Category Archives: Hong Kong

The Loft by The Nail Library – taking mani-pedis in Hong Kong to lofty heights!

Posted on November 3, 2014 | 2 comments

UPDATE: The Loft by The Nail Library is now closed; head to The Nail Library on On Wo Lane for all your mani-pedi needs!

Stuff I like: nail polish, mani-pedis, being pampered.

Stuff I don’t like: walking, walking uphill, getting really sweaty when walking uphill.

You may remember my discovery of The Nail Library being life-changing for my love of nail polish, mani-pedis and being pampered in Hong Kong. However, in order for The Nail Library to be something of a hidden gem, it has to be… well, a bit hidden. Hence its perfectly charming location off the beaten track in Po Hing Fong, which is a reasonably lengthy and very uphill walk from Sheung Wan MTR station.

So I bring good news to those of you who share my aversion for most forms of physical activity. You can now get all of The Nail Library’s amazing range of nail polish brands, its superstar nail therapists, its unparalleled nail art expertise, and its laidback urban-luxe vibe at an even more convenient location just by Central’s escalators at The Loft by The Nail Library. Huzzah.

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Posted in Beauty, Hong Kong, Pretty Things

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Bread Street Kitchen & Bar restaurant review – Gordon Ramsay hits Hong Kong

Posted on September 23, 2014 | 3 comments

In case you’ve been hiding under a rock (in which case I’d quite like to join you, as I’m sick of seeing his face all over my social media!), Brit celeb chef Gordon Ramsay has opened his first restaurant in Hong Kong – Bread Street Kitchen & Bar in Central.

I’m not going to bore you with comparisons to fellow Brit celeb chef Jamie Oliver, as with the recent opening of Hong Kong’s first Jamie’s Italian restaurant, nearly every other publication is doing that for you. If you know your TV chefs, you should already be well aware that the two are very different propositions – both as TV personalities and as chefs – and that Bread Street Kitchen was always going to be a somewhat fancier affair than the much more casual Jamie’s Italian chain.

Ramsay’s cuisine has been brought over to Hong Kong thanks to restaurant group behemoth Dining Concepts, who have form transporting famous chef eateries to our shores with the likes of Laurent Tourondel’s BLT Burger, Mario Batali’s Lupa, Will Meyrick’s Mama San and Michael White’s Al Molo. They’ve also managed to transplant Bread Street Kitchen’s original London décor almost exactly to Hong Kong – that curiously anonymous blend of “vintage and modern” which feels like it was dreamed up by a committee. Think a bustling brasserie vibe with tiled floors, leather banquettes and clusters of antique-style lamps in the massive space formerly occupied by LKF ice bar favourite, Balalaika.

Ramsay won’t actually be cooking here himself (does he ever anywhere these days?!) so sadly, you won’t be getting your scallops with a side order of swearwords. Instead, the cuisine at Bread Street is posh British gastropub fare, with a menu that’s currently near identical to London’s – and having checked said menu, the Hong Kong prices are pretty spot on too.

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Posted in Food, Hong Kong

Tagged best British restaurants Hong Kong, best restaurants Lan Kwai Fong, Bread Street Kitchen & Bar, Bread Street Kitchen & Bar Hong Kong, Bread Street Kitchen Hong Kong, British cuisine Central, British cuisine Hong Kong, British restaurants Central, British restaurants Hong Kong, Dining Concepts, gastropub Hong Kong, Gordon Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay Hong Kong, Gordon Ramsay restaurant Hong Kong, LKF, review, shepherd's pie Hong Kong, where to eat in Central, where to eat in Lan Kwai Fong

Christian Louboutin nail polish launches in Hong Kong – head over heels for designer lacquer

Posted on September 22, 2014 | 5 comments

Would you pay HK$450 for a nail polish? (International readers – that’s approximately US$58 or GBP£36!) Well, now’s the time to find out as Christian Louboutin’s nail polish line has just launched in Hong Kong.

First things first, these are no average nail polishes. The bottles – with long pointed caps reminiscent of a sharp stiletto heel, and chunky geometric cut-glass bottles – are practically works of art in themselves. The signature polish in the collection is the Rouge Louboutin, which is of course based on those all-iconic red soles and boasts a longer black cap (designed to be the same height as Louboutin’s tallest ever heel, the Ballerina Ultima) with a beautiful ombre tinted glass bottle.

Fashion legend has it that Louboutin’s very first red soles were created by him painting red nail polish directly onto the shoes… so it’s kind of cool that things have now come full circle and the brand is actually producing the lacquer itself!

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Posted in Beauty, Hong Kong

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Isono Eatery & Bar restaurant review – casual Mediterranean glamour at PMQ

Posted on September 17, 2014 | Leave a comment

*UPDATE: Isono has now closed*

Isono – on paper, it looks like the results of a particularly unproductive Countdown round (especially when combined with its location, PMQ). In reality, it’s the latest restaurant from Tony Cheng’s Drawing Room Concepts, the brains behind places as varied as AMMO (Italian), Hainan Shaoye (Singaporean) and Made In HK (do I really have to tell you?). This time round, the cuisine is casual Mediterranean with a slight tapas slant, the chef the esteemed Paolo Casagrande of two Michelin-starred Restaurante Lasarte in Barcelona, and the interiors courtesy of the acclaimed Joyce Wang.

Casagrande has saved most of the culinary fireworks for Isono’s sister restaurant upstairs, Vasco, which is more of a fancy fine-dining kind of joint. Instead, Isono’s menu is full of familiar European classics – charcuterie platters, paella, pasta – the kind that make us start happily reminiscing about that great cod stew in the Basque/those delicious rillettes in South France/the best carbonara ever in Rome that we once enjoyed.

That being said, it’s unlikely that any of those happy foodie memories played out in an environment quite as majestic as Isono’s. Wang’s interiors always bring a sense of cinematic grandeur to proceedings (literally – there’s a black and white film screened on loop on the wall here); with its copper surfaces, intricate metal structures and exposed bulb lighting, it has an almost steampunk vibe. Classy steampunk mind, not any of that Sucker Punch nonsense.

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The Peninsula Spa Five Elements LaStone Therapy treatment review – ‘cos you’re hot then you’re cold…

Posted on September 15, 2014 | Leave a comment

Mention Tsim Sha Tsui to most of us jaded Hong Kongers and we’ll inevitably start to grumble: “Too many crowds… too many shops… too many Mainlanders!” However, if all our visits to TST were to begin with a visit to The Peninsula Spa, I’m pretty sure we’d be feeling much more zen about the neighbourhood.

I was recently invited to try The Peninsula Spa’s new Five Elements LaStone Therapy treatment… and it was the happiest I’ve felt about Tsim Sha Tsui in a long time.

The Peninsula Hong Kong is something of an icon here and its spa is every bit as luxurious as you’d expect. Spread over the seventh and ninth floors of the hotel, it’s got a contemporary Chinese vibe to it with bamboo, marble and dark wood details – plus plenty of water features to appease those feng shui masters! My favourite area is the Asian Tea Relaxation Lounge (above), which is surrounded by cascades of glowing rushing water. Tranquillity and serenity rather than “Need a new watch, Madam?” are totally the words of the day here.

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ATUM Desserant restaurant review – getting our just desserts

Posted on August 21, 2014 | 3 comments

Some days, I just have dessert for lunch (#sorrynotsorry). So if you’re as unhealthy as me and believe dessert is good enough to be a meal in itself, then ATUM Desserant might be your next sugar rush enabler.

Nestled on the 16^th floor of a newly built commercial building in Causeway Bay, ATUM Desserant isn’t exactly the kind of location you just stumble upon – these are destination desserts, people! It’s basically a dessert bar set-up; although there are a couple of separate tables, most of the seats are arranged around the open kitchen, so you can watch the action table-side. And forget your humble Spotted Dick or sticky toffee pudding – this is some space-age dessert wizardry… Think The Jetsons crossed with Harry Potter by way of Heston Blumenthal and you’re somewhere in the right galaxy.

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Posted in Food, Hong Kong

Tagged Atum Desserant, Atum Desserant Hong Kong, Atum HK, Atum Hong Kong, best desserts Hong Kong, best restaurants in Causeway Bay, Causeway Bay, dessert, dessert bar Hong Kong, dessert hong kong, fine dining Hong Kong, molecular gastronomy Hong Kong, restaurant, review, where to eat in Causeway Bay

Aussie is coming to Hong Kong – the 3 Minute Miracle is here!

Posted on August 11, 2014 | 5 comments

Yes, I am shamelessly using a half-naked man to get your attention – but with good reason!

Clearly, all my wishes on stars have finally been noted by the beauty powers-that-be… because amazing haircare brand Aussie is FINALLY launching in Hong Kong!

Here’s all you need to know:

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Posted in Beauty, Hong Kong

Tagged Aussie 3 Minute Miracle, Aussie Aussome Volume, Aussie Colour Mate, Aussie hair products Hong Kong, Aussie haircare Hong Kong, Aussie HK, Aussie Hong Kong, Aussie Miracle Moist, Aussie Miracle Shine, Beauty, best conditioners, best hair treatments, conditioner, hair treatments, haircare, make-up miracle, review, shampoo, where to buy 3 Minute Miracle in Hong Kong, where to buy Aussie conditioner in Hong Kong, where to buy Aussie hair products in Hong Kong, where to buy Aussie in Hong Kong, where to buy Aussie shampoo in Hong Kong

Paul Lafayet Tiffin Afternoon Tea at The Langham Hong Kong review – teatime for two in TST

Posted on July 17, 2014 | 3 comments

Back on the afternoon tea trail – and one of my favourite teatime old faithfuls is the Tiffin Afternoon Tea at Palm Court in The Langham, Hong Kong. For truly old-school Hong Kong dwellers, you may know the building better as the former Great Eagle Hotel; it was rebranded as The Langham Hong Kong in 2003, modelled after the historic Langham Hotel in London… which, of course, is legendary for its afternoon tea, so I really wouldn’t expect anything less!

Although the contents of The Langham Hong Kong’s cake stand aren’t anything too ground-breaking, the Tiffin Afternoon Tea does have a lot of other great things going for it – super pretty crockery, a really relaxed loungey vibe and frequent promotions to keep things interesting, including their current collaboration with French patisserie, Paul Lafayet.

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Tagged afternoon tea, afternoon tea hong kong, afternoon tea Tsim Sha Tsui, best afternoon tea hong kong, best afternoon tea Kowloon, best afternoon tea Tsim Sha Tsui, best scones in Hong Kong, high tea, Palm Court, Paul Lafayet, Paul Lafayet afternoon tea, review, The Langham Hong Kong, Tiffin afternoon tea, where to have afternoon tea Hong Kong, where to have afternoon tea Kowloon, where to have afternoon tea TST

Chom Chom Hanoi Happy Hour restaurant review – just winging it

Posted on July 14, 2014 | 2 comments

As a non-drinker, it often feels like Hong Kong’s plethora of Happy Hours are wasted on me. But no worries, because Vietnamese eatery Chom Chom has discovered the best way to entice me along to one – by offering plenty of delicious food too!

I loved Chom Chom back when it was a teeny-tiny private kitchen dishing out limited servings of pho and special tasting menus on Wellington Street. And I love Chom Chom even now it has turned into a hipper-than-thou “bia hoi” eatery serving up Vietnamese street food and casual bites to the baying masses on Peel Street. Wherever Chef Peter Franklin goes, I will follow!

What I do not love, however, are queues – and the new Chom Chom boasts these by the bucketload. It’s cool, it’s hip… of course it doesn’t take reservations, kids! My usual trick to avoid queues is to be a bit of a granny and go early (perfectly in-keeping with my other granny tendencies, like the constant need for naps and dislike of loud music) – and now thanks to Chom Chom’s nifty Hanoi Happy Hours, the early bird really does catch the worm… if the worm was a delicious pho roll, that is!

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Posted in Food, Hong Kong

Tagged banh mi, best chicken wings in Hong Kong, best restaurants in Central, best Vietnamese food in Hong Kong, best Vietnamese restaurants in Central, best Vietnamese restaurants in Hong Kong, bia hoi, Chom Chom, Chom Chom Hanoi Happy Hour, Chom Chom Happy Hour, Chom Chom HK, Chom Chom Hong Kong, Happy Hour, Peel Street, Peter Franklin, restaurant, review, VFC, Vietnamese, Vietnamese Fried Chicken

Studio Ghibli Layout Designs: Understanding the Secrets of Takahata and Miyazaki Animation @ Hong Kong Heritage Museum review

Posted on July 9, 2014 | 7 comments

Of all the museums in the city, I seem to find myself back at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum the most often (somewhat annoying, given it’s probably the one that’s also the furthest away from me!), and the latest exhibition to entice me over to the Shing Mun River was Studio Ghibli Layout Designs: Understanding the Secrets of Takahata and Miyazaki Animation. I can’t claim to be a devoted Hayao Miyazaki fan – but like everyone else, I love Spirited Away and think Totoro is really cute, so why not?!

Spirited Away room, from news.gov.hk

The Studio Ghibli Layout Designs exhibition comprises over 1,300 drawings from the animation process behind the films of Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki – from their earliest works on television shows like Heidi: A Girl Of The Alps and Sherlock Hound, right through to the studio’s latest film releases The Wind Rises (Miyazaki’s last film) and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya.

Unlike many animation houses, Studio Ghibli continues to make all its films using traditional hand-drawn methods; rather than cute character studies, the works shown are more the backgrounds of scenes (layouts are regarded as blueprints for the film and are vital for its continuity), displaying the director’s ideas on colour, perspective, motion and other camera effects – and these sketches are practically artworks in themselves.

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