Tea on a Boat

We could not have asked for a better week to enjoy the short cruise along Victoria Harbour on a remodeled Star Ferry with the legendary afternoon tea served by The Peninsula team.

Kuala Lumpur "Stay-cation"

It did feel like a stay-cation of sort when we spent a few nights at The Majestic in Kuala Lumpur as we slipped out of town for a quick getaway after Christmas - barring a few occasions when we went out to eat, we essentially stayed in most of the time and made full use of all the facilities in-house.

Authentic "Pun Choi" Experience

I cruised along the highway up to the township of Kam Tin near the border after receiving a late phone call from my friend A asking whether I am interested in a “Pun Choi” (盆菜) feast in the rural village in one evening. Just the other day I was telling my other friends that I would love to have an authentic Pun Choi experience some time, so I took this as God answering my prayers with this last-minute invitation.

The Midair Grand Finale

Getting a wake-up call at 4:30 in the morning was not something I particularly looked forward to, but the reason why I was up that early is. I concluded my 5 quick days in Myanmar with a bang by getting on a hot-air balloon on my last day in Bagan, just before I took the morning flight back to Yangon and then home the same evening. I have never been in a hot-air balloon before in my life, nor I saw one up close in person, and looking at those iconic pictures of the giant balloon flying over the pagodas in almost every guide book and travel site, I couldn’t think of a better place to do it for the first time than in this picturesque town.

Quick Thought on Expo Milano

Recently at his daily column on Apple Daily, a local Chinese newspaper, a lifestyle writer lamented the time "wasted" at the Expo Milano, questioning the purpose of the fair when all the knowledge can now be found online these days, saying that the Expo is "boring" and just like another "agricultural exhibition". Poor him, and I wonder whether he has given up on traveling altogether since the world can also be seen with a few clicks on Google Map as well. I couldn't help but rolling my eyes when I read the column.

Forty Dollars a Day

How much do you spend on food each day? Do most of you even consciously count? What would you do if you could spend only 40 Hong Kong Dollars a day on food?

Some friends and I were having this conversation one random day, and decided to experience this ourselves. For 3 days at our own choosing, we pledged to spend only HK$40 a day (equivalent to around US$5.2). "Why 40 Dollars?" you might ask. Well this is partly inspired by the Hungry for Change campaign organized by Justice Centre Hong Kong, a local NGO advocating for refugee welfare, and 40 dollars is daily food allowance provided to asylum seekers stranded in Hong Kong since they were not allowed to seek employment. (even worse when they were only provided $40 "worth" of food, not $40 in cash - so they don't even have a choice of what to eat)

Journey to Piedmont: The Land of Truffles and Wines

We have encountered the following conversation countless times in the past few months:

"So, heard you guys are heading to Italy soon. Where about are you going?"
"Oh, Piedmont" we replied.

Usually that would lead to an awkward silence. Even when we tried to explain that Piedmont is an area in Northern Italy close to Milan, many were still a bit confused at where exactly we were heading to, and why.

A Saturday Morning at Caprice... Kitchen

I was super excited (and felt privileged) to have the opportunity to spend some time with Chef Marike van Beurden - the pastry chef at Caprice - inside the kitchen of Four Seasons Hong Kong a few weeks back on a Saturday morning to learn about chocolates. We were given a crash course on chocolate making, then some tastings of different kinds of chocolates, and at the end, created a dessert using chocolates under the guidance of Chef Marike.

That morning we had a chance to taste and compare different kinds of chocolates produced by Cacao Barry, a 170-year-old French premium chocolatier. They source cocoa beans from well-selected farms around the world, and supplies its products to many top restaurants, including Caprice. Many of Chef Marike's fancy dessert creations which were on Caprice's menu were now made with Cacao Barry products.

iStockalypse Hong Kong

Have been slow in blogging this month because so many things are going on and now I can finally catch up on all those happenings. To begin, I took a week off from my regular work in early May to participate in the iStockalypse event in Hong Kong.

Cook "By Numbers" - Experience with Secret Ingredient

Recently I received a generous offer from the folks at Secret Ingredient to try out their products. In case you haven't heard of them, basically they are a company based in Hong Kong targeting those who love a home-cooked meal but either don't have the time nor the skill to make one themselves. Basically you order the dish online, and they deliver with all ingredients necessary with just the right portions to your home or office. All you need to do then is to follow the simple instructions, put everything in step by step in your own kitchen, and voila, you get a home-cooked meal done by yourself. Well, sort of. If you have played those "paint by numbers" kit growing up, it's basically a similar concept.

Selling at Island East Markets

C and I have been going to Island East Markets quite regularly since when it first started late last year - enjoying the many stalls selling artisan food products and fresh, seasonal and local produce, as well as many interesting events happening every Sunday right at our neighborhood.

The idea of setting up our own stall at the market came from casual conversations among ourselves and some friends, and came to materialize when the kind folks at Island East Markets (IEM) granted us stalls for 2 Sundays in October and our friend V, aka HKFashionGeek, of Sparks Studios agreed to share the stall with us. We figure it's more fun doing this with more people.

Day at the Four Seasons (Part 1) - Playing in the Pastry Kitchen

We were excited to have been invited to a behind-the-scene tour at Four Seasons' pastry kitchen in a Saturday morning recently. As much as I like to bake occasionally, I had no illusion that being a professional baker could be an easy job, let alone a fun one. Nonetheless I love checking out how a real kitchen works, and sometimes you do pick up a thing or two in the process that I found it useful when I cook at home.