LOCAL

Hong Kong’s socially distanced garden party

The Lawn Club is a new concept for the summer. Writes Charmaine Ng

Coming off the back of winning the Best Day Out category in our Hong Kong Living Awards last month, The Grounds has been given a makeover.

The popular outdoor cinema and dining destination reopened as The Lawn Club, Hong Kong’s ultimate socially-distanced garden party.

Designed to deliver a quality hospitality and dining experience with a sprinkle of friendly competition, The Lawn Club will combine the atmosphere of large-scale events with the safety and intimacy of private gatherings.

Like The Grounds before it, the new concept will adopt the setup of socially-distanced private pods, with a curated list of sports, live music and summer garden games made especially for Hongkongers. boules, to cornhole and croquet. You can grab a pod and pick your own private game lawn for a day out in the sun.

Live music and entertainment

On summer evenings, The Lawn Club turns into a full-blown party. DJs, live bands and performance artists will be entertaining from The Lawn Club Stage as you dance the night away.

Summer of sports

Nothing shouts summer more than sports games. From Tennis Grand Slams to Rugby Tours to European Football Championships, you can experience the biggest sporting occasions of the year from the privacy of your own pod.

Food and drinks

If you’re feeling hungry, there’s no need to go anywhere. Food and drinks at The Lawn Club are delivered directly to the safety of your own private pod.

The opening nine days of tickets for The Lawn Club are now on sale. To join in on the fun, visit zicket.co/the-lawn-club-hong-kong

Love thyself

Love thyself

Letao Wang

Founder and spiritual counsellor at the Healing Kingdom

Founder and director of Ampla Education

Letao Wang did not plan his spiritual path - he had been confused about life when one fateful meeting with a spiritual counsellor in Australia changed everything.

Since opening his professional practice in Hong Kong nine years ago, Wang has helped many Hongkongers through financial, family and relationship problems through spiritual counselling. “Some studies show an estimated one in seven people in Hong Kong experience a common mental disorder. The pressure and fast pace of society definitely has an effect on people’s mental health,” says Wang.

Through tarot readings and spiritual counselling, Wang guides each client through their thoughts and feelings taking them onto a path of self discovery, “sometimes our angels whisper wisdom at us when we are encountering new people, when they are solving a problem or even through fragments of our dreams. Don’t take it for granted, an awakening sometimes comes when you are least expecting it,” he says.

While Wang loves helping other people, everyone needs a little healing themselves, “I do regular self-checks and once in a while I will consult my own spiritual teacher for guidance, who has been guiding me and protecting me since I was a teenager.”

Spirituality has become more practiced in recent years, opening the door for healing, “spirituality offers a completely different perspective on life. I find that it is a gateway for us to connect with more possibilities, faiths, hopes and objectivity. It empowers us and helps us find who we are.”

How do you practice self love daily? Daily journaling for encouragement and improvement. Actively communicate with people I love and allow myself to follow my passion to pursue what I want to achieve.

Julianna Yau

Graduating from the University of Cambridge with a Masters in Mathematics, Julianna Yau pursued her interest in education and founded admissions consultancy, Ampla Education, 2016 to help students succeed in their pursuit of higher education. “As a female entrepreneur, it can be hard to find a good work-family balance, but I will always try to make ‘me time’ and put myself first,” says Yau.

With several professional and social obligations in Hong Kong, it can be hard to make time for yourself. But Yau prioritises her time, “If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no. Too often we agree to commitments we might not be fully enthusiastic about. But given the limited time we have, it’s important to focus on the things we are truly passionate about.”

For Yau, one of those passions is pole fitness. After being offered a free class at her gym Yau decided to give it a go. “I wouldn’t say I was hooked from the start but I found it a pretty good exercise and connected with my body through music. At the start of the pandemic, I installed a pole at home. Now I train on it almost every day,” she says.

While the pandemic has made us think twice about physical health, it has also given us time to reflect on our mental health. “To me self love means taking care of your own needs and being kind to yourself. I think people have prioritised self-love more in the past year than ever before.”

How do you practice self love daily?

Move your body. I try to stretch a bit everyday even when I don’t have the time for a full workout. Worry less. It’s human to feel afraid in times of uncertainty. Understanding the causes of our anxiety can help and find something to be grateful for everyday.

Alice Wong

Founding partner of Vinetude Asia

Alice Wong describes her journey into wine as “a bit like a fairytale”. Her first career after graduating from college in New York was in physical therapy.

Back then, wine was just a hobby. Over the years, Wong met many people who prompted her to establish a career in the business. She founded Vinetude Asia in 2017 with her fellow WSET Diploma graduates. Their goal was to offer bespoke workshops for various types of clients, ranging from beginners to wine professionals.

“I am very fortunate to be able to turn my hobby into my second career. Many people misunderstand wine education and think it’s only for sommeliers, but that’s not true. I started taking wine classes just for fun, but I gained so much from it. If someone has a hobby that is full of possibilities like wine, I’d strongly recommend turning it into a career,” says Wong.

While she enjoys teaching people about wine she also enjoys drinking it, which is something most of us can relate to.

“A nice glass of wine can relax your mind, but there is much more to it. Wine is a catalyst that sparks chemistry and yields fascinating results. I always have a bottle of Mirafiore Alta Langa chilled and waiting for me at home.”

While unwinding with a glass of wine after a long day can be seen as self love, Wong believes it’s more than just pampering yourself. “Self love has to start with soul searching. It requires frequent but fair selfcriticism to remind myself how I got where I am, help me stay on track and further boost my selfconfidence. Self love means feeling comfortable with myself and embracing what I do.”

Janice Poon

Co-founder of Gorilla Weekend

After moving back to the city in 2014, Janice Poon found the stress of city life to be too much. “I’m naturally an introvert and struggled with anxiety, coupled with a lifelong case of scoliosis my mental and physical health hit an all time low,” says Poon.

After trying a range of treatments including yoga, acupuncture and physical therapy, she discovered CBD and decided it was an opportunity to truly pursue a project borne of passion.

She founded Gorilla Weekend with her partner Steve in 2020. “At the beginning it was easy to overwork and feel pressured to constantly put attention on the business. Thankfully my co-founder has a bit more experience in managing startups so we’ve kept realistic expectations.” The beauty of owning a CBD brand is that Poon is constantly researching and trialing new formulas to help take the edge off of work stress.

While she is passionate about building her brand, Poon still makes time for herself once in a while. “You can’t truly deal with internal or external conflict well until you genuinely take time to recharge, reset and allow yourself to get lost in new or treasured hobbies,” she says.

While the ‘fear of missing out’ is a big problem in Hong Kong, she believes that by prioritising genuine relationships and friendships, you can avoid the guilt that comes with turning down an invitation.

Since the pandemic, everyone has been able to take a step back and recharge.

“I think that having a little bit more alone time has helped people discover more about themselves, which is a good thing in terms of understanding what you really want and need in life.”

Valentina Tudose

Founder and relationship coach at Happy Ever After

Moving to Hong Kong in 2004, Valentina Tudose noticed how difficult life was for her single friends in the city. She decided to become a relationship coach to help them find love and have better relationships.

“In the process of exploring what it takes to find real love, I learned that romantic relationships are mirrors designed to teach us how to love ourselves,” says Tudose.

Self love is often confused with vanity, leaving people feeling guilty for spending too much time on themselves. “Many religious and social rules focus on giving to others to the detriment of ourselves. We are told it’s better to put ourselves last and prioritise the greater good or our partners. For me, love, like all other emotions, is energy. Just as we cannot pour water from an empty cup we also cannot keep giving love to others without receiving anything in return.”

Through her coaching sessions Tudose helps empower her clients to be the best version of themselves. Whether you are in a relationship or single, Tudose emphasizes the importance of not relying on external validation. “We tend to over-emphasise our professional and social success which comes from being accepted and appreciated by those around us. For many, it becomes the only way to feel good enough,” she says.

“Social media is making us even more addicted to external validation. There are many benefits to sharing our lives with others, especially during social distancing times, but we need to be able to make a clear distinction between that and real appreciation.”

How do you practice self-love daily?

I make a list of at least three things I am grateful for and three things I love about myself at the end of each day. It’s a very powerful reminder that even when things are not going according to plan, there are still many blessings.