CNNGo.com is Live!

It's always exciting watching new projects come to life. I first met the CNNGo.com team seven months ago during ArtsFest when we when to see a dance performance with Juliet Binoche with a set designed by Anish Kapoor. They had just rolled into town and were building up their regional editorial presence. Initial launch date had been set for May. But as is the norm with start-ups, launch dates get postponed once, twice, even three times as technical kinks get ironed out, editorial vision comes into focus and the website finds its voice.

As a freelance contributor, it's been nothing but fun for me; I get to write about fun stuff that I'm interested in, I can hardly call it work. But for the producers and editors -- Kim, Andrew, Chris and Zoe -- it's been months of 7-day weeks, epoch caffeine-fueled nights and days (i've contributed the odd sugar fix from Saffron Bakery too) as well as many a long conference calls. It's no easy task unifying the tone of a website that presents the local life of six vastly divergent Asian cities -- Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.

CNNGo.com's ambition is to speak local, to track the pulse and vibe of each city. The editorial team's job is to manage the platform and facilitate the flow of conversation. But ultimately, it's the people who live in the cities and their contributions that will breathe life into the site, taking it from live to alive. Hope you'll enjoy browsing the site, but more importantly, please join the fun! Comment, critique and contribute.

Check-out this brilliantly produced video:

Easter Weekend Wrap-Up

I'm smitten with Luang Prabang. I expected to be charmed by the UNESCO World Heritage town, but it is the people who have got me head over heels. There were Mung and Don, our guides who were such good sports (putting up with our group's silly pranks) and gracious hosts. Everywhere we went, from the staff at the hotel to waiters at restaurants, the level of sincerity and service far exceeded our expectations. I dare say it's the best I've encountered in Asia. Not only are they extremely warm and kind hearted people, but they also approach service with a very proactive, common-sensical attitude (which is often lacking even in a supposedly cosmopolitan city such as Hong Kong). There were instances where they knew what we would want even before we asked. For example, the staff at the wonderful JoMo coffee shop and bakery (an American-owned establishment on the same street as La Maison Souvannaphoum on the way to the night market) that brought us all glasses of water to go with out lattes and carrot cakes (which was absolutely divine) before we even asked. There was the hotel restaurant waiter who asked if we would want our individual drinks orders charged back to our own rooms. Waiters would see that we had run out of something and bring us more. Admittedly, the restaurants and hotels we visited were staffed with people who spoke very good English. But what stands out among the people of Luang Prabang is not their skills and abilities, but their pride in what they do and the town in which they live.

Luang Prabang Highlights:
1. If you visit only one temple, it should be Wat Xieng Thong, the most beautiful one of the three we saw. Love the adorable disco, white elephant that spouts water when the Buddha figures are washed.


2. Go on the leisurely, 2-hour boat ride up the Mekong to visit the Pak Ou caves containing thousands of Buddha scultures.



3. Laotian cuisine. The food is not as spicy as Thai food and is a blend of Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese influences. Everywhere we ate, the food was good. We had dinner at L'Elephant, lunch at Three Elephants (Sisavangvong Road; T: +855 71 252525) and another dinner at our hotel's Elephant Blanc. Would have loved to try the restaurant at Apsara, but didn't have time.

Bangkok Highlights:
1. The Eugenia is a wonderful home in Bangkok.
2. Spring (199 Soi Promsri 1; T: +66 2 3922757) is my constant favourite. It serves up great Thai/Asian fusion dishes, and the lawn is absolute bliss to lounge around with friends before and after dinner.



Spa Comments:
1. Blooming Spa in Bangkok was great value for money. A 2 hour, 45-minute combination of foot reflexology and Thai massage came out to only THB1,000.
2. Skip the Angsana spa at La Maison Souvannaphoum. The treatments are done in tents that are set next to the main street. It's noisy and the therapists need more training and experience when it comes to giving massages.

BKK: Little Cream Life Moments

Every so often, there are moments that just strike me as being the perfect embodiment of the Little Cream Life. There was one such moment this morning. I rolled out of bed, got into my swim suit and headed downstairs to the pool with my laptop at 9am. By the time I had swum a few short laps in the pool, my breakfast (freshly-squeezed orange juice, a double espresso, eggs benedict with smoked salmon and a bowl of tropical fruit) was laid out beside my chaise lounge. So here I am, lounging poolside (the weather, incidentally, is also perfect, not too hot because it's slightly overcast), breakfast laid out beside me (most importantly, there's a fresh cup of double espresso waiting), and the wifi is working well so that I can blog about this moment (there's even a power socket behind one of the planters beside my chaise lounge!). This is what the Little Cream Life is all about! Was just joined by LP and BM, sounding very raspy from drinking vodka on the balcony until 3am and quickly gulfing down breakfast before heading off for his morning round of golf with the other guys.



Great service moments at The Eugenia this morning: I later asked for a big bowl of cappuccino, and got a puzzled look from the waiter. But when it arrived, it was exactly what I wanted. The waiter actually said it was his first time making such a huge cappuccino! Also, I had left my SPF60 sunscreen at the Sukhothai pool yesterday. I asked for, and got, some SPF30 sunscreen.

We girls have got spa bookings this afternoon. I'll be lounging here, working on LCB: Drives until then...

BKK: Wedding Party Easter Weekend

All of Hong Kong is in Bangkok this Easter weekend. Arrived yesterday and had lunch with friends who are staying at Sukhothai. Had lunch at the hotel's Thai restaurant, Celadon, where we met up with FL & TC, who are in town from Paris (made me wish I was in Paris so that I could have the pleasure of enjoying another one of FL's excellent home-cooked French meals!). FL has just completed filming on his upcoming movie about neglected elephants (actually, it's a much more touching story than I make it sound, but I didn't catch the whole plot line). AW was supposed to have a bit part in it, but filming finished much earlier than expected. But it turns out that AW's Thai helper's son was in the movie by chance (his shop was used in a recreation of Bangkok's Patpong); what a small world.

Checked into Eugenia around 4:30pm. Love this charming, little 12-room hotel. JM & NL are having their pre-wedding celebrations with 14 of their friends this weekend. We've booked out the whole place for our 2-night stay here in Bangkok before heading to Luang Prabang. The staff at Eugenia are all incredibly wonderful; they really make you feel at home. Because of its size, you really do feel like you're the guest at someone's very well done up home. There are quirky, individual touches everywhere.


And of course, what I love most, is their fleet of classic cars to drive you around. But best not to be in a hurry, because they are slow.


My room, a Siam Suite, is very comfortable and spacious. But, of course, what I love most is the free wifi.






We met up for a quick drink in their lounge before heading to dinner at Ruen Mallika (royal Thai cuisine served in an old Teak house), where we ordered way too much food, though all of it was delicious if a bit too spicy for my taste. There had been plans to hit the town after dinner -- Club Astra, Three-Sixty, Bacchus. In the end, we headed back to Eugenia where everyone just chilled with bottles (we had brought our own) of Champagne, whisky and vodka on the balcony.

At the New, Old Mandarin Oriental: Welcome Back, Chinnery!

It was as if nothing had changed and time had stopped for the new, old Mandarin to undergo its refurbishment. I walked into the Chinnery Bar with a feeling of familiarity and comfort. It looked pretty much the same with the usual crowd of expat Central office bankers smoking and drinking (although the benches and chairs had been reupholstered, carpet changed). The menu still had what I missed: Chicken Tikka and Bread Pudding. I was having dinner with DH, who is helping me write Little Cream Book: Drives. DH ordered the Fish Pie, which came with a healthy (or unhealthy, depending on your perspective) dose of mashed potatoes on top. The food tasted just as comforting as it had before, although service was not as attentive or together as it was before -- dishes weren't cleared from the table, nobody asked if we wanted coffee or tea with our desserts, it took forever me to get someone's attention to ask for the bill, then it took forever to arrive and once paid, they chased us down the stairs into the lobby because they thought they had given us the wrong table's bill (which, it turns out, they hadn't). Hopefully, with a couple months' time, the service will be back to how it was before.

It seems the staff have been trained well to welcome back old guests, to make it appear as if there's a seemless transition from old to new. When I arrived with my grandfather a few days after their opening, the doorman nodded to my grandfather, "Welcome back. Long time no see." The doorman did not look familiar, at least neither my grandfather nor I recognized him. But I'm sure he's been trained to welcome guests of a certain age with that line. And then there's MP, who got his usual pre-birthday call from the Mandarin Grill asking him, "Will you be having your birthday dinner with us again this year?" I can't wait for them to run everything in again. As I was waxing nostalgic with DH last night, I grew up with the old Mandarin. It was the meeting point for my grandfather and me on Saturday afternoons since I was six years old. He would be get off work on Saturday, walk over from his office in the then Swire Building (now Chater House). Sometimes I would meet him in the lobby. Other times, I would already be in the car and his driver would take us to Country Club for lunch and an afternoon of frolicking in the pool. And when I grew up and came back to Hong Kong to work, I would meet my friends in the lounge for afternoon tea. The scones with rose jam (Incidentally, you can't find the rose jam anywhere else in HK. I once made the mistake of asking the bar at Landmark Mandarin Oriental for rose jam and got was told in a sour kind of tone, "That's only at the old Mandarin. We have something different here.") and clotted cream are my favoured afternoon tea treats. When I recounted this to DH, he called me a sybarite, which I took as a compliment since I am in the profession of seeking out and creating experiences of pleasure and luxury for my clients.

An interesting aside that takes us to Bangkok, I came across a new cute, little hotel. With boutique and design hotels looking a bit past their due date these days, it was refreshing to be introduced by EO to The Eugenia. As its website says, "It's not a hotel; it's a home!" Well, will wait for EO's verdict (he's staying there this weekend) on that, but the website certainly looks promising.