Matthew Tse

Few hotels in Hong Kong beat the sheer luxury on offer at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental. The five-star paradise in the heart of Central boasts 96 rooms, 13 suites, an incredible spa over two floors and dining options like the MO Bar with its unbeatable buffet breakfasts and one of the city’s most iconic restaurants, Amber. There’s also a couple of hi-tech meeting spaces, plus some of the friendliest staff in our SAR. The rooms are elegantly and artistically designed, with luxurious bathrooms. Basically, a stay at The Landmark MO is an experience like no other.

While SSP is not exactly known for its coffee, Sausalito is a coffee mecca for javaholics in the district. You’ll find all the usual suspects like lattes and cappuccino, Sausalito also serves single origin pour over coffee and cucumberano - a cucumber flavoured coffee and soda water concoction. Come by during weekends for some awesome live music.

In anticipation of the SchweineHund Teknival in March, Twisted Donut and Social Room come together once again to bring you an amazing line-up of 4 DJs. Playing mostly house and techno tracks, holding it down will be Romi, Zac Watz, Anthony2 and Social Room resident Ocean Lam.

Despite a long history of dog poisonings on Bowen Road, is Hong Kong finally becoming more accepting of the need for animal welfare? Matthew Tse looks into recent developments in animal cruelty prevention and finds out what still needs to be doneHong Kong has a sad history of dog poisoning, most notably the recurring incidents along Bowen Road that started in the late 80s and have claimed the lives of dozens of dogs. Even today, cases of poisoned pooches are regrettably common – just before Christmas a case was reported of a dog that died after eating poison along MacDonnell and Kennedy roads in Admiralty.However, as 2017 arrives, certain experts are of the opinion Hong Kong is becoming increasingly animal friendly. Animal welfare NGOs like the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals say Hongkongers are making steady strides in improving animal welfare. Indeed, the most common cause of animal cruelty is neglect and ignorance rather than abject cruelty, say experts.Dr Jane Gray, chief veterinary surgeon of the SPCA, believes a 40 percent increase in pet ownership between 2006 and 2011 ‘helped people understand animal welfare and that animals are sentient beings that feel pain’. Dr Teresa Lee, the SPCA’s welfare programme manager and a colleague of Dr Gray, agrees, pointing out that: “People are much more aware of how important it is to treat animal cruelty as a serious offence and they realise that animal cruelty is very symbolic – it may be a sign that that person co