Chef's Table at Sea

During the 3 nights aboard Spectrum of the Seas during the cruise trip “to nowhere”, we did manage to check out a few restaurants inside the ship. And the most impressive of all was the evening spent at “Chef’s Table”, which is offered as one of their “premium dining option” (which meant we need to pay extra to eat there).

Italian Hospitality

Two weeks ago I was invited to the “unofficial” opening night of Casa Certa, the new office/warehouse/showroom of the Italian food and wine purveyor Certa. Over the years (for the common love of food and wine) I became friends with Certa’s founder Keti and got to enjoy many of the fine products they carry either in the restaurants or at home (wines, oils and vinegars, in particular), and while they may not be a household name to most, they have been supplying to some of the top Italian chefs and restaurants in town and had an online shop for occasional home cooks like myself. 

Half Year Celebration

"Name one restaurant in town that you think is truly exceptional and worth a special journey" - every now and then I have such curve-ball questions being thrown my way. While I do have not one but a few in my pocket and the list does change from time to time, Chef Vicky Cheng's VEA has always been among the top that came to mind. I have never had a bad meal there and every time I was blown away by his solid execution and innovative interpretation using traditional Chinese ingredients and cooking style. 

The Perfect Celebration

We rarely contacted chefs specifically before any visit to their restaurants, not wanting to give them a wrong impression that we were expecting special treatments, but this time I did tell Chef Fabrice a month ago about our plan to eat at his restaurant in Macau, and made a special request to eat inside the kitchen. Blame that on the missus who asked for the "Chef’s Table" to celebrate her birthday.

The Most Exciting Restaurant Opening

There are every reason to be excited about the opening of Aulis at the turn of the year. Chef Simon Rogan is considered one of the greatest British chef of our time, and with a few Michelin-starred restaurants under his belt, has decided to open a couple new restaurants in Hong Kong as his first overseas venture, with Aulis opening in January quickly followed by a more casual eatery Roganic the next month.

Sneak Preview from the Kitchen

As our friend Fabrice is ready for his new post heading The Tasting Room in Macau after moving on from Caprice, we want to pay him a visit just to catch up, and CYY’s birthday in mid-May gave us the perfect excuse to spend a weekend in town as part of the celebration. So I let him know of our plan in advance and check whether the restaurant would be open then after being closed for the past few months for a makeover.

Tin Anniversary, or we call it an annual gourmet celebration

Just when I was plotting where we go to celebrate our wedding anniversary in early December, I remembered Chef Fabrice of Caprice mentioned the upcoming chef's table behind the kitchen when I visited the restaurant a few months ago.