The Strings

We stayed in the district of Shinagawa for our last Tokyo trip in November. While Ginza or Shinjuku were our usual choices as far as location is concerned, I wanted to give a shot to this IHG property called The Strings next to the train station. 

Provencal Seafood Lunch

A few Sundays ago we made a quick walk down Nathan Road after morning church service to eat at Rech at Intercontinental Hong Kong. We were here last year when it first opened and liked its menu and dishes which leaned towards seafood done in classic French way, and we were happy to check out their weekend brunch offered as prix-fixe menu with choices for each courses.

Hotel on the Lake

Whenever I am travelling alone, I usually am not particular about accommodations as long as it’s clean and safe but this time I made an exception and booked myself into the luxurious Intercontinental Hanoi, using some of the points I accrued under the hotel group’s loyalty program.

I originally hesitated in choosing this hotel because of its remote location, and I almost changed my mind at the last minute. The Westlake district, where the hotel’s located, is a bit further out from the downtown and where most of the sights (and more importantly, restaurants) are, but after reading the review from the trust-worthy The Points Guy who stayed and recommended the hotel, I stuck with the plan, and it’s only a quick taxi ride away once I got off at Hanoi International Airport late morning.

New age with the new Rech

We made our way to the other side of the harbor to have dinner at the new Rech by Alain Ducasse in Tsimshatsui on a Friday evening. The restaurant took over the space formerly occupied by Spoon, another dining outlet under the Alain Ducasse "empire", on the ground floor of Intercontinental Hong Kong. Well, I did bemoan the closure of Spoon for a little while – after all the place always has a special place in my heart as being the subject of my first blog post (wait, is that 10 years ago already?) – but I am also hopeful of this new concept of a casual, Parisian style seafood restaurant taking its place, suitably located by the harbor front with the most gorgeous view. Sometimes change is for the good.

True Sunday Brunch at Spoon

We were at InterContinental Hong Kong a couple weekends ago to check out the new Sunday lunch menu at Spoon by Alain Ducasse. It was a particularly lovely day to be seated in this elegant yet relaxing dining room while enjoying the breath-taking view of the Hong Kong skyline across the harbor under this sunny weather.

Canto Dinner with a View

After spending the whole Sunday afternoon at the spa upstairs at InterContinental Hong Kong, I guess it made sense to stay behind for a simple dinner at Yan Toh Heen, their award-winning Chinese restaurant in the basement, to wrap up the weekend. To be honest, it's been a long while since my last visit - if memories served me correctly the last time I was here the restaurant was still under renovation (like more than 2 years ago?) and definitely before they got the second Michelin star.

Spa Day on Valentine's Day

We are likely the last couple on earth that would do anything remotely special for Valentine's Day, but this year we decided to make an exception - just because we felt like it (okay I lied - it's more because I found a special deal online). Of course it helped that the day fell on a Sunday this year hence we could afford a day of rest and relaxation, so we went for a half-day spa treatment at InterContinental Hong Kong.

Harbourside Sunday Brunch

In Hong Kong, there's no shortage of hotels and restaurants offering "all-you-can-eat" buffet meals at almost every street corner and round the clock - from breakfast to lunch to afternoon tea to dinner, with some even having a late supper option for the night owls. Setting aside the debate of whether "buffet culture" may lead to food over-consumption and wastage, in reality there's always a market for it - some popular places were even booked out months in advance.

Personally I don't consider myself a particularly big fan of buffet meals, but I don't mind going every now and then, and on the first Sunday of August, I was at Intercontinental's Harbourside restaurant to check out their buffet brunch hosted by their marketing team, attended by a few old friends, and I met a few new ones too.

Sunday at the Spoon

Last weekend I was invited to try out the new Sunday brunch menu at Spoon at Intercontinental Hong Kong. I have to admit it's been a *long* while since I last set foot in this Michelin-starred outpost by Alain Ducasse - somehow it just slipped off our mind for no particular reason.

We were seated in the middle of the dining area, with gorgeous window view of the skyline behind us and most importantly, easy access to the buffet tables. We certainly picked the right day to enjoy an unobstructed view of the harbor in this perfect weather. I was told they did a little revamp of the Sunday brunch offering recently (hence this invitation for tasting). Now they have an even wider food selection and re-arranged the setup as well with the desserts no longer stationed behind the pastry kitchen but were brought back to the front.