By filling their flat with treasures old and new, a designer helped a retired couple, who had spent the past two decades away, ease into their new life.

Yoga teacher Leila Fronza Quites was reminded of her homeland by the natural light in her Discovery Bay apartment. The decor reinforces that feeling.

Humble post-war Hong Kong tenement buildings, or tong lau, are getting a new lease of life as big developers seize on their potential. Architects talk about the challenges and rewards of revamping the hastily built utilitarian blocks.

Private clubs have been part of Hong Kong’s social fabric since its earliest days as a British colony, as places to meet and deal. Today the future of many is in doubt – accused of elitism, their facilities underused, their membership ageing.

Designer Enoch Hui’s client asked him to transform an apartment above his Kowloon unit into an upscale party pad.

Some beers cut through the taste of intense dishes, others complement food, and still others contrast with what’s on the plate. Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong are working with craft breweries on beers to accompany specific dishes.

The industrial Hong Kong neighbourhood where the spark for the 1967 riots was lit, San Po Kong wears its history lightly. Now a creative hotbed, it’s had a part to play in this year’s protests in the city – a peaceful one.

Architect’s space-saving design for family’s apartment in Kam Tin, Hong Kong, conceals cupboards, drawers, and even the kitchen pantry.

Hong Kong has 263 islands and many of them can be easily visited via boat from the Central ferry piers. Enjoy Lamma’s seafood restaurants and pubs, Po Toi’s hiking trails, the rugged beauty of Ping Chau and lots more.

While the search for the perfect Hong Kong Instagram shot can shed light on once neglected areas, it can also take a turn for the absurd.

Before the 1980s, people from across Kowloon flocked to Tsuen Wan’s seven beaches for their spectacular views before worsening water quality forced visitors to find cleaner spots. Now the beaches are returning to their former glory.

One of Kowloon’s ‘green lungs’, King’s Park is a mix of sports pitches, private clubs, and bits of public park; its tenants include the People’s Liberation Army. Not so long ago it was a place where children grew up and ran wild.

The King George V Memorial Parks in Jordan and Sai Ying Pun provide a welcome splash of greenery in two dense urban areas that have too few of them; with historic walls and buildings, they offer an oasis of calm and are worth a detour to visit.

Hotels such as St. Regis and Eaton HK are rethinking the concept of common areas, with a nod to Hong Kong’s past and a firm eye on the future. Specialist coffee shops, co-working spaces, artist studios and galleries have replaced typical glossy lobby areas.

First developed by Eurasian businessman Sir Robert Hotung, Tai Kok Tsui in Kowloon has been changed repeatedly by reclamation and redevelopment; its latest incarnation is as a nightlife destination, but it’s retained a village feel.

Going north from Jordan Road through the lively neighbourhoods of Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok, this is the unglamorous part of glitzy Canton Road. But what it lacks in sophistication it more than makes up for in character.

Miniwiz’s portable, solar-powered reprocessing machines take consumer waste and turns it into construction tiles; it is one of a number of the firm’s showcase projects that highlight what recovered waste materials can really do.

The narrow streets of Taipa Village, a historical enclave of Portuguese colonial architecture, have seen a new generation of cafes, restaurants and cultural spaces open, infusing the old settlement with fresh energy.

The city’s top eateries have increasingly sophisticated and rare wine lists, and are offering oenophiles bold new food pairings

From refurbished Salisbury Garden to West Kowloon to the revamped Avenue of Stars, new life is being breathed into Hong Kong’s harbourfront, mixing with the buskers, fishermen and takeaway stalls that have been around for years.

The park in Tsim Sha Tsui sits on the site of a military barracks, and the green space hides a past that included atrocities under Japanese occupation; an underrated destination, it has a range of amentiies and some majestic trees.

Built on reclaimed land at the turn of the 20th century, Statue Square met the need for a public place in which to bask in the glory of empire; long a magnet for political rallies, today the square is a gathering place for domestic helpers.

Densely packed high-rises are the most space-efficient way to house people, but they have also been accused of creating anonymous, atomised cities. Some architects are trying to change this

A stone’s throw from the densely populated centre of urban Kowloon, leafy, low-rise Kadoorie Hill looks like a place from another world – and that’s just how the wealthy family that owns the neighbourhood wants to keep it.

Whether it’s beer, wine or bubbly, eggnog, a Flying Hong Kong or a Vet’s Antidote, bars are concocting exotic drinks old and new to go down a seasonal treat

Taking its branding from the image of performers such as Al Jolson, Darkie was launched in the 1930s, a time when racial discrimination was rife. The name was changed to Darlie in 1989 to reflect public opinion in the West.

Business of Design Week in Hong Kong devotes a day to discussion of culture-led design projects around the world, such as city’s Tai Kwun arts centre in former police station’s heritage buildings, with speakers including Ron Arad, Charles Renfro and Elaine Ng

Notoriously overdeveloped and at times jammed with traffic, middle-class Mid-Levels, midway between The Peak and busy Central and Wan Chai, is rich in history and hidden gems – it may just be the city’s quintessential neighbourhood.

Hong Kong’s original garden city, Kowloon Tong started out as a middle-class Eurasian enclave surrounded by shanty towns.

It lacks the obvious appeal of some other cities, but beneath the surface is a place that’s constantly being reshaped by immigration, with all the cultural and culinary riches that brings, and where nature is ever-present.