Zest for Special Occasion

We picked one of the places we haven’t visited for a while on a night we celebrated a special day of ours. Last time I was at Zest was a few years ago not long after they first opened and before the pandemic times. 

Mistaken Identity

A case of mistaken identity brought us to Sushi Nakamoto for the second sushi dinner within the same week instead of the seasonal kaiseki menu I was dying to try at another place - at least we discovered this in the morning so averted the potential disaster or at least embarrassment of us showing up at different venues.

Second in a Row

I had a few sushi meals in the same month, but none better than the one at Sushi Shikon. The missus requested eating at this place as the official celebration dinner - same as what we did last year - so there it was for the second in a row. 

Quite Some Celebration

We count ourselves lucky to get a table to eat at Wing again just 6 months after our first meal at this contemporary Chinese restaurant by Chef Vicky. With its popularity and glowing reviews, trying to score a reservation has become almost like a competitive sport and a near impossible feat. 

Lifesaver

My complacency got me into a mini crisis when I found myself not able to get a table anywhere for our annual celebration meal - got no one to blame but myself for thinking no one's going out for dinner on a Friday night. Thank God my friend E came to rescue with a confirmed dinner booking at one of her restaurants at the last minute - it sure was a lifesaver, or at the very least, kept me out of the doghouse for the day. 

Birthday Treat

Coming here has always been a pleasure, even more so when we were here for a celebration of sorts a couple weeks back. We felt it’s long overdue for an occasional splurge at our favorite restaurant in town so we made our way to Caprice at the Four Seasons for dinner on a Friday evening. 

Hidden Gem

We came across this little Italian restaurant in a commercial building in Causeway Bay and decided to give it a shot for a dinner celebration. I love the simple interiors - modern, cozy with comfortable lighting with tables well scattered across, and the quiet ambiance well suited for the fine dining style of the place.

First of the Decade

Thought we would treat ourselves to a serious breakfast to kick-start the new year and decade. I have always wanted to try the morning menu at the new Somm at Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Central, so I made a booking to go check it out on January 1.

Night of Glamour

For the past few years, Michelin Gala Dinner has been one event that I am particularly excited about during the festive December. There's everything that makes this the perfect evening - the excitement, the drama, the glam, the chance to dress up, to mingle, to chit-chat and gossip, and of course, the wine and food that's served.

Ta Vie Celebration

"Pure, Simple, Seasonal" - what's written on the menu by Chef Hideaki Sato seems to have captured the true spirit of the dishes served at his restaurant Ta Vie. There were only a handful of Michelin-starred restaurants in town that I have yet tried, and I was eager to cross Ta Vie out of that list after hearing all the good comments from my foodie friends. And what's more appropriate than to go on a day of celebration with a special meal there?

First dinner of the year

What’s originally planned to be a small group dinner to buzz in the new year of 2019 turned out to be a dinner for 28 people spreading over 2 big tables on January 1 in a restaurant in Shau Kei Wan which we frequented. We came to Kam Tung Tai Restaurant regularly for some casual but well-cooked home-style dishes and were always delighted to share this with our friends, plus being in a much bigger group meant we could try more dishes that we normally would not be able to with just the two of us.

Whimsical Celebration

We were at Chef Uwe Opocensky’s namesake restaurant a few weeks ago for our annual celebration. The restaurant, called Uwe and opened slightly over a year ago, is the chef’s next big project since his days at Mandarin Oriental – and in between, a hugely successful casual dining chain Beef and Liberty in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Birthday Meal at a Steakhouse

After a few evenings of feasting in the past weeks in the month of birthday celebration, I decided to go for something simple on the actual day, and dinner at Porterhouse in Lan Kwai Fong seems to fit that criteria. They were running a new promotional menu called so I thought this is the perfect excuse to go check it out.

Celebration at VEA

I was surprised at how packed the dining room of VEA was when I walked in for my dinner reservation on a random Monday night, which was usually the quietest day of the week for restaurants. I have been back to the place a few times for drinks and snacks since my first visit when they opened a little more than two years ago but never sat down for their proper dinner menu since that time so I figured this is a good excuse to do that as part of our annual celebration.

Stars Gala

It's highly unusual that I made a second trip to Macau in less than a week (more on that on the post later this month), but then this is for a highly unusual event. Michelin is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in Hong Kong/Macau this year with a grand gala dinner as part of the annual announcement event, this year held in Macau's City of Dreams complex and I was invited to attend.

Three-Course Celebration

Still recovering from the long trip which ended just a couple of days before, I was not in particular mood for a lengthy meal to celebrate my own birthday. So I suggested to check out Arcane, a place that I thought it's good enough as a venue for special occasion yet not those 10-course degustation menu kind of place. And most importantly, it's a place that I have never been before (at least for a proper sit-down meal) I honestly don't know why as I have always been a fan of Chef Shane Osborn's cooking.

Celebration at Man Ho

I keep hearing great things about the food at Man Ho of JW Marriott at Pacific Place so we decided to check it out one evening to celebrate papa's birthday. And I solicited help from Chef Jayson Tang to set up the menu for us as I was interested in trying some of the signature and seasonal dishes by his team.

A Well-deserved Recognition

The week already went off to a good start when I attended the celebration dinner reception at Otto e Mezzo Bombana on Monday evening, when Chef Bombana shared the joy with us for winning the “Lifetime Achievement Award” given by the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants team this year.

Celebration of sorts

Wifey wanna do a birthday celebration of sort in May so we organized a mini-gathering with a few friends for a long weekend lunch at our favorite restaurant. It's actually only our first time sitting down for a proper meal at the private room of Caprice tucked away towards the end of the dining room, with a long table in the middle, window in the front facing the harbor with glass cabinet on both sides displaying some of the fine antique porcelain pieces. It's especially spacious for just the nine of us. (room can sit twelve comfortably)

The Pit-iful Smokehouse

Last week, I went for dinner with a very high expectation at a private barbecue kitchen inside an industrial building quite literally in the middle of nowhere on the island side as our group's pre-christmas celebration. Some friends of mine loved the turkey they made at a pop-up event during the thanksgiving weekend, and from the pictures on their Facebook page everything looked good and proper. Maybe after all these years Hong Kong finally got a legit "artisanal smokehouse" as the place claimed to be, or so I thought. Well sadly from what I have tried on that night I reckon it was quite a far-fetched statement, and it's more like another living proof that just by putting "artisanal" in your logo doesn't mean you are necessarily any good or know what you are doing.