Hong Kong’s sultriest bar, Salon de Ning, a boutique concept bar and lounge located in the basement of Hong Kong’s’ iconic Peninsula Hotel, is a place where one can experience the high living society life of pre-war Shanghai, the ‘Paris of the East’, when the sun was setting on the Western Empires, but refusing to go down without a most decadent fight.

Text by Thomas Jones

Madame Ning is a celebrated fictional Shanghai socialite and world traveller, who presided over salons in her stylish and eccentric residences across the globe, and she cordially invites you into her eccentric and fascinating world where she holds court to the Taipans, Tongs and well-todos of 1920’s Shanghai.

Through a discreet entranceway, one is met at a huge granite-gate archway with black lacquered doors that lead to an antique-meets -modern Art Deco paradise. The décor features a juxtaposition of East and West with Chinese objet d’art mixed in with stuffed animal heads, wood-carved ostriches, beautiful silks and the best in European furniture and couture.

The main lounge is the heart and soul of the club with a dance floor, DJ booth and a stage where the band keeps the place swinging. Chairs and tables surround the parquet wooden dance floor facing the band. From the ceiling hangs a giant, low-slung chandelier in the form of backlit paintings created from multi-coloured crystal beads that represent episodes from Madame Ning’s life.

Surrounding the main lounge are four different themed private lounges,ß all designed to display Madame Ning’s travels and passion for life. All the lounges are as kitsch and eccentric as the last with names like L’Afrique, which sits in a Bedouin tent with a mounted lion’s head upon the wall and a painting of the lady herself riding a camel at Giza. Then there is the Ski Room, resembling a wooden Swiss chalet replete with a fireplace and all the elements of après skiing. Next is the Bailar Room, a pre-function area of a glamorous ballroom displaying Madame Ning’s dancing trophies, her gowns and shoes. And finally the Boudoir Room, the place which reflects the intimate parts of her life with accessories, hats and perfumes and chaise lounges.

The signature drink that cries out to be tasted is a concoction of Absolut Mandarin and lychee liqueur called the Ning Sling and the Salon has its own Salon de Ning Champagne (in collaboration with Deutz). Fitting really, since not much else would be good enough for a place designed with such class and elegance in mind, and located within the walls of the Grande Dame herself, The Peninsula Hotel. The place is jumping with the resident band and DJs who ensure the place is swinging Monday to Saturday. It only opened in December 2008 yet is already a happening hang out for Hong Kong residents, expats and visitors who come to enjoy the sophistication and elegance of this unique salute to the decadence of old.

www.peninsula.com

Related posts:

1. 55 Years Young: Gaddi Hong Kong
   Opened in 1953 and named after a former general manager of The Peninsula Hotel, Gaddi's was long considered the best...
2. Beo*
   Billing itself as the first fully-organic restaurant and lounge in Hong Kong, beo* —meaning ‘beautifully organic’ — is the creation...
3. SEVVA Hong Kong
   FRV’s Joy Kingan goes in search of the latest fine food trends in Hong Kong....
4. Urban Serenade: Plateau at Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
   FRV checked out one of the best spa destinations in the world, and found the prestigious label doesn’t go far...