Slainte!

We love Hong Kong so much because, much like NYC, it's an international meeting ground for travelers from all over the world, many of whom have set up shop here with their particular brand of culture and have made the town a richer and more interesting place for the rest of us. Delaney's in Wanchai is just such a place!

When we first visited Hong Kong in 2005, we did what we always do when discovering a new city - we put the sidewalk under our feet and we walked. Chris had been to Hong Kong once or twice before and had a couple of "landmarks" that got us started: Take the Star Ferry over to Tsim Sha Tsui; walk along Nathan Road and haggle with the local tailors; then grab a taxi up to the Bird Market in Kowloon, which is right next to the Flower Market and not too far from the Electronics Area in Mongkok; get exhausted by the heat and overwhelmed by the crowds, jump into a taxi and head back down to the Ferry port, stopping at a little Irish joint called Murphy's along the way for a recuperative pint of Guinness and debrief of the day!

It was on just such a walk on a hot and humid summer day that we first discovered Delaney's on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong - truly a haven in the storm. Kowloon is the most densely populated area on the earth, and when you face the crowds in Mongkok you really understand the full impact of that!

So, whether by miracle, magic or us telepathically summoning a reprieve from the crowds and the heat, here in the midst of a hectic Kowloon afternoon was Delaney's, with its black and white tiled floor, its long wooden bar and shiny brass rails, filled with patrons mostly hailing from the British Isles, sipping on pints of freshly pulled stout out of frosty glasses. Could it really be possible? Or was this a mirage? Not ones to question our good fortune, we quickly set up camp there and spent a relaxing afternoon among "our people" (as Chris fondly refers to the Irish, his heritage!)

Shortly thereafter, while walking through Wanchai (a neighborhood on the Hong Kong side not far from where we were staying), we discovered a second Delaney's and have been regulars there ever since - it's our go-to Irish pub for all occasions, including one Thanksgiving where we celebrated over the best turkey sandwiches in town!

We watched our first F-1 race (the Malaysian Grand Prix) on the big screen there in 2005 and have been watching races, rugby, football, golf, Moto GP, even cricket with fellow sports fans from all over the world for many years now - we even met some wonderful folks there from New Zealand last Fall during the Rugby World Cup who had rented their house and escaped to Hong Kong for the duration of the games!

So, to celebrate St. Paddy's Day in Hong Kong this weekend, there was only one place to go - Delaney's! From the looks of it, these revelers hail from someplace Irish, and their welcoming faces, plates of traditional Irish food, and half-drunk pints of Guinness made us want to sit right down with them, raise a draft of our own and bellow out "Slainte!"