Thursday night was the third edition of the IMAGE Top Model event at Volar. What started off as a networking event for the modeling industry and a showcase for new talent, has morphed into a runway competition that packs the club. (more…)

I was attending a birthday party at HALO on Wednesday night, so I arrived at Dragon-i towards the end of d.j. Cash Money’s set. He’s been to Hong Kong several times over the past three years, and he plays a combination of classics mixed with the latest Hip Hop hits. (more…)

I’ll let you in on a little secret: growing up watching Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest kung fu films every Saturday is one of the reasons I live in Hong Kong today!

The long and winding path that led me to Hong Kong is actually film related. The steps along the way included volunteering for the Hawaii International Film Festival, talking flying guillotines with America’s top film scholar, David Bordwell, and founding Subway Cinema (the number one showcase for Asian films in the U.S.) in 1999. (more…)

Thursday night I d.j.ed a major event - the launch of Sole Town, a new shoe and accessories mega-store in Causeway Bay. This is no low key shop. Located at a busy intersection in Hong Kong’s shopping mecca, Sole Town takes up the entire first floor of Hang Lung Centre. It’s about as high foot-traffic an area as you can get.

When I found out that A-list models, Gaile, Cara G., and Kristen were going to be in the fashion show, I had an idea that the opening was going to be big. That, plus the fact that they specifically requested Hong Kong’s most fashionable d.j.! (more…)

Last Tuesday I spent the day walking around Macau. I’ve been there several times and it’s fun for a change of scenery. As far as the lay of the land, Macau is divided into three parts: the Macau peninsula, which is attached to China at Zhuhai, and the territory’s two islands, Taipa and Coloane. So far I’ve mostly explored the peninsula.

Cruising the old streets it dawned on me that Macau is a perfect destination for film-making. Why? Where else can you find two-hundred years of authentic sets? Every architectural trend (or mishap) from the grand colonial era to Art Deco elegance, to the worst of the 60’s and 80’s is here, preserved in a state of suspended animation. (more…)

Last week I attended an event for Bobbi Brown, the cosmetics brand. The venue was an empty space in M-88, a building on Wellington Street in Central. I didn’t know what to expect, but arriving there the place was surprisingly packed.

Instead of a fashion show or performance, the focal point of the evening was a brief talk by Zing, a Singaporean-born makeup artist who is revered in Hong Kong’s fashion industry. (more…)

If there’s such a thing as “classic” dance music, and I believe there is, then New York d.j. / producer Danny Krivit gave the crowd an education during his set at Dragon-i on Saturday night.

This was Danny Krivit’s sophomore appearance at Dragon-i and the club was crowded with people dancing from the moment he began.

It struck me how different Danny Krivit’s music is from what’s currently in vogue. (more…)

I had a busy night on Friday, but I managed to stop by the opening of a new contemporary Japanese restaurant called Zuma. Located at 15 Queens Road, Zuma is above Gucci and the upscale supermarket Three-Sixty.

Hong Kong’s love of Japanese food
Hong Kong has an insatiable appetite for Japanese food. Ask any local what their favorite cuisine is, and Japanese food typically tops the list. I might even wager that there are more Japanese restaurants per person in Hong Kong than anywhere else outside of Japan! The price and quality of the restaurants runs the full spectrum. Here you can find everything from the newly opened Nobu (located in the InterContinental hotel,) to a hidden street of bargain-basement Japanese restaurants in an unfashionable factory area of Hung Hom. (more…)

D-mop, one of Hong Kong’s hippest fashion retail chains launched a cross-branded phone with Nokia on Wednesday night. The event was held at their flagship shop on 8 Kingston Street in Causeway Bay.

“Crossovers,” as they are commonly referred to, are essentially double, or sometimes triple branded products. Crossovers are often written about in the abbreviated form: Somebrand x Somebrand, with an ‘x’ in the middle. At one point two years ago, you could barely turn a page in a local fashion magazine without seeing some sort of crossover being touted. In Hong Kong, even mainstream businesses such as McDonald’s got into the act, adapting the advertising technique for their own limited edition items. (more…)

Saturday night at Dragon-i featured a stage crowded with drums for Luisito Quintero, the man behind many of Louie Vega’s incredible beats.

Luisito is a heavyweight percussionist who has worked with legends such as Tito Puente, George Benson and Herbie Hancock to name just a few. He’s also a consummate showman - managing to smile in mid-drumming as I photographed him!

During the course of the night Luisito jumped from drum to drum improvising beats over Masters At Work classics spun by Gilbert Yeung, Dragon-i’s owner and music director. Once again credit needs to be given to Gilbert for putting Hong Kong on the map with contemporary world-class musical talent. The place was filled, despite a heavy rainstorm.

Next up is A-list d.j. and re-edit master Danny Krivit on Saturday, June 16th. (For those of you who don’t know, re-editing involves taking classic songs and making them even better by accentuating their special qualities). Mark your calendars!