A quick digest of the coolest weekend happenings in Hong Kong.
Friday, January 17
Every Chinese New Year, local craft brewery Moonzen releases a special and rare beer, the Lunar Barleywine, brewed the spring of the previous year and aged for one full lunar cycle.
The brewery have also collaborated with local artist Evie, who has designed the labels for the bottles, along with a set of “door gods” that have been posted on the brewery’s doorways to bring good luck.
6pm to 9:30pm at, Moonzen Brewery, 2A New East Sun Building, 18 Shing Yip Street, Kwun Tong. Free.
Lost Stars Livehouse presents Tjoe & NTBM
Jazz ensemble Tjoe w/NTBM (meaning: not-to-be-missed) is a collective of some of Hong Kong’s most adventurous/offbeat jazz musicians led by guitarist and composer Tjoe Man Cheung. The performance will be split into three sessions, and patrons will be able to order food and drink during the 20 minute breaks in between sessions.
8pm-9:50pm at, Lost Stars Livehouse Bar & Eatery, G/F, Shop 506,11 Li Tak Street, Square Mile, Tai Kok Tsui. Free, but patrons must buy food or drink from the eatery.
Prepare to eat a lot at this event, which is being hosted by Table of Two Cities. This event will explore Indonesian and Cameroonian cuisine, and showcase different dishes and insight into the cultures behind them. There will also be a cooking demonstration after dinner.
6:30pm to 8:30pm at, 1/F, Diamond Mansion, 462-468 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay. HK$400.
Gweilo and Rocky Ridge Brewing Co. Stout Launch at Taps & Bites
Local craft brewery Gweilo and Australian brewers Rocky Ridge Brewing Company have joined forces to make some news beers, which will be on tap at Southeast Asian grill Taps & Bites. Some of the beers on offer include a custard tart stout, a choco rock stout, a hoppy wheat beer, and a pineapple cider.
6pm at, Taps & Bites, 7 Tai Wong Street East, Wan Chai. Free.
Slow Media in the Viral Age: Urban Renewal and Community
This talk, hosted by the Hong Kong Anthropological Society, looks at gentrification in Hong Kong — more specifically, how it’s experienced, lived, talked about, and mediated by residents, shopkeepers, and other members of the community. The talk will be conducted in English, and admission is free, but space is limited. There will also be a dinner (which guests have to pay for) with the speaker after the talk has finished.
7pm to 8:30pm at, Hong Kong Museum of History, Lecture Hall, Ground Floor, 100 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui. Free.
Slice Of Life: Pearl Law Solo Exhibition
Hong Kong-based illustrator Pearl Law‘s distinctive illustrations have graced the covers of publications like the South China Morning Post and Time Out Hong Kong. She’ll be hosting another solo exhibition that will focus exclusively on cyanotype, a type of photography printing that produces a picture or photo as a cyan-blue print.
12pm to 7:30pm until Sunday, February 9 at, ODD ONE OUT, G/F, 14 Francis Street, Wanchai. Free.
Booked: Hong Kong Art Book Fair
Cultural heritage center Tai Kwun will be hosting this art book fair, which will feature books, art albums, zines, art catalogues, and more from more than 80 local, regional, and international exhibitors. There will also be talks, live events, displays, and workshops.
2pm to 8pm (Fri), 12pm to 8pm (Sat to Sun) until Sunday, January 19 at, JC Contemporary, Tai Kwun, Old Bailey Street, Central. HK$30 (standard) HK$15 (concessions).
Saturday, January 18
Hong Kong Island Taphouse second anniversary
This Tin Hau craft beer joint turns two years old this weekend, and to celebrate they’ll have HK$60 beers on tap (along with one brand new beer for HK$70), food, and games.
6pm at, Hong Kong Island Taphouse, 1A-1B Tsing Fung Street, Causeway Bay. Free.
Big Band Night: All That Swing
The Saturday Night Jazz Orchestra will be kicking off on, well, Saturday night, with an evening of swing and big band jazz music. So if you’re a fan of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, and Bob Mintzer, you know where to go.
8pm to 10pm at, The Hong Kong Fringe Club, 2 Lower Albert Road, Central. HK$220 (On the day) HK$200 (Advance, and Fringe members).
If your New Year’s resolution was to learn calligraphy, you can try out this sampler workshop by Kalo Make Art. Participants will be taught the basics of dip pen calligraphy, and each student will get a calligraphy starter kit to take home for further practice.
2:30pm to 4pm at, Kalo Make Art, Room 201, Ivy House, 18-20 Wyndham Street, Central. HK$700 (per person) HK$1,300 (for two).
Live music venue The Underground will be hosting a night of funk and ska music music. Music will be provided alternative electro-funk duo Sunrise, ska band and Clockenflap favorites The Red Stripes, funk-pop band The Funkaphones, and many more. Entry fee includes one drink.
8pm to 11:30pm at, The Hub, 1/F, Fortune Building, 150-158 Lockhart Road, Wan Chai. HK$160 (advance), HK$200 (walk-in).
Her Song: Abstract Compositions By Tina Buchholtz And Tsang Chui Mei
The Karin Weber Gallery’s first exhibition of 2020 will feature a “dialogue on abstraction” between two artists from different cultural backgrounds: Tina Buchholtz from Germany, and Tsang Chui Mei from Hong Kong. Both draw from the school of Western abstraction (think Jackson Pollock) as well as traditional Chinese painting.
11am to 7pm until Saturday, February 22 at, Karin Weber Gallery, 20 Aberdeen Street, Central, SOHO. Free.
Along China’s Coast: Dezső Bozóky
The University of Hong Kong’s Museum and Art Gallery will be hosting this exhibition of photos of China’s coast taken from 1908 to 1909 by Hungarian photographer Dezső Bozóky. A naval officer with the Austro-Hungarian Navy, Bozóky first left Hong Kong for Canton, before traveling to Fujian province, Shanghai, and Beijing, documenting the countryside and cities, along with their inhabitants. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the final years of the Qing dynasty before it fell in 1911.
9:30am to 6pm until Friday, January 17 at, University Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong, 90 Bonham Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. Free.
Hong Kong the way it was, by Ed van der Elsken
We’re all feeling a bit nostalgic about old Hong Kong these days (and with the ongoing protests, who can blame you?). F11 Foto Museum will be celebrating its fifth birthday with this exhibition of photos of old Hong Kong taken in 1959 and 1960 by Dutch photographer Ed van der Elsken. The collection will feature 130 black-and-white photos of Elsken’s 13-month stay in Hong Kong, a city he reportedly once described as “the prettiest of harbor cities.”
2pm to 7pm until February 28 (closed on Sundays) at F11 Foto Museum, 11 Yuk Sau Street, Happy Valley. HK$100 (adults), HK$50 (students and seniors aged 65 and above), free for children aged 11 and under, and disabled persons.
Sunday, January 19
Lost Stars Livehouse presents Basic Notes
Local group Basic Notes is well known in the SAR’s jazz circuit, namely for playing big band jazz music. So if you’re into the classics, head on over to Tai Kok Tsui. The performance will be split into three sessions, and patrons will be able to order food and drink during the 20 minute breaks in between sessions.
8pm-9:50pm at, Lost Stars Livehouse Bar & Eatery, G/F, Shop 506,11 Li Tak Street, Square Mile, Tai Kok Tsui. Free, but patrons must buy food or drink from the eatery.
Hong Kong As F*ck: A Live Comedy Game Show
If you’re in need of a laugh this weekend, and you enjoy comedy panel shows like Mock The Week or Have I Got News For You, local comedian Garron Chiu — 2018 winner of the Hong Kong International Comedy Competition — will be hosting this panel quiz show complete with games, rants, a panel of comedians, and prizes.
8pm to 9:30pm at, The Aftermath Bar, L/G, 57-59 Wyndham Street, Hong Kong. HK$180.
This exhibition will feature more than 70 original works, installations, photographs, and sculptures by Banksy, the elusive British street artist and political activist known for creating works such as Seasons Greetings, and Balloon Girl — which was famously partially shredded by its own frame after the hammer went down on it at a Sotheby’s auction in 2018.
Note that this exhibition is organized by Art Projectors Hong Kong in partnership with Last Bullet Production and HKPI, and has not been authorized by the artist.
11am to 7pm until Sunday, March 1 at, 1/F, FT Life Tower, 18 Sheung Yuet Road, Kowloon Bay. HK$180 (standard, weekdays), HK$210 (standard, weekends), HK$145 (concessions, weekdays), HK$170 (concessions, weekends), Free (children).
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