The basement gintoneria in a converted Sai Ying Pun ping pong hall, with the original red double doors intact.
Published Nov 18, 2025 · Last reviewed Jan 1, 2026 · How we pick bars · by Sofia Reeves
Ping Pong 129 sits on Second Street in Sai Ying Pun, in the basement of a 1950s ping pong hall whose red double doors and stencilled Cantonese signage have been kept exactly as found. The fit-out below is one of the longest-standing concept bars in Hong Kong — the original ping pong table is still in the room, the back bar runs 50-plus gins, and the programme is built around Spanish-style copa glasses and pairing-led tonic pours. Time Out Hong Kong and South China Morning Post have both profiled the venue across the last decade.
The right visitor wants a paired Spanish G&T in a copa glass with the tonic specified, a slow conversation, and the unrenovated 1950s entry as part of the experience. The wrong visitor wants a contemporary cocktail card — the programme is gin-led, almost gin-only — or a fast turnover bar, since the room is built around the long pour.
One basement room with the original ping pong table in the centre, banquettes around the edge, a long bar at the back and the 50-plus gin shelf as the wall behind it. SCMP's bar feature described the space as 'the most committed concept basement bar in Hong Kong' — the read is correct, the room hasn't been refreshed because the design works.
Order a Spanish-style Gin & Tonic (HK$150–180) and let the bartender pair the gin to the tonic — the recurring photographic order across the top 30 Google Maps reviews and the format the room is built around. Time Out Hong Kong's gin-focused bar guide singled out the pairing service as 'the move that justifies the trip across the harbour'.
Skip the spirit-forward signature cocktails on the back of the menu — they're competent but the room is a gintoneria and the programme is at its best in copa format. Beers at HK$55 are the value pour for the non-gin drinker in the group.
Through 20:00 the room reads as Sai Ying Pun residents and small office groups making the short walk from HKU. From 21:30 a dressed-up local Hong Kong crowd takes the banquettes for a slow second-bar stop after dinner on First or Third Street. r/HongKong's regulars'-tips thread consistently flags Friday after 22:30 as the room's busiest sustained hour.