Chicken Lunch

I have not been back to Yardbird for years – not since they moved from their original location up near Soho to their much expanded space in Sheung Wan. Not that we didn’t like their food but waiting for 60 minutes plus for a table have never been our thing and there’s always choices elsewhere, but with them now accepting reservations in advance, we didn’t hesitate to make one to eat there this past weekend. 

A Postponed Lunch

Our lunch at Caprice originally scheduled for early December got pushed back til mid-January due to unforeseen circumstances, and that also meant our party of 6 need to be seated across 3 separate tables with the prevalent dining rule. But what didn’t change was the top-notch food and service that the restaurant team consistently delivered. 

Ravishing Char Siu and an Unusual Pairing Idea

A box of wines arrived at our doorstep a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of Toasst, a new business venture based on the wine club concept co-founded by my friend A just over a year ago. Most of the time I do have a good idea what kind of wines I would like to get, but I did find this wine subscription model interesting as a supplement to my usual collection. There are always those odd bottles – either from an obscure region or made using a rarer grape varietal or both – that one often overlooked, or there’s time you wanna be more adventurous. That’s when these bottles sent from companies like Toasst would come in handy as they focused on some unusual choices. 

First Star of 2021

It just so happened Arbor was the first starred restaurant we visited in 2021 – a few weeks ago we went online to check the earliest availability for a table at the restaurant and January 2 it was, fell conveniently in the first weekend of the year. And of course with the dining restriction still in place the booking for 4 people became 2 adjacent tables separated by a partition – they already did the best they could to make us feel like sitting together. 

Early Dinner in a Chalet

Call this either a late lunch or early dinner, we made a booking to eat at Chesa at 3pm just as we checked out from our room at The Peninsula. The ambience of the cozy dining area, hidden in one side of the floor just above the lobby and resembled a Swiss chalet completed with dark wooden furniture, dim lighting and traditional wall décor, has always been my favorite part and it did feel like we were transposed to another part of the world once stepped in. Barring the rowdy family who sat right next to us with the parents treating the restaurant like their own (dysfunctional) home with lots of screaming and running around, it was actually quite nice. 

In-Room Michelin

We were not going to let the dine-in restriction deprive us the enjoyment of a proper dinner while staycationing at The Pen, so we went for the room service from Spring Moon downstairs. With our suite that came with a separate dining area and a long dining table, we found that almost as good as a proper sit-down meal but in the comfort of the posh, private space. 

Staycation at The Pen

With no travel plan in sight in foreseeable future, we thought we would wrap up 2020 with another weekend “away” at The Peninsula known for its timeless grandeur. And there's no better time to stay-cation at this legendary property than in December, for they arguably have one of the best festive decorations in town during the Christmas season. 

Long Lunch on Boxing Day

At our last outing to Ando a few months ago I did tell myself we needed to go back soon when dinner service was resumed (we went on the first week the government banned all dine-in after 6pm) Turned out 5 months on we were back to square one in terms of dinner lockdown, but at least we did make it back to Chef Agustin’s restaurant for another meal on the Boxing Day. Call this part of our holiday celebrations with friends. 

Morning Hotel Dim-Sum

When lunch became the "new dinner" and the most important meal of the day, I guess breakfast is now the "new lunch". One Harbour Road at Grand Hyatt is one of those restaurants now with an extended opening hour from early morning on, so we dropped by one weekend for a leisurely breakfast.

A Little Bit Of This, A Little Bit Of That

We decided to host an ad hoc pre-Christmas dinner at our place with just a couple of days to prepare in advance, so we thought it’s a better idea to do a combination of takeaway dishes plus a few simple ones done at home so we have enough food on the table to feed six of us with much less hassle.