https://www.scmp.com/rss/324247/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Upper Lascar Row, also known as Cat Street, on Hong Kong Island is famous for its shops and stalls selling antiques and bric-a-brac. But one of the oldest businesses on the street has nothing to do with those trades. Fu Li Metal, run by 74-year-old Ho Wing-sun, is like a time capsule. Meet the people from Hong Kong’s understairs shops: the locksmith The workshop has barely changed since Ho’s father opened it before the second world war. Surrounded by antique shops and trendy bars, Ho toils away... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2149469/hong-kong-artisans-who-can-bash-sheet-metal-anything-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2149469/hong-kong-artisans-who-can-bash-sheet-metal-anything-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Jun 2018 11:16:22 +0000 A pedicure is considered a mere beauty treatment or a pampering indulgence by many, but for some, it is a necessity. Ingrown toenails, verrucas and warts are just some of the problems that a Shanghainese pedicurist has to deal with on a daily basis. Does the art of face threading have a future in Hong Kong? A Shanghai pedicure is a technical procedure which involves shaving away calluses on the feet using different types of scalpels. Blades are also used to trim the toenails and to remove any... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2134731/toughest-foot-problems-only-shanghai-pedicure-will-do-where?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2134731/toughest-foot-problems-only-shanghai-pedicure-will-do-where?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Feb 2018 10:15:15 +0000 It’s the crack of dawn, and Choi Lai-Kwan dresses in her traditional Chinese outfit, before dashing out the door to a client’s house. Choi is a dai kam jie, or bride chaperone, hired by couples ahead of their big day to guide them through the traditions and rituals of a Chinese wedding. Trained as a social worker in her early 20s, Choi – now in her 40s – even acts as a counsellor when families argue during the stressful wedding planning phase. It is just after 8am when she arrives at the house... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/2118542/why-hong-kong-couples-opt-chinese-wedding-chaperone?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/families/article/2118542/why-hong-kong-couples-opt-chinese-wedding-chaperone?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Nov 2017 11:15:00 +0000 With more than half a dozen mahjong parlours in the area, it is surprising to see Biu Kee Mahjong, a maker of artisan mahjong tiles, struggling. Proprietor Cheung Shun-king, 63, whose shop on Jordan Road is just opposite the entrance to the Temple Street night market, is one of the few masters of making hand-carved mahjong tiles left in Hong Kong. “There was no formal training or apprenticeship [when I started],” he says. “We’d come back from school and watch how my father and my grandfather did... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2112874/hong-kongs-tiny-understairs-shops-artisan-mahjong-tile?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2112874/hong-kongs-tiny-understairs-shops-artisan-mahjong-tile?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Sep 2017 02:33:44 +0000 For the past three decades, Yeung Fook’s daily routine has been the same: go to Ka Ho Restaurant on Queen’s Road Central for breakfast, then walk to his tiny shop nearby and start making cheongsam – Chinese style dresses also known as qipao – for his clients. Yeung, 72, is the owner of Man Hing Tailor, an “understairs shop” on Elgin Street in Central. Surrounded by the swanky restaurants and expensive bars of the SoHo upscale dining area, the shop is an unlikely find. Why Yau Ma Tei estate was a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2110796/hong-kongs-tiny-understairs-shops-elgin-street-tailor-who?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2110796/hong-kongs-tiny-understairs-shops-elgin-street-tailor-who?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Sep 2017 10:45:30 +0000 Standing under a staircase between the looming Sogo shopping mall in Causeway Bay and a chain pharmacy, 68-year-old Chan Wai-tong carefully transforms what looks like a metal cupboard into a fully kitted-out locksmith store. First he removes the metal doors, then he takes several machines out of the cupboard. Next he pulls out a counter top, fastens it in place and puts the machines on top. Why Hongkongers set such store by patent medicines and herbal tea Chi Shun Locksmiths occupies less than... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2108616/hong-kongs-tiny-understairs-shops-locksmith-squeezed-next?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2108616/hong-kongs-tiny-understairs-shops-locksmith-squeezed-next?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Aug 2017 09:31:49 +0000 Facials are a hugely popular beauty treatment, but they can be expensive. There is an alternative and traditional procedure available in Hong Kong. Chinese face threading claims the same results but costs a fraction of the price. The concept of this ancient Chinese beauty treatment is simple. Directly translated as “threading face” (xian mian), it is a process to remove facial hair. In most of the world, threading is usually focused on eyebrow shaping and upper lip hair removal, whereas the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/2096622/does-art-face-threading-have-future-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/2096622/does-art-face-threading-have-future-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jun 2017 03:15:45 +0000 Pasu Ng Kwai-lun, 36, is a soft-spoken young man. Fashionably dressed, he fixes his funky glasses as he speaks passionately about his craft – preserving dead bodies. Ng attended the Hong Kong Art School and Polytechnic University design school, and he started out as a freelance graphic designer before his family, questioning the industry’s stability, lured him into the family embalming business. Only half convinced of the wisdom in such a drastic career change, Ng became a funeral-home... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/2087691/how-hong-kong-embalmers-graphic-artist-training-helps-him?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/2087691/how-hong-kong-embalmers-graphic-artist-training-helps-him?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Apr 2017 23:30:15 +0000 In the crumbling old Kowloon neighbourhood of To Kwa Wan, cha chaan teng – Hong Kong tea restaurants – rub shoulders with traditional Chinese medicine shops and family-run grocery stores. The area of low-rise residential blocks and factory buildings near the city’s former Kai Tak airport has maintained much of its local character. On a corner of Kowloon City Road, next to a string of car repair workshops, is the On Lok Factory Building. Although it’s no longer churning out commercial goods, it... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2084392/hong-kong-upcycling-group-urban-renewal-community-and-making-good-use?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/2084392/hong-kong-upcycling-group-urban-renewal-community-and-making-good-use?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Apr 2017 04:31:42 +0000