Ho Ho Hong Kong (Mohammed Magdi & Vivek Mahbubani)

With four massive sold-out Coldplay concerts, and the Rugby 7s weekend, the new Hong Kong Kai Tai Stadium has finally opened its doors! And there is no one better at giving a full review of the events, the stadium and all the fun trivia, than our guest, comedian Garron Chiu. Garron worked on multiple ad campaigns for those events as part of his job, and he saw 2 Coldplay concerts in the same week!

Jiaoying Summers write-up on SCMP: https://shorturl.at/hFEdc

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Garron Chiu on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamgarron/

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Eshan Arif is a legend in Hong Kong’s bar scene. After a decade in the beer business, he now runs one of Soho’s coolest spots—Dead Poets. He’s also the city’s unofficial quiz king, known for hosting some of the silliest and sneakiest pub quizzes around. We sit down with Eshan to talk bar culture, what makes Dead Poets tick, and why being a quizmaster should never be taken too seriously.

Check out Dead Poets on Insagram: https://www.instagram.com/deadpoetshk/

Check Out Craftissimo's 12th year Anniversary on Sat Apr 26:

https://www.instagram.com/craftissimohk/

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy⁠⁠

Subscribe to our Patreon: ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/hohopod⁠⁠

Leave us a review: (please!) ⁠⁠https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod⁠⁠

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed⁠

Follow Vivek on Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek⁠

 Hong Kong has consistently been on the list of the world's most expensive real estate markets. Limited space among many other factors contribute to the housing prices being astronomical. So why would anyone buy an apartment here, and if you decide to buy one, what is the process? Luckily, one of our hosts (we all know which one) just bought his second apartment in Hong Kong, and he walks us through the whole thing.

Get tickets to Backstage Comedy live shows here: http://thebackstagehk.com/

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Guy Shirra moved to Hong Kong from England and served as an officer for the Royal Hong Kong Police force from 1967 until the Handover in 1997.

His stories are surreal and there were far too many for us to fully cover. He talked about terrorism from across the border in the '60s, corruption, opium raids in the Kowloon walled city, and the catastrophic Po Shan Road landslide at which he was an early responder.

Guy's fantastic autobiography The Accidental Prawn is available on Kindle here. Hard copies are available at Bookazine, Jelly & Walsh and the HK Book Centre, or by emailing guyshirra@gmail.com.

The city has a killer storytelling scene, and at the heart of it is the group Hong Kong Stories. The group head honcho Rachel Smith joins us this week, who also hosts a huge podcast of the same name, and organises both the Spoken Word and HK Podcast festivals.

We talked about how the scene started, what makes a good story, when people are lying, why they don't want any morals on stage and they handle people sneaking in their politics.

Belinda Esterhammer is a force of nature with some big projects rocking along. She co-hosts the #Impact podcast, hosts the Belinda Esterhammer show, created Fem Founded a community for females to get the nudge to get started on everything they’re passionate about, and co-founded Women in Tech HK.

We talked about the challenges female entrepreneurs face, what it's like for women in HK workplaces, the cultural impacts on gender and about her projects.

Sign up for Andy's mailing list here: https://mailchi.mp/605f0f29b920/sendmethat

Belinda's website: https://www.belindaesterhammer.com/

#Impact podcast: https://www.hashtagimpact.com/

Hong Kong has its borders wide open and the CNY holiday is upon us. Mohammed's family decided to visit from Egypt for the first time and he has a lot to rant about. Where do people actually go for "touristy stuff" and why is visiting the Big Buddha isn't the best idea? Vivek gives a lot of solid advice.

Mohammed also got locked out of his friend's house at midnight with the dog inside the house and he tries to make it back in and the story ends unsurprisingly with the cops showing up.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Alyson Hau has dominated the airwaves since joining Metro Radio as a 16 year old.

Since then she's covered the Olympics, the World Expo, world premieres for major films including Transformers and Twilight, and interviewed massive music acts such as Maroon 5, Backstreet Boys and Lady Gaga.

She told us about the good, the bad and the ugly of meeting superstars, and what it takes to nail a great interview.

We made it to episode 100! Yup, we can't believe it either. For the 100th episode, we pack our equipment and head to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Park in Sai Ying Pun. We riff on everything happening around us at the park, chat to a couple of people, Vivek gives an update on his sister's dramatic journey to come back to HK from the UK before her PR expires, and we launch our YouTube channel!

Check out Tuners Sparks on tour if you're in Melbourne or Sydney: https://www.turnersparks.com/

Pre-order Ben Frank's album "Goodbye Shanghai": https://www.benfrankcomedy.com/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Happy 2023 everyone! We are back. We made it through, well .. kind of. This is more of a #yolo episode but hey we are back with a stacked episode, catching you up on everything that happened in Hong Kong over the last few months, as well as catching you up on our updates as well. So many news stories, fun moments and ridiculous HK shenanigans to get through. It's good to be back!

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Controversies around national days and what they mean to different parts of society will always be a topic of discussion. In the lead-up to her headliner, which happens to fall on Australia Day, January 26, we chat to comedian Annie Louey on why this date has become a hot topic of debate in Australia, and we propose alternative dates and occasions that can replace January 26.

Get tickets to Annie's headliner show on Jan 26: https://t.ly/NCURF

Check out Annie and Mohammed on "Teatime With Jesse": https://t.ly/k_9mr

Get tickets to Backstage Comedy live shows here: http://thebackstagehk.com/

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

For the first episode of the Year of the Dragon, we have a stacked one with a lot of Hong Kong classics. We try to answer many questions: What are the latest rules for Lai See? What is ok to clean and not to clean over the CNY holiday? Why shouldn't you visit your family on the third day of the CNY? Who is the guy standing with a stack of iPhones outside the Central MTR exit?

Mainland tourists took over Hong Kong, Messi came and pissed off the whole city, and the Rod Stewart HK show got cancelled! So much drama!

Get tickets to see Vivek on tour in Cantonese in Australia and New Zealand: https://aunz.funnyvivek.com/

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Hong Kong has been having a pretty brutal heatwave (it's also T8 the day this episode drops). Seems like every summer now we see the same headline "This is the hottest July HK has seen since Julius Caesar". This week we ask our indoors expert and notorious outdoors hater Vivek Mahbubani on what the hell to do when it's this hot out? What are the cool indoor entertainment options in Hong Kong?  

Get tickets to the Backstage Comedy live shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

Vivek is feeling under the weather. To cheer him up, we reminisce about some of our favorite childhood memories of watching WWE. Then we get into why he probably got sick and how he can avoid getting sick again, and we narrowed it down to every Hong Konger's favorite appliance, the air conditioner! Then we get into a debate about whether it's better to live in extreme cold weather or extreme hot weather.

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

It's week 3 of no-guests allowed in our studio thanks to Covid precautions and restrictions, and we go all out on this one. We discuss everything from bananas to weird fruits that no one is buying, the new "The Batman" movie (no spoilers!) and HK hitting a new high of over 50K Covid infections in a single day to the lady who decided to give the MTR door a nice wipe with her tongue*, a cool hack we discovered at the HSBC ATM machine, flossing and a lot more general HK absurdity. 

*No microphones were licked in the making of the cover photo.

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Harry Harrsion needs no introduction, if you have been in Hong Kong for more than a couple of months, you must have come across one of his drawings. Harry is the principal cartoonist for the South China Morning Post, his work appearing six days a week. We chat with Harry about his new book "Add Ink: Cartoon Chronicles of Life in Hong Kong", his beginnings, his influences, his "sketchy" office and if the constant political changes affect his work.

buy "Add Ink" here: https://shop.scmp.com/products/add-ink-by-harry-harrison

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

We celebrate our 200th episode with a live podcast in front of a live audience at one of our favorite venues, The Aftermath. We have a lot of fun answering questions, playing games, riffing, and feeding off the energy of the room. Thank you to everyone who got us this far. We are very grateful. 

Special thanks to our Patreon subscribers. We wouldn't be here without your support and encouragement. 

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Hong Kong's got an unreasonable amount of people living in unreasonably small spaces. And Dr Merrin Pearse's on a mission to make the metropolis continue.

Pearse was described as an urban vigilante for HK sustainability. He's an advisor at Purpose Business, and chair at the Living Islands Movement (a local group dedicated to the sustainable environment of the outlying islands). He also founded a consultancy helping companies achieve their sustainability goals.

He told us what the city's doing well, the biggest challenges it faces, how we can help, and which part of recycling is full of literal gold.

On this week's episode, Vivek is dealing with handymen invading his house and installing a hanging bamboo scaffolding platform through his living room's window on the xxth floor! The hanging bamboo scaffolding is a pretty common practice in Hong Kong, but there is something particularly dangerous about those hanging ones, not erected from the street level up.

Check out the SCMP infographic on bamboo scaffolding in HK: https://t.ly/MOtJO

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

This episode is not for the faint-hearted! Mohammed Magdi heads to the Philippines for a quick "holiday and a show" with Annie Louey, and boy, oh boy, do they have a rough time. Annie recounts the benefits of a power spew and how Dr. Showbiz always comes to the rescue. And of course, Vivek Mahbubani smugly reminds us all why he doesn't like to leave his house, ever. 

Check out the "Cross Border Comedy" documentary from February 20 on YouTube, ABC International, Now TV (Hong Kong), and ABC iView (Australia).

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Annie Louey on Instagram: http://instagram.com/annielouey/

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

This week Mohammed flies to Egypt for family duty and we just couldn't get our schedules to align before his flight so Vivek finds himself all alone in the studio and you, our dear listener, get a very high concentrated dose of Vivek-ness. Vivek covers everything from "A week in the life of a comedian" doing gigs and balancing personal matters to reaching the point in your comedy career where the comedy performance itself is the easiest part of the show!  Then he tries to guess what Mohammed could be doing in Egypt then he finally runs out of topics and lets his brain work overtime, to which it starts messing up near the end of the podcast and nothing he says makes sense.

Get tickets to the Backstage Comedy live shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

Vivek heads off to Melbourne for a big run at the Melbourne International Comedy festival with his new Cantonese show "I'm funnier in Cantonese 呢個廣東話好笑D?!" and before he flies we catch up on his latest gig hosting the AIDS Concern gala, "treating yourself" to a first class MTR ride and we try to answer the age-old question, do you really work out at Pure if you don't let people know you work out at Pure?

Tickets to Vivek's Cantonese show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival here: melbourne.funnyvivek.com

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

David Yeung is the founder of OmniPork, Green Common and Green Mondays. And won the Social Entrepreneur of the Year award at the World Economic Forum.

He was recognised in Fortune's 2020 'Change The World' list. And is the author of several best-selling books on Zen wisdom and mindfulness.

We are already in December and Hong Kong is starting to feel like Christmas already (since early November). We chat about Landmark's confusing "Christmas Ribbons" decorations and the Netflix documentary "Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy." This Christmas, buy experiences, not things! Is the HK single-use plastic ban actually enforced? We're all about the environment, baby!

Get tickets to our 200th Ep. Live Episode on Dec 5: https://t.ly/dvmNR 

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Should we believe Hong Kong's covid numbers? We give the lowdown on the city's healthcare system, compared public with private, shared a few hospital horror stories and talked about the various terrible things a doctor an do to you. Find out if this city's a good place to get sick.

Sign up for Andy's mailing list here: https://mailchi.mp/605f0f29b920/sendmethat

If you ever pass by Soho or go up the mid-level escalator, it's highly likely you're familiar with the delicious bakery smell. You know that bakery smell so good it makes you think "whatever this is, I want it" and it draws you in like a zombie. Well, that's Bakehouse. The darling of Hong Kong bakeries and the uncontested champion in our opinion. We chat to Bakehouse Managing Director Liam Collette about the story of Bakehouse, his journey from Australia to Hong Kong and what the most underrated item at Bakehouse is.

Get tickets to the Backstage Comedy live shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Get tickets to Mohammed's show in Singapore on June 20 here: https://masala20june.peatix.com/

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

2020 was tough for a range of reasons and Vivek had to take a step back from the pod when his health took a serious turn for the worse. Here's what happened and where he's at now.

China's 11/11 Singles' Day "Shopping Festival" is like Black Friday on steriods. It has consistently been the biggest shopping day in the world for the last few years, online and offline. Originally, the date was celebrated as a cynical response to traditional couple-centric festivals by a small group of college bachelors. However, in 2009 Alibaba's CEO began to use the day as a 24-hour shopping holiday festival that offered online shopping discounts and offline entertainment. The holiday has now become the largest physical retail and online shopping day in the world.

Get tickets to Backstage Comedy live shows here: http://thebackstagehk.com/

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

In 1999, Nick Willsher founded HKClubbing.com as he couldn't find reliable info on where the good parties were. Today almost 24 years later, HKclubbing grew to be the ultimate Hong Kong nightlife guide and Nick went into the music promotion business, as well as starting Entertaining Asia, an integrated event and hospitality consultancy based in HK.

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

Andy and Mohammed were let go from the comedy club last week. They walk through their long history of destroying comedy clubs and scenes and what's in store for them next.

Chaotic HK IG: https://www.instagram.com/chaoshongkong/

Stuart Palm is an international psychic entertainer, artist, hypnotist, illustrator, seer, reader, mentalist and father. He joins us to talk about his upcoming show “World of Wonders,” his new tarot cards “Palm’s Oracle”; the amazing variety of uses for Hypnosis, and performing Mentalism in Hong Kong and around the world.

This episode was aired live on Shopstream. Get the Shopstream app here: https://qrco.de/bcP1HA

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek

Follow Stuart Palm on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/psychicentertainer/

Another week, another adventure, and another tale from some of the unusual gigs that we do. This week, host Mohammed Magdi shares the details of a gig he did recently, doing standup for an opera show produced by the Hong Kong Grand Opera, and if that sounds random, that's because it is, but "Standup Opera" is a thing, and you can go see the next one on March 6!

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

We sit down with Malaysian comedian Kuah Jenhan, who was performing his show "Noted With Thanks" in Hong Kong over the weekend with Backstage Comedy. We cover a wide range of topics, from Feng Shui, why the Malaysian ringgit seems to be always crashing, to why Malaysians like haggling so much and does Vivek always "get it"?

Follow Kuah Jenhan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kuahjenhan

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

It's been a tough year for schools, with prolonged lockdowns, homeschooling and the threat of 'sanitised' curricula.

We sat down with a teacher on the inside to find out what's up.

It's a comedy-heavy episode with our guest, touring comedian Dwayne Perkins. We chat with Dwayne about the Hong Kong vs. Singapore audience, what Dry Bar Comedy is, cruiseship shows, Netflix licensing deals, and Dwayne shares some amazing stories about working with the legendary Patrice O'Neal. 

Check out Dwayne Perkins wbsite: https://dwayneperkins.com/

Follow Dwayne Perkins on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dwayneperkins 

Get tickets to our 200th Ep. Live Episode on Dec 5: https://t.ly/dvmNR 

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

At nearly 5am on Tuesday October 12, 2021 a taxi carrying a foreign passenger drove along Queen’s Road West and the 50-year-old taxi driver in the vehicle was suspected of arguing with the passenger for some reason. The foreign passenger then used a hard object to hit the neck of the driver which resulted in injuries. In order to escape, he got off the car and fled.

The passenger then got off the vehicle and continued to attack the taxi driver before he finally collapsed. When the taxi driver was about 20 meters away, the assailant also took the opportunity to escape. Afterwards, a passer-by called the police for help.

Police officers sped to the scene and found the 48-year-old man lying unconscious on the floor. Sustaining serious injury to his neck, he was rushed to Queen Mary Hospital and was certified dead at 6.17am.

The police released a recent photo of the suspect Wednesday the 13th of October. On Wednesday afternoon, our guest Tracy* ran into the suspect outside a small store on Lamma island, not having any idea who he was. She had a friendly chat and shared a beer with him. It's quite a baffling story. Strap in for this one. 

*Tracy's voice has been changed to protect her identity. 

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

On episode #189, we might have gotten carried away with our conspiracy theories, and we talked some smack about one of Hong Kong's newest restaurants, the Flat Iron Group. Well, the founder of Flat Iron restaurants did listen to the episode, and he had some comments for us. This episode, we chat with Flat Iron and Steak King Founder Johnny Glover about his booming business, his origin story, and the real conspiracy happening on Elgin Road.

Cheak out Flat Iron Hong Kong: https://www.flatironhk.com/

Check out Steak King website: https://steak-king.com/

Steak King viral video: https://t.ly/Ftbi_

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Conspiracy Chocolate makes high quality small batch craft chocolate from bean to bar. They use cacao beans from a single farm in Vietnam and process slowly and manually over 5 days to retain the natural health benefits and flavor of the cacao.

We chat with its founders Celine Herren and Amit Oz. They are a Swiss and Israeli couple who met in Hong Kong with a passion for creating food and discovering new combinations of flavors. After a few months of learning and refining the process in their kitchen in Sai Ying Pun, Conspiracy Chocolate, a small-batch bean-to-bar craft chocolate company was born. They now craft their chocolate in their own licensed chocolate lab in Wong Chuk Hang. 

Check out Conspiracy Chocolate website here: https://www.conspiracychocolate.com/

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Follow Conspiracy Chocolate on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conspiracychocolate/

Happy Year of the Snake, everyone! As things slow down in Hong Kong and people take the time to spend quality time with their families and loved ones, we chat about a range of topics, including our recent gig hosting The Aftermath's 6th birthday party, Mohammed's dog's recent "panic disorder" diagnosis, and we do a full predictions chart of what kind of Chinese New Year we are going to have.

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

We are flying solo this week with no guests and a whole lot of nerding out on comedy. From our different processes of writing jokes to refining bits at open mics and how we come up with ideas for jokes, then we bust out our notebooks and run our very new and super old bits past each other, add tags and share a lot of laughs. This one is for the hardcore comedy folks so, strap in!

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Anson Chen's a world-class illusionist and mentalist, reading minds all over the planet.

He explained his journey from Taiwan to HK to Shanghai. How he learnt from the world's top magicians. And the challenges of performing magic vs comedy.

Another one bites the dust. La Rotisserie, a staple of the Hong Kong F&B scene since 2012, decided to pull the plug on all its branches on Jan 7, 2022. La Rotisserie was famous for its moderately priced roast chicken – a staple family-style dish in France. We sit down co-founder with Jerome Carlier to talk about the decision to shut La Rotisserie down, the challenges facing the F&B business in Hong Kong recently and how to make a perfect roast chicken in a small home oven!

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

We survived CNY shenanigans but not completely unscathed. Mohammed has taken his entire family all over HK for almost 3 weeks and he is "never gonna financially recover from this". Luckily for us, he gives us a full report on the main tourist attractions in HK. 

Is Disneyland HK still worth a visit? What's the state of Ocean Park? What's a Water World? and why you should probably never get in a Lantau blue taxi.

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

Fion Leung is the founder of Time Auction, a tech-enabled charity connecting volunteers with their idols.

The group enlists famous and important voices in the region, who give up their time to reward those who give their time to charities. It's a far out idea that's taken off.

Get more details at https://timeauction.org/

She's also a co-founder of the Mindfulness Movement, and shared a ton of insight into the charities and how Time Auction found it's groove.

The Olympics kicked off in Paris, and with them, we got to learn about games we never knew existed. We are Team Hong Kong all the way. Vivian Kong already scored Hong Kong's first gold medal at fencing, or "épée"? Let's be honest, we are all just waiting for Siobhan Haughey to win big.

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Follow Tony Chou on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonychoucomedy/

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Both our hosts are self-employed. Vivek Mahbubani runs two companies. He runs Hallf of Laughs with Comedian Tim Chan and he also has his own company representing himself. Mohammed Magdi owns and runs Backstage Comedy. 

This week we get into all the nitty gritty of what it means to have your own startup in Hong Kong, the day-to-day life of running a one-man company and why "being your own boss" may not as freeing as it sounds. 

Get tickets to Backstage Comedy live shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

Cassi Thomas was born in Hong Kong, her mum was born here, and she's a staunch defender of all things she loves about the city. She joined the pod to talk about HK's colonial kids and her insane online army of followers, Chaotic HK.

Chaotic HK IG: https://www.instagram.com/chaoshongkong/

If you've ever partied in Hong Kong, you've definitely walked by Beyrouth Bistro or ordered food at 3 in the morning there.

Listen to one of Beyrouth Bistro's partners Charbel Assaf talk about his life growing up during war times, his move to Hong Kong and the nitty gritty of what's going on in his home of Lebanon. We also discuss how he and Vivek became certified fitness trainers at one point in their lives (what?!).

Author Nury Vittachi has released a new book criticising the 2019 protests, and posing questions about the motives of the protestors.

We had a chat about his new release and his broader views about China.

"Hello Hong Kong" Campaign launched to promote Hong Kong around the world. 

Ok great. What about that slogan though? We come up with alternative slogans while we chat about gratitude, people in Hong Kong always comparing themselves to each other, moving houses from one walkup to another walkup, Syrian refugees and comedians blaming the audience for their own failures. 

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

The city seems to be opening back up for real! Quarantine for inbound travelers continues to be only one week (3 days if you're flight crew!), restaurants are allowed to run up to 10 pm (yay!?), some stand up shows are back. We have a classic episode discussing it all, we catch up on the standup gigs we did recently did, from Sai Kung to Soho House, the upcoming CE "elections" and the new Batman movie (no spoilers!) 

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

This week on Ho Ho Hong Kong, we got so much to unpack: from Mike Tyson's lesson in humility to what makes a joke go viral. We delve into many topics, including attention economy, wild things that happen at VIP parties, and regrets we are trying to avoid later in life.

Get tickets to our 200th Ep. Live Episode on Dec 5: https://t.ly/dvmNR 

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Recorded in Melborune, Australia, comedians Vivek Mahbubani, Annie Louey, and Mohammed Magdi are all gearing up for their shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. They catch up on the podcast on how they have been preparing, their different ways of promoting the show, and why the "festival club" is a pit of diseases.

Catch Vivek's Cantonese shows in Australia and New Zealand: https://aunz.funnyvivek.com/

See Mohammed and Annie's show in Melbourne: https://t.ly/5bw6x

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Did a Flat Iron Steak/Burger joint take over your favorite neighbourhood joint? Are you wondering where they all came from? How they popped up in Soho out of nowhere? You're not alone! It a typcial Ho Ho Hong Kong fashion, we chose to do zero research, and instead, we dove into the deep end of the conspiracy pool! We're joined this week by a a special guest, the hilarious and gorgeous comedian, Annie Louey!

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Follow Annie Louey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annielouey/

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Australian comedian and ABC's China Tonight host Annie Louey is back on the podcast this week, with both hosts back in the studio too. We cover everything, from thirdwheeling, the Aussie "Nut Bush" dance, Annie being a wedding celebrant and how Annie and Mohammed met.

Get tickets to Annie Louey's Jan 26 show in HK: https://t.ly/qVCw7 

Get tickets to Backstage Comedy live shows here: http://thebackstagehk.com/

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Follow Annie Louey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annielouey/

Ever feel like a chicken talking to a duck? Ever ask a girl out only to be forced to eat lemons? Maybe you've been told that you're a peanut guy? Or perhaps someone has warned you that you're wearing a green hat? 

No need to be confused, "Hong Kong Slang" is a little dictionary of Cantonese slang that will supply you with the appropriate knowledge to get by in Hong Kong and make you cool at office parties. We chat with author Linsday Varty about her new book, her fascination with the Cantonese language and some of the funniest expressions in Cantonese.

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Follow Lindsay Varty on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindsvhk/

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Find out if Hong Kong's a good city for kids, what it's like for children healthcare, pollution, the schools and where's a good place to live.

Sign up for Andy's mailing list here: https://mailchi.mp/605f0f29b920/sendmethat

It's the most wonderful time of the year and we have a lot of stories for you. Vivek flew to Singapore to perform on Dr. Jason Leong's show, and little did he know a mega superstar would drop in and do a guest spot. Mohammed goes back to Shanghai for the first time since he left in 2019 but he loses his wallet right before flying out of HK. Grab your mulled wine and strap in for one heck of an episode! 

Get tickets to Dec 30 New Year's show in HK: https://t.ly/46l9N

Get tickets to Backstage Comedy live shows here: http://thebackstagehk.com/

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Only a few days after typhoon Saola ravaged through Hong Kong, claiming some trees and forcing expats to cancel their dinner reservations which caused them big distress, we get hit with the longest black rainstorm alert ever recorded in Hong Kong, causing yet more expats to cancel their junk boat parties, which made them really upset. How is Hong Kong so unprepared for the heavy rainfall?

Get tickets to Backstage Comedy live shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Couple petpeeves? We got plenty. Couples in-jokes. What could be more fun? Mohammed has been with Annie for a year, while Vivek has been with his girlfriend Gloria for 8 years. We compare notes! 

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

What happens in HK on Christmas and western New Year? Why are there so many Christians in the city? What makes the holidays so friggin amazing here?

Comedian Garron Chiu answered it all.

Like many others, Simon Wilson lost his job due to Covid, and unlike many others, he didn't "wait it out", he went on to create Hong Kong's biggest and most successful event in HK since Covid started, The Grounds then The Lawn. He sits down with Vivek and Mohammed to tell them all about his insane journey, from launching food festivals and taking TV shows like MasterChef and Top Gear Live on the road, to managing sponsorship operations at each of the stadia used for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Apologies for the late upload! You might understand why when you listen to this episode.

Host Mohammed Magdi witnesses a horrific incident in his neighborhood. He shares the details of his experience as we try to process it. 

Warning: This episode has many references to self-harm and some graphic details.

Dim Sum Daily coverage: https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/26-year-old-woman-found-dead-after-fall-in-sheung-wan/

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

We are back with a classic episode of travel tales, air travel failures and Chinese airport shenanigans. Mohammed takes the lead on this one as he recounts why he had to buy three different airplane tickets to make his show in Singapore on time, then he goes home to Egypt for the first time in 5 years on a trip that wasn't drama free because of course. But then the tides completely turn and he's met with many pleasant surprises in his native country. This one is a doozy!

Get tickets to the Backstage Comedy live shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

It's not a new phenomenon for local residents of a place with high tourist traffic to be annoyed by the inconvenience tourists cause sometimes; it's normal. What is new is tourists in Hong Kong not really caring much for Hong Kong's world-famous skyline or its beautiful nature and instead going to some random coffee shops and posing for photos for long photo sessions, all doing the same poses, just because it was mentioned on an app. 

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Lan Kwai Fong is Hong Kong's most famous street and the city's main party hub. It's ever-changing, yet always the same. We chat about the iconic street, its snacks, its famous 7-11s, and, most importantly, its crowds. Have the international school kids taken over? Are we too old and jaded? We walked through "Lan Kwai" the other night, and we have thoughts!

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Get tickets for the Cantonese Laugh Festival Gala: https://gala.laughfestival.hk

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

It's valentine's day week and we are coming at you with a bunch of stories. Vivek does a couple pro bono gigs and regrets it but good news! he turned into a superhero and there's plenty of free merch to go around! 

Mohammed on the other hand shares that one overdue story he has been sitting on, and of course it's another visa adventure. Strap in! 

Cover graphic copyright ZONTA CLUB OF THE NEW TERRITORIES II

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

We are in the era of virtual reality making leaps and bounds in technology, and HK's own Sandbox VR is leading the charge. With the backing of Alibaba and they have a plan to open a holodeck in every neighbourhood on the planet.

Creative director Michael Hampden gave us the inside of scoop on how it all works, what makes games great and why people keep puking.

Check out Sandbox here: https://sandboxvr.com/

Sara Tang's a sexologist and host of the Better in Bed podcast. She's shared sexy lifestyle advice on the major radio station RTHK3, appeared in the global documentary 'Sex and the City', has a raunchy blog and provides coaching for getting your sex back on.

Check out Sara's podcast: https://www.sarasense.com/podcast

Malaysian comedian Rizal Van Geyzel's show "Arrested" tells an incredible story of what happens when a perfect mix of self-absorbed "influencer" foolishness, government inefficiency, and social media frenzy ultimately leads to his arrest and him losing his comedy club. Rizal tells us the full story.

Catch Rizal's show "Arrested" at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival:

https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/browse-shows/rizal-van-geyzel-2/

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Rizal on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rizalvangeyzel

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Mohammed goes on a work trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and comes back with a classic tale of robbery, cover-ups, and Malaysian officials corruption (allegedly!) #justiceformo

Check out the Westin KL on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewestinkl/

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Hong Kongers love their holiday travels. Favorite destinations list include Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Korea. Bali, Indonesia? Not so much. Luckily one of our hosts Mohammed has been to Bali multiple times and after his last trip there and his first one since the pandemic, he comes back with a full report. Should you visit Bali?

Get tickets to Backstage Comedy live shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Check out Solo Villas in Ubud: https://solovillasbali.com/

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Emily Tan is a health & fitness professional, co-founder of aerial arts & pole dance academy Viva Vertical, host of Body Blaze TV series, presenter of fitness education and performer of aerial dance - these were all proud titles before the title of “cancer fighter”, which led to “mental health advocate” and founder of the podcast Tackling Minds (www.tacklingminds.com)

Emily shares her story with our hosts, going through the range of emotions of finding out she has cancer to chemotherapy and learning self care and to put things in perspective. Vivek shares his own story of fighting cancer and he and Emily share wisdom on what the experience taught them and how they came out of it better than before. 

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Follow Emily Tang on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theemilytan/

How do you stay fit in Hong Kong? We talk about the best at home, indoors and outdoors exercises, different types of meditation, yoga, the statistics on exercising, and the most popular regime in Hong Kong.

Holy moly this year is already statring off strong. Both our hosts were working on New Year's Eve, and they share the details of how their night went. While Vivek had the time of his life emceeing for The Hong Kong Golf Club New Year's Eve gala, Mohammed had the worst gig of his entire comedy career, performing for one of the richest people in the city. It's the ying and the yang of the comedy business—the ups and the downs, the highs and the lows! A tale of two gigs! 

Get tickets to Backstage Comedy live shows here: http://thebackstagehk.com/

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Dear Hong Kong is a well-known photo book featuring inspiring people from different countries, all living in Hong Kong, and their contribution to the city. You can check it out here.

The stories are outstanding and it also looks super slick.

Oskar Valles has interviewed more than 90 people from different countries including teacher and ex-prisoner Dawit Debasai from Eritrea, and former Pakistani pilo Ajmal Samuel who became a Paralympic medalist.

Jinx Yeo is one of the top standup comedians out of Singapore.  He was nominated "Best Comedy" at the Fringe World Awards 2018. We chat to him about HK vs. Singapore, white people being offended on behalf of minorities and his weirdest gig ever performing for the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea

Get tickets to Backstage Comedy live shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Who are the city's domestic workers? Why are they almost all women? We take a dive into the history of the city's helping hands, their relationship with their employers, the abuse and their fight for recognition.

On this very special edition of Ho Ho Hong Kong, we have returning guest and co-host of ABC's China Tonight Annie Louey back on the pod! 

Mohammed is currently in Australia visiting Annie, doing shows and traveling around. Annie and Mohammed drove from Melbourne to Sydney and back. They catch up on the podcast to chat about about roadkill, good ol' Australian racism and Annie's career taking off.

Get tickets to Backstage Comedy live shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Annie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annielouey/

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Ho Ho Hong Kong, your reliable Hong Kong news source, is back with this week's news scoop: We got newborn panda twin cubs! Two non-Americans "weigh in" on who they would vote for at the American elections, why YUU Points is the worst loyalty program in the world, and, everyone is welcome to Hong Kong if they can afford it.

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Ramadan is here, and we chat all about Ramadan in Hong Kong. Host Mohammed Magdi explains why he believes observing Ramadan is a good practice, while the other host, Vivek Mahbubani, tries really hard to find "cheat codes."

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Maitreyi's a standup comedian, actress and an absolute force of nature helping feed the homeless in Hong Kong.

She talked about her life from India to China, working in film and helping people out.

Antony's (@antd) become the resident podcast voice on all things political.

Since he last visited, the crackdowns on Hong Kong have been unrelenting and severe. Including vast arrests, mass bail denial, the gov claiming Jimmy Lai's assets, and 7,000 officers deployed to Victoria Park to crush any whisper of a vigil for the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Dapiran is a Hong Kong-based writer and lawyer, and wrote two HK books City on Fire and City of Protest. He's appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, Quartz, the whole shebang.

Check out Ant's work: https://www.antonydapiran.com/

We wrap up our run at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2024 and we sit down to debrief and reflect on the past couple of weeks. Annie and Mohammed's show "Too Haram To Handle" received 3 reviews and they are all wildly different from each other. We go through them one by one, including a review we never read before the episode recording. 

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Follow Annie Louey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annielouey/

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Mike Rowse carries a formidable expat CV. 

He negotiated the deal that brought Disneyland to Hong Kong, acting on behalf of the government. And was the first expat in HK's history to naturalise as a Chinese national.

He was the city's first commissioner for tourism, and the first director of the Financial Secretary's office. He was also on the Independent Commission Against Corruption that changed the city. 

It keeps going on... In short, the man's got some insane stories.

This week on HK shenanigans, the government decided to use their swanky emergency alert system (which reportedly costed 150 million HKD) to send everyone in the city an emergency alert to their mobile phones. Was a rogue Russian nuclear missile on the way to kill us all? Did someone escape their 5-star staycation at the luxurious resort of Tsing Yi isolation facility? Is there a hamster on the run?

We also get into our HK pet peeves, why Vivek hates the outdoors and why we don't fact-check anything we say.

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

What is retirement in Hong Kong like? More specifically, what are the options for old folks homes in the city? And how does it all work? We do a deep dive. 

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Who's got the funkiest nightlife? Coolest things to do? Wildest stories? Craziest travelling? Vivek and Andy are dissecting two of the best cities in Asia and only one will survive the surgery.

Here's the link for the live streams: https://www.podbean.com/lsw/wGe2Cqgu83

Sign up for Andy's mailing list here: https://mailchi.mp/605f0f29b920/sendmethat

We are back with a classic episode. Just the two hosts and a whole lot of venting. What the hell is going on with the prices in Hong Kong? While it's not a new issue, it really has gone out of control lately.

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Comedian Jordan Leung (better known by his online alias 69ranch) moved back to HK from the US when Covid hit, then he started hitting up the comedy circuits here, then he blew up on social media. His IG account amassed thousands of followers in a short period of time, making him by far the biggest draw in the current English-speaking standup comedy scene in HK. He sits down with us to talk about how he perceives his "fame", what happens when you become an influencer and what has changed in his life since then. 

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Follow Jordan Leung on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/69ranch/

Fabio's the head chef of Soho Italian fancy restaurant 121BC. He told us about life in the kitchen, how the food & beverage industry is surviving the protests and covid, what is the worst thing to order in a restaurant.

Fabio's restaurant 121BC: https://121bc.hk/

Jules Hannaford joins the pod to talk about a terrifying online-dating catfishing ordeal she went through. Jules wrote the Webby-nominated book Fool Me Twice, stars in the eponymous podcast, and hosts the awesome interview podcast Hong Kong Confidential.

And Vivek makes a hilariously inappropriate joke...

Fool Me Twice book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2XKcTCh

Fool Me Twice podcast: https://bit.ly/2MhSzTA

Hong Kong Confidential: https://www.hongkongconfidential.net/

Family drama alert! Vivek's sister made it to Hong Kong literally a few minutes before her PR expired, we take the opportunity to catch up with her with one simple goal in mind: Understand what she does for a living.

Dr. Krishnaa Mahbubani tries her best to dumb it down to us, and before you judge us, here's one of her bios:

Krishnaa completed her PhD in Chemical Engineering at Cambridge University, and after a period there as a Post-doctoral scientist, moved to the Department of Surgery as a research associate and is applying her engineering expertise to develop methods to extract tissue resident lymphocytes, and design a single semi-automated tool to extract the lymphocytes efficiently. Her other interests are in the fundamentals of cryopreservation, with a focus on understanding the relationship between ice nucleation and post-thaw cell viability.

CBTM: https://www.cbtm.group.cam.ac.uk/contact-us

Cambridge Enterprise: https://www.enterprise.cam.ac.uk

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3va7Hbn

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

This week on Ho Ho Hong Kong podcast:

Hong Kong had its first Lunar New Year fireworks display since 2020!

Can we convince Taylor Swift to buy Lamma Island?

Being poor is not that bad.

Jeffery Epstein cosnpircacies.

The Happy Valley cycle of life: gamble, heart attack, fancy hospital, CYOC (choose your own cemetry)

Get tickets to Mohammed's show on Mar 1 in Hong Kong: https://t.ly/b_onh

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

You get a ban, you get a ban, and you get a ban!

This week on HK shenanigans: The government lifted the flight ban on 9 countries then immediately banned Emirates Airlines far a week. Everyone in HK is getting a "goodie bag" from the government, Vivek's sister might be able to come back to HK after all. We try and fail to not about the Oscars and we have an announcement about next week's 100th episode! 

Check out Kareem Abdul-Jabbar substack on the Oscars drama: https://bit.ly/3jjuagZ

Comedian Andrew Shultz roast of Will Smith: https://bit.ly/3K5IrcQ

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

Comedian Adam Hopkins started out his comedy career in Shanghai, where he was also working as a journalist. We chat to him about what it's like working a journalist in China, the coolest interviews he's done and why he eventually moved to Taiwan. 

Get tickets to Backstage Comedy live shows here: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Adam Hopkins on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adam_hopkins23/

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

We take a break from having guests on this week and we fly solo. The original idea was for us to talk about what our lives were like B.C. (Before Comedy). We started with Vivek and boy did he have a lot to say. Vivek has had a pretty wild journey even before ever doing standup. In fact he has had so much happen that we didn't have time to share Mohammed's B.C. stories, we will definitely get into that on a later episode though!

Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you: Vivek B.C.

Enjoy!

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

As of April 1, Quarantine for travelers coming into Hong Kong will be cut to 1 week, which means we can probably start making plans for some summer travels! We chat about our favorite travel destinations, share some fun traveling stories and what would our first trip ideally look like.

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/

The hosts once again jet off to different distinations for different reasons, then come back to the studio to recount their experiences, which couldn't be more different. Vivek Mahbubani flies to London on Emirates business class; Mohammed Magdi flies to Melbourne on Scoot Air economy class.

Get tickets for Backstage Comedy shows: https://linktr.ee/backstagecomedy

Subscribe to our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/hohopod

Leave us a review: (please!) https://www.ratethispodcast.com/hohohkpod

Follow Mohammed on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theothermohammed/

Follow Vivek on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/funnyvivek/