Always wondered what goes on behind the scenes at a Chinese restaurant? Here’s your chance to take a sneak peek by learning from the pros. A brief intro to Chinese cooking, chef demos and hands on preparation of 2-3 authentic dishes, followed by a luncheon of delicious Chinese cuisine cooked by lil’ ol’ you! Morning and afternoon sessions Monday – Friday at $620/HK per class (minimum 10 people per class).

If your oven is currently being used as a shoe rack and your idea of throwing a dinner party is food-by-phone accompanied by American Idol, look no further than Corner Kitchen to help you do a full 180 in the domestic department. This boutique cooking school offers a hands-on culinary experience in the comforts of a state-of-the-art kitchen with an adjacent cosy dining room and library. Choose a technique-driven class like Best of Beef or Fun with Fish or participate in a theme-driven course such as Balinese Specialties, French Bistro Cooking, or Best Homemade Pizzas. If you dream of bringing out your inner Martha Stewart, enroll in one of their entertaining focused classes where you will learn how to beautifully dress a table, create gorgeous French flower arrangements and the secrets to styling a whole soiree. Master a repertoire of dishes that will allow you to serve the most elegant meal with grace, ease and perfect timing. Your dinner parties will never be the same!

From the creators of Magnolia, our favourite Creole and Cajun-style hotspot, comes Go Gourmet Cooking Parties, a unique culinary combination of a hands-on cooking lesson with a full-service dinner party. Go Gourmet supplies the expert culinary instructors, kitchen set-up, and all the ingredients and equipment you’ll need in their 4,200 square foot kitchen. You just supply the participants! Choose one of the many fun, custom-themed party menus including Marvelous Moroccan, Amazing Cajun, Endless Pasta–bilities and Gimme Some Dim Sum. If you’re going with a large group, they can even implement an Iron Chef-style competitive cook-off between two teams, enticing you to bring out your very best culinary talents. After you’ve finished your performance in the kitchen, head to the gracious dining room and enjoy a much-deserved glass (or four) of wine along with a fabulous gourmet meal cooked by lil’ ol’ you!

Whether you’re the techno-phobe who has yet to get the hang of Microsoft Word, the cinema buff who wants to create your own professionally edited home movies or the PR maven that could double your business with a quick course in graphic design, Welkin Computer Training is the place for you. With a wide range of courses from quarterly Diploma programs to one-day refresher seminars, taught in both English and Cantonese, you’ll have your mouse groovin’ and your fingers dancing across the keyboard in no time.

We’ve all seen Cirque du Soleil and stared in shock and awe as the performers swung through the air, balanced on a single toe or held up a line of ten people on the palm of one hand.  If you dreamed of running away with the circus as a child or always wondered if you might have what it takes, now’s your chance to find out.  The Aerial Arts Academy is opening in Hong Kong this month, making our city the first place in Asia to offer this unique form of fitness and dance. Equipment such as hoops, ropes, silk and poles will be used in the classes, which promise to burn hundreds of calories and work out the whole body during a single session. The academy will offer accredited Aerial Arts Certification from the Asian Academy of Sport Fitness Professionals for those with more serious aspirations (and thighs of steel!) as well as lots of fun classes for mere mortals from Burlesque to Beginner Pole.

If the gym is feeling a little hardcore at the moment, and your personal trainer is being a tad uncooperative (is it that unreasonable to want your cardio to include a lap around Lane Crawford?) then we have the perfect fitness regime for you. Boogie Boot Camp is a new and exciting exercise system that uses dance techniques to tone up muscles, strengthen your core and increase fitness through a fun and upbeat workout based on Hip Hop, Pole Dancing, Ballet, Modern Dance, Latin Dance and Pilates. The warm up music alone will have you raring to go, and the circuit system interspersed with hi-energy dance routines and interval stretching will be a dynamic total body workout. Within no time we’ll be saying goodbye Spanx, hello leotard-worthy torso!

If you’ve always wanted to take up dancing but could never decide between salsa, swing and hip hop, why not try Ceroc, which miraculously combines all three! Originating from the jitterbug, which was taken from the US to France during WWII, infused with a seductive Latin flair and dubbed “C’est le Roc”, this unique style of dancing incorporates 500 moves, which can be danced to almost any song and don’t require too much fancy footwork. . . so they’re perfect even for people who don’t know their box step from their ball change! This worldwide craze has swung into Hong Kong with a fabulous group of well-trained instructors who conduct weekly Ceroc Nights including a tutorial followed by a full on dance party where you can try out your new moves, along with new partners every 30-seconds (how about those odds!). They switch up the venues every few months, but each Ceroc Night promises to be a high-energy, fun filled event that will spin you silly and leave you breathless!

It’s fun, it’s fabulous and it will have you aching for days only to re-emerge with a newly strengthened and toned torso.  Pole dancing is all the rage and the current choice of staying fit with A-list celebs. Plus, it’s the perfect excuse to ship in the 5-inch metallic platforms that you’ve secretly been eyeing in the sales.  Practice “The Kate Moss” or “The Pretzel,” and swing round and round alluringly like the dancing diva you are.

Has the excitement on land not been doing it for you lately? Fancy a whole new adventure? Then stretch those sea legs over to the Bunn’s Divers Institute where they’ll facilitate your introduction to the underwater world. Beginner courses start at $3000, which includes 5 lectures, 2 pool-training, and 2 open-water sessions along with equipment. The Institute is well established and has hosted some local water-loving celebs. It also offers both local and international diving tours to get you on your way!

Take a dive into the water and sea what lies beneath! Discover a whole new world with Splash Hong Kong. Offering a range of scuba courses to suit your every need from Fun Diving to PADI Divemaster, you can experience all the joys of the underwater world.  In no time at all, you’ll be proudly raving about pods of green sea turtles, bacalao, and bluestriped chub…although you in your wetsuit might be the best sight of them all!