Life as a Bon Vivant

Instagram ME @ Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong

2012-05-12T02:22:00.000+08:00

No longer a 9-5 person, I live an interesting lifestyle which may or may not appeal to everyone. Do you wonder how a typical day of mine goes by? Lifestyle Asia Hong Kong recently asked me to participate in their Instagram Me feature, to document my day via Instagram. Check it out <here> or stalk me via Instagram at @jasonbonvivant.

The Danger of Generalization

2012-05-12T01:22:00.000+08:00

Recently the "food blogging" community in Hong Kong has been under a degree of pressure or more frankly speaking direct criticism from media as well as the F&B industry in Hong Kong. Alright, criticism maybe a strong word, perhaps, for a lack of a better word, concerns for the rapid growth of the so-called "food blogging" industry in recent months. Criticism is a natural byproduct of increased popularity and unfortunately it is the case in question with regards to "food blogging." First of all, one must understand the difference between "food blogger" and "bloggers who blog about food," because there is a difference and I repeated, there is a difference between the two and it is wrong to put both under the same category as "food bloggers." Such generalization is very dangerous indeed. I am not trying to distinguish myself between the two and I really see no need to do so because it matters not ... really. Let me show you a few examples:

"oh you write about food once a week on your newly started blog? Great, you are a food blogger."

"oh you post about food on your FB? Great you are a food blogger."

"oh you don't have a blog? oh wait, you tweet and you Sina Weibo right? Great, hello food blogger."

"oh you write about food cultures? so you don't do restaurant reviews? Nice talking to you."

"oh you post food reviews on Openrice? Great can I interview you as a food blogger?"

So please explain to me what exactly does it mean by being a food blogger? I am not sure myself. It really matters not what I am being called since I blog because I like to share my experiences via words and images. What happened to the blogging community in Hong Kong you ask? As I mentioned, the blogging industry in Hong Kong is still in its infant stage and the rapid growth in recent years are good for its development. However, depending on the direction of the participants in the community or to put it bluntly, how bloggers discipline themselves, the development can hindered greatly.

Recent growth of the blogging community in Hong Kong is a result of technology advancement, particularly the greater uses of smartphone which allow users to "blog" on the go using various social media platforms. Blogging in general is no longer restricted to a website, many different forms are out there such as Tumblr, Twitter and Sina Weibo. Like it or not, they are being accepted as blogs nowadays to a certain degree. However, when it comes to "food blogging," many neglected a key element which contributed to the current scene. It is the push & pulled factor created by the F&B establishments. The OVERabundance of food tastings specifically for bloggers, events targeting just bloggers and to every so subtle hints of asking to blog about it asap contributed to the rapid growth we are seeing recently.

Many F&B establishment rushed to the hype of social media in recent months because it is the "next big trend," and many jumped on the bandwagon without really thinking through the approach or what best their own establishments. The easiest for them is to organize bloggers events or blogger tastings so increase the exposure in a short period of time, hence to sudden surge of bloggers tastings. Don't get me wrong, these events are quite common among the blogging communities around the world and many treat these events like traditional media events, but the issue is what do people look for in return, what sort of roles are the bloggers and what do restaurants want in return? A simple compliment to the chef for the good meal or an immediate spread of information via blogs? what happened to the value of word of mouth? With the increased number of tastings is the increased number of blog posts about them. With the increased number of blog posts there are more readers finding their "new found" interests in sharing their dining experiences online via various social media channels. The cycle continues. In other words, the restaurants created the demand for "food" bloggers and the community supplied them with an overabundance of bloggers to fill that gap and now "concerns" are surfacing for the quality of the supplies they help created? I feel that this vicious cycle is putting a negative image to bloggers in general no matter what you blog about due to the generalization issue mentioned.

Once again, I am not distinguishing myself from anyone or saying that I am different because I do attend invitations every now and then. I would write about my experiences stating that the event was an invitation or not. What put me off sometimes with invitations is the bold assumptions many of the restaurants or PR assume. I once rejected an invitation for tastings and the immediate reply I got was, "oh how come? It is a free meal." What is that suppose to me? I am coming because of the free meal? I should come because it is a free meal? Because you are inviting me over for a free meal I have the obligation to write about it? This is a very dangerous assumption and I have no idea how this comes about. Perhaps I am the very few that would actually turn down invitations!?! When did blogging become my job and I must attend to every single event, because the last time I checked, my bills are not being paid from blogging.

I do not represent all food lovers who blog but I for one is not a professional food critic (perhaps a food writer at times); I simply enjoy sharing my gastronomic adventures with my words and images and try to learn more about the food that I am eating. What does that make me? a food blogger or a blogger who enjoys blogging about food?

Travel - Singapore (April 2012) - Oasia Hotel

2012-05-09T04:48:00.000+08:00

Situated just 2 MRT stations away from Orchard Station, Oasia Hotel @ Novena turned out to be much more convenient than I imagined. I stayed at the hotel over the Easter weekend in April and thanks for the generosity of the hotel, my accommodation was free of charge. While it was a big help to have free accommodation, the air tickets to Singapore seem to be climbing every quarter since a few years ago. There are over a dozen daily flights to Singapore operated by various airlines but never seems to be enough I suppose. Then again, Singapore, as mentioned previously, is an international financial center and is Hong Kong's closest yet most fierce competitor in terms of economic as well as policy development. I am bringing up this topic once again because the Oasia hotel is situated in the middle of the Novena district, a medical hub of Singapore serving not only the locals but as well as foreign visitors for various intentions. In other words, Singapore is investing as well as prompting the development of medical tourism. Hong Kong government once mentioned the idea of promoting medical tourism but like many other policies and initiatives, hardly anyone knows what happened to them. I will talk about this issue on a separate post, this one I will stick with the sharing of of my experience at the hotel.

Oasia Hotel opened late last year around November and the whole exterior as well as interior carried a very contemporary feel to it. It may seem like a business hotel by design, it can certainly be for leisure purposes as well with the various facilities and of course its location close to Orchard Road. Being in the center of the Novena district, Oasia Hotel is the only hotel surrounding the various medical facilities, which means for those wishing to stay during treatment or visiting can stay here and within walkable distance can reach to the different facilities. Even smarter is how the hotel transform the first few levels into medical services or so-called medial specialists center where "medical suites" (similar to what we call clinic) are in place.

There are 3 main types of rooms, with Superior and Deluxe occupying most of the floors up to 21/F. 22/F and above are Oasia Club Rooms (and of course the few Club Suites). The key difference between the normal and Club rooms are the exclusive usage of the club lounge, the Living Room on the 21/F where there is also a sky pool for Club level guest enjoyment

The 100 Club Rooms and 4 Club Suites are all designed by Super Potato with wood being the main theme. What I love about all their rooms is how the don't use carpet! Carpets to me are no longer the trendy thing for hotels because they get dirty quite fast and a main cause of allergies for people like me.
Most of the Superior and Deluxe rooms are filled with sunlight thanks to the large windows. All blinds are electronically controlled, wonderful for lazy individuals like myself! Oh by the way, don't be surprised on the different configurations of the rooms on the same level and/or the next room. That's their creative styles!

The following are Superior / Deluxe Rooms:

The following are Club level rooms designed by Super Potato:

Being a business / leisure hotel, there is a gym as well as plenty of conference rooms as well for guests.

Happy Birthday!! I am 3 already?!

2012-05-06T18:12:00.000+08:00

Time flies! I just realized the blog has turned 3 sometime last week and I almost forgot about it. Yes, I have been blogging for 3 years and mostly on food obviously and lately general lifestyle. However, I think it is time to turn a new leaf once again and do something different! I am still going to blog about food of course but it will be photographically driven with just the right amount of words. Details of the the new approach will follow along with a new face lift for the blog as well. Stay tuned!

In the meanwhile, something of a preview perhaps + shameless promotion? Many of you know how I have a growing interest and passion into photography as well as smartphone photography in recent times, and I plan to further promote / share my experiences in my upcoming trip to part of Europe (TBC) on the go! Smartphone photography is more than just the ability to capture the moment using your phone almost immediately, it is the ability (or possibilities) to share images almost instantaneously through different social media channels such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Sina Weibo and of course Instagram. In other words, you are able to tell your story through your images almost real time!

If you are interested in my upcoming travel(s) on the go, please do stay in touch via one of the following channels. (Click to access)

Instagram / Twitter / Sina Weibo / Facebook / Foursquare

An-tico Enoteca & Pizzeria (Hong Kong)

2012-05-06T01:50:00.000+08:00

Stepping inside An-tico reminded me of NYC, the lofty atmosphere, the subway tiles, the high ceiling and the 1920’s style custom light fixtures made me feel right at home. It is rare for a Hong Kong restaurant to have such a huge space but all of WindyCity's restaurants especially the notable Dan Ryan's and Amaroni’s outlets in Hong Kong have huge space. An interesting observation is how all of Windy City's Hong Kong establishments are situated inside malls / venues that have a cinema. I wonder what was the logic or business decision behind that. Anyhow, thanks Barbra and her company for treating me to this meal and I do wish her to have a great trip to Guam in October!

We started out lunch with the signature An-tico's Wing Bites. It wasn't what I expected, instead of deep fried, they were partly grilled with strong hints of rosemary. I have to be honest that the presentation was not the pretties but I guess the flavors compensated the look. After all, the taste and flavors should be the key right?

If you love Avocado, you will love the Crab Stuffed Avocado. The flavor of the crab meat matched the subtle taste of avocado. The texture ... well, just like another other avocado I suppose haha. Nonetheless, a great way to start the meal with.

I forgot the exact name of the dish but what I do recall is the name pastry Cigar and Cod Fish somewhere in the name or in the ingredient list. We were all expecting something like a normal fish stick but instead of bread crumbs the outer layer would be made of thin layers of pastries. We were partly right in that respect, the outer layers were of thin pastries but the inside was more like Portuguese style Bacalhau croquette.

For pizza we ordered the Trevisella (Neopolitan Pizze style) which came with plenty of rockets! I like how they serve the pizza in a separate rack so to save table space. You can put stuff underneath as well like pasta! I did exactly that!

For pasta we ordered the Fettuccine with shrimps and scallops. Very generous with the seafood as well as pasta, can be shared between two persons easily! The scallops were quite large and retained the freshness and sweetness to them.

The Housemade Soft Gelato was alright, nothing overly exciting if you ask me. The Soft Gelato served was more on the creamy side for your information.

The dessert highlight got to be the Banana Boat!!! Childhood memories! Once again, thanks Barbra for inviting!

The Art of Bullshit

2012-05-04T00:15:00.001+08:00

I wrote this following post quite a while ago on my personal blog (which I no longer update because I plan to consolidate all my thoughts and express them here on this platform). What triggered to dig up this old post was the large amount of bullshit I have been hearing recently. I have no doubt that we all have our fair share of bullshit but when one is being bombarded by them in a short period of time, headaches!

So do you like to bullshit? Why do we bullshit? How do we distinguish a lie from a bullshit? I just finished reading a book titled On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt attempts to answer the above questions in a philological approach. The following introduction and excerpts I found to be rather interesting. What do you think?

One of the most salient feature of our culture is is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in it ... we have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves ...

What bullshit essentially misrepresents is neither the state of affairs to which it refers nor beliefs of the speaker concerning that state of affairs. Those are what lies misrepresent, by virtue of being false, since bullshit need not be false, it differs from lies in its nonrepresentational intent. The bullshitter may not deceive us, or even intend to do so, either about the facts or about what he takes the facts to be. What he does necessarily attempt to deceive us about his enterprise. His only indispensably distinctive characteristic is that in a certain way he misrepresents what he is up to.

On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt (Princeton University Press, 2005.)

Beertopia! Hong Kong - 28 April 2012 [Event]

2012-04-19T02:13:00.000+08:00

Attention Beer Lovers! A new beer fest Beertopia! is coming to town, this time with over 90 craft beers from around the world including Hong Kong's microbrewery, Typhoon Brewery. The festival will take place at the historical Western Market in Sheung Wan on the April 28, 2012. Tickets are limited and range from HKD250-300. Not a big fan of beer, no worries, attend and learn about them and enjoy the live music, beer lectures as well as play games such as beer pong and flip cup. Oh beer pong! I am definitely going to be there to try out some craft beers and support my friend who dedicated his time to organize this event because of his love for beer! Cheers to all! Stay tuned stay informed on Beertopia! Facebook Page! Almost forgot, check out the beer list <here>.

Travel - Seoul, Korea (Jan 2012)

2012-04-17T17:36:00.001+08:00

I just realized that I did not really blog about my short trip to Seoul back in Jan 2012. Two reasons, one being I was there for a mere 24 hours so didn't many opportunities to explore around and the other reason being I didn't bring my DSLR with me on this trip. However, like I said at the Smartphone Photography talk during the Social Media Week Hong Kong 2012, the best camera is the one that is with you and in my case iPhone is more than qualified to be the best camera at that moment. Smartphone Photography is getting very popular and an increasing number of aspiring photographers (as well as professional photographers) are getting more involved with smartphone photography for its mobility as well as a treating it as a separate category on its own. No matter how one defines smartphone photography, to me it is a a form of photography and it is evolving as we speak.

With so many photography software / apps designed just for smartphone, we can now edit images on to go to a degree that may or may not be compared with desktop equivalents. Some are quite powerful like Snapseed which changed the way how I photography as well as edit images taken with my iPhone. Below are some of the photographs I took using my iPhone (+ various photography apps) during my Seoul trip. Enjoy! Feel free to follow me on Instagram @jasonbonvivant ... happy eating and photographing! :)

Greyhound Cafe @ Harbour City 海港城 (Hong Kong)

2012-03-31T05:05:00.000+08:00

There was such a hype when Thailand's Greyhound Cafe opened its first overseas outlet a few months ago at the IFC Mall, Hong Kong. Bookings were required a few days in advance for lunch and dinner. I have been there twice and both during off-peak hours because I have heard mixed reviews on its service during other times. My experiences at the IFC Mall outlet was not quite memorable on the service as well as food. Of course given the fact that both my visits were during the first few months of opening, things may have improved by now. I guess a revisit is required? Oh wait, this post is not about the IFC outlet but the recently opened Harbour City branch across the Victoria Harbour. Since this visit was an invitation by Harbour City, it would be quite difficult to accurately judge its service (which was great of course) or even perhaps the food. What I can say and do want to share is that my experience at this outlet was more enjoyable for various reasons. One being the wider selection of items only available at this outlet and the another being how I can actually have a complete conversation with my friends without yelling at the top of my lungs!

Let me go through the usual suspects here at Greyhound Cafe. (I think I should head over to Bangkok to do a quick comparison perhaps?) The Greyhound Famous Fried Chicken Wings was a definite must just because it is the so-called signature dish. Many complained about the wings being quite dry but I keep an open mind on this because they were consistently dry on different occasions across outlets and the same applies back in Bangkok as well. Perhaps they wings were meant to be on the dry side? It reminds me of Nagoya Tebasaki (fried chicken wings) which is suppose to be on the dry side somewhat due to the double (twice) fried recipe. Not only does the texture matters, the flavors can be equally important which we should not ignore. If you prefer juicy wings, sure, some may prefer them dry maybe? What about me? I prefer juicy wings yet drier wings are perfect to go along with beer, just like pairing jerky with beer!

The Greyhound Iced Tea is the signature drink with the ice cubes chilled from the tea instead of plain H2O so the flavors would not be diluted as the ice cubes start to melt. I think they made a slight improvement with the iced tea to suit local preference, which is to reduce the sweetness. I still recall the shocking sweetness from the iced tea I had on my first visit to the IFC Mall outlet when they first opened. Did I mention it is quite an addictive beverage?

Please excuse Rita of Mochachocolata-Rita and her hungry pose for the Pork Stick. I had to stop her from eating before I take a few shots of the dish! It was fun fighting over those sticks! Let the duel begins!

The Salmon Carpaccio was simple yet flavorful. The dipping sauce or the chili sauce on top made it a very appetizing starter. Surprisingly thin but anything thicker would make it quite ... heavy.

Alright, here we go again! Please excuse Rita's love for carbohydrates. It was the Fried Tiger Prawns with Thai Spices and Rice that put that big smile on Rita's face! I quite liked the mixture of spices and flavors but a bit more sauce would be better to go along wit the rice.

The Pita Pizza with Seafood Stuffing was perhaps their version of quesadilla. We actually re-ordered this ... twice? That should say something about how we liked it right? If I have to pick one thing to criticize about this it would be how the seafood stuffing was not event distributed!! The first "slice" I had was all prawns and the second piece I had was all squid! I liked both but I would love to have both the prawns and squid in one single bite! :)

The Spaghetti with Thai Anchovy was a dish of mixed feelings. I mean you either love it or hate it depending on your love towards Anchovy. While I am a fan of anchovy, you have to make sure to consume this dish while hot!! If you let it cool down just for a moment, the intended flavors would forever be gone and much would go to waste.

Oh this Coconut Crepe Cake is one of the items that is only available at this particular outlet. Limited supplies per day, the coconuts used are shipped from Bangkok and must be made fresh every day. Like Rita said, this is OUT OF THIS WORLD, MUST TRY! I have to agree with her, perhaps because I am a dessert fan plus I love coconut! For those who visited the Bangkok Greyhound Cafe and tried this Coconut Crepe Cake, you may have spotted how the Hong Kong version only has TWO layers instead of THREE layers in Bangkok. Why? Too many reasons if you ask me, one being the cost of course.

If you are not a coconut fan, try the Mango Crepe Cake for something equally refreshing to satisfy your sweet cravings.

I didn't try this Coffee Mania because I was too busy tackling the coconut crepe cake in front of me. I had to fight off multi forks from all direction trying to have a piece of it!

Once again, thanks Harbour City for the lovely invitation and it was a great gathering of friends as well. The experience at this outlet was a much more pleasant one compared with my experiences at the IFC Mall branch a while ago. Just to be fair, I should revisit IFC Mall outlet to see if any improvement has been made. Happy Eating!

Preloved Fashion Pop-up Sale! Get Ready! (21 April 2012)

2012-03-29T18:14:00.000+08:00

What!? You forgot that I mentioned about my new venture into fashion? No worries, I am more than happy to remind everyone here. :) ... Shameless promotion? Sure! My Fashion Birdcage is one of my new ventures and it is a recently launched London and Hong Kong based online fashion business. We are committed to provide every new or up-and-coming designer around the world a platform to showcase their work to the world of buyers looking for products that are a bit different. To satisfy our fashion-conscious customers, we are always on the lookout for new interesting items to sell. We also stock a mix of brand new and pre-loved authentic fashion items by well established designers such as Prada, Bottega Veneta, Fendi, Gucci, Lanvin, Salvatore Ferragamo, Louis Vuitton and a lot more. This guarantees certain web traffic to our website which is extremely beneficial for up-and-coming designers. Living in London? in Hong Kong? Wonderful! Visit us at www.myfashionbirdcage.com and stayed informed by LIKE us facebook.com/myfashionbirdcage for updates or follow us on Twitter @myfashbirdcage !

Oh what else? Something exciting is coming up! We are going to be participating in the upcoming Preloved Fashion Hong Kong event on the 21 April 2012 (Saturday). As the name suggests, it is a pop-up fashion sale event featuring brand new, barely worn, and vintage clothing, shoes, and accessories. Check out the Facebook Page for a preview of the items to be on sale and mark your calendar & get ready for some shopping! Oh Hong Kong Fashion Geek will be there as well!

Ask the Foodie - South China Morning Post

2012-03-22T20:41:00.000+08:00

Just in case you missed it, I was being interviewed by SCMP a few weeks ago for their weekly section titled Ask the Foodie. I was being asked questions regarding my background and how I started blogging a few years ago then gradually moving into lifestyle writing and photography as well. It was indeed quite a journey and definitely no regrets. I am still enjoying the journey! The interview ended with a photo-shoot session in the middle of Pedder Street x Queen's Road Central. Quite an interesting experience, I may try to take some photographs like that later, anyone want to volunteer? Oh and how do I look? What do you think of my double chin? Don't you know that double chin is the new trend!? Oh one more thing, if you are into fashions, check out my new venture My Fashion Birdcage, a new London-based fashion destination for up-and-coming designers items and of course pre-loved fashion accessories!

Lufthansa LSG Sky Chef - Culinary Excellence in the Air: Behind the Scenes

2012-03-21T03:39:00.002+08:00

Many of us had our fair share of rants on plane food, no matter what class you are travelling in. Common complaints are often related to the lack of flavours, the level of moisture of your rice or perhaps how tough your beef is. True that in some cases, the quality of the food varies a lot depending on the airlines and their respective catering services, however, I often feel that many passengers forget the fact that they are having their meals at 35,000 feet, inside a pressurized environment with humidity close to 10% or even lower. To prepare food at this high altitude is no easy task and more challenging than many would expect. I always know how the boiling point would reduce to around 80C at that altitude which affects the temperature of the food being consumed after the reheating process. However, my recent visits to one of the world's largest airline catering service providers Lufthansa's LSG Sky Chef facilities in Hong Kong turned out to be quite fruitful in learning more on the limitations as well as regulations of how food must be prepared for safe consumption at 35,000 feet.

The event was sort of a tasting event or behind the scenes visit for Lufthansa's upcoming China Menu for its First Class passengers flying long-haul from China to Germany. One of their initiatives over the past many years is to invite renowned chefs all over the world to participate in their Star Chef program by creating new dishes for the airline's long-haul flights. This year's Star Chef for the China-Germany route is Chef Steve Grein, currently the Executive Chef of the Portman Ritz-Carlton Shanghai. He created a whole collection of Chinese as well as Western dishes for this project.

While chatting with him, one of the key things I learned was how challenging and different it is to create dishes for passengers at 35,000 feet compared with diners at any given restaurants on ground level. It is a entirely different beast so to speak. With the circumstantial limitation such as the low humidity, many things need to be taken into consideration in the creation process. Just to name a few:

(1) most if not all food need to be designed so to be suited for reheating on board without losing too much flavors and moisture
(2) At 35,000 feet, not only does the boiling point changes, our taste buds (ie: sensitive) change as well and depending on the dish, extra flavors may need to be added, yet if too much salt are added, salt would absorb the moisture. A great balance must be achieved.
(3) For chilled items, the richness of the flavors would be further reduced
(4) Portion control is important because there are limited space on board, meals and menus need to be designed accordingly to fit into the custom trays
(5) weight of the food is an issue which can affect the overall loading of the flight.

I was surprised by the number of limitations with regards to food preparation at 35,000 feet. From now on, before I complain about my plane food, I certainly will remind myself of the list of limitations and restrictions in preparing the dish. Let's get back to the objective of the event, First Class Hot Menu. Alright, I was quite impressed with the largest selection of the dishes / menu available for the First Class passengers, I guess they paid "extra" for their extra mile for such services. Basically each First Class passenger will be guaranteed their choice of meals instead of a first come first served basis at the Economy Class all all airliners to my understanding. In addition to Welcome Drink, First Class passengers can an Amuse-Bouche as well!!! This Crab Purse, I want!

One of the featured dish was the Slow Roasted Beef Carpaccio Basil Pesto, Parmesan Shavings. Not exactly Carpaccio in terms of rawness but as explained by Chef Fritz Gross of LSG Sky Chef Hong Kong, it is a food safety regulation that raw meat (or semi rareness) cannot be served during flight. Taste wise? Not bad at all as a cold starters on board! The extra sauce is given for the extra richness of flavours at 35,000 feet.

There were quite a number of dishes being served for tastings, so I will simply list them out there for your reference. Most of the items tasted quite good given the fact that they were all prepared 12 hours ago and reheated during tasting to simulated the real situation as closely as possible. Alright, not at 35,000 feet and First Class environment but let's not get overly technical here okay? :)

Slowly Braised Beef Cheek

Classic Prawn Cocktail

Salmon and Scallop Roulade

Flaked White Fish, Arrugula, Radish Salad

Salmon Tartar, Cucumber-Citrus Vinaigrette

Steamed Pork Belly with Mashed Garlic

Seared Tuna, Carrot Carpaccio

Cherry Glazed Duck Breast, Baby Greens, Dry Cherry Vinaigrette

Marinated Duck Breast

Needle Mushroom and Beef Rolls

Quite a number of choices indeed. It would be an even better experience if I can tour the kitchen but I understand the difficulties in doing so. Aside from a full stomach, what I have learned from today's behind the scene LSG Sky Chef event is how many of us as passengers neglected to look into the efforts put into making airplane food no matter for First or Economy class, the same theories, standards and concepts apply. I do respect the efforts behind airplane food be it a simple dish of salad or a main dish of chicken, beef or fish. Of course I would take a more in depth appreciation of the food if I were sitting First Class for a 12+ hours flight as well!! And you know what, another fact I found which amazes me as a avid traveller; on selected Boeing 747-400 long-haul configurations, "as well as your comfortable First Class seat, there is a separate bed over two metres long available to you." Let me repeat, "there is a separate bed over two metres long available to you," next to your seat to be exact! A separate bed! Gees, I am still not over the fact that they have a separate bed! Alright, Emirates A380 has a entire SUITE but the flat bed requires manual conversion, not a fixed bed. Well of course Singapore Airline's A380 Suite is a different story. Okay, time to purchase lottery tomorrow.

Pulled "Meat" Burger @ Mandarin Oriental (Hong Kong)

2012-03-05T00:05:00.000+08:00

When it comes to technicality, pulled burgers are often referred as pulled-pork burgers commonly found in the Midwest of the States. As the name suggests, pork is often the main ingredient. However, with a touch of creativity, fundamental concepts can be modified into new creation. We often describe culinary as an adventure and it is, chef continuously think of new approaches to improve or create interesting dishes based on familiar items. Chef at Cafe Causette at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong is preparing to offer a few of his versions of the familiar pulled "meat" burgers. No just pork anymore! As part the early bird tasting offer, between the 12 - 25 March 2012, you can try out the 5 mini Pulled "Meat" Burgers for a mere HKD88!! Cast your vote for your favourite flavor and the winning two (2) will be placed on the menu starting in April 2012!!! (don't worry, the final version will be full sized, not mini burgers!) ... Tried it already? Now cast your vote here > http://on.fb.me/zc0V2G

For the tasting, the following flavours will be offered:

Braised pulled pork culottes, Kentucky BBQ sauce, XO Mayo
Slow cooked short rib pulled beef, Kansas City Rib Sauce, Bone Marrow Mayo
Stewed pulled lamb shoulders, East Texas BBQ sauce, Mustard Mayo
Confit corn-fed pulled chicken leg, North Carolina BBQ sauce, hot pepper mayo
Pork belly, kimchi, fresh shucked oyster

Aside from the Pork Belly which wasn't really "pulled," I say the other fitted the description quite well. There is a certain charm or simple attraction to how bite-size food items can make a meal ... fun!

Seeing dozens of mini burgers being served at once made things even more interesting! Which one should I pick, which one should I eat first or in our case, which one to photography first???

Out of the 5, I have to say I like the Pork, followed by Lamb, Beef, Chicken then Pork Belly. The richness of the BBQ sauce and the pork flavors made it quite memorable to my taste buds. The same applied for the Lamb but the subtle-ness of the Bone Mallow Mayo was slightly disappointing as in I expected a stronger flavors. Perhaps it was the proportion of the mayo with the size of the mini burgers which made it barely noticeable. So which one of the five would you like to try right away? I expect the cast my vote soon ... are you ready to do so for HKD88? Oh do order yourself a full order of fries to go along with the burgers!

Thanks Mandarin Oriental for the lovely invitation.

Oh one more thing ... did you know that Beijing's Da Dong famous for its Roast Duck is coming back to town and will be hosted at the Man Wah @ Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. I was lucky enough to be invited for a preview and aside from the famed Roast Duck, they are offering other signature dishes different from their last visit to Hong Kong. Mark your calendars, 14-22 April 2012, Roast Duck @ Man Wah!

Online Restaurant Booking? Hong Kong is NOT Ready yet!

2012-03-03T18:13:00.000+08:00

Have you tried to book a table online? Yes I have and as a matter of fact I loved the idea so much a few years back that I wanted to bring this idea / concept to Hong Kong. After a 24 hours cooling period, I returned to reality, commercial reality that is, and gave up on the idea. Over the past 6 months, I noticed an increasing number of online booking websites being launched with massive advertising all over the web and social media channels. However, my take on online restaurant reservation remains the same as a few years ago, Hong Kong is not ready for it YET for many reasons, below are 3 major ones in my opinion.

1) Demand vs Supply

When I say demand and supply, the theory applies to both users and restaurants. If you visit some of the current operating online booking sites, scroll through the so-called extensive list of participating restaurants, how many of them interest you as a consumer? Of course it is a question of chicken or egg first, but the truth is, how many restaurants, or restaurants that are popular, would be interested in such an idea IN HONG KONG especially. For popular restaurants in Hong Kong, they are constantly full with advance booking that goes 2 - 3 weeks ahead even without any system of online reservation in place, aside from direct email perhaps. If popular restaurants are not on the list for booking, the appeal of the booking site diminishes exponentially. Some online table booking sites offer discount to attract diners? Well, when they are constantly full even without discount, why bother to offer any right?

2) Lack of IT infrastructures

The whole idea of a online booking system is to allow the reservation process to be as simple as soon as possible hence the heavy reliance on the IT infrastructure between the sites and the restaurants. The table reservation confirmation response time is crucial in my opinion. However, most restaurants in Hong Kong still uses pen and paper + phone for their reservations. For traditional Chinese restaurants or even popular Chinese eateries, many don't even have a computer not to mention Internet connection to hook up to the online booking sites. If manual confirmation is involved (ie: book online, someone manually book for you), what is the point of the whole system from a commercial perspective? Out of the so many restaurants in Hong Kong, how many would have the required IT infrastructure to do implement online reservation?

3) Cultural Implications

People in Hong Kong dine out quite often and dining out is not much of an occasion but more of a daily activity for many. Being late to a reservation or no show is as common as reserving a table in multiple restaurants in advance just to lock up the table for later decision so to decide which cuisines / restaurants to pick at the end. The opportunity cost for the restaurants are high especially in Hong Kong with such high rent, locking up a table during peak hours for online booking sites or no show diners are equally expensive. For no show cases, at least they can accept walk-in shortly after the table-hold time limit but for online booking sites, it would be expensive to do so. And without such dedicated tables for online sites reservation, the table availability can be always full then what is the point of booking through the sites?

What's your take on Online Restaurant Booking in Hong Kong? Let's Discuss!

Smartphone Photography and be Creative!

2012-02-23T06:40:00.000+08:00

As mentioned in my previous post, I had the honour to speak at one of the Social Media Week Hong Kong event titled Getting Social with Smartphone Photography. I want to write a post here to talk about some of the points I mentioned, not so much on the tips because similar to taste, when it comes to photography, what really matters is what the photographer thinks in my opinion (unless of course you are doing it for commercial purposes or have clients requirements to meet). There are of course many guidelines on composition of an image such as the rule of the thirds or golden ratios but again these are established guidelines which will help you understand what makes an image standout in some or many cases. Some are proven some are not, do not be bothered by them since they are guidelines for your reference, the key is to go out, be bold, be adventurous and take more photographs without carrying the buden of any rules! In my opinion, as long as the images you capture reflect your vision or what you wanted to express, they are good photographs.

Now back to the topic of getting social with smartphone photography. My first photography app on my iPhone was the Best Camera and its slogan states that "the Best Camera is the one with you" and I still believe in that even to this date. Anyone who is interested in photography must believe in that in order to truly enjoy photography no matter you are holding an iPhone, smartphone or DSLR. The key is the image you photographed and the vision you want to present with the image. (David duChemins' fan, you may recognize some of the ideas I mentioned and yes I am a big fan of his works, written and photographic works alike)

Photography nowadays can be in many forms or format, it can be taken with a DSLR, smartphone, point and shoot or lomo camera; it matters not the device the image was taken with but what message the photographer intends to deliver with the image within the given frame. I may have mentioned that repeatedly but it is a very important point worth repeating. Even if you don't have a message to deliver, think of a story you want to tell, a story which can be told within the frame you constructed through the viewfinder.

I used to carry a DSLR around town but as many of you understand, it can be quite heavy to carry such a device around. The introduction of smartphone (and its increasingly powerful hardware / lens / software) made a huge impact to all of us. I can now capture the moment without delay and make every second counts. Sometimes make sure you are alert of your surrounding because interesting scenes can pop up without notice!

There are many great portable point and shoot cameras in the market that shoot great images and fits right in your back pocket ... and many have great built-in editing software functions just like how many iPhone photography apps can perform. The key outstanding benefits with smartphone is not in the editing functionalities but the ability to SHARE the images instantaneously to many social media platforms such as Flickr, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Foursquare and many more as the list continues to grow.

It is the sharing capability that makes smartphone photography so attractive and addictive in certain perspective. Sharing has never been so easy and open before and sharing in my opinion is an act which many of us love to do, including myself.

So please start taking more photographs, start being adventurous, start being creative whenever you feel like. Start with food if you are not sure how, that was how I started to fall in love with photography.

Social Media Week Hong Kong 2012

2012-02-14T03:06:00.004+08:00

Time for shameless promotion! For all social media enthusiasts out there I am sure you are aware of the Social Media Week happening around the world during Feb 13-17, 2012. Hong Kong is hosting a series of talks and events throughout the week and Hong Kong is the only city in the Greater China Area having the luxury of hosting. One of the events is Getting Social with Smartphone Photography of which a panel of smartphone photographers will be sharing some of their works and how they share (or over share in come cases) their images online using various social media applications. What so special about the event? Well, I am one of the panels and will be sharing my experiences on stage. Wish me luck!!

Aside from the shameless promotion bit, I do find mobile technology has changed the social norm quite a bit over the recent years. The same applies to blogging as well. Blogging used to be expressing your views in writing by posting online via certain blogging platforms. Gradually images became an important part blogging / writing just like the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words." The introduction of twitter or micro blogging has somewhat taken over the role of tradition blogging in my opinion. I have a feeling that readers prefer to read less and less nowadays because there are an overload of information out there and only limited time. The popularity and economical use of smartphones help the rise of tumblr and instagr.am is a good example of how visual medium or images in general have taken over the traditional role of words in many cases. Is that a good thing? Is that the revolution of media in the next few years? Should the market prepare for a more visual approach rather than traditional written approach for various brands? Perhaps but the issues and concerns are more than just how brands and companies should adapt to this new trend, it is a matter of social development in my opinion. What happened to the skills of writing and can a simple image express the same thing in words? It is an issue worth discussing and the topic itself is worth a dedicated post which I will work on soon.

Travel - Amsterdam (Jan 2012)

2012-01-18T05:04:00.002+08:00

If you are travelling to Amsterdam for the forst time and you doing so by yourself without joining any tours, no worries, the city is very tourist friendly. As soon as you step out of the departure gate of the Schiphol International Airport, there are many transportation options for you to get into the city, "domestic" trains being one of the cheapest and quickest option in my opinion. Why did I put a "quote" around the word "domestic?" Stay tuned and I will tell you why "international" trains / routes via NS Hispeed is a shocking story worth reading!

Transportation

Since I am on the topic of transportation, the Amsterdam Tram system got to be one of the most efficient mode of transportation around town compared with the Amsterdam Metro or even the bus routes! The fact that the tracks are placed in the center of the roads in isolated / dedicated lanes make it more efficient. There are certainly much the Hong Kong Tramways can learn from them. An interesting thing I spotted was how there are attendants, I mean ticket attendant inside most trams to issue tickets for those passenger requiring to do so. Perhaps the Octopus like OV-chipkaart chip card is not as popular yet to get rid of the onboard ticket attendant? Or maybe this is good for employment rate?

I also like how traditional bike is a major mode of transportation in Amsterdam. There are bike lanes everywhere and watch out for speeding bikes because they are everywhere and they seem to be very ... agressive at times. Pedestrians please beware! At some hotels, you can rent bikes to go around town but I strongly recommend the tram instead and spend more time enjoying the city.

Open Markets

There are quite a few open markets in Amsterdam but some of the famous ones open during certain day of the week only. The Floating Flower Market (Bloemenmarkt) opens 7 days a week so no worries. The Albert Cuyp Market on the other hand opens on Saturday only. (There is a book market every Friday I think ...) I was luck I was there during the weekend so got to experience the Albert Cuyp Market. Aside from the cold and fries with mayo every other stalls, it looks very much like Garden Street in Hong Kong with stalls on both side of the street selling all sort of goods and food.

Food got much of my attention as always! How can I not get myself some Stroopwafels while in Amsterdam right?? Yum!!!

Of course there were stalls selling ... weird incense. I mean the packages just not my cup of tea sorry!

I rather stick with flowers!

While eating my fries with mayo, I spotted a stalls selling roasted chickens and the queue was getting long. I rushed to there and guess who lined in front of me?? Yes, this cute little doggy got there before I did! Argh!

Interesting Sightings

It is nothing new I suppose but just in case, if you come across "coffee shop," it means you must be over 18 because they serve more than just coffee, they serve "space cake!" If you intend to get real coffee, go to "cafe!"

I spotted this grey plastic stand everywhere in Amsterdam. I had no idea what that was until I saw men standing against the little hole and started peeing! Apparently this is a portable bathroom for males! Beer is a popular drink among the men during the night and as a result the frequent need to pee. In order to avoid men peeing in the street, the portable bathroom comes into play! I didn't try because it was COLD!!!! I don't want "cough" to get exposed to the COLD! This reminds me of another interesting observation. In Amsterdam, we spent quite a bit on drinks and ... washroom fee!!! Yes, in most public area like malls, department stores, McDonalds and KFCs, even if you are a paying customers, you need to pay to get access to the washroom! Average cost was EUR0.50. Then again, the EUR0.50 sort of ensures the cleanliness of the toilets! If you are quite bothered by this idea, drink less!!! :)

Street performances were everywhere and pedestrians would sing / dance along. I would like to see more of such street performances in Hong Kong!

Oh and a friendly note, the city gets dark at around 4:30pm during Winter!!!! and most stores closes at 6pm sharp and some even closes at 5:30pm! I do wonder when locals have time to shop during the weekdays. My guess is that they start working early in the morning and get off at 4pm or even 3:30pm and go shopping during a work day? Also, many restaurants offer Breakfast and Lunch only and close after that.

Food

In addition to how addictive FEBO, the automat fast food store everywhere in Amsterdam, I like to recommend De Ysbreker for Brunch / Dinner and Blue for light meal. If you are into spectacular view, go to Blue which is basically a cafe situated on the 3rd / 4th floor of a modern glass tower overlooking the city of Amsterdam. It is a great place to start your day, any day that is! De Ysbreker on the other hand is a down to earth joint located in the residential area, close to the university district if I am correct. A casual yet very friendly and cozy place offering a wide selection of items from the sea and land. The sweetness and freshness of the seafood are hard to beat anywhere to be honest. We took advantage of the geographic characteristic and ordered many items form the sea!

Rant

Let's talk about the "domestic" vs "International" high-speed train issue I mentioned and how it pissed me off. Here is the story in point form for easy reading:

I wanted to take the train from Amsterdam to London via Brussels by Eurostar.
NS Hispeed (the national railway that is) offers such a package and option starting from EUR50 as stated on their website.
the NS Hispeed English website allows potential customer to purchase tickets in advance over the Internet (it seems)
I tried to book it step by step over its website only to realize AFTER I have entered all my credit card information that the national railway service (NS Hispeed) DOES NOT ALLOW transactions from overseas credit cards!!!!! Only Dutch or some EU countries credit cards!!! What a great way to attract tourists from other non-EU countries to plan in advance! (note: cost of ticket at this point. EUR101.00)
Alright, relax Jason, I can always go all the way to Central Station and purchase tickets, so I went.
At the Central Station, I lined up at the ticket counter. I politely asked the lady staff I wanted a one-way ticket from Amsterdam to London on a certain date. She asked me what time of the scheduled train I wanted to book / check. I told her and she slowly printed the quote to me. It was EUR159 with handling fee! WTH!!! Then I asked her very politely if she can check if there are other times on that same date that is slightly cheaper. She immediately said "I am sorry, you have to give me the exact time of the departure so I can check and from which station." I then asked "can you help me check if return would be cheaper?" She then requested "which return day and what scheduled departure? we can only check one at a time and print out the quote."
WTF! I had no idea on the schedule and I am suppose to memorize the whole schedule? Fine, I walked over the the booking computer next to the counter to find the EXACT time of the departing train I wanted on a specific date!
OMG! ALL the computers were slower than my x486! I cannot even load the front landing page! I tried again for the next 30 mins at the 5 different terminals and failed miserably! I gave up and returned to the hotel.
I went online again and checked the NS Hispeed website for the latest fare. IT WAS EUR110. WHERE did the EUR159 came from for the EXACT same class, same departure time, same train!
Forget about taking the train, I ended up taking a 40 mins BA flight to London, CHEAPER than the train ticket as well!

End of Rant!

Aside from the train ticket issue, I had an enjoyable and pleasant stay in Amsterdam.

Flight Experience from Red Packet

2012-01-02T05:42:00.000+08:00

When I was young, I thought about becoming a pilot, a commercial pilot to be exact. Yes, Maverick from Top Gun did contribute somewhat to my desire in becoming one but it was the love of flying that really interested me in wishing to become one. Obviously that dream was not realized, the closest I get to be a pilot was in front of a computer monitor playing Flight Simulator series of games. Finally after all these years, thanks to Red Packet Adrenaline experience package, I got the chance to try out an an actual size flight simulator at the Flight Experience located at MegaBox. There are many other options with the package but flight simulator topped my list because it is not an everyday activity one would attend.

The flight simulator by Flight Experience employs the entry level Boeing 737-800NG Simulator which is not equipped with any motion simulation. Flight Simulators are categorized by different grading and the higher the grading the more realistic it gets in terms of functionalities as well as scenarios. As a first timer, this entry level flight sim made me a happy boy already!

Instructor went through all the basics including flight details, configurations, aviation terminologies and controls in extreme details before we start. It was important to familiarize with the basics because with the sheer amount of buttons and acronyms on panels around me, I was speechless.

Apparently steering the plane on ground is simpler than expected but way more difficult than one can imagine. Not only does the pilot requires high degree of hand eye coordination, it requires excellent coordination of all limbs including leg and feet when steering plane on ground!

Alright, I ALMOST crashed the plane a few times during landing approach and triggered the stall alarm more than I care to count. (it was darn loud as well!!) This experience made me realize one important thing, it is not easy to be a pilot especially commercials pilot to manage such a big aircraft, knowing the zillion buttons / dials in the cockpit while providing a comfortable and safe journey for hundreds of passengers sitting at the back. Maybe it is a good thing my dream of becoming a commercial pilot did not realize for the good of the general public. Oh, then again, maybe I can still be a fighter pilot? :) Thanks again to Red Packet for the amazing experience! (side note: I think if you plan to buy a packet as gift for your male friends, don't just get them adrenaline related, think outside the box and get them something pampering like a spa! Guys like that too!!)

Comilonas Private Kitchen (Hong Kong)

2011-12-27T04:45:00.001+08:00

Razlan got me blogging about this wonderful dinner gathering at Comilonas Private Kitchen. It wasn't for Christmas, it wasn't for any special occasion, we just wanted to gather around and share some laughters and the occasional hugs over some hearty food. Thanks again for organizing this dinner Razlan! Tucked inside a rather local building in the Western District, Comilonas Private Kitchen specializes in Catalan cuisines. Chef Lluis from Barcelona and his wife Carrie, a Hong Kong local, run the warm and welcoming joint which was decorated based the 60s/70s style with plenty of wooden fixtures and perhaps furniture inspired by Northern Europe designs from the 70s. The tiled green / white floors are traditional of a typical Hong Kong home in the 70s and I assume those are original from the previous or even first owner of the place.

The private kitchen theme / concept is sort of over-flooding the whole dining scene in Hong Kong in my opinion over the recent years. All sorts of restaurants establishment as long as they are located above ground floor start to call themselves private kitchen and charge diners an arm and a leg. High rent was a major reason for the growth of private kitchens a number of years back, while located away from ground floors, the operating cost of such establishments can be reduced while inspiring chefs can continue serving their best creation at reasonable price. However, the story seems to be quite different nowadays with so-call private kitchen offering items even more expensive than their similar establishment located at higher rent locations. Be it increased cost with ingredients, staff and etc, the lower rent by itself should be big enough to adjust the overall pricing in my opinion. Here at Camilonas, I have to admit that by offering a fixed menu priced at HKD380/person with a min of 10 people booking, it is already considered very reasonable nowadays.

Why change when things are well received right? I suppose this is the reason why the menu has not been updated for quite some time. The same set of items were served since their opening a number of months ago. I reckon it is quite difficult to come up with new items when the size of the kitchen is of your normal dimension with a max of perhaps 2 people. In this case, preparing something familiar has its advantage indeed, at least consistency can be ensured to a certain degree.

One of the most obvious characteristic of Catalan cuisine would be the rather pungent or perhaps strong flavors when compared with Italian, French or even Chinese in some cases. Some enjoy the rich flavors while some may find it a bit too strong. I admire how Chef Lluis did not comprise one of the key characteristics of his hometown cuisine to fit the local flavors. The Herb Marinated Scallops was served raw with a very heavy herb flavors all around. Fortunately the heavy flavors did not overpower the natural sweetness of the scallops in this case.

The Brandada de Bacalla was again very flavorful with the salty fish blended quite well with the mashed potatoes. Because of the salty fish, the aroma was beyond appetizing when baked. If you cannot handle a high level of sodium, please beware, otherwise enjoy!! :)

The Traditional Garlic Shrimps were ... very garlic-y as expected! I mean it was a bit too strong since I did not even get to taste the sweetness of the shrimps. I can be wrong but being close to the sea, seafood in this nation should be served as simple as possible to bring out the freshness of the fish perhaps?

Piquillo peppers with cheese was an interesting dish yet nothing to exciting for me. I am thinking of trying to do it myself as home.

I love Chorizo no matter how salty they are. Even when the Chorizo in red wine that was served carried that rich flavors trend, I still enjoyed it by itself or with a sip of red with every slice.

The grapefruit and orange avocado salad was either the most disappointing dish or it was the most boring to say the least. It was refreshing for a change and very lightly flavored with the acidity to help cleanse the rich flavors in my mouth but nothing spectacular at all.

Everyone wow-ed when the black ink seafood rice paella was served. Perhaps it was the sheer size of the paella or most of us was very hungry. It was indeed the highlight of the night! We lost our manners and rushed towards the dish ready to get spoonful from it. Some even forgot to take pictures before hand which was unheard of!

I had many caramelized food items including various fruits but caramelized orange got to be the first. It was surprising pleasant, mildly sweet with a touch of citrus flavors which acted as a wonderful dessert to end the meal. Of course the ice cream helped as well to make it a wonderful desserts but I think I will try to make caramelized orange at home very soon!

If it is a dining venue with privacy for a casual a small group of close friends kind of gathering without costing an arm and a leg, this is a wonderful place indeed. The menu may not be updated any time soon but the decor, environment and hearty food at reasonable price would win you over. Not to mention the extremely friendly service as well as the detailed explanation on every dish by chef Lluis which made the meal more enjoyable that it already was. Thanks Razlan again for the lovely arrangement! Cheers!

Avg Spending: HKD 380 per person

Comilonas Private Kitchen (Hong Kong)
Flat 22, 1/F Yip Cheong Building
4-16 Hill Road, Sai WanHong Kong
Tel: +852 9863 2270
http://comilonas.biz/

檢視較大的地圖

Sassy's Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide for Guys

2011-12-21T08:44:00.002+08:00

Who said I just blog about food??? I recently got a chance to write for Sassy's Ultimate Christmas Gift Guide for Guys. For those unfamiliar with Sassy Hong Kong, it is a "the Hong Kong girl’s hub for original lifestyle content and honest opinion that covers this buzzing city top-to-bottom and supports a strong, real-life community of Sassy girls." Well, I think it is time to move beyond just the girl's perspective and explore the great potential of sassy guys in Hong Kong! (by definition, the word sassy is not exclusive for female, it can be applied to male as well! woohoo! right?) There are 2 parts to the Guide mentioned, you can check them out here: Part 1 << Me, Moi! & Part 2. Of course my XMAS wishlist includes cooking equipment and facial care as well!

Posto Pubblico (Hong Kong)

2011-12-16T20:02:00.001+08:00

Christmas is approaching and in such a festive season, all sorts of gatherings often filled the December calendar with endless meals. For some reasons, out of the so many festive holidays during the year, Christmas seems to be the only one that truly fill the air with love. Be it romantic love, friendship love, security love or unconditional love, it is the feeling of being loved that makes this holiday one most of us look forward to every year. At Posto Pubblico on a particular evening this December, their private dinner venue Posto Privato was filled with all sorts of love, including my love for good food! I have to admit, Mr. G from Posto Pubblico knows how to throw a good party!

Fellow foodies were invited for an early celebration of Christmas and we actually spent a lot time catching up among ourselves while munching on the snacks on the table that seemed to be calling your names and whispering, 'eat me please!.'

While busy eating, many of us were busy live streaming the happy moments via Twitter as well as Weibo! Say hi to Sina Weibo!

A picture is worth a thousand words and during this season of love, I will save you the energy to read my usual long writings and check out the images with minimal caption.

Not satisfied with just a plain homemade burrata? no worries, Burrata with Truffle was served as well!

Salad was not so exciting when compared with the next dish which was ...

... deep fried risotto ball! I actually had about 4 of them. The sauce was mildly flavored which was perfect to be served early during the meal before the heavier dishes arrive.

The Spiced Atlantic Cod was flavorful and mildy spicy (if that make sense). I guess as long as I can take it, it wasn't that spicy haha. The various spices used were quite clever and liked how they used pak choy as the side to balance off the heavy flavors.

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes were good enough on its own and ...

... the same applies to the sweet potatoes!

For those not into meat, Vegetarian Lasagna was served.

Almost forgot Ravioli Pubblico was served as well and it was quite filling indeed!

For meat lovers, here comes the Roasted Leg of Lamb (Rosemary of course)

A bit heavy on the rosemary especially the outer layer but I like rosemary so I was happy about it. Don't worry, there were gravy for those looking for a lighter flavors. While serving a whole roasted leg of lamb was visually stunning for diners, because of the size of the leg of lamb, the center of the leg was not evenly seasoned and requite the help of gravy. I suppose this is a problem not easily overcome in many cases.

Figs! Look how delicious they were! I felt bad eating two entire figs while others were looking the other way!

Sometimes we would leave a meal remembering little of the food we consumed because it was very ordinary, but sometimes ordinary food with great company yield a memorable experience. The evening at Posto Pubblico was a combination of both in my opinion. Great company with good food which with a little bit of booze yielded a night filled with laughters and love! While there were some rooms for improvement in terms of the food especially the seasoning aspect of some items, I think most who attended the dinner party would not disagree that we left with a big smile!! An early Merry Christmas to all of you!

"For Chang" Hot Pot 火井火鍋海鮮飯店 (Hong Kong)

2011-12-07T04:08:00.000+08:00

The sudden drop of the temperature recently not only increased my appetite for something hearty, it made me crave for something more! Right now all I can think of in my head at this hour is a bowl of instant noodles with a few slices of spam and one fried egg sunny side up. But the lazy side of me took over because it would take too much effort to make those at this late hour. The next thing that appeared in my mind is hot pot because all we need is a pot of boiling water or stock to be exact and some fresh raw ingredients. A good soup base is very important indeed for such a cuisine and recently I discovered a new personal favourite here at "For Chang" Hot Pot tucked somewhere inside the Western district.

Quality beef is often one of the most important items for any hotpot restaurant and "For Chang" certainly has no issue with this because their selection of beef more than satisfied my picky taste buds! Although full of marbles, the slices of beef retained the beefy flavors. Another item which is crucial for the survival of a hotpot restaurant has to be the soup base. We ordered the House Special and it was surprisingly addictive even though it looked like a pot of clear chicken broth with tons of various unrelated ingredients. The reality was that the soup was rather intense in terms of flavors with chicken feet, intestines, fried bean curds, tomatoes, fried pig's skin, celery and other common items like chili to enhance the already flavorful taste.

By adding more items like sweet corn or radishes to the soup during the meal, the soup gradually changed its flavors and became even more intense yet without overpowering the multi-layered flavors of the soup. Am I making it sound like very complicated? After all, it was just a big pot of soup with different items? Perhaps, but when you think about it, the sequence and what you put in there would result in a totally different soup at the end, you are creating a new flavors every step you make (or what others put in there as well). It was quite exciting to be honest and for this reason I enjoy hot pot not just during winter but whenever my stomach allows since I tend to over order in such occasions. Say hello to cold weather and give yourself an excuse to make your own soup! :)

Flavours Asia (iPad App) - Wine Pairing made Easy

2011-12-05T04:59:00.000+08:00

Wine pairing was never my thing but I have been learning, trying to pair different wines with different sort of food whenever possible. No, it is not an excuse to drink but part of a learning process. I think many would agree that Chinese food / wine pairing is difficult likely because of the wide range of flavors one would experience in one single meal. In many cases, quite a number of different types wines would be selected in one single Chinese meal to match the many individual dishes. Not an easy task for any sommelier in my opinion, not to mention for an average diner like myself with limited knowledge of wine. A new iPad app named Flavors Asia may be able to assist those trying to enjoy matching wines while having a Chinese or even other Southeast Asian cuisines. This newly launched iPad app developed by Estates and Wines, the Moët Hennessy Wine Division, attempts to provide a solution for wine lovers when having difficulties in pairing wines with Asian food. It is this very app that interested me in attending the event. Without making a fuzz about it, I am sure it is quite obvious that the suggested wines in the app are all from their own unique collection such as Cloudy Bay, Cape Mentelle and Chandon.

The iPad app is based on the hardcopy coffee table book of the same title, The Heavenly Wine Match with the Flavours of Asia. Unlike the hardcopy, the information in the App, including wines and individual dishes are updated regularly. User can find the suggested pairing using different filters such as ingredients, regional cuisines as well as flavours. Of course there would be brand stories for the different vineyards under their collection, what do you expect right???

In any case, this iPad can serve as a good reference and indication for the type of wines (and not necessarily a certain vintage) to go with the various common dishes such as sweet and sour pork, Peking duck and Bak Kut Teh. The user interface is quite intuitive but require a further refinement in the filtering section because the filter page popups by default and not very intuitive to user how to remove that (drag it down to the bottom). Right now there is about a total of 60 Asian dishes of different regional cuisines sorted by countries. Where better to host the launch / preview of the App in one of Asia's culinary capitals, Hong Kong! The event was held at Island Tang.

Island Tang Appetizer Delights paired with Chandon Brut & Terrazas Reserva Malbec. The appetizer consisted of roasted pork belly, deep fried salt & pepper frog legs, deep fried tofu and delicious thousand years eggs. What surprised me the most or should I say surprised most of us was how the Chandon paired very well with the Chandon. Perhaps it was the crisp nature of Chandon that balanced out the rather strong flavors of the thousand year eggs or the bubbly nature of the wine that helped to cleanse the palate for the next item. Either way, the lightness and bubbly nature of the Chandon was a good match with the appetizers compared with the Malbec.

Double-boiled Meat Ball with Hairy Crab in Chicken Bouillon paired with Cloudy Bay Point Gris. Yes, we paired sort of soup with wine and it was actually quite ... refreshing. For this serving, I was actually more interested in the Meat Ball with Hairy Crab because I didn't realize that until I had a deep bite into the meatball and tasted the fillings. The combination was very good, the soft tender meat was lighter in flavors until you had a deeper bite into the hairy crab fillings. Seems like a simple bouillon but I say a lot of work and thoughts have been put into it. Thumbs up!

Pan-fried Filler of spotted Garoupa with Premium Soy Sauce paired with Cloudy Bay Chardonnay. Quite a boring dish but thanks to the Chardonnay which was quite fruity on the nose but slightly smoky character to it. An easy to drink Chardonnay which I may purchase on a regularly basis perhaps.

Pan-fried Chicken Fillet Marinated with fermented bean Curd paired with Cloudy Bay Chardonnay (2008?) & Chandon Brut. Thinly sliced with richness of fermented bean curd flavors, this dish was my favorite on that evening. As for the pairing wine, the Chardonnay would be my pick because of the rather smoky character of the wine that matches quite well with the richness of the fermented bean curd.

Stewed de-boned Pig Trotter with Black Truffle Sauce paired with Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon (2006?). The item was quite pungent in terms of flavors, the richness of the stew requires something interesting to pair with especially it was quite a big flavor jump compared with the previous dishes. The selected Cabernet Sauvignon () , while fruity with obvious spices contained quite heavy acidity in my opinion. Not my favourite pairing but wines and flavors were never a subjective matter anyhow.

Braised Wagyu Short Rib with Onions, Peking Scallions and Spring Onions paired with Cape Mentelle Cabernet Sauvignon (2006). The Wagyu Short Rib was soft and close to melt in your mouth with the gluey texture all around.

Braised Goose Web with Abalone Sauce on Egg Noodles did not come with any recommended pairing, it was a test for us to decide what is the best! I picked the Cloudy Bay Chardonnay which surprising many agreed as well.

Chilled Mango Pudding was the dessert and it was paired with Cloudy Bay Late Harvest Riesling. It is treated as a dessert wine in many cases, while less sweet and thick as Sauternes, I think it can easily be a great yet more affordable alternative.

So have you mastered the skill of wine pairing? Sorry for such a lame joke right? It takes a lifetime of learning to master such a skill and with new breed of wines coming out every year, I am sure it is an adventure for any wine lover. If you think this very informative iPad app developed by Estates and Wines can be handy, try it out by downloading it <here> from iTunes, it is FREE by the way.

I did mention about there is a hardcopy book which the iPad App based on right?

Yeah, I have 4 to give away and if you are interested in wining one in addition to the iPad one (if you have an iPad that is), simply do the following 3 simple steps:

Download the Flavours Asia iPad App <here>
Find one spelling mistake anywhere in the App (Estates and Wines is going to freak out when they see my rules for this little competition haha)
Leave me a comment FIRST indicating you have found one, THEN email me at jason@jasonbonvivant.com with your answer to ensure priority.

Yes it is a first come first win scenario with no deadline. What if you do not own an iPad and you want to win this book? Simply try to do the following 3 simple steps.

Browse my blog and find three (3) spelling mistake anywhere in the blog. Quite easy don't worry! :)
Leave me a comment FIRST indicating you have found the three (3) spelling errors in my blog, THEN email me at jason@jasonbonvivant.com with your answer to ensure priority.

Have fun hunting!

TABLE FOR TWO (Hong Kong Chapter)

2011-11-17T00:37:00.001+08:00

It is not often that I talk about charity or charitable organization on my blog but recently I came across one that somewhat inspired me and made me devote this entire post on it. As a disclaimer, I am not officially being endorsed by this organization, it is just an upcoming charitable organization in Hong Kong which I came across and feel strongly that its objectives & missions are very relevant and quite important within the foodie community in Hong Kong and around the world as well. This charitable organization is called TABLE FOR TWO (TFT).

TABLE FOR TWO is a charitable organization originally originated from Japan with "a mission to address global food imbalance. With rising obesity levels and health problems in developed countries, and malnutrition in developing countries, [TFT's] mission is to simultaneously address these two opposing problems with a simple meal.

So how exactly does it work? Quoting from its website / materials: TFT partner with restaurants, corporate cafeterias, universities, to help create healthy (nutritionally balanced) TFT-branded meals. When a consumer chooses a TFT branded food item (or menu), approximately HKD2 is added to the price of the meal and is donated to feed a child a school meal in Africa and China. With international operations in the US, UK, Switzerland, India, Taiwan, South Korea, Italy and soon Hong Kong, TFT has sold over 10.1 million meals globally according to its website.

By providing a specially designed low calorie & nutritionally balanced meal, TFT wants diner to:

feel good and positive when they select a TABLE FOR TWO meal
feel personally more aware, connected and engaged with global food imbalance
feel part of a larger dining community in Hong Kong that eat well and give back

TABLE FOR TWO Hong Kong chapter is launching officially on the 25 November 2011 and according to them, more new participating restaurants will be added to the list very soon so please stay informed by joining one of the following digital media channels and watch out for those TFT-menus!

Website: http://www.tablefor2.org.hk/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tablefor2hk
Twitter: @tft_hk

Cantopop 港土茶記 (Hong Kong)

2011-10-31T01:15:00.000+08:00

Cantopop has been opened for quite some time and it got quite some attention in the media at the beginning thanks to its sustainable dining concept carried throughout its chain of restaurants such as Linguini Fini and Posto Pubblico. It is not until recently that I finally got a chance to visit Cantopop. It was by invitation (which nowadays seems to be a very popular thing amongst restaurants but I do have something to express on this point on a later post, so stay tuned) but my experience at Cantopop was a pleasant one with a few misses of course. I will explain why a bit later but one thing I have to say is that I admire and support their sustainable dining concept by sourcing locally and minimize food wastage by using all animal parts if possible, but the question is where to draw the line at times. I am spending quite some time to writeup this post because I think there is a need to, a need to express my opinion in all perspectives which may or may not be different from the general public or even fellow foodies.

Many will notice the sheer amount of negative reviews out there on Cantopop's food especially the often criticized Homemade Luncheon Meat and Homemade Char Siu (inspired by the commonly known BBQ Roast Pork in Hong Kong). Let's get the story straight here, at least to my humble knowledge. Cantopop is more or less a cross-over of two ideas / concepts, 1) sustainable dining in Hong Kong & 2) "Chinese tea café" aka cha chan tang. It is actually quite smart to link the two concepts, cha chan tang being a unique dining category in Hong Kong and setting up a restaurant under this theme by offering locally sourced ingredients sounds like a plan right? I certainly think so but it is for the same "linkage" that got itself the negative reviews out there. Comparisons are being made to the "finest details" with traditional cha chan tang, be it the food, the atmosphere and the greasiness of the food as well.

Take the Luncheon Meat for example, Cantopop make their own homemade luncheon meat using locally sources pork and tends to be very lean compared with ... ... . See, I almost made the same comparison with traditional canned luncheon meat used by many cha chan tang. Why are we comparing? Simply because they named it luncheon meat so we instinctively would compared with the canned version we are very familiar with. However, in my opinion, the so-called "homemade luncheon meat" by Cantopop is not luncheon meat, it is a sort of ham. If we treat this as a piece of homemade ham, would it result in a different valuation? It is an open question by the way. The same applies to their homemade sous-vide char siu (roast pork). Again, the problem here is the naming if you ask me, if they name it different, the response would be different. Obviously the way they are making their luncheon meat and char siu is greatly different from the so-called tradition method, can we still name them so and judge them accordingly? Maybe I am being ignorant here but why sous-vide cooking could be judged on its own category while homemade "ham" inspired by luncheon meat cannot?

This post is going to be more of a overview rather than an item by item review because I fell like doing it this way for a little change. For better or worst, it is up to you to decide but I do like a little change in style once in a while. I honestly like the homemade "ham" aka homemade luncheon meat be it the in the Homemade Luncheon Meat and egg sandwich or the Luncheon Meat and Egg Rice. Quite lean yet flavorful, did not overpower the flavors of the egg in both dishes. If you are looking for traditional "spam" which I am a great fan of, then better visit another store.

One of the featured items was their homemade soup which was made without MSG. Actually if you ask their staff or PR, one thing they do stress would be the fact that they DO NOT USE MSG in anything, hence the lighter flavors in all their dishes. It is a known fact their items are light in flavors or some may say under-seasoned. However you like to put it, they would say we don't use MSG.

Okay I get it, there is no MSG in any of the dishes but without the use of MSG does not mean dishes had to be light in flavors right? What happened to soy sauce? I am sure there are many locally produced soy sauce brand which they can use and make suitable dishes from it right? The objectives of no-MSG and health-focus do not need to be at the expense of flavors in my opinion. They just need a little twist on their menu I think.

One of my favorite dish of the night got to be the Luncheon Meat Egg Fu Yung which was basically a huge egg omelet with various ingredients in there. When having dinner at Cantopop, the sustainable dining concept might be kept in mind throughout the meal because there can be occasion whereby you want to complain about the texture of the lettuce or shrimps but once you recall how they sourced them locally you may phrase your concerns differently. Instead of asking why ... one may ask, how do you ensure consistency in food quality when you source almost everything locally?

I think by now you will notice from the images that many of the dishes have one thing in common, egg! Yes most if not many of the items we tried that night contained egg. Their egg is actually the so-called Musical Eggs which means the chickens listened to music throughout their life in the farm. You can actually find these type of eggs everything in Hong Kong but it seems Cantopop is proud to present it in more items than one can imagine. If you are an egg lover like me then you will be fine but if otherwise, pick something else perhaps. I think Cantopop tried very hard to push out as many relevant items as possible in order to fit within their sustainable dining concepts that some ingredients will be repeated a little too often. Then again, it is good to be focused right? Each to his own ...

One thing Cantopop differs from other Cha Chan Taeg, you can have Champagne here. Whether this is a good thing on a Monday night is totally a separate issue!

It was a rather complicated experience here at Cantopop, not that I don't like it, I do to a certain extend but I think they can work on the menu and present itself with its own identity and personality and not merely a reflection or shadow of Cha Chan Taeg. They can create their own category perhaps, a category that put more focus on the sustainable dining concept yet "sustaining" the ... food creativity (ie:: homemade items) without the need to let go out necessary flavors.

I do think it is worth at least a try if you are in doubt (especially from the many reviews out there) and BE YOUR OWN JUDGE! This brings me back to one of the most frequent asked question on my blog, why no ratings for my reviews? It is because I believe when it comes to food, the most important is what you, the actual diner, prefers; I am merely here to share my experiences in a factual way as best as I can for readers to decide. Of course I am entitled to my own opinion you may disagree as you please, I actually welcome your opinion as well, so feel free to drop me a note anytime!

Cantopop
UG/F, The L Place,
139 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
Tel: 28572608
http://www.canto-pop.com