- Elaine
Monday, 31 August 2009
By The Way - Entertainment that costs only 20 bucks!
- Elaine
Friday, 28 August 2009
Binge - More Moon (cakes) Rising
Goodwood Park Hotel
22 Scotts Road,
Tel: 6730 1867/1868
First Marco Polo potters over the China and claims our mee, kway teow, wonton and mee pok as pasta. Now COVA Pasticceria, that Italian haven of deliciousness ensconced in tai-tai paradise, Paragon, has announced the Torta Della Luna - or Cake of the Moon. Sacrilege! Four flavours - the Rose & Vanilla Sponge combines vanilla sponge cake with chocolate and pastry cream in rose-scented snowskin, and the Peanut & Chocolate Sponge, looking suspiciously like mee chian kueh, is chocolate sponge cake layered with chocolate feuillentine (a fancy name for chocolate cream mixed with cereal), peanut butter cream and chopped peanuts. There’s also Chocolate and Lotus Seed Paste which is a lotus seed paste mooncake with a dark chocolate ganache centre, and mango and Lotus Seed Paste, with mango ganache centre ($36 for a box of 4). Granted they do sound quite yummy, and I will be inclined to try….But calling it Torta Della Luna? Now that’s a little hard to swallow. (Available until 28 August - 3 Oct)
290 Orchard Road
#01-20A Paragon
Tel: 6733 0777
This Weekend - Go Fly Kite!
Thursday, 27 August 2009
By The Way - You 'oughta' HOTA
Friday, 21 August 2009
Breakaway - Moon Over Water & Just Desserts
Three hour package at HK$23,000 for up to 30 persons with buffet dinner, 3-hours unlimited free pouring of wines and drinks, etc. Two hour drinks and canapé sailing at HK$300 per head.
Tel: 852 2116 8821 or email aqualuna@aqua.com.hk for details.
A Necessary Extravagance
To maintain one's fabuliciousness, some amount of extravagance is called for - in restrained, stylish doses in keeping with the current economic mood. Smaller, but more frequent doses of fabuliciousness can work, and we suggest Ms B’s Sweets. We, ourselves, were gobsmack, over the moon with just one look at these confections, found at Ms. B’s Sweets in Hong Kong’s super-chic SEVVA. Of these sinful mounds of gorgeousness, bestsellers are Ms Gokson's 'Original Crunch Cakes', 'Marie Antoinette’s Crave' cakes and classic Lemon Meringue Pie. Look out for divine new offerings recently rolled out, with equally glamorous names like Coco, comprising coconut mousse on light coconut sponge with coconut macaroon and fresh whipped cream, Divine, chocolate truffle on triple chocolate sponge with blackberries, raspberries and strawberries, and Marrakesh, which is an almond sponge with pistachio butter cream. (Prices range from HK$400-450 for 500g cakes to HK$650-750 for 1 kg).
And while you’re there, drink in the extravagant five-foot vintage Venini chandelier, one of a pair that graced the British Embassy in Rome in the 1950s. The rest of the restaurant is soaked in lusciousness too, especially with its rooftop terrace and 360-degree view of the skyline. Perfect for a luxurious spot of moongazing!
10 Chater Road Central,
Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2537 1388
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Binge - SimplyFab's Mooncake Gift Guide
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Binge - The Lighthouse
Thursday, 13 August 2009
BTW – Firm Foundations
But conversations among friends have revealed that many of us are similarly challenged with this issue of colours and hues on a daily basis. (The small blessing is that at least we have a spectrum of colours enough to be mismatched!) A friend did say once that she kept away from colours and styles – save for the most conventional – as she was troubled by what the maid might think amid doing the laundry. So I will hazard to guess that G-strings and T-backs will not be part of her repertoire. In fact, as you will see in our little chat with lingerie expert in the story below, most women in our vintage go for pieces with more fabric.
But freshly post-World Underwear Day, I ask, must it be? At the halfway mark of one’s expected lifespan, is one waiting for the BIG 50 to venture into adventurous undergarments? Not long ago I pottered out to procure some to experiment with. To cut a long story short, flossing from G-strings was unbearable, inconceivable as a piece of clothing to don daily and for me, an unthinkable prospect. Boy shorts were even more uncomfortable. But interestingly, T-backs were great. Highly comfy, and a boon for travelling light (dries superfast, too), they come in all sorts of scintillating designs at places like Oohtique. Only thing is, you should wear it with skirts of heftier weight and length cos you don’t really want to go jiggling your buns down the street!...and oh yes, don’t get tangled in all the stringy bits.
I discovered some interesting stats too: 49% of women prefer panties, 28% thongs and 13% boyshorts. And adventures of all adventures!...6% prefer to go commando! And while we’re at it, might as well take a peek at the guys: 25% like boxers, 32% briefs, 28% boxer briefs…though I’ll be pretty suspicious of the 4% that do thongs and 7% go without. I’d say the 7% step into hazardous areas as those who didn’t get the snip risk getting zipped….and to extricate oneself, says a friend, is even more excruciating. Italians wear red, Argentineans wear pink, and Brazilians wear brand new underwear on New Year’s Eve…how about Singaporeans? Oh yes….boring beige?
Nay, tis time to sally forth and enhance one’s practical foundation wardrobe with colours, styles, fabrics, and liberalise oneself!!
But I digress. One thing Elaine and I were mulling over is…what is your underwear personality? We are great believers that what one wears is an extension of what one is. So with our amateur attempts, let’s try to navigate this maze of personality….
Grandma Undies – Don’t knock this one. People who still do Granny underpants these days in the face of all the variety available are probably individualistic and bold enough to disregard what others are marketing. So either they’re super conservative and stand firm, or closet glamour queens weighed down with luggage, waiting for to burst forth into self expression given half a chance and six months of sit ups.
Bikini Panties – Shall we guess that most of us fall into this category? Practical people comfy in our own skin, but still with a bit of raciness? Let us guess further – still buying Triumph brand, right? Since our secondary school days?
G-strings – Masochists and dentally obsessed who can’t floss enough.
Are we right?
BTW - How To Have A Cuppa
SF: Most advice on getting the right bra size talks about avoiding overflowing cups. But how about those of us who go through life with cups half empty?
PY: Ladies who are unable to fill up even the smallest cups or if they are in between cup sizes can turn to silicone pad inserts (aka the chicken fillets) which can be inserted at the bottom of the cups to fill in the gaps. Or fabric foam inserts which may be more comfortable than silicon inserts, or at least lighter.
SF: If there’s hardly anything to push up, what can bras do that Nature and Willpower cannot?
PY: Deep V or Deep Plunging bras have the same effect too. These bras have built-in padding and the center gap between the cups are very close to each other. The way the bra is constructed is to push from the sides, and voila! A nice cleavage.
SF: How about a checklist of points to look out for in the fitting room?
PY: Many of us assume we wear the same bra size for every brand. But the cutting and sizing differ with each brand, and our bodies change all the time. It is best to get fitted every time we go lingerie shopping. Try the piece on and ensure the size is right. Here’s what you should look out for:
Correct band size. Use the middle hook for new bras. That’s ‘cos the band and the elastic will stretch out slightly with regular wash and wear.
No overspilling or muffin tops; watch out for cups which are too small or a style that’s suitable for your body shape.
No excess flesh spilling out of the back band. If there is, the band size is not right.
Straps mustn’t ‘eat’ into the flesh. Ensure straps are adjusted to comfortably fit a finger under it when worn.
The centre of the bra shouldn’t cut into the flesh. If it does, cup size is wrong.
SF: Lacy things are great, but how do you wear those under fitting evening dresses? Or is boring cotton our only salvation?
PY: I’m afraid lacy lingerie will not be able to provide the smooth finishing effect like a seamless lingerie". But nowadays, they are not only available in boring cotton. Brands like Chantelle have come up with a line called Ultra Invisible – smooth finishing with soft satin materials. Satin will give it a more luxe look and feels better than cotton. It’s sexy and functional for our evening dresses. Sadly though, you’ll have to leave the Super Sexy Lace Lingerie for other outfits or other purposes.
SF: Aside from cavorting in the bedroom, do ‘baby dolls’ and ‘slips’ have a practical purpose?
PY: Babydolls can be worn like an inner piece under a blazer so you don’t have to wear a bra + an inner blouse. Slips can be worn under an outfit to make the body more streamline or under sheer dresses.
SF: Should g-strings floss?
PY: Good g-strings should not floss and give a sore butt. Ensure that the crotch lengths are not too short or not too long. If it's too short, it will definitely give you a sore butt. If it's too long, the string behind will be moving constantly and cause discomfort as well.
SF: Boy shorts ride up when you walk and catch you in the crotch – is it a matter of wrong size?
PY: Yes, it's most prob too big a size.
SF: What are the top underwear no-nos?
PY: Oh, I like this one:
· Visible panty lines (aka VPL). Ladies, there are plenty of seamless underwear around!
· Wearing a dark coloured pair of underwear under light coloured pants or skirt
· Wearing high-cut underwear with low cut pants or jeans
· Showing the T-back string when wearing low cut jeans
· Badly fitted underwear causing spillover of the tummy and love handles. Panties are supposed to have some form of ‘tummy control’.
SF: Based on your experience, what sort of underwear do most women in their 30s and 40s like to buy? Why?
PY: For panties, they usually go for boyshorts, shorties or regular briefs. This is because these panties provide some form of tummy control. Young girls usually go for g-strings. Seamless and light-coloured panties are popular across the board. For bras, a high percentage of them will purchase T-Shirt bras in basic colours (nude, black or white). Very basic styles for easy everyday wear. Most important to them is they must be comfortable and functional.
The 3 must haves from the Passionata Range:
#1 Sexy, Fashion Bra - White Nights range
(Push Up Bra + Shorty)
#2 Contemporary, Modern Bra - Passio Original Bra
(this is a favourite among consumers world wide and Singapore)
#3 Daily Essential, Comfort - Nude Sensitive T-Shirt Bra or Strapless Bra (The ultimate invisible bra)
Sizes range from 32 to 36, A-D Cups and XS to L. Available at Takashimaya, Tangs Orchard, Metro Paragon and BHG Bugis.
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Boudoir - Bedroom Bests
Sunday, 2 August 2009
By The Way - Doggie Style!
Chart courtesy of the Hong Kong Observatory