Of all the frivolous things a person could own, one of the more frivolous (even more so than multiple Birkins, I'd say) is a designer teddy bear. Of course, it would seem that many people disagree with me, because I've come across more than one designer brand that's purveying soft toys in signature fabric. I'm hunched at the top of my bed because my wireless is not working and I have to steal from my insecure neighbour, so let me save my bandwidth for uploading photos. Lagerfeld, Missoni, Gucci and Rykiel: which teddy would adorn your bedside?

Doing some last minute Christmas card shopping? Check out MAC’s annual Kids Helping Kids cards. It’s a series of cards illustrated by kids to help children affected by HIV/AIDS everywhere, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to paediatric AIDS/HIV organisations. All the cards are illustrated around the theme of hope and the result is colourful greeting cards that can be used all year round so if you are like me, who buy Christmas cards only to not send them out, you can use the cards for other purposes. MAC also has a series of gift tags created by the children.

Available at MAC.

Wan Chai's Uno Mas has been getting a lot of favorable buzz lately. If you haven't stopped by this wonderful tapas restaurant, then it's definitely time to do so. We sit down Uno Mas' Executive Chef David Izquierdo Jover for a tete a tete.


On the story behind the name:
"We named our restaurant 'Uno Mas' (meaning 'one more' in Spanish) because we offer an extensive and varied food and wine menu, and no matter how many times you come, there's always one more thing to try.

On what direction he wants to take Uno Mas:
"Our goal is to bring the flavour and tastes of Spain to Asia by creating a unique destination to enjoy and sample the atmosphere that is integral to Spanish cuisine."

On the inspiration behind David's cooking:
"My first inspiration was my mother, who taught me how to experiment with food types and flavours. Then, when I was 11, she took me to el Bulli, where I was lucky enough to meet Ferran Adrià. From then on, I knew what I wanted to do, and this is still my inspiration."

On David's cooking philosophy:
"My cooking philosophy is to combine a number of distinct flavours to created a unified dish which stimulates both the senses of taste and sight. Appearance is important, because your first impression is what you see but it must always be well-cooked, fresh, and interesting. Whether one likes the combination is subjective but the quality should not be in doubt."

On David's cooking style:
"I love cooking freestyle - many customers come to Uno Mas and sit around the open kitchen asking me to cook for them. It gives me great satisfaction to see them first enjoy watching me make the dish, and then watching them enjoy my creations."

On David's comfort food:
"My comfort food is definitely cocido, a homemade Spanish soup made from chickpeas and Spanish vermicelli with a variety of other ingredients such as meatballs, ham, chicken breast, carrot and potatoes."

Uno Mas
1/F, 54-62 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Tel: 2527 9111

While we've never claimed to be among the city's top fashionistas, your resident Geeks also don't always like to publicly display their geekiness... but yesterday we had a very Bridget Jones moment when we coincidentally found ourselves clad in coordinating Christmas colours. We inspired a certain amount of cheer from folks on the street, although I may be mixing up the words cheer and jeer.

Christmas has officially infiltrated geek camp!

The one thing that I cannot do without every year is a live Christmas tree. It's amazing how different I feel when there's the scent of pine in the house. While some may say it's a bit of an extravagance (and I'm not denying it as a 5ft tree costs between HK$700 - HK$1200), it's one of those purchases that is definitely worth it. When I was younger, I had all sorts of small stuffed animals that was given to me at childbirth as decoration for the tree and it's been my biggest regret that my parents threw out all those toys without my consent while I was away at college.

So now I'm forever on a quest to find Christmas tree decorations. Eclectic is what I strive for. We have the usual Swarovski crystal ornaments but also quirky ones like Smores, red sequined Absolut vodka key chains and this year I'm looking to add this set of acrylic video game controllers to the mixture. Designed by Dave Rollins, these seven ornaments contain laser cut-out versions of Wii, N64, Xbox 360, Dreamcast, NES, PS2 and Sega Genesis controllers. Perfect for the gamer geek in me.

Available here