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Revolutionizing Music Education in Hong Kong 🎻🎹

Kayton Tang on 29 11 月, 2024

Meet Madeline Kam, a visionary in the world of music education and a proud Hong Konger. 🌟 As the Asia Consultant to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Madeline has been instrumental in shaping music teaching in the region. She was the first to introduce a first-class music MA course from the European String Teachers Association (ESTA), blending face-to-face learning with distance education—a groundbreaking approach to teaching music skills.

Her innovative vision is giving the next generation of musicians and teachers in Hong Kong a unique, world-class way to grow and learn. 🎼✨

Which aspect of Hong Kong inspires your creativity? Let us know below!👇

We’re proud to share this story as part of the @hknevernormal campaign, celebrating the extraordinary spirit of our city. Follow @hknevernormal for more inspiring stories.

Pasta, Costumes and good deeds

Kayton Tang on 29 11 月, 2024

Picture this… 500+ runners in costume, racing around the city, raising funds for mental health care and awareness, to a finish line where a pasta party awaits! Blending fun, wellness and community mindedness.

Hong Kong’s “Halloween warm-up event” by default, as it takes place the weekend before the eponymous spookfest, the Pasta Run is hosted by neighbourhood pasta bar, Pici, and is a beloved fixture on our city’s annual racing calendar.

🏃‍♀️This year, runners covered 4,000 cumulative kilometres – half the distance from Hong Kong to Italy, birthplace of pasta. Oldest finisher 🇬🇧Mark Graham – 70 years old; youngest finisher 🇫🇷Ysee Croq – 5 months old.

The run ended with a party in Pici Taikoo Place, where our costumed crusaders enjoyed handmade pasta masterpieces, bomboloni, tiramisu, awards, and the altruism of having raised over HKD100,000 for our charity partner, Mind HK.

We’re sharing this story as a proud partner of @hknevernromal, an initiative dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary nature of our city. Follow @hknevernormal for more inspiring stories.

Fusing traditional charm with modern aesthetics, capturing the essence of Cha Chaan Teng culture.

Kayton Tang on 29 11 月, 2024

An icon of the city, serving up simple, hearty eats, Cha Chaan Teng continues to stand as an iconic embodiment of the city’s unique cultural fusion and a testament to the culinary dynamism of the city.

One of the defining characteristics of a Cha Chaan Teng is its menu, which features a diverse array of dishes catering to both Chinese and Western tastes. From classic offerings such as pineapple buns, sandwiches and Hong Kong-style milk tea to Western-inspired items like French toast. @sleepyhead.hk celebrates the enduring appeal and adaptability of Hong Kong’s Cha Chaan Teng culture.

Experience sleepyhead’s refreshing take on the traditional Cha Chaan Teng favourites!

BREAKING ART BOUNDARIES: The story of Young Soy Gallery

Kayton Tang on 29 11 月, 2024

You are not the city’s cool, artsy kid until you have been to Young Soy Gallery.

Translated from “Ugly Gallery” in Cantonese, Young Soy Gallery originated as a lighthearted joke between its founders, Shivang Jhunjhnuwala and Alexander Glavatsky-Yeadon, with the idea to start a one night exhibition entitled “F.art Basil” with emerging artists in town during the pandemic in 2020.

Identified as third culture kids, Jhunjhnuwala and Glavatsky-Yeadon drawing from their own adventures, have their sights set on how cultural divergences bring distinct stories. Their vision for Young Soy transcends being just a gallery: it is a cultural melting pot that not only cultivates a spectrum of cultural influences but also acts as a launchpad for radical artists. Ultimately what matters For Jhunjhnuwala and Glavatsky-Yeadon is simple: that everyone finds it amusing, and everyone feels at home.

Young Soy persistently pushes the boundary of what defines an artist. The gallery collaborates with artists regardless of their backgrounds—be they newcomers to the art scene, self-taught, or untrained—as long as they have a burning desire to unveil their personal yet extraordinary story through artistic expression, Young Soy is all ears.

We’re sharing this story as a proud partner of @hknevernormal, an initiative dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary nature of our city. Follow @hknevernormal for more inspiring stories.

“dancing wave”

Kayton Tang on 29 11 月, 2024

Have you ever tried the “dancing wave” hand signal to catch a cross-harbour taxi🫳🏻 🌊?

It is a secret trick that not even all Hong Kongers know. Simply flatten your right hand and move it in a wave-like motion—just like a boat floating on the sea. This signals taxi drivers that you’re crossing the harbour, making it easier for the right taxi to find you. Trust me, with this trick, you’ll never face rejection from a taxi driver again.

刑格到型格

Kayton Tang on 28 11 月, 2024

⼤澳文物酒店

你知唔知，⼤澳文物酒店以前係用嚟鎖押罪犯同埋海盜？
呢度本身係1902年嘅海警哨站，專捉海盜，保護⼤澳。
而家翻新咗，變成全港第一間攞聯合國教科文獎嘅酒店，畀你喺⼤澳漁村感受吓真正嘅香港style。
你夠唔夠膽嚟⼤澳住一晚咩？

Bottling the soul of Cha Chaan Tengs

Kayton Tang on 28 11 月, 2024

What brings the Cha Cha to a Cha Chaan Teng?

By definition, a cha chaan teng is a quintessential Hong Kong diner, a greasy spoon café that serves Hong Kongers at all times of the day. 🥘

But it isn’t just that. As a city, we’ve lived a few lives in the last five years, and whatever has been thrown at us, we’ve survived, and cha chaan tengs have survived. 💥

They are the literal bread 🍞 and butter 🧈 of Hong Kong. You can go any time of the day for a snack, a meal, or a simple yuen-yeung ☕️. But do remember to go early if you want a pineapple bun with that giant knob of salted butter because they tend to run out soon!

Cha chaan tengs follow their own rules and their own cuisine. It started off as soya sauce Western food, where you get a class of cha (tea) as soon as you sit down, and then you can order French toast, pork chop baked rice, satay beef curry noodles or tomato macaroni soup. These are not ingredients you would normally find in a Cantonese kitchen, but a mishmash of colonial ingredients left behind given an HK twist because we were never normal, to begin with.

So we at @asparkofmadness wanted to give homage to the soul of Hong Kong cha chaan tengs and have tried to bottle the essence up in our Crack Mayonnaise jar. We spent a lot of time perfecting the recipe for this condiment, as we wanted to give you all these tasting notes in one lick – spicy, tangy, salty, creamy, nutty, umami, zesty and smoky. Exactly how a cha chaan teng gives you a little bit of everything. 💥

We’re sharing this story as a proud partner of @hknevernormal, an initiative dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary nature of our city. Follow @hknevernormal for more inspiring stories.


A Spark of Madness

AGAINST ALL ODDS

Kayton Tang on 28 11 月, 2024

In a city full of vibrant bars, COA stands out as a beacon of novelty and resilience. 🌟

COA defied all odds to make the city appreciate mezcal, transforming the perception of Mexican bars from “a place for tequila shots”, to a sophisticated spot to experience and savour one of the most terroir-driven spirits in the world.

When founder Jay Khan/ @jaykhan313 conceptualised the idea, mezcal was a lesser-known spirit in Hong Kong, and many doubted its ability to take off. Despite the scepticism, Jay remained firm and refused to compromise on his passion for mezcal – a spirit he fell in love with during a trip to Mexico.

“People advised us to play it safe and cater to familiar tastes. Maybe open a gin or whiskey bar? But I believed in the magic of mezcal,” Jay recalls.

COA’s first 18 months suffered financial losses and a lack of recognition. “Many suggested we introduce happy hours to attract more customers, but we resisted the temptation to dilute our brand with trends that didn’t align with our core values. I knew that if I trusted my gut and stayed consistent, it would work out in the end.”

Today, COA has grown from a local gem to global fame, and is consistently recognised as one of Asia’s and the world’s best bars– proving the power of perseverance and unwavering resilience.

Here’s a toast to COA, a true embodiment of Hong Kong’s ‘Never Normal’ spirit. 🥂✨

We’re sharing this story as a proud partner of @hknevernormal , an initiative dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary nature of our city. Follow @hknevernormal for more inspiring stories.

COA

Reimagined HK Classics

Kayton Tang on 28 11 月, 2024

Embracing Traditions with a Modern Twist: Reimagined Cha Chaan Teng favourites.

A charming spot in the heart of the city, a sanctuary for you to escape from the monotony of routine while indulging in the simple pleasures of life.

Escape the hustle and bustle, fuel up on a refreshing take on beloved Cha Chaan Teng favourites while you enjoy a much-needed break.

Sleepyhead