It's a long way to go for a whistle. Flying from London to Hong Kong and back will take longer than a tailor needs to measure, cut, sew and finish your suit. But the whole experience is such a wondrous whirlwind, such a joyously preposterous excuse to visit this extraordinary city, that it’s ultimately worthwhile. Three or four days in town is sufficient to get to know the place and grab yourself a great bespoke suit or two. Just don’t expect too much sleep.

As well as consultations and fittings for your finery, you will want to eat in great restaurants, drink and pose in chic designer bars, and shop arduously in both slick malls and chaotic markets for cashmere, cameras and kitsch. You will marvel at the skyline, curse the traffic, and maybe even ponder the philosophical contradictions of an Ancient Chinese culture surviving beneath the surface of this contemporary Gotham. The jet-lag won’t let you slumber much anyway, so don’t bother trying.

Clearly Sam the Tailor doesn’t sleep. Hong Kong’s premier purveyor of lightning-quick made-to-measure is a cyclone of sartorial energy, with stellar clients whose photos adorn the walls of his tiny, cluttered showroom in Kowloon. Everyone from Jude Law to Bill Clinton has felt his tape measure near their particulars and no doubt enjoyed his patter about pitched lapels, covered buttons and floating stitching. Seeing a snap of George W. Bush peering down while Sam sizes you up is a little disconcerting, but then Bryan Ferry is also a client, and if Sam can make me look half as elegant as the Roxy Music man I’ll be happy.

I’m not convinced that Sam is really sure who half the famous people he has measured up are, but he certainly knows how to flog a suit. So it makes sense to have a firm idea of what you want before you arrive in the sensory barrage of his neon-lit little showroom.

This is not a sedate Savile Row experience, where your desires will be gently coaxed out – there isn’t time for that. So turn up in a suit that you already like to give him an idea of your taste and a blueprint to work from. Besides, looking dapper will show that you’re a man of distinction and distance yourself from the cruise liner hordes in their sandals and socks, who crowd his shop. You need an edge to get the best; you also need to book in advance and insist on the man himself. He is so entertaining that it’s worth the journey just to spend time in his company.

Other tailors are available, of course. You will be plagued by touts trying to drag you into backstreet sweatshops, and many will be less expensive than Sam the Man, but since one of his suits is only £200 to £250, depending on material (about a tenth of Savile Row prices), it’s not worth scrimping and risking ending up with shapeless tat. It also means that it’s probably worth getting a couple.

So I opted for a navy gabardine two-button, two-piece and – something I’ve always wanted but never been able to justify at London prices – a proper formal black dinner suit, just in case this article wins any awards. Sam also makes shirts for £25, which he claims are as good as any on Jermyn Street. You have to wait only a day and a half to find out if he’s right.

Hong Kong’s teeming streets are like a crowd scene from Soylent Green (admittedly with better food), so it’s important to have a good, relaxing hotel. They don’t come any more tranquil than the Peninsula, the doyenne of old imperial Hong Kong and a place that knows how to make a well-dressed English gentleman feel as if he still owns the island.

The Peninsula will whisk you from the airport in one of its green Rolls-Royce Phantoms and pander to your every whim, from shoe-shines to shaken Martinis. Afternoon tea is traditional tiffin at its most elegant, while the ever-so-Zen spa is the ideal antidote to the stresses of Hong Kong and worries about how your suit will turn out. This all comes at a price, of course, but remember how much you’re saving at the tailor’s and, of course, the view across the bay from your room is priceless.

It also helps that the Peninsula is just two blocks from Sam’s place, which gives you more time to explore. Take the old Star Ferry over to “Hong Kong side” and head for Hollywood Road, with its antique shops, and nearby Cat Street, which has tonnes of Maoist tat. Just south, SoHo is all hip bars, diners and quirky fashions. But it’s in the tiny, steep lanes between the major streets, bursting with activity, that you get a glimpse of a more chaotic and charismatic China, timeless and deep.

Back in Kowloon there are the neon-crazed shopping streets near your hotel, but head farther in, towards grimy Mongkok, with its numerous tumultuous markets, and it all gets truly fascinating. The bird market, in particular (Sars notwithstanding) is mesmerising, as are the smoke-swathed temples by the Jade market. Here you really feel as if you have entered another world. You can even light some incense and pray for your soon-to-be suit.

You don’t have long to fret. When Sam personally delivered my gear on time, I was amazed by the level of workmanship. These are not the highly structured works of sartorial engineering, full of wadding and padding, that you get from Savile Row. Sam’s suits are lighter, less constricting, perhaps not quite as exquisite, but lovely. The shirt was excellent, too. And what bargains.

It’s hard to imagine a better souvenir to take back than a couple of fine suits. And if you decide you want some more, well Sam has your particulars and you can call him. Better still, plan your next journey to Hong Kong in search of fine threads.

Suited and booted ...

Sam’s Tailor, ground floor, Burlington Arcade, 94 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon (00 852 2367 9423 or 2721 8375, www.samstailor.com). A typical suit costs about £200 and a shirt about £25. Sam also makes women’s clothes, including cheong sam dresses, and will copy almost anything taken to him.

Where to pose in your new suit:

Felix, the 28th-floor bar-restaurant of the Peninsula, designed by Philippe Starck, has wonderful views. And the food isn’t bad, either. Details: 28/F, The Peninsula, Salisbury Road, Kowloon (2315 3188, www.hongkongpeninsula.com).

M at The Fringe is a groovy, laid-back spot on Hong Kong island, with excellent, reasonably priced food, boho atmosphere and cool punters. Details: 2 Lower Albert Road, Central (2877 4000, www.m-restaurantgroup.com).

Kee Club, a nominally members-only place in Central, is a smart dim sum restaurant by day and an exclusive nightspot after dark. Details: 6/F, 32 Wellington Street, Central (2810 9000, www.keeclub.com).

Need to know:

Robert Elms flew to Hong Kong with Air New Zealand (0800 0284149, www.airnnew zealand.co.uk), which has return fares from Heathrow from £410. He stayed at The Peninsula Hong Kong (00 852 2920 2888, www.hongkong.peninsula.com), which has superior rooms from £272.

Further information: Hong Kong Tourist Board (020-7533 7100, www.discoverhongkong.com).

Reading: The Hong Kong Insight Pocket Guide (Insight Guides, £7.99).

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