Category: lifestyle

McLaren 720S Debuts in Hong Kong

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The first second generation McLaren supercar the 720S made it’s debut locally yesterday after it’s recent global launch at the Geneva Motor Show.

The mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive, two-seat McLaren is the successor to the 650 Series. The completely redesigned carbon-fibre body is kilograms lighter than the previous edition. While the new twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine produces 720PS (hence the name) and 770Nm, with a power-to- weight ratio of up to 561PS per tonne.

What those numbers translate to, on roads where you can safely enjoy it, is 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds! And a top speed of 212 mph. 0-200 km/h takes 7.8 seconds, while braking from 200 km/h to standstill is almost half that, just 4.6 seconds and covering 117m.

Perhaps the most noticeable changes though are the sharp new profile with sculptured air intakes on the sides replacing the radiator and the increased amount of interior space. The 720S feels much bigger inside and is certainly easier to get into and out of.

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Check out the new 720S at McLaren’s showroom at  213 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai.

 

Our Sanrio Times, Memories of an Iconic Kitty

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Is there a company or character that has permeated life more enduringly over the last four decades than Sanrio’s Hello Kitty? Like her or loath her Hello Kitty has endured despite being leveraged and branded across every product under the sun and then some.

Even Disney who’ve created some truly iconic characters must wonder why no amount of over exposure or crass marketing harms the kitty’s appeal. Why is someone willing, for example, to pay a significant premium for an apple with a Hello Kitty sticker on it than exactly the same unstickered apple next to it on the shelf?

A new exhibition in Macau, Our Sanrio Times, will showcase some of Hello Kitty’s and other Sanrio characters merchandising over the last 40 years. There are also several interactive zones. Whether you like it or not will depend on your affection for the brand, but it’s also interesting to see how the types of items have changed over the years. A vintage Hello Kitty letter opener is a stark reminder as to how communication has changed in just the last decade. As is the exhibitions merchandise store full of phone covers.

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Our-Sanrio-Times-Press-Conference-Studio-City-Macau-21-June/i-F8WsTfT

Our Sanrio Times
Date: 28 July-3 September, 2017
Venue: Studio City, Macau
Tickets: $150

Spirits Pairing Event @ Park Lane Hotel – 24 June, 2017

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A spirits pairing and tasting event at the Park Lane Hotel on the 24 June included masterclasses, cocktails and even cigars with instruction and advice on mixing, pairing and enjoying a wide range of spirits.
Click on any photo for the full gallery of images.

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Leisure Facilities Free Use Day For HKSAR’s 20th Anniversary

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) will hold a Free Use Day on 1 July. The aim is to encourage people of all ages to do more physical exercise and develop a healthy lifestyle and bring exercise into daily life.

Various normally fee-charging LCSD facilities will be open for free on 1 July. The facilities include:

Indoor facilities: badminton courts, tennis courts, basketball courts, netball courts, volleyball courts, squash courts, table tennis tables, American pool tables, billiard tables, sport climbing walls, bowling greens, golf facilities, fitness rooms, activity rooms, dance rooms, cycling track.

Outdoor facilities: tennis courts, tennis practice courts, bowling greens, batting cages, sport climbing walls, archery ranges, a rope course and golf facilities (excluding camp facilities, sports grounds and artificial and natural turf pitches); Public swimming pools (excluding Wan Chai Swimming Pool); and craft at water sports centres.

Bookings for land-based leisure facilities and craft at water sports centres on 1 July can be made at the Leisure Link booking counters at LCSD venues (except for self-service kiosks) from 9am on 24 June. Each person can only book one free session on a first-come, first-served basis irrespective of the type of facility.

No prior booking is required for public swimming pools where entrance is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Leisure Facilities Free Use Day
Date: 1 July, 2017
Venue: LCSD Sports Facilities
Tickets: Free
More info: Bookings from 24 June. www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/freeuseday/index.html.

Surface Family Available in Microsoft’s HK Online Store

https://bcmagazine.smugmug.com/Bcene-photos/2017/Microsoft-Surface-Press-Conference-June-2017/i-nR8phZv

It’s been 18 months since the last real Microsoft Surface launch, a lifetime in computing terms. So what’s new? Pretty much everything, the Surface family now features four product lines: Surface Studio; Surface Book; Surface Pro and Surface Laptop all of which include a touchscreen and pen input.

Microsoft’s Hong Kong General Manager Horace Chow was upbeat and confident about the new Surface range of products with several digs at ipads and macbooks during his presentation. Will the new Surface machines attract Mac users – it will be interesting to see.

The rather lovely looking Surface Studio is a beautiful high resolution 28 inch touchscreen on a massive hinge which can stand vertically, lie completely flat or anywhere inbetween. Prices start from $24,888

The Surface Book is Microsoft’s top end laptop released in 2015 and updated last year, version 2 was expected to be released this month but has been delayed. It features a detachable 13.5 inch screen, separate graphics processor and ‘proper’ keyboard. Prices start from $11,588

The Surface Pro is a powerful laptop with a 12.3 inch touchscreen, back stand and an Alcantara fabric keyboard. The press release claims 14 hours of battery, life more than enough for a full day’s work. Prices start from $6,988

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The thin light Surface Laptop has a 13.5inch gorilla glass touchscreen and an Alcantara fabric keyboard and comes in four colours: platinum, graphite gold, cobalt blue and burgundy. Sadly the colour options are only available in a specific configuration. Prices start from $7,888.

Confusingly all four lines are sold with different versions of Windows, although it appears you can upgrade to Windows Pro free of charge until the end of 2017.

What to buy? There are now so many different chip sets, generations and numbers that it’s easy to become confused as to what to buy. Unlike a decade ago where the difference between generations of  Intel chips was massive, the differences in use for most everyday tasks will be barely noticeable. So unless your doing heavy number crunching or video encoding then choose the one that feels good to use with as much storage and ram as you can afford at www.microsoftstore.com.hk.

16 June 2017: Edited to reflect that the different colour Surface laptops are available in Hong Kong.

HK Spirits & Pairing Festival 2017

Later this month on the rooftop of The Park Lane Hotel as well as a gorgeous view of Victoria Harbour you’ll be able to sample over 100 spirits and pair them with a range of cigars. The first HK Spirits & Pairing Festival offers whiskey and whisky as well as gin, rum and a range of cocktails.

Whisky with or without an ‘e’, countries with an ‘e’ in their name tend to use an e for their whiskey, is a generic term for a spirit distilled from a mash of fermented grains. There are a multitude of different whiskies including bourbon, rye, Tennessee, Scotch, Irish, Japanese, Canadian… distilled across the globe each very different from the other. And yet while wine tastings are ten-a-penny, there are few broad range spirits tastings. So if you fancy a dram or two…

HK Spirits & Pairing Festival 2017
Date: 12pm, 24 June, 2017
Venue: The Park Lane Hotel, Rooftop
Tickets: $680, $300

Art Central VIP Preview @ Central Harbourfront – 20 March, 2017

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The sun emerged, after weeks in hiding, to shine on the start of Art Week and turn Art Central’s two massive tents into impromptu saunas. That didn’t deter the opening day crowds who flocked to see what was on show.

Again there’s a little of something for everyone but the trend still seems to be for massive works that look fine in a big tent, but would be out of place in our space saving flats. Last years paint a massive picture cut it up and give away the pieces has in true HK style been replaced with a massive painting where you can buy a small square…

Art Central runs until the 25 March, click on any photo for the full gallery.

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Taste of Hong Kong @ Central Harbourfront – 16 March, 2017

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Four days of delicious food on the Central Harbourfront, Taste 2017 is a vast improvement on 2016. The restaurants are more prepared, have a better understanding of the event, have prepped more portions (3-500 portions per regular dish/session seemed the average) so it’s unlikely they’ll run out… Purchasing food is quicker and easier. There’s more seating – if a lack of bins.

It’s expensive, dining at these 16 restaurants is anyway, but the food dishes we tasted were good. The portion sizes of some dishes are a little small for the price, the paper plates environmentally friendly but not the best given the quality of the food. And there’s lots of samples from the various shops and market to try.

While all 16 featured outlets are worth taking a look at, Richard Ekkebus Culinary Director at Amber has done something more than a little special – and raised the bar for all participants for next year – he’s set up a special seated dining area and each session the producers and suppliers of the ingredients of each of his dishes are introducing and talking about what you are eating. Fascinating!
Click on any photo for the full gallery of images.

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