Canto x Chiuchow

I was a Ming Court Wanchai a couple of weeks for the special collaboration event featuring the dishes created by their Chef Tsang Chiu King and guest chef Cheung Yat Fung from Beijing's Michelin 3-starred Chao Shang Chao Restaurant. 

Drunken Fish

Been a while since I was staying in Macau so I am glad to eat my heart out while staying at Wynn Palace during the Michelin ceremony week. I arrived late morning right on time for lunch and they whooshed me to Wynn Macau where I met Chef Henry Zha ng and had a feast at his new-ish restaurant Drunken Fish.  

New Hokkien Place

New restaurant openings in this area were not common let alone a decent one, so Ming Pavilion came as a welcoming addition when they opened their doors inside Island Shangri-la. The restaurant specializes in Hokkien Cuisine from Fujian Province, surprisingly another rarity in local dining scene.

The New Two Star in Town

It’s somewhat an unplanned, “serendipity” moment when we got to eat at a restaurant the same day they were elevated to two Michelin stars. My whirlwind Macau stay in March (the first of the three trips I made to the town that month) concluded with dinner at The Huaiyang Garden at The Londoner. 

Silks House Taipei

We made a quick hop downstairs for dinner at Silks House on our first day in Taipei. I ate at all other dining outlets during my previous visit last year except this one so felt like I finally completed the full circle. 

Feng Wei Ju

My last visit to Feng Wei Ju was definitely before COVID, so I am glad to make it back during one of my recent Macau trips in March. A quick ride in the car get us from our hotel in Cotai to the restaurant in 20 minutes, located in the older part of Macau inside Starworld Hotel. I felt the décor didn’t change much since my last visit, with the casual vibe typical of just about any Chinese restaurant, but this time they set us up in one of their private room at the back so it’s kinda nice. 

Old School Classics

Few months ago I had a chance to check out Hong Kong Cuisine 1983 in Happy Valley and tried some of the exquisite Cantonese dishes by Chef Silas Li. Tugged away in the side street of the quiet Happy Valley neighborhood, the cozy restaurant up on the first floor in a commercial building does have a speakeasy feel to it with classy traditional decor. 

Half and Half

After seeing Chef Jayson’s post about the special Mushroom Feast menu they were having at his restaurant Man Ho, I asked whether we could have a customized version with only half the mushroom dishes on the menu and half something else. So a couple of weeks later, we came with some other friends for this “Half Mushroom Feast”. 

Big Group Gathering

Our CHF big group gathering went upscale this time with dinner at Wing. Our friend G was bemoaning how difficult it is still to get a table at this restaurant so we made plan months in advance to eat in one of their private rooms on a weeknight.

Museum and Museum-Inspired Dinner

I managed to check out a famous tourist attraction for the first time during my short stay in Taipei. The National Palace Museum is known for its extensive collection of artifacts from Beijing's Forbidden City from the Imperial era. This time, not only I got a chance to explore the museum with a guided tour, we got to try the special menu inspired by the museum collection afterwards. 

Fortune Meal

I wanted just one proper fine-dining meal in Shanghai but it's a challenge finding a place that can accommodate party of one. Fu 1015 on Yu Yuan Lu is one of those few that serves Tasting Menu in individual portion so I asked hotel concierge to help me book for one of the evenings. 

Surprise Dinner

Dinner at Ru in Tsuen Wan turned out to be one of the biggest surprises this first half of the year. I didn’t recall anything particularly remarkable in this side of town as far as fine-dining is concerned, so admittedly I was a bit hesitant about travelling this far out for dinner on a weeknight. But it turned out to be a very enjoyable experience.

Wing Dinner in May

I thought it was a perfect excuse to turn up at Wing to celebrate a few birthdays in the month of May, and to put icing on a cake, figuratively speaking, they put us in the private room and our friends graced us with a few fine bottles. 

Grand Finale

Wrapping up my 3-day Macau vacation in April was a sumptuous lunch at the revamped Golden Flower at Wynn Macau. The restaurant which used to be famous for its rendition of “Imperial Tan Cuisine” has taken a new direction since the young chef Zhang Zhicheng (a.k.a. “Little Chubby” 小胖) took over the helm a couple of years ago.  

Neighborhood Canto at a New Spot

A stroke of luck got us a table at Hop Sze Restaurant a few weeks ago. We haven’t visited the restaurant for a while now that a table at this neighborhood Canto eatery became one of the most sought after in town, and it’s our first since they expanded to this second shop in Tin Hau, which they called “Hop Sze Speakeasy” 合時小廚私房菜. (Here's our last visit 2 years ago)

Fine Old School

I am excited when my friend and birthday girl C managed to get a dinner booking at the legendary (and somewhat secretive) SBI Canteen a few weeks ago and asked us to join as part of the celebration. I haven't been back for more than a year so I was eager to try some of the signature dishes by Chef Tak which many considered as some of the finest in town based on traditional old-school recipes.   

Three Meals in Three Weeks

I happened to eat at Shanghai Fraternity Association on three different occasions in the month of April with three different group of friends. Tasked with sorting out the menu for each of the dinner, I managed to go through quite a number of dishes in this clubhouse restaurant known for classic Shanghainese cuisine even with a handful of new dishes (not new on the menu per se, but items that we haven't ordered here before)

Lunch at Forty-Five

I was glad to visit The Merchants, the new Shanghainese restaurant in Landmark, on a clear day. This new dining venue, called Forty Five and as part of the complex on top of Gloucester Tower some 45 levels high, offers the sweeping view of Central, harbor and the Kowloon skyline, either through the window in the dining area, or at the rooftop bar (to be called Cardinal Point) that will soon open. Even just for the view is a legitimate reason to pop by for a visit. 

Top Notch Home-style Meal

A few friends and I got together at Yong Fu a few weeks ago. It's one of those nights when we don't really have a preference of what dishes we wanted, so we left it to the restaurant's recommendation with a combination of new and old dishes. 

Dinner in Time Warp

Felt like walking into a time warp when we joined our friend KC for a dinner in an old-school restaurant inside one of the public housing estates. Choi Hung Estate may be better known as a popular hotspot for IG snapshot these days for its iconic rainbow colored facade (Choi Hung meant "rainbow" in Cantonese hence the design followed its namesake theme when it's first built in the 1960's) but this is also a tight-knitted community with 10000 or so residents completed with schools, markets, and shops for everyday needs.