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All about organics

Word spreads fast when a new delicatessen enters the organic vegan scene. In a no-through road in Sai Ying Pun, right next door to Peggy Chan’s restaurant Grassroots Pantry, is Chan’s latest venture Prune Organic Deli and Workshop. Chan’s delicious vegetarian menu is nourishing and yummy, and now devotees of Grassroots Pantry can learn a lot about cooking vegetables with maximum taste and style. It was just as much the need for more space to hold the increasing demand on their food products, as well as to allow a flow of casual foot traffic through the neighbourhood that saw Prune eventuate. “We are now able to serve an incredibly nourishing breakfast menu which is personally my favourite meal of the day,” Peggy says.

Prune is a warm and earthy environment which is packed most mornings of the week with people devouring all sorts of healthy things such as home-made oats, raw Bircher muesli, and invigorating juices and smoothies with reassuring names like The Enricher and The Cleanse. There’s always bags of smoked tahini kale chips, seasonal jams, gluten-free and vegan fresh baked goods plus home-made tomato sauce, and there are workshops here that involve many dishes with a vegetarian twist, preparation of raw food and its benefits, plus practical household kitchen advice. Peggy also invites guest chefs and hosts gardening and holistic workshops.

Prune Organic Deli and Workshop, 14 Fuk Sau Lane, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. Tel: (+852) 2873 3353.

Stocking up on enamel

Enamel ware in Hong Kong is enchanting. It’s brand-less and simple, and the fine floral designs add a little romance to the everyday kitchen set. The blue tiffin tins and little coffee cups first caught my eye at this store on Hollywood Road in the late-nineties. Inside was a beautiful mess with all these metal and enamel pieces stacked together. That store’s now closed but here’s the address of one below so you’ll know where to start if you’re searching for enamel plates, cups, bowls, trays, vases, thermoses, or some lovely trinkets in Hong Kong.

See the enamel and metal wares at Chu Wing Kee, 26 Possession Street, Sheung Wan, + 852 2545 3560.

Catherine Preston Jewellery Design

We love warm-natured Cat Preston of Catherine Preston Jewellery Design. And her striking hand-made pieces inlaid with colourful semiprecious stones are within reach – think elegant, perfect for every day jewels in silver and gold that can go into edgy evening parties and big events. The designer settled in Hong Kong 18 months ago after 10 years in Singapore and a two-year stint in Chicago. Cat is also masterful at giving old pieces new shape (she meticulously re-worked a pair of antique garnet and enamel clip-ons, which Belinda’s grandmother had brought back from India in the 1940s), into wearable pierced ones.

DONT MISS OUT: Looking for something special for Valentine’s Day? Then be one of the first 10 stylebrief readers to tell Cat you saw her interview here and she will take 15 percent off the price of a piece in the collection at her atelier on The Peak.

Temples to visit for Year of the Horse

If you don’t know what to do for Chinese New Year, think about visiting one of Hong Kong’s elegant temples. People here go to temples during Chinese New Year to pray for good luck and as part of a ritual to begin their Lunar New Year well. In my first years in Hong Kong, I lived a short walk from Man Mo temple on Hollywood Road. It always felt so peaceful in there, with large incense coils hanging and amazing lanterns hanging everywhere. These days I love going into the Lin Fa Kung temple in Tai Hang. Even though this is a smaller place, its decorations are beautiful.

Stamps and Chops

With Chinese New Year starting on January 31st this year maybe it’s time to get a chop, or a stamp made. Some of the best places to get one are just off Pedder Street in Central (turn down a lane way next to the MTR exit on Pedder Street and you’ll be there). Obviously the word horse will feature a lot this year, along with love, long life and money. From a choice of marble, jade or stone, the craftsmen will carve out your Chinese name or the Chinese characters of your choice. Present a double happiness stamp as a gift – it’s a lovely meaningful way to show appreciation for friendship and support each year.

Grange Interiors

Scottish-born Catherine Taylor opened Grange Interiors in One Island South, Aberdeen, in May 2013; to tap into the incredible charm and talent of designers and creatives who come mainly from Europe and the United Kingdom. Everything at Grange is hand-picked by Catherine and she has the amazing knack for finding true artisans that are not yet in Hong Kong while also sourcing some pretty beautiful antique lights, silverware and linens. The wallpapers and fabrics by Timorous Beasties are incredible and can change any apartments feel. French ceramacist Fabienne Tassi’s hand-thrown white pieces are to die-for: clean, simple and well-priced. If you want help with interiors, or advice on pillows, fabrics or wall-coverings, Catherine is great for this. This area is getting better for eateries so once you’ve visited Catherine’s store pop into Percy’s inside the Lane Crawford store, or if vegetarian is more your thing head to MUM for lunch, their set-lunches are delicious.

What made you start Grange Interiors? I had an urge to own my own business, my Mum and Dad had their own business, so it was how I grew up. It also gives me more flexibility with a family. I came across some quirky independent designers from the UK that I used when I refurbished our 200 year old Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh and wanted to bring them to Hong Kong. I really admire their talent and many of their products still have an element made-by-hand.

Some of the things you might do in a day? It is like stirring a cooking pot… there is always a little bit of each area that needs attention. I will spend sometime in the shop meeting customers, then talk with designers/suppliers and place new orders, which often involves coming up with the most efficient shipping method. I am in awe of the designers, they are so talented and creative. I will also keep in contact with local magazines and let them know the new arrivals etc to feature.

Describe your style?

Classic with a twist, often a touch of something from our travels. I like symmetry and therefore enjoy the Georgian period. I also enjoy the Art Deco period and mixing styles, some vintage pieces with new.

I’mperfect Xchange

Walk into Oil Street Art Space, North Point, and you’ll find I’mperfect Xchange. We live in a culture absorbed with the attainment of perfection. For designers, Hung Lam and Eddy Yu, their project called I’mperfect is doing a lot of good through creative collaborations that focus on the acceptance of imperfection. Which raises communal awareness related to the link between sustainable uses of resources and the living of a simple, more harmonious life. I’mperfect Xchange has a barter system when it comes to their transactions. Bring a can of food, or safely sealed produce, and this will get you an edible plant, such as basil or thyme. In addition, at Oil, the in-house organic farmer is great for collecting gardening knowledge. All food collected is taken directly to those in the community who are in need.

Merry Christmas

This is a quick message to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year. This will be our last post for 2013, so we wanted to thank you for your wonderful feedback and messages over the last six months. We hope you have enjoyed reading our stories as much as we have enjoyed writing, styling and photographing them for you. Thank you all for your support and for coming back post after post. We will be back on Monday the 6th of January 2014 with lots more stories, places, recipes and people to meet.

Belinda & Ingrid

Flower Market

The Flower Market in Mongkok, Kowloon, is definitely one of our favourite places in Hong Kong. There are small boutiques opening up, and right now the markets are overflowing with Christmas trees, hyacinth buds, poinsettia, ivy, Christmas bush and bright, inexpensive Christmas ornaments. If your Christmas table is in need of a makeover, this should be your first point of call. Sum Kee Yuen has super stylish mini pine trees that would look beautiful on a table. Create bunting, or make your own stars for each little tree as perfect place settings for your Xmas day guests.

Latitude 22N

The showroom and studio of Latitude 22N is housed in a 1970’s warehouse in Chai Wan. Here Hong Kong born and bred Julie Progin and her American born husband Jesse McLin work and showcase their varied collections. This clever duo not only create and design but also work with artisans in Jingdezhen province in China, the home of porcelain, to produce a modern yet quirky take on ceramics. You will find it hard to leave Latitude 22N without something. Their suspension lights come in a multitude of colours; their ‘Ding’ light, in white or black, is a delicate yet striking modern take on the hanging light. Their basic porcelain bowls, plates and cups are produced in beautiful hues, and their collections, The Night Market, Song and Waves are unique and refreshing. Everything is done with precision and thought. It makes me think that ceramics/porcelain is definitely coming back in a big way. After graduating with a Bachelor in Fine Arts at Kansas City Art Institute and then a Masters degree at The Alfred State School of Ceramics Arts Jesse McLin went to New York and taught at Parsons School of Design where he met Julie Progin. Jesse works with many different materials: metal, paper, ceramics, glass, and the incredible wooden tree installations could be used as a room divider or just to just simply have in a space gives a sense of calm. Jesse’s childhood growing up exploring the redwoods of Northern California perhaps gave him an eye to hand carve these beautiful wooden sculptures. Julie studied textiles at Duperré in Paris and ended up exploring product design at Parsons in New York, but her Hong Kong roots brought them back to launch their own design studio.

What made you start Latitude 22N?

Our wedding was the starting point. We wanted to share our appetite for ceramics and design with our loved ones. Next thing you know, we pulled up our sleeves and set out to create our wedding decor out of ceramic from lights to candle holders down to dinner plates. This is when our Song dinnerware collection came to be. We were inspired by the delicate, simple and nature influenced patterns of the Song era that were made in Jingdezhen, porcelain capital city of China, that we had seen at the Metropolitan in New York where we lived at the time. The designs we came up with had such good responses that we decided we had to find a way to make more pieces and what better place to make them then to go back where the source of our inspiration came from. So we packed our bags and headed off to explore the know hows of Jingdezhen’s craftsmen, dropping off suitcases in Hong Kong along the way. What we found there was breathtaking. Amazing white porcelain and skills that we had not encountered before. Naturally we started exchanging ideas with the artisans there and drew up more and more collections back in our studio in Hong Kong. The name Latitude 22N was then decided – 22N for the terrestrial coordinates of the city of Hong Kong. Latitude as a reflection of our diverse skills, backgrounds and that of all the people involved in the making of our collections.

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