Home Essentials

Furniture

Hong Kong has limited options in terms of furniture. The retailers such as IKEA or Price Rite are widely popular among people who have a relatively lower budget for their home furniture. There are some department stores and independent furniture shops that also offer quality furniture with wide price ranges. The most important part is to remember to keep the details of the size of the apartment/room and match with the potential piece of the furniture. It is difficult to return the furniture if it doesn’t fit by few centimetres.

Useful References:

IKEA (budget)

It has four stores in the city and they are located at: - Causeway Bay Store (Upper Basement, Parklane Hotel, 310 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay) - Kowloon Bay Store (L4, MegaBox, 38 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay) - Also check out their Shatin and Tsuen Wan Store Website: https://www.ikea.com. hk/en/

Pricerite

They have chain of affordable furniture stores across Hong Kong Island and Kowloon side.

Causeway bay Store: Basement, Hong Kong Mansion, 1 Yee Wo St., Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2923-7010

Decor8 Modern Furniture Hong Kong

Address: Shun Pont Commercial Building, 5-11 Thomson Rd, Wan Chai Tel: (852) 5981 1636

Horizon Plaza

(mid-range to high-end)

This 25-storied outlet mall in South Horizon is home to niche décor stores who sell unique, international home furnishing brands along with discount designers fashion brands. Website: horizonplazahk.com Address: 2 Lee Wing St, South Horizons Tel: (852) 2554 9089

EMOH Furniture Store

Address: Room 1001, Century Centre 44-46, 10/F Hung To Rd, Kwun Tong Tel: (852) 3621 0751

Hong Kong offers a wide range of grocery options for locals, expats, and immigrants.

There are international grocery stores such as Marketplace, City Super, Park N Shop, and International that offer popular international food products.

Welcome Stores offers groceries, including vet market products such as meat, vegetables etc. for low-budget buyers.

Indians have almost 25+ grocery shops (listed at the end of this section) in Hong Kong, offering wide varieties of imported Indian groceries and vegetables.

Additionally, there are specialized grocery stores such as Indonesian grocery, Philippine grocery, and Thai grocery stories, etc., also offering their specialty food across the city.

Three Sixty

Located in the West Kowloon, Three Sixty is a grocery and shopping store. The store features a spacious luxury mall element, offering premium-imported goods on display. It has a pretty wide range of vegan, organic, and gluten-free ingredients. The store also caters to the needs of people willing to spend as little time in the kitchen as they can by offering prepped food items like chopped veggies, marinated meat, and even cleaned seafood.

Opening and closing timing: 8 am to 11 pm daily.

ParknShop

This list wouldn’t be complete without the mini-empire of ParknShop. You can find almost everything in ParknShop’s outlets, from bakeries and deli counters to fresh meat and fish counters. You can also get pre-prepped meals from any of the outlets on any day of the week.

Opening and closing timing: 8 am to 10 pm daily.

Marks & Spencer

Mark & Spencer is located in central Hong Kong, with branches all over Tsuen Wan and Kowloon. You can find really high-quality fresh, frozen, pre-prepped, and gluten-free food, including vegetables, meat, fish, sandwiches, baked products, ready meals, sweets, and collocates. The grocery store also displays its own products that are all imported from the UK. The prices are a bit on the expensive side, but the genuine UK authenticity is intact.

Opening and closing timing: 11 am to 10 pm daily

Su-Pa Du-Pa

Located in East Kowloon, this place is a combination of a department store and a supermarket. You probably have guessed that already with the name “Su-Pa” and “Du-Pa.” Here, you will find all the produce, food, and raw ingredients that you can find in a ParknShop grocery store. However, Su-Pa Du-Pa also offers a wide range of electronics and home furnishings along with the grocery items.

Opening and closing timing: 11 am to 10 pm daily.

Sheekha Trading

Sheekha Trading offers quality Indian grocery items on wholesale and retail bases. It is conveniently located in Miradoor Mansion in TST next to exit N2. It’s likely to be your regular shop for over hundreds of Indian products, including reliable groceries such as rice, lentils, spices, imported Indian vegetables, fruits, snacks, confectionery and more! They do home deliveries, too.

Opening and closing timing: 10 am to 8 pm daily.

Fusion

Located in Sheung Wan, Fusion is a gourmet grocery store branched from the ParknShop Empire. You can find baked goods, pre-made meals, and all sorts of imported products. The best thing about Fusion is that it features a wide and affordable range of liquor and other booze.

Opening and closing timing: 8 am to 10 pm daily.

SOGO Freshmart

Located at the Hennessey road on Causeway Bay, Sogo Freshmart is known for its wide variety of fresh grocery selection. The regular customers of SOGO praise the excellent customer service and the Japanese department stores on top of the grocery stores. This place offers high-end brands, as well as a variety of discount offers for the advantage of the general public.

Opening and closing timing: 10 am to 10 pm daily.

Wellcome

Wellcome is a popular grocery store in Hong Kong for budget grocery buyers and has city presence. It is located between Hollywood Road and Queen’s Road in the central district. Graham Street is more of a street market than a grocery store, but you can get fresh groceries from here nonetheless. The price range offered here for imported and organic fresh food is remarkably reasonable. Local housewives and even chefs highly recommend Graham Store for grocery shopping.

Opening and closing timings: 8 am to 6 pm, daily

Market Place by Jason: This is a chain of upmarket grocery stores catering to international as well as affluent residents of Hong Kong. You will find signature stores at select locations and mini-stores across Hong Kong City.

Although some of the stores open at 7 am, most of the stores are open by 9 am.

City Super: This is another chain of upmarket grocery stores that offer a good selection of high-quality imported groceries, somewhat more expensive than your average supermarket; it is supposed to be more upmarket, in select locations. One store is IFC and another one is Harbour city in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Since eating out is restricted drastically due to the COVID-19 pandemic, healthy meal planning and delivery business has taken off. Many restaurants are also offering discounts to patrons who pick up the meals from their restaurants or offer delivery to either door-to-door or nearest MTR station.

This is a win-win situation as it is economical and convenient since the service can be set up for one time or on a regular basis without struggling to manage the pantry and cook food for the family. Most of the time, one meal is good enough for two portions.

Hong Kongers are quite fortunate to have the luxury of hiring domestic helpers from varied locations to suit their needs. This is a boon for most of us. However, selecting the correct helper and managing him or her can be a daunting task.

FDH Hiring Process:

Live-In Foreign Domestic Helpers (FDH)

In Hong Kong, many families employ fulltime live-in domestic helpers. In 1969, some Foreign Domestic Helpers (helpers) were allowed by Immigration Director (Director) to come for work in Hong Kong with their employers, depending on individual case. However, since the 1970s, the Government has come out with Foreign Domestic Helpers Scheme for the employment of full-time foreign domestic helpers. However Chinese domestic helpers from the Mainland, Macau, or Taiwan and Foreign Domestic helpers from Afghanistan, Albania, Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, Nepal, or Vietnam are not allowed to be employed in Hong Kong under the current scheme.

Hong Kong FDH Laws:

In order to employ helpers, Parties need to observe Immigration Ordinance Cap 115 (IO), the Employment Ordinance Cap 57EO), the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance Cap 282 (ECO), and Standard Employment Contract (SEC) ID 407 for employing the helpers.

FDH Hiring Procedure:

Employers can employ helpers directly or with the help of employment agencies. If they employ directly, they can submit the necessary documents and fees directly to the Immigration Department (Immigration). For details, you may see the Guidebook for the Employment of Domestic Helpers from Abroad ID(E969) published by Immigration, which can be downloaded from https://www. immd.gov.hk/eng/forms/forms/id-e-969.html

Contract :

i) The contract needs to be collected from the Information and Liaison Section of the Immigration Department on the 2nd Floor, Immigration Tower, 7 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong

Kong.

ii) Both the employer and helper should sign and complete 4 copies of the

Standard Employment Contract (contract) (ID 407).

iii) Check with the consulate about the nationality of the helpers and, if necessary, get the contract attested by them.

Immigration Forms:

iv) The helper should file the “Visa/Extension of Stay Application Form for Domestic Helper from Abroad” (ID 988A) togewith helper’s photo affixed on the application form.

v) The employer should file the “Application for Employment of Domestic Helper from Abroad” (ID 988B)

Submission:

vi) The application can be submitted to

Immigration by post or in person with necessary documents.

vii) Immigration will send letter acknowledging the receipt of the application.

Other:

viii)Even if the employer submits all the documents, he may be asked to go for an interview or other documents may be required by the Immigration, depending upon the case.

ix) If the application is approved, Immigration will require the employer by letter or by phone to collect the visa.

Documents to be submitted:

i) ID Forms 988A and 988B duly completed.

ii) Original contract duly attested.

iii) Copy of the helper’s travel document showing her personal particulars, date of expiry;

iv) Copy of the helper’s Hong Kong ID

Card if she held it previously.

v) Copy of the employer’s Hong Kong ID

Card.

vi) If an employer is not a permanent resident, copy of his passport pages showing his personal particulars,

Hong Kong visa, and date of entering

Hong Kong.

vii) Proof, eg., Employment letter, Bank statement, Tax assessment, etc., to prove the employer’s financial capacity. Currently, the requirement is that employer must have a household income of not less than HK$15,000 per month or assets of an equal amount, i.e., HK$ 350,000, to support the employment of the helper for the whole contract period of 24 months.

viii)Proof of employer’s residence in Hong

Kong; example: latest demand for rates, rent receipts, and utility bills showing his name.

ix) Letter of helper’s work experience for at least 2 yearsh showing the name and address of the certificate writer if the

Immigration officer wishes to check.

Application for renewal of Helper Visa:

Employers who want to renew contracts of their helpers who have finished a twoyear contract need to again submit the fresh application within eight weeks prior to the completion of their existing contract, with all the above documents except experience letter by post, drop-in box, or by online submission.

If employment is not with the same employer and if the helper has completed two years of contracts, she can submit in person the application for a change of employer in Hong Kong 4 weeks before completion of the contract. In addition to the above documents, the helper needs to submit a release letter containing the date of termination or release. Details on the required procedures can be found in the , published by Immigration.

Requirements:

Employers must satisfy the Immigration Department that:

He is financially able to pay the helper; He has entered into an employment contract in standard Form (ID407) with the helper; He will ask the helper to perform domestic duties only that as household chores: cooking, looking after aged people, babysitting, and looking after children as per the “Schedule of Accommodation and Domestic Duties” attachment to the “Standard Employment Contract” (ID 407).;

He will not allow or ask the helper to take up work with any other person during the contract period. He will pay the helper at least minimum salary of the minimum allowable wage as announced by the HKSAR Government at the time of signing of employment contract for contracts signed on or after 28 September 2019; the salary is $4,630 per month and for the contracts signed between 29 September 2018 to 27 September 2019, the salary payable was $4,520. The current salary rate can be found in the FDH Portal of the Labour Department (www.fdh. labour.gov.hk). The helper will work only at the address given in the contract; The employer will allow the helper to live at the address written on the contract only unless he is given permission in advance to allow her to stay at any other address. Employers who were given permission by the Immigration to allow their helpers to live out before 1 April 2003 can to do so if they continue to employ helpers without a break of more than 6 months. Since April 2003, the Immigration does not normally give such permission for the helpers to live outside of the employer’s residence.

He will give the helper suitable accommodation with some privacy; for example, if the helper has to sleep on made-do beds in the corridor or share a room with another adult/ teenager of the opposite sex, such accommodation will not be accepted by Immigration.

He is a bona-fide resident of Hong Kong and the bona fides of his and helper employment are not in doubt, which means the employer needs to satisfy that helper is genuinely required to work at his home for domestic work.

The employer and the helper have no bad record of any previous breaches regarding the employment of the helper.

According to part 3B of the “Schedule of Accommodation and Domestic Duties,” the employer must give basic requirements to the helpers free of charge, such as electricity, water, toilet and bathing facilities, bed, blankets, or quilt, pillows, wardrobe, etc.

Changes in Accommodation and Duties

If there are material changes to the employer’s residence, e.g., his address or number of persons , facilities to be provided, or domestic duties, the employer should submit a copy of the amended Schedule of Accommodation and Domestic Duties (ID 407G) signed by both helper and employer to the Immigration.

Duties of Employer:

Payment of salary:

Employers should pay the salary to the helper at least once every month and not later than seven days after the end of the month. If an employer fails to pay wages to the helper on time, he is required to pay interest on the unpaid wages to the helper.

Methods of salary payment

Employers can pay the salary to the helper by cheque, bank transfer, or cash. However, payment by cheque or bank transfer is better to secure payment records as proof of payment. Irrespective of the payment method, employers should keep a record of salary payments and also ask the helpers to acknowledge receipt in writing to avoid future disputes because, in case of disputes, it would be mainly the obligation of the employer to prove the payment. Samples of payment receipts in different languages can be downloaded from the FDH Portal of LD (www.fdh.labour.gov.hk) for employers’ reference.

Food:

Employers are required to provide helpers free food daily or should pay the food allowance at the prevailing rate. According to the current rate of the food, allowance is not less than $1,173 per month for all contracts signed on or after (October 1), see HKSAR government press release “Minimum Allowable Wage and food allowance for foreign domestic helpers,” last revised on 30 September 2021,

Windows Cleaning:

From 1 January 2017, if the employer requires a helper to clean the outside window which is not on the ground floor or near the balcony common corridor, this must be done only under the following two circumstanses: a. The window should be fitted with a grille that can be locked or secured from being opened.

b. helper’s body should not be required to go across the window ledge except the arms.

Insurance:

According to Section 40 of the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, Chapter 282 of the Laws of Hong Kong, employers have to take insurance to cover their liabilities both under the ECO and at common law for injuries at work, and, if requested by his employee, he should show the insurance policy and any related documents for the inspection of the helper.

Medical expenses:

Employers should arrange free medical treatment, including medical consultation,

hospital treatment, and emergency dental treatment to the helper during the contract period if sick or suffers an injury. Therefore, it’s best that employers should take out comprehensive insurance policies for the helper to cover both medical insurance and employees’ compensation insurance.

Leave and Rest Days:

Rest days:

Under the EO, helpers are entitled to rest days (one rest day in every period of seven days), statutory holidays, and paid annual leave. Under no circumstances helpers can be required to work during such leave, such as to clean the household before he/she leaves home or wash the dishes after he/ she returns home, Besides, employers should keep records of helper’s leave and leave payment to avoid future disputes.

Statutory holidays

Irrespective of the period of service, helper is entitled to statutory holidays. The statutory holidays announced for 2022 are13 and details can be found at Referance section of this article:

Annual leave:

Employers should give helpers paid annual leave for every 12 months that the helpers have been employed. The paid annual leave will depend on the years of service from seven days to a maximum of 14 days, according to the helper’s length of service:

Number of Years 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Leave Days 7 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Maternity leave :

A female helper is entitled to 14 weeks of maternity leave if she has given the employer notice of pregnancy and if is employed for not less than 40 weeks before such maternity leave and has produced a medical certificate specifying the expected date of confinement if so required by the employer.

Driving Duty:

If the helper is needed to do driving duties, employer must apply to the Director of Immigration for special permission. Such permission will not be given unless it is for domestic reasons; example: driving the children to school or activity classes or any aged or household person for buying vegetables or household items or going to the hospital. The employers asking the helpers to drive them to the office, transport goods, etc., is not allowed.

Contract period:

Please note that the expiry date of the standard Employment Contract (ID 407) is not the last date of the helper’s stay in Hong Kong or the last day written in the Contract. The actual last date is the Visa on the helper’s passport. So please read and pay attention to visa given by the Immigration on the helper’s Passport.

Termination:

According to Clause 10 of the Contract, either party can terminate the contract before its expiry by giving one month’s notice in writing or by paying one month’s wages in place of notice.

Only under special circumstances can the contract can be terminated without notice or payment in place of notice. Employer can terminate without notice or pay if, for example, if the helper willfully disobeys a lawful and reasonable order of the employer, misconducts, commits fraud or dishonesty,or habitually neglects duties. The helper can terminate without any notice or one month pay if she reasonably worries about physical harm or disease or is subjected to ill-treatment by the employer, etc. Upon termination by either party, employer must pay all the applicable dues of the helper, including unpaid wages, notice pay, air ticket, non consumed leave pay, long service or severance pay, etc.

These links provide all the details you need to know about helpers, salary, terms and condition, and salary certificate. Practical Guide For Employment Of Foreign Domestic Helpers – What foreign domestic helpers and their employers should know Link: https://www.fdh.labour. gov.hk/res/pdf/FDHguide English.pdf

Sample Salary receipt for FHD:

Link to download a Sample receipt (https://hongkong-desi.com/wp-content/ uploads/2018/10/Wage-Receipt-for-Foreign-Domestic-Helper.pdf)

Food Allowance

https://www.info.gov.hk/ gia/general/202109/30/ P2021093000329.htm, or the FDH Portal of LD (www.fdh. labour.gov.hk)

Statuary Holiday for helper for 2022 Link:

https://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/ news/latest_holidays2022.htm.

Window Cleaning

https://www.info.gov.hk/ gia/general/201611/14/ P2016111400643.htm.

Furniture Disposal:

We have to dispose of the furniture as we decide to move into a new apartment with different dimensions or decide to change the furniture or if the furniture is broken. Additionally, many of us wish to de-clutter our home on a regular basis due to small homes and limited storage facilities in Hong Kong, Disposing of furniture responsibly is a big part of environmentally friendly city living. There are some organizations that help you de-clutter your home by removing your furniture. They sell the furniture in second-hand furniture shops and donate part of the money to charity organizations. They will charge you a fee for disposing of unusable furniture. This can save you the headache of waste disposal and help make a move easier. If you have time, you can sell your reusable furniture at various sites mentioned under Useful Referances.

https://www.labour.gov.hk/eng/ public/ecd/geci.pdf

Hire Helpers

Facebook Groups to find a helper

- Hong Kong domestic helper jobs (OFW, FDH)

https://www.facebook.com/ groups/HKDomesticHelperJobs/

- Hong Kong Domestic Helper

https://www.facebook.com/ groups/631340693687969/

Helper visa Agency

Melinda Wong Tel: (852) 9830 8458

Helper Training

Superhelper For home management and cooking workshops for domestic workers. Website: superhelper.org Address: 36A Island Rd., Deep Water Bay, Tel: (852) 2812-0446

Towngas Cooking

Local cooking: Classes are conducted in English and Cantonese. Website: towngascooking.com Address: Shop 9A, Lee Theatre Plaza, 99 Percival St., Causeway Bay, Tel: (852) 2576-1535,

When you donate, you recycle and you help in reducing the pollution and space taken by landfills, and ultimately contribute toward improving the environment. Following is the partial list of places where you can donate old books, wearable clothes, food, toys, etc.

Useful Reference:

Sell your used household items - Facebook Market place:

Website: https://www.facebook. com/marketplace/hongkong/

- carousell hong kong

This is a platform to meet buyer and sellers for buying or selling usable items including furniture, electronics items, books etc. They also have a user-friendly mobile app. Website: https://hk.carousell.com

- Clutter to cash

Website: http://cluttertocash.hk Whatsup – (852) 9753 0087 Tel: – (852) 8191 6698

- Green Dot Home

Website: green-dot-home.com.hk Tel: (852) 2328-3901.

- Chu Kong Plan

Whatsup App: (852) 9521-1192 (WhatsApp only) Website: https://www.chukongplan.org.hk

Second Hand Shops - Proper Furniture

Tel: (852) 5442-3000. Email: tel54423000@yahoo.com.hk

- Happy Shop

Tel: (852) 6387-1255. Website: www.happyshop.hk

Donate your used household items - Book Mart

Items to donate: Books Address: Unit F2, 12/F, Block B, Marvel Industrial Building 17-23 Kwai Fung Crescent, Kwai Fong Hong Kong Website: www.booksmarthk.com Email: info@booksmarthk.com Tel: (852) 2620 5035/ (852) 3005 4631 WhatsApp: (852) 96712490

- Caritas Community Centre

Caritas Community Centre is an official social service agency of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong. It emphasises the needs of the “3 Ls” – the last, the least, and the lost. You can drop off your items at its door. Items to donate: All wearable clothing. Caritas Community Centre, 2/F, Caritas House, 2-8 Caine Road, Midlevels, Hong Kong, Website: www.caritas.org.hk Tel: (852) 2843 4652,

- Castaways Charity Shop

This is convenient place to drop off your items at the shop on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Castaways Charity Shop sells items received via donations and raises money for the poor and needy. Donation are accepted Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Items to donate: Clothing, shoes, handbags, books and household linens (only on Wednesday and Saturday mornings)

Address: Castaways Charity Shop, St John’s Cathedral, 4-8 Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2523 4157 Website: www.stjohnscathedral.org.hk

When Bhansalis bought their 2bed, 1 bath flat in Laguna Verde, they knew it straight away that it needed careful space-planning, designing and renovation to make it work at ‘Top-speed’ to fulfil all their requirements. The immediate family’s needs were of course most important, but there was also a desire for this home to be comfortable for grandparents who visited the family annually from overseas. Furthermore, the couple enjoys entertaining friends, which also made them wish for a beautiful and welcoming home for weekend house parties. We spoke to their designers and contractors, Sonal Bhandari and Heena Ahuja from SARA Interior Design, who transformed their apartment from ‘basic’ to ‘Wow’. Small but cleverly designed, all spaces are diligently built to be highly multi-functional. Every inch of space is efficiently used to provide maximum storage with minimal bulk. We couldn’t help but notice the beautiful calm colours of custom-built furniture used all throughout the apartment. Sonal shared that they custom created these colours and finishes for this project in their furniture factory in China. “These were specifically chosen to achieve pared- down, clutter-free modern aesthetics that the family aspired for. Cool tones of blues and greys balanced the warmth of the original wood flooring, while touches of white marble were added to bring freshness. Stunning Terrazzo tiles in the restroom with complementing coral-coloured cabinets and black-coloured hardware added just the right dose of drama.” Having understood the aesthetic concepts of this renovation, we now wanted to understand the space-planning efforts too. To help with that, Heena shared 3D floor plan of the flat. She said, “Multiuse of child’s room as a guest room was high priority for the family. However, in the original layout, only a single bed could fit in the child’s room which wasn’t going to be enough for extended family. Lot of clever designing efforts were put in to ensure that the room fulfilled all requirements of the child as well as visiting grandparents. We structurally enlarged this room by moving the master room wall, to accommodate queensized bed. This was in addition to a full wall of floor to ceiling wardrobe while also leaving sufficient open floor-space required for their child’s daily free-play. Sliding door was cleverly tucked behind the wardrobe to replace regular swivel door which further opened the room and brought in more sunshine to the home.” We were equally intrigued about the transformation of one bath to two and requested the designers to share her thoughts. They shared that the newly renovated bathrooms of this home are the highest performing bathrooms they’ve ever built for a client. “Bathroom renovation was one of the most challenging parts of the entire renovation as the space was tight and there was no room for even smallest of error. Every fitting, fixture and hardware was measured to the last centimetre to ensure precision in space planning. Folding doors were custom-built to fit in the small space instead of regular swivel doors. Additional functionality was provided through large laundry basket drawer cleverly hidden under the washbasin and not to miss the additional storage above the washbasins.”, elaborated Heena. “Designing someone’s home is a huge responsibility as it entails being careful about respecting the homeowner’s personal tastes, unique needs and translating their vision into reality. This home renovation is definitely an example of designing done right”, said Sonal, concluding our conversation. SARA Interior Design