The soft haze of late summer still lingered in the air, promising a few days of respite before Super Typhoon Saola put our beloved city to the test once again. As this would be the last time of peace before the tempest, Prestige gave homage to the 40 young innovators, change-makers and leaders and, you guessed it, all under the age of 40.

The months leading up to the grand reveal had been long and arduous, but the moment of celebration had arrived. “I am but merry wanderer in the night,” our invitation proclaimed, and as the doors of SEVVA’s luxurious halls opened, it was evident that we were indeed about to embark on an adventure beyond imagination. Guests spread throughout the glimmering gala, with each corner offering a feast for the senses. The tantalising delights from the kitchen, the luscious scent of perfumes mingling in the air and the soft notes of music filling up every corner, it seemed as if we had stepped into a dreamland created by The Bard himself.

BMW renewed their vow to back the bold and ambitious, while Don Julio showered the 40 Under 40 class of 2023 with custom-crafted bottles of exquisite 1942 tequila, making our shared mission to highlight Hong Kong’s wealth of talent shine brighter than ever.

As custom prescribed, this year’s list of esteemed honorands was unveiled by our publisher Oceana Ou to great applause and exuberant cheering. We erupted with glee as this year’s honouree Lezlie Chan performed a musical number in celebration, and the Moët Chandon champagne and Mortlach whiskey flowed in abundance. Genevieve Chew and Celine Kwan welcomed Melinda Zeman and Derek Cheng and Rickyy Wong into the esteemed 40 Under 40 circle respectively, and so did others, as we beheld, with bated breath, how our community of artists, entrepreneurs, designers, activists and athletes grew stronger. 

The stars mostly come out at night, and our wishes for this year’s 40 Under 40 celebration have been granted with the brilliance of a thousand suns. Here’s to another grand chapter of excellence; It shall be extraordinary, for that is the Prestige promise.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Prestige Hong Kong (@prestigehk)

The post What You Missed at the Prestige 40 Under 40 2023 Party appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Edan Lui appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Tommie Lo appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Anson Lo appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Niu Niu appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Niko Leung appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Jordan Leung appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Duncan Reid appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Leung Chung Hang appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Stephanie Poelman appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Benny Leung appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Taylor Richard appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Steve Lee appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Ashley Salmon appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Ayla Sham appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Nick Jaden Lau appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Joyce Lau appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Max Song appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Buzz Tang appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Common Abode co-founder Nelson Htoo’s passion in sharing his cultural heritage with Hong Kong materialised when he first arrived in this city from Burma to pursue postgraduate studies. Joined by his partner Elin Fu, who grew up in Norway, the duo created a new hospitality group whose journey began by showcasing two cuisines tied to their upbringings: Burmese and Scandinavian.

Today, the two vastly different culinary styles can be enjoyed at Aberdeen Street’s Club Rangoon and Hollywood Road’s Hjem, while a third establishment spotlighting Thai food – Camp Krapao – is currently finding a new home after a brief tenure at BaseHall.

“In showcasing Burmese cuisine in Hong Kong, I’m hoping to break stereotypes and preconceptions that people may have about Burmese food and Southeast Asian cooking in general,” says Htoo. “With Burmese food being an elusive cuisine, it’s easy for it to become exoticised. The goal is to subvert that and place Burmese cooking and Club Rangoon into the usual rotation of cuisine and restaurant choices, rather than it be a one-off exploration of an ‘unusual’ cuisine.” 

With Hong Kong now checked off his list, Htoo looks forward to expanding overseas and sharing his Burmese heritage – alongside his partner’s beloved Nordic cuisine – with a wider audience. His next destination is Singapore, a city he lived in from the age of 14, but while these plans might be his next big goal, the Common Abode co-founder insists his primary focus remains on creating a better industry and company.

“I want to take the time now to grow and cultivate a certain culture here at Common Abode that really reflects the core pillars of hospitality, both internally and externally,” he says. “Right now, the priority isn’t to open more new concepts; I want to really hone what we already have in the next five years and see it evolve – to keep things as true as can be to our group vision that centres around integrity, honesty and, of course, hospitality – from the heart, above all.”

The post Nelson Htoo appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Bartender, manager and now co-founder of one of the city’s most anticipated bars, Ajit Gurung’s is one of the most respected personalities within Asia’s hospitality industry. After tenures at Lily & Bloom and Stockton, which he looks back on fondly, the Nepalese native joined previous 40 Under 40 honouree Jay Khan at COA, where he managed the bar to exceptional standards. As a testament to his work ethic, the bar recently won first place on Asia’s 50 Best Bars for the third consecutive year, a feat achieved by no other establishment.

The secret to success, says Gurung, is to focus more on the people and not just the drinks. “We approach things differently,” he explains. “Instead of viewing our bars solely as a business, we take a bartender’s perspective and aim to create the perfect guest experience. Our goal is to consistently push the boundaries of creativity and adventure, while providing a simple, familiar and welcoming environment. By doing so, we hope to shake up the industry and set the standard for the ultimate guest experience.”

Riding on this success with COA and furthering his relationship with Khan, Gurung’s latest venture sees him elevated to co-founder for The Savory Project, a new cocktail bar on Staunton Street whose impeccable concoctions spotlight savoury flavours, a niche Gurung and Khan discovered while working at their beloved tequila and mezcal joint. Although Covid delayed the new venture’s opening, Gurung says an epiphany during the pandemic only strengthened his love for, and belief in, the concept. 

“There were times when I thought maybe Hong Kong’s not the place to do this, or maybe this bar isn’t the right thing to do, but those thoughts ultimately made me realise that The Savory Project is actually what I wanted the most,” he says. “I saw the vision then, and I’ve never wanted anything different.” 

The post Ajit Gurung appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Although at the age of 26 Natalie Chung has done more than many will accomplish in a lifetime, somehow you get the feeling she’s just getting started. She began her journey at 18 when she co-founded V’air Hong Kong, a climate education startup promoting sustainable tourism that still operates today.

After gaining her bachelor’s degree from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Chung graduated with an MPhil in Environmental Change and Management at Oxford University. Today, she’s recognised as one of Asia’s leading climate advocates and social entrepreneurs. At the policy level, she also serves on the government’s Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development and the Green Tech Fund Assessment Committee.

Chung’s biggest inspiration was when, at the age of 11, she heard about Dr Rebecca Lee. “She was the world’s first woman to leave her footprint in the Arctic, Antarctica and Mount Everest regions,” she says of the Hong Kong-born explorer. “Her vivid analogy of our planet being trapped in a microwave has been engraved on my mind ever since, propelling me to become a climate advocate.”

Things came full circle this year when Chung was invited as the only Hong Kong representative to take part in the Antarctic Climate Expedition, along with distinguished marine biologists, climate researchers and policymakers from around the world. This experience has propelled her to channel her energy towards educating people on the potential of oceans to drive carbon neutrality in Asia.

“Traditional climate solutions centre around terrestrial innovations,” she says. “I strive to shift the attention of Asian communities to the vast oceans, envisioning a sustainable blue economy as a powerful means of mitigating climate change and fostering adaptation and resilience.”

As for the future, not only does Chung hope to expand her climate advocacy work to emerging Asia and Pacific Island countries, but she’d also love to start a vegan bakery, and become both a certified forest bathing guide and a professional nature photographer. If anyone can do it, she can.

The post Natalie Chung appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Compared to most people in Hong Kong, Cheung Tsz Hin had an unusual childhood. He grew up in the countryside, surrounded by the hills and lakes of the New Territories, with wild foliage as the backdrop of his daily life. These rural landscapes have become a recurrent focus in his paintings as he contemplates the connections between nature, the present and past experiences.

Becoming an artist wasn’t a lifelong dream; Cheung excelled in science in high school and went on to major in business at university. Indeed, his first encounter with art only occurred when he signed up for a painting course during the summer holidays, before he began his final year at college. 

Picking up the paintbrush changed his life. Cheung finds meaning in expressing his observations of everyday objects and events through his trademark muted mustard-yellow palette. After studying fine arts as a minor subject at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2010, he went on to receive a master of fine arts degree in Taipei in 2014. Now after a string of solo and group exhibitions in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Iceland, Cheung has garnered popular attention from collectors around the world.  

Cheung’s latest body of work, which put him on our Artists to Watch list earlier this year, blurs reality and memory. During the pandemic, he spent most of his time on his rooftop, which doubles as his studio. Observing his potted plants, he was struck by the way colours and shapes would morph as he opened and closed his eyes. Finding it impossible to grasp their true colours, he projects the images in his mind on to his canvases, layering pigment and brushstrokes to depict the details he remembers. 

After taking a short break to reflect on his artistic language, Cheung is currently exploring opportunities to exhibit overseas. He wants to engage in cultural dialogues with people around the world through his work as well as doing his part in contributing to Hong Kong’s creative community. 

The post Cheung Tsz Hin appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Like any other top chefs, Leonard Cheung’s culinary journey has been both immensely rewarding and arduous. After leaving high school, he worked as a trainee at several Michelin-star restaurants in the city including 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana before fully plunging himself into the industry by studying at, and graduating from, the Culinary Institute of America in New York. From there, he moved around the globe, learning his way and honing his skills in leading kitchens and dining rooms before returning to Hong Kong. 

“When I was 20 years old,” Cheung recalls, “I was pulling 14- to 16-hour workdays, 80 percent of which included cleaning up other people’s messes, and the other 20 percent doing repetitive menial kitchen prep work – which I believe is absolutely essential looking back now – that nobody wanted to do. I didn’t accomplish anything by being the fastest learner, or naturally gifted, or being well-connected within the industry, but I had to succeed through sheer determination, the love of challenges and a commitment to follow the course I set, even when it meant walking in the opposite direction from the herd.” 

Now the head chef and owner of Elgin Street restaurant Cultivate, Cheung has found an opportunity to express his own creativity and culinary style in what he calls a “fine casual” dining experience. “My cooking style is incredibly honest,” he says. “I don’t take cheap shots and hide behind highly premium ingredients to impress diners or hide mistakes. There are no mistakes to hide. We take humble ingredients, ones that sometimes aren’t taken too seriously in the world of fine dining, and we elevate them by manipulating textures, pairings and temperatures. We completely alter an ingredient that a guest may have previously assumed was boring or overused.

“The cuisine at Cultivate isn’t necessarily defined by one style,” Cheung adds. “Instead, the food is whimsical, seasonally guided, unconventional and attitude driven. We’re redefining what fine casual and interactive dining should be.”

The post Leonard Cheung appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

After co-founding a gender-fluid brand PONDER.ER, just before the pandemic began terrorising the world, Derek Cheng and business partner Alex Po began challenging the rigid norms and ideas of masculinity often associated with Chinese and Asian cultures.

“Liquifying masculinity is the starting point of our journey,” Cheng says. “We don’t see PONDER.ER as a loud protest and we don’t want to give answers. Instead, we invite everyone to experiment with us, starting with our everyday wardrobe.”

Now sold at exclusive retail locations, such as Ssense, Harrods and Joyce, the brand has garnered the patronage of Korean rapper BM and girl group NMIXX, as well as dancers in from the Hong Kong ballet. The road to success, however, was hardly a walk in the park.

“Alex and I came from an art-school background, which was a great environment for creative development, but building and managing a business is a completely different expertise,” says Cheng. Nonetheless, after graduating from Central Saint Martins in 2016, he’d gained the attention of Vogue, Highsnobiety and WGSN with a creative vision that “celebrated local cultures, social change, and the relationship between fashion and identity”. He also explains that starting during the pandemic enabled him and Po to align PONDER.ER with the needs and values of the local creative community.

Last year, PONDER.ER won the Yu Prize, which provides support to pioneering Chinese designers and helps them enter the global stage through partnerships with Shanghai Fashion Week and the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM). Having already exhibited at SPHERE, the official showroom of Paris fashion week, for three seasons straight, Cheng has now set his sights on hosting his first runway show in the French capital – it’s among the young fashion designer’s many creative ambitions.

“I see a lot of opportunities for myself and for PONDER.ER to achieve,” he says. “For example, we could have cross-disciplinary collaborations with artists and practitioners outside of fashion, physical pop-up events and presentations across the globe. Meaningful content that touches people’s hearts.”  

The post Derek Cheng appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Megan Lam appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

An athlete like Camille Cheng really needs no introduction – she’s represented Hong Kong twice at the Olympics, first in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro and then again in the 2020 Tokyo Games. She’s a five-time Asian Games medallist and is still intensely training for the forthcoming Asian Games in November, and the Paris Olympics next year. 

Cheng also recently co-founded Mind the Waves, a mental-health platform she set up with swimmers Stephanie Au (a fellow 40 Under 40 alumnus) and Jamie Yeung. Using her academic qualifications – Cheng graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a bachelor’s in psychology, a masters in industrial/organisational psychology and a graduate certificate in sports and performance psychology – she wants to promote a holistic approach to wellbeing. “We want to normalise talking about mental health and mental wellbeing in Hong Kong, to get to a point where mental wellbeing is viewed and treated the same way as physical wellbeing,” she says. 

“I hope to push boundaries using my voice and my platform to talk about things I’m passionate about,” says Cheng. This includes sharing an authentic account of an athlete’s journey in Hong Kong and all its ups and downs. It’s a gruelling and lonely journey that involves years of training each day for a race that lasts less than 30 seconds. Or in Cheng’s case, much less than that. Her main stroke is freestyle and her personal best in the 50-metres freestyle category is 25.74 seconds, which she set in 2020. 

A normal day’s training begins with two hours of swimming practice at 7am, followed by breakfast and journalling (her favourite part of the day), meetings and work, physio or a nap, followed in the afternoon by a second practice session – sometimes in the pool, sometimes in the gym, or both. Rest and repeat. 

“I’ve just turned 30 and I’m still swimming professionally to represent Hong Kong at my third Olympics,” she says. “I want to show myself and others that age is just a number, and to inspire others to go for their dreams no matter how non-traditional.”

The post Camille Cheng appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Coleman Wong appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post On Ying Lai appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

There’s no such thing as a one-dimensional artist. If you’re anything like Ernest Chang, you’d glean the creative possibilities of entire universes hidden within your psyche and channel them into creating eclectic, synthetic (in the best sense) and mind-haunting worlds. They draw you in, capturing and enchanting you with their prophetic ability to reveal the most hidden elements of your experiences. 

At the age of eight, Chang moved from the US to Hong Kong, which today is the setting for his gallery, The Stallery. Thus, his status as homegrown luminary derives not from birthright but rather his years of soul-searching, battling with inner demons, perseverance and profound feats of creativity and discipline. “I got into art because it was the only outlet I had during school when I was bullied,” he says. “Because I came out as gay when I was young, I didn’t get a good reception from my peers.” 

Chang’s work is often a sardonic commentary on popular culture, conveyed through silk-printed paintings that depict recognisable motifs in unlikely contexts. Last year he debuted his Space Rich series, which explore the cosmic points of intersection of futurism and consumerism through beloved characters – think Sailor Moon, Rick and Morty, talking daisies from Alice in Wonderland and The Simpsons’ Mr Burns. 

The juxtaposition of arresting solid colours and blatant cynicism derives from Chang’s adolescent struggles. “I had a lot of addiction issues with alcohol, medication and drugs,” he says. “I needed a way to let my inner story be told, so I decided to channel it into my work.” His first attempts to express himself through photography were thwarted by colour-blindness, which made success in that field virtually impossible unless he confined himself to black-and-white. “When I started doing colour [portraits], people thought I was toning them wrong – the skin tones were all orange or green,” he says, laughing. 

After two stints in rehab, however, Chang reached a new level of self-discovery, which inadvertently led him to the style of artistic expression he excels at now. “At the end of the day, suffering equalises us,” he muses. “Rehab opened me up to free-form thinking that I wasn’t practising in my work.”

And there it is: a well-calibrated mixture of surrealism and abstract post-postmodernism, which, like an exceptionally made disco ball, is combined in myriad shards that reflect the fascinating, heartfelt and painful parts of their creator.

The post Ernest Chang appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Great designers, artists and musicians will say inspiration can come when they least expect it – or from something quite unexpected. For installation artist Chan Wai Lap, his breakthrough came at the age of 28, during a time when he was experiencing creative block. Seeking a way out, he decided to learn how to swim, a decision that would be his defining career break. 

Hesitant about taking lessons, Chan turned to YouTube to teach himself and practised daily until he’d mastered it. After all this time spent at the pool, he became captivated not only by its architectural beauty, but also the dynamics of human behaviour in communal spaces.

Today, he’s known for his work inspired by swimming pools and the tension between the individual and the community. Whether they’re calming grid-like drawings or attention-grabbing large-scale installations, it’s a world you always want to dive into.

One of his most celebrated accomplishments is Some of Us Are Looking at the Stars (2023), a life-sized tiled swimming-pool installation overlooking Victoria Harbour that was commissioned for the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Chan hopes to draw in busy commuters to reflect and gaze upward at the sky.

His talent has led to invitations for artist-in-residence programmes in Hong Kong, New York and Istanbul. He’s also exhibited at Art Central, Art Basel and Tai Kwun, with solo exhibitions at Gallery Exit and Contemporary by Angela Li. In 2019, Chan was named Young Artist of the Year at the Hong Kong Arts Development Awards. It’s perhaps fitting his personal motto is “If you really love something, you’ll find a way to achieve it.”

Naturally, Chan’s day starts with a swim before he heads to his studio. He’s recently been taking on a variety of projects, such a visual installation for a music concert in Tai Kwun. In his own words, “Art isn’t a self-contained practice. I’d like to continue expanding its definition and blurring boundaries between disciplines.”

The post Chan Wai Lap appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Rickyy Wong appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Emily Lam-Ho appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

“The atmosphere in the city wasn’t too ready for diversity when I first started as a plus-size model,” says Lezlie Chan, who shot to stardom after appearing on Extra Beauty, ViuTV’s beauty contest for people with a Body Mass Index of 25 and above. 

In a city overwhelmingly dominated by non-inclusive beauty standards, plus-sized models and entertainer constantly face hurdles and prejudice. In 2021, while still recovering from online bullying, Chan was offered a modelling job for a plus-size swimwear brand, which helped kickstart her career. 

Then, to keep the momentum going, she released her debut single and music video, “Ask to Breathe”. Chan has been passionate about writing and performing songs since high school, and now credits Doja Cat and Lil Nas X as her musical heroes. In 2022, she became an ambassador of the Women’s Festival Hong Kong and Sexual Violence Crisis Support Centre – Rainlily. “I’m enthusiastic about contributing to public welfare, and I want to encourage local women to freely discuss the topics of gender, sexuality and menstruation,” she says, hoping to challenge traditional aesthetic standards and promote gender awareness, social innovation and equality.

Even in her blooming singing career, Chan aims to ensure her message stays prominent and uncompromised by taking full creative control and acting as producer as well as performer. She’s also firmly believes that leading by example would help bring about the change the world needs – even if it starts on a small scale. “Being a plus-size model in Hong Kong has always been a challenge and there isn’t much demand in this field. Keep creating something new and be the innovative one to explore more.”

She’s hopeful for the future. In the next few years, Chan plans to release a full studio album, take part in a fashion show, try out sea diving and visit Antarctica.

The post Lezlie Chan appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Melinda Zeman appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

An increasingly familiar name in Hong Kong’s film industry, Chan Kin Long won best new director at the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2022 for his neo-noir directing and screenwriting debut Hand Rolled Cigarette, starring Lam Ka Tung. The movie was also nominated in numerous categories in the 57th Golden Horse Awards as well as for the White Mulberry award for first-time directors at the 23rd Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy. 

Set in Tsim Sha Tsui’s notorious Chungking Mansions, the sentimental yet violent crime thriller follows the unlikely friendship between a retired police officer and a young thief. The script sheds light on issues that are close to Chan’s heart, gently pointing fingers at racial discrimination and the broken fragments of a society that lacks community and social cohesion. With its emotional and raw depiction of comradery born out of an initially distrustful partnership, the film demonstrates Chan’s impressive confidence as a breakout writer and director; many critics praised his delicate balance of noir, gritty character development and surprising moments of comical relief.  

Before making his directing debut, Chan worked in various aspects of film production, as well as appearing on screen in relatively minor roles. In 2013 he was discovered by director Fruit Chan and featured in his thriller mystery The Midnight After. A year later, he received the Best Actor award at the Sapporo International Short Film Festival for his performance in I Can’t Live Without A Dream. To prepare for his role as a cancer patient, Chan shaved off his hair and lost around 10kg in body weight.

His dedication to his art constantly pushes him to think unconventionally. Refusing to settle for the ordinary, Chan has made a name for himself with his distinctive compositions and unique visual textures. If his filmmaking endeavours continue gaining momentum, we’ll soon see his dream of being invited to the Cannes Film Festival turn into reality. 

The post Chan Kin Long appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

Although born and raised in Hong Kong, it was while studying in Britain that artist Chankalun (Karen Chan) first fell in love with neon art. Feeling homesick, Chan’s sudden appreciation for the distant dazzling lights of her birthplace sparked a desire to pursue it as a hobby.

On her return, however, she found the scene was virtually non-existent. “There was no access to the craft in Hong Kong, and support was very limited,” she says. “I kept receiving rejections for learning or having a place to practice.”

Undeterred, Chan decided to travel the world for three years, when she learned from neon-benders and artists in Japan, France, the Netherlands, the US and Taiwan. She’s the first person to learn the craft in six different countries and is now the only female neon-bender in Hong Kong.

Chan aims to redefine the perception of neon art – often considered a dying and male-dominated craft – and showcase its diverse potential beyond just signs. Her work has gained global recognition, leading to invitations to speak and advocate for neon art at TEDxTinHauWomen, Soho House and Art Basel in Hong Kong.

One of her most celebrated achievements is the La Prairie-commissioned work Light as Air, which was installed in Tai Kwun during Art Basel.Created with upcycled glass, it was the largest outdoor sculptural neon installation in Hong Kong. 

Chan says the most satisfying thing was the reactions of her friends. “They were astonished, because they expected it to be a flat 2D work,” she says. “They had no idea about the potential neon can bring.”

Looking ahead, Chan aspires to advocate neon policies locally and dreams of developing a neon street in Hong Kong adorned with her creations. Her ultimate desire is to have her work exhibited in her favourite museums and spaces, including the Wellcome Collection in London, the Musée de la Chasse et la Nature in Paris and Hong Kong’s M+. No surprise, then, that her motto is “Impossible is impossible.” 

The post Chankalun appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

What with helming a Cantonese restaurant as a woman and pushing the boundaries of Chinese cuisine, Ho Lee Fook’s executive chef ArChan Chan can be regarded a trailblazer in the purest sense of the word. To lead such a critically acclaimed establishment in a male-dominated industry is no easy feat, and Chan understood from the very beginning what she’d had to face.

“It’s quite rare to have a female chef doing Cantonese food,” she reflects. “It’s a cuisine that requires a lot of hard work; the recipes and preparations can take a long time and things like the wok require a lot of physical strength. Learning Cantonese cuisine techniques and recipes require dedication, constant practice and a little bit of intuition.”

Not only has she mastered these techniques and recipes, but she’s also pioneering a new wave of Cantonese food, innovating through creative dishes such as her master stock pigeon, which miraculously retains a crispy skin, or the signature Ho Lee Duck, whose preparation process is more akin to that of Cantonese roast meats than Peking duck. 

The creativity and perfect execution of these dishes have gained widespread popularity among both expats and locals, which recently enabled her recent visit to London for Ho Lee Fook’s first European pop-up. Chan hopes this success can inspire other women to pursue their ambitions of becoming an established chef.

“I want to show others that if I can do it, so can they,” she says. “It’s about pioneering the future of Cantonese cuisine as a young chef, while honouring its roots and always remembering where we come from. For me, it’s not about changing things for the sake of changing them, but focusing on executing these dishes in the best possible way with the best ingredients. Being recognised by Prestige’s 40 Under 40 is an honour – and I hope those who see this list feel inspired by someone to follow their passions and to put in the work to achieve their goals.”

The post Archan Chan appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

That Alexis Badel would become a jockey was almost predestined. Not only he hail from racing royalty – his mother was the first woman trainer in France and his father was a successful jockey – but he was born with the ideal build. “I was physically made for horses,” he says. “I’m the perfect size, in height and weight.”

Born in France, Badel’s first official race was on his 16th birthday in 2005; just one and a half years later he turned pro. After a successful career in his home country, Badel made his Sha Tin debut in 2016. Since then, he’s become one of Hong Kong’s most in-demand jockeys and has ridden for esteemed trainers such as David Hayes and John Size.

As with any athlete, Badel’s daily routine is strict: he rides each morning and then studies theory and technique. During the season he competes each week at Sha Tin and Happy Valley. Recently, he’s focused on improving his mental strength through different sports and activities.

The highlight of his career came in March this year when he won the BMW Derby on Voyage Bubble, despite just recovering from injury and riding a horse he’d only been on once before. His secret? “Horse racing is different from any other sport,” he says. “We partner with an animal, so all our actions must be in step with them. I’m not only a jockey; I also have strong intuition and can read a horse’s mind pretty well.”

Badel says it’s all thanks to the experience and knowledge his mother passed on to him, whom he credits as his greatest inspiration: “She had to be strong to start out in a male-dominated industry at 25; she’s now 70 and still training horses.” If her career is anything to go by, at 32 he’s just getting started.

The post Alexis Badel appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

An essential requirement for any entrepreneur is determination and perseverance. For Angus Au, co-founder and chief marketing officer of food-tech start-up The Future Salad, these qualities were demanded in bucket loads just to get his business off the ground. 

When pitching his idea to raise funds, Au’s concept of a “drinkable salad” was initially met with scepticism and he faced countless rejections. However, his belief in his product’s potential, coupled with hard work, eventually gained recognition from an investor. After founding the company in 2020, his product is now sold in Taiwan, Mainland China, Thailand, Hong Kong and the UK. 

An advocate of plant-based diets, Au acknowledges that while salads are among the healthiest foods we can eat, their consumption has repercussions for the environment – often the ingredients are stored in plastic containers and their short shelf life leads to wastage. Thus he had the idea of transforming traditional salad by using freeze-dry technology, which locks in nutritional value and offers busy people a dining alternative that’s both convenient and affordable. 

As with any start-up founder, Au’s daily life is a juggling act. He’s involved in every aspect of his business, from operations, distribution and product development to marketing strategies and customer engagement. He’s also exploring ways to reduce its carbon footprint and promote sustainable practices throughout its supply chain, and recently completed an advanced diploma in nutrition, helping him to further optimise the benefits of his products.

Despite his demanding schedule, he finds time to get outdoors and connect with nature, which he credits as his greatest inspiration. “It constantly reminds me of the importance of health, sustainability and conservation,” Au says. He also loves travelling and sampling exotic foods along the way, and recently took up photography. 

As for his company’s success, that isn’t solely defined by balance sheets. “My personal motto is ‘health is wealth’. I believe good health is the foundation of a happy and fulfilling life, and that by promoting healthy living and environmental sustainability, we can make a positive impact on the world.”

The post Angus Au appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Gareth Tong appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Antonia Li appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Mengzy appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Celine Kwan appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Lynus Woo appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Walden Lam appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Ysabelle Cheung appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Genevieve Chew appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.

The post Jada Poon appeared first on Prestige Online - HongKong.