Hong Kong is giving free cash vouchers to explore the city at night. For real.

This article is part of our What's Good In The Hood series, which sees us bringing our audience to unfamiliar destinations.

Through this series, we explore places that might not be the expected, top holiday destinations for Singaporeans, or hidden gems at some of the most popular travel spots so we can all find out what's good in the hood.

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Hong Kong Tourism Board is giving each visitor a HKD100 Night Treats cash voucher that can be used at participating restaurants and bars after 6pm.

This was the perfect excuse for me to plan a night out for myself in Hong Kong to utilise the cash voucher (free money leh).

I didn’t want to go to the usual haunts so I did a lil’ bit of research and asked around for recommendations from locals. Here’s what I did.

Grab a drink at a local bistro bar

Hong Kong is known for its food. There are also tons of bars and restaurants in the city.

The locals recommended that I check out Ho Lan Jeng, a bistro bar that serves locally inspired-cocktails and beers sourced within the city.

If you’re planning to visit, do take note that it’s located inside an office building, and the entrance is very easy to miss.

But when you take the lift up to Level 2, you are brought into a whole new environment.

The dimly lit place was illuminated by neon signs spread across the bar, and the staff here were friendly and warm. Very cosy atmosphere.

There was an extensive list of cocktails and beers to choose from and the staff took me through the menu to share some highlights and best sellers.

I ordered a cocktail and it came like this:

The cocktails here cost HKD125 (~S$21.40), but I only had to pay HKD25 (~S$4.30) for my cocktail after offsetting the bill using my Night Treats voucher.

Rooftop bar

Alternatively, if you’re someone looking for somewhere with a view, like a rooftop bar, then you can consider checking out Eye Bar around Tsim Sha Shui.

The view itself is worth a trip.

Took an open-top bus ride (which I highly recommend)

This was probably the first time I explored a city via an open-top bus because, for some reason, I find open-top bus tours to be a ‘touristy’ thing to do.

But this bus tour happens at night. And I like watching the city lights, and long bus rides, so this intrigued me.

There are three different routes that you can choose from to explore different parts of the city.

I chose the Rickshaw Bus H2K Night Tour that takes you through Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.

I picked this route because I wanted to start the tour after dinner. This particular bus runs late (the last bus is at 10pm!).

Not going to lie, throughout the whole bus ride, I wished I was there with a loved one. It honestly makes for a great date option, especially if you bring some light snacks and drinks on board (but please remember to clean up after yourself).

Some parts of the ride can feel like a rollercoaster, especially when the bus makes a turn and when your hair is blown against the wind.

But in most parts, you will be mesmerised by the city lights at night.

10/10 would recommend this, especially if you are travelling with your partner. This was unexpectedly one of the most memorable things about the trip.

From now until January 2024, the night tours are going for HKD20 (~$S3.40) per person, which is a steal considering that it was originally HKD100 (~S$17.15) per person.

How to collect the cash voucher

It’s really easy.

All you have to do is to approach any of the Hong Kong Tourism Board visitor centers. You can find one at the Hong Kong International Airport arrival hall, with others located around the city.

Hand your passport to the staff for verification before you can collect the cash voucher.

There’s a unique QR code that you will need to scan to claim the voucher.

You can find out more about how you can utilise the cash voucher on the Hong Kong Tourism Board website.

Writing this article sponsored by the Hong Kong Tourism Board is making this writer wish he had more days to discover hidden gems.

Top images by Kane Goh.