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!

Fat Siu Lau 2 佛笑樓餐廳 (Macau)

There are currently three outlets of Fat Siu Lau 佛笑樓餐廳 in Macau which serve so-called traditional Portuguese cuisines, but I would not call that authentic or by any means traditional per se because they are somewhat localized for many years already. My previous visits to the original outlet a year ago was boring and this visit to the newer outlet was utterly ... disappointing! I rarely use such strong words but it was not a good experience in my opinion. It is true that the restaurant has plenty of history to it but without good food or great services to offset each other, there isn't much history left to it. I have a feeling that the establishment / franchise has been expanding too rapidly over the last few years targeting tourists from all over Southeast Asia that the management has lost focus on its food.

BO-LO'GNE ~ ボローニャ ~ TST Outlet (Hong Kong)

We all know how prices for basic commodities like flour, corn, sugar and wheat are sky rocketing over the past few years, but when it comes to a simple loaf of bread, can one justify it at a price of over HKD100? Perhaps. BO-LO'GNE ボローニャ which specialized in Japanese Danish Bread proves that it is beyond valid to do so, to a certain extend in my opinion. Soon after BO-LO'GNE (please don't ask me how to pronounce it because I am clueless as a ... goldfish on this one) first opened its tiny Hong Kong shop somewhere in SoHo, Central, the words have been out and to have a loaf of Danish Bread, expect a few days of advance order. Hungry enthusiasts were willing to wait because they understand the craftsmanship and skills required to bake each loaf of Japanese Danish Bread. So what exactly is Danish Bread? Simply put, it is a loaf of bread which has 81 layers after folding again and again and again. Note that those are basically layers of dough and butter, a lot of butter, hence the mouth watering melting sensation on each and every bite.

Beijing Kitchen 滿堂彩 (Macau)

After my recent visit to Beijing Kitchen (滿堂彩) at Grand Hyatt Macau, it marked the end of my Hyatt's Peking Duck journey at three distinct locations across the Greater China region, namely, Sha Tin 18 (沙田18) at Hyatt Regency Hong Kong as well as Made in China (长安壹号) at Grand Hyatt Beijing. All 3 restaurants specializes in what we commonly known as Beijing cuisine 京菜 which is heavily influenced by Shandong cuisine 魯菜, the technically correct reference as to one of the Chinese Four or even Eight Regional Cuisines. I will leave this topic to a future post, for the time being I will focus on Peking duck. So in addition to the same cuisine specialization, all the 3 restaurants of different geographic locations have almost the SAME decor, same utensils and the identical semi-open kitchen design. Talk about uniformity and consistency ... except on the services aspects which I will shamelessly write about in details because I had two cups of coffee at 9pm and I am pretty awake now at 3:10am!

Kaiko Teppanyaki 鐵板燒‧海幸 (Hong Kong)

I just realized this is my first teppanyaki coverage in my blog. In other words, teppanyaki is apparently not something I frequent yet quite enjoyed mainly for the watching how the chef skillfully maneuver around the food in addition to the food itself of course. Based on my humble research (thank you wikipedia - apparently there are more details in the Japanese wiki for the same entry for those interested and know Japanese), tappanyaki was introduced around 1945 as a way to cook Westernized food on iron plate. However, this concept was poorly received among local Japanese yet greatly welcomed by foreigners and tourists mainly due to how diners can watch the chefs do their magic in front of them. I do think it is a main part of having teppanyaki, at least to me, but here at Kaiko Teppanyaki, there wasn't much of a show yet you will get a great view overlooking the Victoria Harbour Hong Kong. To be fair though, the chef we had was very friendly, initiated various chit chats and very attentive to our needs, more attentive than the wait staff to be honestly.

Riquiqui Dessert Bar ~ Revisit - (Hong Kong)

It is no secret that I quite enjoy going to Riquiqui for desserts for various reasons. One being how it was all desserts, 3-course desserts meal to be exact. I covered it on this blog a while ago and I am blogging about it again because the menu changes every now and then, a very good reason for me to revisit. Alright, just yet another excuse to return but I can't blame myself for having a desserts craving ... every other day right? As I mentioned, guys can have a thing for desserts, just that not all would like to admit in most cases I presume. I am not afraid to admit my love for sweets ... and how my 3rd stomach is always on standby for desserts!

Lunar New Year Fair 年宵市場 (Hong Kong)

One of the largest Lunar New Year Fair 年宵市場 in Hong Kong is held at the Victoria Park in Causeway Bay for as long as I remembered. It is an event which starts a week before the Chinese New Year (CNY) and draws crowds from all over Hong Kong as part of customs. Hundreds of stalls would be set up to sell various CNY goods, both dry and wet items such lucky charms, toys, snacks, useless decorations, flowers and promotional items from various political parties would be widely available. There was no huge differences this year compared with the previous one, the pathways were constipated with CROWDS, stalls setup was similar and the smell of sweat was frightfully familiar ... except this year ... you would find CROWDS of ... AGNRY BIRDS merchandises, EVERYWHERE! (The Attack of Angry Birds!!)