VEA-ry Impressive Dinner

There is always a constant stream of new restaurant openings throughout the year in Hong Kong, but to me, so far in 2015 there is none more exciting than this new place near Sheung Wan, which opened its door a couple of weeks ago.

This new restaurant, called VEA, is a collaboration project between Chef Vicky Cheng (formerly of Liberty Private Works) and mixologist/bartender Antonio Lai of The Quinary. I am a fan of Chef Vicky's creative cooking since his early LPW days so I am eager to find out his next move since he left the old venture early this year after over 4 years at the helm. And I came here for the dinner tasting during their soft opening period last week at the invitation of their PR.

Madame Pork

When my friend C mentioned we were going to lunch at "Madame Pork" on our second day in Shunde (順德), I had this mental image of a rustic, somewhat filthy roadside eatery with a fat lady with knife in one hand, cigarette in her mouth, whilst tending a pot of pork stew by the stove (don't ask me why). Not that I really mind street food, but you could imagine I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the restaurant and saw the grand, old Chinese-style entrance gate with a giant Christmas tree next to it, something resembles a high-end restaurant instead of what I had in mind originally.

And just when I thought "Madame Pork" might be a nickname for the restaurant, it's the actual name - they even have a large plaque with the name in Chinese "Jue Yuk Por" (豬肉婆) hung up high at the entrance so there's no mistake. 

Late Night Teppanyaki

We were looking for a place for post-concert supper when we "stumbled" across this little Japanese restaurant called "Kozy Okonomi-yaki Teppan-yaki" in Causeway Bay on Google search. A quick glance at the online reviews did look promising, so we trekked over across the harbor from the concert hall after the show ended at 10pm, figured it would be interesting to try out a new place for a quick late-night treat.

From Spain to Vietnam

I was intrigued when I saw the press release about an upcoming dinner event featuring a collaboration between two relatively new casual restaurants in town, La Paloma in Sai Ying Pun and Viet Kitchen in Central. A special menu will be available for 2 nights only - one at each restaurant - in the last week of November, with the joint effort to blend the food and cooking of Spanish and Vietnamese cuisine for a series of unique dishes.

Lunch at the Village of Fish and Rice

We put on our travel backpacks for the second consecutive weekend in early November and headed out for a short break to Shunde (順德), a small town in Guangdong province just north of our border, about 2 hours away by speed ferry.

Locals have long referred Shunde as a "village of fish and rice" (魚米之鄉) - for its abundant produce from its fertile land at the Pearl River Delta region. And people from Shunde were known to have exquisite taste and cooking skills, and arguably, their dishes represented the best of Cantonese cuisine.

Hipster Sunday Brunch at Artichoke

A few friends have separately recommended Artichoke as the place to go for Sunday brunch in Singapore so we decided to give it a try while on a quick weekend holiday there recently. There are quite a number of small cafes and restaurants serving brunch-style food in town but we were told Artichoke does something different, and better than most.

Oops I did it again - Massimo Bottura Dinner Encore

The feeling of serendipity of sorts hit when I saw the press release 2 months ago about Chef Massimo Bottura being the guest chef at Shangri-la Singapore in late October, on the very weekend we happened to be in town to watch a tennis tournament. I couldn't quite believe such a stroke of luck hitting us twice - only a few months ago another coincidence led me to an unforgettable meal at another pop-up dinner hosted by Chef Massimo in Milan.

The October event was part of the Shangri-la hotel chain's "International Festival of Gastronomy" campaign, featuring 8 different chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants each offer a special menu at five of the hotel properties around the globe. Despite the initial sticker shock - let's just say it's not something we would normally be willing to pay for one meal - we confirmed the reservation as soon as it became available, as I figured an encore for a great meal without having to fly half the world is an opportunity too hard to miss.

HCMC Foodie Trip: The One with Banh Mi

One of my regrets of not spending more time in Ho Chi Minh City was not being able to try out all the wonderful street food in town - well, I guess there's never enough time since on every block at every corner you see people cooking and eating, day or night.

But rather than lamenting on the food that I didn't have time for, I would rather look back at the delicious stuff I was able to try during my short stay, and on top of my list would probably be Banh Mi.

Labor Union Snake Feast

Last week we showed up at a rather unusual place - a commercial building in Kwun Tong in a makeshift dining hall - for a dinner event commonly known by locals as "labor union snake feast", something uniquely Hong Kong and with deep connection in our grassroot culture.

Tosca's Wine Lunch

I have always wanted to check out the wine lunch series at Tosca at The Ritz Carlton Hong Kong, where every month a new theme was introduced for their weekend menu with specific wine and food pairings, whether that be based on a specific region, or grape varietal or sometimes even production method (they did one with biodynamic wines before)