Pre-Christmas Brunch

We never need any excuse to eat out any day, any time of the week, but we thought we would have our little pre-Christmas celebration over at the Sunday brunch at Landmark Mandarin Oriental in early December. I always enjoy the ambiance of MO Bar during the day, which felt like a little oasis right next to the busiest street in town and inside the busiest shopping mall, and even better was the Christmas decorations that’s already set up weeks ago bringing a sense of joyous mood.

Fun Hangout

A couple weeks ago I popped by Zuma to check out some of their new dishes after work. With the evenings now much cooled down as we approached winter, their outdoor terrace provided the perfect setting for a pre-meal drink before we sat down inside their dining area for a long meal prepared by their Chef Oscar Luzon de Arcos. Edamame was perhaps the bar snack of choice in every contemporary Japanese-inspired dining places but I particularly like this version here with drizzle of Amalfi lemon juice and shichimi pepper, bringing up a notch of the usual version. 

Peking Duck Special

I always consider the family of China Tang restaurants (which has a few branches around town) serves one of the best Peking Duck dishes in town, so it seems like a deal too good to pass up when we saw them running a special offer for their signature dish at 1/3 their usual price. Coronavirus special.

Touring Middle East 3: Petra by Day

The thought of having to walk twice the distance during the day as we did in the previous night didn’t sit too comfortably with me, but I guess I just had to forget the pain and sweat and made the hike up to the magnificent sights in Petra again. We began our journey at 8am in order to avoid the heat on mid-day as much as possible.

Touring Middle East 2: Petra By Night

We arrived at the town of Petra in the southern part of Jordan right before sunset after a 3-hour bus ride through the King’s Highway (an ancient road even mentioned in Numbers 21:22). While our official itinerary of Petra wouldn’t start until the next day, some of us decided to join the Petra By Night show after dinner at our hotel. Well, we have seen Petra in numerous photos and documentaries before (plus of course, the Indiana Jones movie which was shot there) but this is one of those places you just have to visit by yourselves to experience. If you haven't put this in your bucket list, you should.

Unfinished Mission

Coming back from a weekend trip from Thailand only recently doesn’t mean we couldn’t have more Thai food. A few weekends ago we went to check out the weekend brunch at Mak Mak and felt we have uncovered the best hidden gem in this part of town. Took both of us a while to find the restaurant, located at a corner of the luxurious Landmark shopping mall in Central. The façade looks just like a glorified Pret A Manger takeout stall, with ready-to-eat lunch boxes and drinks in the refrigerator shelf and a long open bar, but through the tucked-away entrance on the side, we were led to the dining area at the back.

Early Saturday Breakfast

I am probably one of the few in town who prefer the ambiance of MO Bar inside Landmark Mandarin Oriental during the day rather than at night. While most prefer hanging out at the trendy bar with the party-going, seen-and-be-seen crowd with DJ music in the background every evening from dusk til dawn, I actually like the quieter day-time setting, chilling and relaxing on the leather couches with mild sunshine beaming in through the window looking out to the busy Central streets.

A good take - CIAK in the Kitchen

Last Monday evening after attending our friend's new store opening in Central, we walked down the steep Wyndham Street thinking where we should go for a quick bite nearby. I then suddenly remembered this new restaurant in Landmark that we have yet tried, and I was surprised they actually got a table available even at last minute...

Asking too much? Evening at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon

We headed off to L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon at Landmark for dinner for only the second time (since it first opened). Well I know it's been awarded 3 stars in Michelin Guide, called the best in Asia by Miele etc etc, but our last visit a few years back was downright horrible in everything you can imagine that we just didn't bother to return afterwards. Well we had similar experiences with other restaurants in town in the beginning only to realize afterwards that those places have made significant improvement since then, so we decided to give it a second chance and hope it would prove ourselves wrong.