It’s not a marketing gimmick, the two celebrated bartenders behind The Opposites Hong Kong, Samuel Kwok and Antonio Lai, explain. “The reason we had the idea to open The Opposites in the first place is because the way Samuel does things and the way I do things is quite the opposite,” Antonio shrugs.
It’s not a marketing gimmick, the two celebrated bartenders behind The Opposites Hong Kong, Samuel Kwok and Antonio Lai, explain. “The reason we had the idea to open The Opposites in the first place is because the way Samuel does things and the way I do things is quite the opposite,” Antonio shrugs.Samuel is the tattooed gentle giant and former Quinary bar manager who became World Class Hong Kong & Macau Champion in 2017. He’s an old-school perfectionist who loves classic cocktails with mischievous twists, and unwinds with boxing and Boulevardiers.
Antonio Lai, on the other hand, is Asia’s multi-sensory mixology pioneer who has been revolutionizing Hong Kong’s cocktail scene for over 20 years. The restless entrepreneur, who reached the global top 8 of World Class in 2015, is the man behind Quinary and six other acclaimed venues who’s always hopping between bars or dreaming up his next concept.
Samuel And Antonio Are The Opposites In So Many Ways
They’re opposites in so many ways, they explain.
“Samuel takes ages to get ready and rarely steps out anything less than perfectly groomed,” Antonio elaborates.
“We can’t be in the same room together – I’m a little bit OCD,” Samuel shakes his head. “And I’m like a small typhoon,” Antonio laughs nervously.
They can’t even agree on when they first met.
As Antonio remembers it: “Samuel has been working with me for more than a decade. He first met me at Finds Restaurant about 14 years ago. After that, when I opened Quinary, Samuel worked with us for seven years.”
“Let me correct the timeline,” Samuel interrupts. “It’s more than 15 years! But we did meet at Finds Restaurant. Later, I knew Antonio as a consultant. He was doing molecular drinks at that time. To be honest, I didn’t really like it. To me drinks are supposed to taste good and that’s all there is to it. And back then you had a ponytail, remember?” Samuel laughs. “I didn’t even think you were Chinese.”
Still, Samuel recognized that when Antonio opened Quinary in 2012, full of the high-tech bar equipment and the molecular approach he was pioneering, it was part of a looming cocktail trend he should probably embrace. So he signed up.
But these two opposites somehow complemented each other. And so in 2015, when Antonio joined the World Class competition, Samuel was his assistant. And when Samuel entered in 2017, Antonio repaid the favor.
Hong Kong Bartenders Who Are Poles Apart But Somehow Sometimes Aligned
Last year, they opened The Opposites together, proving the relationship, for all its contrasts, works.
Take their opinions about creativity, for example, which eventually align even though Antonio is high-tech and Samuel is resolutely old-school.
“I can go quite far creatively and employ different equipment, ideas and concepts. My process is always to think about what technique I know that will allow me to combine it into the drink to make it an unforgettable experience,” Antonio explains.
“I always want to keep the DNA of the drinks. My style of twisting cocktails is that I don’t really go too far. I want the customer to understand the backbone of what it’s supposed to be – the texture, the taste, and the appearance as well,” Samuel says.
“I knew when we opened Quinary that rotovaps and centrifuges would become common in bars one day,” Antonio remembers. “But the first thing lots of bars do now is say, ‘Let me show you my lab!'” Samuel complains.
But they both agree that knowing the classics, and a deep understanding of craft underpins any creative endeavor. “You can’t run before you can walk,” Antonio concedes.
Introducing The New Menu At The Opposites Hong Kong
At The Opposites, Samuel and Antonio take on classics in their own inimitable ways. Each classic, starting with the eight they launched with, gets a make-over by Samuel and Antonio, and is presented on opposite sides of the colorfully illustrated menu.
So, the new menu at The Opposites sees them taking on three more classics (the first menu featured eight classic cocktails).
The Sidecar, one of the new additions, becomes Samuel’s Biker’s Catch, with cognac, bancha, peated single-malt vodka, cointreau, dried squid, orange and lemon, soy sauce, and smoked straw-grass. And in Antonio’s hands, Unsplash, with cognac, cointreau, citrus trio cordial, and a tangerine pu-erh, clarified with milk.
Added to that is their version of the Paloma and an Espresso Martini, joining drinks like their versions of the Pimm’s Cup, the Bloody Mary, the Garibaldi, and the Charlie Chaplin.
For The Opposites Hong Kong’s Samuel and Antonio Personal Connection To Cocktails Is Paramount
They both create drinks with deep personal connections, whether it’s to where they live or to their personal stories.
“For me, I always put some of my personal story into it,” Antonio elaborates on his creative process. Take his version of the Bloody Mary on the menu, called Miss Gazpacho. “I like Japanese stuff, my wife is Korean. I have a bit of the DNA of both of those. So, there’s wasabi-redistilled vodka in this drink and we use kimchi powder,” Antonio nods about the importance of a personal connection to cocktails.
“For me, the personal connection is in representing your culture,” Samuel agrees. “Where you’re living, which city or region you’re in. And for a new cocktail. I like to explore ingredients that are related to daily life, like the dried squid in my The Biker’s Catch, which is a very Hong Kong ingredient.”
Worried too much amicability is creeping into the conversion, we move swiftly on to the interview, with Samuel and Antonio asking the questions. And they got straight into it.
Antonio: Okay, me first. What thing about bartending do you think you’re better at than me?
Samuel: For customers who first come in, they might like your style more – you’re more natural. But, for returning customers, I’m good at recognizing people.
Antonio: That’s true, you’re far better at that than me.
Samuel: Only because of a career in F&B, it’s something I had to learn. At The Opposites, we have lots of guests who used to come to Quinary, I remember who they are, what they drank, even who they’re friends with…
Samuel: Which drink from the menu would you like to steal from me?
Antonio: Your Soya Sour! The idea and concept is amazing. If I can steal that and give it a twist with my molecular style, everyone’s gonna love it.
Antonio: What’s a secret about us you never told me?
Samuel: Honestly, I don’t think there is one. When I see something wrong, and I want to say something, I just say it. I filter at first. One or two times is fine but if it happens for a long time then I have to say it.
Antonio: That’s true. We’ve known each other long enough that if there’s something you do or I do, we’re totally okay with saying it.
Antonio: As a person, am I shaken, stirred or something else?
Samuel: You’re usually shaken, literally. I always see you, when you finish work on a Wednesday or Thursday night, you gather the team to practice shaking techniques. I agree, but also disagree to some percentage, that classics always need a good shaking technique. For me, I believe that when you’re really busy, you have to find the best approach with a quick result. But, your shaking techniques are really good, obviously.
Antonio: Which celebrity would you trust me to make drinks for?
Samuel: The guy from Star Wars. George Lucas! You’re really good at making stories with cocktails. And you’re such a big fan of Star Wars.
Antonio: If you bartended at my funeral, what would you serve?
Samuel: Earl Grey Caviar Martinis, our signature from Quinary!
Antonio: I knew it. We’ve already assured each other this will happen.
Samuel: Which classic do you secretly hope we never do versions of at The Opposites?
Antonio: Martinis. If you think about the molecular style, a martini is like almost all alcohol. There’s not much you can do with it that we haven’t already with the Early Grey Caviar Martini. With the garnish, you could spherify the olive maybe. But not much else. So, I think Martini is the answer. That would be the most difficult thing.
Samuel: That’s decided. The next cocktail we do is a Martini!
Samuel: Okay, last question. In your opinion, what’s the worst idea I ever had?
Antonio: I think working together! I always tell people that when you first met me you didn’t like the way I did things. But, we don’t know why, in the end we work together, and now we’ve partnered together at The Opposites Hong Kong!
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