China Bear

China Bear has long been the heart of Mui Wo's social scene. It occupies the ground floor of the Mui Wo Centre on Ngan Wan Road, right beside the ferry pier, and its waterfront terrace looks out over the water towards the rest of Hong Kong, which makes it the natural place to watch the boats come and go. For hikers, cyclists and day-trippers arriving from Central, it is usually the first stop on Lantau and very often the last.

It isn't a specialist taproom, but draught standards plus a selection of craft bottles and cans billed as "Unexplored Crafts" beat anything else on the island. Think of it as a proper pub that happens to have a decent fridge, rather than a beer bar, and you will be happy. Fish and chips and burgers suit a morning on the Lantau Trail, and at weekends the kitchen does a full breakfast menu, from a Full English and eggs Benedict to banana pancakes, so it is also a sensible place to fuel up before a hike.

Weekend happy hour starts at 8:30am, making the morning session a local institution, and on weekdays the pub runs a happy hour from 5pm to 9pm aimed squarely at people walking straight off the ferry. Many time their ferry back to Central for a pint on the sea wall. Families and dogs are welcome.

The Bear is a community hub as much as a pub. It shows live sport on its screens, runs a regular quiz night and supports local trail running events, so locals mix with the hikers and day-trippers. It is a relaxed place to finish a day on south Lantau, or to start one.