bc magazine

Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Centre Reopens

After an extensive revamp of its exhibition materials, the Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Centre at the Sam Tung Uk Museum in the New Territories has reopened.

Declared a historical monument in 1981, Sam Tung Uk is a 200-year-old Hakka walled village that was converted into a museum in 1987. In 2016, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office opened the “Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Centre” to raise awareness of local Hong Kong culture.

The new Lost and Sound – Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage exhibit is a combination of three exhibitions exploring the vibrancy of local folk culture.

The themes of the exhibition series are Hong Kong Festivals and Traditional Craftsmanship, Ordinary ∙ Extraordinary and Sam Tung Uk and Traditional Village Culture.

Showcased are an array of local traditional cultures and craftsmanship including the techniques for making flower boards, lion heads, wood carving, Hong Kong cheongsams, guangcai, Chiu Chow sugar loafs, mahjong tiles, galvanised iron products, dim sum and bamboo steamers, as well as performances in traditional festivals such as hand puppet Cantonese opera, bayin (eight categories of instrumental music) and unicorn dance.

Sam Tung Uk Museum
2 Kwu Uk Lane,
Tsuen Wan, New Territories

Opening Hours: Monday, Wednesday to Sunday – 10 am to 6 pm.
Entry is Free

Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal 2021

They died for our freedom and we should never forget..
At the going down of the sun…
And in the morning…
We shall remember them

Volunteers young & old, are selling poppies in support of the Royal British Legion on the streets of Central on 13 November, 2021.

Poppies can be obtained at the following location:
Temporary Poppy Depot at Room 3505, The Landmark Edinburgh Tower, Landmark Atrium, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong (Tel : 2713 3315).
Opening hours: Mondays-Fridays 9am-5pm

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Poppy-Appeal-7-November-2020/i-b9VtNq5

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Poppy-Appeal-7-November-2020/i-4Z9GKMS

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Poppy-Appeal-7-November-2020/i-xw3b78Z

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Poppy-Appeal-7-November-2020/i-W7LgLdn

Images: Royal British Legion Hong Kong

LeaveHomeSafe App Required for Government Buildings

From 1 November usage of the ‘LeaveHomeSafe‘ mobile app will be strictly enforced for employees and members of the public when entering government buildings.

Scanning of the venue QR code will be required for entry.

What exactly constitutes a ‘government building’ is not defined in the announcement.

The more important question is if the government are willing to mandate usage of the LeaveHomeSafe app to enter. Why won’t they take the commonsense step and only allow entry to vaccinated people?

A requirement that is in place in several countries across the world. This would quickly boost the vaccination levels in the SAR.

New Quarantine Hotel List Announced: 1 December 2021 – 28 February, 2022

An updated list of 40 designated Hong Kong quarantine hotels for the period 1 December 2021 – 28 February 2022 (sixth cycle) has been released.

The list of designated hotels in the sixth cycle features 11,500 rooms and related details such as room rates have been uploaded to www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/designated-hotel.html, or download the pdf here.

New hotels for this cycle are: iclub Fortress Hill Hotel; O’Hotel; Nina Hotel Tsuen Wan West (Tower 1); Lanson Place Causeway Bay; Holiday Inn Golden Mile.

Rates for many hotels have risen sharply for this sixth cycle!

There is an excellent google docs form here about the various hotels including room prices, contact details, restrictions.

A facebook group exists Transfer HK Quarantine Hotel Reservations to connect those who have a reservation and can’t use it with those looking for a room.

Central and Western District
1. Best Western Plus Hotel Hong Kong
2. CM+ Hotels & Serviced Apartments
3. Grand City Hotel
4. JEN Hong Kong by Shangri-La
5. Lan Kwai Fong Hotel @ Kau U Fong
6. One-Eight-One Hotel & Serviced Residences
7. Ramada Hong Kong Harbour View
8. The Landmark Mandarin Oriental
9. Courtyard by Marriott Hong Kong
10. Ovolo Central

Hong Kong Eastern District
1. iclub Fortress Hill Hotel
2. Ramada Hong Kong Grand View

Islands District
1. Four Points by Sheraton Hong Kong Tung Chung
2. Regal Airport Hotel

Kowloon City District
1. Bridal Tea House Hotel Hung Hom Gillies Avenue South
2. iclub Ma Tau Wai Hotel
3. Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong
4. Metropark Hotel Kowloon Hong Kong
5. Regal Oriental Hotel
6. O’Hotel

Kwai Tsing District
1. Dorsett Tsuen Wan

Hong Kong Southern District
1. Nina Hotel Island South (Formerly L’hotel Island South)
2. Ovolo Southside

Tsuen Wan District
1. Nina Hotel Tsuen Wan West (Tower 1)
2. Silka Far East Hotel Hong Kong

Wan Chai District
1. Best Western Hotel Causeway Bay
2. Dorsett Wanchai Hong Kong
3. Hotel Indigo Hong Kong Island
4. Mira Moon Hotel
5. Lanson Place Causeway Bay
6. Eco Tree Hotel Causeway Bay
7. Crowne Plaza Hong Kong Causeway Bay
8. Empire Prestige Causeway Bay
9. Empire Hotel Causeway Bay

Wong Tai Sin District
1. Pentahotel Hong Kong

Kowloon Yau Tsim Mong District
1. Bridal Tea House Hotel Yau Ma Tei Wing Sing Lane
2. Dorsett Mongkok Hong Kong
3. Ramada Hong Kong Grand
4. Silka Seaview Hotel Hong Kong
5. Holiday Inn Golden Mile

27 Anniversary, bc magazine

Happy Birthday to us!

Twenty-seven years ago today, bc magazine debuted on the streets of Hong Kong.

What an amazing experience it has been – highs, lows, depths of despair, top of the world…

A lot of people – staff, friends, advertisers and readers have been involved through the years, thank you for your continued support and strength.

We are HongKongers!

Taste x Fresh Opens in Kowloon Bay

Shoppers in and around Kowloon Bay have somewhere new to spend their consumption vouchers with the opening of Taste x Fresh, a new supermarket partnership on the first floor of Amoy Plaza.

How does it differ from a ‘traditional’ Park’n’Shop Taste… The store is split into sixteen zones with the Taste areas pretty much as you’d expect; full (too full) of a wide range of products from across the globe, with multiple product promotion areas to encourage you to taste, try and buy.

Fresh have turned the regular fruit and vegetable section into an air-con premium version of a Hong Kong market. Instead of regular fruit and veg, there are Korean and Japanese versions. Instead of local meat, it’s tasty American, Australian, Japanese beef, pork and chicken imported and served chilled and sliced.

Something a little different to many supermarkets is that you can, as it was explained to bc, buy your meat or seafood and then have it cooked how you like it at one of the surrounding cooked food ‘stalls’. Unfortunately, the store was a little packed on opening day to test this process – but the theory is sound. And having it in a shopping centre is nice if you’re feeling a little peckish and/or lazy.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/20210818-Taste-x-Fresh-Opening-Kowloon-Bay/i-zkhFsx6

The store is an interesting experiment/collaboration and probably offers people in the area access to products and tastes that perhaps they haven’t been exposed to before.

But, and there’s sadly a massive BUT to give all this overseas food a premium look and to keep it fresh it’s bundled and covered in tons of plastic and packaging with not a mention of recycling to be seen.

Sadly it’s not something limited to Taste x Fresh, it’s a problem that’s been slowly smothering Hong Kong supermarkets for a few years. It’s just disappointing for a brand new partnership to see that so little thought appears to have gone into reuse and recycle. There are shops in Hong Kong where you can for example bring your own containers for dried goods.

Park’n’Shop and Uni-China Group have looked to offer something new, and if you live close you’ll find an expanded range of products – sadly they’ll be smothered in multiple layers of plastic…

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/20210818-Taste-x-Fresh-Opening-Kowloon-Bay/i-FL2Frf5

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2021/20210818-Taste-x-Fresh-Opening-Kowloon-Bay/i-g75Bw54

Taste x Fresh
1/F, Phase 1, Amoy Plaza, 77 Ngau Tau Kok Road, Kowloon Bay.
Opening hours: 8 am to 10:30 pm.

Government Extends Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance (Cap. 599) to March 31, 2022

The Government announced today (10 August) that it will extend the expiry dates of various regulations under the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance (Cap. 599) to March 31, 2022

A Government spokesman explained that extending the expiry dates of the relevant regulations maintains the legal frameworks for the implementation of the relevant infection control measures. It does not imply that the restrictions currently imposed under those regulations will be maintained until the corresponding expiry dates.

The relevant statutory framework has provisions in place to allow flexibility such that the Government may tighten, relax or even suspend specific requirements and conditions subject to development of the epidemic situation.

“We will continue to closely monitor the development of the epidemic situation and review the various measures in place from time to time with a view to making suitable adjustments taking into account all relevant factors,” said the spokesman.

Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance (Cap. 599)

(1) Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap. 599C)

(2) Prevention and Control of Disease (Disclosure of Information) Regulation (Cap. 599D)

(3) Compulsory Quarantine of Persons Arriving at Hong Kong from Foreign Places Regulation (Cap. 599E)

(4) Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F)

(5) Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation (Cap. 599G)

(6) Prevention and Control of Disease (Regulation of Cross-boundary Conveyances and Travellers) Regulation (Cap. 599H)

(7) Prevention and Control of Disease (Wearing of Mask) Regulation (Cap. 599I)

(8) Prevention and Control of Disease (Compulsory Testing for Certain Persons) Regulation (Cap. 599J)

((1)-(7) above are currently effective till September 30, 2021. (8) is currently effective till August 14, 2021)

Consumption Vouchers Registration Closes 14 August

Registration for the Consumption Voucher Scheme will close this Saturday, 14 August.

Each eligible person can only register once and duplicate registrations will not be processed.

Octopus Card users will first receive HK$2,000, another HK$2,000 two months later, and then HK$1,000 several weeks after that.

People who receive the vouchers via their AlipayHK, Tap & Go or WeChat Pay HK digital wallets will first get HK$2,000 and then HK$3,000 two months later.

People who completed their registration on or after 18 July, and those who submitted paper registration forms, will receive the first $2,000 tranche of consumption vouchers on 1 September.

If you have not applied, registration closes on 14 August www.consumptionvoucher.gov.hk