In February, we profiled a bunch of our single friends and encouraged readers to ask them out on dates. From there, our chums picked their potential paramours and attempted to charm them – or be charmed – into a loving long-term relationship (or just a quick snog). Each pair got a special date for free, and from there the sparks flew. Here are the highlights of what went down.

See the original Date Our Friends feature.

Miko Van Chong
Date: Dinner at Habibi, Lan Kwai Fong
Sometimes sticking with what you know works best, so Miko took a date he already knew to the new Habibi restaurant in Lan Kwai Fong. “The food was great – especially the starters,” said Miko. The chef came out to meet the couple and the serving staff laid on the charm. Meanwhile, Miko and his date sampled the cocktails, which he reckoned on reflection might not have been a great idea: “They were very strong!” The duo won’t be dating any time soon, but at least they remain friends.

Chris Isaac
Date: $500 certificate for Slim’s, Wan Chai
While Chris says his date “went really well” and was marked by good food, he and his date quickly came to realise they were very different people. “He’s very nice and dashingly handsome,” Chris said of his date, “But I think he honestly thought I was a bit mad.” Still, the two have agreed they’ll be hanging out as friends in the future. Not a bad result.

Frances Helen Moxon
Date: Dinner at Angelini, Kowloon Shangri-La
Frances struck it lucky with her man, who she described as “interesting, articulate and funny”. Despite some pre-meeting nerves, the interaction came easily. “We met knowing nothing about each other and sustained conversation for almost five hours.” The high point, she said, was the stunning restaurant, which provided great food and coffee. “Being in such a well-to-do place actually took the pressure off. We laughed at the prices and ordered the lobster.” Sadly, they probably won’t be dating again, but Frances is keen to be friends.

Tom Moore
Date: $1,000 certificate to City Links Golf Lounge, The Centrium, Central
City Links really laid on the perks for Tom and his date. “It was a really good night,” Tom said. “Our host Jacob was a star because he made sure that our glasses were always topped up with a little Moet.” The date continued post-golf for a dinner in Lan Kwai Fong and a few more drinks at another bar. “She was attractive and fun and she was really easy to get on with,” said a happy Tom of his new friend. Asked slyly if he got any action, Tom would only reply, “Our behaviour was obviously saintly.”

Helen Chan
Date: An evening at the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s Nodame concert
In an interesting twist, Helen, who is straight, decided to select a girl for her date. “I was hoping to have someone with a bit of artistic sense to come along – at least someone who was interested in classical music and wouldn’t fall asleep during the concert,” she said. After the concert, the two headed out for kebabs and drinks and chatted about family, love, Buddhism, life and death. Said Helen: “Obviously, we’re not each other’s cup of tea, but I did find myself a new good friend.” Nice.

Jessica Clarkson
Date: Tickets to see Ok Go at Grappa’s Cellar
Jessica’s night with her chosen suitor started off with a couple of drinks at the gig venue, but the conversation diminished once the loud music kicked into gear. They headed out to Wan Chai afterwards for some pizza and got to know each other at little more. Her man was a gentleman, not bad looking and, she said, a “decent kisser”. We assume it went pretty well, then. Her summation of the ‘Date our friends’ project? “The whole experience was interesting. I don’t regret it, but am not so sure I would do it again. I put myself a little further out there than I’m used to.”

Cat Lam
Date: Italian dinner with wine pairing at Mistral, Intercontinental Grand Stanford
Cat and her date, a gentleman a few years her senior, had a fine time being lavished with wine at every course of the meal. The food, she said, was “GREAT”, but the chemistry between them wasn’t quite as tasty. Their conversation stuck to the basics and was kind of piecemeal, she said. “The guy, I guess, was a bit too old for me.” Still, at the end of the night they got to take home some cake. Score!

Amai Tran
Date: Skywalk in Macau
Armed with ferry tickets, Amai and her date were set for a long day in Macau. Just as well they got on with each other. After enjoying the high thrills and views from Macau Tower, they headed out for a feed of Macanese cuisine before finally heading home at 11pm. “I guess something was working there, or else we wouldn’t have spent so many hours together,” said Amai. “He’s a nice guy. He’s smart. We had a very nice conversation.” Amai hopes they can get together again for a movie or some karaoke sometime soon.

Sarah Sullivan
Date: Wine dinner at the China Coast Bar & Grill, Regal Airport Hotel
Well, it was supposed to be a dinner at a nice restaurant, but a mix-up led to Sarah’s dinner voucher expiring, so she and her date instead just met for drinks. That almost didn’t work out, either. After 45 minutes alone at the bar, Sarah was about to give up – but then the two realised they were just at different tables. Things picked up from there. “He was lovely!” she said of her partner for the night. “We had a really great time.” And a future date, Sarah? “Maybe.”

Mabel Chan
Date: Coffee tasting workshop at Spoilt
Mabel’s date actually spanned over a couple of nights, but the focal point was a session learning about the history of coffee and trying out some fine brews at Spoilt. She described her date as a “sweet, lovely” gentleman who was nervous at first “but that made his personality shine”. The two also saw a movie together and got to know each other pretty well. “We’re quite good friends now,” said Mabel. There is, alas, nothing more on the cards.

Lester Lee
Date: Dinner at Taku, Elgin Street, Soho
Another date fail! But, thankfully, only as far as the dinner went. As it turned out, Lester’s female friend doesn’t eat sushi and he’s a vegetarian, so the two skipped out on the fine meal awaiting them at Taku and instead went to her favourite place in Kennedy Town, where they got a vegetarian pizza. “We had a great time there,” Lester reported. “She always had a smile on her face, and since we both like design it was easy to communicate with her.” Even better, the two plan to date again. A win!

James Williams
Date: $500 certificate for Mrs Jones restaurant
James’s date arrived worried that Time Out paparazzi were waiting outside the restaurant. His response? “I wish!”. He said his companion for the night was interesting and a good talker, making for a relaxed evening. The night’s most interesting moment was: “Finding out she was training to be a hypnotherapist – and no, she didn’t put me in a trance and have me parade around the restaurant like a chicken. At least not that I recall...” Still, her powers must have counted for something. He has arranged to see her again soon.

Andrea Yu
Date: Ice skating at The Rink, Elements
“I’m kind of a dating pessimist, so I always assume worst-case scenario,” said Andrea. But as it turned out, she had nothing to fear. “I didn’t even need to take out my taser,” she joked. Andrea’s date is a comedian, “an interesting person who I don’t think I would have had the opportunity to meet from my day-to-day life in Hong Kong”. Andrea enjoyed having the upper hand in the date because, as she modestly pointed out, she was the superior skater. She’s interested in seeing him again, but only as friends.

See the original Date Our Friends feature.