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.