Glocal Mahjong’s founders map out their favourite artsy hangouts in Hong Kong

Architect Chan Lai Kiu, 63, brings her design sensibilities to Glocal Mahjong, the mahjong-themed retail store she co-founded with her daughter Kay Ng, 26, in 2020.

While Dr Chan innovates products around mahjong – the Chinese tile-based game now played worldwide – Ms Ng, who has a full-time job in the finance industry, manages the operations of the business.

The pair share an easy camaraderie and enjoy discovering artsy haunts in the city.

Both suggest visiting

PMQ

in the bustling Central district. Formerly known as the Police Married Quarters, the revitalised heritage building opened in 2014 and houses more than 100 home-grown brands and studios spanning fashion, crafts and lifestyle products.

“PMQ is a place with many little start-ups like us, who are interested in experimenting with new things. There’s a great collection of stores by local designers and they run classes such as jewellery-making,” says Dr Chan. 

She counts clothing brand

Harrison Wong

and art gallery

Print Art Contemporary

among her favourite stores there, while Ms Ng is a regular at

Moment By Moment cafe

, which serves pasta and sandwiches. 

Around the corner from PMQ is

Green Lemon Atelier

, a jewellery store where Ms Ng enjoys browsing accessories like earrings and necklaces. 

She recommends nearby restaurant

Lin Heung Lau

for traditional dim sum, where dishes like char siew buns and prawn dumplings are served from pushcarts. 

“Around the Central and Wan Chai districts, there are loads of bakeries that I really like, like

Levain Bakery

and

Soft Thunder

,” she says. 

While her daughter hunts down modern cafes, Dr Chan prefers sticking to the classics. “I love local cha chaan tengs (Hong Kong diners), especially

Ka Hing Restaurant

for the comfort food like satay beef noodles and baked tuna buns that it serves,” she says. 

A self-proclaimed “museum-hopper”, she recommends visiting

Hong Kong Palace Museum

in the artsy West Kowloon area – which often has special exhibitions featuring Chinese art and culture – and

Hong Kong Heritage Museum

in suburban town Sha Tin, located in the New Territories. 

“I appreciate art that involves a lot of craft and skill over works that are purely conceptual and attract people with novelty,” she says. 

West Kowloon is also home to

Art Park

, which has open lawns where people can have picnics and relax along the waterfront promenade. The park regularly hosts performances, exhibitions and other cultural events. 

In the evenings, Ms Ng and her parents take walks along the waterfront promenades between the urban neighbourhood of Kennedy Town and the Central district.

She says the

Belcher Bay Promenade

in Kennedy Town, which opened in October 2020 with a panoramic view of Victoria Harbour, is among the best spots in the city to catch the sunset.

Dr Chan enjoys the Central and Western District Promenade most, as the boardwalk has sections that “go beyond the shore and into the water”.

“Hong Kong has created a good connector along the waterfront area which is free for anyone to visit. If you go later in the day, you can enjoy a cool walk or run, or you can just sit and people-watch. It’s very therapeutic,” she adds.