Life Style

Think of oysters and most people picture them on a bed of ice at a seafood buffet. But apart from being a Sunday brunch delicacy, these shellfish are the ocean’s unsung heroes.In their natural habitat, oysters are ecological superstars that are capable of improving water quality and stabilising shorelines.They are hard-working, too: a single oyster can, through its gills, filter 200 litres (52 gallons) of murky water a day, creating healthy environments for marine species.Oyster reefs – underwater structures formed by large populations of oysters that attach to hard surfaces such as rocks – once stretched along about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) of coastline in southern China’s Pearl River Estuary area, including Hong Kong.This documentary is not just about oysters, but the bigger picture ...

Airbnb has begun letting users book in-home massages, chefs and personal trainers as part of an overhaul of its app as it continues to expand beyond being just a platform for short-term lodging.“Hotels do have one thing that we don’t have and those are services,” said chief executive Brian Chesky at a launch event in Los Angeles, in the US state of California. “Who doesn’t want a quesadilla in bed?”Chesky described the addition of services to the platform as “giving you the best of both worlds – amazing homes with services that make them even more special”.People also have the option of using the Airbnb app to schedule the services in their own homes when they are not travelling.Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky described the addition of services to the platform as “giving you the bes...

It’s all about Hong Kong this weekend as one of Hong Kong’s local favourites, Serendipity, hosts Ling Chan – formerly of Plantation Tea Bar – after a year away from the game. Ginsanity takes over PMQ for the weekend proper, a perfect opportunity to sip a plethora of gins and cocktails as Hong Kong warms up. In Macau, our very own Ajit Gurung from The Savory Project joins hands with Nokoy Mak at Galaxy Macau’s Long Bar for a night of top tipples in our sister SAR.Thursday, May 15Ling Chan guest shift at SerendipityLing Chan, formerly of Plantation Tea Bar, The Diplomat and Origin Bar. Photo: HandoutWhat: One of Hong Kong’s finest re-emerges at Serendipity in Central to deliver her unique blend of flavours and concoctions. Ling Chan, formerly of Origin, The Diplomat and Plantation Tea Bar, h...

From meat feasts to Feria de Abril festivities, Hong Kong cafes and restaurants have got your weekend plans covered. If you’re looking for weekday dining, fear not – check the 100 Top Tables Guide 2025 for our top fine dining recommendations in Hong Kong and Macau.Friday, May 1636-oz tomahawk rib-eye. Photo: Morton’s The SteakhouseThis May, Morton’s The Steakhouse is offering the limited time Tomahawk Dinner for two – ideal for business dinners, date night or for no reason at all.Alongside a 36-oz tomahawk rib-eye, guests can choose from a chopped house salad, centre-cut iceberg wedge or traditional Caesar salad. Condiments include cognac sauce au poivre, Béarnaise sauce, whipped horseradish and Calabrian chilli butter, while Parmesan and truffle matchstick fries, sour cream mashed potatoe...

Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang made it clear his concert with the Dover Quartet had concluded when he closed the lid of the Steinway grand piano in the Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall following a monumental rendition of César Franck’s Piano Quintet in F minor.Despite the rapturous applause that followed a display of unceasing modulations, constant harmonic movement and more pianissimos and fortissimos than are heard in most chamber music performances, an encore would have been as out of place as another main course after dessert.No-holds-barred playing of the highest calibre was the hallmark of this French May festival presentation by Premiere Performances of Hong Kong on May 12.In the quintet’s opening “Allegro”, the group’s voices were like single grape varieties in a finely balanced win...

Lead cast: Kang Ha-neul, Go Min-siLatest Nielsen rating: 2 per centFollowing the recent Brewing Love and The Potato Lab, Tastefully Yours once again combines food and drinks and the Korean countryside in what is increasingly looking like a trend in the K-drama industry.Here we have Kang Ha-neul – recently seen in Squid Game season two and currently lording over the box office charts in the surprise hit Yadang: The Snitch – playing Han Beom-woo, conceited heir to the family-run Hangsang conglomerate which lords it over South Korea’s fine-dining scene.Beom-woo runs a slick Seoul restaurant that has earned one Diamant star – the show’s version of a Michelin Guide star – but his brother’s restaurant has two stars. Their domineering mother will not be happy until one of them earns a third star,...

Poland native Krzysztof (Chris) Czerwinski is executive chef at Soho House Hong Kong where, on May 21, he will host another Rescued Feast alongside guest chef Samaira Kavatkar. The upscale dining series in collaboration with food-saving app Chomp turns scraps and surplus ingredients destined for landfill into innovative dishes. He spoke to Andrew Sun.Polish cuisine, as with other central European cuisines, is rather under-represented. People think of pierogi (filled dumplings) or kielbasa (Polish sausage) but the cuisine is so diverse.Growing up, my family had a mountain vacation home, and we immersed ourselves in produce from the surroundings and our gardens – fresh peas, zucchinis, gooseberries, apples, strawberries and blackcurrants.We fermented almost everything, and my grandma gathere...

Fashion designer Prabal Gurung has always been a storyteller. First, it was through the colourful, Nepal-inspired designs that helped him find early success in the cutthroat fashion world. Now, he is sharing his life story in words with his bold new memoir, Walk Like a Girl.The book traces his South Asian roots – born in Singapore, he grew up in Nepal and spent time in India – and difficult childhood.He eventually moved to New York to study at the Parsons School of Design, interning for Donna Karan and later working for Cynthia Rowley and Bill Blass.He started his own label in 2009 and has dressed celebrities including Michelle Obama, Kate Middleton, Zoe Saldana and Sarah Jessica Parker.Gurung and Shakira attend the 2025 Met Gala in New York. Photo: Getty Images via AFPGurung, 46, says tha...

You’re too busy to exercise, right? Your job consumes all your time. You are strapped by professional and family demands.The more responsibility, the less free time.These do not have to be an excuse. Making time for daily exercise calls for creativity and a broader understanding of how to fit everything in.“The trap is thinking that exercise must be an hour in the gym,” said Charles Scott, who describes himself as an executive mentor or exercise coach.His message: if you have a very demanding job, you need to find a work-life blend. “An hour in the gym is exercise,” Scott says. “But it’s just one form of exercise.”Scott coaches about 70 business executives – online and otherwise – and other busy people to improve their physical and professional well-being.

Players swiping their way through more than 18,700 levels of Candy Crush Saga might be surprised to learn they are solving puzzles designed with an assist from artificial intelligence (AI).The app that helped make gamers out of anyone with a smartphone uses AI to help developers create levels to serve a captive audience constantly looking for more confectionery to squash.King, the Swedish video game developer behind Candy Crush, also uses AI to update older levels to help ensure players do not feel bored, stuck or frustrated as they spend time with the game.Todd Green, general manager of the Candy Crush franchise, said using AI in that way helps free up developers’ time to create new puzzle boards.It would be “extremely difficult”, he said, for designers to update and reconfigure more than...