Celia Lee

There are many ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, such as admiring the full moon, spending time with family and friends, or solving lantern riddles. If you ask us, our favourite way to get into the festive spirit is to stuff our faces with mooncakes. From timeless fillings like lotus seed paste with salted egg yolks to creative flavours like chocolate, tea custard, or cured ham, there are plenty of mooncakes to try. In preparation for the autumnal festival falling on October 6, we’ve gathered some of the best mooncakes you can get your hands on this year.RECOMMENDED: Mark your Mid-Autumn Festival with an indulgent family meal at Hong Kong's best restaurants.

Everyone’s favourite Finnish cartoon Moomin is celebrating its 80th birthday this year! To mark the occasion, an immersive, interactive exhibition is now in town at the Kai Tak Sports Park. ‘The Beginning of The Moomins’ is set to be a wonderland for Moomin lovers, featuring a historical corridor that details Moomin’s evolution since 1945, plus seven themed zones recreated from its origin story, Moomin and the Great Flood, complete with interactive installations and photo spots.  Arrive to find a life-sized recreation of Moominvalley awaiting your discovery. The first recreated scene from the Great Flood is a stark, black-and-white forest that serves as a nostalgic opening to the experience. Similar to the story, visitors will have the chance to seek out the hidden creature Sniff using adorable flower-shaped flashlights. Another highlight is a luminous scene populated with countless Hattifatteners sailing on a red boat, where visitors can experience Moomin’s magical encounter with these mysterious creatures first-hand. Photograph: Courtesy Moomin Characters ™ / Trendic The climax of the experience is the flooding scene. Here, flickering lights stand in for soaring waves and, just as Moomin does in the story, visitors must climb onboard “floating” furniture to retrieve Moominpappa’s message in a bottle. The epilogue of the experience features a screening of a special animation by Finnish creative team NULL plus photo ops with Moomin and its family at the garden and Moominhou

If, like us, are obsessed with Noodoll’s Ricespud potato plushies, then we have good news! This Christmas, these adorable mascots are bringing their pudgy physique and unique personalities to Langham Place. The ‘Noodoll: Merry PotatoMAS’ installation gathers the whole potato family for a jovial celebration.  Noodoll’s taters will be making its debut at Langham Place’s fourth-floor atrium, which has been transformed into a luxurious department store – think Hamleys at Regent Street, or a spud version of Harrods in London – adorned with sparkling tinsels, glittered-up gift boxes, and a Christmas tree (yes, it’s decorated with potato plushie baubles). Photograph: Courtesy Elvis Tang / Langham Place 12 Noodoll potato characters are waiting around the red-and-gold grand lobby of the department store, each set in poses like a bellhop or even a mischievous prankster that made a chandelier collapse. There’s also a booth shaped like a lift where you can rip open a pack of crisps and munch away to create your own ASMR video. Beyond a celebration for Christmas, ‘Merry PotatoMAS’ coincides with Langham Place’s 20th anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, the mall has partnered with Noodoll for a series of limited-edition collectibles. You’ll find the adorable mascots transformed into Gumble-esque ‘Potato Soup Cans’ at the PotatoMas Department Store Gift Shop alongside themed merchandise and gifts. Don’t forget to also try your hand at the gift raffle where the grand prizes are the

In celebration of Senior Citizens Day on November 16, the MTR Corporation has announced a special discount for elders living in Hong Kong. For one day only, citizens aged 65 or above can travel for free across the MTR, Light Rail, and MTR bus routes.  As long as you’re a senior using a JoyYou Card, Elder Octopus card, or Personal Octopus, you can simply tap and ride at no cost! There’s no sign up or registration required to enjoy the day’s offer either. However, do note that the Airport Express, First Class cabins on rail lines, trips to and from Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau stations on the East Rail Line, and the High Speed Rail will not be included in this promotion.  Meanwhile, the Corp is encouraging elders to try out the new MTR · Care App to plan their upcoming travels. As part of the organisation’s ongoing efforts to streamline daily travels for Hong Kong’s senior population, the Care App includes elder-friendly implementations such as enlarged text and graphics with text-to-speech functions to make route searching and navigating MTR stations more convenient.  Even if you’re not old enough to be eligible yourself, it’s worth grabbing elderly members of your family to go out and do something fun for the day! Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Hong Kong newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox Recommended stories: A real-life Disney princess is set to perform in Hong Kong Hong Kong temperatures to take a significant dip next week This iconic Hon

Following a successful inaugural edition in 2024, Tattour HK is returning to PMQ from November 14 to 16! Ink lovers can look forward to a display of international and local tattoo talents, an antique car show, food and drink stalls, live music performances, and a hip lifestyle market.  Organised by the city’s first professional tattoo school, RGB Academy, Tattour HK 2025 has invited 55 artists to create unique designs themed around the Hong Kong siu mai. Visitors can rediscover this beloved local delicacy through different artistic interpretations, whether through a traditional, contemporary, or geometric design.  Among the star-studded line-up this year are celebrity-approved artists like Doy, who has worked on Hollywood stars like Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, and Lily Collins; Nadi, DPR Ian’s go-to artist, and Yeeki, the creative behind Tyson Yoshi’s body art. Book directly with your favourite artist to get inked at the festival – you can find the full list of artists on Tattour’s Instagram.  Photograph: Courtesy Nadi / Tattour Tattour HK 2025 will take place between 12pm to 9pm on November 14 and 15, and between 12pm to 7pm on November 16 at Courtyard and The Qube of PMQ in Central. Single-day tickets are priced at $168 per person, and three-day passes at $478 per person. Secure your tickets at www.offgrid.day and find more information at the festival’s official Instagram.  Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Hong Kong newsletter for the best of the city, strai

This November, Maggie Choo’s is launching a brand-new cabaret show that combines soulful jazz with captivating acrobatics, rhythmic tap dancing, and more. Since the bar’s first cabaret debut in March 2025, Maggie Choo’s has become a staple in Hong Kong’s live entertainment scene.  Departing from its classic cabaret predecessor, the new show What Maggie Wants features a mash-up of 12 dynamic dance numbers divided into three acts, instead of following a set plot or storyline. Visitors can expect an evening of spectacular displays, from aerial acrobatics to a classic tap dance performance. Meanwhile, spotlight-keen audience members can look forward to joining the bar’s talented dancers during the sultry chair-dancing routine, ‘Partition’. Photograph: Courtesy Maggie Choo’s Of course, it won’t be a night at Maggie Choo’s without some quality live music. This new choreo-heavy show is set against a background of original live music, crafted by the bar’s in-house entertainment production team. Get ready for a touch of nostalgia as soulful jazz and swing-infused scores fill the air.  The new cabaret show also comes with an upgraded menu of cocktails and mocktails, each inspired by a new act of What Maggie Wants. Highlights include the rum-based Inheriting Only, vodka-based Entertainer, and the zero-ABV Entrepreneurial Spirit. What Maggie Wants runs from 9.30pm till midnight every Thursday. As always, you can enjoy Maggie Choo’s cabaret show with the purchase of a drink, which goes

If you love bubble tea as much as we do, here’s some fabulous news! After a successful pop-up at The Farmhouse Deli last year, popular Taiwanese boba milk tea brand Soma Tea & Mocktail has opened its first Hong Kong store at K11 Musea, where Soma will be serving its signature boba teas as well as a Hong Kong-exclusive, the Black Truffle Essentia Milk Tea. Among our city’s robust bubble tea scene, Soma stands out with its artisanal tea, premium ingredients, and commitment to hand-shaking, whisking, and brewing each cup. You’ll find three categories of drinks at Soma’s K11 Musea outpost: Soma Milk Tea, High Mountain Tea, and Premium Essentia.  Photograph: Facebook / somadrinks If you’re unfamiliar with the brand, the highlights among their menu of signatures include the original Soma Milk Tea that earned them the top spot at the 2019 Taiwan Milk Tea Festival. You can savour this smooth and velvety tea blend on its own or with flavours like black sesame, almond, and even Italian coffee for a yuenyeung-inspired cuppa.  Tea lovers will delight in the robust aromas of Taiwanese tea leaves with the High Mountain Tea collection, while seasonal Japanese variants like matcha and hojicha feature in hand-whisked lattes among the Premium Essentia series. Boba lovers can also expect the brand’s sparkling mocktail series to arrive later.  Soma Tea & Mocktail is located at Shop 603, 6/F in K11 Musea, 18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Teas are priced from $38 per drink. Stay in the loop: s

Black Sheep Restaurants is collaborating with Dreams & Dreams to present a one-night-only celebration of food, music, and Hong Kong’s nightlife at The Peak. It makes perfect sense for this lively restaurant group to party it up here, as they’ve been slowly but surely taking over shopfronts and recolonising The Peak over the years – we’ve been joking that they should call it Black Peak for a while now. The revelry is set to take place on November 8, when club classics and hidden gems will transform the normally quiet upscale residential neighbourhood into a groovy dancefloor. From 9pm to 2am, two live DJs will spin sets that perfectly blend nostalgia with new energy – think Elton John to Larry Levan, Madonna to INXS, and The Rolling Stones to Donna Summer.  Since the vibes are situated around Black Sheep’s various establishments, partygoers can expect to dig into a delectable spread of treats as they dance the night away. Whether it be irresistible scoops from gelataria Messina or indulgent slices from bakery Butter, there’s plenty of house-made treats to keep you fuelled for a lone night of partying. We’re also hopeful that they’ll bring out pizzas from Falcone at some point (and we’re not above begging when more than a few drinks in). Dance Above will take place at Restaurant 2, 1/F, The Peak Tower, The Peak, on November 8. Tickets are priced at $388 per person online and $488 per person at the door. Ticket prices are inclusive of bottomless dessert and a shuttle service to

Following the success of their first collaboration, chef ArChan of Ho Lee Fook and chef Jayson Tang of Man Ho Chinese Restaurant are reuniting for another project in November. The Cantonese chefs will be delving into the world of ‘The Four Treasures’ for the upcoming pop-up menu, where four coveted Cantonese ingredients – namely abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, and vegetarian shark fin – take centre stage.  Aside from being famously coveted and therefore expensive ingredients, these culinary treasures are also full of collagen which explains why those who can afford to love regularly indulging for the sake of both their skin and tastebuds. Photograph: Courtesy Ho Lee Fook / Man Ho Chinese Restaurant Diners at this extremely limited treat can expect a reinterpretation of traditional techniques, recipes, and flavours in the eight-course menu. Highlights include fish maw with green Sichuan pepper sauce, hairy crab meat and roe with vegetarian shark fin, pork patty and preserved Chinese sausage in glutinous rice elevated with sea cucumber, and a citrusy dessert where vegetarian shark fin features among the refreshing flavours of guava, pomelo, and coconut.  If you’ve ever wondered what the heart of Cantonese cuisine is, then a meal dedicated to these four timeless ingredients is a great starting point. Ho Lee Fook x Man Ho Chinese Restaurant’s collaborative menu is available for one night only on November 13 at Ho Lee Fook. The menu is priced from $1,688 per person – reserve yo

This November, 13 popular bars across Hong Kong will take part in the Clear Head, Strong Cause campaign, an initiative led by premier non-alcoholic spirit band Crossip in partnership with local mental health charity Mind HK and Movember. As part of Mind HK’s effort to raise awareness of, and quell stigma around, mental health issues, the campaign aims to shine a light on men’s mental health through a programme of Crossip cocktails. A portion of proceeds from these drinks will be donated directly to Mind HK to support its cause.  Joining this mindful drinking project are 13 of the city’s best bars, including Aer, The Aubrey, Bobby’s Rabble, Corks (Causeway Bay and Sheung Wan), Courtroom, Dead Poets, Friday After Class, Gossip, Honky Tonks Tavern, Kinsman, Mirage, and Socio. Each establishment will approach Crossip’s catalogue of zero-ABV spirits with its own unique spin, creating an exclusive mocktail that is bold, vibrant, and flavour-forward.  Photograph: Courtesy Crossip Highlights include the citrusy ‘Movember Mindset Mule’ from Socio, where Crossip Fresh Citrus meets the refreshing tastes of lime juice, agave syrup, and lavender sprigs; the savoury ‘Bloody Mary Maggi’ from Kinsman, a complex and adventurous concoction of Crossip Dandy Smoke, Thai boat noodle reduction, and pork blood curd; and the refreshing ‘Hajimari’ from The Aubrey, where fruit shrub and herbs elevate the subtle tastes of Crossip Fresh Citrus.  For those interested in sampling several Movember cockta

As the finale of multimedia arts programme Arts · Tech, Ding Lab is a unique mobile immersive exhibition that celebrates the cultural significance and evolution of Hong Kong’s iconic tram. Set within the upper and lower decks of a ding ding we all know and love, the exhibition invites the public to contemplate and explore the city’s rapidly changing landscape through a fictional narrative of Tram0 – a sentient cyborg tram.  The interior of Tram0 is remodelled to resemble a cybernetic amalgamation of machinery and human anatomy. On the lower deck, the Defragmentation Programme installation resembles a gigantic spinal cord composed of AI cameras, screens, and metal and acrylic sculptures depicting the evolution of ding dings in the city. Within the exhibition’s narrative, Defragmentation shows Tram0 reminiscing on a past world devoid of cybernetic trams through a visual depiction of memory reconstruction. At the same time, the artwork also encourages visitors to recall personal memories of trams throughout the years. Photograph: Courtesy HKADC Ascending to the upper deck, passengers are treated to a multi-sensory experience with the video work, The Vitiligo – The Absence of Green. Set in 2066, this installation imagines a world where trams are replaced by sentient AI systems, and the iconic Hong Kong tram shade of green no longer exists – that is, until Tram0, revealed to be an AI tram prototype, discovers its grandmother’s diary of green and embarks on a quest to rediscover

Delicate and rooted in authentic flavours, Cantonese cuisine has long been well-loved among foodies in the know, as well as Hongkongers with our particular palates, and it looks like the rest of the world is definitely taking notice. The Chinese Restaurant Awards (CRA) recently unveiled their list for the Elite 15 Asia Awards 2025 at a grand ceremony in Vancouver, Canada, marking the first time the CRA has ranked Chinese restaurants across both Asia and Canada.  From 30 top-tier honourees, 15 eateries were ranked on the prestigious list, with six Hong Kong restaurants making the cut. Meanwhile, the panel also recognised three individual honours in Asia’s Chinese culinary scene – categorised under Master Chef, Dim Sum Chef, and Rising Star Chef of the Year – with a Hong Kong chef and a Macau chef tying for the title of Rising Star Chef for 2025.  Photograph: Courtesy The Chairman | Wing Restaurant With six restaurants winning spots on the Elite 15 list, Hong Kong is undoubtedly the leading region in the world for top-notch Chinese food. It will not come as a surprise to connoisseurs that the Michelin-starred The Chairman has snatched the top spot on CRA’s elite list for its exemplary, locally sourced Cantonese fare. In second place, Wing Restaurant is honoured for its modern regional Chinese cuisine prepared with western culinary techniques. Both these restaurants are famously among the hardest to book in Hong Kong – and for good reason. Slightly lower on the list sits Seven

If you prefer holistic herbal medicine to being prescribed bags of unpronounceable pills, then you’ll be glad to know Hong Kong will soon offer something new for your health journey. The Health Bureau has recently announced that The Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong (CMHHK) will begin operations in phases starting from December 11, 2025. The hospital will follow an integrated Chinese-Western medicine approach to diagnosis and treatment. All primary attending clinicians will be Chinese medicine practitioners, with TCM principles playing a main role in diagnosis and care, and supported by western medicine where appropriate.  During its first year of operation, the CMHHK will offer outpatient and day-patient specialised Chinese medicine services. These fields of practice include internal medicine, external medicine, gynecology, paediatrics, orthopedics and traumatology, and the Asian-centric acupuncture and moxibustion. Chinese medicines will be available in various forms from the hospital’s state-of-the-art integrated Chinese-Western pharmacy, including granules, processed herbal medicines, and proprietary, decocted, and compounded varieties. In addition, the hospital will also offer interventional measures such as acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, tui-na and bone setting, fumigation and bathe, and dressing application.  Photograph: AFP Meanwhile, the CMHHK will gradually roll out special diseases programmes following its opening in December, including diagnosis and tre