Here ye! Hear ye! Fellow civil servants of the Tree Taskforce:

Want to avoid the backpackers and lose the tourists? Intrepid travelers Sarah Fung and Winnie Yeung venture off the beaten track and discover some of China’s best-kept secrets.

This tree in the Mid-Levels may face destruction thanks to a lack of laws protecting privately-owned trees.  By Winnie Yeung and JoJo Choi

Work? We’ve got lines to learn! - Two airlines owned by gaming tycoon Stanley Ho have been criticized for asking pilots and flight attendants to memorize a 10-line creed about company values. Staff were told they would be punished if they failed to recite it at surprise spot checks.

1. Tony Chan Speaks! - More than a month after the start of Nina Wang’s estate trial, Tony Chan, the feng shui master battling Chinachem Charitable Foundation for Wang’s reported $100 billion fortune, finally took the witness stand last week to discuss his supposed romantic relationship with the late tycoon.

Support local artisans, find some bargains and above all, have fun at a craft market. Paul Chan dives in.

As America’s global empire declines, China is wasting no time in pulling one over on them in the tiny battleground of Macau. Squaring off against a string of luxurious Las Vegas casino operators, Beijing has proven itself to have the upper hand in this, the first battle between the two superpowers in the 21st century.

Would you lunch from a lavatory, scoff at a school desk or dine with dogs? Dorothy So puts aside her table manners and ventures into the quirky world of Hong Kong’s oddest themed restaurants.

The buzz: The Stonegrill’s new sister restaurant serves up classic, American comfort food in a friendly and cosy environment. And because sharing is caring, the restaurant offers most of its dishes in “party size” portions, designed for splitting between three to four people.

Café de Paris’ new menu is an impressive collection of French classics. The beautifully presented crab cake starter is the perfect example of Chef Jerome’s skill and eye for detail.

You know the story—an ugly duckling turns out to be beautiful swan and if the other characters behaved less judgmentally, they wouldn’t have felt like such schmucks in the end.

It was this classic tale with its wholesome message of inner beauty that inspired me to do it—I was finally going to eat balut.

Health and beauty news and deals with Sarah Fung.

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King of the Castle - Veteran TV and stage actor Chung King-fai inhabits the eponymous role of Richard III in what many regard as Shakespeare’s darkest work.

Great Performers: Mullova plays Brahms - The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra plays Brahms’ “Three Hungarian Dances,” “Violin Concerto” and Bartok’s “Concerto for Orchestra” with famed Russian violinist Viktoria Mullova. $75-380 from Urbtix. Fri-Sat, Jul 3-4, 8pm. Cultural Centre, 10 Salisbury Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui.

Ode to the Arts - Several Burmese artists, including former political prisoner Htein Lin exhibit works celebrating the diversity and beauty of their country.

The buzz: With its cozy, low-rise sofas, dimmed wall lights and flickering candles, this place gives off a Henry House-like vibe, creating an easy, laid-back atmosphere.

So we went to check out the fierce cocktails of the master mixologists at MO Bar. It isn’t every weekend that you get three of the top mixologists on the planet making drinks for you.

Caribbean Fiesta - Time to break out your Hawaiian shirt for a hot summer night of reggae, salsa, ska funk and reggaeton from DJ Josef and DJ Javed. Free champagne cocktail for girls in bikini tops as well as lotsa drinks promotions to keep you in the spirit. $100 includes two drinks. Fri, Jul 3, 10pm. Vertigo Ultralounge, 26/F, QRE Plaza, 202 Queen’s Rd.

Michael Bay’s insatiable quest to “fuck the frame,” as he so eloquently said himself, has resulted in the sequel to 2007’s “Transformers“ being a mess of tinnitis-inducing explosions, corny dialogue and lots of Megan Fox running about in slow motion.

When it comes to making films about his country, renowned mainland director Jia Zhangke has his heart in the right place.

Mahjong carver Cheung Shun-king is one of the few remaining in Hong Kong. He tells June Ng why he never learned to play and why new, automatic mahjong tables spell the end for his generation of craftsmen.

As one half of Cantopop sensation Twins, Gillian Chung needs little introduction.

I’m a 25-year-old straight female. I’ve been dating my boyfriend for only a few months, but we fell in love fast. He is a caring person, and I want to make this last. However, he doesn’t turn me on.