https://www.scmp.com/rss/308448/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Our insatiable desire to vacate crowded cities for much-needed convalescing has only been intensified by the coronavirus, but with lots of destinations and resorts closed or unable to accommodate as many visitors as they once could, escaping to a private island could be the answer. Here is a trinity of tropical hideaways that you can rent out in their entirety. St Barts is back: how one holiday paradise bounced back from the pandemic Felicité Island, Seychelles This private island in the Indian... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3097712/seychelles-mozambique-maldives-3-luxury-tropical-islands?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3097712/seychelles-mozambique-maldives-3-luxury-tropical-islands?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Aug 2020 19:00:06 +0000 Not all cars are created equally. Some have intrinsic historic value while others have value thrust upon them by virtue of who drove it or what the car “achieved”. Either way, when coveted cars go up for auction, there is a flurry of activity and a gaggle of buyers lined up to pay extraordinary amounts for them. We spoke to RM Sotheby's, one of the world’s foremost classic car auctioneers, about the top 10 most expensive cars they have ever sold at auction – with prices beginning just shy of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3080436/ferrari-jaguar-aston-martin-and-alfa-romeo-are-among?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3080436/ferrari-jaguar-aston-martin-and-alfa-romeo-are-among?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Apr 2020 08:00:21 +0000 British food critic Andy Hayler, the first person to have visited every three-star Michelin restaurant in the world, says there are at least two reasons there are few Asian fine-dining “chains”. “In general, fine dining is not something that easily lends itself to mass roll-outs in the way that can be done with pizzas or burgers or dumplings,” Hayler says. “There are actually few fine dining ‘chains’ in general, with the obvious exception being L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon.” That Robuchon has the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3046826/how-hutong-mott-32-and-yamazato-are-paving-way-asian-fine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/3046826/how-hutong-mott-32-and-yamazato-are-paving-way-asian-fine?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jan 2020 04:00:16 +0000 Christmas is perhaps the best time of year for those who like to go all out – whether that means trimming your tree with beautiful baubles or giving grandiose gifts. For anyone who wants to spoil themselves or a loved one, there are plenty of outrageously opulent options out there in 2019. Jazz up your tree To add a touch of luxury to your Christmas tree, Austrian glass and crystal company Swarovski (the same name that provided Audrey Hepburn’s necklace in Breakfast at Tiffany’s) has a range of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3043344/swarovski-tree-ornaments-us6000-crackers-how-have-most?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/luxury/article/3043344/swarovski-tree-ornaments-us6000-crackers-how-have-most?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Dec 2019 06:00:10 +0000 Travelling can be exhausting, and even human frequent fliers need advice on how to relax during a stressful flight; it’s no wonder that jet-setting pets need some TLC, too. This has not gone unnoticed by the hospitality industry, which is happy to cater to whims and demands are greeted with smiles. Check out a few holiday and staycation options for those who want to pamper their four-legged companions. Four Seasons Several properties in the portfolio of the global hospitality powerhouse offer... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3024100/michelin-star-food-and-private-shopping-five-star?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3024100/michelin-star-food-and-private-shopping-five-star?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Aug 2019 03:00:09 +0000 The Wagyu story can be a little complicated. Translated literally as Japanese beef, Wagyu is any one of four breeds of cattle that are considered indigenous to Japan – black, brown, shorthorn and poll. Then there are full-bloods (100 per cent), purebred (greater than 93.75 per cent) and crossbreeds (greater than 50 per cent). And amazingly, the entire population of Wagyu outside Japan can be traced to fewer than 200 exports to the United States. In another twist, Japanese Wagyu was not even... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3007768/how-wagyu-beef-cattle-found-home-american-farms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3007768/how-wagyu-beef-cattle-found-home-american-farms?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Apr 2019 08:00:09 +0000 Stretching for 4,800km, from British Columbia, in Canada, to New Mexico, in the United States, the Rocky Mountains are one of the most spectacular and accessible ranges on the planet. With 30 of its highest peaks, the Colorado section is an incredible outdoor playground. Although the peaks are blanketed in snow for a large part of the year, when the meltwater has finally turned streams back into torrents and lakes and reservoirs into water-sports venues, 2,000 cyclists take to the roads and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2106158/ride-rockies-720km-cycling-challenge-through-majestic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/2106158/ride-rockies-720km-cycling-challenge-through-majestic?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Aug 2017 10:16:01 +0000 Thanks to digital cameras and smartphones, photography has never been more accessible or more popular. The photo sharing app Instagram sees an average of 80 million images shared every day and estimates that around 40 billion have been uploaded since it launched in October 2010. Facebook, which bought Instagram in 2012, sees a staggering 300 million photographs uploaded every day. Then there are the Chinese social media platforms.  Macau has plenty of interesting and photogenic spots that are... https://www.scmp.com/destination-macau/article/1948609/why-macau-model-city-when-it-comes-taking-great-photos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/destination-macau/article/1948609/why-macau-model-city-when-it-comes-taking-great-photos?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 May 2016 08:30:00 +0000 Whether it is a piece that people are barely aware of, such as the Forever Handshake sculpture at Sun Yat Sen Park, or the hard-to-miss Crystal Pool at the Galaxy Macau, which cost US$20 million and was designed by four-time Emmy Award winner Jeremy Railton, there are plenty of startling works of art in Macau, hidden in plain sight. Here is a small selection of the city’s more interesting works of art, as well as some pieces that would not be out of place in the world’s great galleries and... https://www.scmp.com/destination-macau/article/1947230/macaus-secret-world-rare-and-acclaimed-works-art?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/destination-macau/article/1947230/macaus-secret-world-rare-and-acclaimed-works-art?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 May 2016 04:00:45 +0000 Scratching beneath Macau’s façade of glitzy gaming centres and charming colonial streets is no simple task to the untrained eye, or for those who don’t speak or read Cantonese. But there is plenty worth digging around for, whether it is for the origin of Ian Fleming’s Bond villain Goldfinger, the interesting corpses in Macau’s cemeteries or the cinematic chronicles of the city. Two years before the release of Warner Bros’ The Jazz Singer, a film often attributed as being the first “talkie”, in... https://www.scmp.com/destination-macau/article/1935707/macaus-best-kept-secrets-gangsters-home-made-bombs-and-citys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/destination-macau/article/1935707/macaus-best-kept-secrets-gangsters-home-made-bombs-and-citys?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Apr 2016 04:53:41 +0000 FUN AND GAMES I always made music just for the pure pleasure of it. That might sound obvious but I don't think I ever made music thinking it would be my career. It felt like a passionate hobby that I took really seriously. I thought it was a thing other people did for a living so I always just pursued it, like I played computer games or read books, as just something I did. By the time I was 20, I still didn't think music would be my career. I was playing in all types of bands and I was in hip... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/music/article/1896766/jamie-cullum-how-hip-hop-turned-him-jazz-player?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/music/article/1896766/jamie-cullum-how-hip-hop-turned-him-jazz-player?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Dec 2015 10:15:45 +0000 Nick Moloney has been around boats and their crews since he was a young child growing up on the coast of Victoria, Australia. In 2002, he was part of the team that won the Jules Verne Trophy, breaking the record for the fastest circumnavigation of the world by over a week; he’s also the current holder of the Cariad Trophy for the fastest circumnavigation of Hong Kong Island, which he set in 2013. And this year he set a record of five hours for windsurfing from Hong Kong to Macau. SEE ALSO: Hong... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/1895544/five-ways-get-launched-sailing-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/1895544/five-ways-get-launched-sailing-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000 At the age of eight, Australian sailor Nick Moloney used to help the owner of a small sail shop on the Barwon River in Victoria state pack away the sails every day in exchange for time in a boat. Moloney grew up about 500 metres from the waters of the Bass Strait and it would be from the Barwon River that, as a grown-up, he would set off to windsurf from the Australian mainland to Tasmania. Twenty-two hours and 230 kilometres later he had set a record for the crossing; he is still the only... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/1895545/hong-kong-macau-windsurfer-hopes-more-take-water-sports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/1895545/hong-kong-macau-windsurfer-hopes-more-take-water-sports?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000 Jayden Oh has been through a lot for someone so young. In 2013, aged just five, he had a triple heart bypass, and while the surgery went well, he's still not out of danger. It's been a long and bumpy road for Jayden: on the one hand, his story credits the great support from Hong Kong's medical staff, but also exposes the dire state of its organ donor programme. It's also been tough on Jayden's parents, British-born Dave and his Hong Kong wife Meko, who first noticed something wrong with their... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1564298/calling-all-organ-donors-hong-kong-needs-you?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health/article/1564298/calling-all-organ-donors-hong-kong-needs-you?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Aug 2014 02:29:52 +0000 The people in Colorado are a little different from other Americans. It could be all the sunshine they say they get. It could be the thin air. Either way, they are, they say, statistically the healthiest folk in the union. They are also strangely obsessed with elevation. The state's many small mountain towns all have signs informing visitors of their altitude and population - in that order. Ask a Coloradan the population of their town and they'll probably get it to within a few thousand or even a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1562531/high-and-mighty-colorado?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1562531/high-and-mighty-colorado?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Aug 2014 15:30:00 +0000 I wanted my next spa experience to be masculine, more macho, more ... deep than previous ones, so I decided a deep tissue massage was what I needed. Yes, the music would still be new age and the lighting soft and forgiving, but the massage would be manly. Well, the 60-minute deep tissue massage at MGM Macau's Six Senses Spa was certainly that. Along with thoroughly kneaded, knot-free muscles, I came away from Six Senses wondering just where these often diminutive masseuses get their strength and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1548825/grooming-fix-deep-tissue-massage-mgm-macaus-six-senses-spa-manly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1548825/grooming-fix-deep-tissue-massage-mgm-macaus-six-senses-spa-manly?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Jul 2014 14:30:30 +0000 ALBERGUE 1601 Easily the most graceful venue on the list, Albergue 1601 is set in a courtyard with shuttered buildings and two huge trees in Macau's St Lazarus Quarter, with the high ceilings, wooden floors and white tablecloths lending an air of class. The clams in white wine, garlic and cilantro (148 patacas) were delicious, and the saline liquor given up by the clams and the wine made for a deliciously salty dressing. The arroz de pato (baked duck rice, 138 patacas) came decorated with a few... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48-hours/article/1546582/we-tell-you-where-find-good-quality-affordable-eateries-macau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48-hours/article/1546582/we-tell-you-where-find-good-quality-affordable-eateries-macau?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Jul 2014 14:30:30 +0000 Beer and sport go together like Wayne Rooney and older women, but too much loudmouth soup will cause your brain dura to shrink and pull away from your skull, which can be painful. Try our tips (none of which are exactly scientifically verified) to survive the day after. Prevention is better than cure The tried and tested method of eating before you start, drinking moderately and drinking a glass of water for every alcoholic drink helps prevent a hangover. But you won't drink moderately and you... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1521939/hangover-survival-tips?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1521939/hangover-survival-tips?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Jun 2014 15:41:08 +0000 In my somewhat limited experience, terms like "facial" and "relaxing deep cleanse" are capable of striking fear into the hearts of most alpha males. Call it a sports massage and it's fine, call it a gender neutral luxurious silk and cashmere treatment and you'll get a few raised eyebrows. It certainly raised mine. The Spa at Wynn's 90-minute signature Silk and Cashmere Awakening treatment is, I am told, gender neutral and is offered for both both singles or couples. My girlfriend and I... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1502596/beauty-fix-silk-and-cashmere-awakening-treatment-wynn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/48hrs/article/1502596/beauty-fix-silk-and-cashmere-awakening-treatment-wynn?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 May 2014 14:45:30 +0000 Eastern European wines long had a reputation for being of inferior quality, often poorly made using antiquated equipment. However, heavy investment in the winemaking industries of several countries over the past 20 years has had a dramatic impact, and many wines are now of sufficient quality to be exported around the world, including Hong Kong. At a recent Post blind tasting of wines from the region, our panel discovered that although a few wines were below par, many were of a far higher... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-wine/article/1458462/our-panel-pundits-put-eastern-european-wines-taste-test?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-wine/article/1458462/our-panel-pundits-put-eastern-european-wines-taste-test?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Mar 2014 16:30:00 +0000 THE KNACK OF IT I started face painting at 15 as a way of earning pocket money. I got so caught up in make-up artistry and wanted to work with these guys in theatre that I forgot I actually wanted to be an artist. One of my ex-boyfriends from back in the day said to me, when my art career started to climb, "It's wonderful - you're finally getting to do what you've always wanted to do." I said, "What's that?" He said, "Art." We're taught that we have to do "normal" things to survive and I think... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1447202/my-life-emma-hack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1447202/my-life-emma-hack?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Mar 2014 16:30:15 +0000 Robert Gorjak of Dveri-Pax winery, a mid-size Slovenian winery that produces around 300,000 bottles a year from 75 hectares of land in northwestern Slovenia, was in Hong Kong recently to introduce his wines to Asia. Gorjak explains that, in the Yugoslav era, the wine industry was hampered by a state-led drive for quantity over quality. "The big explosion of private producers happened in the 1990s when we got independence. They were good times," he says. Nowadays, more producers are aiming for... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1411859/slovenian-winemakers-seek-apostles-spread-word-best-labels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1411859/slovenian-winemakers-seek-apostles-spread-word-best-labels?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Jan 2014 01:08:44 +0000 Is there anything more Irish than Guinness? Is any other country more globally recognised through a single product? Linking the drink to St Patrick's Day is a marketing coup of the highest order and you must doff a ginger-wig-fringed hat to drinks giant Diageo, the owner of Guinness, for the way that it has made Ireland and Irishness synonymous with its product. If Welsh brewer Brains has its way, Wales will be synonymous with their its brew, Brains Black , which is coming to Hong Kong this... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1395947/welsh-answer-guinness-coming-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1395947/welsh-answer-guinness-coming-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jan 2014 11:15:45 +0000 Is there anything more Irish than Guinness? Is any other country more globally recognised through a single product? Linking the drink to St Patrick’s Day is a marketing coup of the highest order and you must doff a ginger-wig-fringed hat to drinks giant Diageo, the owner of Guinness, for the way that it has made Ireland and Irishness synonymous with its product.  If Welsh brewer Brains has its way, Wales will be synonymous with their new brew, Brains Black, which is coming to Hong Kong this... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1395655/good-news-stout-drinkers-welsh-answer-guinness-coming-hong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1395655/good-news-stout-drinkers-welsh-answer-guinness-coming-hong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jan 2014 02:15:15 +0000 Not knowing the difference between bad, good or great wine can make casual wine shoppers reluctant to take a leap of faith. But for most of my drinking life, I have enjoyed bottles of wine that cost no more than about HK$70. So I am convinced that with a little inside knowledge the average Hong Kong supermarket would reveal affordable wines ranging from drinkable to excellent. To put this theory to the test, I persuaded Charles Curtis, a Master of Wine and former head of wine for Christie's in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1349866/citys-supermarkets-offer-great-value-wines-if-you-know-what?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1349866/citys-supermarkets-offer-great-value-wines-if-you-know-what?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Nov 2013 10:45:45 +0000