le pain grillé: agnes b.'s first café opens in HK next Monday!

The hoarding around the ground floor space below the agnes. b travel concept shop on Leighton Street for agnes b.'s first café, le pain grillé, has been up for a while now. Thus, I've been eagerly anticipating its opening. I had expressed my excitement to WW, their marketing manager. So when I got WW's email inviting friends for a tasting in exchange for feedback, I jumped at the chance.

I just got back from the lunch tasting and had a great time. I don't want to give a full-on review here (since they're still in tweaking mode), but suffice it to say, I'm very excited that I will have a new lunch spot as of next Monday, 1 October, when le pain grillé officially opens to the public. The menu is right up my alley and fills a void in Causeway Bay for a restaurant of high quality, authentic French comfort food at a mid-point price range in a very comfortable environment. A 2-course set with coffee/tea will be HK$130. Considering that the magret de canard, the chicken are all from France (even the floor tiles were air freighted from France!), it is very good value for money. But what I'm most excited about is the appearance of sweet and savoury crèpes (with a choice of buckwheat no less!) on the menu, definitely a rare find in HK. DY, the managing director of agnes b. in the region, was on hand to chat with tasters and it turns out that he is the one behind the conception of agnes b.'s more lifestyle-oriented outlets. That's why Hong Kong has so many of agnes b.'s firsts. Looking ahead, they plan to open another café in Causeway Bay (part of their soon-to-open men's shop) and Festival Walk.

agnes b. le pain grillé -- shop 1, G/F, 111 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay; T: +852 2577 2718. Opens 1 October 2006 for lunch, afternoon tea and dinner (still awaiting alcohol license though).

For New Yorkers: This Friday's Project by Project 8th Annual Food & Wine Tasting Benefit for Asian Cinevision

Can't believe I forgot to post about Project by Project (a group of social entrepreneurs that works to raise money to benefit the Asian-American community) earlier, especially since we sponsored a couple sets of Little Cream Book for their silent auction as well as copies of Goodwill for their celebrity goodie bags.

Anyhow, Project by Project's Food & Wine Tasting Benefit is tomorrow night (Friday, 29 September 2006) from 7-10pm at Copacabana (560 West 34th Street). Tickets are US$200 at the door (VIP tickets including entry to the VIP reception from 6-7pm are US$300 at the door). Proceeds from the event benefit Asian CineVision.

There will be celebrity sous chefs cooking with the chefs and team from participating restaurants. One celebrity sous chef, in particular, caught my eye: Georgia Lee, director of Red Doors, winning-film at the Tribeca Film Festival 2005. CT had sent out an email inviting his friends and family to join him at the film's opening screening and party in San Francisco last Friday. Alas, I was not in San Francisco, but it sounded like a blast. Wish I could see the film too. It would be cool if I could buy it off of iTunes.

If you can, please go and help Project by Project raise lots of money for Asian CineVision (to benefit Asian-American filmmakers) by bidding lots and lots of money on our Little Cream Book sets as well as other cool items such as round-trip JFK-HKG business class tickets on CX, Sony PSP, Armani Exchange Moto Jacket!!

Dream Enterprises, Good Enterprises

Funny how themes of entries these past few days have kind of flowed from one to the next. Following on from yesterday's "follow-you-dreams" theme, I had the pleasure of attending a dinner talk by fellow Bryn Mawr alum Claudia Shaw d'Auriol and Delicious co-author Dominica Yang. Not only do I love a good follow-your-passion story, I am also a sucker for do-good stories (like buying copies of Marisa Acocella Marchetto's Cyber Vixen the other day when I read about it in daily candy; part of the author's proceeds go to providing breast care to underprivileged women at St. Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center and The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.).

So here were two amazing women, both taking time from their work (Claudia works for Chanel and Dominica has her own interior design business) and family obligations, doing what they love and doing it for the good of others. Over lunch one day, they decided they both shared a common dream -- to write a cookbook. They decided they should do it together and that 100% of the proceeds should go to two Hong Kong charities: Children's Thalassaemia Foundation and Priscilla's Home (one of Fu Hong Society's homes for the handicapped). Both charities are close to the heart of Dominica, as she herself is a carrier of Thalassaemia and her family founded Priscilla's Home.


It was particularly fun to hear about their trials and tribulations of self publishing as well as about their passion for cooking. The main message, though, was that of a Nike ad -- just do it. Life's too precious to come up with a million and one excuses not to do the things that you love and care about.

And then, this morning, in my inbox of various e-newsletters, there's CITY's Page One blurb on RED being the new Black. I love RED's manifesto about the power of choice. For me, as a consumer, it's an easy choice. What is there not to love about it -- brilliant products + brilliant marketing to do good by raising money for The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Sounds like a great, do-good business model to me!

What good will you dream up today?

Tuscan Retreat: La Bandita-In-Progress

Continuing along the lines of pleasant surprises (I'm a believer in serendipity), I logged into my email inbox this morning to find a gem of an email that brought a smile a flutter of excitement amidst the usual and mundane.

It was an email from a John Voigtmann. Hmmm...rings a bell, but not quite...probably junk. Just before I check the box that would banish it to the trash, I notice the subject line: John Voigtmann @ La Bandita, Tuscany. That last word caught your eye, didn't it. It sure did mine! So I clicked in and sure enough, jogged my memory of who this John was. Turns out, I had corresponded with John before. We were introduced over email by a DJ, a friend of my good family friend JL. All three of them are/or formerly were in the music biz. DJ had left to start a wine import/export biz among other things and JV had been working with him on it. He was in HK at one point, but we never managed to meet. And so the string of email correspondences, the meet that never happened, just kind of fizzled into cyberspace. But John had mentioned that he would be opening a hotel in Tuscany soon and I noted that with interest and told him to keep me posted.

Fast forward nearly 5 months later. The email reads:

"As D may have told you, I left my job at SonyBMG last year to develop a small luxury hotel property in Tuscany. We’re still finishing renovations, but we’re starting to take reservations for next summer...so I am starting to spread the word...Just like I did when I was back in the music business!

I wanted to pass on the link to the website:

www.la-bandita.com

The site is still a work in progress until we finish the guest rooms and have them photographed, but it will give you an idea of what we’re creating here."

I am a sucker for a good "follow-your-dream" story. While it's still a work-in-progress, La Bandita seems to have the heart and soul behind it to make it a great Tuscan retreat. That's what's really missing these days from all these overly-commerical, self-proclaimed "boutique" hotels -- heart and soul. I wish John and his wife all the best with La Bandita and look forward to hearing more about its opening next summer!

Pleasant Surprises

I love surprises, especially when they come in boxes. Out of the blue, a box arrived from Pantheon (an imprint of Random House). Had the new titles I sent to SW, an editor I had met last year about Little Cream Book, bounced back? I opened the box, and inside sat copies of Joan Didion's non-fiction collection, We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live, and Feather in the Storm by Emily Wu and Larry Engelmann about Wu's childhood during the Cultural Revolution. Apparently, SW did received the new titles I sent her and had reciprocated. I can't wait to start reading them, especially the Joan Didion collection. Didion's writings were much talked about during my Bryn Mawr days, but to be honest, I didn't actually get around to reading much of them (I had actually read more Susan Sontag). Because I'm an avid reader of Vanity Fair and Dominick Dunne's (Didion's brother-in-law) column, I probably know more about her personal life than about her actual writing.

Speaking of other pleasant surprises, I came across a wonderful write-up on Little Cream Book in the current issue of Four Seasons magazine (as in the luxury hotels and resorts). It was actually written by ST, or better known as Chubby Hubby's S. It was actually an article on creative, lifestyle products coming out of China's metropolitan cities (i.e. Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing), which also featured Fort Street Studio, Spin Ceramics, Suzhou Cobblers, Chang & Biorck and Mushi Fashion.

A more local surprise was a visit to a fairly new boutique hotel/serviced apartment right around the corner from my office on 133 Leighton Road. I had heard of Lanson Place mentioned by another friend earlier, but was not intrigued enough to go seek it out. Since EO had just checked-in, I decided to pay him a visit before we went to lunch. Turns out, it's very good value for money. He got upgraded to a Grand Luxe room (around 500 sq. ft.), which has a kitchenette (with microwave and burners), separate sitting area and bedroom with airy views overlooking the stadium. Bathroom is OK in size. Typical of a "boutique hotel", there is no bathtub and offers only one wash basin. At HK$1,400++ (rack rate is HK$3,200++) though, it's a pretty good deal in Causeway Bay. It does run up against competition though; as it's right behind JIA. The more intimate ambiance beats Regal Hotel next door or Excelsior on the harbour front. In Central, there's Hotel LKF, which is very convenient for those who enjoy the Lan Kwai Fong/SoHo nightlife when they're in the city.

And last, but not least, there's the season 3 opener of
Desperate Housewives, which is just out on iTunes. Just 10 more days till LOST!

HK's Krispy Kreme Kraze

Krispy Kreme is a killer kompany. When I realized they were going to open downstairs from my office in Causeway Bay (just around the corner from Starbucks), I told myself and everyone else that I would not take a single bite of their doughnuts, least of all their original glazed doughnut, lest I slide down that slippery slope of sugar-addicted madness (there's 200 calories and 12g of fat in just one, little original glazed doughnut!). I was in the US when KK started their pre-opening launch activities, handing out half-dozen boxes filled with their version of happiness. BL, hailing from Sydney, had never even heard of KK and has never been known to have much of a sweet tooth. But it took only 1 original glazed doughnut to change all that. Now, he is an addict.


When I got back to Hong Kong, I had every intention of avoiding KK. But then, on BL's insistent prodding, I succombed. It started with just one bite from his doughnut. Before I knew it, I was sms-ing him the next day for an afternoon KK break. As soon as we walked in, we were each given a free original glazed doughnut, hot off the doughnut-making machine (which incidentally, is quite fun to watch). Then, Bono Wong, Director of Operations, started chatting with BL (they now each other) and before I could take in all the flavours in the display case, BL was being rung up for 2 dozen assortment of doughnuts and a couple of coffees to wash down our free doughnuts. As the old saying goes, there's no such thing as a free doughnut!

There's nothing new with Krispy Kreme. It's just a fluffy, round bit of fried, puffy dough with a very sugary coating. But there's no denying that KK's selling much more than that, just like Starbucks is not really selling coffee. MV, another American, has been treating her American expat friends to boxes of KK doughnuts and she says the reaction among recipients is the same -- they go krazily happy. A doughnut, like a cupcake from Magnolia, we concurred, is exactly that -- happy food. The simple pleasure of a hot, sugary doughnut with a hot cup of coffee evokes happy thoughts of a simple time circa 1950s, the Cleavers or the Brady Bunch or policemen on a coffee break. Somehow, the American Dream, the white picket fence, security, has come to be embodied in a Krispy Kreme doughnut.

But what about for all of Hong Kong's teenage girls in school uniforms, listening to the latest Canto-pop tunes off their iPod nano, who queue in line for their after-school doughnut while texting more friends to come join their happy gatherings? What is Krispy Kreme to them? Or the mother of two children, who stopped off at Krispy Kreme to pick up a doughnut for the next morning's breakfast before coming to dinner? Somehow, it's really simple -- Krispy Kreme has managed to bring a little joy to people's lives with just a simple, little doughnut. You just need to come down the Central escalator these next few days and witness the morning scene when Krispy Kreme employees pass out those free half-dozen boxes of doughnuts to understand what I'm talking about -- its happiness in a box -- everyone's face just lights up with a friendly smile.

Krispy Kreme = killer marketing. Next mid-Autumn festival...Krispy Kreme Moon-doughnuts?

HK Private Kitchen: Marron

NL & JM celebrated their engagement at Le Marron on Saturday night. Getting there was such drama. I had forgotten to print out the address and my new phone didn't have anyone's contacts. I could only remember the number 12 and Yee Wo Street, so spent a good 10 minutes looking for a no. 12 Yee Wo Street until I finally gave up and went to a gaming shop to get online and check the real address: 12/F, 2-6 Yee Wo Street.

Le Marron is almost worth visiting just for its funky decor. It draws on for inspiration the old Hong Kong flats subdivided by panels to accommodate many families. Wooden panels with glass are used as separators as well as drapery. So you can get a sense of all the activity happening in the restaurant, but still have a certain level of privacy from having your own cordoned-off space. Within each space, the decor and decorations is western flea market chic, a bit of the granny's country home feel.

The menu is quite extensive given that it is a private kitchen. The set consists of 5 courses: choice of 9 starters, 3 seafood starters, 4 soups, 10 main courses and 9 desserts. The food was competent, but I wonder if the quality would benefit from a more well-edited menu. I had a smoked salmon tartar (good), green whelks (sandy), pumpkin and crab soup (good), angel hair with black truffles (a bit heavy on cream, weighing on the truffle) and wild mushrooms and kiwi fruit sorbet (a bit tart and icy).

Next on the list of private kitchens to try: Palace Kitchen on Wong Nai Chung Road. AL called me up and asked me to pick up a chicken for him (since it's close to my office) before meeting for drinks at Ritz Carlton's Chater Lounge (where the popcorn with black truffle oil can ruin one's appetite for dinner if self-restraint is not exercised). The decor at Palace Kitchen is nothing to rave home about. This is my main complaint about most Chinese restaurants (with the notable exception of Xi Yan). Why do most Chinese restaurants not understand the value of pleasant ambiance and aesthetics? The place settings were akin those one finds in cheap Chinese restaurant. The menu, on the other hand, serves up expensive Chinese delicacies such as shark's fin, bird's nest etc. The chicken I picked up smelled mouth-wateringly delicious and I trust AL's taste in Chinese food, so will endeavour to check it out at some point.

Burning Man + Art Towns

KC got back from Burning Man and emailed:

"This was a banner year at burning man. the weather couldn't have been more

favorable [given the extremes] and the temperament of the attendees was equally

mild--in a good way. several of the art pieces boggled the mind, notably the colossus

known as the "belgian waffle" and enormous amorphous dancehall constructed entirely

of equal lengths of 2 x 4

http://www.vimeo.com/clip:101393

there were plenty of other very incredible pieces. like a four star hotel with concierge

service [none other than chris weitz of film fame]. i'm not sure the photos do it justice.

they had four spotless suites, available for one night. and all of their structures were

deluxe. in the middle of a prehistoric lakebed, mind you.

http://www.ashramgalactica.com/Home.html

so, yes. we had a wonderful time."

I am so intrigued now. Maybe I'll do a combo Burning Man + Marfa, Texas trip one year. AD tipped me off on Marfa, where Donald Judd's Chinati Foundation and the Prada Marfa store installation by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset can be found. And then there's DR who raves about the real estate prospects of Bisbee, AZ with its vibrant artist community. He mentioned that a friend actually bought a book on artist towns in America and made real estate investment decisions based on towns in that book.

In-flight Education: An Inconvenient Truth

I had a great flight from JFK back to HK, where it was easier for me to stay awake through the night (morning in HK time) by watching action/adventure movies and television shows. But the most engaging and thought-provoking movie I watched was the last one I watched over breakfast service: Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. Most people have known for some time that global warming is a problem. I certainly feel the effects in my day-to-day life in Hong Kong these past few years as pollution has gotten worse and worse. Just being in the US and Canada these past couple of months, I have been able to breath much easier and feel a lot healthier. Granted, I also had a healthier lifestyle, but one should not underestimate the restorative power of being able to breath clean, healthy air. And it's also worrying that in these past couple of years, I've had much more exposure to friends or family of friends falling ill from cancer. And these are relatively young people between the ages of 35 and 60. The facts and statistics Al Gore presents are quite shocking. When you see the dramatic spike in C02 emissions and rise in global temperature in the past few decades relative to a relatively stable span of 650,000 years, it wakes you up to the scale of the problem. We all know that global warming is a fact, but as Al Gore pointed out, most of us are frogs sitting contentedly in a pot of water that is slowing coming to boil, oblivious to the eventual consequences. If you haven't seen the film, try to see it. There's plenty more information on the website: www.climatecrisis.net.

An Inconvenient Truth doesn't just tell you how dire the global warming problems is. It places the responsibility for solving the problem back in the hands of each individual. The website gives more information on how to take action. The movie even inspired me to make a small change; I took the train to work today.

Stormy D.C.; Saved by Whole Foods

These past few days, I was in Springfield, VA visiting my brother. I arrived Wednesday night, spent Thursday meeting up with NBdT and family for lunch at the Smithsonian's National Musuem of the American Indian. Incidentally, its cafe, Mitsitam, has some of the best museum cafeteria food. The menu is based on indigenous cuisines of the Americas and is grouped by regions. The weather was somewhat dreary, but not quite rainy. I managed to spend the afternoon walking around Old Town Alexandria, which is charming enough for a couple hours.

On Friday, the weather took a turn for the worse. I woke up to stormy weather and it didn't change for the rest of the day. We were resigned to the fact that we would be staying at home working or watching TV. But all of a sudden, the power went out, which meant no internet connection, no TV, not even hot water to do laundry. So what to do? Go shopping at Whole Foods! I love Whole Foods, just as I love Starbucks (which was stop no. 2 so that I could have the seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte. I love Starbucks' seasonal drinks. The appearance of Pumpkin Spice Latte signalled the end of summer for me.), Apple and google.com. In fact, I had only recently come into contact with Whole Foods via their NYC store in Time Warner Center, but hadn't had much time to explore the merchandise in detail. Already, I was impressed by the whole look and feel of the store as well as the detailed labelling of produce and its presentation. At the Alexandria, VA Whole Foods, I found the largest selection of flavours for my favourite nutrition bars: Luna (Dulce de Leche and S'mores are great) and Pria (the Creme Caramel Crisp is my favourite). There was a huge selection of everything else too, including prepared foods, which all looked absolutely delicious. I had such a hard time deciding what to eat and wanted to buy all sorts of snacks to bring back to Hong Kong. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), I had no room left in my luggage.