appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

SCMP

We have selected seven Lifestyle stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. Are Hong Kong’s restaurants fighting a losing battle against Shenzhen?
In Hong Kong neighbourhoods that once hummed with the sound of clinking glasses and chattering diners, independent kitchens sit closed behind metal grilles and many of the restaurants that remain open rarely fill.
2. Hong Kong TV star Kenneth Chan opens up on battles with insomnia and depression

Despite his unruffled exterior, Kenneth Chan Kai-tai has been fighting an internal battle for the past two decades. It started with chronic insomnia and progressed into severe depression.
3. Why Singapore’s record-breaking giant fire dragon goes up in smoke every 3 years

Unlike other dragon dance traditions, one Singaporean temple’s fire dragon exists within a cycle of creation, sacrifice and renewal.
4. Art de vivre? Why the French are such a cultural force in Hong Kong

From the annual French May Arts Festival to public contemporary circus performances at Tai Kwun heritage arts centre and electronic music events by Victoria Harbour, the French have an outsized cultural footprint in Hong Kong.
5. How trailblazing Hong Kong guitarist Ellen Joyce Loo chose to speak her truth
Eight years after her sudden death shook music fans across Hong Kong, Taiwan and beyond, Ellen Joyce Loo Hoi-tung’s legacy as a cultural trailblazer continues to grow.
6. Why this Chengdu restaurant was city’s first to make the Asia’s 50 Best list

Co in Chengdu stands as one of the most enigmatic restaurants in the vibrant yet laid-back capital of Sichuan.
7. In this quiet family holiday home in Tokyo, Japanese tradition meets modernity

Stepping through the black metal front door of this Tokyo flat, guests notice tatami first, as they remove their shoes. Not underfoot, but rising up the entrance wall, its lower half in black rush matting, its upper portion broken into pleasingly abstract colour blocks like a Mondrian painting.


China retaliates on US sanctions; North Korea’s dog meat advisory: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Hong Kong’s dining battle; TV host fights insomnia, depression: 7 Lifestyle highlights

BYD’s first humanoid robots; Brazil named biggest buyer of Chinese cars: 7 EV reads

Malaysian crypto event drops Ms Pui Yi, Lee Kuan Yew’s home taken over: 7 Asia highlights

SCMP Highlights

The Red Cuisine owner Joyce Yuen serves dishes at her restaurant in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong. Many restaurants in the city are struggling with falling customer numbers as more locals head to Shenzhen for cheaper meals. Photo: May Tse

Hong Kong actor and TV star Kenneth Chan talks about his experiences with insomnia and depression, the treatment he sought, and how he has been able to return to the entertainment scene. Photo: Courtesy of Kenneth Chan

Spectators watch the Fire Dragon Dance of Sar Kong Mun San Fook Tuck Chee in March 2026. Every three years, the dragon is offered back to the deities through fire, reducing its physical form to ashes. This act is not an end but a renewal. Photo: Yeo GT

Visitors at “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Meet Mona Lisa & Portraying the Renaissance” exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Sha Tin in May 2026. Photo: Dickson Lee

An amuse bouche of wagyu tartare with three house-made pickles. Photo: Co

The living area in a Hong Kong property investor’s Tokyo flat designed by Jason Caroline Design. Photo: Time & Style

Shenzhen’s new museum; Hong Kong’s old cookbooks on exhibit: 7 Lifestyle highlights

The Shenzhen Natural History Museum’s Dinosaur Hall is crowded with visitors on its soft opening day on July 25. Photo: Elson Li

The Hope & Sesame team receive their award for Best Bar in Asia 2026 at the Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2026 awards ceremony at Wynn Palace, Macau, on July 28. Photo: Asia’s 50 Best Bars

Leslie Evangelista, a personal trainer and the head strength and conditioning coach at Hong Kong Sports Clinic, says that while someone in their 20s can “borrow from tomorrow and get away with it ... a midlife body keeps the receipts”. Photo: May Tse

A copy of Lisa Yam’s World, a Hong Kong cooking magazine popular in the 1980s and 1990s, features in “Treasured Recipes”, an exhibition at PMQ Taste Library that traces Hong Kong’s rich culinary heritage through food-themed literature. Photo: PMQ Taste Library

A scene from the trailer for ‘Pulau’, which stars Siew Pui Yi. Photo: YouTube


Philippine troops participate in live‑fire exercises during Balikatan, which also involves US soldiers, in Barangay Aporawan, Aborlan, Palawan, in April. Photo: Reuters

Tourists jostle for a picture of the sunrise over the central stupa of Angkor Wat temple in 2018. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

A doctor inspects a brain scan for signs of possible disease. Dementia is characterised by a build-up of toxic brain waste. Photo: Getty Images

Chinese data challenges US-Iran war claims; bamboo vs desertification: SCMP’s 7 highlights

Chinese researchers have proposed using bamboo as a sand barrier in the north of the country. Photo: Handout

The launch of American and Israeli air strikes against Iran on February 28 triggered an armed conflict that has escalated throughout the region. Photo: EPA

Emirates Flight EK302 from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, stranded on the tarmac at Hangzhou airport last week. Photo: mrjjxw.com

Ho Huen leaves Tuen Mun Court in October last year. Photo: Karma Lo

In 1947, a Chinese villager lent his entire 850kg grain supply to the army, receiving a handwritten receipt as an official IOU. Photo: CCTV

Lifestyle

Arts

Food & Drink

Health & Wellness

Homes

Travel & Leisure

From Singapore’s dragon dance to French cultural influence in Hong Kong, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting


From Singapore’s dragon dance to French cultural influence in Hong Kong, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.


Hong Kong’s dining battle; TV host fights insomnia, depression: 7 Lifestyle highlights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From Singapore’s dragon dance to French cultural influence in Hong Kong, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting

1. Are Hong Kong’s restaurants fighting a losing battle against Shenzhen?

2. Hong Kong TV star Kenneth Chan opens up on battles with insomnia and depression

From Singapore’s dragon dance to French cultural influence in Hong Kong, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting