This Week The Mice Have Mostly Been...

Thank god this week is finally coming to a close because for us Mice that means just one thing...

I can barely contain my excitement... firstly I have never been before and secondly the thought of all being reunited and exploring the city together is too much!! Work has well and truly taken over for all three of us the last few weeks, so to have a break away with quality time to catch up is much needed. Bring on the shopping, cocktails and fun, even if we do freeze whilst doing it!

When we haven't been manically wrapping up at work, throwing outfits into suitcases and squeezing in last minute NYC research, this week the Mice have mostly been....

Hiding out at our favourite newly discovered Dalston drinking den, Ruby's! It's been on our hit list for months and for some reason it's taken us an age to make our way there... something we're definitely kicking ourselves about now! 

If you're after something laid back, cosy and a little bit different then this is your place. Look out for the retro cinema sign on Stoke Newington Road and some stairs beside it lit up in a vibrant red...

Once in you feel as though you're in someones living room, it's small, low lit, retro but effortlessly cool.

However fear not, it isn't one of those places trying too hard with no substance. Yes it's cool, quirky and fun but believe us, there are some serious cocktails going on! The list is relatively short (never exceeding 14 options) which is a good sign as no one can be a master of too many things! We've sampled several between us and weren't once disappointed... my favourite had to be the Rhubarb Sour - delicious!

Head down and check this gem out... a great date place, the perfect girly cocktail haunt and a firm fav in the 3BM little black book!!

Slathering on Baby Lips at every given opportunity! I read about Maybelline's cute lip balm winging it's way over to the UK a while back, as ever I'm easily drawn into the hype and immediately added it to my shopping list. 

A few weeks ago I was browsing in Boots and came across a rack of these beauties and that was it... to say I'm obsessed is an understatement! Baby Lips claims to keep lips moisturised for 8 hours, offers SPF 20 protection and to restore your lips back to baby-new within a week! ALL for just £2.99 - I was SOLD! I opted for the baby pink one which gives a fun rosy tint, however there are five other options to pick from and at the moment Boots have a 3 for 2 offer on them... get collecting!!!!

Now there's no excuse to not have the perfect pout everywhere you go...!!

All that's left to say is have a lovely, lovely weekend and we'll be back a week on Monday with no doubt many pictures and tales to tell, eeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

It Is All About Eve...

With only 30 days and counting until our much anticipated holiday to Barbados, we're in turbo-planning mode from here on out! We've got a lot to get sorted don't you know... from carefully selecting our restaurants of choice for the two week food fest, to the rigorous pre-beach body conditioning prep to planning our all-important day and night time holiday-fabulous attire!

We've pretty much got our foodie itinerary locked down with seaview and open-air terrace tables bagsied and our fitness and body buffing routine is in full swing! So that just leaves two weeks' worth of outfits to plan, purchase and pack - the 3 P's! 

So first thing's first - lets get our killer swimwear sorted! I struggle every year when it comes to finding flattering bikinis that fit like a glove and don't dig in accentuating the sorely lacking perfect beach bods we'd rather forget we didn't have. Past favourites include Seafolly, Insight and then cheap, cheerful and trusty triangle separates from Topshop and H&M. My major dislike when it comes to swimwear is forking out serious dosh for a scrap of fabric that then fades and stretches after a few beach visits - we've all experienced the baggy beach bum effect right?! Not cool! So this year I intend to seek out bikinis that look good AND last longer that a holiday fling... I have a good feeling about a brand I've recently found which goes by the name of All About Eve - an Aussie label that sells swimwear and clothing all boasting a boho, festival fun feel. Lots of bright colour, fierce fabrics and unusual styles that will be sure to get you noticed...

The fab PR at All About Eve was kind enough to send me through a few styles to rock on the white sands whilst we're away next month - a tropicana-tastic triangle design and a monochrome set with a lime green flash of cheekiness! I was also treated to a cuter than cute black & white sundress with a gorgeous low strappy back - the perfect daytime bikini cover-up... And, cinch in with a belt and add a slick of lipgloss and bam you've got a cocktails at sunset look... Here's a sneak preview of the bikini sets now but stay tuned for on-beach style snaps when I return hopefully a bronzed Barbados beach beauty, minus the baggy bum!

Ham & Sherry Hong Kong

Straddling the East and West as we do in Hong Kong, you get pretty pro when it comes to celebrating a new year. At the start of the month we all tipsily toasted the start of the new Gregorian calendar year and now as we slither towards the end of the Year of the Snake and canter into the Year of the Horse, we’re  merrily looking forward to welcoming the start of the Chinese New Year. 

Of course, the end of January will also be our cue to raise a glass to Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea. And then before we know it, it’ll be April and we’ll be busy ringing in Sonkran in Thailand, Thingyan in Myanmar and Chaul Chnam Thmey in Cambodia…

Frankly it’s impossible to keep up. Which is why we’ve cunningly devised a calendar of our very own… A calendar based around what we’ll be filling our glasses with when we toast each of the many anniversaries filling up our diary… The Great Booze Calendar.

Last year was the Year of the Gin (Origin and G&T opening within a couple of months of each other can only be down to Hong Kong’s collective thirst for the juniper juice). And this year is… drumroll please… The Year of the Sherry.

Yes, you heard right, sherry’s shrugging off its granny shawl for 2014, and will be filling up the glasses of all the most beautiful people around town. Of course Michelin-starred Jason Atherton, and Entrepeneur extroaordinaire, Yenn Wong, are ahead of the rest of us on this one, and have just unveiled the perfect spot to get your sherry fix, the very aptly named Ham& Sherry…

Set a few doors down from its elder brother, 22 Ships, Ham & Sherry looks perfectly at home on uber-cool Ship Street decked out as it is in a patchwork of blue and white tiles and mirrored walls wrapped around a large stainless steel open kitchen.

The menu is pretty Sherry heavy, with over fifty types to work your way through, complemented by a short but sweet selection of tapas to soak up all that fortified wine. If you feel slightly overwhelmed leafing through the weighty tome of Sherries, fear not there’s a super helpful section which neatly guides you through the list. We figure finding your perfect Sherry is sort of like finding your prince, if at first you kiss a frog, try and try again, we guarantee Mr Charming is just around the corner (ours is the super slinky La Cigarrera Manzanilla FYI…).

While there’s just a handful of tapas dishes to nibble while you sup your sherry, food definitely isn’t playing second fiddle here. Just think of the Ham & Sherry menu as a carefully curated selection of Spain’s Greatest Hits. All the big boys are represented, think: Paella Arancini (chorizo-spiked balls of risottoey heaven), jamon and goats cheese croquettes, salt and pepper baby squid and bright green, salty, fried padron peppers. Oh, and did we mention the ham?! Sherry’s soulmate, the salty, buttery Jamon provides the perfect partner to your tipple. We can’t get enough of the 48 month-aged Jamon Iberico de Bellota, and the Chorizo and Lomo and pretty great too.

Sherry got you revved up and ready to party like it’s 1999? Maybe mention to your friendly waiter that you’d like to shake things up with a little something in the Back Bar... We’ve been sworn to secrecy so we’ll leave it at that, but rest assured you’ll leave a few hours later feeling like all your New Years have come at once…

Ham & Sherry

1-7 Ship Street

Wanchai

Hong Kong

Casual Chic...VOILA...

Us Mice love to get ready for a night out, dress up to the nines and totter around in sky high heels, but when a comfortable trend comes around were first to sign-up - comfy chic?! There's nothing better! 

Sweatshirts are officially the BEST wardrobe staple ever - cosy and snuggy yet can be dressed up with skinnies, heels and a statement necklace. For that reason I am creating quite a collection with no signs of my obsession slowing down! 

SO when I saw Aimee Song's post about her new range designed for eLUXE I made my way over quick smart! 

Her collection comprises of three logo sweats and two tees, all super comfy and easy to wear whilst still managing to look chic. I bagged myself the 'Do Epic Chic' tee and the 'Voila' sweat just in time for our NYC trip...I have a feeling it's going to be all about layers with the minus temperatures of late!! They arrived yesterday and I'm in love...at $45 for the tee and $75 for the sweats I think they're pretty bargains too! 

Take a little look at Aimee modelling these beauties...

Other pieces from the range...

Just tell us you don't want them all NOW?! Happy Shopping!

Moss Monday...

More Moss I hear you cry! YES fellow blog buds - this year is a milestone year for Miss M and after remembering some of her most iconic moments last week in our retrospective feature for her 40th birthday, we can't seem to get enough! I did say at the end of this article to stay turned for more ultra-glossy Mossy appreciation and that's exactly what you're going to get!

In line with our celebratory piece, we got sent a fabulous book paying homage to the international fashion queen herself - 'Kate Moss' by Chris Roberts. The book is an illustrated biography that looks back at Kate's life, loves and achievements. 

A fascinating read and a stunning photographic memoir that will be sure to add an extra dash of pizazz and style to my ever-growing collection of coffee table books...

Kate Moss by Chris Roberts, Carlton, £16.99.

Available to buy online at www.carltonbooks.co.uk and in all good book stores.

This Week The Mice Have Mostly Been...

WOW! What a week…

Thank God it's Frrrrrriday!

This week has been mostly consumed with spreadsheets, mountains of documents and far too much dull, dull work. But, it is officially just a few short hours until the weekend and as we very firmly believe that...

…it's time to slip on your highest heels, add a slash of red lipstick to that power suit and get under that disco ball. Let's make this weekend a celebration of everything that's great in life wherever you are and whatever you've been up to this week. We'll drink to that…

But until it's cork pop o'clock, we thought we'd brighten your last office-bound day of the week with a quick whizz through what we've been up to this week, this week the Mice have mostly been…

Getting Haute under the collar over the Couture catwalks. Who doesn't love Couture week? Collection after collection of intricately beaded wisps of breathtaking amazingness, swishy capes and over the top gowns. These are the sorts of pieces that are just too beautiful to be called clothes. In a week of back to back meetings and never-ending emails there's something pretty awesome about a dress that can transport you to a world where you're swooping down a staircase and arriving Cinderella-style at some sumptuous gathering where diamond-stuffed party bags are handed out to women who've spent all day bathing in Champagne… One day… Until then…

Elie Saab...

Valentino...

Chanel...

Giambattista Valli

Keeping things simple at the brilliant meat temple that is La Vache Hong Kong...

Ever feel like life is just one dilemma after another? Early morning work-out or hit the snooze button for an extra hour’s sleep? Latte or Cappuccino? High flyer heels or means business flats? Cornflakes or boiled egg? Newspaper or Daily Mail Celeb Gossip? Even before you’ve left your flat each morning you’ve already made a whole heap of decisions and that’s just the very start of it… 

While we haven't quite mastered a day totally devoid of choices, we think we may just have Hong Konger's mealtimes covered. Step up La Vache – the answer to your dining dilemmas, a restaurant that delivers a delicious but decision-free dinner…

Work up an appetite hiking up the perilously steep Peel Street, aiming for the enormous neon cow. As you walk through the door you’ll note the glowing red letters spelling out ‘Steak Frites’. A word of advice – if you’re not keen on steak frites, it’s probably best to turn right around and head back out into the decision-filled world. At La Vache it’s steak frites or nothing…

If Steak frites is your thing, you’re in for a bit of a treat. We’re going to put our necks on the line here and say that this is the very best steak frites that you’ll find in Hong Kong.

Wander into the low-lit dining room, past the bustling bar in the centre of the room, and slip into a red leather banquette beneath a mural of the Arc de Triomphe or the Eiffel Tower. So we fibbed a little, you’ll need to choose what you’d like to drink and your waitress will need to know how you’d like your meat cooked but after that, all you need to do is settle back and wait for your fuss-free French feast to begin.

After baguettes and butter, it’s a green salad to start complete with thinly sliced radishes and walnut pieces all tossed together in a plate-scrapingly good vinaigrette. Rabbit food out of the way, it’s time for the main event – a great hunk of juicy ribeye steak served with a generous heap of crispy pommes frites and the most incredible Bernaise sauce (a La Vache secret recipe…). If that doesn’t sound good enough have you trotting in search of the neon cow immediately, let us add that this lot comes in at a ludicrously great value HK$258 per person!

Still room for more? Well sadly dessert comes with a return to choice but you’ll likely find this a price you’re willing to pay when you lay eyes on the dessert trolley – a sugar high on wheels heaped with an abundance of French fancies.

As you roll back out again, we’re pretty certain the only decision you’ll be focusing on is when you’ll be back.

And that's it for another week! All that's left for us to say is…

See you next week!

x

The Mice