It's hard to get too upbeat about the city's rainy, humid summers. But the French don't seem to mind. The Aperitif a la Francaise on Thursday at the W's Entrecote restaurant celebrated le Bal de la Saint Jean. 'It's the French way to celebrate the beginning of summer,' explained organiser Anita Ma Yu-shuen. Held at the end of Le French May, the Aperitif is co-ordinated internationally by French food industry group Sopexa. 'It's the third time this event is being held in Hong Kong, and 28 other cities are celebrating the same theme on this night,' Ma said. We're not sure the crowd knew much about the Gallic festive day, but they certainly enjoyed the food. Ma added that traditionally the beginning of summer was celebrated by dancing around bonfires. Open flames weren't part of last Thursday's festivities, although cheesy artificial fires were dotted around the venue. Where commerce rules, customs be damned. Same goes for the orange and green dress code abundant on the night. 'There's no cultural significance, it merely matches the graphic we used to promote this year's event.'