This Camera Needs No Introduction

This camera needs no introduction.

Nikon FM2 is a legend. It’s not the most advanced film camera developed by Nikon but it just means a lot to many photographers including Steve McCurry who used this camera to shoot the most famous “Afghan Girl” photograph for the National Geographic in 1984, or amateur photographers like you and me who began to learn about film photography in our school hood and always dreamed of having a Nikon FM2.

Nikon FM2 is a 100% mechanically controlled manual focus SLR with manual exposure control. That means you don’t need battery at all to shoot, so it’s a truly “all weathers” camera.

I remember some years ago when I went to Finland to chase the northern light, my Fujifilm X-T1 suddenly got “stuck” due to the low temperature in the Arctic circle. I had to bring it indoor and keep it warm for a bit, and then the camera went live again. Honestly, I find that quite silly. I wish I could have brought FM2 with me at that time.

FM2 has several editions and I happened to acquire a FM2/T camera in perfect mint condition. T means titian, one of the world’s strongest materials and it is also very light, hence titian is also widely applied in space technology. Nowadays FM2 may be a bit overpriced than other Nikon models due largely to its celebrity effect, i.e. perhaps it has just too many famous photographers and celebrities as its loyal fans, even to this day. Well, a legend has its own reasons to be defined as the legend, of course.

I thought I am one of the few who decided to go back to the basics and pick up film photography again during the pandemic. The New York Times proved I was wrong. Film photography is now in trend.

Last year I also acquired a Nikon F4, which is more advanced technologically than FM2/T. F4 is a heavy one, over 1 kg already including lens, so these days I carry FM2/T more often for street photography. Film photography is like magic, the magic of color, light, and your point of the view about the world. That’s all and that’s how you can also be the master of magic.

No OT, and more coffee

A new cafe was born on Wong Nai Chung Rd — actually it is so far the only one on the part of the road around the racecourse in Happy Valley.

NOOT in fact means “No OT” and the name perhaps already tells a lot about the cafe’s attitude as it wants to serve as a “hea” (meaning “relax, take a break” in Cantonese) place for the local. Hongkongers are often known as the world’s busiest and most hardworking workers, and we do need coffee, more coffee, and good coffee!

The cafe, just opened at the start of the new year 2022, provides more than just coffee. It also serves all-day breakfasts and quick snacks like honey wings. The design of the coffee shop tends to be more in Scandinavian sense — focusing on simplicity as well as elegance. It’s a good balance to take.

Coffee wise, it has a pretty good range of options, sourced from Ethiopia, Colombia, and to Costa Rica, and you can choose more nutty or fruity flavour when you order your cup.

The staff there are all pretty nice and chatty. As I told them I am a resident here in the neighbourhood, they smiled and asked me to spread the word. And I am doing now.

Address: NOOT, G/F, 149 Wong Nai Chung Road, Happy Valley

Hong Kong image on Shanghai film

Camera: Nikon F4
Lens: Nikon 105mm f/2.5 AI-s
Film: Shanghai GP3 400 B&W

Attempted to get my film camera Nikon F4 to shoot in black and white for the first time, using Shanghai GP3 film (ISO 400). The venue is PMQ (元創方), on the historic site of the old Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters.

Shanghai was one of the first places where Western film photography was introduced in China in the late Qing dynasty. In late 1950s, Shanghai was also the birthplace of the first roll of black and white film 100% made domestically.

Shanghai and Hong Kong also have countless connections on cultural and business levels in the history. To put the images of Hong Kong on an old Shanghai roll sounds like an interesting historical idea.

Shooting at night on film proved to be quite challenging — it challenges your skill as well as your patience. I was quite worried about photographs being over-exposure or under-exposure, and I had to hold my patience until I saw the photos developed in the dark room.

The images are definitely not the sharpest ones, but they all feel more real. I wonder if the famous Shanghai/Hong Kong photographer Fan Ho were still alive, how would he shoot the PMQ today?

(Read here to learn more about the lens, Nikon 105mm f/2.5 AI-s)

The Way Ahead

Title: The way ahead
Camera: Nikon FM2/T
Lens: Nippon Kogaku Japan Nikon 50mm f/1.4 non-AI manual focus
Film: Kodak Gold 200

My long Christmas + New Year holiday is coming to the end. Let’s be honest: the year of 2022 apparently didn’t start in a nice way, from Hong Kong to Kazakhstan, not to mention the new wave of Covid-19 almost everywhere in the world.

But, yes, there is always a but, whatever the challenges or opportunities facing us. But the only way ahead is to go ahead. Keep going and let’s solve the problems and make impact together. This is the only way the world can move ahead.

I took this photo during my short trip to Sai Kung in Hong Kong. It was shot on a Nikon FM2/T film camera, recently acquired by me from someone who decided to migrate to the U.K. with his family. Ironically he acquired the FM2/T during his trip to London many years ago from a local Nikon collector and now I become the new owner of the camera, still in mint condition. It will stay with me in Hong Kong.

Nikon FM2 was invented in 1982 and the 50mm lens I use was first manufactured by Nikon in 1962. I went to Sai Kung in the first week of 2022 and got this photo on my FM2/T (T means titan, a special edition of FM2) and the very old lens.

Time and space are all relative. So are big or small problems facing us today. Whenever we get into the next chapter and then look back, the world may feel simpler than it was.

Btw, Sai Kung feels like Japan in this photograph, or perhaps it is because I miss flying and a real holiday too much.

#WhatGeorgeEats: 2021 Coffee in Review

Intro

I guess no one will disagree with me that 2021 has proved to be just another challenging year. The pandemic has lasted for too long and we are often told to just “hang in there”. But how?

Coffee is something that keeps us going. When we are happy, we drink coffee. When we feel uncertain, we drink coffee. When we get angry, we drink coffee too. In the coffee we trust, I want to do this wrap-up and present you my “2021 Coffee in Review”.

This is my second year to do such a review. You can find my 2020 review here. In the 2021 review, you may not find some “big names” like Blue Bottle and Omotesando, which were featured in my 2020 review already so I try to avoid a repeat. In 2021, I moved to Happy Valley from Mid-Levels, hence I feature quite some (new) cafes in my new neighbourhood in the 2021 review. In case you may be also wondering what’s going on in the Valley, visit my 2021 (and ongoing) digital project “Dear Happy Valley” to learn more.

Add oil! Life is good because we love good coffee.

---

Happy Alley Coffee Bar

OK. I may be biased and this may sound a bit sentimental. I love Happy Alley partly because I got my first cup of coffee after I moved in Happy Valley. This small local cafe is said to be one of the best in the Valley and its beans are all imported exclusively from Vienna. If the locals do love it, it can’t be wrong, right?

Casual neighbourhood cafe by day, cool bar by night – Happy Alley serves up coffee during daylight hours and simple lunch offerings. Come late afternoon, the place comes into its own as a casual bar where those in the mood for a chilled one can enjoy good happy hour deals, including for wines, whiskies and cocktails. Read more here.

Happy Alley Coffee Bar

BASAO

I always wanted to try this elegant cafe in Causeway Bay but it was always full of people plus a long queue of customers in waiting outside. Fortunately we dropped by the shop and happened to grab a table easily today. The cafe is famous for its fusion-style combination of coffee and tea (including Chinese tea like Da Hong Pao (大紅袍). I don’t like sweet coffee, hence coffee with tea flavour tastes pretty good for me.

The cafe is located on Pak Sha Road (白沙道), a short path in CwB that is easily neglected by many. But the whole street is really a hidden gem for CwB. There are many other fun places in the same street also for you to explore. CwB is not just about all the shopping malls. Actually, Pak Sha Road feels more like a small town in Europe. To learn more about Pak Sha Road, read here.

BASAO in Causeway Bay

Sean Cafe & Lounge

Founded in 2018, Sean first opened its shop in Tsim Sha Tsui before it expanded into the Island side in 2020. Many people may recognise the beautiful shop surrounded by flowers on Jaffe Road in Causeway Bay but you may not know Sean is in fact a social enterprise as the coffee shop is proud to hire many underprivileged people, especially people with disabilities.

Drink coffee and help people. Isn’t it a fantastic idea?

Sean also has a very Instagram-friendly type of coffee and it’s called “white cloud”. You know what it means when you see the photo. Order it, post it, and your friend will ask you where you get it.

Sean Coffee.& Lounge

Cotton Lane Cafe

Cotton Lane Cafe is located on Min Fat Street (綿發街) in Happy Valley. That’s also where the name of the little cute coffee shop comes from, as “Min Fat” sounds like cotton (棉花) in Cantonese.

The local cafe is well known for its bagels and sandwiches (you can choose different flavors and toppings) while I find its mini-croissant with egg on cocotte (yes, very French!) better taste for me, especially for breakfast. I quite like its simplistic interior design, simple but elegant.

On the cafe’s official website, its welcome message says: “We at Cotton Lane welcome our customers to come in as guests and to leave as friends!” That sounds like the right style for a happy community in Happy Valley. Learn more here.

Cotton Lane Cafe

Arabica Coffee

In fact, this coffee chain probably needs no introduction. It’s everyone’s favorite in terms of the coffee quality. But when it comes to the price, some people may choose to complain. You get what you pay for, and Hong Kong is not a cheap place to live (and drink coffee) anyway.

Arabica has come a long way since founder Kenneth Shoji established its flagship store in the ancient Japanese city of Kyoto in 2014. The brand was introduced to Hong Kong with a flourish in 2017. One year later, Arabica also made its name in Shanghai. And it keeps expanding everywhere.

My favorite Arabica coffee shop is the one on Aberdeen Street, right across the PMQ, which served as the Central School (Queen's College) and the former Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters. I love big windows, sunshine, and good coffee. You can just sit there and do nothing for the whole cozy afternoon.

Arabica Coffee (PMQ branch)

Coffeelin

Italian café by day, cocktail bar by night, Coffeelin is a Milanese-style all-day establishment designed by JJ Acuna / Bespoke Studio, that brings the coffee culture of Milan to Hong Kong’s quaint and trendy neighbourhood, Happy Valley.

Before its new branch in Happy Valley was just officially open for business this week, Coffeelin already runs a shop on High St. in Sai Ying Pan. Both the two branches now serve home-made burned cheesecake and some signature drinks like the “Misty Forest” (see third photo) and “Morning Call”, a mixture of tea and espresso. The Happy Valley branch apparently focuses more on its interior design. According to the official Facebook page of Coffeelin, the design on the walls (see last photo) is formed by Coffeelin logo into Memphis Graphic style, which the cafe hopes its local customers may feel like going back at a Milano caffè in the 1980s.

Given its popularity — already a new Instagram-popular destination in Happy Valley — it may take quite some time before you can grab a table. Good luck to that! Learn more here.

CoffeeLin

The Tiffany Blue Box Coffee

I guess the jewellery brand Tiffany can be so famous today due largely to the iconic Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film adaptation, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Have you been wondering if there is really a Tiffany’s cafe where you can go and eat? Tiffany & Co opened its first Asia flagship on One Peking Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong in late 2020, making it the first Tiffany’s Blue Box Café outside of New York City.

Going to Tiffany for coffee is not just about coffee; it’s more about the whole thing — how you feel about the decorations, the dishes, and all the Tiffany blue around you. That’s why some serious coffee critics may downplay it as the coffee there doesn’t make any strong impression. It is OK and perhaps a bit overpriced, but it can still make you happy. It’s all about a kind of “dream come true” moment, especially for fans of Audrey Hepburn, not to mention its afternoon tea set is quite Instagrammable. Read more here.

The Tiffany Blue Box Coffee

Ninetys

Ninetys is all about serious coffee quality. Being Australian in heart, the coffee chain keeps expanding from Central to Causeway Bay and it keeps winning more hearts and minds of serious coffee drinkers in Hong Kong.

The Aussie-inspired cafe boasts its own roasting room — where you can learn to roast your own coffee beans — and you can ask the waiters anything about the beans, their origin, flavour, or you can grab a bag home to brew on your own.

Ninetys

Elephant Grounds

Founded in Hong Kong in 2013, Elephant Grounds is a specialty coffee shop and all round brunch destination. The first Elephant Grounds was a small coffee counter with ice cream sandwiches in the back of a lifestyle shop. Today Elephant Grounds unique “Coffee n Chill” message has expanded throughout Hong Kong and beyond the city with shops in Beijing, Chengdu and Guangzhou as well as a franchise in Manila. Its biggest branch so far is the one on Hollywood Road with 7,000 square feet space, which feels more like a co-working space venue than just a coffee shop.

My favorite? Go for its Affogato. See more.

Elephant Grounds

Espresso Alchemy

Run by Ambrose Peter Law after he learned the craft of coffee roasting in Melbourne, Espresso Alchemy started in Quarry Bay on the eastern side of Hong Kong Island and it soon expanded to the other side, Kowloon. The coffeehouse is the only wholesale coffee roaster in Hong Kong to have a Licensed Coffee Grader and a Barista Championship Judge amongst the staff to provide unparalleled roasting quality control, coffee training and bar management.

My favorite? How about getting some beans from Ethiopia and brewing them in the Gin Drinkers Bay from Kwai Chung of Hong Kong? Gin Drinkers Bay was a British military defensive area against the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong during the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941, part of the Pacific War. It was at one time described by the media as the “Oriental Maginot Line”. What you taste is more than just coffee. It’s about history. See more.

Espresso Alchemy

Find more about #WhatGeorgeEats on Facebook!