Bar and beverage manager at Plaza Premium Group, Imelda Ng presents quality drinks at Hong Kong airport’s watering holes
Arrive, check in baggage, scan your passport, pass security, search for your gate – departing Hong Kong for a holiday is a typically facile process at the airport.
Drinking a few cocktails, soak into a glass of wine, or enjoy something strong on the rocks? That may be the last thing on many travellers’ minds, something that Imelda Ng wants to change.
“I won’t say I like cocktails, I like hospitality. I like to make people happy and that’s why I make beautiful, tasty cocktails for our guests,” Imelda tells Foodie sitting down at Intervals Bar. “I am the person to deliver good service and entertain the guests at the airport.”
As bar & beverage manager at Plaza Premium Group, Hong Kong, Imelda covers various spaces in the Hong Kong International Airport, including Plaza Premium First, Plaza Premium Lounges, and the signature Intervals Bar. She believes drinking at the airport should become an integral part of your travel experience, marking the beginning of any trip.
Intervals Bar stands as Hong Kong’s first cocktail bar located within the airport, serving guests from 7AM to 11:30PM breakfast, lunch, dinner, and cocktails in between. It is the company’s first cocktail bar within the Plaza Premium Group which serves 150 airports globally.
In the theme of travel, drinkers can sample Intervals’ classic cocktails sorted in intervals of time: a Bellini or Bloody Mary for a ‘Good Morning’, Margarita for an ‘Afternoon Delight’, Godfather or Old Fashioned for ‘Night Cap’, a Whisky Sour for ‘Anytime is a Good Time’, and an Aviation for ‘Just Because We’re in an Airport’.
And just like an airport serving a wealth of destinations, Intervals brings the world of spirits to the bar: Tried & True vodka from France, Nusa Cana rum from Indonesia, Abelha Organic Silver Cachaca from Brazil, ABA pisco from Chile, and Cocchi Bianca grappa from Italy. Guests can also expect seasonal cocktails at all the lounges.
“People these days are looking to start their journey earlier [at the airport] and celebrate.”
“Everything [at Intervals] is about time and we want to frame this concept so even if you have a short time with us, you can stop by and drink.”
To best accommodate time-rushed customers, the cocktail bar offers 15, 30, and 45-minute-long flights to enjoy a line of cocktails before jetting off.
Imelda began her career mixing drinks at a list of Kowloon-based hotels, later trading the Kowloon peninsula for the Four Seasons, Hong Kong to assist the hotel’s beverage programme in Caprice Bar and a pre-ARGO era.
She worked alongside former ARGO mixologist Lorenzo Antinori and a team of barbacks to open the world-famous bar, climbing the ranks from barista to bartender.
Following a stint in Shanghai in 2021, she joined the group to open Intervals and make people associate the airport with drinking.
Beyond Intervals, select Plaza Premium lounges at Hong Kong’s airport employ a small beverage programme stocking three signature cocktails. Imelda and her team can’t pop out for a spare lemon when product runs low, so each ingredient must be accounted for to track how many cocktails can be made daily.
The same quality spirits, wine, beer, and made-to-order cocktails can be also found at Intervals and the seven Plaza Premium lounges at the airport. “We want to ensure you can drink everything you can find outside [the airport] in town,” Imelda says.
Imelda considers herself a brand ambassador of the airport, popularising a tipsy side of the global transport hub. “I think everyone who works in our group is a brand ambassador of Hong Kong.”
Visit Imelda Ng and enjoy a cocktail before your flight at Intervals Bar or any of Plaza Premium Lounges at HKIA.
