Sassy’s Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide for Guys! (2012)!

Last year I contributed to the Sassy's Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide for Guys and this year, let's keep the momentum and check out what sort of cool items I have recommended for this year's Christmas! My favourite got to be the Herb-savor but apparently it is no longer available in Hong Kong so I need to see where else I can get it!! Argh! ... Now that I am into travel, I tend to check out more travel gears and accessories so I will start posting more frequently on food, travel and gadgets, I promise. I have been trying to adjust and settle in at my new role as a Travel Consultant with Flight Centre Hong Kong and I can confidently say that I am now ready to get back into action to ... SHARE! Want a sneak preview of what's to come? click to Read More! :)

Island East Markets (Hong Kong)

Simply put, it is fun to be part of something great! My Fashion Birdcage along with Vintage& participated in this weekend's Island East Markets in Quarry Bay! Quoting from their website, Island East Markets is Hong Kong first Sunday farmer's market to promote the best of "Hong Kong, be it fresh produce grown by Hong Kong’s most dedicated organic farmers, handcrafted goods made by local artisans, or the best local brands and bands." I always wanted to see such a regular Sunday markets in Hong Kong similar to that of London'd Spitafield Mrarkets but I surely cannot recall one that was of this scale and with such wide varieties of vendors, you name it you they got it! You would not be leaving empty handed for sure, or hungry for that matter! I was too busy at my booth yesterday to take any pictures for the events but you can check out comprehensive coverage by 1) The Wanderlister+ Asia as well as 2) You Got Me Blogging. Yep you can find our booth (My Fashion Birdcage & Vintage&) in both articles! Sigh, I should have dressed up in a vintage shirt right? The Island East Markets runs every Sunday until 21 October 2012 from 10am-5pm, so drop by and have some fun, show some support! Follow their Facebook Page for the latest updates!!!

Travel Consultant - Flight Centre Hong Kong

As mentioned a few weeks ago, I will be venturing into the travel industry in Hong Kong and it is now official! I will be working for Flight Centre Hong Kong as Travel Consultant! Yes I am quite excited about the role because as many of you know, I am passionate about travel and tend to over-share my travel experiences online via various social media outlets. As Travel Consultant, I can now either share my travel experiences [and gastronomic adventures]with clients or help them arrange the whole trip as if I am traveling to that destination!!! If you or your friends have any upcoming travel plans, drop me a note at jason[dot]tse[at]flightcentre[dot]com[dot]hk (or call me @ +852 2830 2793) and let me handle the rest! If you so happen to pass by Happy Valley, drop by our retail shop to say hi! :)

Untitled - My Rare Rant on Current Affairs

I wanted to write something on macro economy for a long while but never found the time and I think it is a good time to do so mainly because I am in the mood to do so. Marco economy may not be the right term for what I am going to talk about but something in relation to that perhaps. Hey, I am just expressing what I have in mind aka BLAH! ... Anyhow, here we go. Over the past year or so, the world economy has been in turmoil for various reasons, one key concern is of course the EU debt crisis. I am not here to talk about that but rather on the overall development of China which the whole world has been paying attention to for more than we care to admit.

Bali, Indonesia (Aug 2012)

It was my first time visiting Bali and after my recent stay, I now truly understand why people rave about it so much that one would return whenever possible. The sunset along the many amazing beaches was truly memorable to say the least! However, there were many surprises, some being pleasant while some being shocking confusing to me as a tourist. Firstly, the weather was beyond amazing! I was expecting high humidity like Singapore but during my stay it was nowhere close to being humid, the climate and weather was so good! What I dislike the most about Bali (which many may agree) is the terrible traffic! I am quite speechless about the traffic because I really don't know what can be done to improve the situation unless the government demolish a whole lot of buildings and existing roads to widen them. Kuta and Seminyak districts are seriously congested ALL THE TIME! (Note: All images are by iPhone 4, experimenting with smartphone photography)

My Paris Favourites

Many who don't follow my twitter or foursquare ask about my recent Paris experience in terms of food, here is a list of places I went to (or should have visited) during my stay which I like to recommend. I will update this list continuously as an excuse to visit Paris soon perhaps? :)  

Amazing Summer Surprises!

Quite a lot of surprises the past few weeks and I would like to share them with you very briefly.  It is no secret that I get invited to various events including tastings as well as restaurant openings. Really thankful for the opportunities. Recently I have been invited by magazine Fashion & Beauty, yes a fashion magazine, to attend the opening launch part for Sony's new water resistant smartphone Xperia arco S releasing early August.  Okay that's the first surprise to me because I got invited to this sort of event. Don't get me wrong because I won the lucky draw and won myself a brand new Sony Xperia arco S. HAHA a happy surprise indeed! Perhaps it is time to give Android OS a try?

Ngong Ping 360 + Tai O Day Trip (July 2012)

Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car has been in operations for many years and it is considered one of Hong Kong's key attractions to both local as well as foreign visitors. True that there were certain incidents over the past few years which affected their reputation but the way I see it, incidents happen in all sort of transportation including air flight or even cruise but it doesn't mean one would stop using them right? You are entitled to your own opinion but for me, I have been looking forward to such a cable car ride for what it is especially when the only other cable car ride in Hong Kong is the one at the Ocean Park. I have to admit, one of the reasons I was so looking forward to it was because I like to find out what sort of experience to expect from such huge investment in constructing this attractions just for the purpose of visiting the Ngong Ping Village, Giant Buddha and en route to Tai O Village?

Tour Eiffel - Paris (June 2012)

We often travel with the objectives to find the best restaurants, hunt for bargains or even to find the best location to photograph (with) iconic structures as an alternative to having a signboard saying "I was here." Hey, I am guilty as such at times but is that the best way to experience a city, to understand the culture and ... travel in general? It is an open-ended question for all of us to think about but my recent trip to London and Paris, I tried something different, I travel without my DSLR and only with my iPhone with me. Yes I mentioned about that in my previous post but in additional to illustrate smartphone photography as a valid category of photography, I wanted to travel through my own eyes and not through the viewfinder.

What is a meaningful job?

I am not certain if I posted the following personal entry on this blog before but I am doing so because ... I can. The entry was written almost 2 years ago but nothing seems to have changed in terms of my view towards the topic. We are all working towards some sort of an objective in life and to attain that we often have to take the path less travelled. Some are more fortunate to have the option to do while some require a bit more effort in doing so. The reality is, at this stage of age, it is almost impossible for everyone to start the race from same starting line. Accept this fact and work towards overcoming such disparity if you like to call it as such. There is no point in whining about it because it would not change anything just because you say so. What prompted me to say all these? Someone recently asked me for career advice and my reply was quite straight forward, "there is no such thing as a career nowadays, create your own career and build on it." Perhaps it was a bold statement for the kid about to enter university but I personally think if one cannot understand the changing definition of a career, he/she is in for quite a surprise down the road. The ability to anticipate change is very important and it takes more than piles of textbook to learn about it. I was then asked or more accurately been informed the ideal situation is to find a job that is meaningful. OKAY, there is no such thing as a meaningless job, it may be meaningless to you because you labelled it as such due to your dislike of it but it surely is meaningful to someone else you may or may not know. Guess what, someone may even envy your so-called meaningless job for many reasons. While the word meaningful is very subjective, do think of the following passage the next time you want to use the word to describe the job you picked.

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee - London (June 2012)

Like I said, the best camera is the one that's with you. I was quite serious when I said I will document (visually) my recent travels using just my iPhone instead of my DSLR. As promised, I carried just my iPhone in my jeans pocket during my recent visits to London & Paris. The results and overall experience turned out to be quite satisfying. Smartphone photography has its technically limitation but with enough practices, one can overcome them with different smartphone photography software as well as acquired skills. Let me share some of the images I took in London using my iPhone with post-processing applied using Snapseed, Instagram, Camera+ and TiltShiftGen.

Instagram ME @ Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong

No longer a 9-5 person, I live an interesting lifestyle which may or may not appeal to everyone. Do you wonder how a typical day of mine goes by? Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong recently asked me to participate in their Instagram Me feature, to document my day via Instagram. Check it out <here> or stalk me via Instagram at @jasonbonvivant.

The Danger of Generalization

Recently the "food blogging" community in Hong Kong has been under a degree of pressure or more frankly speaking direct criticism from media as well as the F&B industry in Hong Kong. Alright, criticism maybe a strong word, perhaps, for a lack of a better word, concerns for the rapid growth of the so-called "food blogging" industry in recent months. Criticism is a natural byproduct of increased popularity and unfortunately it is the case in question with regards to "food blogging." First of all, one must understand the difference between "food blogger" and "bloggers who blog about food," because there is a difference and I repeated, there is a difference between the two and it is wrong to put both under the same category as "food bloggers." Such generalization is very dangerous indeed. I am not trying to distinguish myself between the two and I really see no need to do so because it matters not ... really. Let me show you a few examples:

Travel - Singapore (April 2012) - Oasia Hotel

Situated just 2 MRT stations away from Orchard Station, Oasia Hotel @ Novena turned out to be much more convenient than I imagined. I stayed at the hotel over the Easter weekend in April and thanks for the generosity of the hotel, my accommodation was free of charge. While it was a big help to have free accommodation, the air tickets to Singapore seem to be climbing every quarter since a few years ago. There are over a dozen daily flights to Singapore operated by various airlines but never seems to be enough I suppose. Then again, Singapore, as mentioned previously, is an international financial center and is Hong Kong's closest yet most fierce competitor in terms of economic as well as policy development. I am bringing up this topic once again because the Oasia hotel is situated in the middle of the Novena district, a medical hub of Singapore serving not only the locals but as well as foreign visitors for various intentions. In other words, Singapore is investing as well as prompting the development of medical tourism. Hong Kong government once mentioned the idea of promoting medical tourism but like many other policies and initiatives, hardly anyone knows what happened to them. I will talk about this issue on a separate post, this one I will stick with the sharing of of my experience at the hotel.

Happy Birthday!! I am 3 already?!

Time flies! I just realized the blog has turned 3 sometime last week and I almost forgot about it. Yes, I have been blogging for 3 years and mostly on food obviously and lately general lifestyle. However, I think it is time to turn a new leaf once again and do something different! I am still going to blog about food of course but it will be photographically driven with just the right amount of words. Details of the the new approach will follow along with a new face lift for the blog as well. Stay tuned!

In the meanwhile, something of a preview perhaps + shameless promotion? Many of you know how I have a growing interest and passion into photography as well as smartphone photography in recent times, and I plan to further promote / share my experiences in my upcoming trip to part of Europe (TBC) on the go! Smartphone photography is more than just the ability to capture the moment using your phone almost immediately, it is the ability (or possibilities) to share images almost instantaneously through different social media channels such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Sina Weibo and of course Instagram. In other words, you are able to tell your story through your images almost real time!

If you are interested in my upcoming travel(s) on the go, please do stay in touch via one of the following channels. (Click to access)

Instagram / Twitter / Sina Weibo / Facebook / Foursquare 

An-tico Enoteca & Pizzeria (Hong Kong)

Stepping inside An-tico reminded me of NYC, the lofty atmosphere, the subway tiles, the high ceiling and the 1920’s style custom light fixtures made me feel right at home. It is rare for a Hong Kong restaurant to have such a huge space but all of WindyCity's restaurants especially the notable Dan Ryan's and Amaroni’s outlets in Hong Kong have huge space. An interesting observation is how all of Windy City's Hong Kong establishments are situated inside malls / venues that have a cinema. I wonder what was the logic or business decision behind that. Anyhow, thanks Barbra and her company for treating me to this meal and I do wish her to have a great trip to Guam in October!

The Art of Bullshit

I wrote this following post quite a while ago on my personal blog (which I no longer update because I plan to consolidate all my thoughts and express them here on this platform). What triggered to dig up this old post was the large amount of bullshit I have been hearing recently. I have no doubt that we all have our fair share of bullshit but when one is being bombarded by them in a short period of time, headaches!

So do you like to bullshit? Why do we bullshit? How do we distinguish a lie from a bullshit? I just finished reading a book titled On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt attempts to answer the above questions in a philological approach. The following introduction and excerpts I found to be rather interesting. What do you think?

One of the most salient feature of our culture is is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in it ... we have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves ... 

What bullshit essentially misrepresents is neither the state of affairs to which it refers nor beliefs of the speaker concerning that state of affairs. Those are what lies misrepresent, by virtue of being false, since bullshit need not be false, it differs from lies in its nonrepresentational intent. The bullshitter may not deceive us, or even intend to do so, either about the facts or about what he takes the facts to be. What he does necessarily attempt to deceive us about his enterprise. His only indispensably distinctive characteristic is that in a certain way he misrepresents what he is up to. 

On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt (Princeton University Press, 2005.)

Beertopia! Hong Kong - 28 April 2012 [Event]

Attention Beer Lovers! A new beer fest Beertopia! is coming to town, this time with over 90 craft beers from around the world including Hong Kong's microbrewery, Typhoon Brewery. The festival will take place at the historical Western Market in Sheung Wan on the April 28, 2012. Tickets are limited and range from HKD250-300. Not a big fan of beer, no worries, attend and learn about them and enjoy the live music, beer lectures as well as play games such as beer pong and flip cup. Oh beer pong! I am definitely going to be there to try out some craft beers and support my friend who dedicated his time to organize this event because of his love for beer! Cheers to all! Stay tuned stay informed on Beertopia! Facebook Page! Almost forgot, check out the beer list <here>.

Travel - Seoul, Korea (Jan 2012)

I just realized that I did not really blog about my short trip to Seoul back in Jan 2012. Two reasons, one being I was there for a mere 24 hours so didn't many opportunities to explore around and the other reason being I didn't bring my DSLR with me on this trip. However, like I said at the Smartphone Photography talk during the Social Media Week Hong Kong 2012, the best camera is the one that is with you and in my case iPhone is more than qualified to be the best camera at that moment. Smartphone Photography is getting very popular and an increasing number of aspiring photographers (as well as professional photographers) are getting more involved with smartphone photography for its mobility as well as a treating it as a separate category on its own. No matter how one defines smartphone photography, to me it is a a form of photography and it is evolving as we speak.

Greyhound Cafe @ Harbour City 海港城 (Hong Kong)

There was such a hype when Thailand's Greyhound Cafe opened its first overseas outlet a few months ago at the IFC Mall, Hong Kong. Bookings were required a few days in advance for lunch and dinner. I have been there twice and both during off-peak hours because I have heard mixed reviews on its service during other times. My experiences at the IFC Mall outlet was not quite memorable on the service as well as food. Of course given the fact that both my visits were during the first few months of opening, things may have improved by now. I guess a revisit is required? Oh wait, this post is not about the IFC outlet but the recently opened Harbour City branch across the Victoria Harbour. Since this visit was an invitation by Harbour City, it would be quite difficult to accurately judge its service (which was great of course) or even perhaps the food. What I can say and do want to share is that my experience at this outlet was more enjoyable for various reasons. One being the wider selection of items only available at this outlet and the another being how I can actually have a complete conversation with my friends without yelling at the top of my lungs!

Preloved Fashion Pop-up Sale! Get Ready! (21 April 2012)

What!? You forgot that I mentioned about my new venture into fashion? No worries, I am more than happy to remind everyone here. :) ... Shameless promotion? Sure! My Fashion Birdcage is one of my new ventures and it is a recently launched London and Hong Kong based online fashion business. We are committed to provide every new or up-and-coming designer around the world a platform to showcase their work to the world of buyers looking for products that are a bit different. To satisfy our fashion-conscious customers, we are always on the lookout for new interesting items to sell. We also stock a mix of brand new and pre-loved authentic fashion items by well established designers such as Prada, Bottega Veneta, Fendi, Gucci, Lanvin, Salvatore Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton and a lot more. This guarantees certain web traffic to our website which is extremely beneficial for up-and-coming designers. Living in London? in Hong Kong? Wonderful! Visit us at www.myfashionbirdcage.com and stayed informed by LIKE us facebook.com/myfashionbirdcage for updates or follow us on Twitter @myfashbirdcage !

Oh what else? Something exciting is coming up! We are going to be participating in the upcoming Preloved Fashion Hong Kong event on the 21 April 2012 (Saturday). As the name suggests, it is a pop-up fashion sale event featuring brand new, barely worn, and vintage clothing, shoes, and accessories. Check out the Facebook Page for a preview of the items to be on sale and mark your calendar & get ready for some shopping! Oh Hong Kong Fashion Geek will be there as well! 

Ask the Foodie - South China Morning Post

Just in case you missed it, I was being interviewed by SCMP a few weeks ago for their weekly section titled Ask the Foodie. I was being asked questions regarding my background and how I started blogging a few years ago then gradually moving into lifestyle writing and photography as well. It was indeed quite a journey and definitely no regrets. I am still enjoying the journey! The interview ended with a photo-shoot session in the middle of Pedder Street x Queen's Road Central. Quite an interesting experience, I may try to take some photographs like that later, anyone want to volunteer? Oh and how do I look? What do you think of my double chin? Don't you know that double chin is the new trend!? Oh one more thing, if you are into fashions, check out my new venture My Fashion Birdcage, a new London-based fashion destination for up-and-coming designers items and of course pre-loved fashion accessories!

Lufthansa LSG Sky Chef - Culinary Excellence in the Air: Behind the Scenes

Many of us had our fair share of rants on plane food, no matter what class you are travelling in. Common complaints are often related to the lack of flavours, the level of moisture of your rice or perhaps how tough your beef is. True that in some cases, the quality of the food varies a lot depending on the airlines and their respective catering services, however, I often feel that many passengers forget the fact that they are having their meals at 35,000 feet, inside a pressurized environment with humidity close to 10% or even lower. To prepare food at this high altitude is no easy task and more challenging than many would expect. I always know how the boiling point would reduce to around 80C at that altitude which affects the temperature of the food being consumed after the reheating process. However, my recent visits to one of the world's largest airline catering service providers Lufthansa's LSG Sky Chef facilities in Hong Kong turned out to be quite fruitful in learning more on the limitations as well as regulations of how food must be prepared for safe consumption at 35,000 feet.

Pulled "Meat" Burger @ Mandarin Oriental (Hong Kong)

When it comes to technicality, pulled burgers are often referred as pulled-pork burgers commonly found in the Midwest of the States. As the name suggests, pork is often the main ingredient. However, with a touch of creativity, fundamental concepts can be modified into new creation. We often describe culinary as an adventure and it is, chef continuously think of new approaches to improve or create interesting dishes based on familiar items. Chef at Cafe Causette at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong is preparing to offer a few of his versions of the familiar pulled "meat" burgers. No just pork anymore! As part the early bird tasting offer, between the 12 - 25 March 2012, you can try out the 5 mini Pulled "Meat" Burgers for a mere HKD88!! Cast your vote for your favourite flavor and the winning two (2) will be placed on the menu starting in April 2012!!! (don't worry, the final version will be full sized, not mini burgers!) ... Tried it already? Now cast your vote here > http://on.fb.me/zc0V2G 

Online Restaurant Booking? Hong Kong is NOT Ready yet!

Have you tried to book a table online? Yes I have and as a matter of fact I loved the idea so much a few years back that I wanted to bring this idea / concept to Hong Kong. After a 24 hours cooling period, I returned to reality, commercial reality that is, and gave up on the idea. Over the past 6 months, I noticed an increasing number of online booking websites being launched with massive advertising all over the web and social media channels. However, my take on online restaurant reservation remains the same as a few years ago, Hong Kong is not ready for it YET for many reasons, below are 3 major ones in my opinion.

Smartphone Photography and be Creative!

As mentioned in my previous post, I had the honour to speak at one of the Social Media Week Hong Kong event titled Getting Social with Smartphone Photography. I want to write a post here to talk about some of the points I mentioned, not so much on the tips because similar to taste, when it comes to photography, what really matters is what the photographer thinks in my opinion (unless of course you are doing it for commercial purposes or have clients requirements to meet). There are of course many guidelines on composition of an image such as the rule of the thirds or golden ratios but again these are established guidelines which will help you understand what makes an image standout in some or many cases. Some are proven some are not, do not be bothered by them since they are guidelines for your reference, the key is to go out, be bold, be adventurous and take more photographs without carrying the buden of any rules! In my opinion, as long as the images you capture reflect your vision or what you wanted to express, they are good photographs.

Social Media Week Hong Kong 2012

Time for shameless promotion! For all social media enthusiasts out there I am sure you are aware of the Social Media Week happening around the world during Feb 13-17, 2012. Hong Kong is hosting a series of talks and events throughout the week and Hong Kong is the only city in the Greater China Area having the luxury of hosting. One of the events is Getting Social with Smartphone Photography of which a panel of smartphone photographers will be sharing some of their works and how they share (or over share in come cases) their images online using various social media applications. What so special about the event? Well, I am one of the panels and will be sharing my experiences on stage. Wish me luck!!

Travel - Amsterdam (Jan 2012)

If you are travelling to Amsterdam for the forst time and you doing so by yourself without joining any tours, no worries, the city is very tourist friendly. As soon as you step out of the departure gate of the Schiphol International Airport, there are many transportation options for you to get into the city, "domestic" trains being one of the cheapest and quickest option in my opinion. Why did I put a "quote" around the word "domestic?" Stay tuned and I will tell you why "international" trains / routes via NS Hispeed is a shocking story worth reading!

Flight Experience from Red Packet

When I was young, I thought about becoming a pilot, a commercial pilot to be exact. Yes, Maverick from Top Gun did contribute somewhat to my desire in becoming one but it was the love of flying that really interested me in wishing to become one. Obviously that dream was not realized, the closest I get to be a pilot was in front of a computer monitor playing Flight Simulator series of games. Finally after all these years, thanks to Red Packet Adrenaline experience package, I got the chance to try out an an actual size flight simulator at the Flight Experience located at MegaBox. There are many other options with the package but flight simulator topped my list because it is not an everyday activity one would attend.