Hong Kong Fashion Geek

SHOErotica: Noritaka Tatehana

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Fri, 24 May 2013 09:36:00 +0000

In honour of art week in Hong Kong, some art. I don't think you can walk in these unless you're Lady Gaga or have crutches, so they're definitely not shoes. Learn more about Noritaka Tatehana here.

Clearance Sale: Daydream Nation

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Fri, 24 May 2013 06:00:00 +0000

Bag Lady: Tod's Signature Briefcase

noreply@blogger.com (hkFashionGeek) — Fri, 24 May 2013 01:30:00 +0000

I'm quite taken by this signature briefcase from Tod's. Not quite sure of the baby blue but the other blue looks real pretty. Retails at HKD 8,600.

Private Sale: Shanghai Tang

noreply@blogger.com (hkFashionGeek) — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:12:00 +0000

Sapporo Fashion Geek: Ishiya Chocolate Factory

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Wed, 22 May 2013 06:00:00 +0000

Ishiya Chocolate Factory in Sapporo is a weird place. It's like a weird Euro-ish cottage-cum-castle with a garden filled with amusement-park kitsch. The inside is a museum of chocolate paraphernalia, as well as a window into the actual production line. And then there's a gift shop, a display of vintage toys (from Astroboy to Superman and everything in between) and a bizarre room of gramophones through the ages. But it's sort of worth going to (if you rent a car, that is) because it's an easy drive, admission is cheap and comes with a free cookie, and there are these funny aspects -- see photos above -- that are just made for Instagram. And because afterwards you can eat all the chocolate you want without getting pimples. You MIGHT get fat, though.

Guinea Pig Fashion

noreply@blogger.com (hkFashionGeek) — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:30:00 +0000

How bizarrely wonderful is online shopping? I've stumbled upon a website that sells outfits just for guinea pigs and what slays me is that there is a category for tank tops! Oh also wigs where the site advises your guinea pig to have hair at least 1cm long in order to wear them. Check out some of the outfits for sale. Photo credit: (Maki Yamada/RexUSA)

Double Denim Day

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:50:00 +0000

Double denim has been around for a while. But I like how it's gone from a trend to something classic.

HRH the Cute Canine

noreply@blogger.com (hkFashionGeek) — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:30:00 +0000

Guest blogger hkLifestyleGeek falls in love with M&S' packaging

We adore this box cover for M&S' tin of butter Scottish shortbread biscuits. It's to mark Queen Elizabeth II's 60th anniversary on the throne that officially happened on June 2, 1953. How appropriate to have a corgi with a crown on its head, sitting on a royal cushion, its paw on the sceptre and orb. Now we really know who's in charge of the royal household! If I buy a box of these shortbread biscuits (HK$148), will someone eat them so I can keep the tin box?

Dumb Ways to Die App

noreply@blogger.com (hkFashionGeek) — Mon, 20 May 2013 01:30:00 +0000

Remember that annoyingly catchy video that Christina can't stop listening to? There's now an app! I just spent a good hour playing the game protecting private parts from piranhas, wiping up vomit and feeding rattlesnakes. Super addictive. Now go find out what other dumb ways there are to die by downloading the app here.

SHOErotica: Casadei Blade Pumps, Redux

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Thu, 16 May 2013 06:00:00 +0000

Every girl's got her what-if guy. Well this is my what-if shoe. Like, what if they sold Casadei somewhere in Hong Kong (Lane Crawford doesn't seem to anymore) so I could freaking try these on and then order them cheaper online? This is the shoe I need to wear with the aforementioned white-on-white outfits dude! Get them here...

White on White

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Wed, 15 May 2013 06:00:00 +0000

Between the Rumi Neely white-everything-with-black-shoes to this Lachlan Bailey for Vogue China series, it is so absolutely imperative that I pull some white on white this summer...

Geek Spy: Vintage Watch Cufflinks

noreply@blogger.com (hkFashionGeek) — Wed, 15 May 2013 01:30:00 +0000

I need to get me some shirts that accomodate cufflinks just so I can wear these awesome pieces. Created from vintage watches, these cufflinks are handmade in France and are available from Boticca for US$196.50

Beauty Notes: Shiseido Perfect Whip

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Tue, 14 May 2013 06:00:00 +0000

Seriously can't believe that I paid 328 yen for a giant tube of this amazing face wash, basically like HK$30, and I got one of those "25% extra!" ones too. This is the cheapo drugstore face wash find of the century, a legend apparently in the Japanese market and one of the top picks in those beauty-blogger travel-haul posts. This is a super-foamy wash that surprisingly doesn't dry out the skin but leaves it really squeaky clean. And I think thanks to this wonderful and wide-reaching arms of Sasa you can actually score it here too.

Spark Studios

noreply@blogger.com (hkFashionGeek) — Tue, 14 May 2013 01:00:00 +0000

Apologies for the lack of posts dear readers. As Christina mentioned, I'm involved in a new venture called Spark Studios, a cooking studio located in Quarry Bay. So what is this space? Well during the day, I call it Spark Kids, a cooking studio teaching kids aged 5 and up to learn various cooking techniques and dining etiquette to equip children with skills applicable for the real world. And in the evening or when classes are not held, it's Spark Kitchen, a venue available for private rental for those who wish to have a centrally located space to socialise and utilise the 2400 square feet living room space with a fully equipped kitchen, TV lounge area, dining area and a 600 square feet outdoor terrace.

Expect more posts on this from me soon. I will be sharing Spark recipes (mostly baking as that's what I like to do) on a regular basis but in the meantime, if you have kids or have friends with kids, come on by this Friday on the public holiday. We are doing free trial classes!

Pandas Are Handsome

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Mon, 13 May 2013 06:00:00 +0000

We Are Handsome... so are pandas. Creepy to think that there's probably many times more panda merchandise in the world than real pandas. Aww...

A Bite of Peru

noreply@blogger.com (hkFashionGeek) — Mon, 13 May 2013 01:30:00 +0000

Guest blogger hkLifestyleGeek tries out MAYTA

Hong Kong had its first Peruvian restaurant last year with Chicha and now there's a new one in Lan Kwai Fong. Replacing Blue Smoke, MAYTA Peruvian Kitchen & Pisco Bar creates a warm atmosphere with lots of wood and a casual laid-back atmosphere.

Start off with some piscos ($68), a colourless grape brandy. Here the restaurant infuses it with 18 different flavours and combinations, such as purple corn, coffee, coconut, green tea, thyme, ginger and chamomile.

The purple corn flavoured one is dark purple in colour, but just all sweet, whereas the ginger one has more complexity and deceptively easy to drink...

So perhaps it's time to order some food. For the uninitiated, Peruvian cuisine is an interesting combination of various immigrants in the country, including the Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Italian and German along with the indigenous Incas.

Each culture brought some of their own cooking styles and the adapted with the existing ingredients and it has since evolved (and continues to evolve) into a hearty cuisine that has layers of flavours that make it simultaneously rustic but also sophisticated.

One of the best known dishes is ceviche, and the classic one here (HK$148) is a delicious blend of sea bass mixed with lime and fish stock that creates a whitish liquid called leche de tigre, or tiger's milk, and the other ingredients include red onion, choclo, cancha and glazed sweet potato. It's a refreshing dish perfect for summer months.

An interesting take on ceviche is the Andean tiradito (HK$138) that uses salmon, chilli chimichurri, leche de tigre and topped with crispy black quinoa.

Peru is also known for its potatoes or causa, with thousands of varieties grown in the Latin American country. Here a trio (HK$158) of mashed potatoes is presented in various colours and flavours: a purple one topped with salmon ceviche tartar; yellow with octopus and rocoto chilli aoli; and then orange with shrimp escabeche. All are too scrumptious to pass up.

The skewers or anticucho are very Peruvian. MAYTA's menu offers skewers of beef (HK$118), chicken (HK$98) and octopus (HK$118). No explanations required -- just enjoy.

For mains, there are some amazing rice platters to choose from. The arroz con pato (HK$178) is divine, with 12-hour cooked duck leg confit sitting on a bed of flavourful rice, while the arroz con mariscos (HK$188) is a seafood yellow curry rice with shrimp, octopus, fried squid, red peppers and some chilli for a spicy kick.

To finish the meal try the suspiro de Limena (HK$68), a dulce de leche, a kind of custard that's not too sweet with a quinoa cookie, intriguingly a scoop of olive oil ice cream, almond oil and grilled pineapple.

MAYTA Peruvian Kitchen & Piscos Bar
3/F, Grand Progress Building
15 Lan Kwai Fong
Central
2790 0928
www.diningconcepts.com.hk

Diamond in the Rough

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Fri, 10 May 2013 08:55:00 +0000

It's rare to find a thing more beautiful than a diamond, and I'm not really suggesting that this concrete replica, dipped in gold, would be in any way comparable to the real thing, but it's a nifty idea, and a much more subversive look. I mean, for those days you don't want to pull out the genuine seven carats on a chain.

SHOErotica: Nike Studio Wrap Pack

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:04:00 +0000

I like what Nike's been doing in its efforts to make sporting footwear both more modular and more fashionable. I don't really know why I might need a pair of supportive ballet/yoga foot wraps but I like where they're going with this. Learn more here.

Images: Feeldesain.com

Best Photobomb Ever!

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Wed, 08 May 2013 03:23:00 +0000

Their Eyes Met...

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Wed, 08 May 2013 03:13:00 +0000

Just a friendly reminder, better to ignore the dress code/theme rather than leave the house looking like this. Luckily celebs don't have to stand on the street waiting for taxis in their ridiculous makeup and get-ups...

Images: Lainey Gossip

Revving Up and Slowing Down

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:07:00 +0000

You're going to see two things happen on the site this week. One, you might see a very absent Virginia, as she's working on soft-opening her new business venture, Spark Studios which I'll let her talk about later. Two, you may see an erratic me, as tomorrow I embark on a little journey I'm going to call Food Writer Drinks Juice For Three Days 2013. So as she gears up for a big launch, I'll be slowing down with a little food ban and hopefully, a turn for the better, health-wise. It's the perfect end to a five-day extravaganza of pigging out in Sapporo. And since I found out there's a real dearth of quality English blogging on Sapporo eats, I'll pen a little guide to the place, probably not while I'm not allowed to consume real food, but soon after that.

Nars x Pierre Hardy

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Fri, 03 May 2013 09:32:00 +0000

Since I switched to soft gel I haven't really had the patience to sit around and wait for regular nail polish to dry, even with the miracle discovery of Seche Vite quick-dry topcoat. But I'm giving my Shellacked little digits a wee rest and relaxation now, so the arrival of Nars' Pierre Hardy nail-polish collab seems apt. Since I've always shopped at Cher2 I haven't really had much experience with Nars polishes, but they have a great creamy opacity even with more sheer colours, so straight out of the bottle they're a dream to apply -- not sure how they'll fare once exposed to oxygen, and I'm hardly a stickler for cleaning my bottle screws properly.

The colours are pretty awesome -- punchy pastels and vivid deep hues in the strange but beautiful colour-blocking that's sort of Hardy's signature (Nars plays homage to his geometric side in a blush as well, that's a peachy pink with signature gold cubic patterns inlaid to add shimmer). Even cuter, the duos come in little "shoeboxes" complete with shoe bags. Not that anyone's ever bought a beauty product due simply to smart packaging *cough cough*. Anyway, these hit shelves next month, I believe. So far I've tried the baby yellow (cute but a bit difficult to handle without careful application and good lighting) and the lilac, which is a dream colour and better than all the other light purples I've seen on the market so far. Excuse the fact that these colours may be a bit off in the picture; I blame my affinity for the Valencia filter on Instagram. Kind of washes things out a bit, oops.

SHOErotica: Andreia Chaves Invisible Shoe

noreply@blogger.com (hkShoeGeek) — Thu, 02 May 2013 06:00:00 +0000

If I'm going to be anal (and I am) I'll say these are not exactly "invisible" shoes. I mean, maybe they're invisible because this isn't really a shoe so you can't see it, but that doesn't even make sense actually. The logic in that sentence is invisible.

Really, these are MIRROR shoes, released by Andreia Chaves in 2011 and available by order directly from the designer here.

Bag Lady: Saint Laurent Betty

noreply@blogger.com (hkFashionGeek) — Thu, 02 May 2013 01:30:00 +0000

Minimalistic tends to be Heidi Slimane's style and am definitely seeing it with the Betty. I quite like the upturned corners just giving the bag that structured looked yet something about the bag reminds me of Alexander Wang. Not quite sure why. Any clues? Is it just me?

Caught My Eye: Carmen Chan Jewellery

noreply@blogger.com (hkFashionGeek) — Thu, 02 May 2013 01:30:00 +0000

Was recently introduced to Carmen Chan Jewellery, a new jewellery brand that was launched earlier this year. While there isn't much variety in terms of designs as of yet, I do think the pieces have promise and I quite like the Messenger Collection (the ring above for example which is sterling silver plated with rose gold.) Carmen's debut collection, A Sweep Escape, is very tribalesque and what I like about the necklaces is that if you look at the clasp, she's incorporated messages into the necklaces. Her pieces retails for about HK$1180 for rings to HK$2380 for the necklaces. Looking forward to see what she comes up with next.