The heavenly St Regis Bali

Recently we were down at Bali for a long weekend. As we were planning for the trip, we thought long and hard to decide whether it's worth paying a bit more for a better hotel, after realizing how inhibitively expensive Bali travel package could get. At the end we figured since this is only our first vacation this year, we may as well splurge a bit more for some luxurious comfort, something we felt like we desperate need. Looking back, I think it's the money well spent as we had a great time at St Regis Bali.

Secret Supper at Secret Ingredient

The brilliant minds behind the gourmet food delivery service Secret Ingredient has began hosting private dinners at their Noho home base since 2 months ago. Only one table for 6-8 persons is available every Wednesday and Saturday, and Head Chef Jesse Teh offer a fixed menu for sharing across the table, with menu items change regularly.

I recently went to check it out, eager to find out what more Jesse can do after my somewhat satisfactory experience with my Secret Ingredient delivery at home a few weeks ago. "Hiking" up to the quiet neighborhood of Tai Ping Shan Street in Noho from the MTR station was quite a challenge after a long day at work but I made it right on time. The venue has simply a long table right outside the open kitchen area - which I think might be a bit tight for 8 people as they have advertised could fit but it's just nice and cozy for the 6 of us this time - at least we didn't feel like we need to snuggle.

A Guest Chef Encounter at Brasserie on the Eighth

I was at the dinner at Brasserie on the 8th at the Conrad Hotel a couple nights ago, featuring guest chef Stephane Gaborieau as he spent the week working behind the kitchen presenting some of the signature dishes from his restaurant, the Michelin one-starred Le Pergolese in Paris.

In Hong Kong, there's no shortage of visiting chefs coming to town for a short stint, but Chef Stephane's background and caliber still caught my interest, being an award-winning chef, a successful restaurateur and a published author of a few books on cooking. And he seems to be very friendly and approachable too, when he stopped by for a quick drink with us before the dinner began.

The Most Expensive Lunch at Sushi Shikon

We started our Dragon Boat Festival long weekend with a lunch at Sushi Shikon, for an overdue return visit to what we think is the best Japanese restaurant in town. It's almost 2 years ago since we last came before it officially opened, and this time we managed to convince 2 of our other friends to join us, assuring them a meal like this is an enlightening experience and well worth spending "a little more than usual". Okay, not just "a little"; in fact it's probably the most expensive lunch I have ever had.

Pilgrimage to the Tempura Temple

The Tokyo trip was put together at very short notice but at the end I got the job done (after all it's primarily a business trip), and as a bonus I was blessed with awesome weather and wonderful meals outside of work. How about that for killing two birds in one stone? I always try to fit in a tempura meal as I did in my previous stays, and this time I could finally make time for "Mikawa Zezankyo", one of the places often mentioned when people talked about top tempura restaurants in Tokyo.

Le French GourMay Tasting at Whisk

I have to admit - in the past I didn't consider Whisk at The Mira seriously when I looked for a fancy night out. True we have had good experiences at their Sunday brunch quite a few times (including once at the hotel's invitation - in the interest of full disclosure), but somehow that never transpired into the desire to come for dinner. Maybe subconsciously we just never bothered to cross to the "dark side" (a euphemism for Kowloon by us people living on the Island side) for a special occasion unless we must. So I was quite delighted when their PR team asked me to join their Le French GourMay tasting, since otherwise I probably would have never tried.