https://www.scmp.com/rss/519628/feed Vanessa is an art, fashion and lifestyle writer and creative consultant from Vancouver, Canada. She is currently based in Hong Kong. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Vanessa Lee Vanessa Lee “Have you ever had fried bananas in Chinese food before?” Lap-see Lam asks with a twinkle in her eye over our video call between Stockholm and Hong Kong. I admit I haven’t, at least not of the Chinese persuasion. The artist explains that fried bananas with syrup and ice cream is a typical Swedish-Chinese dish. Another is Swedish meatballs in tomato sauce served with rice. But the most remarkable is a dish called “four small dishes”. “It’s basically different dishes on the same plate, and... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3347328/multimedia-artist-lap-see-lams-hong-kong-show-explores-cultural-identity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3347328/multimedia-artist-lap-see-lams-hong-kong-show-explores-cultural-identity?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 04:15:07 +0000 Vanessa Lee Vanessa Lee Ardy Ferguson seems relaxed, or as relaxed as he could be for somebody about to compete in the most prestigious young chefs’ competition in the world. The first time I meet him is in the spotless kitchen of one-Michelin-starred Belon – one of Hong Kong’s most recognisable French restaurants – where he can be found most days, more so in the immediate run-up to the grand finale of the S.Pellegrino Young Chefs Academy Competition (SPYCA). At the age of 30, the Indonesian-Canadian has already risen... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3340146/ardy-fergusons-road-spellegrino-young-chef-crown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3340146/ardy-fergusons-road-spellegrino-young-chef-crown?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Jan 2026 00:00:11 +0000 Vanessa Lee Vanessa Lee One of the newest additions to Hong Kong’s inimitable skyline is The Henderson: a shining, undulating sci-fi fantasy of a building by Zaha Hadid Architects that is mind-bending in more ways than one. When it was bought, in 2017, the plot on which it stands – at 2 Murray Road in Central – set a record for the most expensive in the world, at about US$3 billion; and the finished structure features state-of-the-art construction techniques and nifty features such as AI-optimised lifts. Which is all... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3332825/peridot-hong-kongs-sky-high-playground-radical-food-and-rare-spirits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3332825/peridot-hong-kongs-sky-high-playground-radical-food-and-rare-spirits?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Nov 2025 04:00:17 +0000 Vanessa Lee Vanessa Lee “It can be quite intimidating to say the word ‘million’ so many times in one sale,” says Emmanuelle Chan. Composed and clad in a flowing cerulean jumpsuit, Chan is one of the youngest, most recognisable auctioneers at Christie’s Asia-Pacific. “With time, I’ve gotten more comfortable with bigger numbers,” she says. Born and raised in Hong Kong, the 36-year-old now heads the day sales and is a specialist in 20th and 21st century art. She leads auctions in Mandarin, English and French. But she... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3330229/selling-multimillion-dollar-art-its-just-another-day-christies-hong-kong-auctioneer-emmanuelle-chan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3330229/selling-multimillion-dollar-art-its-just-another-day-christies-hong-kong-auctioneer-emmanuelle-chan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Oct 2025 04:45:08 +0000 Vanessa Lee Vanessa Lee In the mid-20th century, rows of tightly moored houseboats floated in the marinas of Aberdeen, Shau Kei Wan and Tai O, forming floating cities where entire generations grew up on the water. At their peak, thousands of Tanka boats inhabited the waters of Hong Kong, families spending much of their lives on their boats, with up to 10 children and adults sleeping side by side on the floor at night. Threading his sampan through Aberdeen marina, Lam Lau says he’s been selling his famed boat noodles to... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3322665/meet-people-keeping-original-hong-kong-cuisine-alive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3322665/meet-people-keeping-original-hong-kong-cuisine-alive?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Aug 2025 10:00:14 +0000 Vanessa Lee Vanessa Lee Almost everyone in Hong Kong knows Laughing Cow: the grinning red cow on a round blue-and-white box, packed with foil-wrapped triangles of soft, tangy cheese with an unmistakably artificial plastic sheen. Surprisingly, it’s also beloved in France, the land of strict appellations and strong opinions on dairy. For Jeremy Evrard, owner of the much-buzzed-about cheese omakase Roucou, that was where the obsession started. “My mother would buy La Vache qui rit at the supermarket. I always kept the... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3318079/behind-counter-hong-kongs-first-cheese-omakase?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3318079/behind-counter-hong-kongs-first-cheese-omakase?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 15 Jul 2025 22:00:07 +0000 Vanessa Lee Vanessa Lee Nietzsche once wrote, “When you gaze long into the void, the void also gazes into you.” Surely he did not imagine swaying on a wire or clinging to a rock face thousands of feet in the air, despite gravity’s strongest persuasions. That precarious position is exactly what drives Corps extrêmes. Held in the Xiqu Centre in West Kowloon, far from any gaping abyss, the performance still induces the second-hand vertigo of witnessing humans confront extreme heights. Punctuated by video projections and... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3316981/french-theatre-production-scaling-literal-and-philosophical-heights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3316981/french-theatre-production-scaling-literal-and-philosophical-heights?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Jul 2025 22:15:07 +0000 Vanessa Lee Vanessa Lee As a Hongkonger, I have no childhood memories of the Chinese olive. Zero. And it wasn’t until a few years ago I had my first encounter with this fruit in pickled form. Even without tasting it, the sight of the black-green paste, swaddled in oil the colour of a dark lake, told me it was going to be rich, or at the very least, interesting. What is that? I asked my mother, pointing at the jar. Her answer was plain: “They’re olives. Put them in your congee.” Tasting pickled olives for the first time... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3313044/whats-chinese-olive-history-behind-congee-ingredient?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3313044/whats-chinese-olive-history-behind-congee-ingredient?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Jun 2025 10:15:08 +0000 Vanessa Lee Vanessa Lee “It’s not some sort of crossover. It’s not fusion. We make Shanghainese food here,” says chef Edmond Ip, referring to his latest post at Shanghai Plus in Wan Chai. There is no shortage of xiaolongbao or Shanghai fried noodles in Hong Kong, but Ip is doing something novel at Shanghai Plus, turning a cuisine defined by heavy flavours and sauces into something lighter, adamant that his 77-item menu contain no additives or artificial flavourings, and sourcing local produce whenever possible. Despite... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3309762/how-chef-gives-shanghainese-cuisine-cantonese-touch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3309762/how-chef-gives-shanghainese-cuisine-cantonese-touch?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 May 2025 08:00:08 +0000 Vanessa Lee Vanessa Lee For Amir Javaid, founder of Socio on Staunton Street, running out of stuff is kind of the whole point. Each cocktail on the bar’s menu features waste products, or, more palatably, upcycled ingredients, from a nearby restaurant. There’s Butter down the street, Hooked on Caine Road and Uncle Miguel on Peel Street. Sustainability is a term often thrown around in haughty circles while Hong Kong bars like Socio have been implementing green practices with little fanfare all along. Javaid says he likes... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3308201/are-zero-waste-bars-actually-feasible?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3308201/are-zero-waste-bars-actually-feasible?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Apr 2025 10:15:07 +0000 Chef Sandy Keung isn’t one for estimations. When I ask her to visualise her future in five to 10 years, she swiftly interjects. “Six years,” she says. “That’s when the lease is up.” The lease in question is for a swanky space on the 23rd floor of the gallery-filled H Queen’s building in the heart of Central, where she has just relocated her 11-year-old restaurant, Table, from its previous home in Sheung Wan. Just like her dishes, Keung is hard to define. Coming into food from finance means her... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3305050/fine-dining-jazz-and-lego-art-sandy-keungs-unconventional-approach-cuisine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3305050/fine-dining-jazz-and-lego-art-sandy-keungs-unconventional-approach-cuisine?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:00:09 +0000 I spent my early childhood in mainland China. My mother took me to different parts of China because of her job – she worked between journalism, trading and publishing. I don’t know the exact order of what she was doing, but I remember going between Shanghai, Shenzhen and Nanning, near the border with Vietnam. Around the age of 12, I was sent to England. Like many young people at the time, I was part of the wave of kids sent to study abroad. Luck of the draw In elementary school, we were... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3303243/angelle-siyang-le-journey-brought-her-art-basel-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3303243/angelle-siyang-le-journey-brought-her-art-basel-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Mar 2025 04:00:08 +0000 Great minds blazing a trail: meet the women who are leading the way in the realm of science and invention. See our other feature on Gina Jiang, Florence Chan and Wendy Lam. “I only do mental health. This is the core theme of my life. I can’t do anything else,” Megan Lam says of her work. She is joking, but it is also the truth. Lam, 32, is the co-founder of Neurum Health, a B2B company that specialises in digital mental health through artificial intelligence and machine learning. Its goal, she... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3301498/how-megan-lam-transformed-mental-health-asia-ai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3301498/how-megan-lam-transformed-mental-health-asia-ai?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Mar 2025 22:15:13 +0000 Vanessa Lee Vanessa Lee New faces of heritage: for four artists at the forefront of their craft, a deep sense of Hong Kong’s past is fuelling their vision for the future. See our other features on Dennis Mak, Jive Lau and Mitche Choi Andy Lau Tak-wah. Faye Wong. Anita Mui Yim-fong. Leon Lai Ming. Even without knowing a single chorus, anyone who calls Hong Kong home is likely familiar with such performing greats of the 1980s and 90s. Cantopop is as deeply embedded in Hong Kong’s identity as its dim sum, cha chaan teng... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3298458/hong-kong-singer-songwriter-kiri-t-her-own-brand-cantopop?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3298458/hong-kong-singer-songwriter-kiri-t-her-own-brand-cantopop?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Feb 2025 02:15:07 +0000 “What’s the highest number of courts I’ve shot in a day?” Austin Bell asks with a smile. “Guess.” I gave what I considered an unreasonably high number: “300?” The answer was 475. By courts, we mean basketball, and Bell, a photographer from North Carolina, in the United States, recently completed a four-year project, shooting every basketball court in Hong Kong. Bell’s record day involved a 6.30am start to visit 327 locations to shoot those 475 courts. By his calculations, he shot 18 per cent of... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3295960/how-photographers-obsession-hong-kongs-basketball-courts-led-shooting-hoops?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3295960/how-photographers-obsession-hong-kongs-basketball-courts-led-shooting-hoops?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Feb 2025 02:00:09 +0000 Sarah Andelman. It’s hard to describe her to someone who doesn’t already know her name. Those who do, know her as someone recognised throughout the worlds of fashion and art for her impeccable taste. Yet Andelman has spent more than 10 years avoiding the spotlight, even as she has named Chanel, Hermès and Pharrell Williams among her many collaborators. When she started her agency, Just An Idea, in 2018, she told brands her role was behind the scenes rather than as the face of a project. Though,... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3287389/meet-low-profile-founder-paris-iconic-collette-boutique-whos-finally-embracing-limelight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3287389/meet-low-profile-founder-paris-iconic-collette-boutique-whos-finally-embracing-limelight?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Nov 2024 00:15:07 +0000 Vanessa Lee Vanessa Lee What’s the worst part of hosting a dinner party? Sadly, it’s the most essential part of hosting a dinner party: cooking and cleaning. Though many can help with the latter, it’s harder to delegate the former, and more difficult still to find someone who can complete the task at a fine-dining level. Yet, a growing class of private chefs in Hong Kong are providing exactly that: Michelin-worthy meals created in the comfort of one’s own kitchen. The city’s restaurant industry still hasn’t recovered... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3285295/meet-chefs-bringing-michelin-worthy-food-private-homes-and-kitchens-hong-kong-peking-duck-chiuchow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3285295/meet-chefs-bringing-michelin-worthy-food-private-homes-and-kitchens-hong-kong-peking-duck-chiuchow?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Nov 2024 09:46:51 +0000 Verdy has taken over PostMag’s print issue cover this week with a custom design. It’s a collector’s edition in limited circulation – and we’ve made it even more fun by printing a double cover so you don’t know what you’re going to get. Pick up a copy inside the Sunday Morning Post newspaper on October 13. In an empty Pacific Place, Verdy is up to his neck in a ball pit the size of a swimming pool. The Japanese graphic artist catches my approach and shoots me a wide grin, with one arm held aloft... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3281827/how-fatherhood-inspired-two-asias-coolest-creative-names-launch-giant-installation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3281827/how-fatherhood-inspired-two-asias-coolest-creative-names-launch-giant-installation?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Oct 2024 08:15:12 +0000 What’s a true Hong Kong moment? How about chewing the fat with three young local chefs, all at the helm of top-notch fine-dining establishments – and having the subject of instant noodles coming up more than once? “That’s my lifeblood,” Antoni Au Ho-yin says vehemently. A cheerful, bespectacled individual known affectionately as “Toni”, Au is currently stationed in Shenzhen as consulting chef for French bistro L’Avenue. French haute cuisine may be the Écriture restaurant alum’s bread and butter,... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3279347/why-these-fine-dining-chefs-love-instant-noodles-and-how-theyre-firing-hong-kongs-culinary-scene?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/food-drink/article/3279347/why-these-fine-dining-chefs-love-instant-noodles-and-how-theyre-firing-hong-kongs-culinary-scene?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Sep 2024 04:00:09 +0000 On any given day of the week, a queue of hungry patrons can be seen outside the doors of Hong Kong’s Bakehouse outlets. Despite the patisserie expanding to an impressive five outposts around highly trafficked neighbourhoods (Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, SoHo and Stanley), the appetite for chef-owner Grégoire Michaud’s airy croissants and sourdough egg tarts remains unsatisfied, judging by the throngs of patient customers waiting in 30-degree-Celsius-plus temperatures. Although four of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3275443/viral-fb-brands-bakehouse-coa-and-elephant-grounds-have-conquered-hong-kong-can-they-take-china-too?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/food-drink/article/3275443/viral-fb-brands-bakehouse-coa-and-elephant-grounds-have-conquered-hong-kong-can-they-take-china-too?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 29 Aug 2024 23:45:08 +0000