Ephernité

I just stumbled across Chef Vanessa Huang and her restaurant Ephernite on social media a few months ago, but that alone has convinced me to pay the restaurant a visit when we made a quick return to Taipei in late July, our second time this year. Given the restaurant only opens during dinner service, we went on the first night we arrived in town after settling down quickly at our hotel just a few hours before. 

Hidden Gem in Gangnam

My friend G introduced me to Summer who's a food and travel writer based in Seoul, and we met up at her restaurant Onyva in Gangnam District one night while I was in town for work. Many describes Gangham District lined with multi-level designer boutiques as "Beverly Hills" of Seoul, with the main throughfare Apgujeong bearing the nickname of "Rodeo Street". Onyva was located just one block behind the busiest section of the street, which turned nice and quiet at night when the shops are closed. 

dolos

“Wanna check out my new restaurant?” My friend Caleb mentioned this latest project of his a few months ago and asked me to come along for a dinner tasting when it’s finally open and ready in early June. The restaurant, called Dolos (representing the concrete blocks placed on the coast for protection), took up the space at a street corner PMQ, and as the name vaguely suggests, served a seafood-themed menu in a casual setting with Chef Sean leading a lean kitchen team. 

Big Group Gathering

We had dinner at Neighborhood just a couple of weeks ago with a big group of friends (thanks to our friend P who put this together rounding up the group and working with the chef for the menu). We were happy to be back even though Chef David was not around this time – after all it’s been a while since our last visit to the restaurant. 

Long Lunch Part 2: Clarence

I don’t think much of the term “Yaki-Frenchy” but this unique concept by Chef Olivier Elzer of combining Japanese yakitori and traditional French cuisine does bring something new to our dining scene at his restaurant Clarence. Didn’t get around to visit since the restaurant opened earlier this year until recently on my week off. 

Friendly Wanchai Bistro

We heard so many good words about this little neighborhood bistro called Jean May that we finally managed to get a dinner booking and went. The restaurant was quite a standout in this quieter side of Wanchai, located in the rows of street-side stalls with the welcoming menthol green facade and dark window panes channeling some Parisian vibes. 

Another New Opening

I managed to get a table at the new restaurant Vivant after running into owners Josh and Caleb one random evening a couple of weeks prior to their opening. What a pity their Cut Sando Bar concept didn’t quite work out when it has to be closed most of the time because of COVID restriction, but in its place is this new rustic bistro concept conveniently situated at the corner of Wellington and Lyndhurst Terrace right at the foot of the stone steps of Pottinger Street. 

Return to Roots

We were happy when we heard Chef Stephanie’s restaurant Roots was reopening in late March after a short hiatus, and we decided to pay her a visit on the first week of service resumption. Of course, a short break away from the kitchen is always good to refresh one’s mind but we are also conscious about this COVID crisis has been hitting everyone hard, especially those small businesses in town. 

Casual Bistro Brunch

We were determined not to make this little freezing rain ruined our weekend lunch plan, a rare occasion that we were able to be out and about eating at a proper restaurant. It’s been a long while since we were last at Louise – in fact if I remember correctly that’s only our second time and I felt like it’s a century ago.

New on the Block

We went on a mini eating spree on the October 1 long weekend, and to start, it’s Ami/Wood Ear at The Landmark, a new restaurant by the group which also owns Epure and Arbor, with the “unique fine bistronomie” concept as they called it. 

Late Dinner at Neighborhood

Let’s just say more often than not our dinners at Neighborhood ended up being eventful ones, whether that be the sheer amount of food served by Chef/Owner David or something else. And this time it’s a little bit of both when we came as a big group on one Friday evening in September. 

Bistro on West Side

"Why bother scrambling for a table at Batard when Bistro du Vin is just as good?" said a friend of mine on IG recently. Sour grapes as that might sound with a table at Batard now being the most sought-after in town (good luck trying!), but it's true that Bistro du Vin under the same group was not bad an alternative when all you want is a casual get-together for food and wine in a neighborhood bistro. 

Downstairs Then Upstairs

Margo turned out to be much cozier than I thought as I walked in through the trendy, grand-looking entrance on Ice House Street, especially when the few of us snuggled around one of the few small tables in the dining room. There were actually 2 difference F&B venues under the same roof, Margo which was branded as an "intimate brasserie-style European restaurant", and Kyle & Bain, with the name being a reference to the history of its address Ice House Street, a Martini-centric bar tugged on the mezzanine level upstairs, both of which we were invited to check out. 

Two Month Wait

Batard is arguably the local restaurant with the longest waiting list right now. When I contacted the place back in February (as soon as the dining restriction was lifted) trying to get a booking, I was told the only available timeslot within the foreseeable future was a random Monday in April. I am cool with that, but then at the same time thinking, “it’d better be real good”, with all the fuss and hoopla that I need to go through. 

More Wines Than Food

While we were still waiting for our turn to check out Batard in Sai Ying Pun, with their waiting list now extended to 3 months plus, we went to visit the wine bar by the same group on the other side of the harbor at K11 Musea a few Fridays ago.

Totally Off-Menu

“Everything you are having are not going to be in the menu” Chef David assured us as we began to look at the menu figuring out what we are getting at our lunch at Neighborhood one Friday afternoon. While the statement was not entirely accurate, it’s true that we did end up with most of the dishes that I haven’t tried before at this restaurant or anywhere else. 

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. 

Steak, Frites and Wines

It’s been a while since I returned to eat at AnOther Place, the speakeasy restaurant near Causeway Bay affiliated with Hip Cellar under the same roof, and where some of our wines were stored. The month of May saw another iteration of their operating model of this venture now in its 6th year, geared towards a simpler, more casual bisto-style menu for groups big and small. Of course, wines remained their focus, with the generous BYO policy allowing customers to enjoy their own wines freely with the dishes served. And I also like the view of the Hong Kong skyline on a nice day (and night) from the window of the cozy dining space. 

Everything Seafood

A few of us gathered at Neighborhood to eat, drink (and most important of all, chit-chat and gossip) recently. It's been a few months since my last visit so this time we were able to check out some new seasonal dishes that Chef David prepared for us.

Sunday at Frenchie

My wife gave me a strange look when we (with our nephew) walked into Frenchie at Covent Garden on a Sunday afternoon with absolutely no one inside. I have been raving about my solo dinner at the Frenchie Wine Bar, one of its sister restaurants in Paris, a few years back, so it seems odd that the place was empty when every restaurant on the block was filling with weekend brunch crowd in the busy neighborhood of Covent Garden.