Category Archives: Food & Dining

The One With Nespresso’s Limited Edition of Trieste & Naples

16 May, 2013 10:47 pm | 1 Comment |

I can’t believe that it has been five months since I bought my first espresso machine.

My Nespresso Experience

(Just a note: Since that last blog post, for some reason the machine broke down, and I went back to exchange for a black one. Top notch customer service, no questions were asked!)

Nary a morning passed when I didn’t down a double dosage of these lovely capsules. I must have tried every single flavour, for I have returned to the boutique at least three times and on each visit, I bought at least ten sleeves. All for the love of caffeine, of course!

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Posted in: Food & Dining

The One With Maureen – Wan Chai Chinese Noodles Bar With Slow Cooked Food

14 May, 2013 9:47 pm | 1 Comment |

It was a noodle bar with a name that was hard to resist. Especially when you have a friend whose name is also Maureen and you wanted to try a new place for your first dinner gathering in the new year.

Maureen's Noodles

Finding Maureen (that’s the name of the restaurant, short and sweet) has been more than a challenge. At least three cab drivers claimed not to know the street, and on my fourth attempt, I demanded the driver to look at my map and to get me there. Tip: To get to Hing Wan Street, you are better off looking for Stone Nullah Lane (石水渠街). That’s where the famous Blue House of Hong Kong is located at. A few doors down from Maureen is the Wanchai Visual Archive. You can’t miss it, with its patron spilling out from the bar onto the sidewalk with their merrymaking while the entire street was eerily silent.

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Posted in: Chinese, Wan Chai

The One With Wong Kee Restaurant – Roadside Chinese (And Pints Of Beer!) At Causeway Bay

2 May, 2013 8:55 pm | Leave a Comment |

Sometimes the best dinner plans are the ones unplanned. There’s something about doing meals impromptu with friends on loose ends, and that’s how I spent one of my Friday nights. I remembered seeing one of these roadside place packed with people at dinner time right behind Times Square, and I was eager to return to experience everything, exhaust fume and all.

Wong Kee Restaurant @ Causeway Bay

Wong Kee Restaurant (also confusingly named Fai Kee Restaurant) is one of those hole in the wall Chinese place with spilled tables all over the roadside. Tang Lung Street seemed very boisterous with families eating out with children and boisterous men enjoying beer pints after work. It’s quite an atmosphere to soak in, especially considering that you are right smack in the middle of Causeway Bay.

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Posted in: Causeway Bay, Chinese

The One With Fullka Cantonese Cuisine – The Unsung Hero In Causeway Bay / Wanchai

25 April, 2013 10:03 pm | Leave a Comment |

Once in a while you need to break out from your normal routine to discover new experience and enjoy different food. Thanks to my relentless colleagues who were out to get me for lunch every Friday (I swear, they timed it with their calendar), I found myself surrounded by the lovely ladies from the marketing department for some great Cantonese fare at the Fullka Restaurant.

Never heard of Fullka before? Well, neither did I, until that afternoon. Apparently this place was off-radar for most foodies, which was apparent by how not full it was during lunchtime on a working weekday. Further investigation revealed that this restaurant was previously named Home Wanchai (does that sound familiar?) and was helmed by Chef Lee Yue Ching of ‘Ah Yat Abalone’ fame. The set lunch was a steal at HK$88, where you get soup, one main course with rice, and a dessert. Since the main course is rather large in portion, you can go with a few friends so that you can mix and match from its extensive menu of true Cantonese food.

And so on to the lunch.

Pig Stomach Soup

Fullka Cantonese Cuisine

Hand’s down, the best starter soup I have ever tried in Hong Kong (and that’s saying something). The soup was intense with peppery taste and was well balanced with the meaty goodness of the excellent pig stomach. The soup burns down as you drink it, in a very comforting way. It was such a perfect, fiery soup for a cold winter day.

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Posted in: Causeway Bay, Chinese, Wan Chai

The One With Hal’s Fusion Japanese – Great Usuyaki Beef

16 April, 2013 9:31 pm | Leave a Comment |

So I was at Hal’s Japanese Restaurant which was relocated from Central to Causeway Bay due to 2x increase in rent (according to Jason). Seems like many of the foodies know of and frequent this place, so I marked it onto my foodie to-do list for Causeway Bay area. Moon was in town, so it was a perfect opportunity for me to try out the restaurant.

Hal's Japanese Restaurant

Making a reservation was a breeze, and I realised why. Although I was some fifteen minutes late for my booking, the restaurant was empty. It felt like I booked the entire restaurant for our catch-up dinner; in fact, ours is the only table occupied for the entire night. It was a shame, really. The service by the entirely Japanese crew was stellar, though it would be nice if the two Japanese chefs smiled a little more. As for the food, well, Moon and I were about to find out.

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Posted in: Causeway Bay, Japanese

The One With Hainan Shaoye – Singapore Fare In Causeway Bay

9 April, 2013 9:22 pm | Leave a Comment |

So once again I found myself in Causeway Bay racking my brain for a dinner spot with a buddy. Take it from me – if you have worked around the same area long enough, your brain will always go back to the same place for the same food.

Which was my excuse for going back to Hainan Shaoye. I have been there at least three times in the past for a quick meal, but for one reason or another, I have never blogged about it. So this time round I decided to really take note of what I am eating, look at it with a balanced eye of someone who have lived in Singapore long enough to (hopefully) know the bad and the good (the chef of Hainan Shaoye was apparently recruited from Chatterbox at Mandarin Orchard in Singapore, famous for their great chicken rice), and of someone who has his expectation, well, moderated, according to the local foodie taste.

The buddy wasn’t in the mood to have a large meal (there was this set meal with six dishes to share between two person for some $400, a good deal I must say), so once again I ordered some crowd favorite.

Singapore Rojak(HK$48)

Hainan Shaoye

Without fail, my favorite Singapore rojak always draws the same reaction among my local friends. A grimace, that is. I guess this signature dish – cut fruits mixed with shrimp & belacan paste with cut tofu and deep fried dough, somewhat like a fruit salad with a spicy twist – is quite an acquired taste. I had always enjoyed my rojak, ordering it wherever I could. The version at Hainan Shaoye, though far from being on par with the original stuff, was more than adequate to scratch that foodie itch. I scooped up everything, peanuts and beansprouts and everything else. Something about that shrimp paste just evoke that Singapore glutton in me la.

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Posted in: Causeway Bay, Singaporean

The One With Berliner German Restaurant – When Size Is (Almost) Everything

4 April, 2013 9:47 am | 1 Comment |

Deep inside, I had always felt it. A yearning for something different, something out of the norm. I crave for a place less crowded, less intrusive. With plenty of personal space, where you can carry an intimate conversation in relative privacy, away from prying ears and inquisitive eyes. Yes, it is time for a change, I thought.

So I went to East Soho instead for dinner on Saturday night.

It wasn’t my first time to East Soho. I have walked through the area almost a year back, while on my way back from a weekend excursion in Lei Yue Mun. The sight of bustling restaurants in quiet dignity, as calm residents and visitors carrying on with their business with tack and respect for each other appealed to me. I told myself I will be back.

And so I did, some two years later. I asked my friends from #hkfoodbloggers for recommendations. Some swear by Borgo C, the fusion-looking restaurant serving Chinese food while you sit on patio furniture. Another recommended Yi Jiang Nan, a small traditional-looking Chinese restaurant with only a couple of tables. Approvals were ringing for Tapeo, supposedly the best tapas restaurant at this part of the island.

Berliner German Restaurant

I am a staunch believer that, if you ask for advice, you take it. But I am also a great friend and put the wants of others over my own. I dithered between the two, and finally the cozy looking sidewalk looking out to the sea at Berliner German Restaurant won me over. To be honest, there was no serious contest between Chinese noodle and a pints of draught German beer.

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Posted in: German, Sai Wan Ho

The One With Fiat Caffé – An Experiment With Food Meditation

31 March, 2013 9:09 am | Leave a Comment |

The other day I was out dining alone. Usually when I do that I will mind my own business, but on that occasion I couldn’t help but notice something strange at the next table. Four guys were wearing the same jersey; obviously they were from the same sports team and are of around the same age. One would think they were taking some timeout relaxing with each other after a hardcore training session. Some call it male bonding. Others see it as team camaraderie.

But no. I wish they were.

No, because all four of them were glued to their smartphones. Their eyes were aglow with the light from the little screens. They hardly notice the food in front of them, never mind their friends sitting physically right across… if only they care to look up.

Which brings to mind a recent article I read about food meditation.

In this age of smartphones and uber-connectedness, have we lost the ability to fully appreciate food? Have we got so used to eat mindlessly, that such an unhealthy habit and social rudeness (if you are not dining alone) became the norm? Became the expected?

Fiat Caffé

I pondered over this as I was having a solitary lunch at Fiat Caffé, the famed themed restaurant with menu designed by the renowned Chef David Laris. Even though I was eating alone, I was determined to practice a bit of food meditation; an eating process that focused on nothing else but what you eat and how you eat, away from distractions of screens big and small.

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Posted in: Causeway Bay, Western

The One With Tasting The High Life in Surabaya

16 March, 2013 4:50 pm | Leave a Comment |

You might have heard that recently I got published in print for the first time – a story of my culinary adventure in Surabaya, in South China Morning Post’s Spring 2013 edition of Encounters. Well, technically it is not the first time my writing is published; however this piece is written entirely in my style – instead of a structured review form – and hence is something very dear to my heart. Posted below is the full, unedited and uncondensed version of my original submission to the editor. Click here to read the published version online.

Symphony Surabaya Day 5

When you had your fill of volcanoes and waterfalls, refuel your body with some truly local and delicious Indonesian fare

It was five in the morning. White, fluffy clouds appeared to roll away from my feet, stretching across the plains towards the distant volcano. Even as the sun rose in the east, I can look skyward and still see thousands of sparkling stars.

It was the closest to heaven I have ever been, and yet all I could think of was, “God, that was a decent amount of calories I burned climbing up here”.

Symphony Surabaya Day 5

Welcome to Seruni Point, one of the few viewing points in Probolinggo in Jawa, Indonesia, where you hike up the mountain in the dead of the night armed with little more than a jacket and an energy bar. I was told that during peak seasons, from June to August each year, the view point is packed with hundreds of visitors hoping to catch the stunning sunrise, as well as the iconic postcard-view of active volcanoes Mount Bromo and Mount Semeru.

Even as I took in the incredible sight of the fogged up savanna and smoking craters, part of me was dreading the eventual (second) hike up Mount Bromo to look at the volcano in the eye. That would be another thousand calories, I told myself, and soon I will be able to enjoy a proper breakfast.

Surabaya 2013

Already the thoughts of famous Indonesian food like gado-gado (vegetable salad served with a peanut sauce dressing), ayam penyet (lightly mashed fried chicken) and rujak cingur (a mix of cow snouts, young raw mango, pineapple, cucumber, rice cake and tofu, all served in a black sauce made from fermented shrimp paste) spurred me on to complete the nature itinerary of the day.

And I did.

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Posted in: Indonesian, Surabaya

The One With Yonge Piggies – A Taste Of Canadian Hot Dog In Sheung Wan

12 March, 2013 9:59 pm | Leave a Comment |

So I was at Sheung Wan one Saturday afternoon after a somewhat grueling workout, hungry for sustenance. It occurred to me that I had yet to check out Yonge Piggies (pronounced as “Young” Piggies) which is right across the street from the gym. Geographically speaking it couldn’t be any better; imagine hordes of starving gym bunnies descent upon Yonge Piggies all looking for their calorie fix. That gives a whole new meaning to “why did the bunny cross the road?, doesn’t it?

Yonge Piggies

Anyway, so in total disregard to the workout I just did (I am using that term very loosely here), this non-bunny crossed the street for lunch. It was a rainy day, so there outside stools were removed, and I had to sit inside. Not that I am complaining; I do think Yonge Piggies is the perfect spot for some people watching while you digest some Canadian street food.

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Posted in: Canadian, Sheung Wan