Haku's Hat Trick

I was at Haku a few weeks ago to check out the new seasonal menu introduced by Chef Agustin Balbi. I ate at the restaurant a couple of times before (Meal #1 and #2) and enjoyed Chef Agustin’s unique cooking style with well-chosen ingredients, and I was curious to see how the restaurant and the dishes have evolved 12 months on since its opening at a cozy corner inside Harbour City shopping mall.

Brunch at a Corner Beer Joint

Hong Kong summer is not the perfect place nor perfect time to enjoy eating in the outdoors, but Blue Supreme at a quiet street corner in Sheung Wan (near Noho area) did make it somewhat more comfortable with its window-side table opening up to the street with plenty cool air blowing from the a/c unit behind. It’s a restaurant I heard good things about and always wanted to try, so we dropped by a few Sunday ago just when they began serving brunch menu on weekends.

Second Dimsum Lunch

The next day after our dinner at 102 House and subsequently a late night supper at a local joint (for bowls of comforting congees and a few street food dishes), we met up with Jimmy and Chef Xu again for more local food before we headed home, this time at the legendary White Swan Hotel by the Pearl River bank for a second dimsum lunch in as many days while travelling to this town.

Hidden Treasure in Foshan

We came all the way from Hong Kong to the town of Foshan just southwest of Guangzhou for the sole purpose of checking out “102 House”, the speakeasy restaurant by the passionate restauranteur-chef team of Jimmy Yao and Jing-ye Xu, which has been getting quite some raves from a few foodies in the know.

First Dimsum in Guangzhou

We swung by Foshan/Guangzhou for a quick overnight trip to meet up with our friend J who’s meeting the chef and owner of a private kitchen there (more on that later). But before the dinner, we had a great dimsum lunch at Mandarin Oriental Guangzhou, opened only in the last few years joining a long list of high-end hotels making its presence in this capital city in Guangdong Province, only 2 hours away via train from Hong Kong (commute time will be further cut in half once the direct high speed rail began service some time late this year or next).