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Elaine Chow: 14 March, 1986 – 27 October, 2005 – Gone, but Never Forgotten!

RIP Elaine Chow our friend and colleague who in the early hours of the 27 October 2005 committed suicide by stepping off a building.
Gone, but never forgotten!

Elaine was a wonderful, vibrant young woman, who brought joy to everyone she met. Our memories of her remain so strong and clear, that her beaming smiling face still brings a big smile to my face and a warm glow to my heart even in the darkest of days.

The pain of her death never seems to fade.

RIP Elaine you are deeply missed.

********

Suicide is not the answer.

HongKongers help each other, reach out and talk to someone…please!

If you know someone who’s talking (even jokingly) about taking teir own life then please get them help/talk to them…

If you’re thinking of committing suicide, you are not alone – talk to someone first. Suicide scars and destroys those you leave behind.
Samaritans Hong Kong: 2896 0000 www.samaritans.org.hk

Hong Kong 1-1 Bangladesh

Hong Kong conceded a late equaliser as Bangladesh grabbed a share of the points at the Kai Tak Stadium in front of over 45,000 fans.

Matt Orr scored for Hong Kong, who remain top of the group after 4 games.

Hong Kong v Bangladesh – AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers
Date: 8pm, 14 October, 2025
Venue: Kai Tak Stadium, Hong Kong

images: HKFA

Bar Leone Named World’s Best Bar…

At an event in Hong Kong, sponsored by the Hong Kong Tourist Board, “The World’s 50 Best Bars” this week announced Hong Kong’s Bar Leone as the World’s Best Bar in 2025.

Bar Leone is certainly a good bar – sadly now to be drowned in people wanting to say they’ve ‘drunk in the World’s Best Bar’! – but is it the World’s Best? Sadly, The World’s 50 Best Bars website doesn’t list any criteria to support the award.

What constitutes ‘best’ is apparently left to the judgment of 800 “drinks experts”. Each voter casts eight votes based on their best bar experiences of the previous 18 months, with a maximum of five bars in their own country. The list is the result of a simple vote count – no totals are released. No breakdown of where the ‘experts’ are from or how many are based in each country/region.

So congratulations to Bar Leone and the other bars on the list, but take the list with a large pinch of salt and get out and explore different bars to find those you enjoy.

Bar Leone
11-15 Bridges Street
Central
Hong Kong
Open: Tuesday-Sunday 17:00-late
No Reservations

images: The World’s 50 Best Bars

Bangladesh 3-4 Hong Kong

Raphaël Merkies completed his hat-trick in the 11th minute of added time to give Hong Kong all three points with a 4-3 victory over Bangladesh in the AFC Asian Cup qualification game in Dhaka.

Bangladesh v Hong Kong – AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers
Date: 8pm, 9 October, 2025
Venue: Bangladesh National Stadium, Dhaka

images: HKFA

What Are the Cricket Sixes?

The Sixes started in 1992 but it’s been seven years since the last tournament, so here’s a brief guide to what’s going on!

It’s just like traditional cricket and all the regular laws of game apply except that each match only takes around 50 minutes to complete.

Why? As the name suggests the game is six players per side compared with the usual 11, which means once the bowler and wicket-keeper are in position there aren’t many fieldsmen that the batting team need to evade to hit lots of boundaries, so scoring should be fast and furious.

Each team faces five overs each, and everyone (except for the wicketkeeper) is required to bowl one over each.

Batsmen are forced to retire at 31, but can come back in once all other batsmen have been dismissed or have retired. This can make for some interesting situations at the end of the innings with the lower-order taking risky singles knowing that if they are out, their in-form batsman can come back in.

This year at the Hong Kong Sixes, eleven international teams plus hosts Hong Kong will play 30 matches over three days. The teams are split into four pools, with the results determining the seeding positions for the knockout matches.

Finals day includes four quarter-finals, with the four losers heading into the plate tournament, while the remaining four teams compete for the major title.

There’ll also be a women’s exhibition match on Sunday.

South Africa are the defending champions and they will face Hong Kong in the opening game at 8:30am on Friday morning.

Hong Kong will be captained by Nizakat Khan.

Hong Kong Squad:
Nizakat Khan (Captain), Ehsan Khan, Benny Singh Paras, Imran Arif, Jason Lui, Sahal Malvernkar, Zeeshan Ali

HK Cricket Sixes
Date: 1-3 November, 2024
Venue: Kowloon Cricket Club
Tickets: $1,200, $700, $600, $350 from HKticketing

USMEF Oktoberfest in Central Market – 29 October, 2024

Oktoberfest is one of those fun festivals that has been adopted globally. And just as Songkran encourages us to soak others in water, Oktoberfest is an ‘excuse’ for people around the world to have fun and dance on the table…

The US Meat Export Federation hosted a night at Oktoberfest in Central Market on 29 October. The open centre of the market has been converted into a Hong Kong style German Beer Hall including a stage where traditional German music from the Notenhobler’s sets the mood.

There’s a range of traditional German dishes: pork knuckle, pretzels, sauerkraut, apple strudel and some delicious US pork ribs.

After dinner, while enjoying your beer, you can blow the big horn and start the party with some fun games.

Click here for the full gallery of images

Elaine Chow: 14 March, 1986 – 27 October, 2005 – Gone, but Never Forgotten!

In loving memory of Elaine Chow our friend and colleague who in the early hours of the 27 October 2005 committed suicide by stepping off a building. Gone, but never forgotten!

Elaine was a wonderful, vibrant young woman, who brought joy to everyone she met. Our memories of her remain so strong and clear, that beaming smiling face still brings a big smile to my face and a warm glow to my heart even in the darkest of days.

The pain of her death never seems to fade.

RIP Elaine you are deeply missed.

********

Almost 3 people a day, on average, commit suicide in Hong Kong, it’s the unseen killer, if you know someone who’s talking (even jokingly) of it get them help/talk to them.

Suicide is not the answer.

HongKongers help each other, reach out and talk to someone…please!

If you’re thinking of committing suicide, you are not alone – talk to someone first. Suicide scars and destroys those you leave behind.
Samaritans Hong Kong: 2896 0000 www.samaritans.org.hk

Choices, Choices, Choices…

Choices, choices, choices… The HKTB‘s Wine & Dine Festival is back with over 300 booths full of food and drink to explore savour and hopefully enjoy.

Everyone will have their own preferences and ideas as to how to explore the festival. My approach is what can I do and taste here which I probably can’t/wouldn’t away from the festival. And that mostly means food! There are so many wine and spirits shops in Hong Kong that you can buy a bottle of pretty much anything you want to sample away from the festival.

The Cutest drink

Honestly, to tease and please your tastebuds head to the Culinary Stars area first to sample dishes from some of Hong Kong’s finest restaurants including The Aubery, Fisholic, Hong Kong Cuisine, An Choi, The Baker and The Bottleman and The Grand HK which is showcasing their new Bakery.

Where Wine and Dine Shines…

When you go out to a restaurant you can enjoy one version of a dish. At the festival, several restaurants are, for example, offering Siu Mai – so you can buy from several booths and taste and compare them at the same time. Exploring how each chef views and thinks of such a basic staple and much-loved Hong Kong dish. The different flavours and textures are profound, surprising and delicious and will spoil you for your basic everyday version.

What Not to Miss!

The Vietnamese egg coffee at An Choi – as good, if not better than you’ll find on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City.

To the left of the entrance is the ‘hotel zone’ where some of Hong Kong fancy hotels are showcasing the favourite dishes from their restaurants. It’s also one of the areas where you can find vegetarian food.

There’s US and Argentinan Beef to enjoy.

Near the Star Fery entrance is the French zone with some lovely cheeses – a nice way to start or something to enjoy later with a glass of wine or a cocktail.

Don’t forget to take pictures of your food

There are two live music stages, both of which have chairs, when you a rest.

Cheers and Enjoy!

Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival
Date: 23-27 October, 2024
Venue: Central Harbourfront Event Space
Tickets: $400, $290, $240
Notes:
23 October 2024 (Wednesday), 7:30–11pm
24–25 October 2024 (Thursday – Friday), 4–11pm
26–27 October 2024 (Saturday – Sunday), 12–11pm