hk magazine #1097, may 22 2015

HK MAGAZINE NO. 1097 FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2015 www.hk-magazine.com

Hong Kong’s Disappearing Dialects

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HK MAGAZINE FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2015 3

20DISH

Not all Sichuan and roses: China’s other

regional cuisines

26NIGHTLIFE

Get ready to get moist: pool party

season begins

42FIRST PERSON

Radio host Gary Ngan on knowing

when to stay silent

18ESCAPE ROUTES

Book a room at the Godzilla hotel for a GRARRRRRRRRRR

30FILM

“Mad Max: Fury Road” is a campy, explosive joyride

25UPCLOSE

Talking the SAR’s young talent with curator Eric Leung

@hk_magazinefacebook.com/hkmagazinehk-magazine.com

Look us up!contests, updates, storiesonline exclusives latest news and trends

12COVER STORY

In search of the SAR’s dwindling tongues

Where to find us! HK Magazine Media Ltd.302 Hollywood Centre 233 Hollywood Road, Hong KongTel: 852-2850-5065 Fax: 852-2543-1880 E-mail: [email protected]

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HK Magazine is published 52 times a year by HK Magazine Media Ltd., GPO Box 12618, Hong Kong. Copyright 2015 HK Magazine Media Ltd. The title “HK Magazine,” its associated logos or devices, and the content of HK Magazine are the property of HK Magazine Media Ltd. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is strictly prohibited. Article reprints are available for HK$30 each. HK Magazine may not be distributed without the express written consent of HK Magazine Media Ltd. Contact the Advertising Director for ad rates and specifications. All advertising in HK Magazine must comply with the Publisher’s terms of business, copies of which are available upon request. Printed by Apex Print Limited, 11-13 Dai Kwai Street, Tai Po Industrial Estate, Tai Po, N.T.

Before you decide to purchase or use the products and/or services that our magazine introduces, you should gather further information about the same in addition to the representations or advertising content in our magazine. The content in articles by guest authors are the author’s personal views only and do not represent the position of our magazine or our company. Please gather further information about the products and/or services before you decide to purchase or use the same.

News QuizIt’s been a week packed full of news, and you know

what that means: It’s time for our semi-occasional

News Quiz! Can you pick the correct answer from the

maelstrom of tomfoolery that was this week in the SAR?

Editor-in-Chief Luisa TamManaging Editor Daniel Creffield Editor Adam WhiteFeatures Editor Kate SpringerSenior Associate Editor Adele WongStaff Writers Andrea Lo, Charlotte Mulliner, Evelyn Lok, Isabelle Hon Reporter Adrienne ChumContributing Photographer Kirk Kenny

Director of Sales Gary WongStrategic Sales Director Jan ChengSenior Sales Manager Joyce WuSenior Advertising Manager Kent MaAdvertising Manager Dominic Lucien Brettell Advertising Executives Bonita Yung, Celia Wong, Lamy LamAdvertising & Marketing Coordinator Yan Man

Production Manager Blackie HuiArt Director Pierre PangSenior Graphic Designer Mike HungGraphic Designers Elaine Tang, Ryan Chan, Tammy TanProduction Supervisor Kelly Cheung

Finance Manager Karen Tsang Senior Accountant Alex FungAccountant Winson YipAssistant Accountant Coa WongAdministrator Olivia MaI.T. Manager Derek WongWeb Developer Timothy ChengMessenger Li Sau-king

Cover by Tammy Tan

Who’s in charge?

1) The Court of Final Appeal has ruled that the Chinachem Charitable Foundation should not have greater control over the $83 billion estate of tycoon Nina Wang. This means that the Foundation will have to spend the money in accordance with Wang’s last wishes, which were...a) To institute a “Chinese Prize” which will be the

equivalent of the Nobel Prize

b) To secede from Hong Kong and set up the independent nation of Ninatopia.

c) To rebuild Teddy Wang: better... stronger... faster.

d) To fund an elaborate process by which a dead woman’s estate is wrangled over at painful, unpleasant length through a series of interminable court cases and all her secrets laid out in the public eye.

2) A survey by think tank Civic Exchange has revealed that Hongkongers want to reform the small-house policy which allows indigenous male villagers to build houses which they could potentially sell for profit. Respondents...a) Supported restrictions on the resale of small houses

and residency requirements before those eligible could apply.

b) Are just jealous they can’t build apartments on prime real estate for a song.

c) Are considering sex change operations so that they can qualify for an antiquated, gendered law, because property is king.

d) Are amazed that you can get away with calling a 2,100 square foot, three-story house in Hong Kong “small.”

3) Plans have been revealed for Hong Kong’s largest shopping complex yet, to be built next to Terminal 2 of Hong Kong International Airport. Critics are concerned that the mall will...a) Not cater to local shoppers, instead targeting the

lucrative mainland tourist dollar.

b) Detract from the bucolic delights of Tung Chung’s picturesque Citygate Outlet Mall.

c) Attract all the stupid, annoying people who normally go to Macau instead.

d) Suck.

4) Engines which are illegally kept idling have been found to be the least enforced infraction in the SAR. Potential reasons for this are:a) Legitimate exemptions, such as for idling taxis.

b) Pollution is significantly less important than a dry underarm.

c) Cops have been going easy on all those sexy shirtless lorry drivers.

d) The Toyota Alphard is rumored to run not on gasoline, but on the tears of Mother Earth herself.

5) An official report shows that air quality in the Pearl River Delta improved last year, but harmful ozone levels are on the rise, up 5.6 percent. Reasons for this might be: a) Poor weather conditions, or ozone being blown from

elsewhere into the Pearl River Delta region.

b) The Occupy protesters releasing extra ozone into the atmosphere during the protests, because why not go ahead and blame it on them?

c) Everyone thinks that Ozone is just that club in ICC, so they don’t really care about it.

d) Xi Jinping, a leaf blower, and a big ol’ tub of ozone.

PAGE 3

Mr. Know-It-All answers your questions and quells your urban concerns. Send queries, troubles or problems to [email protected].

4 HK MAGAZINE FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2015

MAILBAGMr. Know-It-All’s Guide to Life

OUR TABLET APP: OUT NOW!

Every rigidness in the universe is surrounded by uncertainty ”

Dear Mr. Know-It-All,

Why do all films in Hong Kong have subtitles? It’s really distracting! –Sub Terranean

There’s a popular legend which says

the British Government passed a law in the

1960s, mandating that all films produced in

Hong Kong had to be subtitled in English.

That way colonial officials could easily

keep an eye on any attempted sedition

and stop the wrong messages from getting

out. It was all part of maintaining a grip on

a colony which was beginning to display

some uneasiness with life under British rule.

It’s a great story. But in fact there was

never any such law. The reasons behind

Hong Kong’s bilingual subtitling system are

much more prosaic: It’s all about the money.

The 1960s was the heyday of the

Shaw Brothers Studio in Hong Kong.

Movie mogul Run Run Shaw pioneered

Hong Kong cinema, cranking out classic

film after classic film, defining in particular

the look and feel of kung fu flicks for

generations to come.

But Shaw’s audience was never

just Hongkongers. He owned cinema

chains spread over Southeast Asia, and

distributed his films straight to the Chinese

populations of Singapore, Malaysia and

more. But there was no single language

that would cater to this Chinese diaspora,

who all spoke different dialects of the

language. So Shaw standardized his films

in Putonghua, reasoning that it was the

most universal dialect around. The fact that

Shaw had snapped up some of China’s

finest filmmaking talent as it filtered south

to Hong Kong in the 1960s probably didn’t

hurt, either.

Putonghua vocals made sense, but

you couldn’t guarantee everyone would

understand it—you still can’t, in Hong Kong.

However, dubbing is costly, especially if you

have to produce multiple tracks for multiple

dialects. The easy solution presented itself:

subtitles. It didn’t matter if you spoke

Cantonese, Hakka or Hoklo: you could

read the standardized Chinese subtitles

and get the plot.

But the films were being made in

British-ruled Hong Kong—so why not throw

in English subtitles, too? That way you could

show them to interested colonial types as

well as export them to the United States.

Chinese subtitles broadened the market for

your films across Asia; bilingual subtitles

widened your reach across the world.

The unforeseen consequence of this

money-making decision? The global spread

of a localized kind of cinema, whose culture

and visual language have indelibly shaped

western filmmaking over the last 50 years.

Kind of impressive, when all the Shaw

brothers really wanted was to make an

extra buck or two.

#PrivateEyeHK

Gloomy HarborPhoto by Chris Chambers

Don’t Know JackWe’ve all lived through “Hammer Timer”

[Hongkabulary, May 8, issue 1095], being woken

up every morning at 7am by a jackhammer

outside your flat. Our exhausted Facebook

readers can relate.

So accurate

Prada Leung

So familiar

Eleanor Holroyd

Paying so expensive rent to have this quality of

life, crazy ridiculous...

Trinke Trinkete

Truly

Jhuna Rai

Great when you work nights and have to sleep

at 7am jackhammer gits

Mick Yexley

Know your words

Your philosophical musings:

“

Holy CowIn a recent restaurant review of new

gastropub Crafty Cow [May 1, issue 1094],

we described the cuisine as a “mish-mash”

of flavors. A Facebook reader appreciates

our word choice.

Funny how a Yiddish word (‘Mish-Mash’)

got even into!HK Magazine

Elad Goz!

On the RadioAfter some reports that Hong Kong has

particularly high levels of radioactivity compared

with other cities, Mr. Know-It-All looked into the

issue [May 8, issue 1095] and found that these

elevated levels are unlikely to do us any harm.

One Facebook reader urges us to keep an

open mind.

Nothing is 100 percent safe, every rigidness

in the universe is surrounded by uncertainty, as

much as we cannot find the creator neither can

we find an actual truth.

Tamn Yausi!

Write in and Win!Got something to say? Write us! Our letter of the week gets an HK Magazine notebook, umbrella (pictured) and copy of “Historical Hong Kong Hikes,” total value $470.


THE WEEK

Friday 5/22Bubble TroubleVeuve Clicquot is doing a string of promos for its Yellow is the New Black campaign. This weekend, hit up Tazmania Ballroom for the “Yellow Nights,” with special bottles all around. There are also Veuve happy hours at more than 10 bars, including Solas, Ozone and TOTT’s (daily, 6-9pm through May 31).May 22-23. 1/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham St., Central, 2801-5009. $150 at the door. Visit vcseason-asia.com.

Saturday 5/23What a RiotHit up Pui O for Made in Paradise Presents Summer Riot, a one-day festival with drinks from the likes of AmeriCraft and Kopparberg Cider and food from Mavericks, plus games, prizes and surprises. Any excuse to drink on the beach, right? 5-11pm. Pui O Beach. Free; RSVP to [email protected].

Sunday 5/24Silent Downward DogThe Yoga Room brings us an unlikely form of relaxation in its Silent Disco Yoga Class. You’ll have music and instructions coming through illuminated, wireless disco headsets. 6-7pm. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park, Sai Ying Pun. $150 from www.eventbrite.hk. BYO yoga mat.

Brunch CrunchCan’t decide which brunch spot to visit for overpriced

eggs? Hushup is back with the Secret Brunch Club, which removes the element of choice completely. Expect free-flow everything, plus the queen of drag queens La Chiquitta and DJs from Cliche Records spinning live—but you won’t know

where until the time comes. Hope you like surprises…May 30. Brunch, 2-5pm; after-party,

5-8pm.$650 from hushup.hk.

DO THIS

FRI 5/29MON 5/25

SUN 5/24

Monday 5/25Bun FightThe annual Cheung Chau Bun Festival has evolved from its religious roots into the cultural celebration it is today, complete with bun-tower-climbing challenge, parades and dances aplenty. The festival is five days long, but you can spend the public holiday catching kung fu shows, a parade and more—plus all the bun-scrambling action (11:30pm-12:30am).May 22-26. Cheung Chau. Bun challenge passes given out from 10pm onwards next to Pak Tai Temple; first-come, first served.

Tuesday 5/26Forbes FillersKennedy Town neighborhood joint Forbes 36 has changed hands—and with it comes a brand new happy hour, with 30 percent off drinks. Grab a beer and watch gentrification happen right in front of your eyes.Daily, 4-8pm. 36 Forbes St., Kennedy Town, 2974-0688.

Wednesday 5/27Relax, Don’t Do itTake a mid-week break. Go home and have dinner with your family.Your Home.

Thursday 5/28Extra, extraManila-based indie jazz band Extrapolation is performing on Sevva’s terrace for three nights. A good view and live jazz— what more could you ask for?8pm, May 28-30. 25/F, Prince’s Building, 10 Chater Rd., Central, 2537-1388. Free entry.

Friday 5/29Good Girls Love a SailorHit up The Yacht Week Prosecco Party at Panevino, put on to celebrate the opening of its Thailand route. There’ll be free-flow Prosecco for two hours. What’s Yacht Week, you ask? Picture a group of bronzed, toned people sailing and partying. On the other hand, you could always get a junk for $300 per head.8-10pm. 36-40 Tung Lo Wan Rd., Tai Hang. $220 at the door.

Saturday 5/30Into !e UnknownHipster amalgamation alert! The Unknown Pleasures Rooftop Sessions are a series of events that offer a platform for young, up-and-coming musicians to perform live. Expect to see a lineup of DJs and rappers take to the stage. Watch this space for after-party details. BYOB.Location TBA. Free for the first 50 guests; $50 at the door otherwise.


NEWS

Thu 14Railway Stowaway At 10am, a 52-year-

old woman is spotted hiding under

the northbound platform at Tai Po

Market Station. She sticks her head

out, prompting the train driver to hit

the emergency brake, and then climbs

out and walks along the tracks. The

police take her off the tracks and to the

hospital, but she does not explain her

actions. Her husband says that she has a

history of mental illness.

Mon 11Pig Parade A wild boar swims through

a pool in Tsuen Wan Park at 11am.

At 6:30pm, another wild boar falls

through a false ceiling of a Chai Wan

children’s clothing store and into the

shop’s display case. Both are caught

and tranquilized. The Tsuen Wan boar

is released into the wild immediately,

while the Chai Wan boar is held for

observation before being released.

Fri 15Student Protest (Again) Baptist University

students storm an interview panel with

Professor Roland Chin Tai-hong, the candidate

for university president, claiming that the

university’s administration has not consulted

the student body properly. There had been

three question-and-answer sessions with the

professor, but the BU Student Union president

suggested that the meetings had been

scheduled in the middle of exam season to give

students limited access to the meetings. Chin

agrees to delay the appointment date to give

students more chances to meet with him.

Last Week In Reality

Sat 09Chopper Rescue After a long night of

partying in Stanley, a British expat takes a

taxi to his home on Conduit Road. He veers

off the path and gets trapped in the forest,

injuring his leg. He calls the police, who send

a helicopter to search for him. He is found

around 200 meters from Lugard Road on the

Peak and is airlifted off the mountain.

Illustrations: Ryan Chan

Wed 13Happily Ever After Disney Enterprises threatens to sue Memehk.com for reporting

on Hong Kong-originated Disneyland parody “Buddhaland.” Netizens of the HK Golden

forums had uploaded images of a Disneyland-style theme park based on Lantau’s Big

Buddha. Space Mountain was transformed into the “Five Finger Mountain,” the hand

with which Buddha imprisoned the Monkey King. Meme.hk reported on the viral news,

but did not originate any of the content.

Sun 10Cab Cuffs A drunk man in Causeway Bay tries to get a cab at 2am with a

female friend, but the taxi driver refuses to accept the fare. Enraged, the man

starts to stike the taxi, and so the driver gets out to confront him. The drunk

man shrugs off his friend and leaps onto the taxi driver. The police are called

and both men are taken to hospital with minor injuries. Police Complaints Council Shrugs Off 30,000 ComplaintsThe Independent Police Complaints Council has received 30,748 complaints since October

17, 2014 against 10 of its own members, all of which they have classified as “unfounded” or

“unsubstantial.” Complaints were issued against members such as Shanxi CPPCC member

Lawrence Ma, who was named more than 28,000 times, IPCC Chairman Larry Kwok and

Vice Chairman Chan Kin-por, who were each mentioned on almost 17,000 occasions. The Council

replied that more than 20,000 of the complaints had been sent from the social media

account of internet radio station D100. The IPCC said that the complaints largely criticized the

“biased” potition of the IPCC with regards to Occupy Central. Chairman Larry Kwok responded that

these complaints were merely “expressions of opinion.”

Our take: So what do you call 800,000 people on the streets of Hong Kong? Also “unsubstantial”?

Lesbian Couple Fights for Dependent RightsA lesbian couple has challenged the Immigration Department for refusing to recognize their

civil union when processing a dependent visa. Lawyers for the Immigration Department have

argued that same-sex marriage is illegal and the Department has a duty to protect “the

social well-being of Hong Kong.” Lawyers for the couple say that denying LGBT people

the same benefits that others enjoy is discrimination against sexual orientation and gender,

saying that even polygamous families may choose a “principal” wife to obtain a dependent visa.

The case continues.

Our take: All you need is love… and a good legal team.

Weirdly Politicized New Holiday Coming SoonFollowing the Chinese government’s declaration of September 3 as a one-off “Victory Day of

the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression” holiday, the Hong

Kong government has proposed to follow suit. The day marks the 70th anniversary of Japan’s

official World War II surrender ceremony in Tokyo. Critics suggest that it is part of the “China-

ization” of Hong Kong, while some business owners are concerned that the unanticipated

holiday will cause profits to dip. The “Special Holiday Bill” will be tabled at LegCo on May 27.

Our take: As if Hong Kong doesn’t have enough public holidays: Let’s add a weird creepy one too!

Talking PointsWe read the news, so you don’t have to.

Quote of the WeekQuote of the Week “The more information that is revealed, the more we realize that the police are basically lying.”Fernando Cheung, vice chairman of the Labour Party, voices his distrust of the

police in their handling of the wrongful arrest of an autistic man for murder.

Video evidence of the man in a home for the intellectually disabled was

presented to the police as an alibi before the man was charged, but the police

appeared to ignore the evidence when pressing charges. The police have

issued a statement expressing their “regret” for the incident.

Tue 12Hungry Hungry Python At 10am in Sai Kung,

a dead goat is found next to a swollen

10-foot-long Burmese Python. The snake has

eaten the goat’s 3-month-old kid. A snake

rescuer captures the snake and tries to

make the bloated python regurgitate the

animal. He is ultimately able to pull the kid

out of the snake, and discovers that the

python has also likely eaten a cat.

Photo: Ed

ward

Won

g/SCM

P

IPCC chairman Larry Kwok


UPFRONTStreet TalkHongKabulary

HK Magazine: When did you start painting?Yeung Siu-fong: I went to a foot painting exhibition in 2007 and met my teacher Chan Wai. After that, I studied sketching, watercolors and Chinese art with her intermittently for eight years. Since she lives in Canada, we could only have lessons during her trips to Hong Kong. She knew that I didn’t have enough money, but saw my interest in painting and never asked for a dollar.

HK: What happened to your arms?YF: I was playing on a roof when I was 9 years old and there was a high-pressure electricity leak. My arms were damaged from the electric shock, and after many attempts to operate failed, my family and I decided to get rid of them. The first time I tried to use my feet instead of my hands was actually to paint. It wasn’t until later that I tried to use them for routine things such as picking up food.

HK: Did you receive any special training?YF: At first people fed me, but I wanted to do learn how to take care of myself. I took two weeks and trained myself to use chopsticks to grab yellow beans, and that wasn’t so hard. I also trained my flexibility and control by standing still and drawing curves. To paint, I have to focus and can’t shake at all. Sometimes I stand and sometimes I sit: Standing without shaking is tiring, but when sitting, I have to bend my waist and that also uses lots of energy.

HK: What’s your source of inspiration?YF: I like landscapes a lot, so every time I go somewhere I take pictures. I also capture screenshots from arty movies, especially those with stunning cinematography. One of my favorite paintings is “Maple Tree” (above)—it’s one of my earlier works, from 2007-09. At that time most of my painting was in color. The maple tree stands still, yet a breeze moves the leaves slightly. I love this natural motion.

HK: What do you have planned for the future?YF: Right now I am studying for a higher diploma in fine art at Hong Kong Art School, and I’m still exploring and trying to build up my own style. I would love to eventually work in art therapy. In addition, I am having an exhibition showing around 15 of my early works, mainly watercolors. I would like to incorporate more current issues like global warming in my work to arouse public awareness.

HK: Any hobbies besides drawing?YF: I run 10K races, go hiking and swim in my free time. I actually represented Hong Kong in the 2010 Asian Games as a disabled swimmer, and also swam in the Asian Para Games in Guangzhou. Every time I practice a sport or take part in a competition, it uses a lot of energy. It’s tiring, but I just enjoy doing it.

See Yeung’s works through July 5 at Citywalk Gallery, Shop 126, 1/F, Citywalk, 1 Yeung Uk Rd., Tsuen Wan.

! Mumbled incomprehensible Chinese spoken only

by crochety grandmothers.

! Emoji, the only extant form of communication

among under-25-year-olds.

! The language of love (business proficiency only).

! Putonghua, but petulantly.

! Sticking to our guns by keeping it monolingual.

Screw you, globalization.

New TonguesWhat new dialects are we learning to speak these days?

Fast Facts

HONG KONG—Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing launches the “Energy Saving For All” campaign. (Felix Wong/SCMP)

Caption !is

Creating a work of art isn’t exactly a piece of cake for the average person, but it’s doubly difficult when you don’t have the use of your hands. One of only a few foot painters in Hong Kong, Yeung Siu-fong tells Isabelle Hon about losing her arms and how she became an artist.

Splashdodge Leaping around in the street to avoid the large, warm drops of what you really hope is water falling from the sky. “I didn’t know if it was an old air-con or a spitting granny, so I executed the perfect splashdodge to avoid it.”

ENERGY SAVING BEGINS BY BURNING THIS MALFORMED EFFIGY FOR FUEL

Environment Secretary Questions Life Choices That Led Him Here

Man Hugs Giant Fleshy One-Eyed Monster

Hong Kong is one of the world’s leading cosmopolitan cities, yet

from the moment you set foot on its shores you can see how the

modern-day status is inextricably linked to a rich maritime heritage.

Before the city became the world-famous free trade port it is today, it

was throughout its history a maritime base for pirates, a resource for

Chinese traders, a home for traditional !shing villages, and a colonial

staging post.

Long before the British hoisted a "ag at Possession Point, Hong Kong

was home to a myriad of communities living on—and off—the water.

One such location is Tai O, an ancient stilted village that was once

a shining port of the Pearl River Delta, thriving on salt production

and !shing. Further north on the shores of Tolo Harbour in the New

Territories is Sam Mun Tsai New Village, another quaint !shing

community that grew up around salt production.

For a livelier water community, make your way to Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter, the city’s largest natural inlet providing protection

from the elements. Over the years it has attracted a large population

of hard-working Chinese settlers looking to make a living. Although

the !shing industry is no longer what it once was, this stretch of water

is still busy—riddled as it is with working harbor boats, !shermen’s

sampans, luxury yachts and tour boats.

Hong Kong has such involved, complex ties to its waters that the best

place to cover a lot of history in a short space of time is the Hong Kong Maritime Museum. With more than 5,000 artefacts and some

15 galleries of exhibitions covering everything from sea bandits to

the making of Victoria Harbour, no exploration of the city’s past is

complete without a stop here.

For more insider info on Hong Kong, head to www.DiscoverHongKong.com/InsidersGuide

A series of stories, recommendations and tips on Hong Kong from people in the know. Explore our city

based on the travel experiences that interest you and get itineraries for off-the-beaten-path neighborhoods.

For an overview of the district’s maritime importance

through the centuries, visit the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, a British-built former fort that

was a pivotal force during the 1941 Battle of Hong

Kong. Now it contains the 600-year history of the

city’s coastal defenses. Alternatively, the tranquil

Sai Wan War Cemetery in Chai Wan honors Hong

Kong’s war effort, containing the graves of those who

died during the Japanese invasion.

One of the earliest indicators of the area’s !shing

heritage is Tin Hau Temple in Causeway Bay. Built

by the Hakka Tai family from southern China in the

early 18th century, the story goes that the family

happened upon a statue of Tin Hau, the Goddess

of the Sea, in the rocks on the shore one day while

scavenging for grass and erected a temple to protect it.

It’s still managed by the Tai family today.

For a district that thrived on the sea, here is where

you should of course sample some fresh seafood.

At Wong Lam Kee Chiu Chow Fish Ball Noodles

the owners still buy their !sh each morning from the

Shau Kei Wan Typhoon Shelter and locals "ock here

for the spring onion !sh balls in soupy noodles. Tung Po Seafood is another gem that delivers fresh, tasty

produce: try the deep-fried shrimp, which is sold by

the catty and "avored with handfuls of garlic crisps.

Head online to www.DiscoverHongKong.com/InsidersGuide to create your personalized itinerary for Eastern District.

Spanning the length of Hong Kong Island’s easterly coastal reaches, the Eastern District played

a signi!cant role in the development of the city’s coastal defenses. From the very early years of

Chinese settlement when the area was known by !shermen as Sai Wan, to its time as a strategic

outpost for southern China, and as a military battle!eld during World War II, the district’s

maritime heritage still resonates today.

Hong Kong may be a buzzing urban metropolis, but its little-known

secret is that some 40 percent of the territory is formed of country

parks and nature reserves. Step outside of downtown and you’ll

discover steeple-top mountain chains, remote hiking trails, rugged

coastlines and wild beaches. Plus with more marine diversity than the

Caribbean and one third of the total bird species in China, you’ll soon

want to spend all your precious time outdoors.

The most prominent protected nature reserve is the Hong Kong

Global Geopark of China, in the northeasterly Sai Kung. One of the

prettiest of these areas is Yan Chau Tong Marine Park: a happy

result of violent volcanic eruptions some 180 million years ago.

Protected by mountain ranges, erosion through the ages has been

kind—it’s worth a visit to explore the rocky headlands and cliffs

which are surrounded by picturesque bays and turquoise waters.

To discover what lies beneath Hong Kong’s calm waters, escape to

Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park (Hoi Ha literally translates to “under the

sea”), a sheltered bay that’s famous for its coral collection. You might

be able to spot more than 60 species of hard coral just from a clear

spot on the surface, or dive down further to happen upon colorful soft

coral and more than 120 species of !sh.

Keep your feet on dry land at the renowned Hong Kong Wetland Park, some 60 hectares of wetland reserve with specially designed

habitats for its water-bird species. The large visitor center holds

regular themed exhibitions, plus you can meet the salt water crocodile

“Pui Pui.” Mai Po Nature Reserve is another must-visit wetlands

that supports thousands of birds during migratory season—plus a

whole host of vibrating insects and gei wai freshwater shrimp.

For more insider info on Hong Kong, head to www.DiscoverHongKong.com/InsidersGuide

Settlers from Guangdong, the Tang Clan, !rst

established their walled villages in Ping Shan. They

constructed a large number of traditional Chinese

buildings—halls, temples and pagodas—that you can

see if you follow the Ping Shan Heritage Trail. This

1.6km-long route offers a window into the unique

characteristics of life in Yuen Long. While you’re

here, try poon choi—a time-honored village dish with

layers of ingredients served in a metal basin.

From traditional walled villages to ancient !shing

villages, Yuen Long prides itself on protecting its age-

old buildings and its lush green spaces. Head to Lau Fau Shan, a rural !shing village in Deep Bay that’s

traditionally famous for its oyster farming—and its

oyster sauce. Life today is somewhat sleepier: you’re

more likely to !nd old !shing boats, rafts gently

"oating in the shallows, and expansive mud"ats.

As the sun sets, the shoreline of Ha Pak Nai becomes

a shutterbug’s paradise as crowds gather at the water’s

edge, looking across the bay to Mainland China,

while the day’s departing rays bathe the mangroves,

!sh ponds and sandy "ats in a warm glow. Another

unmissable Yuen Long stop before the day’s end is

Ho To Tai Noodle Shop—a famous 1940s era eatery

that serves bowls of !rm, springy wonton noodles.

Head online to www.DiscoverHongKong.com/InsidersGuide to create your personalized itinerary for Yuen Long.

Travel up into the far northwestern reaches of Hong Kong and you may be surprised to discover that the once

rural outpost of Yuen Long is now a thriving modern town. The district has certainly come a long way since its

!rst Chinese settlers in the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), but large parcels of land are still devoted to the bird-

laden wetlands, scenic nature reserves and tranquil waterside villages.

Get insights and tips on your tablet from Hong Kong Insider’s Guide


Putonghua usage may be increasing

in Hong Kong, but the same isn’t

true for China’s many other dialects.

According to the 2011 census, the

number of people in the city who

speak another variant of Chinese

as their main language is on the

decline: from 352,562 in 2001 to

273,745 only 10 years later—that’s

just 3.9 percent of the population.

With fewer and fewer people

speaking these dialects, we meet

those keeping the old tongues

alive and they give us the universal

greeting: sik jor fan mei—have you

eaten yet?

Yannie Chan meets some of the last speakers of Hong Kong’s disappearing dialects. Photos by Emily Chu

I was born in Tai O into a fishing family. The Tanka I know is already very different to that spoken two or three generations ago. Most people my age, including me, learned Cantonese first, but with a heavy Tanka accent. Even my grandmother did not speak pure Tanka. Hers was a mix of Tanka and Cantonese.

My family have always been fishermen. My grandfather’s grandfather’s generation moored their boats in Tai O and gradually built settlements in the area.

We use Tanka phrases. We refer to fishing as hoi sum, which means “happy” in Cantonese.

I am a water person and was born into a fishing family, but still, I get seasick every single time. If we were going on a one-week fishing trip, I’d be sick the first day and throw up. I only begin to feel better the second day.

The fish maw of the Chinese bahaba was the most sought after. It used to cost $30,000 a catty. That was a lot of money back then. Now I’ve heard it’s worth about $100,000 a catty! But you rarely see the fish in these waters anymore.

I once caught it and the dried fish maw alone weighed more than two catties. We didn’t have to worry about money for a few months.

Fishermen avoid dolphins. We call dark dolphins “black taboo” and Chinese white dolphins “white taboo.” Dolphins follow our fishing

nets, tear them and eat the fish. We don’t welcome them. But now fishing by nets is banned, this perception has probably changed.

My kids no longer have the Tanka accent. No one speaks Tanka anymore. A couple of years ago, there were three elderly Tai O residents who spoke only Tanka. They have all passed away.

Before a wedding, the bride-to-be is required to sing folk songs for two nights straight to thank their families. No one follows it now, but my big sister did it. She sang folk songs for two nights, from evening till the next morning. She sang it along with my mother and aunties.

As the Tanka dialect disappears, the culture and practices are going away

as well. Hardly any Tanka practices will be passed onto the generation after me.

I don’t really have any strong feelings about it. We can’t force a language to live on.

After I left Tai O to work, people made fun of my accent. They still do! I never really took it to heart. I know my accent comes from the Tanka dialect and is part of our culture.

TANKA The Tanka, or boat people, stay true to the name. They have traditionally resided on boats and junks along the southern coast of Hong Kong, living a simple fishermen’s life. They don’t call themselves Tanka, which some view as offensive, but sui seung yan, “people of the water.” Cheung For-yau is a spokesperson for the Hong Kong’s Fishermen’s Association.

“We refer to !shing as hoi sum, which

means ‘happy.’”

Sik jor fan mei?

Hack fau meh?


Teochew: Shantou Ting Hoi Lo Sze RestaurantKnown as the “King of Marinated Goose,” this venerable restaurant serves some of the most authentic Teochew dishes in town. “I’m not sure if ho lok is on the menu, but you can ask for it,” says Teochew dialect instructor Hui Bak-kin. “It’s fluffy scrambled eggs with oyster. It’s the best I’ve had in Hong Kong.” Also try the Teochew foie gras, white pepper and pork belly soup, and fried yam sticks with a hard sugar coating.

37-39 Lung Kong Rd., Kowloon City, 2382-6899.

Weitou: Tai Wing Wah Village CuisineTai Wing Wah Village Cuisine opened in Yuen Long in 1950 helmed by well-known Chef Hugo “To To” Leung. Walled village cuisine is all about seasonal ingredients and fatty meat, so consider yourself warned. Popular dishes include suckling pig, made with high quality soy sauce, homemade poon choi pork, steamed fish head and Chinese lard rice.

Various locations including G-1/F, 1 Stewart Rd., Wan Chai, 2511-1663.

Tanka: Ping Fat A specialty dried goods shop in busy Tai O market, Ping Fat sells salted fish, dried fish belly, fried oysters, dried squid and more. It’s one of the few remaining shops to dry its own fish maw.

12 Tai O Market St., Tai O, 9471-2517.

Hakka: Hak Ka HutThis chain was specifically created with the intention of keeping classic Hakka dishes alive and is a reliable option for the newbie. 3/F, 26 Nathan Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui, 8300-8103.

Hokkien: Zhen Zhen Food StallChun Yeung Street Wet Market in North Point is also known as “Little Hokkien,” as it houses several stores specializing in Hokkien food and snacks. Among them, Zhen Zhen Food Stall—said to be a favorite of legendary food critic Chua Lam—serves hard-to-find Hokkien dishes. Savory rice, a signature Hokkien dish, is a mix of white rice, glutinous rice, mushrooms and peanuts, seasoned with soy sauce.

Shop B, 70-74 Chun Yeung St., North Point.

Chung Yung-kwai: I am 84 years old, the 26th generation of Chung Uk Tsuen villagers. The first language I learned was the Weitou dialect. The next generation spoke Cantonese as their first language.

There used to be ‘blind’ marriages. If a man was out in the city working, his family would find him a girlfriend and then use a chicken to represent him at the wedding. People returned to find that they’d got married! When we speak of these things, and how poor we used to be, people don’t seem to really believe it.

We don’t teach our children the Weitou dialect. It is very similar to Cantonese anyway. There’s no need for them to learn. I don’t feel sad about it.

Chung Hoi-wah: My father went to England to work in the 50s. I followed him later in the 60s. In most families in England, the Weitou dialect seems better preserved. The Weitou you find in our village now has been diluted. More Cantonese phrases slip into our everyday speech, and the dialect has become closer and closer to Cantonese.

Cliff Chung: I built a graph mapping all the people in our village. I realized I am a true Hongkonger: My family has been here for more than 700 years. It makes me feel very proud.

I have no problem understanding the Weitou dialect but I have trouble speaking it. To be honest, I think the younger generation is simply not aware of Weitou. Only several village elders still speak it.

I began a website and posted some Weitou phrases, hoping that would get people to share and learn the dialect online. After one more generation, I’m sure the Weitou dialect will become extinct.

Whenever I hear and speak Weitou, I remember my grandmother.

Visit Chung’s website: www.chunguktsuen.com.

WEITOU A close cousin of Cantonese, “Weitou” means “walled village.” The dialect is spoken, increasingly rarely, within the walled villages in the New Territories and among older generations in Shenzhen. Chung Yung-kwai (right) and Chung Hoi-wai (left) are indigenous villagers of Chung Uk Tsuen in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po. They are the last generation who can speak fluent Weitou. Cliff Chung, also an indigenous villager in Chung Uk Tsuen, has mapped out the genealogy of the entire Chung family in his village.

DIALECT DISHES

“The Weitou you !nd now has been

diluted. More Cantonese phrases

slip into our everyday speech.”

CHECK OUT MORE REGIONAL CHINESE RESTAURANTS ON P.20!

Learn more about the Association for Conservation of Hong Kong Indigenous Languages at www.hkilang.org.


wondered if all languages share a common ancestry.

In 1982, I was collecting water samples from wells in the New Territories for a project when I came across a 10-year-old boy. I asked him in Hakka where the closest well was. He did not understand me! I was shocked.

My own kids, who were born in Germany, speak perfect Hakka. I wanted my children to know it—but when they came back, no one spoke it anymore. I was sad and wondered if my

children would give up on Hakka because no one their age speaks it. Even adults were unwilling to speak it to my children.

In 2000, I became a doctoral student and studied the Hakka dialect. A friend told me that Weitou is suffering a worse fate. We decided to set up an organization to actively conserve indigenous languages.

Cantonese used to have the “sh” consonant. So the names of MTR stations were not a result of bad transliteration—it was really how they were pronounced! So Sha Tin, Tsim Sha Tsui and Sheung Wan were pronounced with the sh sound in Cantonese. The sh sound began to disappear in 1900, because there were more people learning Cantonese and the language was gradually simplified.

Hakka folk songs are really impressive. It’s like Chinese rap—the singer improvises the lyrics. Hakka people mostly sing them to woo the opposite sex. After a work day, they would sing these songs across mountains. The content can be quite explicit. Very explicit sometimes!

I was born in Chenghai, Shantou. I came to Hong Kong when I was 11 years old. My father taught me three sentences in Cantonese before my first day of school: “I don’t understand Cantonese,” “I can’t speak Cantonese,” and “I don’t know.”

Many from my father’s generation see Hong Kong as only a temporary home. They came to Hong Kong not to find a better home, but to make money. They believe that they will return home in the end. When many Teochew elderly say they want to go home, they mean Teochew, not their Hong Kong homes.

My name is pronounced “Hui Bak-geen” in Cantonese but my father told me it was pronounced “Hoy Bak-geen,” because of his accent. So that’s how I said it in school. People would laugh at me and I didn’t know why. It wasn’t until a year later, when someone with the same surname came into our class that I found out it was pronounced Hui!

It used to worry me that I speak Cantonese with an accent. I had this fear that the minute I spoke people would notice and laugh at me. I only truly stopped caring much later in life.

There is actually no single Teochew dialect because Teochew consists of many different regions. Each area speaks its own version of the Teochew dialect.

There’s a saying: “You’d rather argue with Teochew people than chat with Chaoyang people.” Teochew refers to the capital within Teochew city, and Chaoyang was another region under the bigger Teochew umbrella. People from the capital spoke very gently because they were upper class, and Chaoyang people were known for being loud and rude.

In Teochew, lo li refers to a truck. It came from the English word “lorry.” Many Teochew people went to southern Asia to work and adopted the word.

My favorite part of Teochew culture is kung fu tea. It is not about the quality of tea leaves, but the social ties. Teochew people never drink kung fu tea alone—whenever people visit, they make kung fu tea. So kung fu tea really stands for relationships among people.

Many of my students want to reconnect with their past. They grew up listening to Teochew, but cannot speak it well. When they were younger, some avoided and looked down on their dialect.

The mother of one of my students speaks only

Teochew. Before his wedding day, he asked me to teach him to read a speech in Teochew. During the wedding, he dedicated the speech to his mother. It was very moving.

The Teochew dialect is disappearing. There’s no stopping the trend. A language is spoken to communicate with others. When it gets to a point where everyone can reach the US in two hours, languages will become increasingly similar.

SPEAK THE DIALECTSGreetings

Teochew: Hello, luh hohHokkien: Good morning, ja sin

Delicious!Hakka: hao sitTeochew: o jak

Thank youCantonese: ng goi

Hakka: ng goiTeochew: lui luhHokkien: gum sia

I love Hong KongCantonese: ngo oi heung gong

Hakka: ai oi heung gongTeochew: wa ai hiang gangHokkien: wo ai hiang gang

TEOCHEW Teochew, or Chiu Chow, originates in Eastern Guangdong province. The dialect preserves much of the pronunciation and vocabulary of Old Chinese, which dates back to the beginning of written records. Notable Teochew Hongkongers include Li Ka-shing and Emperor group chairman Albert Yeung. Hui Pak-kin teaches a Teochew dialect course at Polytechnic University.

I was born in Tsuen Wan. We later moved to Leung Uk Tsuen in Pat Heung, Tuen Mun, and became villagers here. In the past, from Pat Heung to Tsuen Wan, everyone spoke Hakka.

At school, we were not allowed to speak Hakka, just like how schools nowadays make students only speak English in school.

All our parents wanted us to speak perfect Cantonese. It would be easier to find a good school, get a decent job and climb up the social ladder. It was bad if people could hear from your accent that you spoke Hakka at home.

I found out later that people sacrificed Hakka to speak Cantonese. It’s one of the reasons Hakka is diminishing in the New Territories.

I don’t think of Hakka as an inferior language, but when I discussed this with my wife and relatives, I found that they do. They didn’t like Hakka because it signified you were “from the village.” Some relatives even urged me to not speak Hakka to my son, calling Hakka “an ugly language.” But if I speak English or German to my son, they say he’s a genius.

When I was a child, there were no Cantonese songs. All songs were in Putonghua. I had no idea it was a different language. I thought singing meant you had to say words in a funny way.

I’ve always been interested in linguistics. Speaking many languages—Hakka, Weitou, some Teochew, Cantonese, English—prompted me to consider some philosophical questions.

In Hakka, “I” sounds like ai. In Cantonese, it’s ngor. But in English, “I” comes closer to the Hakka version. I always

HAKKA “Hakka” literally means “guest families,” thanks to a long history of migration: From north China to the south, and then overseas. Hakka people have long been prominent in public affairs. Well-known Hakka Hongkongers include politicians Martin Lee and Lau Wong-fat, and actors Chow Yun-fat and Leslie Cheung. Lau Chun-fat founded the Association for Conservation of Hong Kong Indigenous Languages, and studies the Hakka dialect.

“Hakka folk songs are really impressive. It’s

like Chinese rap.”

“There’s a saying: ‘You’d rather argue

with Teochew people than chat with

Chaoyang people.’”

Jak bung meh?

Seek or fan ng chian o?


My family was from Hong Kong island at first. We fished along the shores, and gradually found and settled in Tai Po in the 1940s.

Hokkien is my first language. I didn’t start learning Cantonese until the 1950s, when it became popular. You had to learn Cantonese to do business and buy daily essentials.

Hoklo people have a bad reputation for being ferocious. In the past, Teochew people occupied the piers. If Hoklo people weren’t aggressive enough, we couldn’t do business.

We were also bullied because we came from the sea. People who had already settled in an area saw us as intruders. Everywhere we went, people on the land would try to get us to leave. We had to be aggressive.

People would say mean things to us. I’ve been told that because I was a fisherman I had no future and no prospects.

I had never been proud of being Hoklo. There was nothing to be proud of. Now, it’s better. People are accepting and are

interested in our culture.

In the 70s, the government wanted to develop Tai Po into a new town, and moved us from fishing villages to public housing. There was

nothing we could do. The city has to develop and we should accommodate the changes. Most Hokkien stopped being fishermen. Many went into the construction industry.

Hoklo culture is very much different to what it was when I was a child. They’re very fond memories to me, but I don’t really miss it. What’s the point?

A lot of people still speak Hokkien. My siblings’ grandchildren speak it very well. In newer families, however, its use is decreasing because Hoklo people rarely marry other Hoklo anymore.

Dragon boats are a big part of our weddings. When we still lived on fishing boats, we used them to carry the bride to the husband’s boat. We would tie several fishing boats together to hold a wedding banquet.

When my son got married, all the boats came together for the wedding banquet. The feast lasted for three days. It’s a real achievement to welcome a daughter-in-law.

Hoklo culture and its dialect will probably die out eventually. But I can’t be sad about it. I mean, in the past, women couldn’t eat until the men finished eating. Now? If they don’t feel like it they won’t cook for us. Things change and most of the time it’s for the better.

HOKKIEN Hokkien people, also known as Hoklo, hail from eastern Guangdong and southern Fujian provinces. This area was a trading and migration center, and so the Hokkien dialect is commonly encountered overseas, particularly in Taiwan and the Philippines. So Chi-keung is the chairman of Tai Wong Yeh Temple Management Office at Yuen Chau Tsai, Tai Po.

Learn more about Hoklo culture at the Tai Wong Yeh Temple, Yuen Chau Tsai, Tai Po.

“I had never been proud of being

Hoklo. There was nothing to be

proud of. Now, it’s better. ”

Jak bung weh?

Many people may think fi rst of beer and tequila, but the cattle sector in Mexico is the third largest exporter of agrifood products. And Hong Kong is ranked third on the list of buyers, behind only the United States and Japan.

So why choose Mexican Beef?The answer is simple. Mexican Beef is always of

the highest quality. It’s juicy and full of fl avor thanks to a careful feeding process which leaves it marbled through with white fat. It is the perfect size, as well: Not as large as typical oversized cuts. Instead Mexican beef is well-proportioned for balanced nutrition and portion control, and much better suited to the Hong Kong market. It is little wonder that Mexican beef is so popular among the city’s discerning diners.

Rigorous preparation is at the heart of the product and is the key to its success.

From the outset only the best is good enough. When it comes to feeding a feedlot system is used, based on diets monitored by nutritionists who specialize in animal feeding. The unique Mexican Beef fl avor envied around the world is achieved by using specially selected grain, mostly corn, while the experts who carefully supervise the feeding process ensure it has a positive effect on the color, taste, marbling and quality of the fi nal product.

The condition in which the livestock is reared also plays an important part in producing a quality end product. Mexico is proud of its sanitary record of never having suffered a case of BSE, commonly known as Mad Cow or Foot and Mouth Disease.

And to guarantee only the very fi nest Mexican Beef is available for export, the production process is awarded quality certifi cation. Indeed, veterinarians from each country exported to are invited to endorse Mexican beef quality.

Formed in 2007, the Mexican Beef Exporters Association (more commonly referred to simply as Mexican Beef) is a non-profi t organization comprised Mexican companies focused on beef exports and product promotion.

Mexican Beef takes pride in providing full fl avored and high-quality beef to the global market at competitive prices, providing the right size cuts of beef and marbling products that modern consumers demand.

In these very environmentally conscious times, Mexican Beef is also resolute in its determination to ensure its beef is produced using the latest in green technology, minimum food wastage and maximum recycling practices.

This environmental awareness runs at the heart of Mexican Beef production and results in an ecologically minded company with compassion for its livestock, a philosophy that is refl ected in caring for the cattle, which spend the majority of their lives wandering paddocks. Superior feed and open-air conditions produce a superior product of tasty, juicy and tender beef with an affordable price tag that is readily available here in Hong Kong.

Mexican Beef

Quality comes fi rst when it comes to Mexican Beef; that’s why it is one of the world’s most sought after food products.

Best for Flavor

www.mexicanbeef.org

@MexicanBeef

www.facebook.com/MexicanBeef


GET MORE OUT OF HK | SHOPPING + TRAVEL + DINING

Make Me MarimekkoNow with six shops in Hong Kong, Finnish fashion and homewares brand Marimekko has amassed a loyal following thanks to its quirky and colorful designs. This summer’s styles take a note from nature, with splashes of ocean blue and forests of verdant green. We particularly love the watercolor-inspired plates and moody, paint-splashed glassware from the Weather Diary collection. With these wild patterns, your next dinner party will feel like a force of nature.

Saapaivakirja Weather platter, $1,095; plate, $430; pitcher, $795. Various locations including Shop 42, Lai Chi Building, 42-52 Leighton Rd., Causeway Bay, 2203-4214.

ESCAPE ROUTESwith Kate Springer

TRAVEL


Gaga about GagganAfter Chef Gaggan Anand snagged the top spot in the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards this past March, the eponymous restaurant shot to the top of my to-do list on a recent trip to Bangkok. I wasn’t really sure what to make of “progressive Indian” cuisine but it's just as creative as it sounds. Having visited a few other molecular dining rooms in the past, I was expecting most of the dishes to be served up with a side of pretention. But from the moment you walk in to Gaggan's white-washed colonial building, you are treated like family. The sommelier is quick to offer you the perfect cocktail or glass of wine—don’t miss the smoking coconut lassi—and makes sure your glass stays half-full. As for the food, Chef Anand applies lots of technological tricks to his cooking, which transforms some Indian staples into a feast for the eyes as well. Picture an “explosive” sphere of yoghurt, edible plastic bags full of nuts and spices, or lamb chops with smoked whisky. You can try a sampling with one of the tasting menus, which start from a very reasonable THB1,800 ($415) and go up to THB4,000 ($924). I say without hesitation that the 21 courses I ate at Gaggan were 21 of the best bites of my life.

68/1 Soi Langsuan, Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Bangkok 10330, Thailand, (+66) 2652-1700, www.eatatgaggan.com.

Snuggle up to Godzilla “Look mommy, a dinosaur!”!Tokyo welcomed yet another wild hotel last month, with the Godzilla-themed Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. Nope, it’s not at Universal Studios—the address opened in Tokyo’s nightlife and entertainment epicenter of Kabukicho. The monstertastic property is offering two types of Godzilla-themed rooms: one top-floor suite with special-effect walls and a huge claw coming out of the ceiling over the bed; and six other “Godzilla View” rooms that peer right into the red eye—a life-size replica of the film star’s head. The location is quite fitting, as it’s inside a new entertainment complex, complete with 12 cinemas. With any luck, you’ll get to see the King of the Monsters in action on the big screen… and then again before bed.

From JPY13,000 ($845). 1-19-1 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan, (+81) 3-6833-2489,!shinjuku.gracery.com. !

Have a query you need answered or a travel tip you’re keen to share? Email me at [email protected] or tweet @KateSpringer and #hktravels.

Zero to HeroTree-hugging travelers out there will want to bookmark the new travel guides from Kiosk, a local lifestyle website that focuses on sustainable living. This year, the company has been rolling out a series of new Zero guides—all of which highlight eco-friendly places to stay, eat and drink in major cities across the world. The first guides to publish were London, Copenhagen and Singapore, but there’s one for Hong Kong out now as well as eight more to come this year. Even if you have no plans to leave the city, the website’s focus on eco-friendly news around town might just inspire you to clean up your act.

$128 from Page One, Shop LG 1-30, Festival Walk, 80 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, 2778-2808. Learn more at discoverkiosk.com.

Gaggan with the wind

Sweet dreams at Hotel Gracery Shinjuku

Photo: TM &

© Toho C

o Ltd.

Gaggan's smokin' coconut lassi Monster mash-up

Photo: TM &

© Toho C

o Ltd.

Photo: Allw

ecandid

Tickets at URBTIX 2111 5999 | www.URBTIX.hkProgramme Enquiries: 2836 3336For ages 6+

Hong Kong Sinfonietta reserves theright to change the programme and artists

Hong Kong Sinfonietta is financially supported by theGovernment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Hong Kong Sinfonietta is theVenue Partner of the Hong Kong City Hall

“Technically immaculate.”The Strad

“An attractive combinationof silk and steel.”

BBC Radio 3

6.6.2015(Sat) 8pm

Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall$320 $220 $140

Violin

Valeriy Sokolov• Winner, George Enescu International Competition 2005

Programme

Symphonic VariationsBartók Violin Concerto No 2Schumann Symphony No 4 in D minor,

Op 120

Conductor

Ken Lam• Music Director,

Charleston Symphony Orchestra

“Expert direction.”The Wall Street Journal

© S

IMON

FOW

LER

© A

LYON

A SE

MEN

OV

Valeriy Sokolov’sPerformance

FESTIVAL SCHEDULEMay 26

June 4

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June 1-30

June

July 7

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July 15

ITALIAN CAR NIGHT: Discover the Best Italian Motors (Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, CWB)

OSPITALITÀ ITALIANA X ART COCKTAIL: Giando x Mia (Wan Chai)

ITALIAN MARKET: Music, Food & Beverage and More (Cyberport, Pok Fu Lam)

OSPITALITÀ ITALIANA X ART COCKTAIL: Tosca x Martin Foot (Ritz Carlton Hotel, ICC Tower)

OSPITALITÀ ITALIANA X ART COCKTAIL: Gaia Ristorante x Angelo Buonumori (Sheung Wan)

ITALIAN CULINARY WORKSHOP: Join Chef Luca (Tsim Sha Tsui East)

ITALIAN CULINARY WORKSHOP: Join Chef Fabio (Central)

OSPITALITÀ ITALIANA X ART COCKTAIL: Nicholini’s x Annalu’ (Admiralty)

OSPITALITÀ ITALIANA QR CODE CONTEST: Win a Magical Milanese break!

(Participating Italian Restaurants)

OSPITALITÀ ITALIANA X ART: La Locanda x Erika Barillari Davel (Tsim Sha Tsui)

OSPITALITÀ ITALIANA X ART COCKTAIL: Assaggio Trattoria Italiana x Francesco Lietti (Wan Chai)

ITALIAN CULINARY WORKSHOP: Join Chef Francesco (Central)

DESIGN ITALIANI PREVIEW at SICIS The Art Mosaic Factory (Wan Chai)

CHINESE CONTEMPORARY ART MEETS ITALIAN WINES (Central)

ITALYMADE IN

QUALITY & LIFESTYLE

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PRESENTED BY FRIENDS OF MADE IN ITALY

OFFICIAL CAR SPONSOROFFICIAL AIRLINE SPONSOR WATER AND SPARKLING FRUIT BEVERAGES SPONSOR

Had your fill of the same boring Sichuan meals? Evelyn Lok and Kate Springer seek out some overlooked regional Chinese cuisines.

!e Cuisine: Chiu Chow (Teochew)Chiu Chow is particularly known for its da lang late night feasting tradition, serving up seaside delicacies such as cold, brined crabs or rice soups packed with ingredients—either as a nightcap or to be washed down with a few beers. Opened just over a month ago, Sum Yeh Loi Chiu ( )—which translates poetically to “satisfying a craving for Chiu Chow food late at night”—is a Mong Kok hotspot that’s open until 3am. You won’t find typical soy sauce-marinated meats here: instead it serves up a variety of chilled seafoods, ranging from sea urchin to baby oysters to crab brimming with orange roe. The signature dish, however, is a unique take on the humble Chiu Chow rice soup, made with a clear vegetable tea and topped with sliced mushroom and peanuts.

Shop A, G/F, Skyline Tower, 18 Tong Mi Rd., Mong Kok, 6737-8676.

Going to Regionals

!e Cuisine: Hunan If you like Sichuan food then you’ll love Hunan cuisine, and Shek Tong Tsui newcomer Jiang’s Hunan Chef is a fantastic spot to whet your appetite. This friendly restaurant is all about great spice, using a mix of bright red, golden and green chili peppers. A few of the signatures include a huge, silky carp covered in chili peppers, super juicy lamb chops with chili, spicy green beans with chili and tiny fish fried whole on a bed of chilis… seeing a pattern here? The place is owned by a husband-and-wife team and a family atmosphere permeates the whole place.

G/F, Fu Ga Building, 13 Yat Fu Lane, Shek Tong Tsui, 3956-8873.

!e Cuisine: Hakka The food of the Hakka people is usually best home-cooked, and it can be hard to find in restaurants. In Hong Kong, Hakka tastes have developed over time to emphasize seafood and vegetables. One such signature dish is jin mun yeung dau fu (right) braised tofu cubes topped with minced meat and salted fish, available at Chuen Cheung Kui. Salt-baked chicken is also a Hakka staple, but perhaps the most well-known dish is the decadent and aromatic mui choy kau yuk—a large casserole of pork belly slices layered with preserved mustard greens, and steamed with spices and rice wine. Bring a large, hungry group and go to town.

Various branches including Shop C & 1/F, Alliance Building, 133 Connaught Rd. Central, Sheung Wan, 2388-7488.

!e Cuisine: Hokkien Hokkien cuisine is somewhat similar to Taiwanese fare, made with delicate and precise preparation: think fine knifework and high-quality produce. Named after the coastal city in Fujian, Putien is a popular chain from Singapore with two outposts in Hong Kong. The expansive menu boasts dishes such as chilled bitter gourd—it’s sliced super-thin, supposedly to make it taste sweeter. Be sure to try the salt-and-pepper fried pig knuckle, as well as the dumpling soup, in which the wrappers are made by pounding ground pork and potato starch into paper-thin slices.

Two branches including Room A, 7/F, Lee Theatre Plaza, 99 Percival St., Causeway Bay, 2111-8080.

!e Cuisine: IslamicChinese Islamic cuisine takes much of its inspiration from Beijing: think plenty of soupy noodles and dumplings. A long-time Kowloon City mainstay is Islam Food. Established in 1950, the eatery has its walls lined with photographs of celebrity patrons and news clippings, all invariably touting its signature veal goulash pockets. Be sure to angle them over a bowl or spoon to catch all the juice. The curry here is also exceptional, with an addictive, party-in-your-mouth tang that matches the hefty varieties of mutton, ox-tongue or beef brisket on offer.

1 Lung Kong Rd., Kowloon City, 2382-2822.

!e Cuisine: Xinjiang Xinjiang cuisine from the northwest mostly derives from Uyghur culture, with a huge spotlight on mutton. Despite the name, North Point’s Beef Noodles specializes in intense, meaty mutton noodles, while rice and noodle bowls and cumin grilled lamb skewers round out the menu. Visit the smaller branch on King’s Road (Shop 10, G/F, Everwin Building, 406-408 King’s Rd., North Point, 3565-6553), where more Xinjiang dishes are on offer, such as mutton with roasted flatbread and zhua fan, a carrot rice with mutton and onions.

41A Kam Ping St., North Point, 2151-0506.

DINING


DINING

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NOTEDwith Adele Wong

DINING

A Raw DealIf Mana’s flatbreads are starting to get a bit repetitive, there’s now Mana! Raw (G/F, 97 Wellington St., Central, 2259-5125), serving (mostly) uncooked, meat-free, possibly gluten-free food and drink that would make a regular vegan blush. Highlights at this takeout bar include the “vushi”: lovely sushi-like items stuffed either with brown rice (not raw) or a celeriac blend (raw) and greens; and leafy green wraps—veggies wrapped in more veggies. I swear, your skin will glow a shade brighter just stepping into the shop. Freshly blended juices, raw puddings and other treats round out the menu.

Kimchi’s the New KebabLooking for a late-night bite in LKF that’s not kebabs? Hanjan (G/F, 4-5 Wo On Lane, Central, 2408-6000) might do the trick. The ground floor venue is backed by local celebrities Adrienne Lau and Connie Man, and serves kinda-Korean dishes like

kimchi mozzarella balls, steak tartare, cheese-glazed ribs, kimchi pancakes and tofu seafood soups. But let’s get to the heart of the matter, which is: The space is conveniently open ‘til 4am on Fridays and Saturdays.

I’ll Have Frites With !at Frites (1/F, 198 Wellington St., Central, 2217-6671) is back in Central! It took the guys a while, but Concept Creations group has finally found another massive space to host the popular Belgian establishment that used to be at Queen’s Palace. The new Frites is all dark wood, stained glass and pew-like seats—but not to worry, there will be no sermons: only Leffe on tap. Large parties can book the “abbey” room for private functions away from the plebs. Pork knuckle, steak frites, moules-frites and long-ass sausages are highlights on the menu.

Hanjan has you coveredEmail me at [email protected] or follow me on Twitter: @adelewong_hk.

Mana! Raw gets even healthier Moules and, yes, Frites

In all major bookstores now! www.historicalhkhikes.com

Historical Hong Kong HikesA guide to 15 remarkable treks, detailing the rich history of the SAR’s peaks, valleys and urban neighborhoods

*Learn about this and other fascinating facts in

What happened atthe Pinewood Battery? *


Ratings" Don’t go "" Disappointing """ We’ll be back """" We’ll be back—with friends """"" You MUST go

Price Guide$ Less than $200 $$ $200-$399 $$$ $400-$599 $$$$ $600-$799 $$$$$ $800 and up

Our PolicyReviews are based on actual visits to the establishments listed by our super-sneaky team of hungry reviewers, without the knowledge of the restaurants. Reviews are included at the discretion of the editors and are not paid for by the restaurants. Menus, opening hours and prices change and should be checked. New restaurants are not reviewed within one month of their opening. Reviews are written from a typical diner’s perspective. Ratings are awarded in accordance with the type of restaurant reviewed, so the city’s best wonton noodle stall could earn five stars while a fancy French restaurant could be a one-star disaster.

RESTAURANT REVIEWSBocadito """""Spanish/Mexican Tapas. G/F, 40 Staunton Street, Central, 2549 2878.

You can’t miss Soho’s Bocadito, thanks to the huge mouth which forms the entrance to this tapas joint. Inside Bocadito is full of beautiful psychedelic mosaic décor, inspired by the Barcelonan architecture of Antoni Gaudí.

HIT Special lenguado al pibil ($78) sole tacos came topped with almond and a large slice of grilled pineapple, giving a sweet kick to a mildly spicy dish. More sole tacos—lenguado con salsa achiote ($78)—topped with tomato, onion

garlic, coriander and achiote chili sauce, were refreshing and the fish was incredibly tender. We’d happily order them again. Co-owner Phil was very happy to sit down and guide us through the menu and the tastes of Spain, which is always great.

MISS Gambas al ajillo ($130), prawns sautéed in olive oil with garlic, parsley, chilli and white wine, were very fresh and mildly spicy, but a touch over-salted. The Vientre de cerdo con pure de batata ($118) was four pieces of pork belly with a sweet potato puree, but the flavor was too similar to the roast pork you’d get in a char siu shop.

BOTTOM LINE A good restaurant for a quieter SoHo happy hour and a few bites with friends.

Open Mon 6pm-1am, Tue-Sun noon-3pm, 6pm-1am. $$$

Chibee """""Korean Fried Chicken. 7/F, Circle Plaza, 499 Hennessy Rd., Causeway Bay, 2838-5777.

Fried chicken of all kinds is still the “it” food of the mo, and the Korean variety is leading the way. Enter Chibee, brought to you by one of the guys behind the Three Monkeys group. This KFC joint serves the poultry in numerous different flavors, mostly deep-fried.

HIT The spring onion chicken ($178), which consisted of a massive portion of deep-fried, bone-in goodness literally topped with a bush of spring onion. The meat was juicy, the batter

was dry and crisp, and the whole dish paired wonderfully with the wasabi-flavored sauce we were given. We just couldn’t have enough. There were also pickled veggies and a salad to balance things out. The smoky, creamy chibee instant noodles ($65) accompanied with spam were another hit.

MISS The ham and cheese toast ($65) was touted as a crowd-pleaser that always sells out, but when we received our order we were not impressed. The rolled-up sandwiches looked awesome, but tasted rather pedestrian: neither the cheese nor ham was memorable in flavor. The homemade ketchup that came with the toasties was too herby and reminiscent of pasta sauce to make a harmonious pairing.

BOTTOM LINE Always on the lookout for the next best KFC joint? Chibee holds its own on the fried chicken front.Open daily 5pm-3am. $$

All of our reviews are independent and anonymous!

Let !ere Be LightCatch a dual show featuring Vaan Ip and Leo Wong Chun-yam at YY9 gallery. In “City Memory,” Ip will showcase his glowing golden sculptures (pictured), which reference the rapid urbanization and pulse of the city. Wong will present two of his latest sculpture series, one of blurred iconic views of Hong Kong, and the other capturing buildings remembered from his childhood.

Through Jul 31. Unit 206, 2/F, Phase I, Chai Wan Industrial City, 60 Wing Tai Rd., Chai Wan, 2574-3730. Mon-Tue by appointment only, closed Sun.


CULTURE + NIGHTLIFE + FILM

XCEED is a group which created 3D mandalas on rapidly spinning iPads.

Eric Tsang Tsz-yeung built a camera from Ikea parts, which takes photographs from the point of view of a crippled leg.

Chan Kwan-lok drew scenes above and below the sea on large circular canvases to look like the portholes of a ship— a comment on environmental issues.

Sim Chan is known for cutting silhouettes from the skyline and painting them into kites. This time, his work has taken on more political themes.

ARTISTS TO WATCH AT THE AFFORDABLE ART FAIR 2015


ARTS Theater & ArtsUrbtix (credit cards) 2111-5999Urbtix (enquiries) 2734-9009HK Ticketing 3128-8288HK Arts Centre 2582-0200Fringe Club 2521-7251HK Cultural Centre 2734-2009

Need to KnowHK City Hall 2921-2840HK Academy for Performing Arts 2584-8500Kwai Tsing Theatre 2408-0128LCSD Music Programme Office 2268-7321LCSD Dance/Multi-Arts Office 2268-7323LCSD Theatre Office 2268-7323

Eric Leung Shiu-kee is a veteran curator and a seasoned scholar of the Hong Kong art scene, best known for organizing the annual Fresh Trend Art Graduates Joint Exhibition. He returns for the third year to curate the Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong’s Young Talent Exhibition. He tells Evelyn Lok about the new opportunities that the exhibition brings to local artists.

HK Magazine: How has the Young Talent Exhibition differed over the years?Eric Leung: In the first year, the preparation time was a little tighter, so the theme was more of an overall review of what Hong Kong young artists were doing at the time. Our selection was also slightly “cleaner”—works were creative and groundbreaking, but still kept to more traditional art forms such as painting and sculpture. In the second year, it was a little more focused. Titled “Extraordinary Ordinary,” it was all about finding uniqueness through commonplace things in everyday life. This year, the works are a little more experimental. The theme is “Reveal”—all about expressing yourself. The artworks this year are a little

more narrative-based: They express their views on the surrounding environment and society.

HK: Why should we be paying attention to younger artists?EL: 10 years ago, it was pretty much just Grotto Fine Art which was showing young Hong Kong artists. Now there are a lot of art fairs that showcase local art—they provide greater exposure. Galleries often have their own fixed client base, but with fairs such as Art Basel, it’s the whole world. One reason is that their work is relatively cheaper, and it provides collectors with more room to imagine [how artists will develop]. Another undeniable fact is that the training young artists now receive has a stronger emphasis on concept: It’s more clever. They know how to package their pieces. The techniques may not be mature, but the works have a solid narrative, which satisfies the current trend in contemporary art.

HK: Do you see a trend with increased public art in recent years?EL: The problem now is that the non-commercial art arena—with alternative art spaces and art institutions—has diminished in recent years. But what the alternative art space was doing before, commercial institutions are doing now. Today, any public space can be an art space: think JCCAC, PMQ, and the up-and-coming Central Police Station. There’s actually a lot more spaces to do and show art. Everyone’s focus has already moved to a commercial or half-commercial format.

HK: What is the main predicament in the current art scene?EL: I don’t think more than half of galleries are earning money. In 2015 so far, the number that have closed are greater than those that have opened. It’s just like opening a cha chaan teng: once the rent goes up and they close, there’s just a change in name. Another fool will come by and open another one. The current trend is to move away from Central

to industrial buildings or to Western district but once they do that, most report a loss.

HK: What are some of the best ways to find and support young local artists?EL: Young Talent represents young Hong Kong artists who have expressed something which pertains to that specific year’s curatorial angle. But if you want to see the specialties of [universities], then of course you’d go to the graduate shows.

UPCLOSE Eric Leung

ClassicalIsland Express Jazz Orchestra Live at Fringe DairyThe Island Express Jazz Orchestra is Hong Kong’s very own big band—headed by music director Shoichi Chinda, the musicians and solo vocalist Ela Allegre come from a variety of international backgrounds. They’ll be playing a tasty selection of big band jazz standards and songs by contemporary jazz composers Bob Mintzer, Frank Mantooth and Matt Catingub. May 30, 10pm. Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Rd., Central, 2521-7251. $120-150 from Fringe Club; includes one drink.

Royal Festivities at the French Court in the 16th CenturyThe Doulce Memoire Ensemble will be taking on some serious French nostalgia by reenacting the atmosphere of the royal court during the 16th century, in celebration of the 500th anniversary of King Francis I’s reign as part of Le French May’s overarching theme this year. It’ll be a splendorous event filled with music, singing, dancing, and beautiful period costumes—presumably omitting the heretic-burning, chamberpot-tossing, tactical-wedding shenanigans of the time. May 28, 8pm. Concert Hall, City Hall, 5 Edinburgh Place, Central. $180-380 from www.urbtix.hk.

Western District: Das KonzertContemporary classical darlings Western District will be playing a night of German masters, with a program ranging from the 1600s until the present day (that’s lots of Hans Zimmer). Doors open at 9pm. Jun 6, 9:30pm. Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Rd., Central, 2521-7251. $150-180 from Fringe Club; includes one drink.

Dance

Paquita. Bolero. Carnival+The Hong Kong Ballet’s season finale is a seamless showcase of five different pieces performed by five guest principal dancers from all over the world. The pieces range from the much-adored classic “Paquita,” the first ballet by “the father of classical ballet” Marius Petipa; to the world première of “Bolero”—an intense, introspective piece about the emotional struggle of the lead female dancer, set to Ravel’s composition of the same name. The performance wraps up with the Hong Kong debut of “Le Carnaval des Animaux,” where dancers will enact animals such as elephants and jellyfish against a playful, 14-movement-long score by Saint-Saëns. May 29-30, 7:30pm; May 30-31, 2:30pm. Grand Theatre, Cultural Centre, 10 Salisbury Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui. $140-1,000 from www.urbtix.hk.

The Legend of MulanReturning right after its successful tour performance in New York in March, the Hong Kong Dance Company brings “The Legend of Mulan” back to the Hong Kong stage. Originating in the 5th century, the classic folktale is all about a courageous peasant girl who disguised herself as a man to go into war in her ailing father’s place, invariably befriending a fire-breathing lizard while singing about her reflection. Just kidding: This is based on the real tale, not the Disney deal. Jun 12-14, 7:45pm; Jun 13-14, 3pm. Grand Theatre, Cultural Centre, 10 Salisbury Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui. $100-320 from www.urbtix.hk.

MusicalsLegally Blonde: The MusicalEveryone’s fave lawyer bombshell Elle Woods will be bending and snapping all over the Shouson Theatre this June. Local theater mainstay Face Productions is taking on Broadway’s “Legally Blonde: The Musical” with a cast of local ladies, as they retell the story of carefree blonde Elle Woods becoming a hotshot lawyer at Harvard through hard work, confidence, and the power of friendship. Jun 4-6, 8pm. Jun 6-7, 3:30pm. Shouson Theatre, Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Rd., Wan Chai. $220-395 from www.urbtix.hk.

Arts FestivalsUmbrella FestivalPresented by CUHK, the Umbrella Festival is a two-week multidisciplinary response to last year’s Umbrella Movement. The festival not only gathers the artwork created during the protests in the fight for democracy, but also presents recently created works in the performing and visual arts. Among an array of special events, you can take part in a reflective three-day workshop, titled “As the Dust Settles,” where participants can engage in responsive art-making, drama enactment, and reflect on images to gain clearer insight into the events. Through May 31. Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre, 30 Pak Tin St., Shek Kip Mei, 2353-1311. Various events; workshop $550 from ticketflap.com. www.umbrellafest.com.

TheaterIvor Gurney: A Voice ApartIvor Gurney is a poet and composer who left behind 200 musical pieces and over 300 poems when he died, informed by his experiences as a private during World War I. Written by the late Hong Kong playwright Piers Gray, “Ivor Gurney: A Voice Apart” explores traumatic memories of the trenches and thoughts of lost love, as Ivor looks back on his life during his stay in a mental institution—all the while borrowing excerpts from Ivor’s own compositions. This performance is held in commemoration of the Great War, and will accompany film footage and a photographic exhibition at the Fringe Club. All proceeds from the play will go to the Hong Kong Ex-Servicemen’s Association. May 22-23, 8pm; May 23, 2pm. Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Rd., Central, 2521-7251. $220 from Fringe Club.

Photo: Rodolphe M

arics

Don’t miss the Young Talent Hong Kong show at Affordable Art Fair this weekend: May 22-24, Hong Kong Convention Centre, 1 Expo Dr., Wan Chai, 2582-8888. $80-150 from www.hkticketing.com. affordableartfair.com/hongkong.

Stay tuned for Eric Leung’s “Fresh Trend Art Graduates Joint Exhibition,” which he is putting together for the 10th year.

Edited by Evelyn [email protected]


ARTSExhibitions

Tsang Chui-mei: Some LandscapesShowing at Grotto Fine Art this month is Tsang Chui-mei. Always straddling Chinese tradition and western abstract painting, the artist’s newest works are all acrylic “virtual landscapes—neither mountainscapes nor urban scenes, but a mixture of both—painted with energetic bright colors and serene, cerebral detail, to draw the viewer in. Through Jun 6. Grotto Fine Art, 31C-D, 2/F, Wyndham St., Central, 2121-2270.

Nortse: Paper DreamsTibetan artist Nortse returns for his third exhibition with Rossi & Rossi, this time bringing a mixed-media funbag of symbolic works that look at topics such as pollution, violence, and the loss of cultural identity through mass production and globalization. Cheery! Through Jun 6. Rossi & Rossi Hong Kong, Unit 3C, Yally Industrial Building, 6 Yip Fat St., Wong Chuk Hang, 3575-9417.

Sun Museum Inaugural ShowThere’s a brand new museum in town: The Sun Museum aims to promote the understanding of Chinese art and culture and contribute to the study of Hong Kong culture by eventually bringing more underappreciated local artists to light. The museum is a collaborative effort on the part of the Simon Suen Foundation and Dr. Yeung Chun-tong, a veteran curator and art scholar with over 35 years of service with HKU’s University Museum and Art Gallery, as well as countless institutions across the city. Its inaugural show features ink paintings by 13 modern masters—from Qi Baishi to Zhang Daqian to Jao Tsung-I. Through Oct 17. Sun Museum, 4/F, SML Tower, 165 Hoi Bun Rd., Kwun Tong, 2690-6790.

Beyond the Sound: New Media Art ExhibitionLe French May presents its very first sound art exhibition, featuring 14 works by Hong Kong and French artists. Cedric Maridet, Samson Young, Edwin Lo will each create immersive soundscapes, whereas Pierre Bastien, Bertrand Lamarche and Phoebe Hui’s work investigates the materiality of sound through tangible objects. Through Jun 8. Comix Home Base, 7 Mallory St., Wan Chai, 2824-5303.

Britain’s Got Talent S9 Semi-Finals The competition in Britain’s Got Talent is heating up with the semi-finals next week! Tune in to find out which acts will make it to the Final. Starting from Tuesday to Saturday, 26th to 30th May at 10:30am as live from the UK and primetime encore at 9pm, don’t miss these exciting performances!

RTL CBS Entertainment HD is on nowTV Ch 517

SPONSORED FEATURE

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Hard Rock Cafe’s World Burger TourFor the first time ever, Hard Rock Cafe Hong Kong gives guests a backstage pass to sample Local Legendary™ Burger offerings, showcasing the flavor and ingredients at Hard Rock locations across the globe as part of its new World Burger Tour menu. Cafe will also showcase five different world-famous cocktails during the promotion period until June 30, 2015.

LG/F, LKF Tower, 55 D’Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central, HK. Tel: 2111-3777

64 Tung Lo Wan road, Tai Hang, Causeway Baywww.thehealingkingdom.com 9136.0453

Have your fortune told by the Kingdom HealerTrained by the world renowned fortune teller Paris Debono in Australia, the Kingdom Healer is now in Hong Kong!! Questions about your love life, career, families or friends, or simply curious about a reading? Definitely have a consultation with him in Causeway Bay!! Enjoy a fascinating and therapeutic reading experience with him.

Ukrainian violinist Valeriy Sokolov plays Bartók Winner of the George Enescu International Competition in 2005, Ukrainian violin virtuoso Valeriy Sokolov will collaborate with Hong Kong Sinfonietta on 6 June at Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall, performing the rarely-heard Bartók Violin Concerto No 2 under the baton of Hong Kong conductor Ken Lam. Programme also includes Lutos!awski’s Symphonic Variations and the beloved Schumann Symphony No 4.

Ticketing enquiries & booking: 2111 5999 (URBTIX)Programme enquiries: www.HKSL.org/2836 3336

French Afternoon Tea by Michelin-starred ChefThis summer, Hotel ICON welcomes Michelin-starred Chef Christian Tetedoie to tailor design a dedicated French afternoon tea set at the lobby restaurant, GREEN. French savories and sweet treats using seasonal fruits and vegetables will bring you a refreshing breeze on a summer day under the Asia’s largest vertical garden.

GREEN, 3400-1388 Hotel ICON, 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon

Café du Parc - Asian Food Fiesta Looking for an incredible summer experience? Café du Parc provides a wide range of Asian delicacies for your taste buds in this summer! Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay Hong Kong has specially prepared “Asian Food Fiesta” from now to July 26, guests can enjoy a series of richly fragrant Southeast Asian dishes: tasteful and diversified Japanese-Korean; Thai-Vietnamese and Singaporean, Malaysian & Indonesian Cuisines for an exclusive dining experience.

2/F, Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay Hong Kong, 148 Tung Lo Wan Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Tel: 2600 1188, http://www.metroparkhotelcausewaybay.com/eng/offers/asian-food-fiesta.aspx

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PERKS


NIGHTLIFEHK PICKS

W Hotel Shock Wave: #PoseWhenever Pool PartyThe notorious W Hotel summer pool parties are back. This time, they come with the cumbersome title Shock Wave: #PoseWhenever Pool Party. Splash around in the 76th floor pool and gawk at the beautiful, half-naked people all around you. At the kick-off party on June 6, Barcelona pop band Josep is set to perform, while the after-party at Woobar goes from 11pm until late. Jun 6; Jun 27; Jul 18; Aug 1; Aug 22, 8pm. W Hotel, 1 Austin Rd. West, West Kowloon, 3717-2222. $400 before June 6 or $500 at the door, including one drink at the pool and one at the after-party. $950 for “WIP” tickets before June 6 or $1,100 at the door, including free-flow drinks and champagne until 1am. Tickets from www.w-hongkong.com/en/shockwave.

Clubs

Ozone Presents Hed KandiJust when you thought Hed Kandi parties were kind of all the same, this time the house music label is teaming up with the highest bar in the world. DJ Alice Rose is hitting the decks, who should be pretty used to getting the crowd going thanks to her summers spent spinning on Ibiza. It’s not all just fist-pumping to house beats, either—saxophonist Richie Sax is also joining the fray for what we hope is just the “Careless Whisper” hook on repeat. May 23, 11pm. Ozone, 118/F, The Ritz-Carlton, 1 Austin Rd. West, West Kowloon, 2263-2263. $200 from www.hkclubbing.com; $250 at the door, both include a Belvedere drink.

Ben La DeshThe Mira’s secret-gardenesque bar Vibes is hosting Netherlands-based Ben La Desh, playing a mix of disco and deep house. Best part? There’s a three-hour open bar. Grab friends and book a 10-people private cabana, which comes with a bottle of Moet bubbly. Why not? It actually works out cheaper. If you have that many friends, that is. May 30, 9pm. Vibes, 5/F, The Mira Hong Kong, 118 Nathan Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui, 2315-5999. $308 before May 25; $348 thereafter, including a welcome glass of champagne and open bar from 9pm-midnight. $2,950 for a cabana before May 25; $3,250 thereafter. Tickets from www.themirahotel.com.

ConcertsMikaIs Mika still relevant? Evidently so—the UK singer of “Grace Kelly” fame is doing an intimate set at the Vine Centre in Wan Chai. Jun 3, 8pm. Vine Centre 2, 29 Burrows St., Wan Chai, 2573-0793. $590 from www.ticketflap.com.

BlurAttention Britpop fans: Blur is coming back to Hong Kong. Last time Albarn, Coxon et al. were here, they were inspired by the city to make their latest album, “The Magic Whip,” released on April 27. Start listening to it on loop now, so you can sing along to all the lyrics. Jul 22, 8pm. Grand Hall, HKCEC, 1 Expo Drive, Wan Chai. $480-880 from www.hkticketing.com.

Robbie WilliamsUnless you’ve pulled a Walden and confined yourself to a wooden cabin on Po Toi, then you’ve probably heard of ex-Take That mischief-maker Robbie Williams, and his string of pop hits including “Angels” and “Let Me Entertain You.” He may be better known for his antics than his actual pipes but the singer is returning to Hong Kong for a one-night concert this September. Fans, jump on tickets quick. Sep 23, 8pm. AsiaWorld-Arena, Sky Plaza Rd., Chek Lap Kok, 3606-8828. $880-1,480 from www.hkticketing.com.

Imagine DragonsDid you miss Imagine Dragons’ free gig last year at the “Transformers” premiere? The Las Vegas alt-rock band is coming back for a one-night performance. This time, though, you’ll have to pay. Sorry. Aug 23, 9pm. AsiaWorld-Arena, Sky Plaza Rd., Chek Lap Kok, 3606-8828. $288-788 from www.hkticketing.com.


The Dapper ClubW Hotel’s Woobar joins hands with whisky brand Chivas and luxury watch company Hublot to bring us the Dapper Club, a series of parties taking place over the summer. What’s in store? There’s an open bar with 12 different kinds of whiskies, plus a showcase of new, shiny watches—but as importantly, there are free-flow cheeses, cold cuts, sweet treats and savory snacks. Who can say no to free-flow snacks? May 22, Jun 22, Jul 17, Aug 14, 8:30pm. Woobar, W Hotel, 1 Austin Rd. West, West Kowloon, 3717-2222. $300 per person; call to book.

Bump in the WaterNightlife promoter Bump is hosting Bump in the Water, an all-day pool party at the Silvermine Beach Resort. Get there early: you’ll get four free beers before noon; three if you show up before 1pm; and two if you amble along after that. Bump is known for throwing elaborate parties with hi-tech lighting, sounds and visuals—and of course, live DJ sets. May 30, 10am-7pm. Silvermine Bay Beach Resort, DD2 Lot 648, Mui Wo, Lantau. $250 from www.ticketflap.com.

Honi Honi Rum FestReturning for a third year is the Honi Honi Rum Fest, a two-day extravaganza celebrating rum in all its delicious, alcoholic glory. Sample more than 90 different rums, including some varieties that have never been brought to Hong Kong before. Munch on Hawaiian poke from Pololi and learn more about the liquor courtesy of rum expert Ian Burrell, who will be giving masterclasses. May 30, 1pm. Honi Honi Tiki Cocktail Lounge, 3/F, Somptueux Central, 52 Wellington St., Central, 2353-0885. Free entry.

Rosé RevolutionThe Flying Winemaker’s Eddie McDougall is back with another Rosé Revolution shindig just in time for the hot weather, this time in the garden at Hullett House. Sip on pink wines, meet the Flying Winemaker himself and mingle with like-minded drunks individuals. You might even get a little bit educated at the same time. May 30, midday. Hullett House, 2A Canton Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui, 3988-0000. $200 from www.eventbrite.com.

White PartyNo, it’s not a party for gweilos. The annual White Party is now in its 10th year, and it’s going to be bigger than ever—it’s taking place at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. On the cards: DJs Thomas Gold and Spencer Tarring. VIP tickets ($1,080) will get you all kinds of extras, such as access to the VIP lounge and outdoor terrace, a drink voucher, and fast queue for the bathrooms. You know it’s gonna be a messy one when they offer the VIPs a different line for bathrooms. What is this, the Sevens? May 30, 10pm. Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, Kowloon City. $480-1,080 from www.hkticketing.com. www.whitepartyhk.com.

GigsWe Came As RomansMichigan-based melodic metalcore band We Came As Romans is soon to celebrate its 10th anniversary, and as part of its Asian tour, is hitting up Hidden Agenda. When they play in Italy, does everyone get really confused? May 22, 8pm. Hidden Agenda, Unit 2A, Wing Fu Industrial Building, 15-17 Tai Yip St., Ngau Tau Kok. $380 for regular tickets; $520 for VIP tickets, including meet-and-greet. Tickets from Zuk Studio outlets.

Music For NepalA full weekend of indie music that also raises money for a good cause? Count us in. At Music For Nepal, catch a long list of local indie acts all doing their part, including math-rock four-piece GDJYB, metalheads Shepherds the Weak and Cantonese reggae group Sensi Lion. Proceeds after expenses will go to Light On Nepal, a Hong Kong charity run by a group of volunteers. May 23-24, 3pm. Hidden Agenda, Unit 2A, Wing Fu Industrial Building, 15-17 Tai Yip St., Ngau Tau Kok. $120 for one-day ticket; $200 for two-day ticket, both at the door.

Sunny Day ServiceJapanese alt-rock and indie pop band Sunny Day Service formed way back in 1992, and is returning to the SAR for a gig—a whopping 18 years after it first played at the old Hard Rock Cafe in TST. One of the more influential bands to come out of the 90s, Sunny Day Service adds elements of Japanese folk-rock to its cheery, upbeat tunes. May 29, 8:15pm. Musiczone, KITEC, 1 Trademart Drive, Kowloon Bay. $480 from www.cityline.com.

Noughts and Exes: The Final ShowHong Kong’s indie darlings Noughts and Exes are disbanding! The indie folk-pop band originally burst on to the scene in 2007, gaining traction in 2011 with a second album “The Start of Us.” Two years later they became the first Hong Kong band to release an album through a Kickstarter campaign. Over the years, they became mainstays on the scene, turning into one of the city’s best-loved indie bands. Sadly, they’re now saying goodbye. Luckily for fans—or maybe just to prove this isn’t a Yoko situation—they’re coming together for one last hurrah at the Vine Centre. See them now, or never again. Jun 6, 8pm. Vine Centre 2, 29 Burrows St., Wan Chai, 2573-0793. $180 from www.ticketflap.com; $220 at the door.

Nightlife EventsLadies Who WhiskyHullett House’s Whisky@Stables bar plays host to Ladies Who Whisky, a series of 90-minute classes aimed at getting women to learn more about the tipple. Missed all the previous sessions? Be sure to catch the last two workshops. On May 28, learn exactly how floral arrangements and whiskies go hand-in-hand with pros from Oulala Flower. On June 4, the class’s theme is “the Nordic whisky experience,” helmed by chef Jaakko Sorsa of Scandinavian restaurant FINDS. May 28, 7pm; Jun 4, 7pm. Whisky@Stables, Hullett House, 1881 Heritage, 2A Canton Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui, 3988-0104. $398 on May 28; $350 on Jun 4.

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FILM


Coming Soon

The Cobbler (USA) As the saying goes, you don’t know someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Adam Sandler translates this old adage into what looks like another numbingly typical Sandlerfest. This time, it’s about a man who belongs to a family of cobblers, who one day discovers a peculiar ability to live the lives of others if he, literally, wears their shoes. Opens May 28.

Elephant Song (Canada) Xavier Dolan, prodigal Canadian filmmaker and actor du jour, stars in this haunting drama as Michael, a psychologically disturbed patient with an obsession with elephants and the opera. His doctor uncovers the frightening truths behind Michael’s disturbances. Based on Nicolas Billon’s stage play of the same name, the story was awarded the Best Adapted Screenplay at the Canadian Screen Awards earlier in the year. Opens May 28.

Edited by Evelyn [email protected]

Mad Max: Fury Road (Australia/USA) Action. Directed by George Miller. Starring Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult. Category IIB. 120 minutes. Opened May 14.

It’s been 36 years since director George Miller made “Mad Max,” a down-to-earth action flick about a cop hunting down a motorcycle gang in a dystopian future. The subsequent films got ever more crazy and more post-apocalyptic, but the fourth installment in the series—more than 30 years after the last—puts all of its predecessors to shame.

“Mad” Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy) is a scarred, lone wanderer in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, haunted by the past and content to live alone. But then he’s captured by the “War Boys,” a tribe of chalk-white zealots led by King Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne)—a flabby, sore-ridden, Bane-masked wreck of a man who rules his tribe thanks to his vice grip on a plentiful water supply. Max finds himself strung up as a “blood bag” for the sickly War Boy Nux (Nicholas Hoult): But when elite warrior Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) goes AWOL at the head of a huge “war rig” truck, smuggling out Joe’s five beautiful broodmare wives in the process, Joe sends his entire War Boy army out in pursuit. Soon enough Max is reluctantly helping Furiosa and the wives as they thunder towards freedom.

“Fury Road” is a huge single-chase movie; a bright, campy chaos of gasoline and flame. It’s stunt after high speed stunt set in the middle of an oversaturated wasteland, accompanied by cacophonous drums and driving guitars—literally, in the case of the War Boy who wails on a double-necked flame-throwing guitar while hooked to the top of a speeding truck, in front of a wall of amps. It’s unapologetically over-the-top, a riot of destruction and diesel fumes.

The film’s endearing campiness, with its overwrought costumes, ludicrous cars and insane stunts—all set against its frenetic, saturated cinematography—throws it into a simultaneously cheesy 80s past and a very modern filmmaking present. The construction of the film means that we’re constantly driving forwards, with little time for backstory or flashback. It’s mostly effective, although that single-minded dedication to the chase does turn into an occasional weakness. At a two-hour run time, that’s a lot of time to spend watching people accelerating, no matter how many explosions get in the way.

Tom Hardy has made a career out of portraying taciturn brutes and he’s in fine form here, emoting mainly through scattered grunts and mumbling. Nicholas Hoult is excellently unrecognizable as the hairless Nux, a brainwashed crusader bundled along for the ride. Charlize Theron is great as the female version of Max, the scarred road warrior who finds herself fighting for something other than herself.

Often, Theron’s Furiosa is actually more of a hero than Max himself, a total badass who’ll push through anything and anyone to survive. One of the interesting things about “Fury Road” is that it’s an action flick packed full of strong, awesome women: from the Imperator to the wives who fight back (admittedly while clad in strips of gossamer cotton), to the ass-kicking matriarchy Max meets out in the desert. A strong female lead isn’t unknown to sci-fi, but a strong female cast is a hell of a thing for an action movie.

“Mad Max” is a camp, relentless chase flick that might occasionally run a little long: But in a world of boring Michael Bay blockbusters, this film is a breath of gasoline-ignited, parched-earth hot air. 36 years on, “Mad Max” is better and crazier than ever. Adam White


Imprisoned: Survival Guide for Rich and Prodigal (Hong Kong) Ever wondered what sort of antics go down at Stanley Prison? The cast behind “Due West: Our Sex Journey” returns to bring a Hong Kong Golden Forum story of life behind bars to the big screen—allegedly based on true events. Which means, obviously, plenty of seedy Category III-rated business. Opens May 28.

Midnight Diner(Japan) Matsuoka Joji (known for his arty award-winning 2007 hit “Tokyo Tower, Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad”)!is an expert at portraying delicate family relationships, and he helms this movie set at an after-hours diner. Manned by an old man referred to as “Master,” the lives of countless quirky characters coincide as they descend on the tiny eatery in the dead of night. If that doesn’t catch your attention, the ample food porn just might. Opens May 28.

Mommy (Canada) Directed by Xavier Dolan, “Mommy” is a drama about a widowed woman who is raising a difficult, often violent son. She receives help from a mysterious new neighbor. Shot in 1:1 aspect ratio (to make it Instagram-ready for the millennial generation, perhaps?), it’s an intimate family drama which won nine awards at the Canadian Screen Awards, as well as the Jury Prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. Opens May 28.

Pitch Perfect 2 (USA) Get ready pitches, the Barden Bellas are back. After winning three championships since the last time we saw them, the all-girl a capella group is en route to their next victory, but not before a major embarrassment leaves the future of the team in question. In a quest for redemption and glory, the Bellas take on the worldwide a capella championships, duking it out against a German group. Prepare for 90s jams and sing-offs galore—plus a couple of surprise cameos. Aca-awesome. Opens May 28.

Taxi (Iran) This ain’t some Luc Besson remake, but a heartfelt ode to cinema, art and a candid glimpse of modern Tehran. Director Jafar Panahi bucked his 20-year ban on making films to secretly film this documentary-esque movie in which he poses as a taxi driver, recording conversations with passengers from all walks of life—all of whom remain anonymous. “Taxi” won the Golden Bear and the FIPRESCI Prize at the most recent Berlin Film Festival. Opens May 28.

Tokyo Fiancée(Japan/France) France and Japan have always had a keen cultural fascination with each other. “Tokyo Fiancé” shows us a whirlwind romance between exactly that: a French Japanophile who meets a Japanese Francophile while studying abroad. Quel sugoi! Opens May 28.

Tracers (USA) Taylor Lautner makes a comeback from his “Twilight” werewolfing to play a New York bike messenger who’s just pissed off the local Chinese mafia. He’s rescued by a beautiful girl named Nikki, and inadvertently finds himself in the world of parkour. Upgrade! Opens May 28.

OpeningThe Age of Adaline(USA) Blake Lively is Adaline Bowman, a woman who has retained the appearance of a 29-year-old for eight decades and hides her secret from the world. Everything changes when she meets Ellis Jones, a charming philanthropist who becomes the spark to set off her suppressed passion for life and love. Can she learn to let someone else in? Does she die a fetus like Benjamin Button? So many questions. Opened May 21.

The Search(French) Michel Hazanavicius’ (“The Artist”) French remake of the 1948 Swiss film of the same name was in competition for the Cannes Palme d’Or last year. The bleak drama stars Bérénice Bejo (“The Artist,” “The Past”) as Carole, an EU delegation head who helps a small boy orphaned during the Second Chechen war. Opened May 21.

Spy (USA) Melissa McCarthy returns in another espionage action-comedy after 2013’s “The Heat.” This time, McCarthy is Susan Cooper, the oft-overlooked CIA desk-agent who is tasked to go undercover to save the world when the hunky male spies (Jude Law and Jason Statham) have failed. Opened May 21.

Tomorrowland (USA) Brad Bird is behind this kooky Disney adventure about Frank, a jaded former child genius who meets Casey, a science-loving teen, as they discover a mysterious place in the fabric of space and time dubbed Tomorrowland. It’s probably just an excuse to give the Disneyland area a back story, but hey—it worked for “Pirates of the Caribbean,” didn’t it? Opened May 21.

ContinuingCart (South Korea) When a large Korean supermarket chain decides to outsource all of its existing part-time roles, the shop’s dedicated and underappreciated cashiers and cleaners decide to rise up and fight for their rights—even going as far as occupying the supermarket grounds. The familiar (and slightly over-the-top) scenes will either irk or tug at the heartstrings of Hongkongers.

Mad Max: Fury Road (Australia/USA) See review, left.

The Taking of Tiger Mountain (China) Director Tsui Hark brings a high-octane twist to the famed Chinese bandit tale, originally based on one of the “eight model plays” allowed during the Cultural Revolution. A straight-up satisfying popcorn action romp, with a tinge of arty propaganda ballet-style acting.

The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (UK) Set during the WWII Blitz, a schoolteacher brings the children under her care to a house in the country—a place they discover is haunted by the vengeful spirit of a(nother) woman in black who targets young children. Cue creepy music and plenty of mangled dolls!

Need to KnowAMC Cinema, 2265-8933www.amccinemas.com.hk

Broadway Circuit, 2388-3188www.cinema.com.hk

Golden Harvest Cinema, 2622-6688 www.goldenharvest.com

MCL Cinema, 3413-6688www.mclcinema.com

UA Cinema, 3516-8811www.uacinemas.com.hk

The Metroplex, 2620-2200www.metroplex.com.hk

The Grand Cinema, 2196-8170www.thegrandcinema.com.hk

FREE WILL ASTROLOGYROB BREZSNY


GEMINI (May 21-Jun 20): “Aha!” is your mantra for the coming weeks, Gemini. Keep it on the tip of your tongue, ready to unleash. This always-ready-to-be-surprised-by-inspiration attitude will train you to expect the arrival of wonders and marvels. And that will be an effective way to actually attract wonders and marvels! With “Aha!” as your talisman, all of your wake-up calls will be benevolent, and all of the chaos you encounter—or at least most of it—will be fertile.

CANCER (Jun 21-Jul 22): Do you chronically

indulge in feelings of guilt? Do you berate

yourself for the wrong turns and sad mistakes

you made in the past? These behaviors may

be sneaky ways of avoiding change. How can

you summon enough energy to transform your

life if you’re wallowing in worries and regrets?

In presenting the possibility that you might

be caught in this trap, I want you to know that

I’m not sitting in judgment of you. Not at all.

Like you, I’m a Cancerian, and I have periodically

gotten bogged down in the very morass I’m

warning you against. The bad news is that right

now you are especially susceptible to falling

under this spell. The good news is that right now

you have extra power to break this spell.

LEO (Jul 23-Aug 22): In the TV comedy-drama

“Jane the Virgin,” the fictional character known

as Rogelio de la Vega is a vain but lovable actor

who performs in telenovelas. “I’m very easy to

dress,” he tells the wardrobe supervisor of a new

show he’ll be working on. “Everything looks good

on me. Except for peach. I don’t pop in peach.”

What he means is that his charisma doesn’t

radiate vividly when he’s wearing peach-colored

clothes. Now I want to ask you, Leo: What don’t

you pop in? I’m not simply talking about the

color of clothes that enable you to shine, but

everything else, too. In the coming weeks,

it’s crucial that you surround yourself with

influences that make you pop.

VIRGO (Aug 23-Sep 22): Are you willing to

entertain an outlandish possibility? Here’s my

vision: You will soon be offered unexpected

assistance, either through the machinations

of a “guardian angel” or the messy blessings

of a shape-shifting spirit. This divine intervention

will make it possible for you to demolish a big,

bad obstacle you’ve been trying to find a way

around. Even if you have trouble believing

in the literal factuality of my prophecy, here’s

what I suspect: It will at least come true

in a metaphorical sense—which is the truest

kind of truth of all.

LIBRA (Sep 23-Oct 22): “Glory” is the theme

song of the film “Selma.” It’s an anthem about

the ongoing struggle for equal rights by African

Americans. I want to borrow one of its lines

for your use in the coming weeks: “Freedom is

like a religion to us.” I think those will be good

words for you to live by. Are you part of a group

that suffers oppression and injustice? Are you

mixed up in a situation that squashes your

self-expression? Are you being squelched by

the conditioned habits of your own unconscious

mind? It’s high time to rebel. The quest for

liberation should be your spiritual calling.

SCORPIO (Oct 23-Nov 21): If you’re planning

on breaking a taboo, sneaking into a forbidden

zone, or getting intimate with an edge-dweller,

don’t tell boastful stories about what you’re

doing. For now, secrecy is not only sexy;

it’s a smart way to keep you safe and effective.

Usually I’m fond of you telling the whole truth.

I like it when you reveal the nuanced depths

of your feelings. But right now I favor a more

cautious approach to communication. Until your

explorations have progressed further, I suggest

that you only discuss them sparingly. As you put

your experiments in motion, share the details

on a need-to-know basis.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22-Dec 21): There are

many possible ways to create and manage

a close relationship. Here’s one of my favorite

models: when two independent, self-responsible

souls pledge to help each other activate the best

versions of themselves. If you don’t have

a partnership like this, the near future will

be a favorable time to find one. And if you

already do have an intimate alliance in which

the two of you synergize each other’s quest for

individuation, the coming weeks could bring you

breathtaking breakthroughs.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22-Jan 19): It’s a challenge

to drive a car through Canada’s far north.

For example, if you want to get from Dawson

in the Yukon Territory to Inuvik in the Northwest

Territory, you take Dempster Highway. It’s gravel

road for the entire 417-mile trip, so the ride

is rough. Bring a spare tire and extra gasoline,

since there’s just one service station along the

way. On the plus side, the scenery is thrilling.

The permafrost in the soil makes the trees

grow in odd shapes, almost like they’re drunk.

You can see caribou, wolverines, lynx, bears, and

countless birds. Right now, the sun is up 20 hours

every day. And the tundra? You’ve never seen

anything like it. Even if you don’t make a trip

like this, Capricorn, I’m guessing you will soon

embark on a metaphorically similar version.

With the right attitude and preparation, you will

have fun and grow more courageous.

AQUARIUS (Jan 20-Feb 18): Aquarian author

James Joyce wrote “Ulysses,” one of the

most celebrated and influential novels of the

20th century. The narrative is both experimental

and tightly structured. Its chaotic stream-of-

consciousness passages are painstakingly

crafted. (Anyone who wonders how the

astrological sign of Aquarius can be jointly

ruled by the rebellious planet Uranus and the

disciplinarian planet Saturn need only examine

this book for evidence.) Joyce claimed he labored

over “Ulysses” for 20,000 hours. That’s the

equivalent of devoting eight hours a day, 350

days a year, for over seven years. Will you ever

work that hard and long on a project, Aquarius?

If so, now would be an auspicious time to start.

PISCES (Feb 19-Mar 20): The English writer

and caricaturist Max Beerbohm moved away

from his native land when he was 37 years old.

He settled in Rapallo, Italy, where he lived for

much of the rest of his life. Here’s the twist:

When he died at age 83, he had still not learned

to speak Italian. For 40 years, he used his native

tongue in his foreign home. This is a failing you

can’t afford to have in the coming months,

Pisces. The old proverb “When in Rome, do as

the Romans,” has never been so important for

you to observe.

ARIES (Mar 21-Apr 19): James McNeil Whistler

was an influential painter in the latter half

of the 19th century. He advocated the “art for

art’s sake” credo, insisting that the best art

doesn’t need to teach or moralize. As far as he

was concerned, its most important purpose was

to bring forth “glorious harmony” from chaos.

But the immediate reason I’m nominating him

to be your patron saint for the coming weeks

is the stylized signature he created: an elegant

butterfly with a long tail that was actually

a stinger. I think you’ll thrive by embodying

that dual spirit: being graceful, sensitive, and

harmonious and yet also feisty, piquant, and

provocative. Can you manage that much

paradox? I think you can.

TAURUS (Apr 20-May 20): Renowned author

George Bernard Shaw was secure in his

feeling that he did good work. He didn’t

need the recognition of others to validate

his self-worth. The British Prime Minister

offered him a knighthood, but he refused it.

When he found out he had been awarded

a Nobel Prize for Literature, he wanted to turn

it down but his wife convinced him to accept it.

The English government also sought to give him

the prestigious Order of Merit, but he rejected

it, saying, “I have already conferred this order

upon myself.” He’s your role model for right now,

Taurus. Congratulate yourself for your successes,

whether or not anyone else does.

HOMEWORK: Choose one area of your life where you will exceed your personal best in the coming week. Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com.

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Yesterday, I found my 5-year-old son putting things up his butt in the bath. This isn’t the first time—and it’s not just a “Hey! There’s a hole here! Let’s put things in there!” kind of thing. The little dude was rocking quite the stiffy while he did it. I’m well aware of how sexual kids can be (I freaking was!), although I wasn’t quite expecting to be catching him exploring anal at this young age. I want to avoid a trip to the emergency room to extract a toy car or whatever else from his rear end, and I don’t want to see him damage himself. So do you have any suggestions of what I can give him as a butt toy? Yes, I am serious, and no, I’m not molesting him. I know he’s going to do this on his own with or without my knowing, and I want him to be safe! Just today, he proudly showed me a toy car that he stuck up his butt. I told him that it wasn’t a good idea due to the sharp bits on it, and while he may have gotten this one out, one could get stuck and then we would have to go to the hospital. Help! – Helping Ingenious Son Make Other Moves

“HISMOM has handled this really well so far, and I am impressed with her clarity and calm about this situation,” said Amy Lang, a childhood sexuality expert and educator, a public speaker, and the author of Birds + Bees + Your Kids (birdsandbeesandkids.com). “But NO BUTT TOYS for 5-year-olds! This is insane and will cause a host of problems—can you imagine if he says to his teacher, ‘Yesterday, I played with my butt plug!’ Instant CPS call!”

I’m going to break in for a second: Do NOT buy a butt toy for your 5-year-old kid—if, indeed, you and your 5-year-old kid’s butt actually exist. I’m way more than half convinced that your letter is a fake, HISMOM, something sent in by a Christian conservative out to prove that I’m the sort of degenerate who would tell a mom to buy a butt toy for a 5-year-old. I’m some sort of degenerate, I’ll happily admit, but I’m not that sort.

“This clearly isn’t a safe way for her boy to explore his body for a variety of reasons,” said Lang. “His butthole is tiny, it’s adult-like behavior, and it’s germy.”

And while adults who are into butt play are (or should be) proactive and conscientious about hygiene, grubby little 5-year-olds aren’t particularly proactive or conscientious about hygiene—or anything else. You don’t want his hands and toys smeared with more fecal matter than is typical for the hands and toys of most 5-year-olds.

“It’s also on the outer edges of ‘typical’ sexual behavior in a young kid,” said Lang. “He may very well have discovered this sort of outlier behavior on his own, but there is a chance that someone showed him how to do this. HISMOM needs to calmly ask her son, ‘I’m curious—how did you figure out that it feels good to put things in your bum?’ Listen to what he has to say. Depending on his response, she may need to get him a professional evaluation to make sure that he’s okay and safe. She can find someone through rainn.org in her area to help. While it doesn’t sound like he’s traumatized by this—he’s so open and lighthearted about it—you never know.”

Regardless of where he picked this trick up, HISMOM, you gotta tell him that it’s not okay to put stuff up his butt because he could seriously hurt himself. I know, I know: You are a progressive, sex-positive parent—if you exist—and you don’t wanna saddle your kid with a complex about butt stuff. But think of all the sexually active adults out

there, gay and bi and straight, who have overcome standard-issue butt-stuff complexes and now safely and responsibly enjoy their assholes and the assholes of others. If you give your son a minor complex by, say, taking his toy cars away until he stops putting them in his ass, rest assured that he’ll be able to overcome that complex later in life.

“She should tell him that she totally gets that it feels good,” said Lang, “but there other ways he can have those good feelings that are safer, like rubbing and touching his penis, and he is welcome to do that any time he wants—as long as he’s in private and alone. You can also tell him the safest thing to put up there is his own finger. But he MUST wash his hands if he does that. Nothing else, finger only. And did I mention NO BUTT TOY? Seriously.” Follow Amy Lang on Twitter @birdsandbees.

I’m a longtime fan, but I disagree with your advice to CIS, the lesbian who wanted to add “not into trans women” to her online dating profile. I’m a straight guy, and if I met a woman online, I would want to be sure she had female genitalia under her clothes. It’s a requirement for me, and that doesn’t mean I’m not a trans ally. I’m not into people who don’t have female genitalia—should I go out on a coffee date with a trans woman just to make her feel better? – Not An Asshole

There’s nothing about preferring—even requiring—a particular set of genitalia that will result in your being stripped of your trans ally status, NAA. The issue is adding a few words to your profile (“no trans women”) that might spare you from the horrors of having coffee with one or two trans women over the course of your dating life but that will definitely make every trans woman who sees your profile feel like shit. The world is already an intensely hostile, unwelcoming place for trans people. Why would someone who considers himself (or herself, in the case of CIS) an ally want to make the world more hostile and unwelcoming? Awkwardness and “wasted” coffee dates are built into the online-dating experience. Trans women who haven’t had bottom surgery aren’t going to spring their dicks on you—they’ll almost always disclose before it gets to that point—and you’re not obligated to sleep with anyone you don’t find attractive.

I’m a cis straight woman. I went on dates with a lot of guys from dating websites (200+) before I got married. Just writing to say that I agreed with your advice to the lesbian dating-site user. I agree that putting negative/exclusionary notes like “no trans women” or “no Asian guys” in a dating profile is a turnoff—and not just to the excluded group but to those who find those kinds of comments to be mean-spirited and narrow-minded. And are there really so many trans people out there that such a comment is even necessary? Are there really that many trans people out there causing massive confusion on dating websites? And honestly, if someone is trans and you wind up meeting them for coffee, what would be the big deal anyway? It’s just coffee! I don’t understand why this would be such a huge problem. – Straight Chick In DC

My point exactly.

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FIRST PERSON

Radio host Gary Ngan began his life as a DJ at Commercial Radio in 1989. Famous for his smooth, soothing voice, Ngan is now a host on internet radio station D100. He tells Isabelle Hon and Adrienne Chum how he became a radio personality and gives some advice on not talking too much.

“I’ve learned over the years that it is often better to stay silent.”

NEED TO KNOW…

Gary Ngan became a household name thanks to his time hosting music show “Tonight the Sun is Bright” at Metro Radio. Ngan hosts music and talk show “Sudden Impulse” on Mon-Thu, 9pm-midnight on D100, the station founded by Albert “Tai-pan” Cheng. Find out more at www.d100.net.

I was born and raised in Shek Kip Mei. I have an older and a younger brother.

I wasn’t a talkative person. The only time I really uttered anything was during speeches, speech contests, or singing. I was always chosen to participate in speaking and singing events at school. I’m not sure why.

I never particularly wanted to join this industry. I remember well that when my schoolmates discovered where I was working, they were very puzzled. “He doesn’t really talk, so why would he be in this business?”

I was a fur designer at the time, and was competing in the Asia-Pacific Song Contest. My family did not really recognize the contest—we were a traditional family. My family wanted us to do very “proper” work.

But while I was still doing design, I thought, why don’t I try radio?

In the 70s, what choices did you have? There was TV, and there was radio. If you didn’t have money to buy records, you would watch TV and listen to the radio to hear the latest songs.

When I listened to the radio, I hated when the hosts talked when songs were playing. So I thought: If I ever become a music radio host, I won’t talk over the songs.

Even now, people who listen to my channel say, “Mr Ngan, can you talk more?”

When I first started, I wanted to do it part-time because I was still freelancing in the fur design business. But soon after my interview, the station offered me a full-time, three-year contract.

The guy who hired me said, “Sign it, or don’t. We only offered you a contract because we thought your voice sounded nice.”

I didn’t think my voice sounded nice. I only thought I was smart. I could answer all of the interview questions about music trends, even about music in Japan, because I was often in touch with overseas clients.

I spoke Putonghua, I spoke English, I spoke Japanese. I thought I was great. But he told me, “Your Chinese is bad, your enunciation is bad. Our channel is in Chinese, so besides your voice, you really don’t have anything else to offer.”

I was upset, but I didn’t show it. I thought that since I’d trained for speech contests from youth, I could speak clearly. I felt that he did not recognize what I had.

Perhaps it was because I spoke so much English and Japanese at school and work. So my Chinese pronunciation may have got worse.

When I took the job, I treated it as part-time: designer by day, radio talk show host by night. In 1987, I finally quit my job and switched to doing only radio.

When I met the recording studio’s boss, widely known as Mrs Lau, for the first time, she said to me, “Don’t worry. Whatever people take from you, heaven will give back.”

I had never told her about my personal troubles, but what she said hit me very hard. It was around that time I learned who my real friends were.

I was very trusting, and I assumed that if I treated someone with respect, if I was nice, they would reciprocate. That was not always the case.

I’ve learned over the years that it is often better to stay silent. The more you talk, the more things you’ll say wrong.

When talking to someone, you have to communicate with the other person’s language. If you only use your own way of speaking, the other person may misunderstand you, and you will be forcing your ideas on them.

Advising someone is giving that person the option to change. Pushing someone to change does not work. You can’t get angry if they don’t. I always remind myself that I’ve already told them what I needed to. If they don’t change, there is always a reason.

Personally I hate being pushed, but I never show it on the outside.

If you can’t make a decision, the situation will make it for you. That means that whatever you are doing is not right for you.

Sometimes, people try to hold on to things because they are afraid of losing and letting go, not because they actually like it. You just have to let go.

Photo: Kirk K

enny / studiozag.com

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