The story of PDT bar at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental explores the meeting of New York with Hong Kong, the Americas with Asia, and the power of Colombian mixology
What happens when a Colombian and an American walk into a New York bar in a Hong Kong hotel? PDT is born.
Housed in the The Landmark Mandarin Oriental of Hong Kong’s famed worldly import, climbing a flight of marble stairs and walking through a curtained-off telephone booth lies PDT, the success story of imported Americas hospitality to Asia’s cocktail hub.
The fusing of two regions and their respective drinking cultures began in 2016, when Jeff Bell, now general manager of the original PDT New York, arrived for a cocktail pop-up at MO Bar.
Opened in May 2007 by mixologist Jim Meehan, PDT, or Please Don’t Tell, is a curious speakeasy tucked away inside the 20-year-old New York hot-dog bar Crif Dogs. You buzz into a telephone booth and enter an oaky world of creative cocktail sipping.
“We brought PDT to The Landmark Mandarin Oriental in May 2016, and Hong Kong loved it. We were packed every night from 5PM to 1AM. Chef Richard Ekkebus invited us to open PDT permanently to Hong Kong in [February] 2018. We were wanted and welcomed,” Jeff remembers during an afternoon conversation inside PDT, a day before the beginning of his second cocktail guest shift in 2023.
From Dec. 8 to 11, 2023, Jeff joined Daniel Valencia, head bartender at PDT, for an East-meet-West guest shift, serving his New York creations alongside Daniel’s Colombian-inspired Hong Kong tipples. The meeting was special.
As a teenager in 2010, Daniel arrived in Hong Kong, where very few Colombians resided – let alone those working in the F&B industry. His impressive CV has seen him command the bars at mega Eclipse Hospitality Group and Black Sheep Restaurants, before joining PDT Hong Kong and MO Bar, operating the bar programmes at The Landmark.
At PDT Hong Kong, Daniel flexes his knowledge and nostalgia of his childhood spent in Colombia. “For 15 years of my life growing up in Colombia with my grandmother, having lunch with her every single day and savouring the fruits and flavours of Colombia was incredible,” Daniel tells us. “Joining PDT in 2021, I wanted to bring the flavours of Colombia to Hong Kong.”
Five signature cocktails from PDT New York and five PDT Hong Kong specials were offered to customers during December 2023’s guest shift, with Daniel serving two cocktails infused with special Colombian fruits and love.
Tierra Querida fuses a healthy pour of Havana Club 7 years rum with Colombia’s “fire water” and national liquor aguardiente, a special anise-flavoured liqueur close to Daniel’s heart. The cocktail is sweetened with guanabana, or soursop in English translation, a fruit popular in Colombia and Latin America.
His second Colombian cocktail, Oh My Days!, has Nikka Days whisky and The HACHI umeshu brightened with lulu cordial, a fruit juice found in every corner of Colombia.
“The [guanabana] I bring from Colombia is super rich in flavour. It grows wherever you go, in every city. The lulu is a tropical and citrus fruit that is served at every lunch, every restaurant, or wherever your friends go. You will be served lulu by itself, with milk, or mixed with water. It is super refreshing!”
Jeff’s cocktails introduced strong New York flavours such as Concord grape, Mexico-loved Don Julio reposado tequila, pear liqueur, coffee-charged gin and vodka, chai, citrus fruits, and green apple – a summation of the Big Apple’s sweet melting pot.
December’s guest shift was Jeff’s second time mixing at PDT Hong Kong with Daniel, strengthening the trilateral bond between Hong Kong, New York, and Colombia.
Why does Hong Kong need PDT? “New York has a ton of flavours, making it one of the most diverse cities in the world,” Jeff answers. “I want to showcase this worldly food city in Hong Kong, another great city for eating and drinking. Speaking with Daniel about his grandma, philosophies, and inspirations for drinks, I want him to serve drinks that reflect him, his story, and the team here, but with the same ethos from New York.”
“[PDT Hong Kong] survives off the integration of East meets West, New York and Hong Kong, Colombia and Asia. If you come to PDT, you can appreciate the New York essence, but with a Hong Kong design and flair.”
Jeff and Daniel are hopeful for greater representation of New York and Colombian hues painting PDT Hong Kong and its bar programme. “More integration” is what Jeff hopes for, “moving forward with a Colombian-Hong Kong hybrid menu with a PDT New York direction”.
“I want to see the flavours I know from my childhood come to play in the future for cocktails in Hong Kong. My bartenders are from the Philippines, China, and Hong Kong. We have the power to blend our Asian flavours with the strength of North and South American mixology,” Daniel concludes.
Enjoy Jeff and Daniel’s crafted New York-born and Hong Kong-loved bar programme at PDT today by booking a table here.
