Chef Tam's Late Supper (and More)

I think the "Siu Yeah" supper hosted by Chef Tam at Wynn Palace has become the unofficial after-party at the Michelin ceremony. I was lucky enough to join a few of those previously which were nothing short of spectacular, but this year was extra special as Chef Tam's restaurant at Wynn Palace, Chef Tam's Seasons, has just been awarded the second star for the first time this year - so there are more excuses for a grand celebration, as if we needed one for an evening of fun and food and drinks. 

Off Menu Unplugged

There are a few things I seldom said no to, one of which is when chefs invited you over for an off-menu party to their restaurants. Chef Ricardo was celebrating the 2nd Anniversary of their restaurant Mono and he and his team prepared a special menu for a few of us with new dishes that he specifically prepared just for an evening of fun and eye-opening dining experience. 

Late Dinner at Neighborhood

Let’s just say more often than not our dinners at Neighborhood ended up being eventful ones, whether that be the sheer amount of food served by Chef/Owner David or something else. And this time it’s a little bit of both when we came as a big group on one Friday evening in September. 

Middle East Inspired Recipes

Our trip to Jordan and Israel a few months ago didn’t turn us into a fan of falafels but we did enjoy a few new dishes and food ingredients while we were there, and I decided to do a Middle East-inspired menu during our Christmas and New Year celebration at home. And since I realized I haven’t done a recipe post for a while so I am going to share what I did for my main course.

A Well-deserved Recognition

The week already went off to a good start when I attended the celebration dinner reception at Otto e Mezzo Bombana on Monday evening, when Chef Bombana shared the joy with us for winning the “Lifetime Achievement Award” given by the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants team this year.

Celebration of sorts

Wifey wanna do a birthday celebration of sort in May so we organized a mini-gathering with a few friends for a long weekend lunch at our favorite restaurant. It's actually only our first time sitting down for a proper meal at the private room of Caprice tucked away towards the end of the dining room, with a long table in the middle, window in the front facing the harbor with glass cabinet on both sides displaying some of the fine antique porcelain pieces. It's especially spacious for just the nine of us. (room can sit twelve comfortably)

Chasing the Roast Goose

There's no food as iconic in our culture as "siu mei" (燒味), the traditional Cantonese roast, and it's one of those dishes that transcends all boundaries. From an unassuming box of char siu (barbecued pork) served with hot steamed rice and dressed with soy sauce, one could be had for as low as 20 Hong Kong dollars at a casual cha chaan teng, to the whole roast suckling pig brought in to each table with much fanfare at the most luxurious wedding banquet at a hotel ballroom, siu mei is enjoyed by locals of all generations and walks of life. And anyone new to town should be aware that raising the topic of where to find the best siu yuk (roast pork with crispy skin) among a group of Hongkongers should by all means be avoided, if you don't want to get caught in a heated discussion, as everyone here seems to have their own opinions of their favorite place.

Be full and drunk

There's an old Cantonese saying "Eat, drink and be full and drunk" (飲飽食醉) which we often used to describe a perfect meal. Of course, there's some merit to that - after all we belong to a culture which treats feasting as the most important social activity, and how can one be completely satisfied if there's no sufficient food or drink on the table for everyone? But then, it seems to be too easy if all we needed were a full stomach and a light-headed mind - even a few bowls of plain rice and a bottle of cheap vodka would have done the job. So what constitutes a perfect meal?

Belated holiday recipe: Pecan Pie

With a Christmas Eve dinner to host at home and another party at a friend's place a few days later, I decided to bake a couple of pies for dessert, something I could prepare in advance. While many associated Christmas with panatone or stollen, it's more an American tradition (especially those from down south) to have pecan pie as part of the celebration meal (more so for Thanksgiving but also for Christmas too)

Red Friday - The Butchers Club

It's been an annoyingly rainy week but my Friday dinner was what I have been looking forward to. We had a group gathering at an industrial building in Aberdeen in the evening to try out The Butchers Club - a new, no-frill meat shop cum private kitchen. The guy behind the venture was the founder of Pacific Gourmet - first of its kind fine meat purveyor in Hong Kong and with The Butchers Club, he went one step further in specializing in dry aging - the tricky process of leaving the meat in specific temperature and humidity for a long period that brought out the natural flavors and tenderization of the meat. Well, a few restaurants in town have been offering dry-aged meat on the menu, so were some upscale meat shop which imported them in, but The Butchers Club was apparently the first to have its own aging facilities in such a large scale for its retail customers.

Barbecue Galore

I never quite buy the notion that one can fully appreciate food without sharing the passion of preparing them at the same time. And hanging out with people who appreciate food and sharing the passion of preparing them (and being very good at this) brought great pleasure far beyond any delicious dishes on the table can give. I am glad to have such an occasion at a Hong Kong-style barbecue one evening at my friend's place this past weekend.

Winter Wonderland

I feel like walking into the Platform Nine and Three-Quarters as I was being led into The Chopsticks, "the restaurant that guests never see" at the Mandarin Oriental. I was invited by my gracious friend at MO to join their Christmas Media Party held at their staff canteen aka The Chopsticks this year, and of course, seeing this as a cool opportunity to step into a place not usually open to the public and me being curious to see what's behind the scene at this well-run hotel, I simply cannot refuse such an invitation.