New Tsiu Wah Bistro 新翠華小廚 (Hong Kong)

The dinner gathering was fun and full of laughters, and I got to meet many new friends as well ... yet that was key parts I recalled, at least the pleasant enough parts worth my memory slot. It was known for its hot claypot rice items with over 90% of the items served in hot claypots. If you are looking for an alternative, a more comfortable setting to have your hot claypot rice, this maybe your choice because there a many other dodge places which may or may not have great offerings. Located right next to the famous Tung Po inside the cooked food center above North Point Wet Market, do expect a fairly ventilated space but please be careful of wet floors, wait staff charging back and forth with arm's length of dishes yelling their way through the narrow spacing between tables and staff with attitude a little too friendly on first encounter. Then again, that's the charming aspect of such restaurants right? You be your own judge ...

Brat (Hong Kong)

I can be such a brat sometimes, perhaps it was the child within that makes me do foolish things at the wrong time, at the wrong place. It is often the learning process that matters right? My mom once said that I often play with my food when I was young and actually I still do but for a reason perhaps. At the newly opened hot dog shop Brat, I can't help but rearrange my food for the sake of the pictures. For those who know me well, I love hot dogs but in Hong Kong, it is quite difficult to find a good one indeed. I was quite excited to find familiar sausage names on the menu, namely, Italian and Gruyere sausages! So many I wanted to try!

Celestial Court Chinese Restaurant 天寶閣中餐廳 (Hong Kong)

After my recent quest for suckling pig at the Kimberley Hotel, not only did I dream about it in a delicious way, I kept on thinking of returning soon. We named the little pig "Pepe the Piggy" for those interested to know and we were all looking forward to name another piggy asap! Some of my friends returned soon after and met "Kimmy the Piggy". While I am still planning for a return visit, I had the honor the meet "Cici the stuffed Piggy" at Celestial Court. It was a short encounter but a much needed one for me to realize how much I miss Pepe the Piggy.

Island Tang 港島廳 (Hong Kong)

This has to be one of the rather low profile Chinese restaurants in town, situated in  the middle of the Central district, hiding in one of the corners of a commercial building. It's logo with a cartoon character looks more like a fast food joint than a fine dining scene in my opinion.  I have heard good reviews about it and it was time for me to pay a visit, particularly for its Char Siu (BBQ Pork). One thing worth noting, I am known to over order 95% of the time but at this restaurant on this very night, I was told I ordered too few dishes and must continue ordering for a party of 8. So what happened? While most of the dishes we ordered were beyond expectation in terms of quality, their sizes were undoubtedly way to small, freaking small to be honest! I was once told that a food trend in 2011 is how portion of food is to be even more delicate in sizes, most items would be of sampling sizes perhaps? Let's wait and see shall we ... ...

Classified - Tai Hang (Hong Kong)

Like butter, there is never too much cheese! After my previous visit to Classified - Wan Chai, I have been thinking about the Oven-baked Mont d'Or a bit too often, perhaps once every other day? Once upon a sunny day, perhaps soon after Christmas I think, a few of us picked Classified - Tai Hang outlet to spend a relaxing early afternoon over some cheese and hearty food. Many would consider Christmas as a time to share love and catch up with each other's happenings, but I say this can be done anytime, anywhere as long as we are in the mood to do so. That was exactly what we did on this day because we felt like it, just because ... no reasons needed! A very close friend once told me his definition of friendship which often can be applied to relationship as well is when two (or more people) can sit there on the same table and able to withstand (or even enjoy) long moments of silence then the friendship / relationship has reached (or beyond) a point of love and caring in its rightful categories; familial, platonic (friendship), romantic and religious love. Do you agree? In any case, my love towards cheese would be ... sincere love perhaps? George Bernard Shaw once said, “there is no sincerer love than the love of food.”

Kimberley Chinese Restaurant 君怡閣中菜廳 (Hong Kong)

Slurp! Yeah, I overused this word recently but that is the most appropriate word to describe my experience at Kimberley Chinese Restaurant 君怡閣中菜廳.  Perhaps "Oh Slurp"would be more fitting? It was a foodies gathering with Mochachocolata Rita, TomEatsJenCook (+ the great coverage of the meal as well), HK Epicurus, @Supercharz, @Stegersaurus and @DimSumDiva. Not only did we enjoy the meal, we left with smiles and a few extra inches of waistline! This place has been awarded Bib Gourmands with Michelin 1* (thanks to Peech for pointing it out, a careless mistake on my part) but honestly not much of a meaning to me other than another ... reference from yet another food guide. Even when I am writing about it, I am thinking about the thin, crispy skin of the roasted piggy! Not just another piggy but Roasted Suckling Pig Stuffed with Sticky Rice (金陵乳豬)! Okay, I am way ahead of myself here! Let me start from the beginning!

Va Bene (Hong Kong)

I have to be honest here and as mentioned I am yet to appreciate the love for truffles, any sort of truffles for that matter, white or black, winter or summer truffles. It is quite true that perhaps I don't have enough opportunities to enjoy them due to the apparently low supply of them hence the relatively exclusivity to consume. I was very honored to be invited by Va Bene for a media tasting for their soon to launch Winter Black Truffles menu. It was my very first of such event, I mean Media Luncheon. I guess the FEAST event / blogger gathering was of similar nature right? In any case, I took on this invitation mainly because the word truffles came up and this would be a good chance for me try more (and meet more people as the same time). I considered this tasting as a  Black Winter Truffle Appreciation session more or less a personal fulfillment of some sort. Some may question on the true representation of my meal due to the nature of my visit and it is a valid argument which I cannot dispute. Feel free to adjust your expectation accordingly but all I can say is that I enjoyed my visit for what it was and had the chance to broaden my culinary sense regarding truffles.

Gold by Harlan Goldstein (Hong Kong)

By posting my Gold by Harlan Goldstein entry at this time,  I am expected to be yelled at by H and S because we have been planning to come since early Dec 2010. What do I have to say about my rudeness? any excuses? Well, (1) it was brunch that I tried so our upcoming "Golden" dinner at the end of Jan 2011 is still on! (2) as a gentleman that I am (*wink wink*), I have to do a quality assurance to ensure the upcoming experience would be a wonderful one! It was the least I can do to test it out first. (3) I wasn't detoxing HAHA.  Hope H & S can forgive me for what I intended to do. Harlan Goldstein should be a fairly familiar name for many local foodies and his name has been associated with many restaurants in Hong Kong whether he likes it or not unfortunately. Therefore, I should take this opportunity to clarify that Gold by Harlan Goldstein is the only one in Hong Kong that is under his helm, all others bearing his name are simply ... not. I read somewhere that he even said that "The only place you'll find the real Harlan now is at my new venture, Gold by Harlan Goldstein." Quite a bold statement by that just shows his confidence I assume? The following phrase I saw in one of the hanging pictures at Gold further reinforced my assumption: "Why go for Silver when you can go for Gold."

Oolaa (Hong Kong)

Life cannot be better when you can spend a wonderful Sunday afternoon with 3 lovely ladies over Brunch + Desserts! It certainly made the my day before Monday less miserable. I wish every Sunday can be the as eventful but of course at different venues. The culture of Sunday Brunch has been trending over the last few years in Hong Kong based on my observation especially with the number of establishments offering such menus. However, there are only a handful to be honest and there are more people like myself who are getting used to getting up late over the weekends and then head for brunch. Another interesting thing I realized is that people heading for brunch nowadays are increasing more causal, particularly ladies who obviously choose not to put any make up on. Don't get me wrong but I am just surprised, that's all.

The Mirror (Hong Kong)

A former apprentice to Alain Ducasse, Jeremy Biasiol is now the man behind The Mirror and I dare say it is quite an exciting restaurant which I would love to return soon if I can get a table that is. It is rather unfair to relate Jeremy with Alain Ducasse because he now has his own styles and approaches to traditional French cuisine. I think I can only say he was strongly inspired by Alain to become who he is right now. Looking at him behind the open kitchen in this rather homey and cozy setting, one can see his passion and dedication in cooking. He checks on his guests every now and then to control the pacing. I was observing him after my starter and he thought I was waiting impatiently so he looked at me and called onto the wait-staff by saying  快脆 (Faai3 ceoi3) in Cantonese which translates to "hurry up!" to serve us the mains. He even came out at the end of the night to chat with all guests and ask for comments and feedback. A very nice touch indeed!

Stay Hungry Stay Curious

I have been asked many times how I started this food blog and whenever I think back, it was quite a funny yet simple story. It all started because I (1) got plenty of time to kill, (2) love eating and am often very curious how things are prepared and (3) want to promote the appreciation the food from different cultures. Of course it was C's encouragement which pushed me to make my very first step.

Now almost 2 years have passed and food blogging has become part of me. It is my belief that good food is meant to be shared and the same applies to love and memorable experiences including dining experiences. This gastronomic journey has been great so far and I am enjoying every single moment of it. I have gained much (including a lot of weight) but I still have much to learn about food, writing and photography.

My sense of conviction with food and photography is growing and is motivating me to achieve more with my own goals and expectations. It is driving me to do something I enjoy, become more adventurous and embrace life one meal at a time. 

On 1 Jan 2010, I wrote on my personal blog I would welcome 2010 with open arms and aim to eat more, cook more, hug more, sleep more, read more, smile more, listen more, write more, tweet more, blog more and exercise more. I think I have accomplished all of the above (hello Michelin Bib's waistline!) except for the exercise part. I seriously should leave out exercises in the 2011 New Year's resolution because likely it will carry over to 2012 anyhow. 

Life in 2011 will be full of adventures, full of loves and full of feasts! I tend to travel more often if possible and experience as many food cultures as possible in the Asia region. Perhaps I should add in a bit more visual elements such as videos to my travels and gastronomic ventures?

Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct. -  Thomas Carlyle

Christmas Eve Dinner - Turkey

I know it is a bit too late but Merry Christmas everyone! It is better late than never right? :) ... I missed the chance to roast up turkey during Thanksgiving so I got to make it up somehow right? Christmas would be the perfect time to do so. It was Christmas Eve 2010 and a simple home dinner was all I wanted. My aunt invited me over for dinner on this special night because she was having TURKEY!! I was lucky enough that I only needed to show up and eat, but I felt bad so I helped her with the turkey by ... readjusting the it and put in more stuffing ... HAHA ... would like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to my aunt for inviting me over and I would like to share the wonderful feast with all of you!