On the Sassy Mama Radar this summer!

Smart and chi-chi restaurants have been popping up with alarming regularity in the area around Po Hing Fong and Possession Street – some good, and some that quite frankly make us wish we’d stayed home! Soon to become the place for a wired young crowd to go when it opens this July, is Chachawan. Yenn Wong’s latest project (22 Ships and 208 Duecento Otto are two of her current hot spots) sees Adam Cliff – a protégée of David Thompson of Nahm London and Bo.Lan in Bangkok – at the helm. Wong will be bringing Isaan cuisine (north-eastern Thai to you and me!) right next door to 208 on Hollywood Road, where charcoal grilled dishes and spicy flavours will be the order of the day. Check out their Facebook page here. Chachawan, 206 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2549 0020.

Smythson‘s first stand-alone Hong Kong store opened at the end of June, bringing English luxury in all its rarified glory to Pacific Place. From notebooks stamped with witty sayings (tying the knot, anyone?) to beautiful personalised cards and leather goods, the company that Samantha Cameron helped turn around is the elegant way to do stationary. Smythson, Store 243, Level 2, Pacific Place, Admiralty, Hong Kong. Tel: (852) 2918 9100.

Fans of author Cassandra Clare (and they aren’t just teenagers either) won’t have to wait much longer for the first film adaptation of her fantasy novels, as Mortal Instruments City of Bones is out August 22nd in Hong Kong. A special screening event with some of the cast, including Jamie Campbell Bower and Godfrey Gao, who play Jace and Magnus Bane respectively, is scheduled for August 31st. Email asia@filmaid.org for more details.

Lovers of really hardcore workouts will be Sai Ying Pun-bound this July to CrossFit Typhoon. Offering CrossFit WODs (workouts of the day), bootcamp sessions and speciality classes, it teaches functional movement patterns that you find in real life – pushing, pulling, squatting, jumping, throwing, carrying, and sprinting. With T8 Kids coming soon, now is the time to sign up for their free introductory session, with a variety of membership options available once you are hooked! CrossFit Typhoon, G/F, 38-40 Third Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. Email: info@crossfittyphoon.com Tel: (852) 28588864.

Hong Kong ladies-in-the-know swear by the benefits of yearly visits to The Farm, a centre for holistic healing and wellness in San Benito, Philippines. Eco-friendly, and with the most delicious cuisine that focuses on living food, The Farm takes raw food to another level. Their new cookbook, RAW! is full of recipes from their chefs, that offer wonderful recipe suggestions that are high in fibre, vitamins, minerals, phyto-nutrients, and anti-oxidants. Check out RAW! on The Farm’s website, then order via email at info@thefarm.com.ph or by phone (632) 884 8074.

Jewellery designer Audrey Savransky of AS29 is used to seeing Hong Kong fashionistas sporting her Lana diamond rings. The rings that fit across, or halfway down the wearer’s fingers have become Savransky’s signature, and the designer counts Lily Collins, Kate Moss and Sienna Miller among her fans. Sassy Mama’s latest obsession? Her Spine ear cuffs and Snake cuff. Get the goods at Rue Madame and in the meantime, check out the site here.

Currently supporting Rihanna – Haim are three sisters from Los Angeles whose blend of Californian soft rock and R&B has had music lovers in their thrall since early 2012. While they don’t yet have a release date for their long-awaited album, Send Me Down is a recent track that surfaced on the internet, and is an obvious single. If you can’t wait, download their Forever EP here.

Eat With Jess is actress Jessica Jann’s food blog charting not only her lifestyle change as she sets off on her journey to eat clean, train mean and be lean, but also taking the reader behind the scenes of her modelling and filming gigs and offering great ideas of where to eat around town. Cute and fun, Jess makes us smile! Check it out here.

Fantastically old-school, we’re loving the original Mister Softee vans popping up around town, and these 70’s icons come complete with the Blue Danube soundtrack blaring from their speakers! You can find the vans at different locations including Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai, Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui and Temple Street in Mong Kok. So try a bit of nostalgia this summer… Sassy Mama loves their soft ice cream in a sugar cone or a nutty drumstick!