Study old men from hardcore Asian city (8)

I believe the answer is:

denpasar

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'asian city' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot judge whether this works.

'study old men from hardcore' is the wordplay.
'study' becomes 'den' (term for a study or office).
'old men' becomes 'pas' (I've seen this in another clue).
'from' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'hardcore' becomes 'ar' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'den'+'pas'+'ar'='DENPASAR'

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app