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To love Hong Kong is to know that people here are live and breathe food. Short of inviting the foodies in your life to an unforgettable meal out on the town that will wipe out your savings account or treating them to a hard-won home-cooked dinner that you labour over for days, here are some Christmas gifts for those who are obsessed with food.
There are few things better than slurping down a hot bowl of ramen on cold winter nights, but we found the second-best alternative: wearing them on your feet! DOIY, a Barcelona-based homeware and lifestyle-accessories company, has created a set of adorable Ramen Socks (€22.50) that you won’t want to keep hidden by shoes and boots. Awash with thoughtful details—just check out the little nori sprinkles!—each set comes with two pairs of socks folded up and packaged as a takeaway ramen dish.Alternatively, Happy Socks has a delicious selection of food-themed socks, ranging from Donuts (HK$160) and Sunny-Side-Up Egg (HK$160) to Fruit Loops (HK$160) and Pizza (HK$160). If you want an additional element of surprise, go for the Junk Food Gift Box (HK$470)—it comes with four different pairs of vibrant socks in tasty designs like Ice Cream, Hot Dog, and more!
Give the coffee addict in your life the chance to taste something festive with Nespresso’s holiday flavours! Inspired by Nordic cultural trends and Scandinavia’s holiday foods, this year’s limited-edition blends are centred around Nordic Almond Cake (HK$67), a medium roast with biscuit and vanilla aromas, and Nordic Cloudberry (HK$67), a refreshing and slightly acidic brew with a touch of sweet, jammy fruitiness. There’s also a Nordic Black (HK$67) flavour for those who enjoy staying true to the original, an African and South American Arabica blend that is smooth and elegant with sweet fruity notes. Don’t forget to recycle your used coffee capsules back to Nespresso when you’re done indulging!
While you’re brainstorming gift ideas for the coffee lover, why not consider giving them something that will help them reduce the mountain of waste they create every day? Evergreen produces a vast range of Reusable Coffee Capsules (HK$300–400) that fit a variety of machines, from Nespresso and Dolce Gusto to Lavazza and Vertuo. Made out of non-toxic stainless steel, they are also incredibly easy to use: just fill it with ground coffee, pack it down with the coffee tamper (included), pop it into your machine, and watch it do its magic. It also comes with a little brush to help with washing the capsule after you’re done!
Read more! Here are some ideas on what gifts to get pet owners.
Wear your love for hot pot on your sleeve—and, err, shoulders and ears? China’s hot pot giant Haidilao is making the holiday season an especially merry one for foodies with a newly-launched series of hot pot-themed accessories, available for sale on Haidilao’s WeChat shop. Yep, you can carry your groceries in hot pot-themed tote bags, scribble down your thoughts on a hot pot cauldron-shaped notepad, protect your clothes from spicy chilli oil spillage with waterproof sleeves, and bedeck yourself in jewellery based on hot pot ingredients. Lotus root earrings, anyone?
For the chef in your life, this is the kitchen gadget that will elevate their cooking to the next level. Naturally, not a lot of people will buy a sous vide machine for themselves, but that’s where you come in, dear shopper. 1200-plus five-star reviews on Amazon can’t be wrong: Anova’s Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano (US$99) is the best on the market.For the uninitiated, sous vide is a cooking method that utilises precise temperature control with circulation to produce consistent results. Food cooks in its juices, making it moist and tender, and very little constant attention is needed once you’ve got the cooker going. Anova’s model offers precise temperature control, quick heating, and an easy-to-use app that helps you control the cooker (or you can just use the buttons on the machine if you don’t want to involve your phone).Wirecutter sings its praises as “the smallest, most affordable model from a company that’s consistently made some of the best-performing cookers we’ve tested,” and these people really do their homework, having tested sous vide cookers over the past six years. Never over- or undercook your meats again!
Self-explanatory; the travel-size Sriracha is for the friend whose taste buds are so shot, they can’t even imagine the flavour of foods without some kind of spine-tingling spice. Don’t suffer through their complaints of no hot sauce; just help them through their sad and bland meals with a refillable Mini Keychain Bottle (US$3) from Sriracha2Go.
Read more! Need to purchase gifts for the little ones?
Take your love for food into the outdoors with FieldCandy’s ‘What a Melon’ Watermelon Tent (£399) for a refreshing new take on camping! Other than just looking pretty delicious, the high-performance tent is water-resistant and insulating, with a breathable inner tent and sewn-in groundsheet. Set-up is easy with the provided pegs and poles, and lockable storage pockets ensure that your valuables can be secured for when you need to step out of the tent for a short while. Best of all, it fits two, so you can share your love of camping and fruit with a special someone while you gaze at the stars and think of your next meal…
We all know that Hong Kong living isn’t the most spacious, and if you’re lucky enough to have a balcony, oftentimes it’s about the size of a kitchen cabinet. So what do you do when you want to do a little bit of grilling and outdoor barbecue? You could get your hands on the LotusGrill (HK$2,430) on Aussie Meat, a smokeless charcoal grill that heats up in under five minutes! This ingenious and award-winning device is compact, lightweight, convenient to transport, and doesn’t make a mess—perfect for small-space living. The fan is battery-powered and the double-skinned bowl stays cool on the outside, so you don’t burn yourself when you’re handling the grill while cooking. It also comes in a range of colours and a carry bag is included. Pair it off with a couple of premium Australian and New Zealand steaks from Aussie Meat and you’re good to go! Why not bring it with you on your next camping adventure with your brand-new Watermelon Tent?
Orders before 12 pm for next-day fresh meat delivery, or another day of your choice. Orders can be placed up to 30 days in advance.
How much: Delivery costs $70, or free with orders over $700
Use Localiiz's exclusive discount code LOCALIIZ10 to enjoy a 10% discount on meat and seafood products with a minimum purchase of $1,000 after discount.
Barcelona’s DOIY keeps coming up with things that scream, “Just take my money already!” and the Nigiri Bento Box (€29.95) is no different. Composed of two compartments that stack up to form the iconic Japanese nigiri sushi, the bento box is hermetically sealed and made travel-safe with a matching elastic band. Itadakimasu!
Read more! Cosy up with Hong Kong’s best hot chocolates.
In with the sloth, out with the teabags. The little Slow Brew (US$10) sloth from the household design geniuses at FRED is the cutest way to cut down on wasteful, packaged teabags and start your journey to loose-leaf teas. Made of heat-resistant, BPA- and phthalate-free silicone, this adorable friend from the tropical rainforest is here to help you brew the perfect cuppa.
Show off your love for baos with an adorable Big Bao T-shirt ($220)! Local illustrator Kat J. Weiss handprints them on organic, GOTS-certified cotton with water-based textile inks and they’re always screen-printed to order, so you know your threads are hot off the press and completely unique. Her packaging is made from recycled and repurposed materials, using plastic-free packaging and gift-wrapping materials whenever possible, so you can feel good about yourself for choosing an environmentally-friendly gift option. A few different designs are available, and they come in adult sizes, children’s tees, and baby onesies.
Growing up in Hong Kong, there are collective childhood experiences that you share with your entire generation, and one that has stuck with us through thick and thin are the iconic Nissin instant noodles. Filling a warm place in our hearts and tummies on days and nights when we crave a taste of comfort, feel too lazy to cook, or are just downright broke, this pantry staple and beloved no-frills sustenance is one that has seen us through some desperate times.Meykers has produced a pair of Nissin Keyrings ($100 each) that take us back to the good ol’ days of struggling with the sesame oil sachet and getting it all over your fingers because they’re just impossible—and we love it.
Read more! Here’s where to get Christmas decorations in Hong Kong.
Food hampers are always a good idea for Christmas gifts because you can guarantee that something in that basket is going to be a welcome surprise. Feather & Bone is offering ten unique hampers this year, which includes the Christmas Delight Hamper (HK$998) that comes with red wine, chocolate, strawberry conserve, shortbread, and more. Cheese lovers, on the other hand, will adore the Cheese & Cheer (HK$1,198) bundle.Grand Hyatt Hong Kong has also prepared luxurious hampers, packaged in a way that we’ve never seen before—in a padded wine bag! Choose from three different bundles—Grand Moment (HK$1,280), Grand Occasion (HK$2,880), or Grand Celebration (HK$3,880)—and nosh on gourmet delicacies like homemade Almond Rocher, white truffle cream spread, chocolate and nut salami, English fruit cake, traditional panettone, fruit jams, French acacia honey, and bottles of Veuve Cliquot, Saint-Émilion Grand Cru, Pol Roger Brut NV, and more!
Pinyin Press does a beautiful series of dim sum-themed homewares, and one thing that never fails to bring a smile to our faces is their award-winning Har Gow Salt & Pepper Shaker (HK$240). Crafted in Jingdezhen, this elegant pair deserves a spot of eminence on the dining table, and the ceramic shakers come packaged in a bamboo steamer! FYI, they also come in another design—the Dumpling Salt & Pepper Shaker (HK$240).
Stop wasting money on overpriced juices and smoothies at the gym—just make your own! Kenwood does a cheap and cheerful Blend Xtract (HK$398) that’s perfect for making quick and easy drinks, from protein shakes to nutrient-rich morning drinks. Each blender set comes with two bottles and a non-spill lid. Just pop your ingredients into the bottle and blend away!
Read more! Want to know what kind of gifts the Localiiz team likes?
Let’s face it—one of the most tedious things about cooking (and the one thing that discourages us from doing it more) is the part where we have to chop, chop, chop all of our ingredients before we can even get started. But it doesn’t have to be that way when you have the Kuhn Rikon Pull Chop (US$22.45).As gimmicky as it looks, this device is Amazon-recommended and it does what it’s advertised to do: chop your ingredients! Equipped with sharp, stainless steel blades, it can chop foods into coarse, medium, or fine consistency, while a non-slip base holds it steady. Say goodbye to knife boo-boos or nicks and take up residence in the kitchen a little more frequently.
We love the idea of supporting Hong Kong-inspired goods, especially when they’re produced by local businesses. Why not bring a bottle or two of some of Hong Kong’s finest to toast the holiday season and ring in the new year? The Hong Kong Distillery produces a nostalgic small-batch Handover Gin (HK$488) with notes of ginseng, bitter orange, Chinese cinnamon, and horny goat weed—a fragrant blend of eleven organic botanicals in total.Alternatively, the Hong Kong Gin Company does an artisanal Bauhinia Gin (HK$490), a premium London dry gin distilled from natural botanicals and Hong Kong’s national flower. You can taste flavours of juniper berries, coriander, lemon peel, ginger, chamomile, almond, jasmine, and the emblematic Bauhinia flower, of course—a great gift for sharing.Wine Moments, purveyor and creator of fine wines, has a whole collection of holiday gifts, from a Sparkling Wine Box (HK$600) with three bubblies and 50 Shades of Red (HK$765) with six different bottles of red to a selection of German Schnapps (HK$1,500). Browse through on their site and see if anything catches your fancy!
Read more! Check out where to get Christmas trees in Hong Kong or explore the rest of our Shopping section.
Born in Hong Kong, raised in Germany, and educated in the US, Jen is an award-winning creative with a background in illustration, communication design, art direction, and content creation. When she’s not getting lost in a good book, you’ll find her doing crosswords, eating dim sum, covering all sides of a “Hamilton” number, and taking naps.
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