The best things to do in Hong Kong this September

Move over, Chiikawa – the kings are in the house! McDonald’s has finally confirmed on their social media channels that they are releasing a range of TinyTan Happy Meal toys, and Hong Kong is on their list.

For non-Armys, TinyTan are official animated characters created by Big Hit Music, each based on a member of the massive Korean band BTS. In the announcement video, the seven characters are shown blowing glitter onto a McDonald’s Happy Meal container, transforming it into a TinyTan-themed box. 

The McDonald’s BTS-themed Happy Meal will be released on September 3, while a second drop for a different edition of the TinyTan toys will drop on September 23.

Amidst the waves of restaurant and business closures in Hong Kong, the latest victim that we’re waving goodbye to is Cinta-J, the popular Filipino restaurant in Wan Chai. Situated on Jaffe Road, Cinta-J is well known for its cheap and cheerful this-this rice lunch boxes, classic home cooking-like Filipino dishes, as well as Indonesian and Malaysian bites. They also have live music entertainment every night, and are a great place for cocktail-fuelled karaoke. 

Unfortunately, the restaurant posted on their Facebook page on Monday, August 25, that they will be permanently closing on September 30. See you there for one last round of crispy pata and a karaoke sesh?

Read the full news about Cinta-J’s closure here.

Get ready for Hong Kong’s favourite mid-week party as Happy Wednesday makes its grand return to Happy Valley Racecourse on September 10, 17, and 24! This season kicks off with Fashion Wednesdays, a brand-new theme that combines the thrill of horse racing with the elegance of high fashion. Each Wednesday will dazzle guests as the racecourse transforms into the iconic fashion capitals of New York, London, and Milan, drawing inspiration from top designers like Ralph Lauren, Dunhill, Self-Portrait, and Ferragamo. Kick off the festivities on September 10 with international vocalist Rechelle Mansour, followed by dazzling LED lion dances. She’ll return on September 17 to keep the energy high, while songstress Natalia D wraps up the fashion-forward parties on September 24 with her high-energy pop performances. 

Plus, catch global pop group Now United and its latest member, Ariel Tsang, on September 10 at Happy Valley Racecourse. In addition to kicking off the season opening, they’ll be hanging out with everyone in the Beer Garden throughout the night. 

Pop by the Beer Garden’s food trucks for sweet and savoury bites, complemented by local craft beers and flutes of prosecco. The space will be stylishly decorated with fashion-themed elements, including backstage vanity stations and magazine-style photo booths. Dress in your most avant-garde outfits, strike a pose, and share your photos on Instagram stories, tagging @HKJCEntertainment for a chance to win exclusive prizes.

For a more refined experience, reserve a table at Happy Valley Racecourse’s dining venues like The Beat and Vantage, where you can savour international cuisine and racehorse-themed cocktails while enjoying stunning views. Plus, acclaimed local fashion house Victor Chan Studio will create curated looks for Vantage’s DJs each Wednesday, adding to the evening’s flair. Alternatively, grab a seat at dining options like The Gallery, Keiba, Stable Bend Terrace, and Leading Edge, each catering to a variety of tastes. Whether you’re a horse racing enthusiast, music lover, or fashionista, these parties seamlessly blend these three elements to create unforgettable experiences!

All activities and offers are subject to relevant terms and conditions. All photos are for reference only. All merchandise and gift items on sale or offer are designated items. Food and other items for sale are subject to availability. The Hong Kong Jockey Club may cancel, suspend or modify any content of the event (including but not limited to venue, date or time, performance or other activities, entry requirements, gift, discount or other offerings) or amend the relevant terms and conditions, at any time without notice, and without liability for refund, compensation or otherwise. 

Racecourse entrants and those who bet must be aged 18 or above. Don’t gamble your life away.

Popular third-generation K-pop band Seventeen is finally set to perform in Hong Kong once again after seven whole years of being away. The last time we saw these 13 members collectively in concert was back in 2018, so the fact that they’re playing in our city as part of their ‘New_’ world tour is pretty damn huge.

Earlier in May this year, Seventeen celebrated their 10th anniversary with the release of their fifth studio album Happy Burstday, which included solo songs from all members for the first time in the band’s discography. Fans can probably expect these to all be performed during the concert – meaning more solo stage time for all your biases. Catch Seventeen at the Kai Tak Stadium on September 27 and 28. 

Even though Hong Kong’s wave of business closures seems to be continuing, we’re seeing a spark of delicious hope with Kam Kong Restaurant bucking the market trend to recently reopen in Mong Kok. Taking over a space of almost 8,000sq ft in Gala Place, Kam Kong focuses on handmade nostalgic dim sum as well as authentic ‘kung fu’ dishes – delicacies that take a good deal of time and effort to make.

All of Kam Kong’s dim sum varieties – ranging from $25 to $42 – are handmade by their dim sum chefs, which is rather a rarity nowadays. The cherry on top is that the wooden steamers are piled into dim sum trolleys to be wheeled around the restaurant – again, an old-school touch that is sadly disappearing in the city. Expect old-school dim sum varieties that are not readily available elsewhere, such as pig’s stomach siu mai, birds’ nest-shaped taro puffs, duck’s feet and pomelo peel, cured sausage rolls, and more.

The restaurant management has also revealed plans to collaborate with long-standing local food brands to feature sauces, cheung fun, tofu, and other Hong Kong-made products. To attract a younger crowd, Kam Kong will even host busking and Canto-pop events to diversify their offerings and inject a breath of fresh air into the traditional tea house setting.

This summer, Tai Kwun is running a special exhibition that explores the cinematic trope of the undercover agent, the duality of light and darkness in these movie characters, and what makes them so appealing to Hong Kong audiences. If you’re a film buff or a fan of the heroic bloodshed genre, you’ll enjoy walking through recreations of scenes from classic crime films, showing the process of covert operations from beginning undercover missions to eventually finding difficulties in re-entering society. 

We won’t spoil too much, but look out for the iconic tea house shoot out in Hard Boiled, the psychiatrist’s office in Infernal Affairs, a gun fight in a hideout in City on Fire, and most dramatically, a disastrous car chase breaking the fourth wall, where visitors can either play a role on set or pose from the director’s chair behind the camera.

See more details on this special exhibition here.

Well-loved K-pop group Twice have just embarked on their sixth world tour starting in July, and they’ve put both Hong Kong and Macau on their concert schedule. They’ve just released their This is For album and performed at Lollapalooza Chicago earlier this month, and will soon make their way to our shores. The nine-member girl group will perform at The Venetian Arena in Macau on September 27 and 28, then return to take over the Kai Tak Stadium on December 6. 

We’ve heard that they’ll be setting up 360-degree stages to remove the traditional barrier between artists and audiences, allowing for a more immersive concert experience. Tickets for Twice’s Macau show run from $799 to $2,499, with the VIP package offering access to the pre-show soundcheck, a VIP laminate and lanyard, a postcard set, and an exclusive merch lane. The Live Nation pre-sale starts on August 14 while general sales open on August 15. Keep an eye out for Hong Kong ticketing details further down the line.

The latest special exhibition at M+ showcases Cantonese art in the 20th century, highlighting this period’s significance in visual and artistic modernism within China and beyond. The port cities of Guangzhou and Hong Kong were the centres for radical new ways of thinking about art and its purpose during China’s modern revolution. Cantonese artists moved on from the classical ink paintings to create prints, photography, and even cartoons that were more accessible to all. After the founding of the PRC, Guangdong artists in mainland China used art to shape their national image through social realism and propaganda, while Hong Kong artists embraced international movements.

Explore over 200 works from institutional and private collections, many of which are on public display for the first time, and see the connections and disconnections between the two groups of Cantonese artists before and after 1949. From now until July 13, tickets to access all of M+’s special exhibitions run for $240, but starting July 15, all entry to the museum will be under a single-price ticket at $190.

From the Magnavox Odyssey – the first home-use video gaming console – to the latest Nintendo Switch 2 release, gamers have seen the rise and fall of many trends and technologies from the 70s to the present day, and you can now reminisce on them all at this exhibition on gaming, its art and designs, and collective memories.

Airside is hosting the ‘Restart! Beyond Gaming Exhibition!’, which explores how gaming extends beyond simple personal entertainment and has become an integral part of Hong Kong’s cultural tapestry. Check out the wall of gaming consoles to find vintage consoles such as the Atari 2600 from the 70s, the Nintendo Famicom from the 80s, over 300 Nintendo games from the 80s and 90s, and more; and try your hand at ‘The King of Fighters ‘98’ and ‘Bubble Bubble’ on arcade machines.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of ‘Little Fighter 2’, the exhibiton will feature the remastered game with an Airside-exclusive backdrop of the famous Kowloon Walled City for an added touch of Hong Kong heritage.

Head to the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) to find our city’s first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Mughal art. The Mughal empire was one of the world’s most powerful kingdoms that encompassed much of modern-day Indian, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, ruling from the 16th to the 17th centuries. Though they ruled a mainly Hindu population, the Mughals were Muslim with Mongol origins, and were known for their rich culture and architecture – the Taj Mahal is one such legacy from this empire.

Over 100 artefacts from the golden age of the Mughal dynasty, from paintings and jewellery to weaponry, architectural segments, and even some rare surviving textiles from this period are now on show – Hong Kong is this exhibition’s only Asia venue after its London premiere in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Under the rule of three emperors, the Mughal court greatly fostered artistic development and embraced cross-cultural influences, shown here in jade pieces that have incorporated motifs from the Chinese court. Highlights include a casket with mother-of-pearl inlays, a thumb ring from Emperor Akbar’s reign with western enamelling that shows the Mughal court’s hybrid aesthetic, and a beautiful dagger sheath and hilt lavishly decorated with gold and red gemstones.

‘Treasures of the Mughal Court’ runs until February 23, 2026, and tickets are priced from $150 which also grants access to HKPM’s thematic exhibitions in galleries one to seven.