Life Style

Tuen Ng Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, is one of the biggest annual celebrations in Hong Kong. It takes place on May 31 this year.As well as dragon boat races, sticky rice dumplings, or zongzi, are a big feature of the festival.Sticky rice dumplings can be sweet and sprinkled with sugar or savoury and dipped in soy sauce. But either way, they are traditionally steamed.We asked chefs in Hong Kong, and one in Macau, for creative suggestions for other ways to prepare them.Jayson Tang, executive chef of Man Ho Chinese Restaurant in JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, suggests drizzling deep-fried or air-fried sticky rice dumplings in golden syrup. Photo: Jonathan WongJayson Tang of one-Michelin-star Man Ho Chinese Restaurant in Hong Kong’s Admiralty neighbourhood suggests deep-fryi...

Strauss’ “The Blue Danube” is heading into space this month to mark the 200th anniversary of the waltz king’s birth.The waltz will be beamed into the cosmos as it is performed by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.The celestial send-off on May 31 – live-streamed with free public screenings in Vienna, Madrid and New York – will also celebrate the founding of the European Space Agency (ESA) 50 years ago.Although the music could be converted into radio signals in real time, according to officials, ESA will relay a pre-recorded version from the orchestra’s rehearsal the day before to avoid any technical issues. The live performance will provide the accompaniment.The radio signals will hurtle away at the speed of light, or more than 1 billion km/h (670 million mph).

Pet trends worldwide A global trend highlighted by the Mars Global Pet Parent Study (October 2024) indicates that pet ownership, with animals considered integral family members, is on the rise. Globally, 56 per cent of individuals owned at least one cat or dog, according to HealthforAnimals. China, the US and EU countries collectively account for over half a billion pet cats and dogs. Globally, pet-friendly public transport is on the rise, with North American, European and Oceania cities leading the way with the most accommodating regulations. China generally has more restrictive policies. Although some Chinese cities, such as Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and Chengdu, permit pets under specific conditions, others like Beijing, Shanghai and...

The best Wagyu beef, known for its marbling of fat, is said to come from Miyazaki and Kobe in Japan. There is also Australian Wagyu.Some Wagyu cattle breeds are held in higher prestige than others and have a corresponding price point – but is there really a difference in taste?It is Japan’s first branded Wagyu beef produced solely by calf breeders, a break with tradition; usually breeders sell their calves to cattle-fattening farms who raise them for slaughter.The lobby of the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort, nestled in jungle with wide sea views. Photo: InterContinental DanangYaeyama Kyori Beef’s female calves, born from Tajima bloodlines, one of three Japanese black cattle bloodlines, are raised on pastures fed by mineral-rich waters that are lush year round and fattened to ...

From the tech behind the world’s fastest coilgun to why bullet trains trump planes in China, here are five stories you may have missed over the weekend.

It is hard to picture Sonia Samtani as a painfully shy teenager with self-esteem so low that she was too scared to speak up, even when ordering a meal at a restaurant.For years, Hong Kong-born Samtani felt she was inadequate: at home her sibling was more important, while at school her peers were.“At school, there were not many Indians and I knew that my family was different, my culture was different, my upbringing was different. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, if only I had white skin and blue eyes, I’d be happier,’” Samtani recalls.“Everyone around me seemed more confident and articulate, and there was something stopping me from feeling that way. I was unconsciously looking for a better coping mechanism.”I’m avoiding something, so what is that? … Is it my mother’s voice when I was young telling...

At the Samui Elephant Sanctuary, Kaew Ta and Kham Phean have found the best way to beat the scorching May heat: by taking a dip in the pool followed by a mud bath.In the lush grounds of Bo Phut in the heart of Koh Samui, a tourist island in southern Thailand, the sanctuary – set in a forest among bougainvillea, birds and butterflies – is home to seven female Asian elephants.“Kaew Ta and Kham Phean love spraying mud on their backs because it protects their skin from the sun and also from the insects,” says sanctuary guide Sam Surachai Pinsepin of the elephants, both in their mid-sixties.They also love treats of watermelon and rice and pumpkin wrapped in banana leaves, he says.Rescued elephants bathe at the Samui Elephant Sanctuary. Photo: Kylie KnottPachyderm paradise is an apt description ...

Make no bones about it: dinosaurs are a perennial big deal.As passionate palaeontologist Dr Nizar Ibrahim puts it: “When museums are talking about bringing in exhibitions, they say the two themes that always work are mummies and dinosaurs!”And dinosaurs’ outsize appeal extends to television. In 1999, the BBC unleashed what it calls “one of [its] most beloved factual shows”, Walking with Dinosaurs.Now, after a surprisingly long interlude, comes Walking with Dinosaurs: Legends Unearthed, a six-part continuation and a celebration of animals that were always much more than the sum of their movie counterparts.For this is a series that isn’t afraid to show the cuddly side of the “terrible lizards” – even, perhaps, with a touch of unashamed anthropomorphism, giving the beasts’ names and imagined ...

It has been seven years since Cirque du Soleil last graced Hong Kong with its stunning acrobatic acts, cheeky clowns and death-defying stunts. This month the global entertainment company is back with its circus production Kooza.Running until July 13 – the family-friendly show has extended its stay in Hong Kong from its original end date of June 22 – Kooza will be presented at the Central Harbourfront Event Space, where the Cirque team has set up its signature big top.The show tells the story of the Innocent, a clown pulled into the zany, dynamic world of the Trickster. Thus begins a two-hour spectacle of gravity- and death-defying acts.Duncan Fisher, the chief show operations officer at Cirque du Soleil, calls Kooza “the most ‘circus’ of all our circuses”.Duncan Fisher with a performer at ...

Bulls are yoked together by thick wooden frames in a sun-scorched field in rural Pakistan, while behind them, holding onto nothing more than ropes and his honour, is a man on a plank.Hundreds of spectators whoop and cheer as the animals begin to hurtle down a track, whipping up a storm of dust and imminent danger.The traditional sport captures the raw energy of village life and is a world away from the floodlit cricket and hockey stadiums found in many Pakistani cities.A jockey, left, controls a pair of bulls during a traditional bull race in Malal, Pakistan. Photo: APJockeys crouch on a wooden platform behind the charging animals, hanging onto the reins. Photo: APBull racing has deep roots in the Attock district of eastern Punjab province. It is more than just a sport there, it is a part ...