The selection is adequate in the department of ’80s ballads and Brittney Spears hits, but we were missing bangers from the last decade or so. Videos are mainly the original clips, allowing you to either sing along if you’re a timid little k-coward (koward?) or mute out the vocal. Touchscreen, and it’s the familiar system used by many of the K-rooms around town.

You’ve got a choice of either private rooms or taking your chances on the big main stage, and staffers here seem to think that if they keep you fed and watered, you’ll stay all night. Mariah Carey’s ‘We Belong Together’ makes an appearance, and we reach a perfect 100 for a very cheesy rendition of ‘Beautiful Soul’.Īn unobtrusive doorway in the middle of Dixon Mall in Chinatown leads to an elevator, and then you walk into a Blade Runner -style idea of the Shanghai wine bar of the sci-fi future: pulsating screens, mirrors, giant ads for Hennessy and serious terracotta statues. There’s an overwhelming contingent of Korean songs in the thick tome, but in the (much) smaller English section we find some we know will get us top points in the room's scoring system. You can’t be shy here: the sound system is loud, the reverb is intense and the backing vocals are mostly inaudible. The novelty of having to flip through an actual song book is kind of charming, even though the tracks are alphabetised by song name (artist is always best for a tipsy crowd), as is the oversized Game Boy-style remote. But we’re happy to abandon our tech obsession if it means we get those little free dishes of soy crisps and popcorn and tambourines upon request. The booth seating is pretty bare, the mics are more school assembly than Lizzo concert, and you’re required to operate a giant 18th century calculator to select songs. If you’re all about the glitzy Sydney singing experience, the dormitory of 11 Spartan rooms above George Street might not be your style.

Bar one karaoke