Easy Speakeasy Dinner

We were lucky to be given a sneak preview of dishes Chef Marco Livoti prepared for his upcoming popup at Test Kitchen at his lovely home/studio in Island South. The venue was perfect to run a cozy speakeasy/supper club, with the spacious show kitchen as the centerpiece with a long table which can seat 6 comfortably – location is meant to be a secret, so no address for you, but I love the view from the window overlooking the ocean.

PMQ Taste Kitchen Experience: After

"Will you do it again?" is the question I was asked most often after my brief stint at the PMQ Taste Kitchen was dusted and over. For the first few times I thought about that, feeling totally shattered after consecutive days of clocking 18 hours standing in the kitchen or running around, I was like… "no freaking way!" and I was just happy to play my old role of judging and criticizing chefs instead of being one.

PMQ Taste Kitchen Experience: During

"Service!"… midway through the PMQ Taste Kitchen pop-up event I was still getting used to the notion that someone would come to assist (almost) immediately in the kitchen once the dishes were plated and ready to serve - sometimes I wish it's like that at home. Rewinding a few days back, as the dates of the pop-up approached, I began to feel the pressure as the seats starting to fill up even before we posted the menu and other details online. At the same time, everything else appears to be on schedule - that gave me some sense of comfort until the "real fun" began (or all hell broke loose, depends on how you see it) when we opened for business.

PMQ Taste Kitchen Experience: Before

"Food is so good that you should open your own restaurant!" – any amateur cook who hosted dinner party at home must have heard compliments like this from time to time. While I believe in my case many of those comments were made only out of appreciation for the effort rather than merits, it does made me wonder what it is like working in a kitchen in a real restaurant other than my own home's. And that random thought, plus an unplanned meet-up and chat with my friends J and D one afternoon led to myself taking over a pop-up restaurant for a few days in May.

Eight Countries, Eight Restaurants Later...

One Star House Party seems to be a fascinating concept - a group of culinary professionals would travel around the world and host pop-up dinners drawing inspiration from local cuisines and ingredients, then moved on to another country/town and did the same, like a nomad with a purpose. They started in Hong Kong one year ago, and 12 months later, after various stops and numerous stories to tell, came back to town for a 5-week engagement to host another series of pop-up dinner, showcasing their favorite dish in 8 different countries they hosted dinner at.

Crossover at Test Kitchen

Test Kitchen is an admirable project founded by Vincent, providing an unique and exclusive culinary stage to link up visiting chefs and adventurous diners right in Hong Kong for a series of one-off dinner events regularly held. One particular event caught our eyes recently, featuring the cooking of Chef Victoria Eliasdóttir, an up-and-coming young chef from Dottir Restaurant in Berlin.