Category Archives: Hong Kong

Sense Of Touch Tseung Kwan O Spa review – say sawadee to your own private pampering pavilion!

Sense Of Touch Hong Kong Bali Decoration

There is more to life than Central. And no, by that I don’t just mean Sheung Wan!

It can sometimes be hard to convince non-Central dwellers of this fact – but for those willing to stray beyond the blue line, a little tropical escape awaits you. Its name? Sense Of Touch Tseung Kwan O Spa.

Located at the far reaches of the (shock, horror) purple MTR line in the Crowne Plaza Hong Kong Kowloon East hotel, the Tseung Kwan O Sense Of Touch has to be one of the best, most unique spas I’ve found in Hong Kong. Most hotel spas here are grand, maze-like entities, with labyrinthine corridors leading to sumptuous treatment rooms; however, the Tseung Kwan O Sense Of Touch is instead a series of gorgeous, individual cabanas, spread out over a spacious tropical garden.

Sense Of Touch Tseung Kwan O Hong Kong Reception

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Dessert of the Day: a helluva hot chocolate at Original Playground

original playground hong kong hot chocolate

Hot, strong, sweet and rich… Not only the ingredients to the best kinds of romantic heroes, but also to the best cups of hot chocolate!

Most of the hot chocolates here in Hong Kong are insipid little things – sad, unsexy cups of limp, cocoa-flavoured water. But that just makes it all the more noteworthy when a smoking hot version comes along, like the Belgian Sipping Chocolate at Original Playground.

original playground hong kong

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Mott 32 restaurant review – bringing sexy back to Chinese dining

mott 32 hong kong

I have real issues spending big bucks on Chinese food. Perhaps it’s because my auntie rustles up amazing Chinese cuisine right in the comfort of my own home (and I don’t even need to change out of my pyjamas) or perhaps it’s because my brain finds it hard to shift gear from my usual diet of el cheapo cha chaan teng prices… but if there’s a place for me to start splashing the cash on siu mai, then it sure as hell is going to be Mott 32.

mott 32 hong kong private room 2

The first Chinese restaurant from Hong Kong hospitality super group Maximal Concepts (the folks behind Brickhouse, Blue Butcher and Fish & Meat), Mott 32 is the very definition of Asian fine dining… And I’m talking seriously “fiiiiiiiine”!

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Akrame restaurant review – modern Michelin-starred dining ahoy!

chef akrame benallal hong kong

*UPDATE: Akrame has now closed*

When did Ship become so hip?

Back when I worked near Ship Street in Wan Chai many moons ago, the greatest culinary achievement it had to offer was a Sloppy Giuseppe at Pizza Express. And as much as I love me some garlic doughballs, they probably won’t be winning a Michelin star anytime soon!

Now, thanks to renowned British chef Jason Atherton moving into the ‘hood with 22 Ships, the area has become a veritable foodie mecca – and one of the newest places for gastro-pilgrimage is Restaurant Akrame.

akrame hong kong

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FACESSS beauty experiences – a Clarins facial, NARS makeover & Amika hairdo all under one roof!

nars make-up service faces hong kong

So we’ve talked about the new beauty brands available at the revamped FACESSS – but perhaps even better are the all-new beauty experiences now available there too!

I love getting up close and personal with beauty products in-store; it’s the best way to find out how they work… and more importantly, if they’re actually going to work for you! Given the army of offputtingly snooty/unhelpful/pushy sales assistants who give you stink eye whenever you try and swatch their products, I love that FACESSS are being proactive about advertising these beauty services – so you can book in for treatments and trials that guarantee product playtime and plenty of expert tips, rather than scuttling away post-haste when a MUA corners you against a wall of foundations… if a MUA even deigns to serve you in the first place!

I was lucky enough to trial three FACESSS’ beauty services from Clarins, NARS and Amika Hairdo Bar. Here’s how it all went down…

faces lab concept hong kong clarins treatment room

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Tsui Hang Village 40th anniversary dim sum review – there ain’t no school like the old-school

tsui hang village hong kong char siu

Sometimes, there ain’t no school like the old-school – so long-standing Canto restaurant Tsui Hang Village is making like Kylie and stepping back in time to celebrate their 40th anniversary in the best possible way… with delicious retro Hong Kong dim sum! Now I can’t claim to remember all of these nostalgic classics from the first time round – but what I can attest to is that most of them are downright delicious!

tsui hang village hong kong 40th anniversary

I’ve been to Tsui Hang Village before for dim sum and have to say that they really do nail it here; unlike many of the other chains in Hong Kong (THV is owned by dining empire The Miramar Group), all their dim sum is prepared in-house, by hand and fresh-to-order – and it totally shows. There’s a certain lightness of touch to even the heaviest of dumplings here – you don’t leave feeling like a char siu bao boulder has plummeted to your stomach, nor do you feel the need to glug down litres of water to combat MSG overload.

Having said that, it soon became clear why this old-school dim sum might have fallen out of fashion over the years… lots of these dishes are pure heart attacks in dumpling form! Oh well, the most delicious food often is (she says, scoffing piles of bacon followed by deep-fried ice-cream), right?!

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FACESSS Hong Kong gets a makeover – Innisfree, Philosophy, Tony Moly and beauty brands galore hit LAB Concept!

Facesss Queensway Plaza lab concept hong kong

As a total beauty junkie, I’m an avid follower of the Hong Kong cosmetics scene – new stores, new brands, new products… the lot!

One of my favourite one-stop-shops in HK for all things pampering and prettifying is FACESSS, a “beauty retail concept” (read: loads of make-up and skincare counters all in one place i.e. total win) whose LAB Concept location in Admiralty has just had its very own makeover… making getting access to more fabulous brands and enticing experiences even easier.

I was invited for a whistlestop tour of the revamped LAB Concept location, so here’s a quick rundown of what’s new that’s cooking in the FACESSS kitchen:

innisfree hong kong green persimmon

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Food love – Mochachocolatarita’s cute Valentine’s foodie illustrations

hong kong valentine's xiao long bao

I’m not one for Valentine’s Day AT ALL… but when I saw these cute and fun V-Day foodie illustrations by my fabulous blogger friend, Mochachocolatarita (try saying that when you’ve had a few!), I knew I just had to share!

hong kong valentine's boloh bao

Rita has taken some much-loved matches-made-in-HK-food-heaven and turned them into very sweet, loved-up illustrations for Valentine’s Day. Forget cheesy giant teddy bears and half-dead bouquets of flowers… these pictures are much more fun!

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Hit The Road restaurant review – the long and winding road…

hit the road cafe hong kong

Are there any problems in life that aren’t solved by afternoon tea?!

Well, that’s a question I frequently put to the test with my cake partner-in-crime, Mirander! Our afternoon tea sessions usually consist of long periods of chatting, sighing, ranting and crying – mostly on my side, whilst Mirander says, “There, there,” and orders us some more cake.

hit the road hong kong

Having drank a lot of tea and eaten a lot of cake in our time, the likes of Starbucks and Pacific Coffee just don’t cut it anymore. We love uncovering cute little cafés in Hong Kong where we can vent to our heart’s content in delightful surroundings – and our latest discovery is Hit The Road.

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Starlight Express @ Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts review

starlight express hong kong

Sick of pedestrian productions ruling the roost in Hong Kong? Well, how about a musical where the entire 30-strong cast spends the whole duration of the show on roller skates?

Yes, Starlight Express has sped its way into the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts – and if you’ve never seen Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most innovative musical before, you’re in for one hell of a ride.

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