Bars, restaurants and cha chaan teng are packed with soccer fans cheering for their teams during the season. You may feel left out if your favourite sport is Basketball, but the DaHoops Basketball Cafe aims to change that, offering somewhere for the sport's lovers to hang out and talk about their beautiful game.
Ted Yiu Oi-tat opened the Causeway Bay cafe last November to share his love for National Basketball Association ( NBA ) action with others. "Three years ago, I returned from Canada but found it really difficult to watch NBA games here in Hong Kong. I went to some American-style restaurants and bars hoping that they would show NBA games, but none did," he says.
"It's not that there are no NBA fans in Hong Kong. When I go shopping in sports shops in Mong Kok, I find many NBA lovers and we talk about the game. I set up this cafe to provide a place for NBA fans to watch the game and talk about it, just like soccer fans crowding the bars to watch their sport."
DaHoops Basketball Caf? is filled with NBA figures, models and magazines. Hanging on the walls are the jerseys of NBA greats Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony. There are also posters, photos and flags decorating the venue.
Customers can even try their hands at games such as Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers Monopoly.
"Many people think I spent a fortune collecting all these items, but actually I'm just displaying things I've collected over the years since I was 10 years old," says Mr Yiu.
"They are not expensive but truly valuable and rare. For example, there's an issue of Sports Illustrated, one of the most prestigious sports magazines in the United States, featuring Michael Jordan winning his second NBA title with the Chicago Bulls in 1992. The issue cost me less than $3US, but it's almost impossible to find now. This is not about spending a huge amount of money, but the time and effort to collect these items consistently over the years."
The cafe's menu is also all about the NBA . The most popular dish is the Legendary Jordan's Burger. This name is easy for everyone to understand, but there are some dishes that are hard to understand if you are not an NBA fan - Steve Nashchos, Squid Bosh and Dwyane Wings, for example, are dedicated to superstars Steve Nash, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
The cafe opens daily until midnight. It has been opening every day at 8am recently so that fans have somewhere to watch the NBA Finals between Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic. The best-of-seven series is due to end on June 18.
Visit www.dahoops.com for more information.
