Belinda Bath | stylebriefHongKong

Halloween

With Halloween just a few days away we thought we should post a shoot we recently worked on for Playtimes magazine. We found some great suppliers and ideas that might help get you in the mood for some spooky fun. The cupcakes and cakepops are from Party Mate Cakes and we commissioned mini pumpkin pies from RJ at Tai Tai Pie Pies. Ghost meringues, jelly cups and vanilla monster milkshakes kept us busy in the kitchen. And for party craft we painted a wall with blackboard paint from Tin Kwan Paint Pigment Company, G/F 157 Tai Nam Road, Kowloon.Tel: +852 2555 8866, which has blackboard paint in any colour. For blackboard paint on Central side visit Yuen Fat Ho, G/F 77 Hollywood Road, Central.Tel: +852 2546 8931. For tutus in Halloween shades go to Pottinger Street, Central or P3 Fashion Accessories Company, 97 Nam Cheong Street, Kowloon. Tel: +852 2196 6805. Black and white butterflies sewn on white and black singlets were found at 1/F Wong Chuk Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon. White paper bags are in plentiful supply at 274 Yu Chau Street, Sham Shui Po. Kowloon.Tel: +852 2396 1675.

Hatton Studios

Wanting to learn the craft of jewellery making? Head down to Hatton Studios. Jeweller Nathalie Melville, a graduate from Central Saint Martins, London, helps clients to create handmade pieces – she has worked for Tiffany, Follie Follie and Shanghai Tang, and has worked extensively on bespoke pieces for private clients, too. Her knowledge of precious metals and gems and attention to detail is amazing. Tables and tools are available to rent for those who spend more time and fall in love with honing their technique of the art form. The courses start at beginner’s level and also include private tuition. Some students have carried on further and gone on to develop their own collections.

Essence of Vanilla

Recently my sister ‘taught’ me a new appreciation for home-made vanilla essence – it’s without sugars or preservatives. And I have to say the end product looks so great it should be valued as a work of art plus it makes a wonderful gift, too. I don’t know where she found the recipe but she told me her process:

Grab a glass jar with a good lid – great vintage ones are available here in Hong Kong, Central from Cat Street curios shops – or copy my sister and use a small bottle of vodka. Pour 200ml vodka into a clean glass jar and split three to four vanilla beans without cutting to the end and put into the jar. Store in a cool, dark place – give it a shake now and then so you keep infusing the vodka with the vanilla pods. In three- four months you will have perfect vanilla essence.

Vanilla Syrup Cake

2013-09-25 18:43:02

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Cake

180g butter, softened
1 cup castor sugar
4 eggs
200g almond meal
1/4 cup self raising flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla essence
1/4 cup milk

Vanilla Syrup

3/4 cup raw sugar
1 cup water
2 vanilla beans, split and scraped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Place the softened butter and the sugar in a bowl and beat with electric beaters until light and creamy.
Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
Add the almond meal, flour and vanilla essence and mix until combined.
Fold through the milk.
Pour the mixture into a greased cake tin and bake for 50 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool.
For the syrup, place the sugar, water and Vanilla beans in a saucepan and stir until sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and allow to boil for 8 minutes until slightly thickened.
Allow to cool.
Pour 3/4 of the syrup over the cake and allow to soak in.
Use the rest of the syrup when serving.

Notes

Serve with thick cream or mascapone.

By Belinda Bath

stylebriefHongKong http://www.stylebriefhongkong.com/

A cutting kind of story…

Scissors on-duty: doing ‘craft’ makes us appreciate a great pair of scissors and I find the look of vintage ones really appealing, but nothing beats a new pair. They cut, change and shape so much the perfect pair is always sharp and ready to work. Pinking shears are handy, too for going around paper, felt and seams if you don’t want to overlock or zig-zag. Distinct looking ones can be found at a little hole-in-the-wall store at 1/F Wong Chuk Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon. If you think of it take along some old ones – the owner is very obliging and will sharpen them while you wait. If you’re on the lookout for haberdashery items head to Hop Shing Hong, G/F 260, Tai Nan Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon. Tel: +852 2729 1035. It’s great for beautiful scissors and much, much more.

Sau Wa Fong Street

Sau Wa Fong Street is a street with style and spirit and there’s always some new store or restaurant opening up and creating a buzz. There are some people who just have an eye. Susan Man of Manks, was brillant when she opened the original Manks on Elgin Street, Central, in the late-80s. It had a kind of dreamy, relaxing atmosphere – I used to wander from floor to floor just looking at all these incredible things: light fixtures sourced from Sweden and Finland from the 1960s, unusual tables, Bedarmeier style hall chairs from Sweden, works of art and antiques that were never seen in Hong Kong before. Her beloved Shih Tzu’s dogs, Dumpling and Noodle were pretty cute too, staying put on her lap most times. Now there are two Manks stores run by Susan and her husband Paul Fung, the Sau Wa Fong Street store is housed in a 1960s old building and the second one is at The Factory in Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen. Here you will find Scandinavian modern design furniture, art and decorative pieces – think Panton and Hans Jakobsen – plus European antiques circa 1880 -1970. Man and Fung pick up extra special antiques and source anything beautiful style-wise, and they are always happy to work on bridal registries too.

G/F 36 Sau Wa Fong Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Tel: +852 2522 5115

Sau Wa Fong St Read More…

Celadon

We love… celadon. The term celadon describes the pot and its glaze. Its history is long; celadon shards were found as early as 25-220AD in an Eastern Han Dynasty tomb in Zhejiang. The first time this pottery arrived in Europe they were grouped together and named celadons. The name is thought to have come from the shepherd character Céladon who appears in a 17^th century play called L’Astrée dressed in grey-green ribbons and cloak.

Celadon ware has subtle variations in the soft cloudy blue, blue-green and grey shades. The colour – and this is where things get scientific – comes from the small percentage of iron in the glaze (0.5 to 3 percent) which is applied fairly thickly to the entire pot and fired to about 1300˚ centigrade in a reducing atmosphere (removing the oxygen from the glaze). The result is these really dreamy translucent blues and greens.

Potters will always try for the perfect celadon glaze, but it’s all in the firing – the results can be either exciting or disheartening. Every time my mother opened her kiln after a 12-hour firing and 12 hours plus of cooling, I couldn’t wait to see the result. The first time she experimented with a celadon glaze I was amazed – there in front of me were these beautiful pots in almost otherworldly hues just waiting for loving homes.

For beautiful celadon pieces head to Units 1-3, 3/F, Kowloon Bay Industrial Centre, 15 Wang Hoi Road, Kowloon Bay. Tel: +852 2796 1125.

Lanterns

It’s that September-moving-into-slightly-cooler-October feeling in Hong Kong and you don’t have to look too far to see Mid-Autumn Festival beauty. It’s everywhere. During this festival the lanterns in Victoria Park make dusk even more spectacular. If you don’t like crowds too much arrive earlier to secure a place. The organisers plan the event around a different theme every year.

When it comes to lanterns, which make great gifts for friends, take a stroll to Kweilin Street, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon and check out Loong Kee Stationary & Paper Store and while you are there pop over to Fuk Wing Street. It’s a lot of looking up up up, but the mild neck strain is worth it. I like to buy a new lantern every year and doing this has given me a much-admired collection. We have used them on shoots for magazines, too. Staying around Central? Check out the collection at 9 Peel Street. There’s quite a range – oversized bright pink, orange goldfish-shaped, elegant red and gold coloured silk ones, and dusty pink paper ones, just to name a few of our favourites.

Mooncakes

The cake shop at the Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong has been providing people with delightful desserts since the 1970s. During the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival the store is on a constant buzz with customers continually arriving at the door when a team of dedicated pastry experts bake an elegant delicacy called ‘Mooncake’. The festival is for lunar worship and moon watching; the cake is typically round or rectangular pastry with a rich filling made from lotus or red bean seed paste and often with one or two salted duck egg yolks. My first experience of the Mooncake was when my boss at Hong Kong Tatler gave all the staff their very own Mooncake; it seems to be a tradition here in Hong Kong. Although you never could eat a whole one by yourself – a small wedge with Chinese tea was just enough.

If you are looking for Mooncake moulds make your way to Shanghai Street, Kowloon. Our two favourite shops for cooking moulds are Kwong Fai Steam-Case & Kitchen Ware, G/F 275 Shanghai Street, Tel: +852 2780 9980 and Man Kee Chopping Board, 340 -342 Shanghai Street, Tel: + 852 2332 2784.

Fire Dragon Dance

This week we are focusing on all things Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival. If you are in Hong Kong or about to visit don’t miss the famous Fire Dragon Dance. This is a visual spectacle you won’t want to miss. About 300 performers with over 72,000 incense sticks do some serious styling to a 67-metre straw dragon which is then paraded through the colourful streets of Tai Hang. The Fire Dragon Dance is only on for three days from September 18-20 beginning at 7:30 pm in Tai Hang. Check out our Tai Hang post which features places to eat or drink before the dance.

Posts by: Belinda Bath

Halloween

Hatton Studios

Essence of Vanilla

Vanilla Syrup Cake

A cutting kind of story…

Sau Wa Fong Street

Celadon

Lanterns

Mooncakes

Fire Dragon Dance

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