Keyword = desperate? Sorry, no matches found. Please search again... Leave the chat rooms to the bots, speed dating is high-energy and low-tech, allowing you to maximise your encounters and intensify your hits by sizing someone up and selling yourself face-to-face in as little as three minutes. For the best results, go with an open mind, speak with an open heart and play along with an open hand. After all, if Kate Hudson can lose a guy in ten days, surely you can win one in ten minutes.

Keep It All In Perspective: Rabbi Says
Ironically enough, speed dating originated as a means to insulate rather than to expand the Judaic dating pool. Since the concept was created by the Jewish educational network Aish HaTorah (www.aish.com) in Los Angeles in 1999, the trend has spread to goys and girls across the US and well into the UK, passing through Canada, Australia, France, even Japan, with dates ranging from three to ten minutes long for each of the seven to thirty dates. Meanwhile a sexy spin-off, seed dating (same rules, but you get laid), introduces a fast and fun alternative to meet 'um friends' ‚ as in 'This is my, um, friend.' It's interesting to note that the First Commandment of the Jewish dating game was 'Thou shalt not ask where thy date lives or what he/she does for a living.' Perhaps this should be taken as a tactful dating tip. Remember, it's only a game.

Look Around: Coming To A Venue Near You
There have been precedents. 19th century debutante balls aside, one might have guessed that speed dating would take off first in the nation that went wild over the ABC-televised Dating Game in 1965, not to mention the notoriously cruel Gong Show in 1976. "Singles parties are trite and tired. Speed dating is the new cool," says Justin Parfitt of Fast Impressions, a company that boasts "advanced neural net algorithms" with which to optimise group compatibility based on answers to such probing questions as 'Have you often got a restless feeling that you want something but do not know what?' and 'Do you often make up your mind too late?' In short, speed dating attracts outgoing, aggressive individuals who thrive on competition. 8minuteDating offers matches in three categories (second date, friendship and business), while the Canadian 25dates has hosted successful events for firefighters, policemen, doctors and athletes with the proceeds going to charity. For most, however, it's a well-franchised business, complete with tell-a-friend discounts and event organisers whose incentives rival those of Mary Kay representatives. Even though most services guarantee at least one match with a free second round, how do they justify the price? Fast Impressions are smugly unapologetic: "Successful people are happy paying a premium price in order to ensure that they will meet people who can also afford a premium price in a premium environment." Four Minute Dating finds the lowest common denominator: "Many of these services cost US$60-$75 to meet one person. Here you get to meet up to thirty people for $40 - that's around a dollar a date. Normally, people spend a lot more than $40 on just one date."

Make The First Move: Looking Ahead
Club 97 was the first to import speed dating to Hong Kong in August, reserving the venue for an elite fifty members from the clique of the chic of Lan Kwai Fong. The carefully-targeted participants were all 'beautiful people' with money to spare, as further underlined by some of the recommended ice-breakers: 'If you were a brand, what brand would you be?' and 'How many mobile phones have you lost?' As a further bonus, the $250 registration fee included a bottomless glass of Veuve Cliquot for the evening. AQ Ladies, another competitive brand builder, presented a speed dating party with a twist, where two hundred working professionals worked through twenty potential partners in sixty minutes, resulting in four perfect couples of mutually-rated tens and followed by a ninety-minute salsa lesson, all for $100. Lan Kwai Fong Entertainment's Caroline Chow is already looking forward to some more light-hearted games: "Speed dating is too serious. We're trying to find something in the middle that's serious enough to get people together but still fun enough that people can just relax and meet each other." But when does anyone have the time to relax in Hong Kong?

Take A Chance: Play The Numbers
Canadian Ryan Grimes recognises the fact that we are 'small number' people living in a 'large number' world: "We noticed statistics showing that in Hong Kong, where people work so hard, women are the most unsatisfied in the world, both sexually and relationship-wise." He is now general manager of the dedicated speed dating agency WhirlWindDate (www.whirlwinddate.com) who shuffled the cards and hosted their first event in Central on August 20. "We tried an 'over thirty-five' theme, but we couldn't find enough men. Women generally think it's a great idea and come with their friends, but we believe that men have too much pride. Also, single men tend to have it easier in Hong Kong than in big western cities where the competition is more fierce. We decided to host a Cantonese event when we noticed more and more Chinese people coming to the mixed events, where the local guys were visibly intimidated by the gweipos. Either way, it's a great way to play the numbers. Ninety-seven percent of participants get at least one match. I'm a big fan of meeting a lot of people in this world. You're not going to love everyone, but at least you tried. It is exhausting, but at least you get your money's worth." $350 buys you an average of ninety minutes, thirty dates and one drink. Dinner is extra. When time is tight, it's time to make a profit.

"We are the Chinese version of WhirlWind," says Zenith Lo of Flash Matching (http://www.flashmatching.com/) who hosted their first speed dating event on November 8. "Precisely because face is so important, we prefer face-to-face rather than online dating. We also recognised two distinct types of customers: those who are looking for a marriage partner and those who are looking to expand their social circle. But the Cantonese are slow, they need more time." As a result of this in-depth socio-political analysis, Flash Matching now limits its events to a meagre twenty dates, each for a marathon four minutes. The Chinese equation? $330 buys you eighty minutes and twenty dates plus free snacks and cocktails in a local restaurant for those who care to linger for a while and chat.

Engage: Dressed Up To Get Messed Up
We decided to get our feet wet at WhirlWindDate's second Cantonese event. At 7.40pm on a Thursday night in Nu, people started to fill the underground venue: pinning on number tags, sitting together in booths, ordering their complimentary drinks and chatting informally while waiting for the action to begin. Comfortably ensconced at a corner table, we invited Vicky, one of those trilingual thirty-something sophisticates who doesn't look like she needs to be here alone but is, to sit with us. Half an hour and ten dates into the session, the room was buzzing with the indistinguishable murmur of conversation, nervous laughs and cheesy '80s love songs. The people were ordinary looking ‚ not ugly, not intimidating ‚ and although at first glance everyone seemed to be laughing, many of the males were clinging to their clipboards and studiously referring to their notes, as if meticulously hunting down their prey. The final whistle blew after twenty-eight out of a total of thirty-five dates. Outside the bar Vicky confided to us that she only ticked three guys. That comes out as $116.66 per guy, we told her. "See what happens..." she sighed.

Just Do It: He Said
He is a thirty-two-year-old Chinese teacher, casually dressed in a navy blue cotton jacket over a T-shirt, black jeans and leather shoes. "I like meeting new faces but I'm not usually very talkative, so I wanted to meet different kinds of girls from different backgrounds. The dark environment created an intimate atmosphere so I was pretty relaxed. But three minutes was too short! We talked mostly about our work, but also about hobbies, music, movies, sports, fashion... and how we felt about being there. Only a few really stood out, but I remember one girl who just sat there and was totally unwilling to talk about herself. Looking over my notes on the twenty-eight girls I met that night, four were nurses (three from the same hospital), three were teachers, six came with their friends or sisters, two just wanted to know what was going on, one wanted to find a partner for the Christmas Ball and four really wanted to get a boyfriend out of it ‚ although about ten others admitted they didn't expect to find their true love there. It was fun, but I would only come again with some of my friends. $350 was a bit expensive, but I'd happily pay $300 for another evening with unlimited drinks and some snacks. At first I ticked 'yes' to about ten girls ‚ then I ticked them all off, just for fun. As soon I get my match list, I'll date the best three." Do you believe in love at first sight? "No. It's not very practical in Hong Kong, but happy endings are always possible."

Learn The Hard Way: She Said
She is a twenty-six-year-old BBC currently working as a primary school teacher, casually dressed in a white zip-up top, black trousers and pink DNKY trainers. "I was dragged here by my colleague who didn't want to do it alone. But I'm single and open-minded, so I thought it would be fun to give it a try. Besides, people often criticise me for being too forward so I was wondering how many people I might offend in one night. The atmosphere was pretty friendly until we actually started the dating. Then it felt more like an interrogation. Not once did I avoid the default 'What do you do?' and then it was always questions about work and the stereotype of the disciplinarian primary school teacher. They seemed surprised when I turned the question around to ask them what they did ‚ I got a lot of engineers, construction workers and IT guys, but I'm sure some of them were lying. I also saw quite a few who literally scribbled me off right at the beginning which I thought was pretty rude. One guy had to gall to say to me: 'You sound like an ABC.' Believe me, I was quick to set him straight! Most of the men were older ‚ in their mid-to-late thirties ‚ and obviously searching for a serious partner, which took the fun out of it a little. I've lived in Hong Kong for over a year now and I've noticed that there's no real casual dating culture here. There's a lot more family pressure to get married and even dating seems to imply some sort of commitment. I wouldn't do it again, but I guess I came with higher expectations." Do you believe in love at first sight? "No."

That night at Nu, He ticked twenty-eight potential partners and got fourteen matches in return, while She ticked ten and got five. Of course the higher the numbers, the higher the odds, although not all three-minute dates lead to honeymoons in Hawaii.

Stay Wired: You've Got Mail!
The speed dating game is over when the final whistle blows. You may now return to your regularly scheduled programme. Where's your guy, you ask? Where's your girl? He/she may be just one click away. Now go get your money's worth.

 Cherise Fong

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