Martin Liu - Cool! Hong Kong: Your Essential Guide to Whats Hip and Happening

Cool!

Hong Kong

YourEssential Guide To Whats Hip and Happening

MARTIN LIU

Editor: Crystal Chan

Series Designer: Lock Hong Liang

All photos provided by the author exceptpages 28 and 70 by Photolibrary. Additional images courtesy of The LandmarkMandarin Oriental, Hyatt International, W Hotels, Four Seasons Hotel, ThePeninsula, Elite Concepts, The Royal Garden, FINDS, Zuma, Langham Place,Rhombus International Hotels Group, Aqua Restaurant Group, China Tee Club,Dragon-i, Miso Cool, Earth Home, Drop, The Pure Group, Volar, The Luxe Manor,JIA, and Yumla.

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Contents

What makes Hong Kong a cool place to work,live and visit? One part is cultural. Hong Kongs history as a freeinternational port and hub, devoid of trade limitations, has created afascinating environment in which Cantonese and Chinese culture mixes easilywith Western culture and influences. Walking the streets of the busiestdistricts, you see people from all over world, hear different languages spoken,and observe interaction taking place through the language (or signs) of leastresistance. The other part has to do with Hong Kong being the fast-moving,energetic city, where people love to work and play hard. Visitors benefitespecially from the latter. As you will see in this guide, Hong Kong hasrestaurants and bars, and the facilities for you to shop til you drop, tomatch any city in the world. Hong Kong is modern and contemporary for sure,following and setting the latest trends. But always not far in the backgroundare the traditions and culture of old China. For both locals and visitors, thisfusion is what makes Hong Kong such an inspiration.

Martin Liu

Autumn, 2009

Youve had a stressful past few weeks andyour body and mind feels like they have been put through a wringer.Rejuvenation and repair is at hand in the world-class spas of Hong Kong. Youcan easily spend the best part of a day at these venues; dont be surprised ifyou completely lose track of time. Moreover, in this part of the world, men arefrequent visitors to spas, and many cater superbly for them. So, just relax

This 25,000-sq.ft spa occupies two floors andoffers an amazing range of beauty and massage treatments and wellnessfacilities. The serene, indoor swimming pool, vitality pools, amethyst crystalsteam rooms, Hamam steam and scrub room, herbal sauna, and the Roman laconiumare the stand-out features. The spa is famous for its Time Rituals treatment,in which a therapist will sit with you to analyse your problems and concernsand then select a treatment programme for the day. The pilates and yoga studiosoffer courses which are very popular. For non-hotel guests, day passes can bebought. For couples after a treat, there is the luxury Sanctuary Suite equippedwith amethyst crystal steam shower, vitality tub, futon mattress for relaxingand flat screen TV. The tranquil, temple-like interior was conceived bydesigner Peter Remedios and wellness architect Norbert Deckelmann, who haveindeed created one of the great urban spas.

Landmark Mandarin Oriental, 15Queens Road, Central

Tel: 2132 0188 Website: www.mandarinoriental.com

The Plateau was essentially Hong Kongs firstluxury spa and set a benchmark for others over the recent years. One of its discerniblefeatures is the architecture, undertaken by John Morford (who was alsoresponsible for the Park Hyatt Tokyo of Lost in Translation fame), withits beautifully thought-out angles and perspectives. Going to Plateau is ratherlike entering into a luxury boutique hotel. For the (three- or five-hour)treatment programmes, check in to one of the 14 rooms and suites, and then thespa comes to you. Each room has a king-sized futon where therapists apply theirart. The dcor is minimalist but enhanced by high-tech visual and audioequipment. The wet areas are beautifully designed with oversized baths and rainshowers. The programmes are designed for pure indulgence and relaxation.Besides these, the Plateau has nine treatment rooms, where you can select froma broad menu of beauty and relaxation treatments. A popular option for men isthe Plateau Massage (a combination of Shiatsu, Thai and Swedish techniques).The Carita Eye Treatment is popular with ladies. After all of this, go outsideto the 50-metre pool (the largest outdoor pool in Hong Kong and heated duringwinter months) and take in the urban view.

Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 HarbourRoad

Tel: 2584 7688 Website: www.hyattpure.com

If you have been to other Bliss spas in theUS and UK, you will recognise the easy-going, fun nature of Bliss Hong Kong. Aclever menu of services, together with rhythm and blues tunes, movie-while-youpedicure/manicure and its now legendary brownie buffet, has quickly establishedBliss as a popular alternative to the more traditional top-class offerings. Time Out rated it Hong Kongs best spa in 2008. True to its New York origins, theinterior is dominated by a cyan-blue colour, which creates an aquatic and jazzyfeel to the place. The Blissage 75 a 75-minute head-to-toe massageis one ofthe popular options. There are some interesting treatments that have adistinctive Asian twist, including the Ginger Rub, a scrub using ginger root,followed by a body wrap and full-body massage lasting 100 minutes. And being onthe 73rd floor, ladies can have their nails polished and painted in the nailbar whilst enjoying an unforgettable view over the Kowloon Peninsula. Bliss isa slick and stylish venue, which has certainly livened up the Hong Kong spascene in the short space of time it has been around.