The eponymous green door that marks the entryway into its namesake bar is almost entirely imperceptible – concealed within a dilapidated concrete alcove. Nestled amongst the chaotic disorder of a wet market in one of Hong Kong’s busiest neighborhoods, The Green Door is hidden in plain sight to passersby. It is, quite literally, just a hole in a wall.
The first time that I visited The Green Door, a friend brought me. “Yes, yes I’m sure it’s here,” she assured me as she walked me through the maze of empty market stalls, forsaken for the evening until they resumed activity at dawn the next day. Like clockwork. The rhythm of Hong Kong had always seemed to pause on the weekends, replaced by a silent thrum of activity that reverberates through the city as revelers make their way to their favorite haunts and establishments. Hidden on a side street absent from the usual merrymakers, with outstretched awnings casting much of the street in shadow, we suddenly make a sharp turn between two tarp-covered stalls and lo and behold, there is a door.
As she pulls back the door handle, we are at once accosted with a deluge of sound – uproarious laughter, blaring music, clinking glasses. A whole other world from the dampness and muck of the wet market above. As I would later find out in my conversation with Dabi Chin, co-founder of The Green Door (alongside co-founder Arlene Wong whom he met and worked with whilst bartending at famed Mexican eatery, 11 Westside), this is exactly the stark contrast that he wanted to bring to his speakeasy. Inspired by Alice in Wonderland, he wants you to fall down a rabbit hole.
As you descend the dimly lit stairs, taking you further down into the cavernous space, you are swallowed up by the promise of debauchery – a tongue-in-cheek contrast considering that The Green Door’s decor is heavily inspired by Chin’s religious upbringing. The cathedral coded arched ceilings, the latticed partitions reminiscent of confessionals, the wooden benches inspired by the shape of church pews – all of these elements come together in an unlikely speakeasy environment, laced with titillating impiety. Of course, Chin sure as hell knew what he was doing, knew that it was a bit naughty to decorate his bar based on church-inspired cues. But hey, if this is what midnight mass at The Green Door is like, we will happily be baptized in libations and melodies.
We recently caught up with Dabi to learn more about what inspired him to open a speakeasy in Hong Kong, what it was like to grow up in LA, and also what went into curating the space. Read on to see the full conversation.
Zarah (LANG):
How did you come up with the concept for The Green Door, both in terms of it being a speakeasy, as well as its homage to women?
Dabi:
So design concept-wise, I was raised super Catholic, so a lot of the themes of church vibes are in here. Like, the pew benches and then the confessionals in between. A lot of the arches are reminiscent of that kind of style of architecture. A lot of wood.
In terms of it being an homage to women, if you look at a lot of the art [that we have here], they're women without faces. They're all faceless women. And the theme of our cocktails, as in the convention of the naming of our cocktail menu is basically we want to name the faceless women in our lives.
Zarah:
The Green Door has a very distinct energy, where it feels like a secret club but also very relaxed and casual, like friends hanging out. What was your approach for creating the vibe/energy of the bar?
Dabi:
First things, first: music. This is a very big part of it. Lighting and ambience – I'm obsessed about lighting. It creates the need to get closer and talk to people. It brings more intimacy, in my opinion. Vibe creation is something that I'm proud of [laughs]. I know what people need to be closer to each other – alcohol, darkness, good light, good music. That kind of stuff brings people together, so I'm really into that.
Zarah:
I did also read that The Green Door is inspired by New York cocktail bars. How have your travels and experiences abroad inspired the bar?
Dabi:
If you read about [the history of] New York speakeasies, it’s basically out of necessity from the prohibition and such. So, the speakeasies in New York are much harder to find than, you know, say, Hong Kong, where everything is advertised.
I wanted it to have that feeling of Alice in Wonderland, where you just find the door and go through it and it's a whole entirely different vibe. Outside is the wet market. There are rats running around. Then you go from that to a whole other world down here. Same with the upstairs concept that we have – you're in an underground tavern here, and then you take the stairs up and up and all of a sudden, you're in someone’s living room, basically. That's exactly the type of energy I wanted here, because it’s flipped on you the whole time.
Zarah:
Yeah, the past few times I've come here, I've always been brought by a friend, so I've never had to find it. But Koon [the photographer] today, when he was coming in, he went to the “main entrance,” like the one with the sign over there and I had to grab him. It is really hard to find.
Dabi:
Oh, yeah, definitely. We intentionally did that.
Zarah:
Kind of like, if you know, you know.
Dabi:
Yeah. This is what you have to do. I mean, if we were going to do a speakeasy, we wanted to do it properly. I think it's a lost thing on people, because of how much of a struggle it is to actually run a bar. We've had customers with bookings not come because they couldn’t find it [laughs]. I mean, nobody's looking at the Instagram account [and checking messages] during service. So, yeah, it's pretty funny.
Zarah:
What would you say is the most unique thing about owning a bar in Hong Kong?
Dabi:
The most unique thing, I think, is the community that exists around cocktail bars and just bars in general. Like, if somebody knows you own a bar or have a bar, you're basically included in this huge family. I think community is really important in Hong Kong especially, because all the best places are in one area. All the good cocktail bars are [concentrated] in one area. So it's all very communal in that sense.
Zarah:
And what lessons have you learned along the way as an entrepreneur?
Dabi:
Don't be so mean, I think [laughs].
Zarah:
Okay, I won't ask what the backstory is there.
Dabi:
I like to have a little bit of a character.
Zarah:
You’re a stylish guy. What role has style played for you in terms of how you express yourself?
Dabi:
Style has always been important to me. Growing up in LA, the style is a bit more casual. And initially, I just went for something that looks, you know, a little more disheveled. And then I moved out to Korea, and then it got a bit more K-idol style. Then I came back to Hong Kong and I cut off all the sleeves on my T-shirts [laughs]. It goes a little back to my LA roots, but yeah, I mean, it makes an impact, as in the way people talk to you, the way people treat you, the people you attract. I think it's very important in just having an overall look that you can feel good in.
Zarah:
Last question, what makes someone LANG/beautiful?
Dabi:
There's a term for this in Korean, but it's a bit hard to explain. It's kind of like charisma, but it's also not. It’s like when someone has a little playfulness to their seriousness. Somebody who's super professional, but playful. I think I like that the most in people, especially as I grow older.
Photographer: Koon Chi Chung
SHOP DABI'S LOOK
