Brunch with HushUp

I’ve never been part of a secret or exclusive society, but that’s the great thing about wielding the power of a credit card in exchange for a ticket stub in Hong Kong – it can always buy you the experience you want for a day, if not for a few hours.

As with their Secret Island Party, Hushup revealed only enough information about the brunch to create buzz, promising luxurious drinks at the meet-up location, surprise guests and performances, free flow Mumm champagne, and as much sushi, antipasto, and pulled pork buns as we could handle. (They had me at luxurious…)

My mind chased quite a few rabbits on this one: are we talking flamethrowers, magicians, sword swallowers, and acrobats? Servers in glittering gold body paint and nipple pasties on roller skates? Male waiters throwing glitter in the air wearing nothing but afros, gold chains, and gym shorts? 300-pound babies wearing Mozart wigs, tinted aviators, and spinning records with their little ravioli hands???

Thankfully, that was just how my mind works and not what Hushup had in store for us.

After getting our pre-brunch buzz on with fancy adult beverages, including a few silky shots at the Observation Wheel in Central, all 100-something of us were bundled away by Hushup’s Laura Morison, known by those in the know as the new goddess of brunch, to our top secret location: Armani Prive.

Being a fan of the more alternative scene, when I hear Armani Prive – I’m immediately bored. Suits and expensive cocktails with a rooftop view of Hon…..zzzzzzz….sorry blacked out for a hot minute. But as promised by Hushup there would be nothing pretentious about this brunch.

A short jaunt later and we waltzed in to an atmosphere filled with friendly faces, chilled glasses of bubbly, transforming body art stations, Romanesque buffet displays. Did I mention the bubbly? The smooth mixes of DJ Melohman and trumpet man Michal Garcia enhanced chill jazzy vibes.

This brunch was anything but stuffy. Over the next few hours we all rode the adult merry-go-round of unlimited Mumm and spirits while we painted our faces with sparkly golden swirls. (Personally, I can say that I killed it in a limbo competition and failed miserably with a few hula-hoops.)

Oh, and there was food – an endless train of raw fish, salty meats, and fluffy pork buns. Belts were loosened a few notches and our dresses hid our mini-brunch bumps.

As the afternoon became a gauzy haze of fun, we came to the realization that all secret brunches must come to an end…before they become the end of us.

We walked away from this premiere Secret Brunch Club with rosy cheeks, new friends, priceless memories, a few extra kilos in our stomachs, and pockets full of nipped table swag.

The next morning I was greeted by a reflection of glitter, flowers, false eyelashes, and smeared lipstick. Never had my face started the day quite so entertaining.

A different kind of Tuesday Night

Hong Kong ex pats’ desire to be entertained rarely goes unsatiated. The multi dimensionality of the landscape and demographics of this city provide motive for capitalists in every sector to get a slice of the pie. From yoga to Cross fit, from fine dining, to street noodles, from cocktails in fancy dress to dancing on bars, from there is something for everyone in the Pearl of the Orient. 

Unless, unfortunately, you are looking for an opportunity to give back to those who can’t afford even the cheapest of entertainment in this city.

"I wish there were something I could do to help those guys" is a shared sentiment amongst my circles when we pass a hunched elderly pushing recyclables up hills that healthy youth take taxis to avoid.  On the one hand, Hong Kong ranks number eleven in the list of cities with the most millionaires per capita.  On the other, 1 in 5 of the 7.24 million residents live in poverty.  In a city with such large economic disparity, there has to be people like us wanting to do something about the homelessness and the hunger we see around us, right?  

So we research various organizations to get ourselves involved with, but then we stop.  Because instead of a time and place to show up and serve, we get bombarded with registration forms, sign up sheets and waitlists.  It’s just too much red tape for something that should be relatively simple.

Yes, I am aware of and occasionally partake in “drinks for charity”. And yes, sometimes I go to dinner for a cause.  What I want more than throwing money at a problem is to be involved in the solution. I’d like to see that my actions have a direct, positive impact on someone else’s existence in this city.

This is how I came to heed the call from instagrammer @kulkimoose to join a purely grassroots movement, ImpactHK, in feeding the homeless.  Started by Jeff Rotmeyer of “the Guest Room”, ImpactHK meets one a month at a Park-N-Shop, buys food, and goes straight into the surrounding area of Nam Cheong to feed the homeless.

Jeff is currently a teacher and has been passionately volunteering throughout his ten years in Hong Kong. Mr. Rotmeyer is very involved with the Down Syndrome and Autistic community in Hong Kong, and along with them he has helped refugees, the homeless, people living in Hong Kong's caged homes and even raised money to help an individual pay for her cleft lip operation.  

Jeff and his friends have been feeding the homeless in monthly events for just over one year now.  It started with only a handful of people, but is now getting groups of over 40 volunteers, like at the most recent August handout.

Like so many of us, he saw the need, but didn't wait around to find another organization to help serve. He took the initiative and just did it.  

"I started writing ImpactHK to expose the concept of doing good deeds for others to more people.  I also wanted to show how easy it is to make a difference.  ImpactHK has no salaries and involves no corporate funding.  It's simply the power of considerate and compassionate people coming together to make a difference."

Currently The Guest Room and impactHK are seeing their numbers continue to rise.  Jeff and his team are considering options for their next step.

"With such impressive turnouts to the events, we are considering many options as to how we can continue to move forward.  The one thing for certain is that we will create only positive change."

There was a diverse crowd of happy people that showed up to help, with the youngest member being 7-year-old Idan Arie, son of local professor Dor Arie.  A smattering of accents and a variety of professionals all came out to give up a few hours of their time for something as simple as reaching into a bag and handing over a piece of food to someone in need.