Celebrity Life
A Singaporean’s Guide to the Best Pandan Desserts in Hong Kong
Travel bubbles may have come and gone, but the nostalgia for a taste of home remains. In anticipation of Singapore’s National Day, we’re sharing our secret spots for the best pandan desserts in the city.
Lany Kitchen
I may be crucified for sharing my countrymen's best kept secret. Using cold press organic coconut oil and homemade pandan extract, Lany Chew’s amazing Pandan Chiffon cakes ($130) have been growing in popularity through word of mouth among the inner Singaporean circuit. If you’re craving something with a savoury kick, she also does an incredible Pandan Cheese Roll ($95) filled with grated cheddar and cream cheese. While Lany doesn’t currently have a retail shop, you can order through WhatsApp at least three days in advance.
Lany Kitchen, @lanykitchen, WhatsApp to order +852 9806 4199
Shaz Confections
Presenting the Singaporean dessert dream duo: pandan leaves, and – wait for it – coconut cream. At Shaz Confections, bliss comes in the form of fresh pandan coconut cream, sandwiched between 16 layers of crepe and topped with a light dusting of desiccated coconut and roasted pistachio. Their Pandan Coconut Crepe Cake ($480) is certainly a crowd pleaser, but if you prefer the more traditional pandan chiffon ($138), you’ll be able to snag that too. Oh, and don’t delay: cake orders must be made at least three days in advance.
Shaz Confections, various locations, including: G/F, 21 First Street, Sai Ying Pun, +852 5596 5956
Soho House Hong Kong
Okay, okay – we get it. Not entirely fair that we have a private member’s club on this list... but hear me out. Your whole membership will be worth it just to be able to have a taste of Chef Chris Thompson’s incredible rendition of a pandan cheesecake ($70 a slice). Yeah, I said it.
Painstakingly infused and lovingly assembled each day by the talented hands of the pastry chefs, this dessert has been a House favourite since the opening, and caused waves of outrage when it was briefly off the menu. Insider tip: If you’re incredibly sweet to the team, they may also agree to bake an entire 2-pound version ($500) for you – with advance notice, of course.
Soho House Hong Kong, 33 Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan.
Teakha
Teakha may be famous for being one of our city’s homegrown tea-specialist cafés, but they have slowly started gaining recognition for their baked goods in recent years as well. Their cakes often incorporate elements of tea, and are simple and rustic with an Asian fineness and touch. You’ll be able to try a slice of their Pandan Coconut Chiffon Cake ($56) in the café, or order a full-sized Pandan Chiffon Cake ($420) at least two days in advance.
Teakha, Shop B, 18 Tai Ping Shan Street, Sheung Wan, +852 2858 9185
Ms. B’s Cakery
If it’s a showstopper you’re after, the Eleanor ($630/$1,050) is truly a sight to behold. Picture this: A decadent pandan & coconut chiffon cream cake, topped with white chocolate and marshmallows. You can even add on a handcrafted sugar orchid as a pièce de résistance ($1,300) to show off for Singapore’s National Day. Bring this along to your Singaporean spouse’s family gathering and they’ll be gushing about you for months. You can thank me afterwards.
Ms. B’s Cakery, various locations, including: G/F, Lee Tung Street, Wan Chai, +852 2869 1331
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Top 10 New Year’s Eve Parties in Hong Kong
With the decade coming to an end, you'll want to ring in 2020 in style. If you're still looking for places to countdown, we've got you covered and picked out some of the best New Year’s Eve parties in Hong Kong to make sure 2020 starts on a high.
Carbone
Carbone’s NYE party is for those who are looking to enjoy Motown music as well as their well-known meatballs. The Italian restaurant is offering two packages; the Classico (HK$1,988) includes food and drink as well as free-flow prosecco. For a little bit more, the Superior (HK$2,388) package includes food and drink, and free-flow Champagne. The party starts at 9PM and goes until 1:30AM.
Carbone, 9/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, Central; +852 2593 2593
ALTO
Located on the 31st floor of the V Point Tower in Causeway Bay, ALTO is a great option if you’re looking for a spot with great views. Their Black & Gold New Year’s Eve Gala Fireworks Dinner is HK$788 per person and offers a four-course meal. The theme of the event is, you guessed it, black and gold. So be sure to dress for the occasion.
ALTO, 31/F, V Point, 18 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay; +852 2603 7181
Zuma
Zuma has become sort of a constitution when it comes to counting down in Hong Kong. With a masquerade theme in place, guests will be able to enjoy free-flow Veuve Clicquot Champagne, specialty cocktails, red and white wine, beer, and soft drinks. DJ Emmanuel Diaz will be playing tunes all night accompanied by live performances.
Zuma, Level 5&6 Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen's Road Central, Central; +852 2657 6388
La Rambla by Catalunya
Walk the red-carpet at La Rambla’s NYE event. The ‘A Red Carpet Affair’ theme will have you feeling like a celebrity while you enjoy the free-flow bar and a special New Year’s Eve curated tasting menu all the while enjoying unrivalled views of the iconic Victoria Harbour. Packages start at HK$700 for general entry (includes three hours of free-flow drinks and two food tickets); $750 for a walk-in ticket; $2,020 for dinner and party package (includes tasting menu and free-flow drinks). If you’re not going out for NYE, La Rambla is also offering a New Year’s Day brunch menu (HK$650).
La Rambla by Catalunya, 3071-73 Level 3, ifc mall, 8 Finance Street, Central; 2661 1161
Popinjays
If you’re looking to countdown at Popinjays, you have various options to choose from. A general ticket is HK$1,488 and includes free-flow drinks (from 9:30PM to 3AM and Champagne from 11:30PM to 12:30AM), while an early bird ticket is HK$1,288. If you’re a party of four, a table package will set you back HK$7,880 and includes free-flow drinks. A New Year’s Day brunch is also on offer for HK$698 (from 12:15 pm to 2:15 pm, and 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm), so plan ahead.
Popinjays, 22 Cotton Tree Drive, Central; +852 3141 8888
Potato Head
Dance the night away at Potato Head. The multi-concept space will have an array of DJs and artists playing music all night long, so be sure to wear comfortable shoes. For HK$600, you’ll be able to enjoy free-flow from 10PM to midnight. For HK$1,100, you’ll be able to enjoy their dinner menu and free-flow drinks.
Tickets here.
Potato Head, 100 Third Street, Sai Ying Pun; +852 2858 6066
Soho House
Soho House is hosting a 'Midnight in Monte Carlo' themed party. Wear your finest black-tie attire to ring in the new year with the grandeur of Monte Carlo. Try your hand at blackjack or roulette, or slip into the high roller’s room as you sip on Grey Goose cocktails. If you're in the gambling spirit, there will be high roller game rooms with prizes including a complimentary stay for two at Upper House Hong Kong. To cap it all off, a Möet Champagne vending machine will be available.
Soho House, 33 Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan; +852 5803 8888
DarkSide
Countdown to 2020 at one of Hong Kong's newest bars, DarkSide. On New Year’s Eve, guests can look forward to caviar and Krug Champagne packages, VIP table bookings and live entertainment to truly define merrymaking from 8PM until 2AM. You will also be able to enjoy jazz music with their new performer Deborah Davis. Email hongkong.darkside@rosewoodhotels.com or ring them up to secure your reservation.
DarkSide, Rosewood Hong Kong Victoria Dockside, 18 Salisbury Rord, Tsim Sha Tsui; +852 3891 8732
Ophelia
Escape to Le Grand Hotel Ophelia NYE 2019 party. Ophelia will be back for another immersive celebration for New Year’s Eve, bringing a fashionable ode of old vintage glamour, luxury diamonds, and pearls, Champagne and more. Expect appearances from international performers behind the doors of Le Grande Hotel Ophelia, and live music. Did we mention that entry is free? All you have to do is RSVP and adhere to their 'Vintage Glam' dress code.
Ophelia, Shop F39A & F41A, 1/F, Lee Tung Avenue, 200 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai; +852 2520 1117
G.H Mumm Party
To celebrate the beginning of the new decade, G.H. Mumm has partnered with The Rooms in Tai Kwun to host their Countdown Dinner & Party. Guests are invited to enjoy a gastronomic 3-course dining experience with free-flow Mumm Grand Cordon Champagne, RSRV & Spirit at 9PM for HK$1,800. For those who would like to go straight to the countdown party, a ticket costs HK$800 and includes free-flow Mumm Grand Cordon Champagne and Spirit until midnight. For tickets, email info@therooms.hk.
The Rooms, 10 Hollywood Road, Central
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A Tour of Soho House Hong Kong with Founder Nick Jones
Almost 25 years ago, a young Nick Jones founded his first Soho House in London with a compelling proposition: a private members’ club that would be a home away from home for a community of like-minded people, often with a creative leaning.
Since starting the journey in 1995, Soho House has gradually expanded to a current grand total of 25 Houses across the UK, Europe, North America and Asia. Simultaneously Jones has built an impressive portfolio of restaurants, screening rooms, spas, workspaces and hotels. The latest to open: the much-anticipated Soho House Hong Kong.
This month, Jones is inaugurating the space, set in a 28-storey skyscraper in Sheung Wan, with epic views over the city skyline, Victoria Harbour and green swathes of The Peak. “We’re all nervously excited,” he says. “It’s getting there, it’s been a process.”
The Hong Kong Soho House he says, has been a project 10 years in the making, so why did it take so long? “Initially it was focus, then it was trying to find the right partner and the right space and the right lease that goes with it. Everyone gets quite short leases in Hong Kong. You do it all up and then have to take it all down -- so there were some delays. What we have now, it’s been worth the wait.”
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What the new House has is a warmly lit Brasserie with old-world charm and dark leather chairs. There’s also a three-floor gym and great drinking and dining, along with the event spaces, a stage and music venue and a screening room. In a bid to become “a cultural and creative focal point within the city”, an events programme under development includes fashion, film, music, art, design and wellness.
The Hong Kong House, which opens hot on the tail of a new Soho House in Mumbai, is the first in East Asia. Was this part of the world always part of Jones’s grand plans?
“Without Asia as part of our network or community, it would be lacking, so I think yes, Asia was always part of the plan,” he says. “We obviously want to see how things go in Hong Kong, but Shanghai is very much part of our list, Tokyo too, as are many other cities in Asia.”
Jones hopes that the region will take to his concept, which has proved so popular in Europe (Barcelona, Amsterdam, Berlin) and the US (Chicago, New York, Los Angeles). His empire is growing: “We have Paris to come, Rome, Milan and Lisbon -- we have a really interesting pipeline in Europe, a nice pipeline in the Americas. Asia is definitely an area where we want to be much more active.”
“What people want is the global-ness of the club. You join one and you get access to all of them,” he says. It all fits neatly into the new lifestyles of the creative elite: nomadic for work and for pleasure. Whether fashionistas, music producers, artists or entrepreneurs there’s constant travel, and building a community this way is partly what makes a multi-continental club like Soho House so appealing. He’s also built brands such the Cowshed spa and beauty products line, and the homeware range Soho Home.
But with an ever-expanding portfolio of spaces, how does Jones keep things intimate and relevant – in line with this original ethos of being a home away from home? “I think within the clubs we’re always evolving -- and luckily all our members are at the forefront of anything creative, so they help us move in the right direction.”
As each Soho House is designed as a local club within a global network, Jones is quick to point out that Soho House isn’t coming into Asia as a London club. The key person it wants to please is the local member: “It means we have to adjust culturally to the area and the location, and we do this in each city, as the cultures are very different,” he says.
“I’d like to think that in some way, we’re helping to build a global community that’s in every major city. We’re also doing more and more experiences and resorts, and we’ve been lucky there’s a certain sort of person that likes the way we do things.”
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Although Hong Kong is best known as an Asian financial capital, Jones has been watching the development of the arts and creative scene with curious fascination since his first visit.
“In the 10 years that I’ve been coming here, I’ve definitely seen that change. You see the people who’ve applied for membership and the people on our committee -- many of them have that creative soul and a like-mindedness about them, which very much fits into Soho House."
“We’re obviously aware that the city is a centre for business and finance, but also aware that it’s one of the creative hubs of Asia. I think it’s progressive and moving quickly,” he adds.
To reflect this, the permanent art collection curated by Kate Bryan, Soho House’s head of collections, focuses entirely on artists born or based in Hong Kong. This is a comprehensive and timely celebration of the local art scene, which has flourished since the arrival of Art Basel, Tai Kwun and M+. The collection features more than 100 works by the likes of Lee Kit, Tsang Kin-Wah or Firenze Lai, as well as work by historic figures such as Ho Fan, Yau Leung, Wong Wo-Bik and Choi Yan-Chi.
And amid a wave of more minimalist interiors being built around the city, Soho House Hong Kong interiors embrace more retro and old-world glamour, designed by an in-house team that’s referenced famous local films and the work of directors such as Wong Kar-Wai. Patterns, colour palettes, furnishings and fabrics echo jewel tones and the city’s rich landscape, but are mixed with design elements from other Houses around the world. Menus will include the locally inspired (siu mai and dim sum) as well as introducing House favourites such as brick chicken and the Dirty Burger. An elaborate, petite indoor pool sits snug on one floor -- more for lounging beside with cocktail in hand than doing laps.
Jones’s members are very vocal about the direction in which they like the Houses to go. There’s a symbiosis there -- a natural process in which members feed the ideas to the House and vice versa. In Hong Kong, where identity, politics and creativity are clashing and evolving at unprecedented pace and intensity, that might be extra critical for the club.
“Hong Kong is a big city but it’s also a village,” says Jones. “There’s such an evolution on the creative scene here, there’s a lot of young interesting creative people, locals who haven’t been provided a place where they can work, hang out, have fun, watch movies, meet. I hope we’re finding lots of these people and that lots more will appear.”
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