Moonlight Movies: Open Air Cinema Back in Hong Kong

Good news for alfresco loving movie-goers, Moonlight Movies, Hong Kong’s first seasonal outdoor cinema, is back at at Cyberport Podium in Pokfulam this October and November.

©2007 Openair Hong Kong Ltd

The screening schedule runs as follows:

• Saturday 3rd October – Sex and The City (2008)
• Friday 9th October – Apocalypse Now Redux (2001)
• Friday 13th November – Wall Street (1987)
• Saturday 14th November – Moulin Rouge (2001)

You can cosy up on the beanbags, and there’s a food and bar service run by Dublin Jack’s.

Tickets are $200 each – not including food and bar – and can be booked via www.openairhk.com (movie goers must be 18 years and over).

Coco Thai, Deep Water Bay

Last Sunday was a scorcher – just too hot to handle. I couldn’t hack more than 10 minutes on the beach at Deep Water Bay,  so retreated to a shady table at Coco Thai.

The service is pretty abysmal, but the food is definitely worth the wait. Fab spring rolls, perfectly-spiced veggie Tom Yum and wonderfully wok-ed seasonal veggies. Prices not bad either – around $150 a head for food and drinks.

The views from the restaurant across Deep Water Bay are fantastic, as heftily priced next door neighbour, Cococabana, well knows. So if your heading to DWB to eat al fresco, and you don’t want a hole in your wallet once you’ve paid the bill, Coco Thai takes some beating. Just someone whip the staff into shape please – a fresh lime soda is not a Diet Coke and spring rolls are not a Thai beef salad.

Coco Thai, Island Road, Deep Water Bay (opposite Hong Kong Golf Club); Tel: +852 2812 1826.

Photo by Merryly via Flickr (Creative Commons).

There is such a thing as a free lunch

Yes, really. The new Cafe Iguana on Wyndham Street (formerly Zest) picks a table every lunchtime that eats for free. Luckily for me, I was sitting on it today.

I popped in for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was impressed, so headed back for more. The set lunch costs $88 for two courses and $208 for three. Both times I’ve gone for the two course menu and the restaurant has thrown in pudding for free. Two weeks ago is was sugary churros with a chocolate dipping sauce; today it was vanilla panacotta with a raspberry coulis.

The spicy tomato soup and pork burrito were fantastic, the fajitas good, but fairly standard. Being given a free pud is great, getting the whole lunch for free is incredible.

Head there for fresh Mexican food and a buzzy, semi-al fresco atmosphere. Drinks during happy hour are $30 and they come with free chips and dips (yes, even more free stuff).

Cafe Iguana, 57 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong. Tel: +852 2526 7993.

Stellar South African Writers to Visit Hong Kong

Top South African writers André Brink, Mandla Langa and Nobel Prize winner, Nadine Gordimer, are set to come to Hong Kong for the 2010 Literary Festival,  South Africa’s Consule-General for Hong Kong and Macau, Nomatemba Tambo, announced yesterday.

Brink, Langa and Gordimer will be the first ever African writers to take part in Hong Kong’s annual literary event. Their visits are part of a year-long programme of events organised by the South African Consulate-General to celebrate the 2010 Football World Cup.

Nadine Gordimer won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991; Mandla Langa won the 2009 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book, Africa with his novel The Lost Colours of the Chameleon.

Ms. Tambo also announced that Archbishop Tutu is to visit Hong Kong next year.

Looks like the 2010 Hong Kong International Literary Festival will be a sell-out!

Fares to London from $3,200 – hooray!

I’ve get grumpy whenever I think about booking a flight back to London. I missed out on all the amazing sales and promotions in Jan / Feb and have been annoyed ever since when searching for tickets back. How on earth can Cathay be charging $7,200 when a) there’s a global economic crisis in full swing and b) they’re in dire need of all the bookings they can get?

An Air New Zealand Boeing 747-400 taking off from Hong Kong International Airport.

Anyway, Air New Zealand to the rescue! They’re running a promotion until 15 May for return flights to London. If you book now you could bag yourself a seat from $3,200. PHEW. You can travel between 2 May and 30 July and then again from 12 August to 30 November.

Photo Credit: Air New Zealand 747-400 by code_martial.

The best steak in Hong Kong

Morton’s schmortons. If you want the best steak in Hong Kong there’s only one place to go and that’s Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. Sure, it’s not given away, but the steaks are so tender and juicy that they just melt in your mouth.

We had two normal sized filets, the Petite Filet and a 16oz New York Strip plus baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, gratin potatoes, brocoli, spinach and a tomato salad. We ate the whole lot, plus pudding, it was that good.

Really, this was the best steak I’ve had in a long, long time; cooked to perfection and served by knowledgeable, friendly and not overbearing staff.

Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse Hong Kong:

Admiralty - Shops 2 & 3 Ground Floor, Lippo Centre, 89 Queensway, Hong Kong; Phone: +852 2522 9090; Fax: +852 2522 9081; Email: hongkong88@ruthschris.com

Kowloon – G/F, Empire Center, 68 Mody Road, Tsimshatsui East, Kowloon; Phone: +852 2366 6000; Fax: +852 2366 6111; Email: kowloon67@ruthschris.com

Pop Bites Rocks

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’d rather stay at my desk that deal with Queen’s Road, Great or The Landmark at lunchtime. Where do all those people come from and how to they magically disappear at the stroke of 1:30?

Well, I’ve discovered a lunchtime nirvana. Buzzing yet relaxed, cheap yet delicious, cool yet unpretentious. Go to Pop Bites. I had a big salad and soup for just $55. Cheaper than 360 and you’re guaranteed to get a seat. Brilliant.

Pop Bites
Upper Ground Floor
3 – 5 Old Bailey Street
Soho
+852 2525 4141

I (quite) like Lucy’s

I’d heard a lot of good things about Lucy’s in Stanley: delicious food, great atmosphere, creative menu etc etc, so I decided to check it out last night.
They’ve gone for a Tuscan theme decoration wise which, in my humble opinion, doesn’t work; the place is in danger of looking like JD Weatherspoons meets the Home & Away set. Bad lighting, even worse wall stenciling and a tacky palm tree to round the whole look off. I was feeling slightly nauseous when the waiter handed me the menu, but once glance at that was more then enough to convince me to stay.

The menu is a great size, you choose from five or six starters and main courses and there’s a separate pudding list. You’re not overwhelmed by choices so the simple, well thought out food really stands out (which is lucky given the decoration scheme). Starters include a deliciously fresh mozzarella, courgette, almond and grape salad with a fig tapenade ($90) and char-grilled squid and white bean bruschetta ($85). There was a tomato and thyme braised lamb shank on the main course menu ($200), along with falafel with tomato salad and pita ($170) and seabass with spicy chickpeas, aubergine and pomegranate couscous ($210), which I strongly recommend.

Feeling very full we still pushed on to the puddings; I went for a fantastic rhubarb and raspberry crumble and my friend opted for a pecan and ginger tart. Both were excellent. They also have two and three course set menus at $240 and $280.

I feel a bit sorry for the girls who get taken there for cosy dinners à deux. Although Lucy’s offers delicious food and wine it isn’t exactly the romantic dinner date destination I’d imagined. Well, perhaps if you’re Alf and Alsa and living happily in Summer Bay, but this is Hong Kong and there are hundreds of romantic hotspots to choose from. For a girly dinner or a good food fix I’d go back, but I won’t be angling for a hot date there any time soon.

Lucy’s – G/F, 64 Stanley Main Street, Stanley. Tel: +852 2813 9055. Look for the side street to the right of Deli France, the restaurant is up there.

Mama Mia!

For deli fans like me the thought of twenty five types of salami, ham and pâté equals serious salivation. Add to this a whole ream of cheeses, including delicious taleggio and pecorino, grilled artichokes, broad bean salads and gently fried dover sole and you’ve got an elbow-jabbing, taxi-chasing, must-see attraction on your hands.

Il Bel Paese (I visited the Caine Road branch, but will be hurrying to Wanchai and Happy Valley as soon as I’ve finished scoffing my current batch of San Daniele) is one such Aladdin’s Cave of deli delights. They’ve got shelves stacked with wine, olive oil (and I mean the good stuff), balsamic vinegar, pasta, tapenade, pesto, lentils, butter beans, chickpeas, capers, porcini mushrooms, truffles, peppers and more delicious Italian treats than I’ve seen since I set foot in Hong Kong. There’s a fresh fruit and veg counter and, should you so desire, Florentine ceramics you can pick up too. The best part is that it’s all a lot cheaper than the likes of CitySuper, Great and Olivers. Hooray!

They also prepare food to eat-in or takeaway. On the menu are salads such as Caesar ($32) and Tuscany bean with tuna ($28), cheese platters (from $72), cold cut platters (from $65), pasta dishes (from $48 – $58), fish ($52), meatballs ($52), sandwiches (from $30) – and we’re talking the fiocaccia and ciabatta kind – and puddings (from $29). They can also cater if you’re planning a party. The smells from the kitchen were delicious and I’m sure the food would do Mama proud.

Happy Valley: 23 Sing Woo Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong. Tel: +852 2868 2818
Mid-Levels: G/F, No.85 Caine Road, Mid-Levels, Hong Kong. Tel: +852 2549 8893
Wanchai: G/F, No.25 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong. Tel: +852 2804 2992

All hail Aqua Luna

Fancy living the life of a Tai Pan or sipping on a sundowner like a colonial conquistador? Well, if you’re in Hong Kong it’s easy, book yourself straight onto the Aqua Luna junk and cruise the harbour in serious style. Departing from both Central and Tsim Sha Tsui the junk runs daily from 13:30 to 22:30 and gives you unrivaled views of Hong Kong’s harbour from a spectacular vantage point.

With its iconic deep red sails the Aqua Luna, a traditional Chinese junk, is an experience not to be missed. On arrival you’re handed a complimentary glass of wine, beer or a soft drink, and invited to lie back on one of the comfy sofas and enjoy the views. There are more photo opps than you can shake a stick at and you’re guaranteed to be the envy of all your friends once they see your snaps.

The junk was painstakingly built by an 80 year old craftsman and is known in Cantonese as Cheung Po Tsai. The eponymous Cheung Po Tsai was an infamous nineteenth century pirate who terrorised Hong Kong’s waters. No pirates to be seen these days, but if you book yourself onto this water bound beauty you’re guaranteed to feel like you’re the one who’s found all the treasure.

Book online here or call +852 2116 8821. Booking is essential.