bc magazine

Upcoming Gigs, Early 2019

Here’s a round-up of some of the recent gig announcements you may have missed over the holiday period. Lots of good bands large and small coming to Hong Kong… Check out the events diary for details of all the local shows.

Kraftwerk return to Hong Kong with their 3-D Show on Monday, 29 April at Kitec’s Star Hall.
Kraftwerk 3-D Show
Date: 8pm, 29 April, 2019
Venue: Kitec, Star Hall
Tickets: $880, $680

Ed Sheeran
Date: 4pm, 17-18 April, 2019
Venue: Hong Kong Disneyland, Fantasy Road Outdoor Venue
Tickets: $1,288, $888 from HKTicketing

John Mayer
Date: 8pm, 8 April, 2019
Venue: HKCEC, Hall5BC
Tickets: $1,198, $898, $698 from HKTicketing

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe show-off their pop artistry at AsiaWorld Expo on the 29 March.
Pet Shop Boys – The Super Tour
Date: 8pm, 28 March, 2019
Venue: AsiaWorld Expo, Hall 10
Tickets: $1,288, $1,088, $888, $588 from HKTicketing

Inspired by Bowie’s Heroes album, Philip Glass’s Heroes Symphony is his tribute to the musician, performed by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Philip Glass’s David Bowie
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Date: 8pm, 15-16 February, 2019
Venue: Tsuen Wan Town Hall, Auditorium
Tickets: $320, $280, $180, $120 from Urbtix

Envy
Date: 8pm, 24 February, 2019
Venue: This Town Needs (TTN)
Tickets: $480, $380 (Advance) from Ticketflap

Music from one of the most interesting shows streaming today.
Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein: Perform the Music of Stranger Things
Date: 8pm, 8 May, 2019
Venue: MacPherson Stadium
Tickets: $550, $495, $450

Park Bo Gum – Good Day: May your everyday be a good day
Date: 8pm, 16 March, 2019
Venue: AsiaWorld Expo, Hall 10
Tickets: $1,380, $980, $680 from HKTicketing

Dean Fujioka – Born to Make History
Date: 8pm, 20 April, 2019
Venue: Kitec, Music Zone@E-Max
Tickets: $888, $688 from Cityline

Classic Christmas Eats

The temperature has finally fallen, the shops are packed high with everything Christmas related from decorations to gifts to food. New food production and flavouring techniques have allowed companies to be ever more creative with their seasonal offerings.

As usual Marks and Spencer’s has a massive range of Christmas themed food products and biscuits all nicely packaged to make nice gifts. There are new flavours of crisps: Gluten Free Pigs In Blankets; Glazed Gammon & Whisky; Gluten Free Winter Berries & Sparkling Prosecco Crisps and Port & Stilton which are novel and flavourful, but at $35/150g insanely expensive.

Where Marks & Spencer does shine is with the traditional English favourites, which we found hard to find anywhere else. There’s a range of proper Christmas puddings and a real fruit Christmas cake ($279) topped with marzipan and icing (sadly not royal icing). The fruit cake is heavy moist and delicious. While the cake is a little stingy on the marzipan, short of making your own it’s the best we found.

And last but by no means least Marks has several packages of premixed herbs and spices to create your own mulled wine. They also work very well with spirits to create some tasty homemade cocktails.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Marks-Spencer-Christmas-2018/i-mZ9pcr2

Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost

In 1907 The Honourable Charles Rolls and his intrepid engineer friend Sir Henry Royce together with Claude Johnson took a car they had created and built and drove it between London and Scotland 27 times (almost 15,000 miles) before it broke down. And in doing so created a legend, the Silver Ghost, and an iconic brand Rolls-Royce.

To honour the AX201, Rolls-Royce commissioned a limited edition anniversary edition, one of which arrived in Hong Kong this month and it can be yours for around $7.8million at the Queen’s Road showroom.

The bespoke edition is replete with references to that original Silver Ghost and yet loaded with modern technology and craftsmanship, much of it completed by hand, that has to be seen and touched to be appreciated.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Rolls-Royce-Silver-Ghost-Hong-Kong-Launch-14-December-2018/i-7G3Zcpc

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Rolls-Royce-Silver-Ghost-Hong-Kong-Launch-14-December-2018/i-dpzc2KT

Images: Rolls-Royce

Explore the World of Wine & Spirits

This year’s Wine & Spirits Fair at the HKCEC runs from the 8-10 November and features pavilions from wine-producing regions, trade organisations and governmental organisations. There are new pavilions from the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Sichuan Council, the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province, Ningxia’s General Office of Administrative Committee of Grape Industry Zong of Helan Mountain’s East Foothill Wine Region, the Czech Grape and Wine Producer Association, Gifu Prefecture and the Niigata Sake Brewers’ Association from Japan, and Peru.

If you’re not a wine lover or fancy something different there is Liquor & Beverage Products Zone, a Whisky and Spirits Zone and a Beer Zone. As well as an Organic Wine and Spirits corner and for those wanting something to pair with all this alcohol there’s a food area and also intriguingly a “World of Olive Oil” where you can learn about and taste premium olive oils.

The first two days are for trade only, the public day on the 10 November runs from 10:30am and entry costs $200.

Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair
Date: 8-10 November, 2018
Venues: HKCEC
Tickets: $200

Wine & Dine Festival 2018 – Opening Night, 25 October, 2018

The 10th Wine & Dine Festival opened under a full moon at Central Harbourfront with a dramatic drone dance over the waters of Victoria Harbour. The novel performance was but a momentary distraction to the festival visitors who danced among the booths sampling tasty bites from across the globe paired to a plethora of wines, coffee, spirits and craft beer.
Click on any photo for the full gallery of images

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Hong Kong Cyclothon – 13 October, 2018

In the dawn’s early light thousands of cyclists and fourteen professional cycle teams pedalled their way across Hong Kong in the fourth annual Cyclothon.

In the afternoon the eleven UCI WorldTour Teams, three Pro Continental Teams and the Hong Kong National Team raced all-out in Hammer Hong Kong, the Asian leg of the professional Hammer Series. Team Mitchelton-Scott emerging victorious on the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui to win the Hammer trophy.

Click on any photo for more images.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Hong-Kong-Cyclothon-13-October-2018/i-wsKzx7n

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https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Hong-Kong-Cyclothon-13-October-2018/i-NFmkwVq

Images: HKTB

High Speed Rail is Finally Here

The new Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong High Speed Rail (Hong Kong Section) will finally start operation on the 23 September 2018. Ticket pre-sales starts on the 10 September 2018 for the short haul journeys to and from the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and the six Mainland stations Futian, Shenzhenbei, Guangmingcheng, Humen, Qingsheng and Guangzhounan, as well as medium to long haul journeys connecting to destinations across China.

The first departure is at 7am with the last train leaving at 11pm and according to the MTR train frequency depends on demand. There are four ticket classes: Second, First, Premium and Business and for example the prices of a one-way trip to Guangzhou are $247, $371, $423, $519 respectively.

All classes appear to enjoy a basic set of facilities which includes free wi-fi, power sockets (either individual seat sockets or per row) and free hot water if you bring your own cup. Trains have 68 first and 511 second class seats spread across 8 compartments.

Note: Just to fully show who is in control ticket prices are set in Renminbi (RMB) and will vary depending on the HK$/RMB exchange rate! So prices will change daily if you pay in HK$.

Tickets can be bought up to 30 days in advance. Onlineticketing is here www.highspeed.mtr.com.hk, with ticket sales closing 2 hours before departure. At West Kowloon Station you can buy tickets up to 45 minutes before departure. Partial refunds are available and you can change your ticket times once based on the purchase deadlines.

bc has asked the MTR for clarification on the fares, how to buy return tickets – which appear to unavailable, you have to buy two single tickets – but the MTR have refused to reply.

The high speed rail was sold to HongKongers (we paid for it all) as reducing the journey time to Guangzhou but according to the published timetable most trains from HK only go Shenzhen – again the MTR have refused to respond to clarification on this.

If you have to change trains in Shenzhen to trains which do not have the features sold with your ticket (the last high speed train bc took in China, had no power sockets or free wifi in second class) what really is the point of the billions of taxpayer dollars spent on building the line.

PizzaExpress x JUST Egg Vegan Pizza

The assorted healthy / diet fads that are sweeping the web and restaurants both locally and internationally often obscures the fact that some people really cannot eat gluten, dairy, eggs etc. And it can be really difficult for those with dietary restrictions to safely enjoy a meal out with friends.

PizzaExpress has teamed up with JUST Egg to expand it’s vegan and vegetarian menu offerings with new pizza and pasta dishes. JUST Egg is a new mung bean based plant alternative to egg that is high in protein and cholesterol free. Like real eggs Just Egg scrambles nicely to create a light fluffy texture and it also works well in cooking as both a binding and emulsifying agent.

The two new vegan dishes are currently only available at the recently opened Pizza Express Lee Tung in Wanchai. The JUST Pizza ($138) is dressed with tomato sauce and topped with scrambled JUST Egg, crumbled vegan sausage, button mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, vegan mozzarella and fresh rosemary.

The JUST Spaghetti ($128) is made with a JUST Egg, mushroom, liquid smoke puree and tossed with chopped peppadew and parsley.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2018/Pizza-Express-Just-Egg-Vegan-Pizza-Launch-14-August-2018/i-SFPLcCQ

Pizza Express Lee Tung

Shop G31, Lee Tung Avenue, 200 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai
Tel: 3164 1303
www.pizzaexpress.com.hk

Note: JUST Egg was previously known as JUST Scramble