We have selected seven Lifestyle stories from the past seven days that resonated with our readers. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.
1. All about Walovi, the Erling Haaland-promoted Chinese herbal drink
Anyone dialled into the Fifa World Cup 2026 tournament has likely seen on social media the viral advertisements featuring Norway striker Erling Haaland promoting a popular Chinese herbal drink.
2. Kung Fu Soccer: Stephen Chow loses his touch with Shaolin Soccer spin-off
It has been seven years since Stephen Chow Sing-chi last released a film – his longest hiatus yet as a filmmaker. His last feature, 2019’s The New King of Comedy, was a poignant reworking of his 1999 classic King of Comedy. Now the Hong Kong comedy superstar offers a gender-flipped reimagining of another of his greatest hits – Shaolin Soccer (2001) – squarely aimed at the mainland Chinese box office.
3. Hong Kong’s Dot Cod restaurant scores big with World Cup screenings
A downpour on the morning of July 6 was no match for Hong Kong’s World Cup fever. By around 10am that Monday, a thick crowd had already formed outside Central’s Takshing House, where pedestrians stood several rows deep along Dot Cod’s long glass frontage, peering inside at England’s knockout-stage clash with tournament co-hosts Mexico.
4. Granola for breakfast but make it Chinese. An American digs deep into her heritage
For most Americans, breakfast looks like cereal, bagels, oatmeal, yogurt and fruit smoothies or the classic spread with eggs, bacon and pancakes. For Cindy Lam, a Chicago-born first-generation Cantonese-American entrepreneur, these options felt, in her words, “70-80 per cent” complete – a sentiment captured by the Cantonese phrase “chat chat baat baat” (literally “seven seven, eight eight”), meaning almost there, but not quite.
5. At this stunning Vietnamese mountain resort, luxury meets local culture
Standing in a protected heritage landscape in the remote, mist-shrouded mountains of northern Vietnam, the Garrya Mu Cang Chai resort features a main building that is believed to be the largest bamboo structure in the country.
6. Low-inflammation diet can cut dementia risk by almost 30%. Here’s how
Can your diet help override the early biological warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease? A new study says yes.
7. 8 surprising sleep facts and why shut-eye affects every aspect of our lives
Little was known about sleep until modern science revolutionised our understanding. It turns out that what happens while you are unconscious dictates almost every aspect of your waking health, mood and brainpower.
