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

It is really hard to get tired of Hainanese Chicken Rice and during my stay in Singapore, everywhere I go I tried to spot places with Chicken Rice because I just love it so much. I once talked about the various school of approaches to preparing Hainanese Chicken, the blander vs the richer chicken. After quite a few meals at various restaurants that serve chicken rice, I find many carry similar flavors while their rice are what distinguish them apart. After a short stop at the Singapore Flyer (sorta boring to be honest), we head to the Singapore Food Trails under the Singapore Flyer which offers a place full of 1960s-themed food stalks. Of course Hainan Chicken Rice was on top of my food list! I read from a magazine or something which recommended this Bugis Street Famous Hainanese Chicken Rice, so perfect timing.

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?

Travel - Singapore (Feb 2011) - Part 1/3

Singapore is amazing! Singapore is amazingly hot, amazingly humid yet amazingly attractive in many ways. Singaporeans are amazingly tolerant to the heat especially while enjoying sizzling hot dishes inside hawkers centers without air conditioning. I truly admire their tolerance to the humidity, almost 365 days a year. I guess I admire all those who live in the southeast asia region with similar climates! The last time I was here was over a decade (or perhaps two decades) ago when I still consider junk food as part of my daily balanced diet. Time flies and looking back I should have visited earlier and more often as well. My first impression upon arrival on this recent visit (aside from the heat and humidity) was one of ... welcoming with mixed feelings. The occasionally random smiles from strangers (and lovely ladies) on the streets made a world of difference even if such smiles were a direct result from my "lost / OMG" tourist look on my face. Whatever the reasons were they do not matter because such small acts like a smile made me feel right at home.

Li, Life Inspired Channel: Quest for Stars (Episode 2 of 2)

So you have seen more than enough of me on TV already? Sure, that's a valid point but do enjoy Episode 2 of Quest for Stars to get a better understanding of what chefs, foodies and bloggers in Hong Kong think of the Michelin Guide Hong Kong & Macau 2011. Of couse don't miss out on how Diary of a Growing Boy bashed about the Guide with very valid arguments, as always. Did I mention there are more of me in the following clips from Episode 2?  Don't worry if you missed Episode 1, you can check it out here.

Travel - Taishan 台山 (China) - Day 2 (Feb 2011)

Eating is an important part of all my travels. My itineraries are often organized based on my eating destinations at any given city. The art of travel, however, is more than just eating and spotting out the next best food joints off the street. To quote Alain de Botton's The Art of Travel:

We are inundated with advice on where to travel to, but we hear little of why and how we should go, even though the art of travel seems naturally to sustain a number of questions neither so simple nor so trivial, and whose study might in modest ways contribute to an understanding of what the Greek philosophers beautifully termed eudaimonia, or 'human flourishing.

My recent travels have somewhat changed to involved more than just food but also a deeper understanding of the cultures, history, architecture and customs of that particular city or regions. All these elements contribute somewhat to the development of local or perhaps regional culinary cultures, hence not to be underestimated. With the above taken into consideration, this post consists mainly of photographs I took around the city of Taishan, treat it as a photo essay or whatever you like to call it, I simply want to share my experiences one frame at a time.

Liber Pater Winery

It is no news that I am not an expert in wine hence the lack of wine coverage in most of my food-related posts, however as a dedicated foodie or more appropriately, a food lover, it is no doubt that wine knowledge or more accurately the appreciation of it plays an important role in many culinary cultures. I have decided recently to be more proactive in learning about wine, one small step at a time. By chance this evening, Uncle KK invited me for dinner at Fortune Room at the Hong Kong Jockey Club to try some new wines he got. It turned out we were trying the different collection of wines from Liber Pater, a boutique winery in Grave, Bordeaux. Did I mention the owner of the winery, Mr. Loïc Pasquet, was here as well. It was hard not to take this rare opportunity and harassed bombard him with questions I have regarding wine making.

Li, Life Inspired Channel: Quest for Stars (Episode 1 of 2)

Ready to check out my extra 15 lbs on camera I mentioned before? Attached below are the official clips from Episode 1 of Quest for Stars aired on Li, Life Inspired TV Channel on 20 March 2011. Also remember to catch Episode 2 on Sunday 27 March 2011 on NOW TV Channel 516 for more of my "round" yet shaped face! [will post once available] (Thanks again to Diary of a Growing Boy for the links and remember to catch him on both Episode 1 & 2 as well!)

Travel - Taishan 台山 (China) - Day 1 (Feb 2011)

8am on a Saturday morning, after a mere 4 hours of sleep nap, I was on my way to Taishan 台山 (China) on a not so comfortable coach! I take my word back because it turned out the road trip required a change of coach ride once we passed Hong Kong customs near the boarder and at that very point I  truly missed the not so comfortable coach. Why I was on this trip is not of great importance, the fact was that I was on my way to Taishan, a 3 hours or so bus ride west / southwest of Hong Kong. It was famed as the birthplace of Volleyball in China but I was not here for that purpose, I was here for a short weekend trip which involved visit to a local high school and the filming set of Let The Bullet Fly 讓子彈飛. Of course it involved tasting of some local dishes.

Man Wah @ Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong (Da Dong Beijing Roast Duck)

My experience at Da Dong Roast Duck in Beijing was rather disappointing. Presentation seemed to have been the priority over food quality at the outlet I visited. It wasn't cheap either in relative terms but just did not live up to the expectation or what I have been told. That was six months ago. Last Friday I was kindly invited by Mandarin Oriental along with fellow foodies Patricia from 素顏天使 (Sù Yán Tiān Shǐ), @EdenaLow, @yummymummyasia, @mochachocolata and Wilson from WOM to try the dishes of Da Dong once again. Mandarin Oriental has invited the Da Dong team from Beijing to host meals at the hotel's Man Wah Restaurant during the week of 11 - 17 April 2011. Was it better than my previous experience? Definitely but to be fair, the meal I had was somewhat tailored for us so do treat this as a preview of what's on the menu. I do hope the Da Dong team can proudly depart knowing that simple elegant presentation they did for their Mandarin Oriental visit trump extravagance back home by miles.

Li, Life Inspired Channel: Quest for Stars

They say one would look 10 lbs fatter on TV, I have to disagree because I appeared at least 15 lbs more and my face appeared much rounder! (Then again, round is a shape so I am still in shape right?) Asia's HD Lifestyle Channel Li, Life Inspired TV Channel put together a two part series named Quest for Stars which center around the controversial issues since the introduction of the Michelin Guide Hong Kong & Macau in 2008.

Kwong Wah Convenience Store 光華士多 (Hong Kong)

One word: Awesome! Thanks for the introduction and organization by @g4gary ! While it is named as a convenience store in Chinese, this little store front is a truly a wonderful neighborhood eatery solely operated by a single woman whom she likes to be called "Fat Mama." She cooks every single dish, take all your orders and act as the faithful cashier on your way out even when she is busy cooking. Diners grab their own soup, get their own rice and make themselves home by getting beer right from the fridge whenever you feel like. Frequent diners even help out by serving other patrons. That is one charming characteristic of this joint I truly love. Yes you will be seated plastic or even wooden stools, floor may be slightly wet, but you get air conditioning as well as TV while you enjoy the food. You can even bring your own wine (and glasses as well in our case, thanks @g4gary!)

Gold by Harlan Goldstein ~ Revisited (Hong Kong)

I blogged about my lunch at Gold by Harlan Goldstein a long while ago and as promised I returned for dinner in celebration of H's birthday. How was the experience? I would definitely return because the food / menu was ... familiar in comparison with that of Tuscany by H under Harlan's management before his current venture into Gold by Harlan Goldstein. Oh by the way, service has improved especially with the pacing in between dishes. The few of us went a bit far with our limits by ordering two starters each followed by the main course and desserts of course!