Although I'm half a world away from Hong Kong these days, I have to take a moment to mourn the loss of my favorite local establishment, which closed its doors Sunday, to the utter disappointment of Happy Valley residents who have relied on it as a communal meeting spot for half a dozen years. Multiple friends sent me messages and photos of the last hurrah, and trusty Simon even made sure Fredric popped by one final time to bid a fond farewell to a place he's spent countless happy hours.
Lovely Happy Alley, which made the slow transition each day from morning coffee shop to evening cocktail bar, was the tiniest sliver of a space. In fact, specializing in not one but two popular items , coffee and cocktails, was less an endeavor of interest but rather of necessity, to ensure viability by stretching out the operating hours of a truly miniscule commercial space.
But owners Oliver and Christine turned it into a little slice of paradise nestled on a nondescript Happy Valley corner. Torn between calling it a coffee shop or a cocktail bar, they settled on coffee bar, which was about as perfect as the spot itself.
The coffee, I must confess, was divine. Oliver is Austrian, and, to the best of my knowledge, his was the only shop in all of Hong Kong to sell Julius Meinl, a high class Viennese coffee he took great pains to import from his faraway home country.
He also kept Stiegl, a crisp brew from outside Salzburg, on draft, which was the most delightful of quaffs on those roasting summer days for which Hong Kong is infamous.
And with a fully stocked bar behind the counter, it was not uncommon to switch to harder stuff, a crisp and refreshing Aperol Spritz or, unsurprisingly, a decadent espresso martini, making good use of those coffee machines well into the evening.
In spite of the fantastic coffee, many a morning started for me with an Old Rosie cider or a glass of champagne, perhaps mixed with orange juice to create a nice mimosa. And I could always count on bumping into multiple friends as I lingered over my drinks, often opting for a second, a third, or even a fourth.
Yes, I actually made multiple friends at the place. In addition to Oliver and Christine, who became pals, there was their top flight staff. Ronnie, Gabby, Nat, Dayson, Eugene, always ready to chat and lend an ear, regardless of the time of day.
Then there were the regulars, Rachel and Emma and Christian and Priscilla and Thea and Julian and Steph and Tan, among others I'm sure I'm forgetting. Sometimes you'd hit the jackpot, Rachel and Emma would be there for a morning coffee with their dogs Tikka and Daisy, but a few moments after they left, Christian and Priscilla would arrive for a pre-lunch glass of wine. Inevitably, Thea would arrive, or at least walk by, since she literally lived a few floors above the shop. And so she'd often wind up imbibing with me, too.
Many times, I didn't necessarily even intend to stop at Happy Alley. I'd just be on one of our routine walks with Fred and spot someone I knew having a drink. Of course, I had little choice but to pop up for one myself.
Notably, Happy Alley was also the sole exception to one of my hard and fast rules, which is that in any given week, I can only visit each restaurant or bar one time only. I am not embarrassed to admit that sometimes I'd visit Happy Alley multiple times per day, a morning, afternoon and evening visit, especially on a Saturday, not being at all uncommon.
When I left Hong Kong in August, we knew the fate of the spot. Oliver sadly had informed us that his landlords stated well in advance that they would not be extending the lease any further after it expired in January. So although I had every reason to believe that it would still be there after my return, I was already prepared for its loss.
Mercifully, it wound up being the spot where my friends toasted my departure the evening before I flew home five months ago. We had a wonderful night drinking Aperol Spritzes in the warm August night. And even that next afternoon, mere hours before I headed to the airport, I met Blueky there for a final round of drinks.
Something won't feel quite right about Happy Alley's not being there when I return to Hong Kong. It's a loss that will long stick out, but tonight, I'm content to bask in the wonderful memories and drink a glass or two in memory of a place that will forever hold a very special spot in my heart.
