TBT: Behind the scenes of a cover and feature shoot

With my fav glam squad; photographer Olivier Yoan, hottie assistant to Oli Nicoline, stylist Florent. After the cover shoot, we rushed to Sai Ying Pun to do a shoot on the streets with my fav Diane D'Arenberg.

Word

Girls and cat pics rule the internet

One of my (many!) fav images, littl' Billyjean been taken to her cat bed, late at night. Look how happy the gorgeous kitten looks. 

We need more plants at home

Plants we all need in the house!

2019 in Hong Kong

Just the Won: Awards won for the magazine and publishing team

TBT to this lol shot. 

My publisher (at the time) had a funny little assistant who was never shy of colourful words. 

During my tenure at Burda inc, we ended up winning a few awards. When we first got wind of winning the Best custom publishing something or another, she came to my table with the gravest expression on her face and tapped my shoulder.

"Rams, you won an award for the magazine," she said - the look of incredulous bewilderment writ large. "How did that happen?"

"I... don't know. Do we get any money?!" 

"No."

"K."

Back to screen and overhead neon-lighting.

UPDATE:

Entry Title: Galaxy Magazine, Summer 2014 Award.

Award of Excellence To: P.Ramakrishnan, Anne Lim-Chaplain, Joanna Hor Barnes 

Category: Magazines, Journals & Tabloids - Custom-Published

At the 6th annual Sinar Mas Print Awards, held in October 2013, the Summer 2013 edition of Galaxy magazine picked up a bronze trophy in the Magazines category 

Graff diamonds

Was at the Graff store when I saw the perfectly divine looking Amanda G there. Pure elegance. And the blingage - whoaaa.

Cute chef: May Chow

Behind the scenes of shooting chef May Chow for a feature. Ain't she cute?! Great chef too!

Exercising... restraint.

Funny cause its true....

No Champagne pls, It Reminds me of Work

Saw this online and lol'd.

Having attended far too events in my adult life, everything champagne related reminds me of work.

Get me a VLT box any day (that's Vita Lemon Tea!).

Cat diaries

As a cat owner... although, pretty damn sure, she owns me... I can relate to the above.

Below, damage by my pretty lady. ugh.

Three Faces

Having done the Society column for as long as I have, I've got more than three. ;0)

 

Taco Tuesday at 11 Westside: The best tacos and most authentic tacos in Hong Kong

While watching food porn The Final Table on Netflix, Esdras Ochoa and Daniel Eun were talking about opening up a restaurant in Hong Kong and my ears perked up. Then when they mentioned Kennedy Town, I went scrambling for a piece of paper to take note of the address ( FYI: 1/F, The Hudson, 11 Davis Street - Kennedy Town). 

HOW have I lived across the street from this fine establishment and never been?! It is by far, THE BEST TACOS I've ever had in my gluttonous, calorific life. OMFG. The week of discovery, we (not the royal 'we', but my roommates and I) were there four times  a week. We've culled the frequency down to just hitting the place on Taco Tuesdays (if not our waist, our bank account forewarned us to take it easy).  It's come to the point where all in the crew know not to bother us with invites on that holy day of the week. You will find our paw prints on the (difficult to maneuver) glass doors of 11 Westside at 6pm. Well, 6.15pm (you gotta give them chefs time to apron up!), at least once a week.  

While most patrons go for the more exotic offerings, we swear by the veggie option(s) too. My fake-chef roommate has split the taco and tried to recreate the same with the ingredients at our barely-used, mostly decorative kitchen, with risible results. We bow down to the maestros in the open kitchen. we are not worthy. Feed us, for we come in peace. 



11 Westside 
1/F, The Hudson, 11 Davis Street - Kennedy Town

Leaving your stamp...

The magazine I used to work for had a Caine Road entrance to the building. I was with the company for nearly eight years. Seven of 'em, were pretty good. ;0)

Feel like I left my mark on my old stomping ground... 

Halloween special: Hong Kong's most famous MUA: Karen Yiu

All Hallow's eve cometh....

When in doubt, head to Karen Yiu, my all-time fav makeup artist and person in the industry.

She's so gifted in transforming the ordinary to the extraordinary. Her vast portfolio is incredible, esp body painting work and her epic makeovers.

But give the girl any reference or mood board and she delivers. Fav shoots we ever did were those when we asked her to come up with something...  Beyond expectations, the final look has always been incredible. She's a superstar. Adore her. Book her now

https://www.karenyiu.com/beauty

Andrew Pong by Yana vilkina

Outtakes from a portrait session with actor Andrew Pong by [fav person] Yana Vilkina. From one of my fav locations to shoot, the very photogenic Ping Pong 129. It is awkward when the photographer is hotter than anyone we've ever shot but that's another tale ;0)

Was supposed to be for First Person - a column I loved doing for the mag - but the misguided powers-that-be dropped that lucrative section for poorly-thought-out reasons.

Tsk. 

TBT: Glam Squad with 10 x 10.

The best partnership we ever did and one of the best projects I worked on with this extremely kind and generous glam squad.

Ralph’s Coffee Hong Kong

Ralph Lauren opened Ralph’s Coffee in Asia, at Ocean Terminal, Hong Kong, adding to the designer’s vast lifestyle portfolio. Not just a conservative, effortlessly elegant clothing store brand, it epitomises refined Americana and non-Trump culture at its very best. 

The invitation lay bare on a desktop for ages - one of many the press gets to the new and happening in the 852. When the PRs personally rang to join them for a cuppa Joe at their signature store, any excuse to leave neon-lit office space and the tyranny of the blank page was good enough.

The store's lovely, the clothes are great... yadda yadda yadda (none of this is new information). What made the fine coffee a religious experience was of course this four-layered chocolate cake. It's the bane of Hong Kong that most pastries that look good on Instagram, taste like sugar-coated cardboard. Bear with me; I give you, the finest slice in the region. 

Now this delectable piece was served at the Central store during a private viewing with celebs and socialites, but when the team was accosted in the aisle - with empty threats worded, "Give me the address of where I can get more or I'll hurt your kittens"  - they lol'd and said, you can head to Ocean Terminal. 

Well, that's where you'll find me. Well-dressed (oh ok, dressed!) and obese. But, by George, happy. 

For the caffeine addicts, the selection of coffee includes Ralph’s special blends, Ralph’s Roast, Decaf, and Espresso, made with organically grown beans from Asia Pacific, South America, and Africa. There's a takeaway service (the little eatery cannot accommodate huge numbers) for which we are all grateful for. 

You know what they say, Once you go brown...

TBT: Sridevi

The death of Indian actress Sridevi will be an enduring mystery as something as pedestrian as "accidental drowning" took away a cine-Goddess at the young age of 54*. Legions of her fans still cannot fathom it and several conspiracies (each more mad than the other) float online. * Perhaps only in tandem with death can 54 seem so painfully  young....

Anyhoo, was on a press trip for the magazine back in 2012 when I saw 'the' Sridevi strut confidently into the lobby of a hotel and I spoke to the PRs and said, this street will burn to the ground if you don't introduce me to that legendary movie star. 

They lol'd. I've been told that I'm about as threatening as a bag of kittens. 

We were introduced. I babbled on incoherently while staring into the luminescent one... 

In two sittings, I got the feature out - pitched it to the editor of Post magazine. Voila. A cover story was born.

BTW As she was leaving, I asked Sridevi to pls do more films and if we could do a memoir or biography of sorts - this was back in the day (an earlier request back in 2005 was also waved off) when she was hesitant to return to the limelight.  

She responded, "A book on me? Why? I'm just an ordinary housewife now..."

"NO!", I interrupted. "You're a Goddess. You just don't know you're a Goddess!"

She laughed and patted my head (she's a foot taller than me). And walked away, with her bodyguard and assistant in tow. 

RIP Sridevi. RIP My Queen.

Video Interview: Ruth Chao

An eternal fav: Ruth Chao.

A video interview with Hong Kong graphic artist, designer and creative director Ruth Chao.

Video Interview: Malcolm Wood

So here's the first in a series of video interviews I did.

Malcolm Wood - a multi-hyphenate but here we were addressing and focusing on him as a restaurateur - speaks about the highly competitive industry in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has more eateries per square mile than any other place in the world (someone fact check that puhleez) so we hear of new establishments opening all the time (and old haunts fading away just as quickly). Malcolm Wood's company (and crew) seems to have found the magical formula in running successful bars and restaurants that are studded around the city. Mott 32 is a fav of many and John Anthony, the new hot shot place in Causeway Bay.

This was a fun chat.

PS: + There's another connection, He's the older brother of my all-time fav cover girl and model and friend, the perfectly perfect Mia Kang. 

Behind the Scenes Runway Men’s Cover Shoot: Menswear 2018

Dino Busch shot Runway Menswear. 2018.

Last I heard, all the dogs featured were adopted. Yay.

Lifestyle magazine - over the years.

My cover features and shoots with Lifestyle magazine over the years. 

(am missing a few copies... !) 

The annual tome is out usually around Chinese New Year, looking back at the year that was. 

The Cat.

So we got Billyjean as a little kitten about five years ago from LAP. She's obviously the most gorgeous black and white cat in the world. Well, we think so. But good GOD the damage to the house. How can something so little create such chaos!!

So cute tho.

Adopt - don't shop.

When Tory Burch was in Hong Kong...

Tory Burch at 4 Seasons Hong Kong, after the interview and shoot.

Galaxy Spring 2015

From a cover shoot done for Galaxy magazine back in 2015 with my fav gal Amanda Gonjito (Japanese Brazilian mix - the gal couldn't be more gorgeous).

Shot by Olivier Yoan.

Playlist: Alexis Kwong Alvarez

The Playlist:

Alexis! 

Outtakes from a shoot with Jessica Jann and Claudie Pierlot

Outtake of shots from shooting Jessica Jann for the magazine. Colour testing... we picked none of the above for print btw.

And with my fav team below.

Photography Dino Busch 
Hair and Make-up Reve Ryu 
Hair and Make-up Assistant Jojo Cheng 
Wardrobe and Accessories Claudie Pierlot


  

Hong Kong's 40 under 40.... 2019

Sweet lord, give me strength.

Day 1 of kick-starting this. Grand additions - notable drops. If ya didn't do anything over the course of the last issue to the latest... um, bye. ;0)

My day with Shreya Ghoshal: India's greatest contemporary singer: Gen X Queen of the Female Playback Singers

My day with one of Bollywood's greatest contemporary singers, Shreya Ghoshal. For SCMP back in 2011. 

Read the feature and our chat in earlier post here.

Was chatting with another editor in Mumbai and she described her voice as pure honey, just soothing the ear. So true. 

As reluctant as I am to compare and contrast, to me, Shreya and Sunidhi are the Lata and Asha of today. Both are just seven months apart in age, came into the national consciousness as child artists on Reality TV shows, have a range as wide as the ocean, have sound heads and minds and have stayed true to themselves despite temptations and lucrative offers from the film industry. 

Their dedication to the craft is unbeatable and love for all music. In conversation with Sunidhi, she loved Western music as much as she did classic songs of the 60s. Shreya dedicates part of her every show to classic songs from an erstwhile era. And the images reflect the joy of music and performing on stage - the full command of having an audience in their palm. 

My category: SCMP

Hey its me. Most of my long-ish features. Not all are up online.. Or I can't find for whatever reason

https://www.scmp.com/author/p-ramakrishnan

Top 10 Bollywood Youngsters

View this post on Instagram

♥️

A post shared by Alia 🌸 (@aliaabhatt) on Apr 7, 2019 at 8:09am PDT

NAME
AGE
OFFICIAL ACCOUNT
FOLLOWERS 



Alia Bhatt
26
AliaaBhatt
34.7 Million 


Tiger Shroff
29
TigerJackieShroff
15.6 Million



Sara Ali Khan 
23
SaraAliKhan
11.3 Million



Janhvi Kapoor 
22
JanhviKapoor
5.1 Million

Ananya Pandey
20
AnanyaPandey
3.8 Million 




Tara Sutria
23
TaraSutria
2 million


Ishaan Khatter
23
IshaanKhatter
1.1 Million 

Ahan Shetty
23
AhanShetty
142K


Vardhan Puri 
27
VardhanPuri
79.7k 


Abhimanyu Dassani
29
AbhimanyuDassani
37.8k 

Note: So when I first started sifting through Instagram to look for the hip, young - oh so painfully young - star-lit denizens of Bollywood, these 20-something-year olds stood out. So many followers with so.. .hmm.. little actual achievements, it became increasingly difficult to write something about them as have no idea what merited so many followers, when they had done so little! Other than winning the genetic lottery and being born to fame and fortune.

This [above] was the original list that got scrapped and I started anew with young people who've achieved considerably more - which is now the full feature up at Style magazine - at SCMP..com

Check out the full feature here. 

Some of the above survived the cull, but not all.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) on Jun 24, 2019 at 5:30am PDT

Fat to Fit: Timothy Skinner in Hong Kong

Outtakes from a shoot with Timothy Skinner, shot by Dino Busch.

My feature with Timothy is out in the paper - can read it online here at SCMP.com Body Transformation. 

Click to enlarge pics

Working out in the park instead of expensive and cost ineffective gyms:



Update: Ah the gratuitous Thirst Trap images.