Retail Competition Heats Up

Gap's first flagship store in Hong Kong has just opened in Central

Hard to believe, but Hong Kong has never had a Gap store until now.

Yesterday Gap's first flagship store here opened in a new building that has been under construction for years in the former Queens Theatre on Queen's Road Central.

My friend and I wandered over there after lunch and popped inside to check it out.

It was packed with curious shoppers like us and eager ones wanting to buy up some American basics.

The store is 15,000 square feet covering four floors, but since the space is quite tight, there is an elevator to go up and down and an escalator that goes down to the basement. It features men's women's children's and baby Gap clothes.

The shop's opening yesterday attracted a lot of attention

Overall the casual clothes looked pretty trendy and the prices were not too expensive, though it seemed a bit excessive for almost HK$500 ($64) for a pair of jeans.

Very thin (read practically transparent) T-shirts were around the HK$120 ($15.40) range and I'd rather go elsewhere for better quality T-shirts.

It'll be interesting to see how Gap does in the Hong Kong market, with Esprit across the street, H&M further down and Abercrombie & Fitch just around the corner. Gap will also be competing with Japanese retailer Uniqlo that offers good quality and value for basics such as jeans and casual tops that are designed with the petite body in mind.

Hardly a Class Act

There's a curious story that flared up late last week -- a 19-year-old kung fu starlet by the name of Rose Chan Ka-woon claimed two older actors, one married, had sexually assaulted her after a magazine published photos of them men touching and kissing her in a restaurant in Hengdian, Zhejiang province.

Benny Chan Ho-man and Joe Ma Tak-chung were there with Rose Chan for the filming of Princess and Seven Kung Fu Masters directed by Wong Jing. She filed a complaint with Hong Kong police and publicly complained.

The reactions of the two men in question was interesting. Ma issued a statement saying he had not molested her and might take legal action against the magazine for its "untruthful reporting". But he said he was sorry for "the unhappy event that happened in Hengdian".

However, Benny Chan, 42, was remorseful and held a press conference with his heavily pregnant wife Jiang Lisha on Thursday.

He was tearful and said, "I feel remorseful because I have disappointed those who supported me, especially my wife, who is sitting beside me, and the baby who is coming into the world soon," he said in a speech in Kwun Tong restaurant.

Jiang added she had forgiven her husband and hoped the public would give him a chance as well as "Rose, the little girl".

Chan held his wife's hand and said he had "too much alcohol and did something rude to Rose".

"I admit it was really wrong. I had no intention to hurt Rose but I understand it really embarrassed and upset her."

He apologized to the starlet, her family and friends, saying his "unintentional mistake" had hurt their feelings.

The tears continued when Chan apologized to Jiang.

He added he would learn to become a responsible husband and would quit drinking. "I will see a doctor. If he thinks I need therapy, I will accept it because I really want to get rid of alcohol."

While Chan and Jiang's public pronouncements seemed earnest, he made the fatal mistake of leaving a piece of paper behind revealing that his statements were carefully scripted, even instructing him at three points when to "stand up and bow".

So was Chan really remorseful or he was acting?

It'll be interesting to see if more actresses come out and speak about instances where they have had to deal with unwanted sexual advances and if this is pervasive in the entertainment industry in Hong Kong. If Rose Chan's allegations are true, this 19 year old is courageous in standing up to say no.

Dazzling Collection

The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond given by Richard Burton

This morning we went to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai to check out the latest offerings that will be going under the hammer at Christie's.

The Windsor brooch

The auction house takes up a big section of one floor of the new wing and this year it's got star billing with a preview of Elizabeth Taylor's jewellery. She amassed some 1,000 pieces during her lifetime, and 80 of them will be for sale next month in New York. The mini catalogue handed out with pictures of the pieces do not give them justice. Seeing them in person only makes your jaw drop and wonder how one person could accumulate such an amazing collection.

Most of the pieces were given to her by Richard Burton, who famously quipped, "I introduced Liz to beer, she introduced me to Bulgari", while her tiara was from Mike Todd as well as a diamond and ruby set of a necklace, bracelet, ring and earrings. The jewellery Burton gave her were around milestones -- marking their two weddings, her 40th birthday, and her becoming a grandmother at 39.

Tiara given by Mike Todd

He even got her iconic pieces, like the 33.19 carat Krupp diamond that is now renamed The Elizabeth Taylor Diamond. The rectangular-cut diamond is potentially flawless and looking at it one is mesmerized by how the light dances in the stone. It's a very lively diamond which probably explains why she wore it everyday.

He also bought at auction La Peregrina, a large pearl that has Spanish royalty pedigree from 500 years ago. It was even depicted in royal portraits by Diego Velazquez. Taylor had the pearl set in a necklace with pearls and rubies by Cartier. 

The Windsor brooch is very beautiful -- three feathers in a crown that was formerly owned by the Duchess of Windsor who was also a friend of Taylor's. She admired it so much the Duchess gave her permission to copy it, but Taylor refrained and when the brooch was up for auction, she madly bid for it. The picture makes the brooch look smaller than it is, and the curve of the feathers is so delicate and almost real.

Many people came to see the exhibition today, Hong Kong Chinese, mainlanders and Japanese. While the pieces are gorgeous, they're really for larger women, as Taylor says herself, "Big girls need big diamonds".

La Peregrina set in a necklace

Intermingled with the pieces under glass and heavy security were blown up pictures of Taylor wearing jewellery or in various film stills, as well as a video showing her in various roles and interviews with experts about her jewellery and clothing that will be going under the hammer.

It'll be interesting to see what happens at the auction next month. We were lucky to see the pieces all together before they get dispersed -- around the world.

Taylor loved her jewellery but with this sale she had planned, it seems she also wanted to make them available to others who also have the same passion.

Uneven Cooking

Steamed whole crab claw with egg white was a winner

Some friends from out of town were keen to try a Michelin-starred restaurant so we took them to Tim's Kitchen.

A few days ahead of time we pre-ordered a few dishes and then hoped the place would live up to its two-star billing.

Fluffy but meaty crystal king prawn with Chinese ham

It wasn't too busy for a Wednesday night and we were seated upstairs by the window where there is a balcony area converted into a pond for goldfish and fake floating lotus flowers.

We started off with a bottle of red before the first dish of crystal king prawn, delicately cut so it looked like a giant white shiny ruffle on the plate accompanied by a thin slice of Chinese ham. It was meaty and crunchy.

Then the signature steamed whole crab claw with egg white arrived and our guests were impressed by the size of the dish. The egg white was steamed to perfection, silky smooth and delicious, while the crab was very fresh and had lots of meat to dig into. After finishing this our stomachs were already partly full.

Oven-baked pigeon with preserved vegetables was pedestrian

The next dish was oven-baked pigeon with preserved vegetables wrapped in lotus leaf. It looked impressive, but the taste was nothing special -- in fact the traditional roasted pigeon would have been better, juicier. Nevertheless, this one was interesting with strips of preserved vegetables for a more savoury taste.

Our guest spied a dish of deep-fried frogs' legs with peppercorn salt at the next table and ordered a dish to try. Unfortunately the frogs' legs didn't have much taste as the batter was too thick. One piece each was as much as we could handle and left the rest untouched.

Another disappointing dish was steamed rice in casserole with preserved pork sausage, liver sausage and duck. While the server portioned out the rice into four bowls, we were surprised to see there was hardly any evidence of the savoury oily meats having been cooked with the rice as it tasted quite plain. Instead they seemed to have been cooked separately and there weren't even any crunchy bits of rice as it should have been cooked within the clay pot.

Chinese sausages and duck with rice was a lowlight

We also had a dish of seasonal pea shoots that were delicious in a broth.

Throughout the meal our guests began to wonder what the fuss was about this restaurant and why it was given two Michelin stars. It then dawned on them that perhaps the food critics did not necessarily know much about Chinese food and this subjective exercises was even more swayed by their ignorance of the cuisine.

In the end the meal was saved by dessert -- almond tea with egg white that was creamy and delicious as well as steamed red jujube cake that wasn't too sweet.

However the best part of the evening was the good conversation and lots of laughs that made it even more memorable.

Tim's Kitchen
84-90 Bonham Strand
Sheung Wan
2543 5919
www.timskitchen.com.hk