Life Style

I don’t know why so many people are obsessed with what celebrities eat.A recent entertainment story pointed out that Gwyneth Paltrow had started to eat bread and pasta again. The poster woman for vainglorious health trends, and founder of the lifestyle brand Goop, is now less known for her acting and more for what she puts in her mouth. (And for promoting dubious wellness items such as body stickers that relieve anxiety, coffee enemas and the notorious jade vaginal egg, of course.)Paltrow’s announcement that she no longer follows a strict Paleo diet and now enjoys sourdough bread, pasta and cheese was significant enough news that many legacy media outlets shared this titbit next to stories about Donald Trump and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.For some reason, many people assume celebrities, ...

This week sees the cinema release of Ballerina, the first in a series of planned spin-off movies from the incredibly successful John Wick action franchise.Focusing on a new character, Eve, portrayed by Ana de Armas (No Time to Die), the film follows the exploits of a young orphan who is recruited into the secret Ruska Roma organisation, where she is raised as a deadly assassin.Once unleashed into the world, however, Eve applies her new skill set to track down the gangsters responsible for murdering her father.Adopting a more grounded approach than the operatic staging of its predecessors, Ballerina only truly comes to life during its elaborate action set pieces, many of which were apparently overseen by John Wick series director Chad Stahelski during substantial reshoots.The inclusion of K...

Father’s Day is just around the corner and for many, that means celebrating the occasion with family – and lots of tasty food.Whether your dad loves steaks, seafood or something sweet, restaurants in Hong Kong have created special menus for the occasion.Here is a taste of what is on offer.1. Morton’s The SteakhouseSteak-loving dads are well catered for at Morton’s The Steakhouse, which is offering two special steaks for the occasion: a 16oz (450g) dry-aged rib-eye and a 16oz Cajun rib-eye, both served with thick-cut onion rings and black truffle aioli.Available from June 13 to 15 for HK$888, the steaks are best paired with a Godfather cocktail (HK$160), made with Glenfiddich 12-year-old single malt whisky with a splash of amaretto and orange bittersL4, Sheraton Hotel & Towers, 20 Natha...

When China Tang originally opened in Hong Kong in 2013, it came in the wake of two other restaurants by celebrated bon vivant Sir David Tang. Despite its late arrival, China Tang has survived both Island Tang and Kowloon Tang, proving to be the most enduring of its late founder’s concepts here (if one excludes the members-only China Club). The restaurant even survived the HK$3.1 billion makeover at The Landmark that has claimed both MO Bar and Please Don’t Tell.Having closed for a brief renovation of its own during this period of transformation at The Landmark, China Tang is once again welcoming guests. The revamped restaurant features new mirrored signage, refurbished carpeting, and an enlarged private dining room that has taken over the former bar area. A facelift has been applied to the...

Hong Kong Ballet’s new production of Giselle boasts lavish new sets and costumes by internationally acclaimed designer Jérôme Kaplan. The first night featured outstanding performances in the leading roles from guest artists Marianela Nuñez and Matthew Ball.The dancing from the company as a whole was excellent, with the female corps de ballet superb as the Wilis (ghosts) in Act 2.Kaplan has switched the ballet from its usual medieval setting to Victorian times. His Act 1 set is truly stunning – a charming village in the foreground with a vista leading up to a fairy-tale castle in the distance and full of light, a nice contrast to the mournful, moonlit forest of Act 2.The costumes for the Duke and his aristocratic hunting party are gorgeous, those for the villagers pretty and colourful, if a...

After 10 years as head chef of Shang Palace, the fine-dining Chinese restaurant at the Shangri-La Paris hotel, Samuel Lee Sum felt it was time to open his own restaurant in the City of Lights.Opened in mid-February, Sensation not only refers to the five senses, but also incorporates Lee’s Chinese given name in Mandarin, sen, meaning forest.Having his name on the door motivates him to work hard to succeed, he says, adding that he likes a challenge.“Sensation is a bistronomique (a casual fine-dining restaurant), a laid-back place where you can have food paired with wine,” Lee says. “You don’t need to wear a suit to come here and eat good Chinese food.”Sensation’s Cantonese char siu marinated and basted in a cognac sauce. Photo: SensationThe menu features intriguing dishes such as Chaozhou (C...

On Kawara was part of a cohort of 20th century conceptual artists, including his friends Sol LeWitt and Carl Andre, who adopted a minimalist visual language that left a great deal of room for interpretation.Born in Japan, Kawara produced abstract, radically obscure art, including: a 47-year series of paintings of random dates; a 12-year typed ledger, filed in office binders, of people he met called “I Met”; a similar series called “I Went” in which he traced his daily itineraries on photocopied maps and filed them; thousands of postcards sent from all over the world stating the time he woke up the day he sent each one, and; bare-bone telegrams with a single message: “I am still alive.” Kawara was remarkably prescient in recording his life in a way so reminiscent of how people toda...

Long before the success of the Hong Kong action blockbuster Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, Soi Cheang Pou-soi made his mark directing innovative low-budget horror films.We recall three of the director’s notable early releases.1. Horror Hotline … Big Head MonsterCheang had garnered some attention with the idiosyncratic, ultra-low-budget horror film Diamond Hill in 2000, but it was 2001’s Horror Hotline … Big Head Monster that made his name.It impressed Hong Kong critics because it was a straight-up horror that did not feel the need to mix genres. There was no romance and, most noticeably, none of the distracting comedy often used between scary scenes.Taking his cue from US horror films like The Blair Witch Project, which he frequently references, Cheang’s only aim was to shock.“Beneat...

Sophia Lai Chi-lok is among Hong Kong’s most accomplished amateur triathletes.The 41-year-old investment banker has trained with the Hong Kong Triathlon National Squad and made the podium at 10km (6.2-mile) running races, triathlons and aquathlons – which comprise a swim and a run.She was the second woman across the finish line in the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 10km race in 2022, and the 2023 Hong Kong Aquathlon Championship women’s champion. That year, she also took part in the Asia Triathlon Cup Hong Kong, and was the top woman overall in the sprint event.Many of the people she competes against are half her age. Petite at just 1.51 metres (4ft 11in), Lai’s sports career only took off in 2014, when she was in her early thirties and working in Hong Kong; an evening of drinking g...

They may make up just 0.6 per cent of Hong Kong’s total population but the Indian community has been an integral part of the city’s multicultural tapestry since its early colonial era and have left a significant mark on the local dining scene.The first significant wave of Indian migrants arrived in the 1840s, when the British brought Punjabi soldiers, traders and clerks to the fledgling colony. Many worked as policemen, merchants or civil servants, forming the backbone of early Hong Kong society.By the late 19th century, influential Parsee and Sindhi trading families started to establish thriving businesses in textiles, shipping and finance. The Sikh community, meanwhile, became synonymous with security, with turbaned officers serving in the Hong Kong Police Force for generations.The local...