Mandarin Grill + Bar (Hong Kong)

Many restaurants and chefs nowadays have the tendency to categorize themselves in the different schools of ... gastronomy, be it molecular, avant-garde, traditional, new cuisines or something as extreme as emotional cuisines, they are all different styles of cooking aiming to put creativity into every-changing culinary experiences. It can be quite confusing indeed to imagine the cuisine by their name or category. At Mandarin Grill, the chef likes to call his cooking progressive gastronomy. So what sort of cooking is progressive gastronomy? It is difficult to describe in a few words but if I understand the concept correctly, it puts emphasis on presentation, a strong visual as well as direct stimulation of the 5 senses.

Travel - Singapore (Feb 2011) - Part 2/3

My previous Singapore post I discussed on my justifications behind my humble opinion on hawker centers, their necessity to the city to be exact. For this post, in addition to froyo and more food adventures, my leisure walks over my few days there somehow heightened my sense of ... observations or perhaps released  my urge to express myself via writings on subjects more than just food. It is a refreshing attempt but I quite enjoy this little change.  One of the reasons for my visit to Singapore was to experience the cultures as well as the environment, both living and perhaps working as well. Moving to Singapore to work / live crossed my mind several times (for various reasons) but before doing so I wanted to travel there at least for once or spend more time there. While I weight the option of moving there, I noticed the increasing number of Singaporeans (of all ages, mostly in the mid / late 20s) in Hong Kong, especially in the Central Business District and perhaps all around Hong Kong to be honest. Now here is the million dollar question, why on earth am I planning to move to Singapore while many are making their move to Hong Kong or other major cities around Asia or even the world?

The Gingery - Winter Collection 2010

The title of this post hides no secret, it literally means Winter Collection for my freshly baked Gingerbread Men / Ladies! It may seems odd that I am doing such a thing but let me explain how I got inspired to work on this late night project. Inspiration: (1) Hong Kong Fashion Geek's coverage on their recent H&M x Lanvin craze, (2) my recent desire to crate stuff and (3) my recent Gingerbread Man Jamming session at Christmas Fair Tiffany (and my semi-shirtless gingerbread man). Actually there was a 4th inspiration which was from V who kindly gave me some of her first batch of gingerbread men this year (see attached pictures at the end of this post, their cuteness inspired me to do the same and bake some of my own gingerbread men! Thanks V). During the recent H&M x Lanvin 1-day sale, I saw many people lining up outside the store 4am the morning before with blankets and folding chairs looking at the display window that hosted the collection which they were so anxiously waiting to buy. Was is worth the wait? I cannot be the right person to judge unless we are talking about queue and food. It would be weird for me to line up just for the sake of experiencing the hype and part with nothing, so I decided to create my own collection, one that I design, one that I require no queuing to experience and one that I can EAT! ... The Gingery by Jason - Winter Collection 2010 is official launched!

Tiffany's Christmas Fair (Hong Kong)

The Circle of Giving, A Legacy of Light

Ruth Carter Stapleton once said "Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most." While it is very true, I think Dale Evans described it even more straight forward by saying "Christmas, my child, is love in action." Love is not to be given but shared, love is not only to be shared with your loved ones but with those in need of your love. I am very honored once again to be invited back by Tiffany & Co. for their Christmas Fair in partnership with Mother's Choice, held at the 1881 Heritage in Hong Kong. A few weeks ago, it was Breakfast at Tiffany and this time it was Christmas Fair Tiffany which I absolutely loved because the festive activities during the evening made me feel like a kid once again! Yes it is not always the food that makes me act feel like a kid, stuff like decorating gingerbread man or making snow globe can easily do the trick!