dior of course.
Caked in like sardines in a vacuum sealed can, the VIP room already had 500 people (around 1,000 invitations were sent out in total but about triple as much lined up), 1000 others in the outer rim, it was a rare sight when the “haves” who didn’t in fact have invites, had to pay an entrance fee to get in. Wonders never cease.
So who else was there apart from the beauteous Barton? Well, the usual harem of luxury brand PRs, the pseudo-celebrities (models, one-pop wonders…) other club owners (from all the major HK clubs like Finds, Drop, Kee etc) who came to wish Gilbert Yeung, owner and famed playboy/partier, the best for the years of unprecedented success.
Hot clubs are a dime a dozen in the concrete jungle and, like organic milk, curdle within a short period of time. Somehow, every few weeks, with the right event, right personality, hype and hooplah, Dragon-I rises from the ashes of tedium and remains Hong Kong’s only place to be obscene and heard.
Dragon-i
The Centrium 60 Wyndham Street
Hong Kong,
Telephone: + 852 3110 1222
www.dragon-i.com.hk
No comments:
Post a Comment