Thursday, March 28, 2013

SHOErotica: Jimmy Choo Stylemakers with Tina Leung



HOW BLOODY HOT is my dear Tina Leung in the new Jimmy Choo Stylemakers campaign video (and photos)? She talks style and the city as she's snapped across Hong Kong strutting, sashaying and yes, scampering, in lots and lots of pairs of covetable Choos. My favorite part? When she says Hong Kong inspires her, including the littlest thing happening that she sees....and then the video cuts to a tram with the giant word "collagen" printed on it. Ah, subliminal messages. My second favorite thing, in that case, it obviously the footwear -- that nude Anouk is just AHHHHH! Pics from the campaign after.


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Scooping up some Brunch at SPOON


Guest blogger hkLifestyleGeek checks out SPOON's brunch offerings

There are so many brunch options in Hong Kong, it can be overwhelming to figure out where to go. SPOON by Alain Ducasse in the InterContinental Hong Kong has extensive gourmet spread so only bring completely empty stomachs that need to be filled. You aren't going to find the massive shucked oysters, shrimp cocktail and sushi -- with people swarmed around the Alaskan King Crab legs -- but a buffet with je ne sais quoi.

Start the meal at the drinks table to pick a drink or two that of course includes Champagne, but also fresh juices and other non-alcoholic concoctions. The sommelier will also come by the table with two bottles of whites or reds to choose from too.

Then move onto the appetiser buffet that includes some freshly sliced charcuterie, quiches, salads, smoked salmon and an extensive soft and semi-hard cheese spread, including Camembert, Comte, Fourme d'Ambert and Chabichou du Poitou.

But that's not all, because at the other end of the room there are lots of baked goods on display, but definitely for eating. There's croissants, pain au chocolat, olive bread and buns that you can put in your own mini bread basket to carry back to the table, as well as fruit salad, French yogurt, and even cereal including Coco Puffs.


Then you have the choice of trying one of three egg dishes: eggs Benedict on a bed of spinach with a thankfully light Hollandaise sauce, but no English muffin (perhaps not allowed in this French restaurant?!); fried eggs with meurette sauce, a red wine and bacon sauce served in a mini Le Creuset pot, or Basque-style omlettes that looked like rolled up sandwiches.

We have to say the last option was on the bland side, but the first two are good choices.



And then you have a choice of mains, each tempting in their own right. There's a steamed garoupa dish with shellfish marinere (mussels and clams), a light cream sauce also served in a shallow Le Creuset pot, a thick slice of roast beef with fries beautifully stacked up, two slices of rack of lamb on a bed of white coco beans, and finally a "cookpot", a version of which is found in every Alain Ducasse restaurant. The vegetarian dish features slices of locally-sourced vegetables, such as carrots, beets, and courgettes along with some mushrooms that are artfully placed in a pot and roasted in the oven. It really does look like an edible mosaic and healthy too.


But unfortunately the health kick doesn't last long with the finale of the dessert buffet. The options are too delicious to pass up, but now with limited stomach space it can be hard to choose carefully. There's creme caramel and apple tartin, chocolate cake and lemon cake, floating islands too. but we were totally in love with the pastries -- caramel eclair, a slice of Opera cake -- layers of dark chocolate, chocolate mousse and pastry for a bit of crunch, a dark chocolate tart and a slightly tart finish from the lemon tart.

The buffet is HK$888 per person including free-flow wine and juices and you will definitely be well fed. And they say French women never get fat?!

SPOON by Alain Ducasse
Lobby Level, InterContinental Hong Kong
18 Salisbury Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
2313 2323
www.hongkong-ic.intercontinental.com

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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Complicated Family Trees



I've always wondered what will happen to Chinese families now that we only tend to have one or two kids. How will they ever learn all the complicated family terms such as the difference between Goo Ma and Goo Jie, Yee Ma and Yee Yee? I find it easy only coz my mom and dad both have big families so I pretty much have one of everything but even so, when my dad's older sister's son who is older than me just had a son it still took a few minutes before we figured out the proper Canto greeting. Which was why shortly after our discussion, one of my cousins in the US sent the family chain this video and which I'm promptly resharing with you coz it's awesome.

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Alexander Skarsgard in Calvin Klein's Provocations



They didn't bother asking ASkars to say any words, so I won't bother writing any more than this: OMFG.

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The Cult of the Backpack





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Nail Files: China Glaze Whirled Away


Was feeling particularly lazy last week and rather than doing my regularly weekly manicure, I just swiped a layer of China Glaze's Whirled Away glitter nail polish on top to hide the flaws. Must say this was a great use of the polish as I kept getting compliments on it and no one seemed to notice that underneath it was getting kinda gross. I always have this fear of removing glitter polish (notoriously difficult) but this wasn't too bad. I suspect it's due to the giant flakes. My only complain is the white glitter. I would prefer it if the whole bottle was black but that can be easily rectified, next time I'm just going to use a toothpick to wipe away the white specks before applying.

Available at Cher2 for HK$80

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Monday, March 25, 2013

Say Cheese: The Best Sandwich Ever




I've been having this sandwich lately, this open-faced delight, this vessel of pleasure, this cheesy-fantastic five-minute dinner option. It's basically variations on a tune, but this was the first incarnation.



Start with brie. Melty brie.



And here's the meat-floss toast we buy, $13 a loaf at Tin Lok Bakery on Tin Lok Lane. (Alternatives: Maison Eric Kayser brioche, or Bo-Lo-Gne buttery bread). Toast that motherfucker.




Drizzle honey before and/or after you toast it.



Then add some sliced Asian pears for some crunch. (Alternative: sliced apple, for more tart). Add ham. And anything else you want. In my case, that means truffle oil, and more honey, because I'm so sweet. (Alternatives: sauteed mushrooms, or any other drape-able meat, or spinach, or rocket, or whatever strikes your fancy).

Now, eat it. Smile, and say thank you.

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Geek Spy: Fondue Mug


To say I NEED this is an understatement. I want my cheese fondue. I don't care that it's warming up. Melted cheese is never wrong. From Amazon

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Thursday, March 21, 2013

SHOErotica: Sleeh Shoes



Not your typical SHOErotica fare, but once in a while we all love a little affordable chic. Take some time to check out Sleeh, a mass-market brand that's just about perfect for picking up those crazy party shoes you want to teeter around in while people are drinking and spilling and ashing all over the dance floor. Though you'll find a handful of "normal" looking shoes -- sensible ankle boots, loafer slippers, etc -- the brand's bread and butter is clearly the 5-inch-and-up platform heel. For me, it's heartbreaking to take my Loubies for a spin and then have to take down every drunken fiend who spills something on them. (Especially when that drunken fiend is myself. It's really hard to beat yourself up, literally.) But with most of these priced in the US$50-80 range, it's no more tears indeed. They obviously won't be as well made as your designer footwear, but in the dark, all you really need is some flashy colours and a killer stiletto, right? Spend without regrets.

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Geek Spy: Bamboo Keyboard

Everything looks better when it's made out of bamboo. Even a wireless keyboard and mouse.

Available from Impecca

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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Wrist Candy: Michael Kors



While I don't think I own a single item of Michael Kors clothing, and I think the footwear usually leaves something to be desired, for some reason I only ever buy Michael Kors watches. Which doesn't say much, because I've only bought myself two watches in the last 10 years. Shoes... well, I've bought more than two pairs in the last 10 days. But watches, just the two. The one I currently wear is a riff on the Chanel J12, a white chrono in white with gold hardware most recently coveted by a male cabin attendant on Thai Airways who photographed the watch face to buy for his girlfriend. Awwwww. And the brand has just sent out some of the pics from its Spring 2013 collection. Hopefully he Googles this and see it. They retail at $2,300-3,000. I probably wouldn't wear any of these but the top left, but then again, that's probably why I only have the two watches.

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The New Proenza Clutch


So this is the new Proenza clutch. I for one wasn't particularly bowled over by the PS13 that was oh-so-awaited last season, but this, on the other hand, is something to talk about. It's a much cleaner look than the PS1 pochette that's been around for several years, and the shape is much more contemporary than the older sister's sort of oversized-wallet vibe. It's almost a little Celine, which nobody ever really minds, right? Not all Proenza bags are hits -- while the PS1 hit It status, the PS1 Keepall was too diaper-bag-like. While the PS11 shoulder bag tops my wishlist, the clutch version is sort of impractical. I can't tell if this is the same as the Lunch Bag they're selling right now, but in updated colours. Either way, these practical colours and prints top my wishlist.

Images: Style.com

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Beauty Notes: Organic Pharmacy Rose Balm


I'm all about multi-purpose products and the Rose Balm from Organic Pharmacy is the perfect example where I can use it as a lip balm as well as using it for my dry cuticles. It's packed with seven super plant oils from argan, pomegranate, rose hip and calendula. What I'm intrigued to try however is to use it as a hair treatment as apparently it makes the hair shinier and also repairs split ends. Have any of you tried this product? I've been playing it safe by just using it as a lip balm but should I do use it as a hair treatment, you'll be the first to know.

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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Charity Bazaar for Ebenezer's



Stop by this charity bazaar to benefit Ebenezer, a school for the blind. Expect lots of cute and hip vendors around -- not your typical cross-stitched bookmarks made by prisoners, or lame cookies by your mom (just kidding, I love baked goods by anyone), or Christmas cards with weird things drawn by underprivileged children that you buy so you can feel good about yourself and then dump in a drawer at home. Oh, and handmade jewellery made from seashells and positive thoughts. None of that.

What will be on is food by Yardbird (now we have your attention), juices by detox-brand Bejuiced, gluten-free baked goods by Ain't Yo Mama, gluten-full baked goods by Bistronomique Boulangerie, hipster gear like Happy Socks and OClock watches and Incase phone cases from District Showroom, a balloon-making stand (huh?), footwear by Portevelo (the new Toms), vintage and secondhand clothing and more. And DIY finger puppets! Because everyone always asks us where you can make your own finger puppets, and now I know where to tell them to go.

Sadly I won't be here (okay not sadly, because I'll be on holiday in New York), but you guys go nutso, and for a good cause. Who cares about Rugby Sevens anyway?

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All Fall Down



This video made my day. I've always liked penguins, so much so I had wished for a pet penguin but realised that my adversion to the cold and their love for it would make it a Romeo and Juliet type of tragedy if we ever had to live together. I came across this video which are outtakes from the BBC film, Penguins - Spy in the Huddle which captured footage of penguins ice fail moments and fell in love with them all over again. I think I'm just going to have to loop this video and watch it over and over again to destress.

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Monday, March 18, 2013

Wear & Share: Insecurities and Instagram



Some nights I sit in front of a blank text box and wonder how on earth I write a regular fashion blog. It's a task often more tedious than rewarding, especially going into our fourth year of near-daily posts. I wrote once about blogger ennui; but by day this inches closer to blogger burnout. Ploughing your life and personal interests for what might be riveting to others is tiring business, especially when you suspect your life really is interesting to no one but yourself (if that).

But of course, if that were true, we wouldn't have a regular readership that spans larger than two people (the number, sadly, is likely not much higher, but it still is slightly). We wouldn't have Facebook. Instagram wouldn't have been the fastest-growing app of last year (a fact I pretty much made up but suspect is true). For some reason, everybody else's life is endlessly interesting to us. Why I click on sites to see what strangers wore in the last week is really beyond me. Is it the inspiration? Is it the voyeurism? Is it a way of measuring up my life against someone else's? Why are we such nosy bastards?

I don't really know. But this is my roundabout way of reintroducing the long-forgotten outfit post to this blog. Some relics from Instagram history, which shouldn't be interesting to anyone... but maybe for some reason they are. My style is so inconsistent sometimes that I wish I could trash my whole closet and restart it from scratch, better curated and more directional, or maybe cohesive is the word. But I know it would hurt too much.

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