Weekend Brunch at Grissini

I had a lovely weekend brunch recently at Grissini of Grand Hyatt when they invited me over at the newly renovated private room. There's no better time to visit on a perfect sunny day with sunshine beamed through the floor-to-ceiling window... felt like I was at Amalfi Coast with a glass of Aperol Spritz in hand. And I reckon the long table was just perfect for a cozy day time function with privacy.  

Regent Taipei Encore

“I felt I am right at home…,” this may be a little bit of overstatement as we were checking in to Regent Taipei at their top floor Tai Pan Lounge, but I did feel totally at ease to stay in the familiar ground when we spent a few days in Taipei in early April. I was there for a quick stay back in October during our whirlwind tour of Taiwan, but this time, two of us got to spend more time with this legendary hotel right in the busiest district in Taipei. 

Wing, A Few Months Ago

This is a throwback post to one of the meals we had at Wing in recent months. Chef Vicky never failed to wow us with some of the best executed Chinese dishes in town no matter what occasion we came here for, and this time there's no exception when we came with a couple of friends. 

The Perfect Repeat

I wasn’t planning to come to Tokyo in such quick succession but then when Chef Daniel suggested that I should come visit again during the Shanghainese hairy crab season after my meal in September and “you wouldn’t regret it,” I was like, sure, why not. And just as important was this time I came with the missus. Coming in for lunch this time and I found the dining room during day even more charming, with the mild sunlight beaming in from the window, and this time I got to sit at a table properly for the whole meal with our friends CXB and KC which happened to be in Tokyo and booked to eat there on the exact same day. 

Somewhere New

We picked Sushi Muto in Nihonbashi for lunch purely because they are one of the few sushi-ya that opened on Sundays and the location worked well for our tight itinerary (we made a reservation to go visit Shibuya Sky right after and need to be on time). And with the restaurant located in a commercial building right behind the famous Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store we managed to have a quick shopping session before we went up for our meal.

One Last Meal in Shenzhen

We started our dinner at Gem Garden slightly earlier than usual so we could catch our ride back to Hong Kong at reasonable hours. Spending a weekend in Shenzhen without a taste of Chinese food seems strange but we had a good time trying different things, but then we were glad we finished with something more traditional in our last meal. 

Weekend Brunch American Style

There’s definitely a modern American chophouse vibe at Stonesal, the Shenzhen restaurant we stopped by for lunch on the second day of my weekend trip. The 2-level structure on the ground level of a commercial building in Nanshan District featured a large meat aging room, a well-stocked centerpiece bar in the center of the dining area, a spacious patio with the perfect view of the park right outside, the open kitchen laced with state-of-the-art equipment, and a few private rooms carefully decorated in various themes… all of these spelt upscale and quiet luxurious, something I didn’t quite expect to see in our neighboring town up north. 

The Trip That Keeps On Giving

Another eye-opening meal awaited at Fumee not far away from where we stayed for the evening. Through door at the entrance on the side of the stone and wood façade inside the lower level of an office building in Nanshan District on the west side of Shenzhen, we were led into our seats at the long bar counter in front of the kitchen studio, where part chefs, part owners Janet and David and their teamwork and where culinary magic was created. With the natural style décor with dark wooden color theme, I felt like sitting in a modern hut in the forest but with a soft ocean breeze, well suited for the contemporary cooking style using ingredients from land and sea that Chef Janet specializes at.

First, Sushi

A decent Tabelog rating, open on Sundays and proximity to where I stayed... Sushi Kiyoshi (鮨 きよし) at Ginza's 7-chome fit the bill when I was looking for a place to eat on my first day in Tokyo during the work trip in September. Most importantly, it’s the place I managed to get a booking for the only free evening I got.

Mid Summer Sunday Brunch

We were surprised by how long the Sunday brunch was when we sat down at Grissini in August for their special menu celebrating the mid-summer Ferragosto Festival. We did try Chef Valerio Mandile's cooking a couple of times since he became Chef de Cuisine of this long standing Italian establishment at Grand Hyatt last year and enjoyed his food, and his Sunday brunch offering was equally impressive too. 

Finale "Matine" Brunch

We finished our summer Macau trip with brunch at Mesa at Grand Lisboa Palace in Cotai. I didn’t have a chance to visit the restaurant when I stayed at the hotel earlier this year, but this time I couldn’t resist checking out their Sunday “Matine” menu with generous spread of classic Portuguese brunch dishes. 

Guangzhou: High Speed Rail, Concert, MO, Michelin Cantonese and More

Worth the $100 billion in construction cost or not, the High Speed Rail did minimize much hassle for travelling from Hong Kong to nearby Chinese cities. Recently we spent a weekend in Guangzhou recently with our train ride taking slightly less than 2 hours from the city center of Hong Kong to the city center of Guangzhou (in the past a similar trip would have been twice as long with more stops in between)

Summer in Caprice

We went for lunch at Caprice in mid-July after realizing it’s been a few months since our last visit (back during Chinese New Year). There’s always something new to look forward to at the restaurant, with the menu changes constantly depending on seasonal ingredients and flavor. 

Latin American Crossover

I am thankful that Chef Agustin and the team opened the door for a few of us on a Sunday afternoon for a special lunch with guest chef Manu Buffara. There’s no lack of high-caliber chefs passing through town for crossover gig but this one caught my eye as Chef Manu has just been voted the Latin America’s Best Female Chef by the World’s 50 Best team, and I wasn’t sure if I will ever make it to her restaurant in Curitiba Brazil, some 18000 km away from home. 

Wing Dinner in May

I thought it was a perfect excuse to turn up at Wing to celebrate a few birthdays in the month of May, and to put icing on a cake, figuratively speaking, they put us in the private room and our friends graced us with a few fine bottles. 

Meal in Shenzhen

It did seem a bit over the top when I made a quick trip to Shenzhen in a Sunday afternoon to try out some food by Chef Ricardo Chaneton (of Mono), but then I was curious about this special menu in collaboration with Chef Miles Pundsack-Poe of Ensue Shenzhen only available during this one-night event. And it’s also my first trip to Mainland China in more than 3 years. 

Fine Old School

I am excited when my friend and birthday girl C managed to get a dinner booking at the legendary (and somewhat secretive) SBI Canteen a few weeks ago and asked us to join as part of the celebration. I haven't been back for more than a year so I was eager to try some of the signature dishes by Chef Tak which many considered as some of the finest in town based on traditional old-school recipes.   

The Standard Bearer

We realized it's been more than one full year since our last visit to VEA... don't know what happened and how time just flew by but we quickly made amend by making a booking to go one evening a couple of weeks ago. And we managed to catch up with Chef Vicky "in residence" in between his overseas trips. 

Best one without a star

We hop to Juxing Home (聚興家) a few MTR stops away in Mongkok for lunch on Sundays every now and then whenever we have a bigger group and want something slightly more than just a casual meal. While the place is often packed with customers at nights (it's also known as a popular late night hangout spot for chefs), during the day it's much quieter and hence more comfortable (with the food just as good)

North Point Private Kitchen

It's no secret that I enjoy the food at this no nonsense neighborhood eatery in North Point, whether that be for their Cantonese roast (including their exceptional roast goose) or other family style Chinese dishes. So one Sunday last month we booked out their private kitchen just across the street and check out their "tasting menu".