Nestled among shops selling furniture and traditional Chinese medicine in Vancouverโs Chinatown is a curious-looking storefront on Main Street.
The shop sign reads โHappy Valley Turf Clubโ, calling to mind the Hong Kong neighbourhood of the same name that is known for its racecourse.
The shop, as it turns out, is not a shop at all, but a front for a hidden speakeasy, and its doors remain firmly shut during the day. In the evening, the place comes alive, with a queue of people waiting to be let in.
Within the shop, there is an old-school betting counter, a blackboard listing racehorses and their odds, and even a television screen showing Hong Kong race highlights.
Those in the know place a wager on King Louie, which unlocks a door to Bagheera, a sophisticated-looking bar named after the panther in Rudyard Kiplingโs The Jungle Book. King Louie, too, is a reference โ to the orangutan introduced in Disneyโs animated take on the story.
