Harlan's @ The One

Last year I had a very memorable experience at The Parlour @ Hullett House TST and won my top spot in my Afternoon Tea No More 2009 award. This year before the end of it, I found the establishment that qualified for the Afternoon Tea No More 2010 --- Harlan's @ The One TST.  First of all, I was attracted to here because of the Jo Malone Afternoon Tea set as promoted. I heard about it from many friends as well asking me to give it a try. It sounded interesting enough right? If I am from Jo Malone, I would expect my business partner to help promote this special offering as well, however, guess what, I have to request for the special menu and what was funny was that .... well, let me pull it as follows: 

Jason: "Hi, I would like to check out the Jo Malone Afternoon Tea set menu." 

Staff: "Jo Malone?" 

Jason: "Yeah, the perfumes, fragrances, candles ... "

Staff: " [pauses] Oh, I think I know what you are referring too, wait a moment please ... " 

Great job! I would be fairly pissed if I am from Jo Malone. 

(P.S. - based on my knowledge, Harlan @ The One is no longer run by Harlan Goldstein himself even though the name remains. Harlan Goldstein can now be found at the recently opened Gold by Harlan Goldstein @ LKF, Central, Hong Kong)

Time Out Hong Kong - Dining Awards 2010

It was indeed fun to be part of the judging panel for this year's Time Out Dining Awards 2010. I am very honored to be selected and get the chance to work with the best foodie judges in Hong Kong. 20 categories in total, I am sure one of them would tickle your taste buds! :) ... Check it out here!

Made In China 长安一号餐厅 (Beijing)

I came across an article somewhere talking about Peking Duck, particularly Sha Tin 18's Peking Duck inside Hyatt Regency Hong Kong. It reminds me of a much overdue review of my Beijing trip during early Oct 2010. Yes, it was a very crowded weekend due to China's National Day weekend but for the sake of gastronomic adventures and to get away from Hong Kong, such short trip was much needed!! Instead of going reporting my meal sequentially, let me jump the queue to the Peking Duck meal at Made in China  长安一号餐厅 in side Grand Hyatt Beijing which seriously reassemble that of Sha Tin 18 both in terms of decor and offerings. Sisters shops if you ask me!

Pied à Terre - Michelin 2** (London)

This post signifies a pleasant end of my week long stay here in London. We ended our trip with an exceptional meal at Pied à Terre, a Michelin 2** restaurant with Shane Osborne behind the kitchen. It was this meal that made me pondered a long while on the purpose and meaning of being starred by Michelin Guide. Is the star(s) for the restaurant? for the chef? or for diners? I have heard stories that some chefs strive to get an extra star by trying to achieve the so-called perfection in food and food presentation. In my opinion, what is perfect and great food presentation often translates to great food wastage. I have also heard stories that Michelin starred chefs overstressed themselves with the pressures in maintaining such starred standard years after years. The most notable and unfortunate example is Bernard Loiseau who killed himself due to the stress in maintaining the 3-star status its restaurant La Cute d'Or upheld for many years.

Gaucho (Piccadilly - London)

Specialized in Argentine Steak, Gaucho can be considered a well known popular joint among locals whenever they feel like quality steak at relatively reasonably price. Gaucho is a chained restaurant but definitely not those similar to Angus Steak House which is around every major intersections! I quite enjoyed the dimmed lit interior of Gaucho (Piccadilly - London) with hanging white lights and chairs + wallpaper  with black and white cow-skin patterns.

What's for Dinner on Friday Night?

Leong’s Legends Continues (London)

Quite a number of foodies (both visitors and local London foodies) have visited this little joint within Chinatown London. I think it is unfair to compared this place with those I had in Shanghai or even Hong Kong because there are simply not that many to compare with in London that serve similar Chinese regional cuisines. So here at Leong’s Legends Continues (London), you can find plenty options of noodles, Xiao Long Bao (XLB) as well as other popular Taiwanese dishes. It is likely a shop opened by Taiwanese if you ask me. The decor is very nice! I mean wooden tables and chairs with a touch of ... class in a sense. Nothing overly fancy of course just that it really made me feel I was a warrior sitting in one of those huts back in the Tang Dynasty waiting for my meal before heading off to fight the bad guys. Alright, enough day dreaming ....

PAUL - Revisited (London)

What is(are) your favourite item(s) from PAUL? Throughout my stay in London (8 days), I visited PAUL countless times, almost every single time I passed by it. There was a certain attraction that lured me in for some reasons. Perhaps it was the scent or aroma of freshly baked bread / pasty that diverted my intended path. One thing I notice though (I can be wrong of course), many items I saw, or most of them to be exact, were sweets. They do have bread of many sorts but sweet pastries such as danishes and macarons were all I saw in many of the outlets around town.

Apsleys Restaurant (London)

Apsleys Restaurant at the Lanesborough Hotel is quite intimating to be honest. Located right across from Hyde Park corner, this hotel seems to be very exclusive from the outside, at least to me. Bentley and Lamborghini are the type of cars you would see outside the hotel on a daily basis. I was here for Afternoon Tea only so I wasn't sure how the Michelin 1-star status of this place really matters to my experience. I went to another Michelin starred resto in London and the experience made me wonder on the intention and the ultimate objective of being starred. Is the star(s) for the restaurant? the chef? or both? ... What does it mean to get one? Does it mean diners would enjoy the meal more for sure? I will discuss more on that on another post.

Jamie's Italian (London)

It maybe a chained establishment but it is one that I wanted to try for a long time. I am not a big fan of Jamie but I certainly agree that he has a special charm that made him who he is now. I am yet to verify the truth to the following but someone told me that Jamie’s Italian is a truly equal opportunity employer of which it encourages the management to hire handicapped individuals as well as those who wish to turn a new leaf after recent release from correctional institutions. If that is the case I truly admire his responsibilities to the community while aiming to deliver a great dining experiences at reasonable cost. On this very evening, we went to the Canary Wharf outlet for an early dinner.

Nokia Ovi App - Jason Bon Vivant

Dear Nokia smartphone users, feel like reading yummy posts on the go? My mobile app for Nokia Ovi Store is now available for download ~here~ - Nokia Ovi App - Jason Bon Vivant

Roast Restaurant (London)

This post should have been right after my Borough Market post but I was too excited about the picnic @ Greenwich post that I had it jump the queue! Anyhow, after my pre-lunch at Monmouth Coffee, we headed over to Roast Restaurant located right in the Borough Market. The decor / atmosphere was rather contemporary compared with the environment of the Borough Market. It was nice but a bit too fancy in a very humble marketplace in my opinion.