Shochu in Hong Kong
Hong Kong, by virtue of its no-tax-for-alcohol-under-30% ABV, robust drinking culture, and its bountiful supply of whiskey/gin-lovers, should be a haven for shochu sellers and drinkers. In addition, HK people, as do people from many Asian countries, trust and love purchasing Japanese products, from medicine to skin-care to most obviously, food.
Taking all that into consideration, HK is far below expectations in terms of shochu exposure and appreciation.
Apart from the incomparable shochu bar Nobushi and a few izakayas around town, Shochu is mostly a buy-from-Aeon-and-drink-at-home kind of thing here. Sadly, it’s not really changing either. I’ve been here over 7 years and we’re basically in stasis. My friends and I started this project because it just doesn’t make sense that HK doesn’t like shochu, and we’re convinced it’s still just a marketing and exposure problem. Anyway, some of our recommendations below to get started!
Places to find Shochu in HK
Retail and Online
Big Box Stores
These are great place to start looking for shochu, with massive inventories and at the cheapest prices you’ll find here. It’s still a 100% markup compared to Japan, but you know Hong Kong. Naturally, you won’t find a lot of help from the staff at these places.
City Super (Multiple Locations)
The most convenient and, surprisingly given how much everything else there costs, a very reasonably-priced place to pick up shochu. Stay away from the premium bottles they have and you’ll find a great combination of local brands and the big international ones
Non-exhaustive list of brands offered: Sengetsu, Sengetsu Kawabe, Nishi Kiccho Houzan, Nishi Tomi no Nishi Houzan, Nishi Tenshi no Yuwaku, Shichida Junmai, Shichida Ginjo Kasutori, Machida Satou no Akebono, Machida Amami no Mori, Kyoya Kappa no Sasoimizu, Kyoya Heihachiro, Ohara, Kanro, Kannoko, Ginza no Susume
AEON (Multiple Locations)
SOGO (Causeway Bay)
Yata (Mongkok)
These three are basically the same shochu experience – you won’t get any service and the English shelf descriptions aren’t helpful at all, but as Japanese megamarts, they both have giant selections at rock-bottom prices. I don’t remember seeing a lot of premium stuff, but they cover all the basics.
Note that for Yata, I’m referring specifically to the one in Mongkok, which carries some interesting stuff, including Daiyame for $128.
Brands Offered: Too many brands to name
Don Don Donki (Multiple Locations incl TST/Central/CWB)
I don’t recommend Donki for shochu as their selection is threadbare, but it is very cheap, and they do have some of the major brands. Maybe if you need to buy in bulk.
Brands Offered: Mitake, Iichiko, Iichiko Deluxe, Hakutake, Kuro Kirishima, Tantakatan
Specialty Retail Stores
These stores stock fewer brands, but you’ll only be able to find the small-run/premium stuff here. Not comprehensive at all, just from my own experiences
Sake Central (PMQ, Central)
I’ve probably spent more time in Sake Central than any bar/restaurant/store in HK and it’s not just because of their great shochu selection. You are encouraged to grab bottles (sake or shochu) at retail price and drink them in-store with a selection of delicious (if a bit pricey) snacks. It was my neighborhood bar even if it’s not really one at all. If Matteo or Elliot are there, get them to recommend some bottles, they’re pros.
Brands Offered: Too many to list, but unlike the other places I’ve listed it has everything from Kuro Kirishima to Hyakunen no Kodoku, including lots of bottles under 200$. If you are interested, they also have Hong Kong’s best awamori selection.
Mizunara the Store (Wong Chuk Hang and Online)
I can’t leave out Mizunara even though it’s only a shochu store by the most general of definitions and I can never hit their 1000$ free shipping minimum purchase for online purchases. While they focus on whiskey, they are one of the original shochu evangelists in HK, organizing tastings and events with distillers in Japan. In addition, I think they have a close relationship with Ookubo Shuzo in Kagoshima, makers of the fantastic Samurai no Mon and Mori no Yousei, and have access to limited editions and exclusive releases. They have a small but special selection of shochu you can check out online here, but their retail store is in a factory building in Wong Chuk Hang which is far from visitor-friendly. Message them ahead of time if you are planning a visit.
Brands Offered:
Miroku Shuzo: Juo / Hachi Imo / Hachi Mugi; Ookubo Shuzo: Samurai no Mon / Mori no Yousei / Ookubo (kikoji); Hamada Shuzo: Daiyame / Sasshu Spirit; Kokubu Shuzo: Yasuda / Flamingo Orange
Premium Japanese Sake Shop (Kowloon City)
A small but impressive shop in Kowloon City that focuses on sake, but acquits themselves nicely with shochu as well. They only stock sweet potato and barley shochu, but have a much-better selection than you’d expect (the AEON down the block has exactly two types of shochu for example). It surprised me pleasantly. They also have an impressive selection of japanese whiskey.
Brands Offered: I haven’t tried most of them, so have included a picture of their selection as of Summer 2021.
Global Wine Cellar (Central)
They have a tiny selection that’s basically just Kuroki Honten’s stuff and Osuzuyama’s Yama series, but it includes some real killers that aren’t available anywhere else I’ve seen in HK. It’s also right in the middle of Central. I don’t think they know much about shochu (I’ve tried to ask them before…) but it’s worth checking out. Prices aren’t terrible either.
Brands Offered:
- Kuroki Honten: Yamasemi / Q / Nakanaka / Tomin Nakanaka
- Osuzuyama: Yamaneko / Yamazaru
Restaurants and Bars
While I wish I could split restaurants and bars, there’s basically only Nobushi as a shochu bar in Hong Kong… maybe Mizunara (the bar) carries a couple, but I can only imagine what they charge, so that’s a no. Note, this excludes any of the uber-Japanese bars that have hostesses and stuff; I’m sure they stock plenty of shochu.
As for restaurants: most izakaya carry a least a couple of bottles, but I’ve only highlighted the shops that have a noteworthy selection. I’ve also left out restaurants where they are charge silly prices for shochu (I’m looking at you Porker). Even excluding all those, here are a bunch of bars/izakaya with good, reasonably priced shochu selections (and I probably only know a few).
Nobushi (Tsim Sha Tsui)
You can’t discuss shochu bars in Hong Kong without mentioning Nobushi – tucked into a corner of Observatory Road it offers dozens of bottles to try for a flat fee of HKD 80$ per glass (some premium bottles cost more). Given how much a bottle of shochu costs, this is fairly exorbitant, but then you remember you’re in HK and it’s still a very niche drink. I’m more concerned with how little they share about each shochu. I’m not sure it’s an English issue (I don’t speak Cantonese well), as I haven’t heard them describe any shochus at length even in Chinese. For me that’s half the appeal of shochu; the craftsmanship and tradition; and sharing that is so exciting. I think they’re missing out on a great chance to spread the gospel, but then again, they’ve been open for years and doing well, so who am I? In any case, if you like shochu and live in Hong Kong, you need to visit Nobushi at least once. One note: they do allow smoking and EVERYONE indulges. Really smokey all the time, so note that if it bothers you.
Genki Ippai (Tsim Sha Tsui)
This place sadly came up on my radar far too late. It’s an izakaya in Mira Place 1 that specializes in Miyazaki specialities including charcoal-grilled chicken and fantastic beef. The food here is above-average and inexpensive, but that’s how you’d describe a lot of izakaya in HK. We come here because:
- They offer FREE sweet potato shochu – there are no catches – you just request it and they’ll give you as much as you want. You need to order soda or water for mixing, but ice is obviously free. A japanese restaurant in HK with free alcohol changes the entire value dynamic, and makes the food almost an afterthought. The shochu (yume ureshi 夢嬉) is a pretty classic Satsuma imo shochu, and goes well with soda and fried food. To be honest, it’s weird because I can’t find any info on this shochu online (all the results are japanese writing about Genki Ippai!), but it’s legit.
- Their selection of shochu apart from the free Yume Ureshi is fantastic. Incredibly reasonable for a restaurant, and borderline for retail as well. For example, they offer bottles of the delicious soba shochu, Unkai, for $180, the cheapest in town. I’ve included the menu here, but they also stack the bottles on the wall with prices, so no worries if you don’t know what these are.
- Next to it, they’ve opened a small store called Genki-ya that specializes in Miyazaki products. While there’ s a lot of fresh produce, what really appeals to me is their below-market-priced selection of shochu including some of my favorites: Kurouma and Flamingo Orange
Wako Sake Bar (Wan Chai)
This place might deserve it’s own page, it’s almost too good to believe. Basically, you pay a set fee ($268 on Wednesdays and $298 any other day) and it’s all you can drink sake and shochu from 5PM to 12AM. It’s the craziest drinking deal I’ve seen in Hong Kong.
You pour your own shochu from their pretty impressive selection, and they have hot water, ice and water as needed (note: you’ll need to pay separately for soda, and it’s exorbitant). Sake is poured by the staff, as I think no one usually tries the shochu lol. It’s insane, and over the course of almost six hours, I tried over twelve brands I’d never had before. Of course the shochu selection doesn’t include the premium stuff, but it’s an terrific way to try a ton of shochu at your own pace. It’s predominately the main shochu ingredients (Sweet Potato, Barley, Rice & Kasutori and Soba), so if you wanted to try something wacky like pumpkin you’re out of luck, though they did have a bottle of black sesame. The sake selection, if anything, is even more ludicrous than the shochu. They also serve pretty decent izakaya food, though it’s a bit pricey (it is in a hotel), and as you’d imagine, adds up quickly over the course of 6 hours.
All that said, I feel Wako is kind of caught in the middle as a drinking spot. You’ll go once or twice, try everything you want and have an amazing time. However, the incentive to go back after that is diminished signficantly. It’s the famous buffet conundrum – how do you eat (drink in this case) enough that you enjoy the experience, but aren’t too full (and wasted) when you leave? Won’t you always overdrink? (And sake hangovers are brutal) If you go to Wako without doing the AYCD deal, won’t you constantly be concerned you’re wasting money by not doing the deal?
In any case, I recommend, in the strongest terms, going there at least once anyway. An incredible deal by any measure.
Gyu Sou Ichuya (Causeway Bay)
I don’t know the story behind GSI, because to all appearances it’s a classic anonymous-in-nameless-building Causeway Bay izakaya that specializes in beef (excellent food and a few unique offerings by the way) and noise. What makes it noteworthy here however is its massive 8 page shochu list, organized by ingredient. Besides plenty of the classics izakaya brands, GSI carries an interesting selection of aromatic ingredients like Milk or Green Pepper. It’s unparalleled for an izakaya in HK for its variety, and is pretty affordable too, with almost all glasses coming in between $40-65.
The staff wasn’t very helpful in advising us what to try, but that’s pretty much standard in HK. They even sent someone over specifically to advise, and he didn’t know more than I did. Would really like to know more about the place, and who the owner(s) are that they are so passionate about shochu! The problem is that the place is always packed and LOUD; we were squeezed into the last two seats of the bar on a weeknight and even side-by-side had to speak loudly, so I can only imagine what weekends are like. Really kills the chill-and-try-shochu vibe.
Definitely worth a try regardless for both the food and incredible selection of shochu.