In stark contrast to the majority of new shopping centers which seem to have an absence of local culture, the new Delay No More Mall located in Causeway Bay takes exactly the opposite approach. A quick look at the exterior of the retail space appears calculated to broadcast Hong Kong culture and style.

This departure from the norm is in line with the strategy of the G.O.D. brand who is the organizer of the new shopping center. G.O.D. currently operates several shops that retail a range of household products and clothing bearing signatures of life in the city. Everything from their pajamas emblazoned with old Hong Kong buildings, to their notorious play-on-word t-shirts, contain elements of the city’s colorful (and sometimes profane,) local traditions. (more…)

I stopped by D-Mop’s flagship store in Causeway Bay last week and stumbled upon an exhibition they have for the new Y-3 / Hacienda collaboration. For those who don’t know, the Hacienda was a groundbreaking club in Manchester, England that served as a melting pot and catalyst for music crucial to the eighties and nineties.

At one point in time it was considered the most famous club in the world and boasted legendary lines to get in. The Hacienda was partially financed by the group New Order, whose mixture of live instruments integrated with electronic sounds greatly influenced today’s music. As the exhibition notes, somewhat humorously, the Hacienda made history, but didn’t make money! (more…)

Just around the corner from Times Square shopping center in Causeway Bay is one of Hong Kong’s few indie music shops. If you’re interested in discovering something beyond what’s out there in the commercial music market, White Noise Records is the place to go. But beware - if you have diverse taste in music, White Noise is a dangerous place to browse! It’s almost guaranteed that you’ll find something cool and new.

The shop features a large selection of cds as well as a solid collection of off-beat music even on vinyl! On a recent trip l saw several must-have items including old Soul and Funk collections on 45, in addition to new issues of hard to find underground music magazines. White Noise is also a good place to acquire information about upcoming events in Hong Kong’s art and music scene.

For a peek inside the shop and advice on how to find the slightly hidden entrance, continue here. (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…)

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…)

Let me start off by saying that I love D-Mop’s events. For a little background info, D-Mop is a high-end retail chain with locations in several of Hong Kong’s top shopping centers. In addition they have two large flagship shops in Central and Causeway Bay - Hong Kong’s major shopping meccas - which are a magnet for local celebrities. Friday night they held an event for Japanese designer Mihara Yasuhiro. Mihara designs an upscale line for Puma and just put out a limited edition book to commemorate his new line.

The crowd found at D-Mop’s events echoes the clothing they specialize in - upscale, creative and funky. This is a big difference from say, a Gucci or LV party, where the crowd isn’t nearly as charismatic. There’s always a quality, rather than quantity aspect to their events. Friday night’s party was filled with people sporting unique looks. Unfortunately, I was so busy talking, I didn’t take any crowd shots! For a peek at more sneakers by Mihara Yasuhiro… (more…)

‘Kung Hei Fat Choy’! It’s Chinese New Year again - the biggest holiday of the year. Yesterday marked the beginning of year of the pig.

So how does life change in Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year holiday? Most businesses shut down. Essentials such as supermarkets operate on only a limited schedule. Due to the nearly week long break, many people go away on holiday. Often people spend time with their family and visit relatives. Married couples give red packets filled with money to their children, relatives and colleagues. With the cease of most construction, the city is far quieter than usual. Where I live, you can hear birds instead of buses when you wake up!

One fun part of celebrating Chinese New Year is going to the special new year’s flower market in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay. It’s PACKED with four, three-block lanes of stalls and people selling all sorts of items to bring luck and good fortune in the coming year. The atmosphere is raucous and fun.

Hawkers rent booths and decorate them (sometimes outlandishly) to attract attention. The merchandise on sale is extensive. Over the last few years, blow-up inflatable items have gained popularity. The plastic blow-ups are based on everything from animals of the Chinese zodiac, to items that sound like something with a double meaning in Cantonese, to items that deal with a current issue. For example, this year there were giant cigarettes, making reference to the recent ban of smoking in Hong Kong’s restaurants and public areas (which is a huge deal in a place with a deeply entrenched smoking culture.)

Old standards meant to bring good fortune are also present at the market. These include different types of flowers and fruits such as small orange trees. Pussy willows (for financial fortune) and peach blossoms (for love life) are also two of the more popular choices. (I bought both!)

Colorful paper and plastic pin-wheels seem to be popular items.

Small charms often in faux-jade that help to protect people of different zodiacs are also available for purchase.

Wonder what it’s like to walk through hundreds of stalls in a sea of thousands? Check out the videos! (more…)

I was going to the JP cinema, my favorite place to catch movies, when I saw this huge wrap-around ad by Carhartt. The billboards featured interesting illustrations of people wearing Carhartt clothes. The placement was at a crowded intersection in the heart of Causeway Bay, one of the busiest and trendiest of all the shopping areas in Hong Kong.

Rockit, Hong Kong’s only large outdoor music festival touched down last weekend for its fourth straight year. This time it lasted two days, rather than three, but it still packed in several big name d.j.s including Goldie, Bryan G, Adam F, and the locally-grown Uptown Rockers. Top billing this year was Ian Brown formerly of the Stone Roses, in addition to last year’s favorite - Electric Eel Shock, the wild metal band from Tokyo. Several local bands were also featured including Hardpack, my favorite Punk band. (Click any of the photos to see a larger version!)

Almost as important as the music itself is just chilling on the grass in a large open space - something that we in Hong Kong nearly never experience. Although there are soccer fields scattered about, there is very little open space - especially with grass. Flat land in the city is just too valuable to set aside. The site of the festival, Victoria Park, located in Causeway Bay, is the only large swath of grass that I can think of.

The Rockit festival area is divided into two parts: a main stage and a tent. Music is not played on the two simultaneously. A single group or d.j. is playing at any given time and people walk back and forth between the two locations. D.J.s always play in the tent, whereas bands play both venues.

One of the drawbacks to an outdoor music fest… portable toilets!

Victoria Park, where the festival is held is a major recreation area, particularly on Sunday when maids (who work six days a week,) have their day off. In the photo below you can see Indonesian maids congregating on the grass just outside the entrance to the Rockit festival. Hong Kong employs a huge number of domestic helpers. There are nearly 150,000 Filipinos and 100,000 Indonesians working in Hong Kong as maids.

This year there was also an area set aside for street artists to showcase their work.

There have been two notable new arrivals from America in the last few months. Krispy Kreme, the infamously tempting doughnut shop, and Burger King have both opened new branches in the city.

Krispy Kreme has two locations - one in Causeway Bay, a high-traffic shopping mecca, and the other (pictured above) in Soho, the trendy neighborhood home to dozens of restaurants offering international cusine in a two-block area.

It’s interesting that Krispy Kreme is occupying the former site of Starbucks Coffee, which itself had an extremely successful launch in Hong Kong a few years ago. The Soho branch is directly next to the Mid-Levels escalator (search my archives for previous entry) which moves over 45,000 people per day! It’s a high-profile location and an excellent choice for making an introduction.

On the subject of American chains arriving in Hong Kong, it’s worth noting that before Starbucks opened people questioned their ability to do well since, the argument went, there was a cultural tie to drinking tea rather than coffee in H.K. The skeptics were proven wrong. Starbucks has been a runaway success, and has expanded greatly. The same naysayers have said that American-style doughnuts are too sweet for Hong Kong - let’s see what happens!

Burger King has adopted a different location strategy. Despite being located at the top of Victoria Peak in the newly renovated Peak Tower (a main tourist destination overlooking the city,) Burger King has attracted residents from all over the island. On a recent Sunday, the place was completely packed with more locals than tourists - with not a single seat available!

Fast food pioneer McDonald’s is extremely successful in Hong Kong and they are ubiquitous throughout the territory. Until recently however, Burger King had only a single branch open in Hong Kong - located inside the terminal of the airport, which limited its customers to only ticketed passengers who had proceeded through immigration. Opening a location on The Peak is perfect to build the brand with the massive number of tourists from China and other parts of Asia as well as to provide familiar, inexpensive food for Western foreigners.