Neighborhood Canto at a New Spot

A stroke of luck got us a table at Hop Sze Restaurant a few weeks ago. We haven’t visited the restaurant for a while now that a table at this neighborhood Canto eatery became one of the most sought after in town, and it’s our first since they expanded to this second shop in Tin Hau, which they called “Hop Sze Speakeasy” 合時小廚私房菜. (Here's our last visit 2 years ago)

Dim Sum Lunch for 4

Late April marked the first time in 3 months that we could finally dine with 4 persons at the same table, and we decided to “celebrate” that with a weekend dim sum lunch at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants in town. We love the culinary transformation Chef Jayson and his team has done at Man Ho for the past few years, and they never failed to impress us even with a simple lunch get-together such as this. 

Neighborhood Shanghainese

Thought we would use the occasion of an early Chinese new year family reunion dinner to check out a new restaurant right in our hood. Jardin de Jade （蘇浙匯）at Cityplaza is the second branch of this nationwide chain of Shanghainese restaurant in Hong Kong, in addition to other one in Wanchai which got a Michelin star a few years back and has been keeping that rating since.

Fine Dining with Family and a Kid

There was a sense of uneasiness when my brother told us at the last minute that their original babysitting plan didn't pan out and they have to bring along our 3 year-old nephew Ethan to lunch with us at Caprice during the Chinese New Year long weekend. For those who don't know us well, we were usually the kind of people who frowned upon others for bringing small children to fine-dining establishments, so the thought of becoming one of them for an afternoon didn't sit all that well with us, even though we would love some quality time with my bro, sis-in-law and nephew as they only returned to Hong Kong for a short vacation.

Family Din Din at Golden Leaf

This time we didn't go far to have a casual din din with my folks (last time we went all the way up to Tuen Mun for seafood). Saw the credit card promotion offering discounts for restaurants at Conrad, and I realized we have never tried Golden Leaf - the Chinese restaurant at the hotel - for dinner previously, so thought it's a good idea to check it out.

(Vegetarian) Cooking at home: Cauliflower au gratin

I was asked to do a recipe series for some vegetarian dishes for a local magazine recently. Given I am not a vegetarian myself, I found it a bit ironic but nonetheless I wanted to take this up as a challenge, to come up with something decent yet easy to make for fellow home cooks. At the end I made a 4-course dinner with salad, pasta, main and dessert which can be done within one hour if you prepare some steps in advance - at least that was the plan.