For the past eight weeks, bar manager Justin Pallack has been spending evenings hanging out with guests, talking about the cocktails they’ve ordered or just shooting the breeze. Sounds like a typical pre-Covid-19 work day for him, except that the 39-year-old general manager at 28 HongKong Street (28HKS) has been doing this over Zoom as part of the acclaimed speakeasy’s virtual house party packages. As bars islandwide started selling bottled cocktails for delivery during the circuit breaker, 28HKS did just that, but also took it a step further to re-create the bar atmosphere in the homes of their guests by adding a few extra touches.

Once you and your pals decide you want to get together for a virtual soiree, place an order for a 28HKS House Party, and they’ll provide everything you and your crew need for a fab night in — drinks, food, music — and your favourite 28HKS bartenders will host the session on Zoom.

For $88 per person (or $158 per couple in the same residence), you get three cocktails of your choice (100ml each) and an array of light bites. (Of course, the food and drinks are available for a la carte orders or as add-ons to the house party package.) A minimum of six pax is required per booking, and 28HKS advises to keep numbers below 15, lest it starts to feel like a seminar rather than a night at the bar.

Among the drink offerings are 28 Mezcal Negroni, 28’s spin on the classic cocktail, Remember the Maine, a bold concoction that they describe as “a lost cousin to the Manhattan”, and the Lazy Bear, a fresh, heady mix of gin, vermouth, peach and French herbs. Snacks in the house party package include truffle mac and cheese balls, garden chips and apple fritters.

To up the ante, 28HKS will also provide a curated Spotify playlist of mostly hip hop tunes that you probably would’ve bopped along to at the bar. Each session has two 28HKS team members — a host and a bartender — joining in the Zoom call to share about the cocktails you’re drinking, just like they would at the bar, or just chat about life in general.

Sessions are hosted from the bar (“we stay socially distanced and dial in from opposite ends of the bar,” Justin tells 8Days.sg). The team takes in only two reservations per night as each one is booked for three hours. “With that being said, we’ve never kicked a party out early. Several have gone on much longer because it’s fun for everyone involved, our team included,” he adds. The team has hosted over 30 sessions so far, and will continue to do so during Phase 1.

8 DAYS: How do you break the ice with guests at a virtual house party?
JUSTIN PALLACK: The experience actually starts even before we get on the Zoom call – as the host, I’m processing every individual order as they sign up, so I start to build a rapport and relationship then, using the tone they can expect from our bar hosts from the moment we make contact. We got into the hospitality business because we love to talk to people – we’re social animals who can’t be confined to cubicles, and we just love to host. Whether you’re at the bar physically or virtually, it should feel like you’re sitting across from an old friend – so greeting and hosting is always the same in that way.

This would be a new experience for a lot of people. How do you get guests to relax and get used to this?
Well, alcohol helps! And humour. But as bartenders, this is what we do – we put people at ease. We’ve honed our “bedside manner” for hosting guests over years, in my case over two decades. We treat every guest as somebody familiar rather than a stranger, even if we kind of have to pretend at first. One of my favourite quotes from a past session was, “It started off a little weird, but it turned into one of the best nights I’ve had in months!”

Awkward silences – what’s the best way around them?
The goal is to get people talking – no awkward silences! If there are, we jump in and help. We’ve done upwards of 30 sessions at this point, so we’ve developed a few “bits” or jokes that we’ll offer to reinvigorate the group if needed.

Besides having drinks and food, how else can guests re-create the bar atmosphere at home to prep for a virtual house party?
This might give away all of our secrets, but if other bars choose to take on this endeavour – and it helps save people's jobs – I’m happy to share it! We’re proud of this idea that we’ve come up with to recreate the 28HKS experience, and we think it’s innovative – hopefully something the global bar community can draw inspiration from as they find new ways to get by in this difficult time.

One of the things we’ve learned to do is remind the guests what elements they enjoy about bars. Before we even start the session, I remind people in a group message to find a comfortable spot where the can settle in with a beautiful background they’re proud of. Early in the call we’ll ask them how many of them have had a great time in a brightly lit bar? Then we take a moment to remind them to dim the lights to make their home into more of a comfortable bar environment. We intentionally guide people to create that environment, and then we bring them the food, drinks, music, swag, etc.

What interesting things have happened in previous sessions?
The groups naturally range in their personalities and we’ve had all kinds of fun things happen – dance parties until the wee hours of the morning (I was a DJ before getting in to the bar world, so I like to take a little credit for that), “name that tune” competitions. In some cases we get really juicy fun facts from people and there have been some shocking confessions.

28 House Party is available from $88 per person. Next available slot is on the week of June 15. Delivery starts from $12 for centrally located destinations. Book via WhatsApp at +65 8318 0328 or email findus [at] 28hks.com. More info at http://www.28hks.com/.

Photos: 28 HongKong Street