Somewhere New

"This is so unlike the Jockey Club" was the comments everyone had when we ate at their new venue called Pinnacle, which opened only a couple of weeks ago. At its onset, the place looked more like a trendy nightclub when we were escorted up the elevators and through the bouncers (I mean the Maitre'd counter) at the door to our table.  

Off Menu at The Chairman

I don’t like pulling strings to make restaurant booking but this time I made an exception by reaching out to my friend DY for help. Some friends and we were organizing a Sunday lunch with the group at The Chairman so I wanted to see if DY could arrange for us a few off-menu or new items at his restaurant, now many considered to be serving some of the finest Cantonese dishes and most true to the traditions.

Staying in a Cozy Ryokan

I didn’t expect Kyushu would be this cold when I made the trip there a couple of weeks ago to kick off the year 2018, with a nasty mixture of rain and sleet coming down hard just as I cleared immigration and custom at Fukuoka and tried to make my way to the ryokan I was staying in. This time I was staying two nights at this lovely place called Zen Oyado Nishitei (いつも膳・お宿　西亭旅館), a bit off the beaten track (about a 10 minute walk from the nearest metro station).

Flying Dragon's Head

The other day a friend of ours passed us a giant wax gourd grown from her garden. Wax gourd, aka Togan in Japanese, is a common ingredient for dishes in the summer in both Chinese and Japanese cuisine (despite in Chinese it's literally known as Winter Melon, or 冬瓜). According to Chinese tradition, it's known for its cooling and detoxifying effect, and to counter the summer humidity.

My favorite new kitchen toy plus waffle recipe

I can confidently declare the Waffle Maker is my favorite new kitchen toy of the year. Ever since we got it as part of the cooking workshop we attended at a kitchen studio a few months ago, we have been using it quite regularly, mostly for breakfast but I also found it useful for a quick lunch sandwich too (so far my favorite was pulled pork sandwich)

Last Minute Omakase

A sudden craving for some nice sushi landed us in front of the counter at Sushi Ta-ke in Causeway Bay on a Sunday evening. We have been here a few times during lunch hours but never for dinner before, so we thought we should give it a shot given we were quite happy with our meals here previously.

On the record - one lousy night at the Gaddi's

We all had those kind of days when we just wanna muddle along, trying to get by til the next day and hope no damage's done, didn't we? Well, during a recent dinner visit to Gaddi's, we felt like the staff was having that kind of a day. Yes, I meant the entire team.

(Vegetarian) Cooking at home: Cauliflower au gratin

I was asked to do a recipe series for some vegetarian dishes for a local magazine recently. Given I am not a vegetarian myself, I found it a bit ironic but nonetheless I wanted to take this up as a challenge, to come up with something decent yet easy to make for fellow home cooks. At the end I made a 4-course dinner with salad, pasta, main and dessert which can be done within one hour if you prepare some steps in advance - at least that was the plan.