“Restaurant design is a balancing act between two elements – style and function,” says Richard Doone, managing director, Conran & Partners, a London-based architecture and design practice. “It is a balance between how a restaurant looks and how it works.”

With extensive hospitality experience, Doone is leading a massive mixed use development in Tokyo as well as two private dining projects in Hong Kong.

“I have become concerned in recent boom years that an imbalance has developed in restaurant design,” he says. “There has been more emphasis on style rather than function. This is due to a number of factors: inexperienced designers, time pressure on designers, and more inexperienced owners.” As a result, you get restaurants with lots of “wow factor”. The only problem is, they don’t function as well as they should. The seats are uncomfortable, there is insufficient lighting to read the menu, the kitchens are smelly, there is not enough leg room, you bump into other diners as you pass, the list goes on.

Fiction and non-fiction for those who want to lose themselves to the charms of literature, or be entertained in the lazy days of summer.

The “Vegas of the East’’ might conjure up images of no-limits gambling and unadulterated entertainment for the typical tourist, and with the continuing development of casino megaplexes, including The Galaxy Macau resort, set to open in 2011, as well as entertainment programmes such as The House of Dancing Water at City of Dreams, promising spectacular visuals, this post-colonial gem, does have more on offer than the usual Sin City attractions. Relaxing at the beach, singing karaoke in a private lounge, savouring Portuguese cuisine, while chatting up the chef who served the meal, a round of golf at a private club, tuning in to zen music at spa session, are among the many diversions that await visitors. The PEAK picks out a few ways to have a good time.