As I walked into the M Bar on the 25th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong at 6.45pm, I spotted my friend sitting at a corner table, a glass of Krug champagne by his side. A minute later I was reaching for my notebook and pen.
This had nothing to do with what had been said but with what I had just witnessed. Realising that what I needed to stave off jet lag was a Bloody Mary, my friend raised his hand to attract a waiter’s attention. The raised hand was noted, reciprocated and, in seconds, a waiter was with us, eager to take my order.
My host smiled. “I’ve been living here for 20 years and I still think this style of swift service is the defining aspect of being in Hong Kong,” he said. “No other city I have ever been to can match it.”