Black and White

I returned to Restaurant Akrame for the second time this month and this time, for the special menu presented by their owner-chef Akrame Benallal and Philippe Orrico from On Dining/Upper Modern Bistro. It’s an interesting collaboration, combining the creative minds of the culinary teams from the two wonderful independent restaurants in town, which have steadily built up their reputation (and recognition from near and far)

Vegetarian for a Night

My friend D was perhaps one of the most authoritative voices in the vegetarianism movement in town, and knowing he's a regular at Seventh Son Restaurant, I suggested we went there for a meatless dinner when we tried to fix up a time and place to catch up. It's my first time coming to the restaurant at its current location since they moved a few blocks down in Wanchai a few months ago, now housed inside a business hotel in the midst of the bar district. Despite the "colorful" neighborhood, I actually prefer this new location with a more spacious setting and modernized décor.

Members-only Home-style Cantonese

You are unlikely going to see HKUAA Restaurant being listed as one of the best restaurants in town, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn't. In fact, I have always put them as one of those restaurants that are well-worth a detour despite not having a star, and from my few previous visits, the place never disappoints with solid and consistent execution of tried and true classic Cantonese dishes.

At a Hokkien Private Kitchen

When the maitre d’ knew exactly whom our table was booked under and showed me to the room upstairs without me saying a word, it’s almost like they were already expecting us as we walked in to this “random” restaurant in North Point, a private kitchen of sort specializing in Hokkien/Fujian cuisine. Later we came to realize that this restaurant only had 3 tables in private room setting and we were the only group of customers for the evening – that explained why.

Sunday Brunch at Akrame

We had the opportunity to check out the new Sunday brunch menu at the Michelin-starred restaurant Akrame in Wanchai a few weekends ago. I was here a few months ago when Chef Akrame Benallal flew in from Paris to launch the then-seasonal tasting menu, and this time, it’s his protégé Chef Lise at the helm, delivering a delightful 5-course menu on a hot, but nice Sunday afternoon.

Family Dinner Up High

Tin Lung Heen is the first place that came to mind when we went for a weeknight family dinner. It was more than one year since I was last here, for one of their special tasting menus at the private room, and I always wanted to come back to check out their a la carte menu. Plus it's conveniently located midway between our homes, so logistics-wise it worked out just fine for everyone.

Portuguese Wines and Cantonese Cuisine

We were perhaps the only table in the room who cared much more about the dishes to be served rather than the wines that were being poured and passed around at a recent dinner event at Kin’s Kitchen in Wanchai. We always wanted to go back to the restaurant for their old-school Cantonese dishes, and the dinner, with the theme of "Piggy Feast" featuring wines from a Portuguese vineyard held in late August, provided us the perfect excuse to eat together.

Bar within a Bar - Evening Drink at High Five Pop-up

Last Saturday a bunch of us made a booking to drink at the pop-up bar of the Tokyo-based Bar High Five, who is taking up temporary residence at MO Bar at Landmark Mandarin Oriental for 2 months (til end of October). You got to admit there's a certain charm about a classic Japanese bar – polished interior, excellent selection of liquors, well-dressed bartender, hand-carved ice, impeccably professional techniques and focus – okay at least that was my impression based on my embarrassingly limited knowledge on this subject.

Taste of Niigata

You know the end of summer is near when you saw sanma (Pacific saury) showing up on the seasonal menu of Japanese restaurants around town. While the fish - with its Japanese name meaning "autumn sword" - is still far away from its prime season in around October/November, we figured we should give it a try as we dropped by Ebi no Hige, a small restaurant in Causeway Bay specialized in the cuisine from the agriculture and seafood-rich Niigata (新潟) prefecture.

Classic Teppanyaki

A few Fridays ago I was having dinner at Hana Sakazuki, one of the old-school teppanyaki restauarants in Hong Kong. One might argue teppanyaki was not exactly the most "authentic" Japanese cuisine per se, but back in the old days, they are often the more popular ones, even more so than sushi or tempura or ramen which have taken all the limelight in recent times.