Alleyway Barbershop is surprisingly interesting and not as scary as it seems.

Honestly, this is my first time having a cut at a barbershop inside an alley.

Alleyway barbershops still exist in Hong Kong, mostly in “old” districts such as Sham Shui Po, Kwun Tong and Wan Chai. There is a famous alleyway barbershop in Wan Chai, but the owner has his own hair salon now, he keeps his father’s alleyway barbershop mainly for educational purposes. The old shop only operates by appointments or opens on selected days for tour.

The alleyway barbershop I visited recently is located between Wan Chai and Causeway Bay. It drew my attention because it looks exactly what I saw from movies about the old Hong Kong.

Because of its environment, it did take me a moment to decide whether I should try it. Even the owner didn’t expect “youngster” like me would visit the shop, but the result was surprisingly interesting.

Let me do a “Pros & Cons” analysis about this experience. For the “Cons”, they are pretty much expected: hot, noisy, no pop music playing like modern hair salon. Since I have already prepared myself, the environment has become “bearable” to me.

On the other hand, since it has become an adventure, I enjoyed the “Pros” very much: no queue, fast, vintage setting of the shop. I also enjoyed the chat with the uncle barber.

About the haircut, it is actually NOT BAD! I went to a high-end traditional old barbershop years ago and it was an unpleasant experience. It is because they gave me a 1960s hairstyle which made me redo my hair again the next day. This time I didn’t find any problems with it. What do you think?

Most importantly, the most unexpected part is the price, it is $40! The unbeatable price is the main reason why you can’t complain about.

Overall, I think I may visit the shop again, or once in a while, but maybe after summer.