Castellana

We had dinner at Castellana in Central a couple of weeks ago right before the Lunar New Year long holiday. The restaurant has gone through quite some changes since our last visit a few years back, now at the new venue in Central and a new chef on board, but they remained uncompromisingly Piedmontese, serving the contemporary style of cuisine from the region known for white truffles and Barolo wines, among many other ingredients and produce from the province in Northern Italy. 

Boxing Day Lunch

Sometimes going to the same restaurant within a short span meant one gotta end up with some repeated dishes, but “no problem” at The Chairman this time when I went back for lunch 2 weeks after another dinner there. With the new menu system we were able to pick from a list of dishes so I was able to choose something different (mostly) and still got some of their signatures. 

Aulis Pop Up

“Chef Oli in town, special menu, wanna go?” My friend V pinged me about the recent special event at Aulis/Roganic Hong Kong hosted by Chef Oli Marlow coming in from the UK for a short visit. And we were able to snap up the seats on a Saturday evening just before the 10-night-only event was sold out within days.  

Getting My Own

“I got the booking on my own!” is probably not something people would brag about but it’s my first time being able to secure a table in this ultra-popular restaurant CHAAT inside Rosewood through their website instead of tagging along someone’s booking or got invited to one of their dinner tastings as I did previously. People who tried to make a reservation there would understand the sense of achievement. 

Sushi Night in Fukuoka

We spent most of our time in Fukuoka exploring the casual food scene but we did have a more serious sushi meal one evening at a restaurant called Sushi Kuma. 

Two Point Zero

"Wanna join us at dinner at The Chairman?" when my friend F offered me one of the prized seats for a meal at the most sought-after restaurant in town, I didn't hesitate to say yes even though that meant having two serious meals back-to-back on the same day.

Middle of the Latin American Series

“We were in a roll for Latin American cooking,” I jokingly told Chef Marco at the new restaurant Rosita when we visited one December evening. With lunch at Ando just the day before and dinner at Mono a few days later, we squeezed in one dinner just in between at this new restaurant specializing in contemporary Latin American cuisine, and one happened to be the brainchild of Chef Agustin from Ando and Chef Ricardo from Mono. 

Mono Before Christmas

We had another outstanding meal at Mono a few weeks ago. Realizing it’s been a while since our last visit we made an effort to go one more time before the turn of the year, and we were glad we did just that. 

Dinner At An Old Pawn Shop

The historical site of Woo Cheong Pawn Shop on Wanchai's Johnston Road has gone through iterations of changes, with the western, contemporary restaurant The Pawn made way to the modern Chinese Woo Cheong Tea House in late 2021. 

Wing with Friends

At our recent dinner at Wing with a few friends before Christmas, I was blown away by the number of new dishes that Chef Vicky brought to the table and the way he managed to seek improvements on some of the already excellent dishes in his repertoire.  

Post-COVID Getaway

It was a wise choice in retrospect to have picked Kyushu as our first vacation destination post-COVID. The short flight from Hong Kong to Fukuoka and the proximity between the airport and downtown meant we could fully spend more time on the ground during our 5-day holiday, and so we booked our air ticket as soon as the news broke about the lifting of travel restrictions, then there’s a long 3 months wait before we actually took off at the end of November.