Culture & Leisure

At Ramen Iroha, a cartoon dog co-branded theme restaurant in Causeway Bay, Iris Lee, 20,  takes pictures of the dishes and shares them on Instagram.  “I’m a fan of Pochacoo,” Lee said. “I come here not just because the ramen is delicious but to experience being surrounded by lovely Pochacoo.” All the decorations in Ramen Iroha are filled with Pochacco elements, including the food itself. Soon after its launch in December 2024, an Instagram post on Ramen Iroha went viral, attracting long lines of customers. Cyrus Lin, 37, the founder of Ramen Iroha, said during the peak hours, consumers may have to wait in line for up to three hours. “Today’s consumers attach great importance to the experiential value of their purchases and seek emotional engagement and social interaction with brands,” Lin said. “I love Pochacco, I came specifically to check in after reading the promotion on Instagram,” said Donnie Yu, 27, a bank worker. “I will also share my dining experience on social media.” “In an era dominated by social media, I think sharing unique experiences has become an important consumption trend,” Yu added. “Sharing such experiential consumption experiences satisfies my emotional and social needs.” Ramen Iroha is one of many restaurants that have risen in fame in the city in recent months and co-branded with well-known intellectual property images. Since January, co-branded restaurants such as Kingsley Cafe × Snoopy, Black Wood LZAKAYA × Cinnamoroll, and ABURI EN × Attack on Titan have also been launched.  “Along with the growth in the number of such restaurants, there is also a growing demand from consumers for immersive experiences in the catering industry,” Lin said. “Space layout, tableware design, dish placement, and even the service style of employees are all details that need to be improved.” Lin said Ramen Iroha will …

Crowds of shoppers, most of them young, pack into the narrow corridors on the 15th floor of Ho King Commercial Centre in Mong Kok, especially on the weekends and during holidays. They are drawn to the remade vintage clothes and accessories at CheckThis. The owner, Mic Chung, 25, designs the products. “I found some remade items while traveling in Japan and Thailand. At that time, remade vintage clothes or accessories were still not popular in Hong Kong, so I thought it was a potential market I could work for,” she said. Remade vintage is one of the practices of upcycling, where second-hand clothing is collected and different fabrics are patched together to create unique pieces. The emphasis is on sustainability and waste-reduction. In Hong Kong, remade vintage fashion is gaining momentum as young shoppers increasingly seek sustainable alternatives to fast fashion. Stores including CheckThis and Redress offer remade clothing that blends unique designs with environmental consciousness. CheckThis uses Instagram to engage with customers and employs marketing tactics like lucky bags or holiday discounts to attract consumption. “I am glad that the shop has become more and more popular among younger consumers, and I can feel that people are becoming increasingly aware of the need to protect the environment,” Chung said. Chung said vintage is not new, so the products and designs must be relatively rare in order to attract customers. “Compared to the affordability promoted by fast-fashion brands, vintage offers the uniqueness that consumers value more today,” she said. Gary Tsang, a member of the Hong Kong Fashion Designer Association, said that amid the rise of Y2K and Y3K trends, more young customers prefer upcycling or other sustainable alternatives to fast fashion. Y2K fashion responds to novelty with a futuristic retro vibe, focusing on bright colours. Y3K goes further, aiming …

Flowers sales for Valentine’s Day fell short of expectations, as florists at Mong Kong Flower Market reported a decrease in sales compared to last year. With roses, sunflowers and white gypsophila decorating the streets, the Mong Kok Flower Market, a well-known area for buying flowers and plants, was crowded with people on Valentine's Day. However, sales were not ideal for florists. Chris Ng, who is in her thirties and working in a flower shop called “Floralwords”, said that the sales were 30% less than last year. “Only around 80 bouquets have been ordered so far,” said Ng. “The economy is worse right now, so our store did not raise prices for Valentine’s Day.” The price for a bouquet of 20 roses at their store was HK$880. Rex Cheung, who works at Some Flower in Mong Kok, also reported a 30% sales decrease compared with last year. “There were only around 10 customers who bought flowers the day before Valentine’s Day, and the customer flow is even worse on Valentine’s Day,” said Cheung. Cheung agreed with Ng that the decline in flower sales is related to the sluggish performance of the Hong Kong economy. “The economy is poor this year, so cost has become a concern of customers,” he added. Brandon Qin, a 19-year-old secondary student, bought his girlfriend a bouquet in a Mong Kok flower shop. “I bought this for around HK$30, which is a bargain for Valentine’s Day,” said Qin. “But if I have time, I will buy flowers in Shenzhen,” Qin added. “The flowers in Shenzhen are less expensive. Flowers at HK$300 in Hong Kong may only be 200 yuan (HK$215) in Shenzhen, so it is more affordable.” In a bid to increase sales, flower shops came up with various marketing strategies. Some of them made romantic quotes …

Leslie Cheng, an 18-year-old cosplay enthusiast, transformed into a male anime character from the popular Japanese TV series. She first put in red contact lenses, concealed her long hair under a wig, and slipped height-enhancing insoles into her shoes to make herself 1.77 meters. She was about to go to Mongkok for a date with a woman she had met online less than a month ago. Tonight Cheng will make HK$200.  “This is my new side hustle, which we call cosplay commission,” said Cheng.“Through cosplay, we bring characters from anime into reality and go on dates with the character’s female fans.”  Cheng is one thousands running cosplayer commission businesses through social media, especially Xiaohongshu and China’s TikTok, which have made their way to Hong Kong. Many young people here say this new job not only brings in extra cash but also a sense of fulfillment for their female clients and themselves.  The cosplaying apparel segment dominated the Asia-Pacific role-playing and otaku apparel industry in 2022, valued at US$ 1.5 million, and the segment will likely getting 7.2%, according to market research company Astute Analytica.  “I'm happy that more and more people like the service of cos commission,” Cheng said after first posting photos with her clients and receiving many positive comments on Xiaohongshu.  A post titled “Daily Life of Maid Rin Matsuoka” on Xiaohongshu has received over 20,000 likes. Some of Rin Matsuoka’s fans asked in the comment section if they could get the poster’s autograph and have an opportunity to date.  Rin Matsuoka is a male character from the Japanese sports anime Free!, recognized for his appealing appearance, intelligence, and loyalty to friends, which attracted groups of female fans, according to the Free! Wiki, a character's science fiction website.  “I seek a painter to create an anime-style drawing of …

A dazzling array of lights and colour lit up the Hong Kong Cultural Centre piazza and foyer on Friday night as the city celebrated the Lantern Festival. This year’s theme was “Chinese Lanterns: An Enduring Heritage,” co-organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office (ICHO). It featured animal-shaped lanterns, including pandas, peacocks, and koi fish, that symbolise prosperity, strength, and good fortune. At 7 pm, a two-person youth group from the Boys’ and Girls’ Club Association of Hong Kong Mei Foo Children and Youth Integrated Services Centre performed classic songs including Jace Chan's “Born to Be Different”, “People Life, Ocean Wild” from Mayday at the installation for around half an hour. “I feel that this year’s Lantern Festival is a combination of traditional and modern cultures,” said Chloe Yang, 29, a primary school teacher from mainland China.“These lanterns present a modern twist on traditional paper-craft skills, and the animal theme is also very appealing to me,” she added “As a tourist, I am glad to see Hong Kong placing so much emphasis on Chinese culture and bringing it to different people with fun and lively animal symbols,” Yang said. Local paper-crafting Master, Mo Cheuk-kei, was invited by ICHO to make one of the lanterns with the theme of  “Glittering Fish – Lanterns with Abundant Blessings,” according to the programme details from LCSD. The lanterns designed were based on traditional New Year paintings in which two little lions play with fish on a pond while holding fortune sticks to pray for the New Year. “I come here to watch the wonderful lanterns every Lantern Festival, and this year's vivid animal lanterns that symbolize China were a big surprise,” said Lau Sui San, a 64-year-old retiree. “I am happy that Hong Kong has so many …