Life Style

The erotic spy thriller Lust, Caution achieved notoriety when it was released in 2007 as it was rumoured that the sex scenes between Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Chinese actress Tang Wei were the real thing.Director Ang Lee, realising that the rumour was generating publicity, never explicitly denied or confirmed it, although interviews the director gave suggested that it was untrue.In fact, the three relatively short sex scenes took a full 11 days to shoot and were constructed in the editing room from many hours of footage.Lee’s assistant director described filming the sex scenes as “11 days in hell” and noted that “even Tony Leung, the seasoned actor who had been through it all, was close to collapse when he emerged from the small room 11 days later”.But Tang, who had never acted in a film bef...

Nestled among shops selling furniture and traditional Chinese medicine in Vancouver’s Chinatown is a curious-looking storefront on Main Street.The shop sign reads “Happy Valley Turf Club”, calling to mind the Hong Kong neighbourhood of the same name that is known for its racecourse.The shop, as it turns out, is not a shop at all, but a front for a hidden speakeasy, and its doors remain firmly shut during the day. In the evening, the place comes alive, with a queue of people waiting to be let in.Within the shop, there is an old-school betting counter, a blackboard listing racehorses and their odds, and even a television screen showing Hong Kong race highlights.Those in the know place a wager on King Louie, which unlocks a door to Bagheera, a sophisticated-looking bar named after the panther...

“Happy Easter!” is a wish that will be articulated by many this Sunday, certainly by those observing the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus – with both Western (Gregorian) and Orthodox Easter being celebrated on the same day this year.What is interesting is that among the European languages, the word “Easter” is only found in English and German, while in other Germanic languages and most European languages, the word for the festival is derived from the corresponding word for “Passover”.Passover is the Jewish festival commemorating the liberation of the Israelites in ancient Egypt after the Tenth Plague – when the Angel of Death killed all the firstborns in Egypt including the Pharoah’s, but passed over the homes of Israelites whose door posts had, on God’s command, been smeared with ...

Watching Hong Kong aerialist Jimmy Wong in action is a dizzying experience.His gravity-defying acts take him high off the stage, where he might do something like rapidly spin while clinging to a lone strap with just one arm.Earlier this month, 39-year-old Wong, who emigrated from Hong Kong to the UK two years ago, appeared on Britain’s Got Talent in a mesmerising performance that showed off his skills.Wong’s audition on the long-running talent show was a mix of acrobatics and water dancing that had some audience members on their feet. His act received a “yes” vote from all four judges, allowing him to proceed to the next round.“It is a high-stress environment for performers but the audience was really supportive,” Wong says of his audition that was taped in October.

The five friends who now make up sports and comedy group Dude Perfect had no intention of creating a brand, or even a business, 16 years ago when they started making a video of basketball trick shots while they were attending Texas A&M University, in the United States.“My dad would say we were procrastinating studying for finals at that time, which he is 100 per cent correct [about],” says Coby Cotton, whose twin brother Cory is also part of the group. “We were just having fun, and that’s one thing that I am grateful to say has continued.”When they posted that first video on YouTube in April 2009, the clip was just a way to share with family and friends what they were doing with an US$80 portable basketball hoop they bought for the backyard.Things have expanded far beyond that small ci...

Navigating bedtime with a teenager is, in many homes, a nightly battle with a constant refrain: “Get off your phone and go to bed!”Research shows that today’s teenagers are more sleep-deprived than ever before. Adolescents need between eight and 10 hours of sleep, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.But nearly 80 per cent of American teenagers are not getting that, and experts say it is affecting important areas like mental health and school attendance.Bedtime routines are not just for toddlers. Teenagers need them too, says Denise Pope, an expert on child development and a senior lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education, in the US state of California.Experts in adolescent sleep say a few small changes to how parents and teens approach sleep...

A rat-a-tat percussion and keyboard riff, and Youssou N’Dour’s voice tore through the dark Dakar sky, as the world music legend geared up to do what he does best: rock through the night.With a new album out and a world tour starting this week, the Senegalese icon and Grammy Award winner – who confesses he “couldn’t live without music” – shows no signs of slowing down despite his 45 years in show business.“Let’s rock,” he barked to his 12-piece band Super Etoile an hour before midnight, before the strains of one of their last pre-tour rehearsals rang out well into the small hours.Five years after his last album, N’Dour’s latest record, Eclairer Le Monde – Light The World, voices his commitment to human rights and gives a place of honour to traditional African instruments.“It’s been nothing ...

Strawberries are the newest Seoul souvenir – as proven by the crowds of tourists lining up for them at western Seoul’s Mangwon Market.Once a hidden gem for street food lovers craving tteokbokki rice cakes and hotteok, a type of Korean sweet pancake, the market is now having a berry sweet moment as travellers scoop up bright-red boxes of Korea’s juiciest spring treat.“The love for strawberries is a recent phenomenon,” said a fruit seller. “And most of [the customers] are Asian tourists.”In Korea, strawberries have long been the most coveted fruit in winter and spring, known for their juicy sweetness and delicate texture. In recent years, however, their fame has ripened beyond borders.Strawberry-flavoured Gadeuk Sand biscuits from the South Korean shop Xocosilok are popular gifts. Photo: Ins...

I had minor surgery last week to remove a lipoma, which had quietly made a home for itself on my right shoulder several years ago. Embedded just beneath the skin like one half of a ping pong ball, the benign lump of fat tissue had not affected my well-being in any discernible way.But I decided that I had seen enough of that offending growth in the mirror and I wanted it removed.A couple of medical scans and consultations later, I lay supine in a cavernous, blindingly lit operating theatre, while a team of doctors and nurses cut into me.Having opted for local anaesthesia, I was conscious throughout the 30-minute procedure. Though the surgeons kept assuring me that I was “doing very well”, I was in a silent state of panic.Lipomas are slow-growing fatty lumps that typically form between a per...

Weight-loss stories often begin with a moment of epiphany, which is then followed by an intense period of discipline and perseverance – sometimes measured in months, sometimes in years.For Singaporean chef Han Li-guang, who has lost more than 30kg (66 pounds) since 2022, it has been a slow, steady race to the finish line. Even now, he continues to work out for two hours at a time, six days a week, to set himself up for the day.“Going to the gym helps me clear my mind, to start fresh. It sets my mood in the right direction as well,” Han says.Han wants to manage his physical health to help support his mental health. Photo: Instagram/han_lgHan, who is mostly self-taught but who has worked in classical French kitchens, was driven by a desire to elevate his heritage.He deconstructs hawker stall...