screenshot 20260422 215737 gallery

kittylui
oldernewer
screenshot 20260422 215737 gallery

Does anyone recall where this place was? The plate behind says: 龍舟灞, it looks like a restaurant or a bar, and the photo was taken during the 1980s. It could be somewhere in repulse bay, or maybe Aberdeen. Does anyone know?

Date picture taken
unknown
Shows person / people
Charles Beatty Allenby Haig THIRLWELL [1918-1985]
Shows place(s)
Hilton Hotel [1963-1995]

Comments

Hi there,

It is actually 龍船灞 from right to left.  Not a restaurant I may have encountered.  By the look of it, the venue appeared to be quite big.  There is also a ceremonial banner  (or engraving) beneath the name, with words telling it was inaugurated by some knighted ones.  But the name was obscured by one of the staff........

T

ps.  I began to wonder if that may be the Dragon Boat Bar in the Hilton.  I could not confirm as I have not been inside the premises.

a bit more description of the Dragon Boat Bar online:

The Dragon Boat Bar Launch: This bar, famously shaped like an actual dragon boat, was positioned as the "business hub." Its launch was targeted at the local "Tai-pans" (heads of major trading houses) and high-ranking officials from nearby government offices and banks like HSBC.

Now we need somebody who had been there to have a look.

Updated 26 April 2026

The Dragon Boat Bar at the Hilton was a watering hole. The actual bar was shaped like a dragon boat, thus the name given.

At the back of a Dragon Boat Bar postcard (seen at https://www.facebook.com/groups/366180617365784/posts/828414914475683/), the full description reads: "The Dragon Boat Bar. The most exotic bar in the Orient. Your favourite drink or a "new" one for the adventurous. Service by the Dragon Girls in their mini-cheongsams. Cocktail hour music."

The photo scene looks like a Chinese luncheon for a tour group ?

 

Hi there,

The photo did show the tail end of a golden dragon.  It also looked like a bar setup with the coca-cola dispenser, and lots of bottles at the back.

I have no knowledge of the premises, however.  The three big Chinese characters did sound like lung shuen bar in Cantonese.

T

Thank you everyone for your input. The occasion was a gathering for either the royal life saving association and/or dragon boat teams back in the early 80s, the gentleman in the green shirt was Mr Charlie Thirlwell, who was the keeper of the waglan island lighthouse, and very close to the local HK fishermen/dragon boat community.

The dragon boat bar top in the photo indeed looked very much like the one in Hilton dragon boat bar drawing!!

Hello everyone, just a little update. I have posted the same picture to the Old Hong Kong Facebook page, the folks there (who actually visited the bar) recognize the venue on the photo being the dragon boat bar at Hilton, and seems the bar started to offer Chinese buffet for lunch/dinner in the mid 70s, as shown in the photo. Many thanks again for everyone's help.