First Starbucks x G.O.D. 冰室 (bing sutt)!

I am a pineapple bun nut. It is one of my few credible claims to "being local". And I love Starbucks (not really for their coffee, but for the brand). And my BFFs are the founders of G.O.D. Roll all that into one and this is what I get on 13 Duddell Street (T: +852 2523 5685) -- a crisp, coffee-flavoured pineapple bun served in an ironic take on Hong Kong's old-fashioned coffee shop as interpreted by G.O.D. within an American coffee chain pretending to be local (hmmm...seems to describe me):

The coffee-flavoured pineapple buns and cocktail buns are only sold in this shop.

It's quite an amazing thing that Starbucks in Hong Kong (kudos to Maxim's) has managed to break-free (if only for just one shop for now...) of the cookie-cutter corporate Starbucks image.

I hope this is a sign of things to come for Starbucks (could this be the coffee chain version of HSBC's global-local claim); it's just what they need to bring some buzz back to their brand.

Pigeon Feast at Shatin's Lung Wah Hotel

In the four years I lived in Tai Po, I had never visited Lung Wah Hotel; I hadn't even heard of it. I was disappointed when Yucca de Lac was torn down. But the food and service at Yucca de Lac was never worth the visit. Rather, it was the poorly-maintained grounds, it's refusal to change, that gave Yucca de Lac its al fresco dining charm. That and imagining what it must have been like in its glory days when my parents and grandparents frequented the place.


So when I arrived at the Lung Wah Hotel and saw its dated premises and old-school, chaotic service, I was delighted by the kitchiness of the whole place. According to the website, it really used to be a hotel. It would be a dream project to restore the place to its former glory. I think it would make a great boutique retreat, both for locals as well as visitors looking to experience a different side of Hong Kong. The place has so much character that you take the shouting, screaming waiters who don't care that your food still hasn't arrived an hour after you've placed your order as part of the Lung Wah's charm. It was as though the waiters were arguing with each other and guests just to put on a show, like the noodle-making performances at Peking Garden. And then there's the peacock (would be nicer if it were free to wander the grounds as opposed to being locked up in a cage). Where else in Hong Kong can one find a peacock?


The pigeon really is the house specialty; it's the only dish that arrives within 15 minutes of placing the order. Everything else arrives at the kitchen and wait staff's leisure, and the portions are more on the small side (though we were a group of 10). It's places like Lung Wah that distinguish Hong Kong's dining scene, not the safe choices of our Michelin-starred restaurants. There should be more places like this, and not just in the New Territories.

24 Hours in Beijing: A Conversion Tour

Hotel Côté Cour -- A tranquil and stylish, 14-room conversion of a hutong just minutes away from the bustling Wangfujing shopping district. The room I stayed in is larger than Aman's and has a tub! And there's free wifi.

China Club -- China Club members can book one of the eight rooms (four large suites, four smaller suites) also converted from a hutong near the Forbidden City area. Outside, standing in the courtyard, the building is overshadowed by surrounding tall, modern office buildings, but inside, the interiors have been beautifully done in a style that reflects the site, its history and of course its Shanghai Tang pedigree.

Aman @ Summer Palace -- Service staff are impeccably trained (something that a friend had complained about when staying there over their soft-opening during the Olympics). The site is to die for, right next to the Summer Palace (it was where guests waiting for an audience with Empress Cixi would stay) with a direct passage into the Summer Palace grounds. The rooms, however, were a major disappointment. The design of the rooms, with its monochromatic, cream and brown colour scheme was uninspired. Rooms feel cramped (bathrooms don't even have room for a bath tub!) and suites lack the wow factor that mine do its palace connection justice. Cloistered underground are a cinema, beauty salon, gym, pilates studio, squash courts and spa. I imagine it would be more an appealing retreat to Beijingers than tourists staying at the Aman who would have plenty to experience in and around Beijing.

Legation Quarter -- A conversion of buildings that used to be the American Legation dating by to the early 1900s. This collection of western-style buildings have been converted to house swanky F&B outlets by chefs such as Daniel Boulud from NYC and Claudio Sadler from Milan. Hong Kong's own Aqua Group has 2 restaurants and 2 bars. Zen and The Meat Co. are soon to open.

798 Space -- Warehouse conversion into vibrant collection of art spaces & galleries, coffee shops and boutiques.

New York Faves

1. Enid's, Brooklyn -- I spent an afternoon in Brooklyn after a lunch at DB Bistro. The steak sandwich was more memorable than the signature DB burger stuffed with foie gras and braised ribs. And it was only 1/8th the price! Next time, I'm going to have to have the pulled pork sandwich. Their banana rum cake is also delish.
2. A yoga class by Jules Febre @ Jivamukti -- a student:teacher ratio of 4:3!
3. Shopping for cold weather running gear -- Running Company (their latest shop on 63rd & 3rd, having taken over the shop that used to be Really Cool Foods). They let you try their running shoes on a treadmill that also videos your stride.
4. Equus -- An intriguing take on the struggle to find meaning in life. Daniel Radcliffe bares all, but it's Richard Griffiths who gets under your skin.

Phoenix/Scottsdale Faves

Some faves from my recent trip:
1. Brunch at La Grand Orange Grocery -- Great crepes, havana latte (latte using condensed milk instead of regular milk) and Tammie Coe cupcakes.
2. Sprinkles cupcakes
3. Roka Akor -- For the Asian food fix. From the same group as Roka and Zuma in Hong Kong and London. But Roka Akor to Hong Kong's Roka in Pacific Place.
4. Poolside @ W Scottsdale -- Great place for drinks
5. Hike Camelback Mountain to burn off all the food and drink

Chat with Jim Spear, co-founder of China Countryside Hotels

The Grameen Foundation field trip has been a boon in more ways than one. On the trip, I met JS and JH. JS, from Beijing, told me about her country home by the Great Wall that also gets let to visitors. I was immediately interested to find out more about the project in Mutianyu Village. As promised, when she got back to Beijing, I got an email from last week with links to China Countryside Hotels, founded by husband-and-wife team Jim Spear and Tang Liang. As for JH, we instantly hit it off when we found out our common interests in developing a social enterprise combining good design, sustainable development and luxury travel. That's how JH and I ended up on an hour-long skype conference chat at 7am this morning with Jim to learn more about his sustainable tourism projects in and around Mutianyu village in addition to setting up luxury guesthouses such The Pavilion:
The Schoolhouse, a restaurant and glass-blowing workshop in a renovated schoolhouse
The Roadhouse, a restaurant
Xiaolumian, a farmhouse restaurant serving noodles


LCL: i'm always looking out for cool places in china like mutianyu, wishing there were more
JS (Jim Spear): Actually, we're just starting out on these village enterprises though I have had a weekend home in Mutianyu (mty) for 15 years

LCL: before we start, let's do brief intros...JH?
JH: i've always been deeply interested in the field of development, and i guess part of that interest stems from having grown up all over the world, thus having this incessant traveller's itch

and the more places i experience (either as a resident or as a traveller) the more i become interested in issues of sustainable development -- preservation of the uniqueness of 'local' whilst benefitting from the advantages of the global, i guess

it was quite by chance that i got to join the grameen foundation sichuan trip, which was a very inspiring trip in many respects
LCL: JH is echoing all my sentiments
JH: and dialogues, experiences, personal reflections etc. that came out of that trip in a way articulated a lot of the ideas that were already floating around in my head, and then i read what you established with the mutianyu project, which seems to be the materialization of everything in a very real way!

two of my passions, travelling and design, that desire to do my bit for the collective, and that dilemma of trying to compromise between the luxury world and the awareness of the real world etc.

so i've always been interested in ways of bridging and bringing together sort of non-profit and for-profit businesses together

LCL: JH is speaking for me as well...and she's doing a great job at it. So Jim, your turn...
JS: we're just taking little steps -- far from perfect. but i think we're on the right track re: sustainability in the village context: local people, local companies, local food, homemade, existing footprints, sensitivity to environment. I am delighted to have the chance to chat with both of you.

i have been living here 23 years -- from the usa -- where i was a phd student at berkeley
LCL: phd in?
JS: political economy re: china/japan but i didn't finish thesis, i took a consulting job in Beijing because i wanted to be where the action was

[consulting on] early jvs in a variety of industries and high tech sales, i started my own trding company that eventually morphed into a wine importer (ASC) and later I worked for many years in the medical field for a NASDAQ company

when i was getting close to 50 and my kids were in college i had a mid-life crisis and chucked everything to move out to our weekend house in mutianyu

JH: haha
LCL: hahaha...jungha and i joke that we are in third-life crisis...hahaha
JH: i was about to say that, haha
LCL: and no regrets?
JS: yeah, haha...life is too short to spend on regrets. of course i have no regrets. i feel i am one of the luckiest people in the world. i have now designed and built 19 houses, made new friends, helped our village, time of my life

when i moved out to the village and re-did my own house a friend asked me to build him a house and the housing part started there. about the same time the mayor sat me down and said: look spear, in case you hadn't noticed, we're having a hard time, you're a rich american and you should give something back, after all we let you live in our village and you should make an investment here to help us

LCL: first Q...how did you pull off buying your first house to begin with? i assume it's not that straight-forward with deeds and stuff
JS: absolutely right. actually we lease peasant residence plots with existing houses on them. not purchase as in freehold.
JH & LCL (at the same time): how long is the lease?
JS: this is also complicated. ranging from 10 to 50 years
LCL: only 10 years??!! and then lease WITH property converts back?
JS: sure, if you don't put a lot into the house it can make sense. we use short term leases for staff housing, for example. the real houses i have done range from 100-900 sqm

market prices have increased dramatically as we have created the demand. so shorter lease costs less money. clients amortize lease improvement over life of lease. not necessarily a good financial investment. BUT that depends. and one client told me recently their mty house was their best invesment (in light of the crisis)

JH: and the range (10-50 yrs) depends on what qualification? and as a foreigner, is it still possible without a local connection somehow to still qualify for a long lease?
JS: period of lease not dependent on citizenship. actual law may limit real estate leases to 20 years. but we have a lot of lawyers who have helped us write what seem to be enforceable leases for longer periods.

LCL: being near the great wall, which is protected...are the laws stricter for such developments as well as building/renovation permits?
JS: it's very complicated and highly political. regulation -- many, many and sometimes competing authorties. this stifles creativity and leads to other issues. i am not against development, just want to help channel it in sustaianble ways that preserve real communities. LCL: were u aware of all the red tape before you started?
JS: red tape? haha. i have been doing business here for decades. my little stuff in the village every bit as complictaed as anything i ever did

LCL: what do you think of Commune?
JS: Commune is very interesting but not for me. I find the houses plopped there - starchitect syndrome. they failed as an enterprise and very poor service/business model. and then brought in kempinski. last time i stayed there was last month. great spa. poor room. they more or less copied the houses to get to 380 rooms. a walled valley. no connection to community. it makes me cry. but there is room in the market for them as well as us.

lots of our customers have been to virtually every five-star hotel and resort. they literally ache for something real

LCL: yes, absolutely...i prefer your model. so you started off helping other people find and build their dream country home by the Great Wall, and then added the F&B and craft components to the village, and now i see you are starting inns?
JS: we have 6 rental houses www.chinacountrysidehotels.com and 3 or 4 more about to come on line. inns -- we have 2 under construction

LCL: what is the cost of buying, say 50-year lease
JS: location key. in mty and nearby yingbeigou a peasant house as is for 30 years now runs about rmb 450-900k

if you go a few km away can get an existing ouse for rmb 150-200k and even less as you go more distant in the hills

LCL: wow! you've added lots of value!
JS: yes -- the peasants now sit on a previously worthless asset. they take the money to start businesses, educate their kids, provide better old age living, etc

JH: are you looking to expand the model onto other parts of china? or continue expanding this region?
JS: i am very intrerested in first expanding in other nearby villages. but i do think that in areas 1-3 hours from major cities in china and perhaps eleswhere this is replicable

remote is harder -- have you seen naked retreats 3 hours from shangai?
LCL: no! wow, i'm soo glad i'm having this conversation...keep finding out more!
JS: naked retreats took missionary houses from pre-liberation and made them into nice weekend places. issue is (to me) maybe not focused on helping community today.

LCL: just one last question...your businesses are set up as businesses, correct?
JS: yes -- for profit businesses. to me that is part of being sustainable. we have been approached by 1 person who is starting a social investment fund to loan funds or take equity in for-profit businesses that have a commitment to sustainable social development

LCL: thank you so much for your time...i'm going to chew on our conversation a little bit
JH: thanks so much for letting me in on your conversation! and you have a very inspiring life! we drool at what you have achieved!
JS: i enjoyed meeting you via this chat, have a great day!
LCL: have a great weekend in the country! ahhh...that clean, crisp air
JS: i will!

Autumn in Paris

The first signs of autumn were visible on Avenue Montaigne as I was walking to L'Astrance for lunch last Thursday. It was my last day of the month-long trip that took me from Hong Kong to New York, Buenos Aires, the lakeside slopes of Bariloche, the polo fields of Cordoba, an elegant estancia in the Pampas, a steamboat in Monte Carlo and now culminating in a lunch at a Michelin one star restaurant -- L'Astrance.

Skyping with BDL, I had typed on my last morning in Paris: "I love, love, love Paris".
To which he enquired, "did you get lucky?"
I replied, "Scoring a reservation at L'Astrance was very lucky!"

I have been trying to get a table at l'Astrance each time I've been in Paris, since the days before Pascal Barbot was awarded a Michelin star. On this trip, I called up a couple days before my arrival in Paris and asked for a table for 3. None was available during my entire stay. Finally, I asked for a table just for one. And that's how I managed to get a table at L'Astrance on my last day in Paris, for the last meal of my month-long trip.

Suffice it to say, the 5+ course lunch was phenomenal. The "+" represents all the little surprises they sneak in before, during and after your meal). There was one particular "+" that was especially memorable. With each course, the waiters would present the dish and give a brief explanation. But for this particular bowl of frothy cream with a dollop of vanilla ice cream in its midst, the waiter coyly placed it in front of me and said with a mischievous smile, "I don't know what this is." When he came back to collect the bowl, he asked, "So what do you think it is?". I shrugged and guessed that it was something with almonds. It had reminded me of the Chinese dessert of almond soup, except it was creamier in colour and a bit airy in texture. He smiled, shook his head and said, "I'll give you another chance." I finished off a second bowl. This time, without the vanilla ice cream. And still, it tasted like almonds to me or at least some kind of nut pureed with cream, because there was a fine graininess to the creamy froth. I won't ruin the surprise here, but I was really, really shocked when he told me what I had been eating. Totally unexpected, but once he said it, it made perfect sense.

All the other dishes were more easily identifiable, but no less spectacular in taste. There was foie gras, beans, langoustine, turbot, duck and a sampler of four desserts (my favourite was the lemongrass and chili sorbet). Alexander the sommelier, who tasted and spit out everything before he served it, served me a glass of 2005 pinot noir from Anne Gros. By the end of the meal, I was ready to roll out of the restaurant.

I rushed back to finish packing. I left with a sadness that comes from leaving family or friends after a particularly wonderful stay and not knowing when you'll see them again. As the taxi pulled into CDG, it suddenly started to pour. How apt, I thought. Time flies, seasons change. How quickly a month passes by. On my travels, I've experienced a year of seasons -- winter in Bariloche, spring in the Pampas, summer in New York and signs of autumn in Paris. I've felt a year condensed into a month.

Now I'm back in Hong Kong catching up on my blog, back to this city's stifling heat and haze, yet still pining for the wonderful walks along Paris' sun-drenched cobblestoned pavements, the smell and the crunch of the baguettes washed down with cups of cafe creme. I was in the midst of writing about polo when I got a call from DT wanting a Paris update since he's heading there tomorrow. Of course, I mentioned l'Astrance. But when I got off the phone and back to my post on Cordoba, all I could think of was all the things I'm missing in Paris. So here's my list, in no particular order:
1. Falafels from Chez Marianne in Marais on the corner of rue des Rosiers and rue Hospitalier St Gervais
2. Matcha macarons from Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki (actually, I'm missing real Japanese matcha). Everyone loves macarons from Laduree, but I can't get over their dowdy packaging.
3. Breizh Cafe's crispy gallette rolls smeared with a healthy spread of seaweed butter.
4. Baguettes slathered with French salted butter with a spoonful of artisanal honey. In this instance, it had been brought back by a friend from her recent visit to Michel Gros.
5. Crossing the bridges of the Seine by moonlight.
6. Walking everywhere and having it be a pleasant experience. On one particular day, I managed to clock up a half marathon worth of walking! A lot of Parisians swear by velib, the cool bicycle service. There are velib bicycle stations all around town, but I was a bit too intimidated by Parisian drivers to try.

When I left, I was still looking for a patisserie that made caramel au sel eclairs. The Fauchon in Shinjuku's Takashimaya had served them, and they're one of their best-sellers, but I was on a quest to find one from a more neighborhood patisserie. I found all other flavours from the usual chocolate and cafe to strawberry and even green tea at Sadaharu Aoki, but I never did find my caramel au sel. But, as I consoled a friend who will soon be moving from Paris to Shanghai, Paris will always be here. So there's always next time!

Buenos Aires Hotel 2: Faena Hotel + Universe

Faena Hotel + Universe, Puerto Madero
I have to admit, I was not keen on staying here. I've gotten a bit disenchanted with the whole Philippe-Starck-designed hotel where design trumps comfort and uppity models-in-waiting trump service. Before the trip, I had not planned on staying here at all, preferring to stay in the Palermo district. But a last-minute itinerary change meant that we had to return to Buenos Aires a day early from Bariloche, which meant an extra hotel night. Since I was planning on checking out the hotel's el Bistro for dinner, I ended up booking Faena more out of convenience than a real desire to experience it.

I was in for a pleasant surprise! For once, a Philippe Starck hotel has delivered on its promise of service. Upon confirming my reservation, I received an email from Augusto, my experience manager. At first, I thought this was just a form email, more form than substance. But when I landed at Jorge Newbury to find a taxi queue that snaked for ages and was hardly moving, Augusto came to the rescue by sending a car and driver.

On arrival at the hotel, we were greeted by a group of good-looking porters at the door. It was already past 9pm and our dinner reservation at el Bistro was for 9pm. Augusto confirmed that it would be fine to dine later in the evening at 10pm as well as confirming my tango lesson and spa appointment for the next day. I finally showed up to dinner at 10:30pm. It was too late to order the tasting menu, but the a la carte items were delicious. I was curious to try el Bistro after I learned that the chef had trained under el Bulli's Ferran Adria. I found the dishes a lot less gimmicky than I would expect of an Adria-disciple, which is not necessarily a bad thing. My favourite was the capeletti stuffed with stewed lamb with mint air (i.e. that famous foam!), mustard and pickled carrots. The berries dessert was memorable, it came presented in a berry icicle bowl.

fuzzy iPhone photo of el Bistro dining room

To be honest, though, my most memorable Faena dining experience happened at breakfast in el Mercado. It was the first place in Buenos Aires and Bariloche where someone knew what skim milk was! Finally, I managed to get a latte with skim milk. And I learned that in Spanish, skim milk is leche decremada. When I thanked the waitress for the Spanish lesson, she replied: "Whenever you like, I'm here from 8 to 5."

My first skim milk latte in Argentina @ el Mercado

I thoroughly enjoyed my tango lesson with M&F, even if I did find it a bit tough. F kept reminding me: "Tango is very easy for the woman. All she has to do is relax and feel where the man is leading her, no need to think! Even if she makes a mistake, he'll figure out how to fix it."

The gym was very well-equipped (I went for a run on the treadmill) and the spa was wonderful as well. I enjoyed a steam in the hammam after a very relaxing massage.

I pretty much cocooned myself in the Faena Universe for a whole day and it was a very pleasant experience. When I wasn't in the spa, I was working from my room where there was a very spacious desk, and the wifi was free.

There's a desk behind the bed and a bathroom (w/o bath tub) behind the lush, red curtains.

Beautiful Bariloche

"You can't always get what you want...," but as the Stones song goes, "if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need." That was the case in Bariloche.

For several summers, EO and I had been talking about skiing in Bariloche. Each summer, as August neared, our plans for one reason or another would have to be cancelled. Finally, we made it to Bariloche last Sunday. By Sunday afternoon, we were on the slopes of Cerro Catedral with M, EO's snowboard instructor. We went up the first six-person chairlift and found conditions much more promising than at the base, where the weather was mild and the snow hardly visible on the ground. Coming off the second chairlift at the top, EO fell funny on his knee. He was in pain, so he and M took the chairlift back down while I skied back down. That, in itself, was quite the adventure. I learned that there is always a good reason why pistes are closed. And when they are, it's best not to tempt fate by going down them. Despite the ski that turned into a hike in ski boots, complete with a wade across a bubbling brook, I made it back down to the base to find EO in the clinic getting his knee X-rayed. Fortunately, nothing was broken. It's very reassuring to have doctors be able to communicate to you in your own language and to see that ibuprofen is ibuprofen here as well.

So I only managed to ski for 2 hours during my whole time in Bariloche. What did I end up doing for the remaining 3 days? I was staying at the blissful Aldebaran. It was like being at home, warm and comfortable. I never locked my room door, left my laptop in the TV room whenever I went out for lunches and dinner. The rest of the time, I'd be sitting on the sofa or in the breakfast room writing on my laptop (yes, there was wifi). I finally managed to finish something I had avoided for way too long. It had been my goal to complete it on this trip. And finally, I had the perfect opportunity and the most beautiful setting in which to do it. Now I can enjoy the second half of my trip without the spectre of it hanging over my head.

Aldebaran is a wonderful place. Sure there's Llao Llao, which is the grande dame (and feels like it too) of Bariloche and Design Suites, which aims to be the cool kid on the block. But Aldebaran, built 2 years ago by ET, a retired lawyer, is hospitable beyond words, offering the experience of your very own secluded retreat. One night, unable to get a DVD to play the English audio track at 11pm, the receptionist on duty actually called back another member of staff, who had just gone home, to help. And she had to get up early the next morning to go to modelling school and come to work afterwards. All the staff were incredibly helpful and friendly in that casual, almost familial way.




Design Suites

Llao Llao


I had lunch at Pire-Hue (the only ski-in, ski-out luxury lodge at the base of Cerro Caterdral), Design Suites and Llao Llao and dinner at El Patacon. All the meals were competent, but none particularly memorable. In fact, menus seemed quite similar. Quite a few menus featured pumpkin soup, mushroom risotto, trout with ratatouille and, the most interesting item of all, chicken chop suey! But there was always one thing on the menu that I would always look forward to -- dulce de leche. This pancake filled with dulce de leche at El Patacon was one of my faves in Bariloche:

My search for the best dulce de leche dessert continues in Buenos Aires and Cordoba...

Seoul: Full of Hospitality

Seoul has never been high on my cities list. For roughly the same flying time, I could be in Tokyo. But when EO asked if I'd like to meet Korean artists Kim Joon and Nancy Lang, my interest in making a trip to Seoul was finally piqued. Even then, because of countless people's accounts, I was not that enthusiastic about the city itself, so I only stayed for a couple nights last week. Turns out, Seoul exceeded my expectations.

The first thing that struck me on arrival in Incheon, as I was looking for the SK Telecom counter, was Baskin Robbins. It kind of gave me that warm, fuzzy feeling of familiarity, even though it's been decades since I last had a Baskin Robbins ice cream (their bubble gum ice cream used to be my favourite). But the superficial sense of familiarity fades quickly in Seoul. Basically, it's the moment you hop in a taxi and try to go somewhere. It seems South Korea and Japan have a similar addressing system, where numbers are used to determine the "coordinates" of a building within an area. The problem is, nobody (aside from the people actually occupying the building) knows where the building is just by looking at the address.

I had a list of places I wanted to check out, complete with addresses and phone numbers. It took Grand Hyatt concierge nearly half an hour just to mark the rough, not exact, locations of 10 Corso Como, Boon the Shop, Spa Lei and a Korean BBQ restaurant in Sinsa-dong on a map. There seems to be a general lack of knowledge on the concierge desk. Turns out, 10 Corso Como and Boon the Shop are just a block or so away from each other in Cheongdam-dong.

Finally, armed with printed maps, I hit 10 Corso Como first. The Seoul outpost of this Milan concept store opened early this year. Those who have visited both say that the Seoul shop is better. It’s a beautifully-designed and conceived shop. Their fashion sections are a little more limited because Boon the Shop already owns the distribution for many of the major brands, but it's mix of coffee table books, fashion accessories, design furniture, exhibition space make it a great place to wander around. The cafe serves great paninis and lattes as well.


I got my first taste of Seoul hospitality when IL suggested I call her if I wanted to visit Boon the Shop. She wanted me to meet her friend IK who is the creative director for the shops, so I called IL while I was still in 10 Corso Como. I had wanted to meet IK for info on the retail scene in Seoul. She called me back to say that IK was in a meeting (I did end up meeting him the next day over coffee at 10 Corso Como when I learned that the two shops are actually distant cousins. 10 Corso Como is owned by a textile subsidiary of Samsung Corp. Shinsegae, which owns Boon the Shop among other things, used to be a part of Samsung. And because BTS owns most of the coveted labels, 10CC ends up having to buy from BTS.), but he had arranged for JH, one of the buyers to show me around. I fully expected IK to be busy, but I did not expect for him to arrange for someone else to play shop guide, especially on a drab, rainy day. JH picked me up from the 10 Corso Como's cafe. First, we walked to Boon the Shop Men, which was just around the corner, to have a quick look and pick up umbrellas. The 3-storey men's shop carries casualwear (Libertine, Comme des Garcons, DSquared, etc.) as well as suits in an cosy space.

Boon the Shop Men

Boon the Shop Women

The women's shop is much grander with its vaulted entrance lobby. I was very excited to see, hanging from the lobby ceiling, a charcoal spiral staircase installation by Bahk Seon Ghi, the artist I had most wanted to meet on this trip, but who, unfortunately, was in Europe.

The Bahk lobby installation.
You can't really see it here, but it is a spiral staircase out of individual pieces of charcoal.

Before she left me, JH had suggested I check out nearby Space Mue, another multi-brand fashion shop (Chloe, Balanciaga etc.). Of course, I had no idea where Space Mue was. So as I exited BTS, I walked into Vecchia e Nuovo (a branch of the same coffee shop in Westin Chosun, which is also owned by Shinsegae), a cute little cafe to ask for directions. The manager replied that she didn't know the shop, but that if I waited she would look it up on the internet. As I was waiting, I couldn't help but try their green tea cupcake. The cake part was very nice, but the icing was a tad too sweet. The manager gave me directions to the Gucci shop and then told me to ask the staff at Gucci for better directions; as Space Mue was nearby. As I was leaving, she even gave me a green tea cookie. Truly impressive service! But that wasn't to be an isolated incidence.

The green tea cupcake that I just had to try. Next time, I might go for the chocolate though.

I never did find Space Mue. I made it as far as Gucci, but the shop was already closed. After a bit more wandering around, it was time to look for the dinner venue. I hopped in a cab and handed the map to the driver. The driver looked at the map and said it didn't make any sense so I ended up calling the restaurant. I got dropped off and was pointed down a lane. Of course, I couldn't find the restaurant. I stopped off at a Family Mart, a bar, a shop, getting a little closer each step of the way. Finally, I ran into a guy who actually walked me to the correct lane.

IL had picked the restaurant; Sanbong Harogui (산봉 하로구이; 657-17 Sinsa-dong; +82 2 5462229) was her favourite Korean BBQ restaurant. RK, host of Talk Around on Arirang and who was instrumental in setting up the meet with Kim Joon and Nancy Lang (she's his co-host on Talk Around), explained that the restaurant was more like an izakaya where people go for drinks and then order some BBQ dishes as a snack. But we managed to make a very satisfying meal out of it while RK tried to teach me hangul (Korean alphabet). It's a great feeling when you can finally make some sense out of squiggles that previously meant nothing. The beef dishes were wonderful, but my favourite was the dumplings (mandu 만두). At one point, RK looked at my plate and exclaimed with a shocked look, "You ate both of them?!" Well, he was the one who put the two tennis-ball-sized dumplings on my plate in the first place. And they were delicious!

Real charcoal makes the meat even tastier!

After dinner, we were off to meet relatively recent newlyweds JP and MC for some Champagne in Garosu-gil, a really cool street to hangout with lots of little wine bars, cafes, boutiques etc. Of course, I had to ask them for their favourite restaurants. Here's their list (I didn't get a chance to try any of them, but definitely on my list for the next visit):
1. Tani in Cheongdam-dong, behind the Prada shop
2. Episode in Sinsa-dong on the northeast side of Dosan Park (the lanes along the eastern and southern sides of the park are lined with cute, little shops, restaurants and cafes. Hermes has a store here and, according to IK, it is a must see as their gallery space usually has interesting exhibitions).
3. Miss Park in Cheongdam-dong
4. Hashi behind Prince Hotel
5. Seasons in Cheongdam-dong

On my last morning, I decided to have breakfast at The Shilla before popping over to the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art. And what greets me as soon as I walk into the lobby? Another Bahk Seon Ghi installation! This time, it's made of out crystal. I had the perfect breakfast for a cold, rainy day -- a very refreshing drink of ginseng with milk and honey and a bowl of wonton noodles.

New York: Sunday in the Country

Woke up to a glorious blue sky Sunday morning. After a 10K run around Central Park at 8am when a biathalon race was already in progress, AP, AL and I headed "upstate". The drive out of Manhattan through the Hudson Valley was great. Playing in the car was Bossa n' Stones (as the title suggests, Bossa Nova covers of Rolling Stones tunes). AP and AL started singing along: "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might find, you get what you need". The song has quite a hook and it stuck with us through the rest of the day. What we all needed on this beautiful Sunday, was a bit of fresh air and a fresh perspective.


For the past few days, AP and I had been combing through the densely packed art fairs of Pulse, Bridge and Scope looking for emerging artists to include in the next Little Cream Book project. AP is an art consultant, so she does it for a living. In fact, she had just finished her rounds at the Dubai art fairs. Though I enjoy art, I was feeling a bit arted-out. So I wasn't exactly dying to go see more art all the way out in Beacon, but was lured by the promise of a nice meal at Blue Hill Stone Barns to tag along. As it turned out, dia: Beacon was just the fresh perspective I needed to see art through fresh eyes again. It's a contemporary art space with a collection of stunning works by iconic artists from the 60s onwards. All the pieces are brilliantly displayed in the converted paper factory. There is an incredible amount of natural light streaming into the galleries through 34,000 square feet of skylights. On this sunny day, all the artworks were bathed in sunlight. It's worth the hour-plus journey just to experience the gallery space. I sat in the Gerhard Richter 6 Gray Mirrors room meditating on my reflection. Equally meditative were Robert Ryman's white-on-white rooms and Agnes Martin's rooms filled with her rationally, straight-lined abstracts, also in shades of white and gray. But for me, the most uplifting experience was walking through the four Richard Serra sculptures. It would have been nice to have these set on an expansive grass lawn, look up from the expanse of towering spiral steel curves to see cloudless, blue skies, but the effect was not lost inside the gallery. This was art as its best, like walking into a vaulted Gothic cathedral -- moving, contemplative and transformative. It was the perfect antidote to the art supermarkets in which I had been immersed.


Next stop was Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Years ago, when I first had lunch at Per Se, I had asked one of the waiters what other restaurants were worth trying. Top of his list had been Blue Hill at Stone Barns (they also have a restaurant in Manhattan, but the Stone Barns experience is worth the journey). But because it's outside of Manhattan, several trips went by and I still hadn't made it to Blue Hill. Finally, I was going. I expected to have a nice Sunday brunch, but we arrived quite late in the afternoon. So we decided to stay for an early dinner at 5pm. We hadn't made any reservations in the restaurant, but the bar serves the same menu so we got seats at the bar. Stone Barns is a working farm and we had a bit of time to wander around the grounds. We were a trio of touristy city slickers snapping away at sheep, chicken, pigs and the beautiful surroundings.


When we finally sat down at the bar sipping their signature cocktails of elderflower royale (elderflower liquer and sparkling white wine) and blood orange martini, we were expecting a meal from fresh farm produce, simple and good. We got much more than simple and good. It was simple, elegant and a sheer delight for the taste buds. But what made it even better was having the company of Tomas Jacobsen who joined us at the bar. He's a Danish chef who was between restaurant stints in his native Copenhagen and decided to use the time off for an unpaid apprenticeship at Per Se. It's so much fun listening to chefs talk about food. They have such a passion for it. So for the next four hours, as we ogled his very, very special chef's tasting menu, sometimes even sampling bits off his plate, we grilled him about food, being a chef and his favourite restaurants. We were watching him taste everything with the deepest of concentration and waiting for his pronouncements.

Dishes in front of other people, especially when they are chefs and get special treatment, always seem tastier!

Chip envy got the better of us, so Tomas graciously shared one of his potato chips with a sage leaf with us. He also got to taste beetroot, squash and parsnip chips. Best potato chip ever!

He has sat through a 27-course meal at Per Se, but all the courses he was being served up were still delighting him. We got a different version of the chef's tasting menu, all excellent. I have never been one for eggs. I neither like nor dislike them, they just generally don't move me. Yet the morning's egg they served up with fresh farm greens and a thin slice of crispy cheek bacon was an egg like not other. The runny yolk was deliciously full of flavour. The slice of Berkshire pork belly was a little piece of heaven. The handmade pasta made from nearby harvest of spelt was a delight. All the dishes were beautifully presented.

This morning's egg with a thin slice of cheek bacon on top.

Berkshire pork belly & loin

Of course, I had to ask Tomas for his restaurant recommendations for Copenhagen. He highly recommended Noma (where he previously worked), a 2-Michelin star restaurant that highlights Nordic produce and culinary traditions. The chef at Noma had previously worked at French Laundry and el bulli. He leaves New York City today to head back to a job at the soon-to-open Nimb, which he describes as modern Danish. Asked for his favourite non-fine dining restaurant in NYC, he suggested Degustation (239 East 5th Street, T: +1 212 979 1012), where it's "a funny mixture of everything that inspires him (the chef)".

How Do We Give Our Heart Wings?

This post is dedicated to BDL since he was the one who posed the question that is the title of today's post. I was skyping him good morning and asking if he'd recovered from his recent relapse of stomach flu. He replied with a :-| followed by, "bored, tired, uninspired" and the question: How do we give our heart wings? It was a weighty question for a Tuesday morning before I'd even finished my morning Starbucks. I wasn't quite sure what the answer was, but thought it might make an interesting post and made a mental note to come up with a list.

A couple hours later, the answer was right before me:



I don't know what it is about cupcakes, but seeing them always puts a smile on my face; they're just so much fun! These cupcakes were all done up in cheery, Easter Spring pastels. And they were delicious too. I've had many a cupcakes where the cake was just a bit too crumbly and dry or the frosting tooth-decayingly sweet, but Babycakes' cupcakes were just right. The light, vanilla buttercream frosting was the right amount of sweetness and the chocolate cake was moist. Since I had the mini version, I didn't even feel guilty about indulging.

Babycakes only opened for business 10 or so weeks ago. Their current shop and bakery is in Ap Lei Chau, but hopefully they will soon open near my office in Delay No Mall. Founder Lachlan Campbell quit his investment banking job last April, learned the art of cupcake baking from a 66-year-old woman in Oregon and officially became Chief Cupcake Officer late last year. He said he had always wanted to start a business that was related to kids since he has two kids of his own. And kids love cupcakes. Women too, he added, to which I can attest.

So to answer BDL's question, there are lots of things that give my heart wings. On this particular day, it happened to be a cute, little cupcake served up with another story of a man living his dream.

Tokyo Update

Mount Fuji in the distance.

It took me days to finally get into the habit of standing on the left side of an escalator in Tokyo, must have been going up and down all 15 floors of Takashimaya that finally got it to stick. Back in Hong Kong, I found myself, once again, standing on the wrong side of the escalator, Tokyo left instead of Hong Kong right. Funny how the mind adapts.

The tastebuds too have adapted. Every once in a great while, I have a meal that just blows me away and reminds me what really good food is about. There was the tempura at Kyoto's Tenyu that made me realize Hong Kong tempura is like the chop suey version of Chinese food. So I've stopped eating tempura. But for me, the mark of a really good chef is one that gets me liking something that I had previously disliked. Alain Passard turned an ordinary quail's egg into a moment of ecstasy. Thomas Keller got me excited about pea soup. This trip, it was sushi chef Nakamura-san who took my bar for sushi and raised it the height of a Shinjuku skyscraper. Nakamura-san used to work at Kyubei in Ginza before opening up his own shop. Kanesada is a small, little sushi restaurant in an alley around the corner from Tokyo Midtown's orangé bar/restaurant. I knew I would be in for a treat when MH told me it was H-san's pick.

Nakamura-san with a huge scallop, which he served up in thin, Ruffle-like, slices.

I rarely like lean, red tuna, but the pieces of akami that Nakamura-san served up along side the chu-toro and o-toro blew me away. The flavourful meat just melted in my mouth. Normally, I'm not a fan of clam either, but the pieces that were served up were unbelievably sweet. The highlight, however, was the abalone. Nakamura only had one abalone left and he had saved it especially for H-san. Although he showed us the abalone early on in the evening, it was not served until H-san arrived. It was absolutely delicious, freshly sweet and crunchy in texture.

I followed up this wonderful sushi meal with a meal at Chiaki in Tsukiji fish market. Owner Ogawa Koichi actually has a popular manga loosely-based on his life as a fish wholesaler. This summer, there will also be a movie.

Ogawa-san checking out one of the Macbook Airs.

It reminded me a bit of the Pike Place Fish phenomenon. The dinner was organized by HH who happened to be in town from SF (it was another one of those facebook moments). For me, it was more memorable for the company (a lot of Sony, google, Apple-related people as well as the author of a popular self-help book on saying the right things to different people), because the special of the day happened to be oysters. And unfortunately, I am seriously allergic to oysters. What sashimi and cooked fish I did have was delicious though. Throughout dinner, I had been fairly quiet, struggling to decipher bits of Japanese conversations that were happening around me. The moment the gadgets came out, eye.fi and Sony Rolly, conversation became easier. But the real communication breakthrough moment came when "Chicken Little" (so named because he bears an uncanny resemblance to the animated movie character by the same name) pulled out a brown Inter-Office envelope from his bag. He didn't even have to open the envelope for me to let out a squeal of delight, "Air!" Mac-love, it seems, is a universal language.

Playing with food...and Air: it's as thin as one of my fave white chocolate cookie sandwiches from Hokkaido!

Speaking of love, I was a bit beffudled by the signs advertising "White Day" on 14 March. Was this the Japanese version of Valentine's Day, I asked MM. If Valentine's Day is a Hallmark conspiracy, explained MM, then White Day is the snack industry's conspiracy. In Japan, girls give guys snacks on Valentine's Day. A month later, on White Day, guys are supposed to return the favour in double. Imagine receiving two dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts!


It never ceases to amuse me to see the long line for Krispy Kreme doughnuts each morning.


Schultz should consider re-vamping Starbucks stores around the world along the lines of its Tokyo stores. The Japanese are so good at packaging, even the recycling bins have a certain aesthetic.




Other great meals in Tokyo:
Morimoto XEX for teppanyaki -- Very subtle entrance signage.

Morimoto's signature Toro & caviar appetizer

Matsugen for soba -- E recommended an off-the-menu crabmeat soba salad, which was worthy of a second helping. They have outposts in Honolulu and NYC.
Takashimaya Food Hall -- Can never get enough of this place. It's a study of how beautiful packaging makes everything look so appetizing.

Whistler: Nita Lake Lodge

Happy Year of the Rat! Spent the week snowboarding in Whistler, where I was blessed with a couple of stupendous powder days and even two sunny days in a resort known for predominantly cloudy, grey skies. It may sound insane to queue for the gondola at 7:15am, but Fresh Tracks is definitely worth it if it's been snowing the night before. Great boarding aside, we also had a few fine meals at Mountain Club, après and Araxi, but my absolute favourite had to be the late lunch of raclette, crêpe and cider at Crêpe Montagne. I still haven't had a decent meal on the mountain and have come to the conclusion that it probably makes more sense to get on the mountain first thing in the morning, ski until 2pm and then head back to the village for a late lunch. Unfortunately, neither Zen or Rimrock are open for lunch. Otherwise, it would make a great luncheon stop after the scenic Peak to Creekside run.

While I stayed at Pan Pacific Mountainside, which was great for rolling out of bed and onto the slopes (even more convenient than Sundial next door), I was eager to check out the brand-new Nita Lake Lodge in Creekside. Having only opened on 18 January, it's not yet fully up-and-running (the spa and fitness area is still a work-in-progress, and the presidential suites are still being fitted-out), so their introductory rates make this a steal of a stay for the next couple of months (CAD299 for a one-bedroom). The lakeside setting and it's location on the Valley Trail makes Nita Lake Lodge an ideal summer destination. The decor is a streamlined, contemporary take on the classic mountain lodge with dark woods and basalt rock.

(Images courtesy of Nita Lake Lodge)

The lodge is connected to the Mountaineer Train station, which operates a daily train from Vancouver from May to mid-October. While Nita Lake Lodge has thoughtfully-designed one-bedroom suites (heated bathroom floor, sunken bathtubs with views of the lake or mountain), it's not the most ideally-located ski lodge. In terms of convenience to the slopes, it's probably similar to the Four Seasons in Blackcomb. It's a bit of a walk to the Creekside gondola (it's on the other side of the Sea-to-Sky highway), with ski lockers located slopeside at the Creekside Can-Ski shop. It's also a 10-minute drive from the shops and restaurants in Whistler Village, though the lodge does provide complimentary shuttle service. The lodge's clubby bar/lounge has a nice vibe, making it a great place for an après tipple or aperitif.

As for Pan Pacific Mountainside, I had a very comfortable and convenient stay. The housekeeping staff is amazing. Having smoked up the room trying to pan-fry turnip cake without any oil in the morning (the kitchen is fully stocked with utensils, but I had neglected to go grocery shopping), I returned from a day on the slopes to a room that smelled as fresh as it had been before my culinary mishap with the mess in the kitchen all cleared up. The sitting room has a toasty fireplace and, unlike Sundial, there are TVs in both the bedroom and sitting room with a DVD player. The bathroom is not much to rave about though, very standard with just a bathtub and single vanity. I was grateful for the free wifi even though speed was a bit slow at times. I didn't bother venturing into the hotel's Dubh Linn Gate Irish Pub for breakfast or even a drink, since there are plenty of more appealing restaurants nearby. Of the two equipment rental shops in the hotel, the Salomon shop has the better equipment.

Can't wait for the Peak-to-Peak gondola opens at the end of this year. The improved connection between the two mountains will make skiing/boarding in Whistler-Blackcomb even harder to resist.

Vancouver: Monte Clark Gallery & Boneta

For the longest time, TB had been telling me to go check out his friend's gallery in Vancouver. For one reason or another, I never got around to it. Finally, I made it to the gallery on Granville and 8th Avenue and met Monte Clark, the owner. Currently on show are photographic collages by Roy Arden. But the most recognisable name on the gallery's roster is Douglas Coupland (author of Generation X, Microsefs, jPod etc.). Because I'm on the lookout for interesting artists to talk about what inspires them about the places they live and work in, I asked MC to recommend a Vancouverite. He immediately suggested Karin Bubas. I hadn't heard of her, but I had been drawn to one of her photographs in his private collection (Guest Bed with Bible from her Ivy House series). There's a strange sense of nostalgia in Bubas' photographs, which I find intriguing. I particularly like her Studies in Landscape and Wardrobe series, where a solitary woman is photographed in rather retro-looking outfits facing away from the camera in a beautiful landscape. There is an other-worldly quality to them, but apparently, all the photos were taken around Vancouver.

After feasting my eyes and soul on art, we headed to Boneta in Gastown (an up-and-coming part of downtown Vancouver that's undergoing some cleaning up) for a dinnertime feast. I had a wonderful bison carpaccio followed by the very popular seared scallops with celeraic ravioli (5 out of our table of 8 ordered this dish!). The restaurant was fitted out with a budget of less than CAD90,000. It's a nice, lofty space, with the exception of it being a bit too loud. We were in "the room", which is a booth in the back corner of the restaurant, which seats 8 just right. Yet, we could still hear the cacaphony from the main dining room. The three partners are all ex-Lumiere staff.

Beautiful London Day

Taking a break from working in my comfortable hotel room at Knightsbridge Hotel to post a few pics I took on the beautiful run I had in Hyde Park (one of these days, I'll go horseback riding through the park instead). When London is rainy or overcast, it's as though a dreary pall has set over the entire city. Some cities, like Paris, are perfectly fine, even slightly romantic, when it's rainy, but London is just gloomy. Yesterday was one of those glorious days in London though. The sun was out, the skies blue and the leaves were turning a golden shade. LS and EN made fun of my duck pictures, but I remarked that in Hong Kong, the only ducks I get to see are roasted. I passed by Serpentine Gallery, but wasn't tempted to go in because they are currently showing the same Matthew Barney exhibition that I saw at SF MoMA a little over a year ago. Speaking of exhibitions, I'm hoping I'll be able to squeeze some time to go check out the Turner Prize Retrospective at Tate Britain (until 6 January 2008), the First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army (until 6 April 2008) and Crafting Beauty in Modern Japan (until 21 October 2007), both at British Museum.




Had a great dinner at One-O-One last night. Instead of the usual starter, main, dessert dinner, I ended up ordering 4 small plates, two cold and two hot. All were excellent, but my favourite was the white sturgeon caviar served atop smoked Norwegian Arctic Char. LS loved the Tsarkaya oysters. A dark chocolate dessert, which was served with a salt caramel ice cream and bits of honeycomb, was just the perfect finish when combined with a huge single shot of Macallan. If it had been a Hong Kong serving, their single would be the equivalent of a quadruple; the waiters were very amused by my expression of shock.

Yummy!

It's really annoying getting KF's emails on upcoming EVE Supper Club dinners, because the menus always make me wish I could be in NYC for those dinners. On 19 June, they're doing a dinner at the lush boudoir setting of Kiki de Montparnasse that's sure to please the senses.

8 June 2007 update: just got email from KF with link to a review of eveSUPPERCLUB in Gourmet's Choptalk blog! Well done guys! Hope to make it to a dinner soon!!!

Green T House: E-fu noodle surprise

Cyberport is not one of the most exciting malls in Hong Kong. So when I first heard about Green T House (T: +852 29896036) I was not in a hurry to go check it out. But then, Saturday's plans for a outdoor BBQ dinner on Jumbo's Top Deck got nixed due to stormy weather and so our group of 8 ended up at Green T House for dinner.

Cyberport is a very quiet mall. Even on a Saturday night, the mall was practically empty. I was looking for the restaurant and actually walked into the wrong restaurant. Fortunately, one of the waiters pointed me in the right direction: "It's opposite, see the white wall." I saw the white wall, but i didn't really see the restaurant. It was only when I got closer that I saw the very subtle entrance to the restaurant. Inside, the decor was dramatic, like a theatre set. It's a bit Robert Wilson meets The Hempel, very white. There is one very long dining table. For most of the evening, aside from us, there were only 2 other diners.

Green T House is actually quite well-known in Beijing (it's actually even harder to find there), conceived and founded by Zhang Jin Jie, who in addition to being a chef of "modern Chinese" cuisine is also an accomplished classical Chinese musician. It's a combination of tea house/restaurant/art gallery/events space.

We all ordered the 8-course tasting menu at HK$880 per head. The food, while beautifully presented, and competantly prepared was slightly lacking in the Wow factor on the taste buds. There's not much risk-taking nor playfulness with the flavours. Someone in the group mentioned that, for a Chinese meal, we were lacking carbs, so asked the waiters if they could serve us some rice or noodles. The waiter then suggested they prepare some E-fu noodles for us. To which we agreed without any thought to cost. Afterall, how much can E-fu noodles cost? Well, it turns out, that a side serving (it was served with the lobster course) cost HK$140 per head!! To be fair, the truffle-flavoured E-fu noodles were the most memorable of all the dishes served, but HK$140 for a small portion of noodles is just silly. The total bill including wine came out on par with a meal at Pierre or Robuchon. Rents at Cyberport are way lower than Landmark; Green T operating on very healthy margins (but then again, they're not exactly pulling in the crowds. at least not on this particular saturday night).

Green T House is a stunning setting for a party, but be forewarned about the price of a side of E-fu noodles.

Mandarin Oriental: Pierre & Kinesis

Spent much of the weekend at Mandarin Oriental (the classic one). Had dinner with friends at Pierre on Saturday night, which turned out, to my surprise (because talk of Pierre Gagnaire's restaurants usually centers around Sketch's egg-pod toilets or the bill), to be a very good meal. However, service was appalling. I had been forewarned not to order the degustation menu, so I passed on this little bit of advice to the rest of the group. DH ran into some less fortunate friends; they had ordered the menu and were not at all pleased. My starter of seafood dishes came with a buckwheat pancake with uni and cauliflower and a very interesting and refreshing sorbet (if memory serves me correctly, there was endive and something else in it). I had a delicious guinea fowl for main. BL's langoustine appetiser was divine. DY ordered steak with caviar. We both found it to be a weird-tasting combination, but DH really liked it. On their own, the steak and the caviar were excellent, but together the two tastes were a bit too jarring for me.

As for service, here is where I start my rant about Hong Kong's unprofessional service staff. Even in a restaurant where you are easily paying HK$1,500+ per head, the staff don't seem to care about diner experience. The assortment of amuse bouche were dropped off at our table without a word of explanation. We had to ask them to tell us what we were eating. One waitress was particularly sulky all night. The general calm of our dining experience was broken twice by clumsy wait staff -- dropping utensils and a tipped over cheese trolley. When the cheese trolley was wheeled before us, the guy simply asked, "Would you like some cheese?". I had to ask him what cheeses were on offer before he introduced them one-by-one. We never met the chef nor the sommelier. Fortunately, DH ordered a wonderful red from Gigondas. It's a shame that our dining experience was marred by such poor service, because the food was quite good.




Took my grandfather to lunch at MO's coffee shop on Sunday (mother's out of town, so took the father of my mother out instead). After lunch, BL and I had a personal training session at the gym to check out the Kinesis system. EO, who's staying at MO, booked the session when he spotted me standing outside the gym, mesmerized, admiring the minimal-looking resistance-training system.


In the end, Kinesis actually looks more interesting than the workout it offers. The workout is basically like any other pulley-system resistance training machine. I had been expecting it to be more along the lines of gyrotonic.


Antonio Citterio (designer of Bulgari hotels and resorts) designed the home version of the Kinesis system, which is a space-saving and handsome-looking home gym system.

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.

Luang Prabang: So Chill

Here I am, sitting by the pool again; this time at Luang Prabang's La Maison Souvannaphoum. Arrived from Bangkok yesterday on a Bangkok Airways ("Asia's Boutique Airline") twin-prop plane, which least favoured form of air transport. I pretty much fell in love with Luang Prabang on landing. Maybe it's the tiny airport that makes me feel like I've landed back in time. The Canadians in our group got a bad first impression though. Of all the nationalities, they had to pay the highest visa fee -- US$42. Being American, I only paid US$35. But Chinese pay the least -- US$20.

By the time our group of 8 had checked into La Maison (hardware a tad disappointing, especially the small, single vanity, shower-only bathroom, but the staff are superb) and had our leisurely lunch, where I managed to stuff myself with spring rolls, Luang Prabang Fur (very similar to Vietnamese Pho) and a minced chicken salad, we had very little time to go temple-seeing. We breezed through two Vats and a quick hike up to a stupa before heading to La Residence Phou Vao for a cocktail and dinner at L'Elephant. La Residence is more a romantic retreat, whereas La Maison is a very convenient and comfortable base for chronic market shoppers.

Damn. Running low on battery. Will have to finish this post after massage and early dinner. We're getting up early tomorrow morning for the monk's procession.

Eat Right; Nobu Revisited

People often start businesses out of necessity, because the market isn't addressing their own needs. Years ago, when my friend DH was still living in Hong Kong, we had talked about a nutritional food delivery service. Back then, Atkins and South Beach diets were still all the rage. But we lamented that it was hard to stick with any kind of a healthy diet when we were constatly eating out. The best solution would be for someone to work our the meal plan, cook up delicious food and deliver it straight to your home or office. We never did start the business, of course. And these types of businesses started popping up in NYC and Singapore. Hong Kong, the norm these days, is arriving late to this trend. But better late than never! Eat Right, just across the street from Pure's Kinwick gym offers exactly this service. My fitness bet friends and I were meeting up with Martin Lorentsson, who is also a trainer at Pure, at Eat Right to see what kind of menus he could concoct to help us meet our 3-month fitness targets and win our bet. There's a questionnaire about current health state, daily eating habits and a list of foods to choose from to give them an idea of the kinds of foods you like or dislike. Then you let them know how many meals you want delivered each day and they work out the rest. So far, the fitness gang has tried out the food. We're waiting for the taste factor to improve a little bit before we sign on. But it's a good service in the making!

Thanks for the pics FS (taken with her SonyEriccson phone)!

I am sort of ambivalent about Nobu's restaurants. I've had some great meals at Matsuhisa Aspen, but I also had a truly awful meal at Nobu London in Berkeley Square (we ordered the tasting menu and the cod was over-cooked and tasteless). So when FS suggested we give Nobu in Hong Kong (2/F InterContinental Hotel; T: +852 23132323) a try, I wasn't super enthusiastic. We had an 8:30pm reservation. By 9pm, there was still no table. I kicked up a bit of a fuss and by 9:15pm, they finally offered us the private room with the HK$15,000 minimum charge waived (we were 9 people and our final bill ended up not being far off from that). Fortunately, the meal was much better than the one I had in London. We had the yellow tail with jalapeno, toro tartare with caviar, seared toro salad, seared toro with yuzu miso sauce, monkfish pate, all of which were delicious. We hardly ordered any cooked dishes though, probably for the better since the London meal that I so disliked had mainly been cooked dishes. While the food was good, to be honest, the evening was really more memorable for the entertainment we created for ourselves (good thing they gave us the private room!).

Restaurant Updates: Sydney, Melbourne and Hong Kong

I've had the good fortune of having some really great clients, clients that I really hit it off with. AF is one of those gem of a clients. She got back from her trip to Oz with her family and was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to give me a detailed update over a 2-hour breakfast chat at Starbucks (even though she doesn't drink coffee). Here's her update:

Sydney
Rockpool is still great. The only other meal that ranked higher during their trip was Ezard in Melbourne. Bill's (433 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst; T: +61 2 93609631) was a great place for breakfast and Four Seasons is showing its age, although their baby amenity kit and bed-setting was a nice touch (although the mix-up in luggage was not).

Hayman Island
Service was excellent. The rooms exceeded her expectations in terms of decor and spaciousness. Food was very average and insanely expensive if ordered a la carte. Whitehaven beach was gorgeous, but the Outer Reef Experience operated by Cruise Whitsunday's was poorly operated (the so-called swimming enclosure for children was a joke).

Melbourne
As mentioned above, Ezard was super. Saville Park Suites was great value for money in a great location. The European was great for breakfast and The Press Club was inspiring with its Greek molecular cuisine.

Back in Hong Kong, I was in for a pleasant surprise when AP suggested going to Opia at JIA for dinner. I had been to Opia when it first opened (and incidentally heavily-marketed as having Ezard ties), but had not been impressed and hadn't gone back since. I should have really learnt by now, never to judge a restaurant within the first 3 months of its opening, but I can never resist trying a new restaurant. And I also know to trust in Chubby Hubby's evaluation to give Opia a second chance. The 6-course tasting menu was very good value for money at HK$695/head; it offers better food than some of the restaurants that currently receive top billing in this town. My favourite was the crisy skin Mulloway on top of a truffled potato cake with a drizzling Bhutanese honey. Absolute ambrosia!

New York City Update

The highlight of my New York trip was seeing Voyage, part one of Tom Stoppard's Coast of Utopia trilogy with Ethan Hawke playing Michael Bukanin and Billy Crudup playing Vissarion Belinsky, just two of the lead characters. Tom Stoppard is by far my favourite playwright. His plays are brilliant not just because he manages to entertain, but also because he manages to dilute the mosts complicated of subject matters to a something easily digested by the average audience member with the utmost wit and humour (a great example is Hapgood where quantum physics is made entertaining when set in the context of an entertaining spy comedy). In the Coast of Utopia, the heady subject matter is Russian literature, philosophy and politics (or rather, the people behind them) during 19th century Tsarist Russia. As with most of Stoppard's plays, the topics are presented with a light touch and trademark quirky sense of humour. Can't wait to see Shipwreck and Salvage.

Aside from the play, I also had a lovely dinner at MH's neighborhood restaurant, Daniel (the lounge is much more casual and laid-back than the main dining room with the food being just as delicious), a meeting in Philadelphia with Anthropologie's home buyer and a breakfast meeting with an editor at Knopf at Four Seasons Hotel (love their breakfasts). And here I'd like to dispel the myth that editor's don't have the time of day for mere plebes like me. SW, who is the editor for such luminaries as Joan Didion, is one of the most generous people I've met in any industry. She's been a great person to chat to and gain a deeper understanding of the publishing industry. I had a pretty packed schedule, but I still managed to squeeze in a morning yoga class at Some Like It Hot, where I ran into the soon-to-be wed JK. Had wanted to check out the new Bowery Hotel (Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson's new hotel since Maritime) and Waverly Inn (Goode and MacPherson own that this too along with Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter), but didn't have time since I was staying with MH uptown. There's always next time!

I also had a surprisingly quick and pleasant visit to dermatologist Dr Marc Grossman. I highly recommended him (actually he had been highly-recommended to me from PT's aunt). I'm one of these people who dreads seeing any kind of doctor or dentist and Dr Grossman had a manner that put me at ease from the get-go. The wait in his office actually created more anxiety than the actual examination. It took him all of 3 minutes (perhaps even less) to evaporate all my melanoma fears. The rest of the time was just spent chatting and taking my medical history since it was my first visit. I suppose I'm a bit of a hypochondriac, but with so many friends diagnosed with some form of cancer over the past couple of years, one can never be too cautious.

Well, now I'm back in Hong Kong with piles of work ahead of me, which means I'm staying put until Easter.

London Update

Spent the weekend in London and the last few days in NYC.

In London, I ate mainly British food in Chelsea's Gastropubs (since I was staying at EH's just around the corner from Sloane Square) at The Ebury, Galvin for Sunday Brunch, Tom's Kitchen and breakfast at the very cool and recently-opened Napket (loved their slogan, "Snob Food", their selection of bread loaves of which I had a slice of the fig, rocket and cheddar loaf, as well as the iPod minis at the table with personal headsets so you can choose your own music). Saw the Gilbert & George Major Exhibition at Tate Modern, which was excellent, especially the audio guide with video clips of Gilbert & George discussing their art. It made a lot of sense to see this show in London, which places their artworks in the context in which they were created. I had a coffee at Sloane Square Hotel's Brasserie. If I hadn't been staying with EH, I might have checked out Sloane Square Hotel, which just opened last October and is in a fabulous location without London's fabulously high rates (online rates until the end of Feb 2007 started from GBP125). All this aside, one of the things I love most about travelling is catching up with old friends and the opportunity to meet all sorts of interesting people. In London, through AL, I met the Chairman of Farlows, an old English fishing and field sports shop, and the COO of San Francisco-based brand consultancy The 2M Group. One never know where chance meetings might lead...

Week In Cortina

The view from Rifugio Lagazuoi

In London for the weekend. Here's a recap of the week in Cortina:
Stayed at Parc Hotel Victoria where staff were constantly sulky and grouchy (with the exception of the guy who manned reception overnight). One of the Chinese guys in our group was told by a hotel staff escorting another guest to get out of the lift, because "the lift is only for hotel guests". Breakfast was not much to write about (Hotel Ulli in Zuers gets my vote for best ski breakfast buffet spread). The junior suite was very junior (Euro310 per night including half board). We were all wishing we could have gotten a room at Hotel La Perla in Corvara as originally planned.

Skied Dolomiti Superski: Cortina, Lagazuoi, Sella Ronda (green route), Arabba/Marmolada, Alta Badia. My favourite run is Lagazuoi with a stop at Rifugio Scotoni. It has the most stunning scenery and it's a leisurely intermediate run that most skiers can do. Had blue skied throughout the week, but skied mostly on man-made snow.

Rifugio Scotoni

Skied with: Franco & Marcello, our two fun-loving, James Bond look-alike ski instructor/guides (Franco looks like Sean Connery and Marcello looks like Daniel Craig) from Scuola Sci Dolomiti Cortina. They even drive like James Bond!

Dined at (just my faves are listed here):
Baita Pie' Tofana (lunch, +39 0436 4258) -- the ginger ice cream in a crispy orange waffle bowl is scrumptuous
La Perla (lunch, +39 0436 4681) -- everything was great and make sure you go on a tour of the theatrical wine cellar
El Brite de Larieto (lunch, +39 368 7008083) -- the best bombardino (you can't get ones with espresso on the slopes!)
Leone e Anna (dinner, +39 0436 2768) -- spaghetti with dried fish roe is delish!
Snowmobile+Sledging Rifugio dinner -- sledging by moonlight is quite the experience. Franco & Marcello even brought a bottle of grappa for us all to drink before our adrenaline rush of a descent down. Can't remember the name of the rifugio (but you'll find a list of the various options here), but there was a delicious pancake dessert that was sort of like fried drizzled egg batter.

Shopped: Amidst our group, the most popular shops were Franz Kraler (Corso Italia 107, +39 0436 3197) for the luxurious Loro Piano and Kiton cashmere and Peak Performance (Via XXIX Maggio 3, +39 0436 866958) for the ski wear, in particular the jeans ski pants. And of course the Cooperativa for just about everything else.

24 Hours in Rome: Daphne Inn, TAD, Pantheon

By the Spanish Steps looking down Via del Babuino. What a beautiful day!

Catching up on my posts here:

It turned out to be a beautiful day (15 February) in Rome. When I checked into Daphne Inn Trevi, it was pouring. By the time, I had freshened up and headed out, the rain had stopped. By lunch time, the skies were blue.

It was a lazy laid-back day in Rome. I walked by Spanish Steps en route to checking out TAD, a trendy lifestyle store complete with hairdresser and cafe, and CM's family company Fabriano, a beautiful stationery shop a few shops down from TAD on Via del Babuino.

Just follow the McD signs on your sightseeing tour of Rome. There seems to be one at every major sight. No Starbucks in sight though. But who needs Starbucks when you've got the best espresso in the world.

My favourite view of the Pantheon. Wish I could lie on my back and bathe under the oculus' light.

From Spanish Steps, I walked down via Condotti to the Pantheon. It's the only ancient building (dating back to 125AD) from the first semester of my History of Art survey class that I like and really wanted to visit (I didn't really start paying attention until second semester when Prof Gridley McKim-Smith and Prof Steven Z. Levine, my two favourite professors, surveyed Baroque up to Contemporary). Its concrete-cast dome, with its open oculus, is mesmerising in both its beauty and its structure. CM had told me I should visit while it was still raining (because the oculus in the dome lets rain in, creating a very special atmosphere), but the rain had stopped by the time I got there.

After long nap, went to dinner at 9:30pm at Ristorante Matricianella (Via del Leone, 4; T: +39 6 6832100) with CM and her English-speaking friends. Dinner conversation was very lively and engaging, jumping from urban planning to Fascist Italians to ancient Venetian families that don't speak Italian (they speak their own dialiect) to Dante to Edward Said to Mickey Mouse (apparently, the drawings are outsourced to some town in Italy) etc. A great evening with great food, ending with a limoncello.

Daphne Inn is a B&B with very helpful staff. There's no elevator in the building, but Carl and Chris both helped me with my three pieces of luggage (difficult to pack light when one needs to pack for skiing and work meetings). I had a comfortable room with free wi-fi access, although I did have to share a bathroom. But then again, it was only Euro72 including breakfast (10% off the normal rate of Euro80 for paying in cash) and the location was perfect, right by Barberini and 5 minute's walk from the Spanish Steps.

24 Hours in Taipei: Les Suites Da-An, Shintori, ppaper

Was in Taipei this weekend to check out the Grand View exhibition at the National Palace Museum that just re-opened in December after a major renovation. The renovation was a bit of a disappointment (the exhibition spaces still feel cramped), but the Northern Sung dynasty calligraphy and Ju Ware bowls and vases were incredible. These pieces were some of the most valuable treasures from the Imperial collections. I was very impressed with the beauty and perfection of the Ju Wares (It actually made me lament how Chinese manufacturing's reputation has gone downhill in the last 1,000 years. Where has all that pride and appreciation for perfection and beauty gone?). Only 70-odd complete pieces left in the world and the NPM has 21 of them. It's the first time, in a long time, that these pieces have been shown. But of all the works, it was the calligraphy that really moved me. There's a lot of beauty and sophistication in Chinese characters. In the pieces on display, there was a feeling of soulfulness, and even a sense of freedom, in the calligraphy that seems rarely expressed in contemporary Chinese culture. Grand View runs until 25 March 2007. But due to the fragility of certain pieces, there will be a rotation of 12 of the 76 works on 8 February 2007.

I stayed at Les Suites Da-An, which is great value for money. I booked a Corner Suite for around USD180 inclusive a great buffet breakfast spread. The location is also very convenient, within walking distance to the 24-hour (the great thing about Taipei is that so many things are open 24 hours!) Eslite Bookshop, which has the most awesome international magazine selection I've ever seen. I found copies of Arizona Foothills (I grew up in Arizona, so there was a moment of nostagia) for sale, imagine that! Anyway, back to Les Suites. The coolest thing there was the mobile phone provided in each room. Basically, if someone calls you in your room and you're not there, the call will get forwarded to that mobile phone. The phone also has the front desk on speed dial, at no charge! So not only is it a very reasonably-priced hotel with all the in-room amenities of a 5-star hotel including in-room fax machine and separate bathtub and shower (well, at least in the Corner Suite), they also provide a convenient way to save on your mobile roaming charges.

The most complete set of working desk accessories I've seen in a boutique hotel and even many luxury 5-star hotels -- stapler, razor, ruler, paper clips, adapter etc.

The handy mobile

The gym, while very simply equipped with a rack of free weights and three cardio machines, was very comfortable and had complimentary bottled water and towels on hand.


It's these little touches (like fresh flowers and fruits in the rooms and daily weather cards on the breakfast tables) that make Les Suites a great boutique hotel. Was having lunch with EC and he suggested I check out Ambience Hotel next time, but don't think the location is as good as Da-An and on first glance, the decor tries a bit too hard.

As per PW's recommendation, I had a great Japanese dinner at Shintori (B1, No. 80, Section 1 Jian-Guo Road, Taipei; T: +886 2 25017000). Had kaiseki+shabu shabu+sushi+sashimi. The fish was incredibly fresh. They have a lot of private rooms that accommodate two to many diners. But I like being at the sushi counter; it's always fun to chat with the sushi chef.

On Sunday, had a great breakfast with Kat at N.Y. Bagels Cafe within walking distance of the hotel before heading to Museum of Tomorrow, a contemporary art project organized by ppaper (Kat is the editor of the magazine and we had just gotten a mention in issue no. 36 of the magazine). The current exhibition is an interactive installation entitled "theFLOWmarket" by Danish designer Mads Hagstrom of theFLOWinstitute. It's interactive, because visitors can buy the products that promote sustainable growth in theFLOWmarket. It's a cool concept and the Museum of Tomorrow is a great temporary exhibition space. There's a cafe and ppaper has a small shop on site (ppaper's permanent shop is at 1/F, No. 2, Lane 26, Section 2 Zhongshan N Road, Taipei 104; T: +886 2 25681779).


theFLOWmarket runs until 28 February 2007. The next exhibition, Happy Living, runs from 22 March to 17 May 2007. Entrance is free and the Museum of Tomorrow is open 24 hours.





Other shops of interest:
Booday (No. 18-1, Lane 25, Nanjing West Road, Taipei 103; T: +886 2 2552 5552) -- Shop and simple cafe opened by designers. Sells mostly funky design T-shirts and accessories, leaning more towards the girlie side.

The One (No. 30, Section 2 Zhongshan N Road, Taipei 104; T: +886 2 25363050) -- Ceramics and a nice afternoon tea spot.
Mister Donut (various locations, check website) -- This Japanese donut chain serves up a variation of donuts that are less sweet than Krispy Kreme's. Love their slightly chewy Pon De Rings!
and soon to open in March is agnes b.'s travel concept store, maison sur l'eau...

Connie's Private Kitchen: Worth the Wait

EC is a serious foodie. He knows all the nooks and crannies in Hong Kong where good food can be found. He found a great laksa place while wandering Tin Hau the other day. So leave it to him to manage to get a table at Connie's (6/F, 186 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai. T: +852 60548244). I first heard about Connie's a couple years ago from DH, must have been a couple years ago. He told me it was great food, but also told me it would be difficult to book with only one table of 12 per night. So I never bothered to try. So when EC invited me to dinner at Connie's, I jumped at the chance. He had actually booked for last night's Thanksgiving dinner there a year ago! But Connie says it doesn't take a year's wait. She decided not to let people book so far in advance. So currently, she is only taking reservations for the first few months of 2007.

Having dinner at Connie's is like having dinner at a friend's simple home in Wan Chai. The apartment is small. The round table, which seats 12 comfortably, took up the whole living area. One of the walls was covered with framed photographs of Connie and her guests. There was no shortage of celebrities, socialities or political figures. She loves recounting stories of some of her high-profile guests. Like how bodyguards had to stand outside in the un air-conditioned hallway, how paparazzi were hiding out in the stairwell, etc. But the real highlight of the evening was the food. All the dishes were great. The most memorable were: mushroom (bak ling gu) with shrimp served up in a garlic and roe (crab and shrimp) sauce; rice (she uses japanese rice to imitate sticky rice) with all sorts of tasty ingredients (chinese sausages, dried shrimp, dried scallop, etc.) wrapped in turnip cake; an amazing soup made from 3 chickens, 15 pork marrows (we all wondered how she can manage to secure all those marrows!), lots of ginger and papaya and hairy crab cooked in it for a short while. She also served up 5 apetizers. My favourite of those was the fried pork chop, which was amazingly tender (she doesn't use corn starch. Instead, she soaks the meat overnight with the skin of papaya, which acts as a tenderizer). Apparently, one young client requested her pork chops for a birthday party, so the mother had to order 50 pieces! The dessert was also perfect -- pieces of pomelo or strawberry with floss of coconut candy (she bought the machine from Taiwan; it's a bit like a cotton candy machine) and a mint leaf; very refreshing after the big meal!

Connie loves talking about her food, how she came up with the dishes, how she shops for the ingredients and prepares them. She'll tell you everything. After the dinner, she passed out her cards with the date written on the back. It's so guests can remember which date they came. When they re-book, Connie can then make sure not to repeat any previously tasted dishes. Her dishes are really quite distinctive and refreshingly different from anything you could find in a proper restaurant. That's because a restaurant that caters to more than 1 table a night, can't really afford to serve up the labour and ingredient-intensive dishes that she does. And Connie is adamant about not expanding beyond the size of her current space (which at its maximum can host 20 guests, but she does so reluctantly), because of her concern for the quality of what she can serve.

Connie is a self-taught chef. When we asked her what she used to do, she replied, "I'm just a regular housewife". She didn't like any of the food she ate in restaurants -- too much MSG and other artificial preservatives, unsanitary cooking environments, uninspiring dishes that were all too common. So about four years ago, she decided to start her own private kitchen and people have been begging for more of her food ever since.

I have friends who think that I don't like Chinese food, to which I can now respond, "but I like Connie's!"

Connie's -- 6/F, 186 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai. T: +852 60548244

Mandarin Grill

Went to Mandarin Grill for the first time last night since its refurbishment. I like the new look a lot more now, a lot less stuffy with the open kitchen and beige chairs. It must be strange for my grandfather though, to go through one institutional update after another. When I first came to Hong Kong (...dare I say it?) 13 years ago, I never shopped at Lane Crawford; it was my grandfather's store. He would walk into the Queen's Road Central store and the sales ladies would know him. Ever since the Lane Crawford IFC opened though, that's changed. Grandpa stopped shopping at Lane Crawford and I started. For Lane Crawford though, that may or may not be an entirely good thing. An insider commented that a lot of the loyal (i.e. those who spend often and spend the most) customers were turned away by Lane Crawford's image change to appeal to the younger shopper (i.e. myself). Compared to my grandfather, I would definitely be considered a lower value customer. But then again, if they managed to keep me interested, my future shopping flow probably exceeds Grandpa. Such is reality I suppose. Same with Mandarin Grill. My grandfather used to have regular luncheons there. But then, those in the luncheon group slowly faded. My grandfather tells me that one of the regulars is still a regular even though he has to use a walker and is accompanied by a helper. And when we left the restaurant, the staff encouraged Grandpa to come back with his friend. I wonder if he will, it must feel like a totally different restaurant to him now. But I hope he does. As for me, I liked the new look and feel. The food tried hard to stay true to its traditional grillroom roots while offering more contemporary accents. Afterall, curry ice cream (which, incidentally, was delicious in an interesting way) isn't what you'd expect for an accompaniment to a crème brûlé (in this case, mango flavoured). I had turbot in a saffron broth and beetroot with butter and almonds for a side. Both were of a standard one would expect. I had to taste my aunt's lobster risotto with white truffle, which was very tasty indeed! But with that combination of ingredients, it would be hard not to please.

While I have no complaints about Mandarin Grill's food, service or ambiance, it's still not really my kind of restaurant. While no longer stuffy, it's still feels like a business lunch and dinner kind of place. For thrills, I would think that Pierre fits the bill more (although I have yet to go). For comfort food, I much prefer Chinnery or the Hainan Chicken rice in the coffee shop.

Tokyo: Massato Paris, Sushi Restaurant Hashida, Tadao Ando's Omotesando Hills, Asuka

Am posting with the new beta.blogger.com, so please let me know if there are any glitches. Will be updating old posts with labels (i.e. blogger's version of tags) in the next couple weeks.

Massato Paris -- One of the things I like doing in Tokyo is getting my haircut. It’s not expensive and they always do a good job. But if you’re not a Japanese speaker, make sure you go with someone who does or make sure the place you’re going to has an English-speaker on hand. Last year, I went to Kakimoto Arms with LS in Roppongi Hills. This year, MH did the booking, so I joined her at Massato Paris, across the street from Grand Hyatt (above the Versace shop). I like the nice, little touches, like the head and shoulder massage after the final hair rinse and the post-cut tea and candies platter.

Sushi Restaurant Hashida (3-8-11, Kachidoki, Chuoh-Ku, Tokyo 104-0054, Japan; T: +81 3 3533 0341) -- For lunch, SM had booked one of her favourite sushi places near Ginza. She warned us, though, their specialty is BIG sushi. The first time she went, she said the sushi chef looked really angry and barely spoke to her. Towards the end, he just handed her a photo album. Inside were pictures of the likes of Will Smith, Cameron Diaz and Penelope Cruz with the sushi chef in his little sushi restaurant. Lunch is a set menu. The only thing you get to choose is whether you want your explosive, finale sushi to be uni (sea urchin) or ikura (salmon roe). The rest did not disappoint. I rarely eat scallop, shrimp or clam sushi, but the ones served here were delicious and sweet. I ordered uni for my explosive sushi and boy was it explosive! I was served enough uni to make at least 5 pieces of normal-sized sushi. All that sushi for around Y3,000!

The sushi chef did not look so fierce this time around. He was working behind the counter with his son by his side. They made a great father-son team. After the meal, he showed us the famous photo album and even had a brief chat with us. "You have to thank the people who come for dinner," said Hashida-san Sr., because they are the ones subsidizing the low-cost lunch set.

Omotesando Hills -- After lunch, continuing with the starchitect-designed shopping mall theme, we visited Omotesando Hills, Tadao Ando's shopping mall for Minoru Mori. It is supposed to resemble a long street promenade inside the building. MH complained that she didn't like the fact that she had to stroll by all the shops just to get to a shop at the top. It's great for retailers and those who have to lease the space out to potential retailers don't have to deal with the problem of potentially dead spaces. I, personally liked the indoor boulevard feel. The mall is intimate in size, compared to present-day mega-malls (like last week's visit to Toyo Ito's Vivo City in Singapore) and I like that sort of intimacy. And there's a simple logic of having one path to follow. For a shopper, it's much more reassuring, less overwhelming. The formal simplicity actually creates a certain visual/spatial poetry or rhythm, which I like. In a way, it's soothing; true retail therapy.


Asuka -- For dinner, SI had booked kaiseki for us at a restaurant in Shimokitazawa within walking distance from his place, which is in Uemura, a quiet, idyllic neighborhood (SM called it the Greenwich Village of Tokyo). We stopped by SI's place for Champagne before walking to Asuka. SI had arranged for us to sit at the counter, because he thought it would be a more interesting experience. The chef here was a very cheery one. He had a sort of happy buddha kind of serenity to his face.


The food was amazing. We chose the menu with crab for a little under Y10,000 per person. I always think a restaurant is really good when they can get me to try and like things that I normally wouldn't touch. I am not a fan of tofu of the Chinese variety, but I think the Japanese are masters of tofu dishes. So when a broth with milk tofu suspended in it arrived, I thought I'd try it, even though I normally don't like tofu. I did not regret my decision. The milk tofu looked like a ball of mozzarella cheese. The consistency was different from regular tofu, it was kind of elastic. Buried inside was uni.


Even though we had sushi for lunch, the sashimi was still a treat:


But the really unforgettable dish was the crab, which came complete with what my SM translated as crab ovaries (the bright orange gook, which was actually quite tasty!), crab roe (the darker brown bits) and the crab meat. In terms of eating adventures though, last week's sperm of whale at Iggy's in Singapore still takes the cake.

Tokyo: Shibuya Granbell Hotel, good things come in red, Tera Teppanyaki

I love Tokyo; it's one of the few cities in the world where I always feel like a lost foreigner despite the number of times I've been here. Diane von Furstenberg was in town last week for the opening of her first boutique in Japan with her whole entourage. MH, who's in town for other work, was guiding/hanging out with them and apparently it was the first time in Japan for some in DvF's group (including her son) and they absolutely loved it (especially the Loveless shop in Aoyama). The thing is, for a gaijin, or foreigner (such as myself), Tokyo will always be fresh and new, no matter how many times you visit. There'll always be that sense of excitement of the new and different, that buzz of not quite knowing what you'll stumble upon, the thrill of a mystery you'll never quite solve.

I arrived into Narita around 1400 and surprisingly the immigration queue was very short and moved quickly. Managed to get my luggage, rent my 3G phone (it's great that these days I can keep my Hong Kong number), grab some Starbucks


(Japan's stores probably have some of the best Starbucks food around and they have these really cool, Starbucks mermaid stirrers that are also stoppers for the lid that I haven't seen anywhere else in the world!) and caught the 1513 Narita Express out to Shinjuku station. It's a great thing these days to be able to get on the internet and show taxi drivers the location maps for where you want to go, because even with the English address for Shibuya Granbell Hotel, he wasn't quite sure where it was.

In terms of location, Shibuya Granbell is really great, a few minutes' walk to Shibuya station, less than 10 minutes to Parco Part One. But the best part is that it's on a quiet street, off the main strip. Downstairs, there's a nice cafe/bar that's open late called Piece of Pie. I booked a Double Room for Single Use (Y16,800, including ++!!). This is one of the very, very few hotels that offers a cheaper rate for single use of a double room. The room is very comfortable with all my necessary amenities. It has free LAN internet access and the cable's in the desk drawer. The bathroom has a tub (which is such a rarity in so-called boutique hotelrooms these days) and I had ample space to maneouver around with my bags laid out. Very good value for money. They have a great penthouse duplex suite with its own rooftop jacuzzi.


Good things come in RED! I got 2 wonderful surprises, both red. MH dropped by my hotel and produced a gift for me. It was a namecard holder from Inden-Ya. I had seen her namecard holder with a wonderful cream-dotted pattern on what she tells me is deer skin (navy blue). I had fallen in love with it and kept harrassing her to tell me where she got it. Unfortunately, it was a gift to her from her father so she didn't really know exactly where to buy it. Between her meetings here this time around, she chanced upon a shop selling Inden-Ya's wares, and got me my very own namecard holder with tan flower-shaped dots on red deer skin (red is my lucky colour). I found their website via google, so hopefully I'll have time to drop by their store.

The next wonderful surprise was that the GAP store near Parco sells their Product (RED) line! I had actually called Singapore's first GAP store, which just opened in Vivo City, but they had no idea what I was talking about. So when I saw the line here, I kind of went crazy and bought a whole bunch of inspi(red), desi(red) and hamme(red) t-shirts to give as gifts.


After a spot of shopping, SM picked us up and took us out for teppanyaki. Tera is a discrete, little teppanyaki restaurant in Nishi-Azabu that probably seats around 10 people at the counter and then another 20-25 people around tables. If you didn't know of its existence, you'd probably overlook its non-descript entrance. Once inside, you walk downstairs and there's a teppanyaki counter and behind it several screened-off tables. We sat at the counter. The first dish that came was uni on top of a small portion of grilled rice on top of crispy, grilled seaweed. It was absolutely delicious, the uni being very fresh and sweet in taste. Next came a Japanese teppanyaki version of raclette -- vegetables with cheese. We also had beef fillet and sirloin, garlic fried rice (which came with a wonderful broth), and vanilla ice-cream topped with grilled strawberries, all were wonderful! I'm so glad that I now know another good teppanyaki place aside from Seryna's Mon Cher Ton Ton.


After dinner, we went to nearby birth for a drink. I had yuzu tea. There's supposed to be a fortune-telling lady that goes around the tables, but when we saw how depressed a couple of girls looked after their readings, we opted not to take our chances.

Singapore: homes and shops

I love Sunday brunches; it's the most laid-back, relaxing meal one can have in a week. Best enjoyed with a group of family or friends. Had booked Au Jardin, another one of Les Amis Group's restaurants. The setting is charming and idyllic, in a little, old house set amidst the Singapore Botanic Gardens. As we were shown to our table upstairs, who should be sitting at the table next to us? It was none other than Chubby Hubby and his S! "I see you're really enjoying all the best that Singapore has to offer!" greeted CH. Suffice it to say, Au Jardin is the most civilised place to spend 3 hours of any Sunday afternoon filling stomachs with great food and drink while catching up on all sorts of gossip (intrigues within the Thai Royal family, for example).

Stomachs filled, we headed over to check out DH's new pad at Robertson Blue along Robertson Quay, situated along the Singapore River front in between Zouk and Butter Factory and a 5-minute walk to great lifestyle shops and restaurants such as Sage (another CH fave, DH agrees that it's great food at great prices), La Maison du Whiskey, The Chocolate Factory, Canelé pastry and chocolate shop etc. This whole neighborhood is really going to take off in terms of it being a young, vibrant residential area, a bit like Yaletown. People walking their dogs or going for a morning jog along the riverfront before they pop into one of the posh cafes for breakfast. Wonder if we'll see any punters or rowers soon?

Robertson Blue is beautifully-designed. It has 36 units with the Penthouse units having their own rooftop jacuzzis. DH's is a ground floor unit and his patio steps right onto the pool/jacuzzi area. In Hong Kong, I've not come across a new, boutique development as well built and designed as this. But then, I was told who the developer is -- HPL (Hotel Properties Limited; i.e. owner of Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay, Four Seasons Sayan, Four Seasons Kuda Huraa, Metropolitan Bangkok, among other properties).



Chocolate Factory is nearby. I had heard lots about this shop. BK, owner of Chocolate Unlimited here in Hong Kong, had raved about the shop's freshly-made truffles (she was also the one who tipped me off on iggy's white truffle white truffles. the night i was at iggy's though, we had yuzu white truffles instead, of which AP asked for and managed to get 3 extra!). S confirmed this, but also mentioned that the French chocolatier has a bit of an attitude. If you want to be well-served, you had better be a fine-looking female without a wedding ring on her finger.

Canelé is at Robertson Walk. The pastries here are amazing. The chocolates are good as well and there isn't the high price and attitude of The Chocolate Factory. Check out the meringues!!

Another great shop along the way, next to The Chocolate Factory was La Maison du Whisky, which stocks around 700 whiskies. RB, who works for Diageo, was amazed that they stocked their own whiskys, which his company did not distribute in Asia! Next stop along this Champagne, chocolate and pastry-filled afternoon was a visit to RB's home on Blair Road, a newly-renovated shophouse. The place is awesome, especially the pool which has panels that can be placed over the pool for dinner parties. I happened to be flipping through the latest issue of ish magazine (7.4) that KC, the editor, had given me at our meeting and lo and behold, RB's home was featured!





Love the "Days of Being Wild" feel of this balcony!

Singapore: Justin Lee, Iggy's

Another action-packed day: breakfast at P.S. Cafe (my fave breakfast hangout in town), speaker sessions at INSEAD on Women in Management and Partnerships between Business and NGOs, checked out some of the Singapore Biennale exhibits at Tanglin Camp, met artist Justin Lee, dinner at Iggy's, then checked out Butter Factory and Hacienda.

Old army barracks were converted into exhibition spaces.


My favourite installation was Takashi Kuribayashi's "Sometimes I feel like I'm in an aquarium". Located in Block 73A. It occupied the ground floor and the lower floor. I walked into the ground floor and saw only an aquarium in the middle of the room. Two Japanese women were staring at it. Disappointed, I walked out and ventured downstairs. On entering, all I saw was a black, plastic, blow-up seal. Nearby was a sign politely asking visitors not to physically abuse the seal. I was ready to leave when I notived a ladder in the middle of the room. Funny, I hadn't recalled an opening in the ground floor. Where did the ladder lead? I walked over, looked up and saw a hole in the ceiling, so i climbed up the ladder and realized I had climbed up through the ceiling and into the aquarium! Too bad the two Japanese women weren't still there. It would have been funny to see their reaction to me popping up into the aquarium. When I descended, I noticed another ladder at the far end of the room. This one led up to a jungle environment.

Next art stop of the day was Asian Art Options' office where I met up with Audrey Phng and Justin Lee to see my first art acquisition! I met AP earlier this year in Singapore and we really hit it off. While browsing her site's list of artists, I came across Justin Lee and really took a liking to his whimsical, kitschy work appropriating and re-interpreting Asian motifs and icons. So when I found out that Justin had designed several of the rooms at New Majestic Hotel, I made sure to request his rooms for my stay. I loved the rooms so much that I ended up commissiong a piece from Justin. And here are the fruits of his labours, which I absolutely adore. Many thanks to AP for making my first art aquisition happen! We celebrated the event with a bottle of VCP Rose and a box of Springli Grand Cru truffles (fresh from Zurich) courtesy of EO and Triple Chocolate Brownie from The Brownie Factory (at Takashimaya) courtesy of Justin. I was trying very hard not to ruin my appetite for dinner at Iggy's, but the truffles and brownies were just too tempting...

There are a lot of Justin Lee motifs here: paper-cut, double happiness, lightbulbs, the powerful female figure (in this case, guanyin dressed up in a super-hero cape). There was one new element that I hadn't seen before, but it also happened to be the first thing that caught my eye -- a tiny, little sheep on the bottom right corner of the canvas. A lot of Justin's art work deals with themes about Asia's place in the world, it's struggle to embrace Western culture and brands of status while trying not to turn its back on its own past. He asks questions about the power of brands and consumerism, women's role in society (are they goddesses, Wonder Woman or prey (the antelope headdress) or both?), are we free-thinking and acting or or we slaves to our ambitions to keep up with the Joneses?

On the way to Iggy's, we popped into Ambush (not knowing that it was a shop), a couple shops down from AP's office and ran into another one of AP's artists: Miguel Chew shopping for a new shirt (he also designed rooms at New Majestic)!

We arrived iggy's late and found Chubby Hubby and his S as well as AP's D had been waiting for us for half an hour (I had mis-read the email. So, so sorry guys!!). It is always a treat to dine with Chubby Hubby and his S, because they are like walking food and wine encyclopedias, not to mention that they know the chefs and get extra good service. To say the least, our 10-course tasting menu was nothing short of fabulous. Highlights were: Onion gratin with 2g of Alba white truffle, Crispy roasted suckling pig with apple puree and tumeric oil, Cappellini with ssakura ebi and home-made scampi oil (AP actually asked for and got seconds!!) and a panna cotta (at least I think that's what it was) with candied tomatoes and basil ice cream (meant to be a reinterpretation of a caprese salad). But the food adventure of the night was one of the canapes. On the menu, it said: Pan-fried shirako with green curry foam. Shirako, a beautiful sounding name, is actually sperm of whale!!!

Singapore: Les Amis, Vivo City and INSEAD Meeting in Asia

Had a pretty amazing day today. It all started with an 8am pilates class with Ole at Sky Pilates, followed by a meeting with Page One's editorial team, white truffle lunch at Les Amis, a wander through Toyo Ito's amazingly whimsical urban beach in the sky on the rooftop of mega-shopping mall Vivo City and a very moving auditorium naming ceremony at INSEAD that kicked-off INSEAD's Meeting in Asia weekend of events.


White Truffle Lunch @ Les Amis (1 Scotts Road, #02-16 Shaw Centre; T: +65 6733 2225). Had quite an amazing lunch with EO. Asked the sommelier to recommend a Spanish wine and the bottle of 1997 Cims de Porrera from Priorat was excellent and went very well with the absolutely divine Spanish ham from Jabugo. EO ordered a sunny-side up egg with white truffles for starter, while I decided not to overkill on the white truffles and ordered the grilled toro with sunny side-up egg and oscietra caviar on blini. I saved my truffle quota for the chargrilled pork belly and chocolate fondant with white truffle ice cream. The ice cream was heaven! After lunch, I popped into That CD Shop next door. They have a house compilation label called High Society, pretty decent complilations ranging from Shanghai Divas to classical to lounge to soul etc.




Next stop was Vivo City. Had read about Toyo Ito's mega mall and the renderings looked interesting enough, but every Singaporean I mentioned Vivo City to was not all that enthusiastic about it. TW managed to muster some excitement over the cinema which has electronic reclining seats, but that was about it. Inside the mall, well...it did look like any other suburban-sprawl mall.


But once I got to the rooftop, I was able to experience Toyo Ito's blurring architecture, the melding of Vivo City with its Marine City/Sentosa surroundings. The rooftop garden has an urban beach (which mirrors the beaches of Sentosa on the opposite side) and outdoor amphitheatre.


Interesting how the cranes, which could be aesthetically a real eyesore, are made less so because they just kind of blend in with the palm trees.



The rooftop garden makes Vivo City a great public space, offering a great leisure venue for families.

New Hollywood Road Haunt: lazy Sunday morning brunch @ Classified

It's been ages since I walked along Hollywood Road beyond Peel Street. When I used to work around the Hollywood Road/Wyndham Street area, I might venture towards Sheung Wan in search of new lunch spots (i.e. Gough 40, Song...yes, it was that long ago). But since setting up shop in Causeway Bay, I've not gone beyond the imaginary boundaries of SoHo. It's a very urban phenomenon that we get stuck in our limited neighborhood mindset. Hong Kong people don't venture to Kowloon (even though it's just a 7-minute Star Ferry ride across the harbour), Upper East Siders get stuck within a 10-block radius, Parisians in the 6th don't really see any reason to head to the 4th, etc. When we live in a city, we all get neighborhood myopia, which is really just laziness. But once in a while, a great shop, restaurant, spa or club opening will jolt us out of our contentment zone and send us trekking to unchartered neighborhoods in search of cool, new experiences.

Such was the case with Classified. Which was how, on this rare, blue-sky Sunday morning, I found myself strolling down Hollywood Road in the Sheung Wan direction hunting for this awesome cheese, wine, ham, coffee shop and its soon-to-open bar-brasserie, The Pressroom. I had received an sms from dy raving about this place opened by one of his friends. He said it was below m1nt, a private club concept ("the world's first shareholder's club") which I find a bit hokey. The location sounded a bit iffy, but if dy (who hardly ever gets excited about food) raves about a food place, it's must be worth checking out. And I was not disappointed.

I spotted Classified's canopy a block away (the name pays homage to the building's former life as a newspaper press). The space was beautifully done. In the ground floor space, coffee, ham (think 33-month aged Joselito ham, absolutely delish!) and cheese platters (mainly U.K. cheeses, but I had a heavenly Brie de Meaux) are served. The also sell luxuriously-packaged jams, teas, honeys and olive oils. On the mezzanine floor, there is a temperature and humidity-controlled cheese room, where customers are encouraged to sample their selection of cheeses. Outside is a wine section (didn't pay much attention to the stock since it was before noon on a Sunday morning, but at a glance, there seemed to be a few Alsatian wines). In the wine room, there's a large wooden table that makes for a perfect venue for private wine and cheese tastings. In fact, I was looking was a fun place for another INSEAD gathering next week and this seemed like the perfect place (just wish they carried more smelly, French cheeses like epoisses though)!

While I waited for dy, bl and py to show up, I finished off 24g of Brie de Meaux (only HK$10!)with bread and samplings of their blueberry and buckwheat honey. I sat at the square wooden tasting table with benches (seats up to 12 people), which kind of reminds me of Le Pain Quotidien's communal tables. On the table were 2 olive oils, 2 honeys, jam and cubes of Comte with bread for passers-by to come in and try. With the doors open, the weather beautiful, it was the perfect leisurely, Sunday brunch experience.

As the Michelin guides put it, Classified is worthy of a detour/special journey. Owners AA&P are on their way to creating a new destination neighborhood, but I am hoping success will also allow them to branch out and open up closer to my neighborhood. I could use a new canteen.

INSEAD Slacker Six mini-reunion at Hong Kong's ingredients

INSEAD was where I was schooled in the art of living the Little Cream Life. It didn't hurt that I found myself sitting in an amphitheatre with 70-odd other like-minded individuals. INSEAD's admissions process prides itself on selecting people from diverse and international backgrounds. Somehow, they also managed to figure out early on who all the slackers in the promotion would be and stuck them in Section Six (our promotion had 3 other sections: 5, 7 and 8. One of these sections prided themselves in having the most people on the Dean's List). Ours was the section that gifted the "Ding" Bell in the Fontainebleau campus bar (Singapore campus, which came later, has a gong), which is rung whenever someone is "dinged" by a potential employer. Someone at the bar would then buy that person a drink as consolation. In fact, I was the one who hauled the bell back to Fountainbleau from a foundry in London after a day of interviews with Morgan Stanley. After more interviews in Hong Kong, I eventually got "dinged". Obviously, they too could tell that I was a slacker!

So by chance, the stars aligned last Thurday and 5 other slackers (that's at least 1/12 of our Slacker Six section) plus guests found ourselves in Hong Kong at the same moment in time and decided to have a mini reunion at ingredients. There was Indian-American AS (whom I was supposed to sit next to in the amphitheatre, but since he hardly showed up to class, I ended up sitting next to CS), on an 8-month transit from Intel's San Francisco through their offices in Hong Kong and Mumbai before eventually settling into his more permanent position in Intel's Dubai office looking out for investment opportunities in the region. From Shanghai, there was French NG, who left INSEAD with the job we all thought we wanted with Quiksilver in the resort town of Biarritz. He eventually moved to Shanghai to establish and expand the brand's presence in China. From NYC, there was Singaporean KF, who's with jumpTV, which just listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and London's AIM Market over the summer. He had invited Canadian TS, his colleague from Singapore, and PT, his friend in Hong Kong to grace our little gathering. Of the more permanent HK-ers, there was American IE, with Corporate Adventures, Korean-American CK with ABN Amro private equity and myself (American-born Chinese) as well as two younger alums, BL (Australian-born Chinese) with CIMB-GK equity research and VH (another American-born Chinese), consulting for Neil Pryde. We were quite a mixed bag, which was what made the evening so much fun.

ingredients (23 Wing Fung Street, T: +852 2544 5133; ingredients@netvigator.com) made for a great venue for this little get-together. originally a private kitchen started by an ex-banker located on NoHo's Gough Street, ingredients re-opened in its swanky, brand-new 3-story glass-facade building on hip Wing Fung Street just off Star Street on 1 September. Also on Wing Fung Street are Xi Yan Sweets, OVO Garden, agnes b.'s library/gallery space and other eateries and small shops. We were 10 people and fit comfortably into one of their private dining rooms on the 1st floor restaurant space. The ground floor is a lounge, 2nd floor is a bar and the rooftop will open sometime in November. The rooftop is sure to be a great space for parties. I was pleasantly surprised that a brand-new building on this street in the trendier part of Wan Chai was built not built higher than the other building. I can't imagine there being any height restrictions, since across the street is the Three Pacific Place office tower. Is it an ultra-rare case of a Hong Kong developer sacrificing some GFA in favour of aesthetics??

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.

12 Hours in Macau: Wynn, Robuchon a Galera and Sands

Had a blast in Macau yesterday for the National Day holiday. Took the 0945 Turbo Jet, and headed straight to Wynn Macau to drop off an order of Little Cream Book: Goodwill for an upcoming executive meeting as well as to meet up ES and co., who had stayed the night before. Arrived around 11am and checked out ES's room. It was a decent-sized room with two, double beds (56 sq m at HK$2,610++/night for a Grand Deluxe Lake View Room. The difference between Deluxe and Grand Deluxe is use of Wynn Club lounge and VIP check-in counter) and a view looking out over the fountain, towards Hotel Lisboa. The whole place was actually a whole lot more tasteful (such as the the Four Seasons-like floral arrangements) and well put-together than I had expected. While crowded, it was not unbearably so. I had expected throngs of people given that it was China's National Day holidays, Macau's newest casino (it just opened on 6 September, so everything still looks fresh, clean and glittery) and the sms ES had sent me on her arrival: "Too many people at Wynn. Very tiring".




Had booked 1230 lunch at Robuchon a Galera, so walked across the street after I had toured the room and took a quick spin through the casino (Again, better than I had expected. Probably the only casino in Macau with bright, yet soft, lighting). Of course, Robuchon's been open for quite a few years now (since May 2001), but I had not been enticed enough to make the hour-long trip. Maybe because I was still disappointed with L'Atelier in Paris, whereas this time around, I still have memories of my good NYC L'Atelier experience in my mind. In retrospect, it seems a bit silly, because the 3-course prix-fixe lunch (with amuse bouche, coffee and petit fours) at MOP288 (US$36) is probably the best value-for-money meal at that level of quality I've had. For starters, I chose one of the soups, a garlic bouillon with little escargot dumplings. For the main, I had quail stuffed with foie gras, which came with a small serving of the famously delicious (yet deadly on any healthy diet) mashed potatoes. I had a tough time with the dessert trolley, but ended up choosing a port wine and rosemary-poached fig, banana, caramel crumble tart along with scoops of ginger and coffee ice creams. All were absolutely delish.


Appetite satiated, I crossed the street once again and headed for Wynn's spa for my 3pm massage. Thankfully, ES has booked in advance, because on my arrival, there was another woman practically begging for a slot. The spa has the usual sauna, steam room and jacuzzi, but doesn't measure up to the heat experiences at Hong Kong's Four Seasons or Landmark Mandarin Oriental spas. Granted, a 90-minute massage was only MOP900 + mandatory 15% (around HK$1,006) compared to HK$1,350 for only 80 minutes at LMO, with pricing at FS along similar lines. And there is a difference in the level of service and attentiveness. For example, the therapists jump straight into the massage, whereas FS/LMO have a welcome ritual. But the Wynn therapist had a great touch. ES confirmed that, likewise, her masseuse was excellent as well. So while definitely pricey by Macau standards, the Wynn spa is not unreasonable by Hong Kong standards. It helped that afterwards, I managed to win enough money at the blackjack and roulette tables to cover half the cost of my massage.

Out of curiosity, I headed over to Sands around 8pm since it's just next to the ferry terminal. Big mistake. It was like a convention center, and a grotty one at that. Am hoping that the Venetian's standards will be much higher.

I left Macau on the 2245 ferry, having spent exactly 12 hours in three hotels (didn't even get a chance to show AS any of the more picturesque parts of town or to indulge in egg tarts!).

On a different note, am dying to go have afternoon tea at the just re-opened Mandarin Oriental. Am craving their scones with rose petal jam and clotted cream. I had a look around the hotel with my grandfather (we used to always meet in the hotel lobby). Only the coffee shop (now known as café causette) and cake shop (both moved to the Mezzanine floor), Clipper Lounge, Captain's Bar and The Chinnery are open at the moment. The Grill Room and Man Wah will re-open on 11 Oct and Pierre (as in Pierre Gagnaire) on 17 Oct. The totally revamped spa re-opens on 23 Oct. I'm glad they didn't change the look and feel of the hotel too much. It still feels like the classic Mandarin Oriental (even though my grandfather thought it was too contemporary).

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).

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.

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.

NYC: L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon

I had eaten at Paris' L'Atelier when it first opened and remember not being very impressed with the EUR50 lunch I had there. So when MH & HB suggested checking it out, my reception to the idea was a bit lukewarm. Not to mention that it was difficult to get in. When I checked into the Four Seasons hotel, where the restaurant just opened, I had asked whether the front desk could make a reservation for me. The reply was: "Oh, you'll have to take your chances. They're not taking reservations yet and they're very popular". Basically, she couldn't help. Yesterday morning, I decided to try my luck and called the restaurant. Et voila! I got a reservation. They even asked me what time I would like the reservation for! I requested to sit at the counter, because that is where all the action takes place. While counter seating is not very social if the group is larger than 3-4 people, sitting at tables takes some of the drama, excitement and intimacy out of the whole L'Atelier dining experience. One way to solve the problem is to sit on the corner if you have more people.

The food turned out to be stunningly good. There was a sea urchin in gelee (we all agreed that was made from a lobster broth) with cauliflower cream and beautifully-dotted parsley cream. The flavours just burst in my mouth. While I couldn't eat the oysters, judging from the "mmms" and the wide-eyed looks on my friends' faces, it was a hit. The other hit, although sure to be a cardiac-arrest inducing one, was the signature mashed potatoes. I had just a taste and it was pure cream and butter, but absolutely delicious. It was a perfect compliment to my lamb. If I weren't on my low-fat diet, I would have ordered the quail stuffed with foie gras, seared toro tuna belly and wagyu beef. Actually, there were just so many dishes I wanted to taste! We were three diners and ended up ordering 11 tapas and there were still dishes we wanted to try (they also have regular-sized appetizer and mains, but the tapas makes it easier to share and taste more dishes). Then there were the desserts (we were joined by three more people for this, so we got to order three desserts). My grapefruit and white cranberries with yuzu foam (or was it jelly, can't remember), mint sorbet was a symphony of light, refreshing flavours.

We got to meet Yosuke Suga the executive chef. NK, who is Japanese and in the restaurant biz struck up a conversation with him. He's 29 years old, but looks not a day over 16 (apparently, that's when he started apprenticing under Joel Robuchon in Tokyo). There is a Japanese influence on the dishes, like the smoked foie gras and eel that we tried and the use of yuzu. Perhaps that's why I warmed to this version of the L'Atelier menu more.

I'm so glad I went. It's great food and one of those places where it would be fun to dine alone. The rest of the group have already made a booking for their next visit this weekend!

Midtown NYC: Four Seasons Hotel & Per Se

After 2 nights at Gramercy Park, I moved back up near Central Park to the I.M. Pei-designed Four Seasons Hotel. The first thing I noticed was that the doormen, bellmen and other staff aren't hired from the portfolios of modelling agencies. The moment I walked into the grand lobby, I felt like I had entered a decidedly more serious, adult world; one of bankers and consultants rather than starlets and playboys. Likewise, the staff carry themselves in a more formal manner. The attitude is more "we're here to serve you and serve you well" rather than "welcome to our popular, little clique; you're lucky to be here".

I was in the lift coming back up from the gym with two other guys who had just worked out and one was raving about the little touches. In this instance, it was the refreshing menthol in the refrigerator stocking cold, water bottles (they also have water bottles at room temperature). While I was working out, gym staff were always on hand passing out bottles of water and towels. This is the Four Seasons level of service that I have grown accustomed to -- anticipating guests' needs before they realize what they need. Compare that to Gramercy Park where there was no staff on hand at the gym and when I called down to front desk with a question, they said they would send somebody up. Nobody ever showed up. A comparison between these two hotels is a bit unfair, because their approaches are so different. But I just wish somebody could come up with hotels that marry the two approaches -- something fun, hip AND serious about serving its guests.

The room at Four Seasons was a Deluxe king-bed Room with a sliver of a park view (I was given a corporate rate of US$495++ with a complimentary room upgrade). It was very spacious, a real hotel room -- practical and comfortable. Even though the decor is nothing spectacular, it is tasteful, well-executed and maintained.


The bathroom had the signature tub that fills up in under a minute, separate shower and TV.


Only complaint is that it only has one sink. The wardrobe/dressing area is roomy as well.


There's ample space to hang clothes with ample hangers as well as drawers. Likewise, the sitting area consisted with two armchairs, an ottoman, side table facing a swivel TV. While there is no wi-fi, there is high-speed ethernet connection, with the outlet by the desk. The charge is US$10/day compared to US$14.95 at Gramercy Park Hotel. I actually have an issue with hotels, especially of this calibre, charging for internet connection. If motels or run-of-the-mill hotels can offer free wi-fi, surely a 5-star hotel charging much higher room rates can afford to do the same.

At the moment, the hotel's brand new restaurant, L'Atelier du Joel Robuchon, is still in soft opening stages (since 9 August) and is not taking reservations yet, but diners are welcome to pop by and try their luck. This is the fourth installment of this particular restaurant (the first opened in Paris' Hotel Pont Royal, second in Tokyo's Roppongi Hills complex and the third in Las Vegas' MGM Grand Hotel). However, I made a call to check availability for dinner tonight and got seats; can't wait to try it!

In the meantime, I went to Per Se for dinner and asked for a healthy, low-fat dinner. My foodie friends thought it a bit sacrilegious to go to Per Se whilst on a low-fat diet, but the nearly 16-course menu came out very healthy (with the exception of cheese, which I skipped and dessert, of course). As always, a meal at Per Se is always very memorable. I always walk away remembering every single course I have. It goes without saying that a meal at Per Se has never been disappointing. Service is always attentive without being overbearing or overly stuffy. The staff are extremely knowlegable and accommodating to special requests. Some of my low-fat favourites were: Sevruga caviar served with cucumber sorbet (the non, low-fat diners got the signature "Oysters and Pearls", a "Sabayon" of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and Russian Sevruga Caviar); Citrus Cured Fillet of Hiramasa with "compressed" summer melons, yuzu sorbet, Molokai Black Sea Salt and "Petite" Mint; butter poached Nova Scotia lobster tail braised torpedo onion, Matsutake mushrooms, "Emince" of scallion and Matsutake broth. Everything was perfectly cooked, flavours perfectly balanced, beautifully-presented and portions were perfectly-sized -- just a taste -- so that by the end of the dinner, I did not feel like I had binged on a huge meal, though it was a 4-hour dinner. Those that indulged in foie gras and wagyu beef courses felt a bit more stuffed though. We were presented with a platter of 10 salts (5 from Hawaii, 1 from Japan, 2 from France, 1 from England, 1 from Montana) and two butters (one French, the other from California). Our table had fun tasting the various salts with the butter and bread. Our favourite was one of the salts from Hawaii, black in colour from being infused with charcoal. The best part, though, was the kitchen visit. I had previously visited the kitchen when the lunch service had been completed. Everything was already spic-and-span, squeeky clean. I could hardly believe that they had just churned out 15 tables of long menus. This time around, with the last seating at 10pm (our seating was at 7pm), I got to witness the kitchen at work. It bears no resemblence to Gordon Ramsey's drama-filled kitchen on the FOX reality show, Hell's Kitchen. It was a picture of perfect order and even calmness with Chef de Cuisine Jonathan Benno at the helm of this expertly-crewed ship. Everyone was busy at their stations, but nobody seemed to be under pressure. It was like a well-oiled machine. Stations were very clean -- no spills or even drips, no stacks of dirty pans or dishes or other equipment. The video link between the French Laundry kitchen was also up-and-running, so could watch both kitchens in action. All in all, I am happy that Per Se managed to prove the foodies wrong; that great French-styled cuisine need not necessarily mean a fatty, butter-and-cream laden meal.

NYC Wrap-Up: Shows & Restaurants

Got back to Hong Kong early Monday morning and headed straight to the office after a quick stop home to drop off bags and shower. Oddly enough, it doesn't feel like I've been away for 2 months. New releases of Little Cream Book: Architecture, Romance and Golf arrived on Tuesday and it's been crazy ever since. The last few weeks in New York, I was on the phone with the printer nearly every night. Orange, my mobile phone provider, finally called to tell me that I had exceeded my roaming quota and that I would have to pay my HK$8,000+ bill immediately to avoid suspension of my roaming privileges. Am still missing NYC though, so though I'd do a final wrap-up of all the things I missed in my previous posts.

Hotel
Mercer -- I got to check out one of the rooms at Mercer when I visited A&K. They have their own architectural practice, Naga Concepts, based out of Phuket and were in town working with Andre Balazs on his new resort/residential project in Anguilla. Interiors will be by Christian Liagre and there will be a John Pawson-designed spa. I was really excited for them, because it sounds like an awesome project to work on. And I had previously stayed at Hotel QT, and liked it very much -- it's great value for money in a very convenient Times Square location. The rooms, though not exactly spacious, are sensibly and practically thought out. And I love the bar pool (the major disappointment at Four Seasons was that it did not have a pool!). So I had high expectations when I visited Mercer, especially since I knew it was another Liagre-designed hotel. I was in for a disappointment though. While the room I saw was spacious by NYC standards, the decor looked much more bland than I had expected. The bathroom (without a tub) was standard-sized and looked like a bathroom in a medical clinic with its white tiles. All in all, not the level of luxe I was expecting, but its location in the heart of SoHo cannot be beat.

Shows
I managed to catch three shows this time around. But August is not really the best time for shows. I was so sad to read that my fave playwright, Tom Stoppard's trilogy, The Coast of Utopia, doesn't start until 17 October. I'm hoping I'll be able to schedule a trip to NYC to coincide with one of the marathon Saturdays next year so I can watch all 3 plays (Voyage, Shipwreck and Salvage) all in one go. And then there's Butley, starring Nathan Lane, which AD is designing the set for. That runs from 5 October (previews, opening on 25 October) to 14 January 2007 at the Booth Theatre, so it will definitely be hard for me to catch that one. Anyway, here's what I did get to see:
Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway -- On until 10 September 2006, this cabaret act is a riot! Kiki is absolutely outrageous: "I always thought, if you weren't molested as a child, you must not have been very attractive". It's a fun show though.
Absinthe -- On for the rest of September in the Spiegel Tent down in South Street Seaport. This is definitely one of the sexiest vaudeville acts I've seen. Make sure you see the finale! It's kind of a child-unfriendly Cirque du Soleil. Although the night I was there, there were at least 2 children in the first row. If you go, get there early, because it's free seating
The Lieutenant of Inishmore -- Ended 3 September. Could have skipped the first act, but the shocking and funny second act more than made up for the slow first act.

Restaurants
Wajima -- 134 East 61st Street (b/w Lex and Park) 212 813 9065. I had passed by this restaurant a couple of times and thought it looked interesting. Then MH told me that her mother had been for lunch and they had great lunch specials for US$10. I decided I had to go check it out and it was definitely worth it! For US$9.80, I got one rice bowl with sashimi, one rice bowl with 3 pieces of tempura (2 of which were shrimp), a bowl of cold soba, a bowl of miso soup and an egg custard! Definitely great value for money and the food was good. At lunch time, the place was packed with Japanese.
Raku -- CS and I paid Ray a visit after seeing Kiki & Herb. It's a great pre- or post-theatre joint since it's on 47th b/w Broadway and 8th. ML, Ray's wife, had told me that their specialty is rolls, with its multiple combination of fishes, are not that popular in Hong Kong. Raku comes up with roll combinations in honour of its best clients, Morgan Stanley being one of them.
Bar Masa -- This was the fall back option after I walked all the way down to Sushi Yasuda only to find out it was closed for lunch on Saturday. I had a sushi sampler. One of the few sushi places I've been in the US that actually serves up Japanese-sized sushi. All the fish was very fresh and tasty, but because I was on the phone with a friend, I didn't get a chance to ask what each fish was before finishing them off. A bit pricey, though certainly not as pricey as Masa.
A Voce -- SP who worked with Andrew Carmellini at Le Cirque took me there the first time around. I loved it so much that I booked dinner there for friends 3 nights later. We got to try a lot of dishes. All were light (worked for my diet, i.e. not heavy with butter and cream) and fresh Italian dishes. My absolute fave was the sweet corn ravioli. I had a dish all to myself the second time around. At dinner with S&A, both chefs, I learnt that a creme brulee at Le Cirque uses 6 egg yolks, shocking!
BLT Fish -- Had some very sweet clams there. Definitely prefer the less formal shack downstairs to the more formal upstairs dining. Others had all-you-can-eat mussels, but nobody asked for more after the first bowl. Everything was served with plenty of fries, which I did not touch.
Am really bummed I did not get a chance to check out Sushi Yasuda; that's going on the top of my list of restaurants to try next time! It was a S&A recommendation. MH, seconded it, but added that she no longer patronized the restaurant on principle. Apparently, the sushi chef is a real chauvanist.
Magnolia Bakery -- 401 Bleeker Street 212 462 2572 Yes, I was on a low-fat, low-sugar diet, so cupcakes weren't exactly what I was supposed to be eating. But I got BL to buy one just so I could have a teeny, tiny bite. Absolute happy food! It would be awesome if they opened shop here, definitely beats Krispy Kreme (an outpost of which has just opened up downstairs from my office here in HK)!

NYC: Ian Schrager's New Gramercy Park Hotel

I traded proximity to Central Park, Museum Mile and Madison Avenue shopping for keys to Gramercy Park yesterday. NC, my rebounder instructor, had tipped me off to a really bad review of Ian Schrager's new Gramercy Park Hotel in The New York Sun by James Gardner. So before I checked in, it seemed that word on the street was that Gramercy was a major disappointment.

I have previously stayed in three of Schrager's properties -- Hudson, St Martin's Lane and The Clift. My favourite has been, and still remains, St Martin's Lane. Unlike the other two hotels, St Martin's Lane has a proper bathroom that doesn't get treated like the poor hillbilly cousin. For me, Schrager's hallmark is his ability to turn the lobby, restaurants and bars into one of the city's most happening scenes, while the rooms are actually secondary. If you check into a Schrager hotel, you are not so much paying for a room to sleep in, but entrance to a club to party in. Hence, the oftentimes annoying habit of requesting that hotel guests produce their room keys before allowing them entry into the hotel.

Thus, it came as no surprise when I walked into my "Loft" category room (The introductory rate until 4 September is US$340++. The rack rate is expected to more than double after that to US$805++, with special rates at US$645++) and found nothing more than what normal hotels would simply call a Deluxe room. There was no loft bed and the ceiling height is by no means lofty. However, relative to usual Schrager rooms, the "Loft" room was quite spacious. There was a seating area with sofa and leather desk (with a medieval-looking upolstered chair that was a tad too high such that you have to hunch over the keyboard of your laptop) as well as a red armchair with ottoman. There was a king bed with two nightstands and ample room to maneouver. A nice touch was a small vase of fresh flowers by the bedside.


This time Schrager did not use Philippe Starck to do the interior design for his hotel. The painter Julian Schnabel (of broken plates fame) has had a hand in the public spaces, while the bulk of the interiors is by Michael Overington and Anda Andrei. To me, it's a Jacques Garcia wannabe. It's a tarted up version of the Costes Brothers' Hotel du Bourg Tibourg in Paris' Marais (the wood-panelled bathroom really reminds me of HdBT). It's got that Adams Family feel, with a lushness, or perhaps louchness, that comes from an abundant use of richly coloured crushed velvet (robes in royal blue, sofas in olive green, armchairs in scarlet red, curtains in lobster rose, side table in goldust).


There is a very well-stocked in-room bar complete with red, cut-crystal goblets and all manner of gourmet snacks (at super gourmet prices, of course). All this is a mahogany and mirrored bar a la Las Vegas party limo. In addition to the flat screen TV and DVD/CD player, my favourite in-room accessory is the JBL iPod speaker dock (even though the sound is not so great, it's fun. Note to self: remember to unplug from dock when leaving!!).


The one-bedroom suite (Introductory rate is US$400++; rack rate will be US$875++, with special rates from US$655-705++) does not feel as spacious as a suite should. The bedroom is typically Schrager small.


In the bathroom, there is only one sink, no bathtub. The shower and toilet are separated by a door from the sink, which is exposed to the bedroom.


The sitting room is separated from the bedroom by a door. I actually prefer the layout of the Loft to the one-bedroom suite.


All in all, it's a fun hotel and its location on Gramercy Park (with guests getting keys to the private park) a plus. But there were signs everywhere that the hotel opened in haste. For example, poorly fitted door handles:


The restaurant and rooftop club are not yet open. So a simple breakfast is served in one of the meeting rooms facing the park. Main complaints include a lack of electrical outlets for guests who now need to charge phones, laptops, cameras etc. In my room, there was only one available outlet in the lamp, with the other free outlet in the bathroom (definitely not charging my laptop in there!). The windows are neither double-glazed nor sound-proofed. At night, you can hear the ruckus from the street (and there will be lots of ruckus as the bars become the next IT spot post Labour Day). In the morning, I was rudely awoken by construction racket at 8am.

At the current rates, GPH is a fun hotel (it's convenient to Union Square, Chelsea galleries, Meatpacking scene etc.). But as two ladies chatting on the treadmills in the gym commented, they would never pay the increased rates. It's just not worth it; there are too many better accommodation choices in this city. Unless, of course, you want to party on the rooftop with the IT crowd.

Here's a tip: Skip the hotel breakfast. Instead, headd to 71 Irving Place cafe (T: +1 888 710-3844) on the other side of the park. Grab your paper and a park key on your way out, get your breakfast and have it in the park.

NYC: Upper East Side workout spots, Fig & Olive, Shake Shack, etc.

I've been in NYC for a little over a week now. It's been great. Been staying at MH's place on 65th and 3rd, and been absolutely spoiled. The neighborhood's been so convenient. I've had a smorgasbord of workout experiences -- got a temporary one week membership to Sports Club/LA on 61st & 1st where there's a dizzying array of group sculpt classes and the facilities are great, another one-week trial for US$25 at Some Like It Hot Yoga on 63rd & 3rd, Jivamukti Yoga Studio is just around the corner on Lex and a INShape, a private exercise studio on 68th & 5th that offers rebounder (workout routines done on a mini-trampoline) and pilates. Of course, the park is also right nearby. In addition to working out, I've spent some time working at the public library on 67th & 2nd (also has free wi-fi, but a bit of a small neighborhood library so the hours are a bit short).

Despite all that, the highlight of New York is meeting people over meals. The first dinner I had was at Shake Shack in Madison Square Park on 23rd. Started by the same people as the famed Gramercy Tavern, Shake Shack has become something of a phenomenon. The website has a live feed of the lines queuing for their delicious burgers, hot dogs and shakes. I arrived at 6:45pm and did not sit down with our group's order until 8:25pm. But it was a very pleasant evening, so the waiting was bearable. And the food was sinfully delicious. I had a bird dog (chicken dog) with the works and a coffee milk shake. I was later advised by CH, who lives nearby, that the best time to go is around 4:30pm.


AW had sent me on a mission to check out Whole Foods, but MH & CR both tipped me off to an even better neighborhood find -- Really Cool Foods on 3rd & 63rd. The place is great for people who want to eat in, but don't necessarily want to go through all the hassle of preparing a delicious home-cooked meal. Really Cool Foods prepares all the ingrediants, offering single (and larger) serving packages of meal components such as sauteed sliced mushrooms, sauteed ground turkey with chillis, grilled chicken pieces or strips, steamed asparagus etc. as well as other food items. It's a great mix-n-match food concept. I prepared a delicious salad with a ceaser salad package with the ground turkey and mushrooms, which I reheated in the microwave in 30 seconds and then tossed everything together. I didn't even need any dressing.

So far though, my favourite neigborhood restaurant has been Fig & Olive on Lex & 62nd. It's been great for healthy eating, but that place is always soooo packed. They always do a complimentary olive oil tasting of 3 different olive oils, one each from France, Italy and Spain. Their pastas (penne with mushrooms and truffle oil and crabmeat & ricotta ravioli) are cooked just perfect and I love their Fig & Olive salad.

Through MH, I was invited to a dinner party at HB's beautiful Tribeca flat. She had just gotten this incredible exercise machine called ROM (Range of Motion) that promised the benefits of a 45-minute workout in just 4 minutes! Both MH and I thought it sounded too good to be true, but were still very curious to give it a whirl. The machine is huge. It allows you to workout the upper body while seated; it's a bit like rowing, but instead of just pulling front to back, you pull and push in sort of a circular motion. Hence, increasing the range of motion. On the back end of the machine, you can work your lower body and abs. The lower body workout is a bit like a stairmaster workout where you take incredibly huge steps up. I want my gym to get some. It's sure to be a hit!

ROM and delicious Mexican food aside, the most fascinating part of dinner were the people. Because HB's friend film producer friend MC was in town from LA, there were a few film industry people around. P is working on a film about an American woman who marries a Korean-American and decides to have an affair with another Korean man so that she can conceive a child for her husband's family. The film was in the middle of shooting in NYC. MC herself was working on a film about her mentor, Shin Sang-Ok, the Korean filmmaker who was kidnapped, along with his wife, by the North Koreans to make propoganda films. And then there was BD whose book, Closure, which he co-authored, has just been released. The book is about the 9/11 rescue-and-recovery from the perspective of Lt William Keegan of the Port Authority Police Department. BD had many fascinating stories to recount, which made us all want to go out and buy the book.

San Francisco: The Clift, Matthew Barney and Postrio

Spent last weekend in cool, breezy San Francisco. I checked into The Clift, because I wanted to see if the place had lost any of the Schrager beauty & buzz since the the hotels became Morgans Hotel Group and went public. I have to say, I was most disappointed by the bathroom. I checked into a Deluxe Double (has two, double beds) at a rate of US$255++ per night. The bathroom had only one wash basin and the rest of the bathroom looked like a moderate, non-designer hotel bathroom. The shower head was one of those typical shower heads you might find in a mid-range chain hotel. The bathroom was utterly uninspiring, bordering on offensively boring. But the wi-fi worked (at US$10/day, it should work). The room was a decent size for 2 people. However, most shocking was that they charge for a sewing kit (which is free in most decent hotels) and even for the first-aid kit! Fortunately, when I did somehow cut myself, I went down to breakfast and the waitress brought me anti-septic spray, a band-aid and some tissues for free. When it came to evening, in typical club/hotel fashion, we were asked to show our hotel key when returning from dinner. It seems that the Clift's Redwood Room is still quite a scene in San Francisco. A & C, who were also staying at the hotel, recounted how they had sat down for a drink on checking-in around midnight. A young Korean sat down with them and started chatting. The young Korean guy started asking their opinion on how he should spend the US$1 million that his father had given him as a present having successfully just graduated from Stanford. Will be checking into Ian Schrager's new Gramery Park Hotel on 23 August, wonder what characters I'll run into on the rooftop.




A must-see at the SF MoMA until 17 September 2006, is the Matthew Barney show. In fact, they are doing daily (except Wednesdays) free screenings at 2pm of his Drawing Restraint 9, the film he stars in with Björk. I first came into contact with Barney's work back in 1992 when I was interning at Barbara Gladstone Gallery. Gladstone had just signed him on, and he was doing exercise-equipment inspired sculptures in petroleum jelly. He was coming from his experience has a footballer (American football, not the World Cup kind) and wrestling; athletic bodies are created and built by working muscles to the point where the fibres breakdown. His Drawing Restraint series were often about how exploring the creative process that comes out of physical restraint. I find Barney's work very relevant and inspiring, because his work really speaks to what we all deal with day-to-day in life; we all strive to create something out of a certain set of constraints and we are always trying to explore the limits and even break beyond those limits, whether they are physical, social, mental, cultural, economic etc. In Drawing Restraint 14, a work Barney created at SFMOMA, he crossed the skylight's bridge by hooking himself to carabeners. He then drew on the wall at the other end of the bridge. I didn't manage to catch the Drawing Restraint 9 screening (I got there half an hour late and they weren't letting people in after 2:15pm), but from the stills and the trailer (can be viewed online), it's a visually stunning film (a bit reminiscent of Peter Greenaway). Though at 145 minutes long, it may require a bit of patience. It's set on a huge Japanese whaling ship with beautiful images of Japanese pageantry, tea ceremonies, Shinto wedding costumes etc.



Had a great dinner at Postrio. CS had tried to book Town Hall, but it was full, so ended up going to Postrio. I have to admit that I didn't hold high expectations for Postrio since Wolfgang Puck Expresses are popping up in places like Denver Airport. Don't get me wrong, I didn't think it would be a bad meal, but I didn't think it would be exceptionally good either. We were all very pleasantly surprised. I ended up ordering three appetizers -- Chioggia Beet Salad, Duck Confit Raviolo and one of their market specials (it was a fish prepared two ways -- seared and sashimi). I also "tasted" nearly half of L's Hamachi Carpaccio. My favourite was the beet salad, but they were all delicious. AD raved about his plate of chacuterie. Likewise, dessert was a difficult choice was all. I opted for the Chocolate Espresso Roulade. My one major disappointment is the decor, which looks like it hasn't been touched since it opened. Fortunately, I heard from DN at Kimpton Hotels that Postrio will get an interiors update soon.

I was having dinner with CT and gang and a very interesting conversation came up about Burning Man. Previously, Peter Guy, the editor of ESCAPE, had mentioned this festival in the hot, Nevada desert, where people camp for a week. At the time, it did not sound very appealing. But KS and KC were raving about it. KC will be going for the 6th time and KS for the second this year. Imagine, a whole city (nearly 40,000 people go now), Black Rock City, gets built and destroyed, without a trace left (not even a speck of glitter), within a span of a week! What I found most fascinating and intriguing about the event though, was the lengths to which people go to create interesting camp concepts and installations, especially given that the event is entirely non-commercial, everything operates on the gift/barter system and that everything has to be destroyed by the time the week ends. KC recounted how one installation was a gigantic chandelier (at least a couple storeys tall) from heaven that had fallen to earth and came complete with a piece of the ceiling/sky. Imagine bringing all that out to the desert knowing that you have to dispose of every last piece! Anyway, I can't wait to hear all about their experiences this year!

Vancouver: Yaletown

My 3 weeks in Vancouver came and went with the bat of an eye. It was a life of absolute bliss, even though I was working in my second office (4/F, Vancouver Public Library) every day. My days were simple. I would get up around 7:30am and head for a walk along the seawall.


The seawall is incredibly well-designed and user-friendly. I love the fact that it has separate lanes for pedestrians and those who travel faster, whether it be by rollerblades, skateboards or bikes. This is how all city-planning should be -- putting the user's interests first and anticipating their needs.


An hour later, I would pick-up a copy of the New York Times and then head to cito espresso for my usual medio skim latte and toasted multi-grain bagel with cream cheese. It got to the point where the servers new my order and I knew the exact change to bring along: C$6.05. Then, I'd head to work around 10am (that's when the library opens). The fourth floor is where you get the best wifi signal, and early in the morning, it's easy to get a desk with an outlet.

On some days, I'd take a lunch break and head to Jimmy's Taphouse (they're really accommodating here) across the street or back towards Yaletown where Yaletown Brewery is a favourite. Their hand-pulled pork sandwich is mouth-wateringly good! While I was there, the Canada Line (a new rail line running from the Airport to the Waterfront and Richmond, scheduled to be operational in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics) construction had parts of Davie closed to traffic, but it didn't cause too much inconveniece, especially since I was a pedestrian. But for those who may be thinking of staying at Opus Hotel, best to stay away until the beginning of next year when the construction moves down towards Marinaside Crescent.

Some days, my lunch break would entail a pilates lesson with Marta Hernandez at The Space. She has a great studio here with a separate sections for yoga and the equipment-based pilates and gyrotonic. Very convenient too, just 2 blocks from the library, in Yaletown. On Wednesday mornings, Marta actually hosts a pilates show on TV.



One of my favourite Sunday activities (aside from reading the Sunday NYTimes) is walking (but it's easy to bike it as well, just rent a bike from the Reckless bike shop on Marinaside Crescent, next to cito espresso)


along the seawall, past English Bay and all around the 9km Stanley Park Seawall. A great stop for a pre-walk brunch or a post-walk drink while you watch the sunset is the Sequoia Grill.


Another great dinner stop along the seawall, back towards Yaletown, is C restaurant. They're a great contemporary French-style, seafood-focused restaurant.

Two restaurants that I regret not taking time out to go to are Lumiere and Villa del Lupo. Both were on TB's list of must-go restaurants, but the laid-back life of Yaletown got the better of me, and I spent most days shopping for dinner from Urban Fare, just across the street. I practically shopped there once a day!

Of course, there's a lot more to Vancouver to Yaletown. But I managed for 3 weeks not to venture beyond Yaletown and I was perfectly happy!

NYC: Chambers Hotel, Bouchon Bakery

Arrived in NYC this afternoon. Checked into Chambers Hotel on W 56th and 5th; great location. The room I checked into is a decent size (has enough room for a closet and luggage shelf in the hallway, queen bed, desk, side table, reading chair, reading lamp, television and minibar). The desk is set-up like a draughtsman's table, tracing paper unrolls from one side with sharpened pencils and coloured pencils ready for doodles; nice touch. The bathroom failed the JR Luxury Hotel rule (i.e. no separate shower & tub. In fact, no tub at all.). But I kind of expected that of a "design hotel" and at US$295++ per night in midtown Manhattan. I could pay nearly US$400++ at Hotel on Rivington in the Lower East Side and still not get a tub (but you do get a view that makes you smile when you wake up if you get a corner room and despite what people might think about the foam mattresses, they do make for a great sleep). The one grip I do have about Chambers is the lack of service, and I suppose this is the gripe I have at most design hotels. I checked in hungry a bit before 3pm. Between 2:30-5:30pm, neither TOWN, the restaurant, is open nor do they have room service. I asked the front desk where I could print out a confidential document and they asked me to email to their reception email address. And now, as I write, I am calling down to TOWN for room service and nobody is answering (The menu says it runs till 1am, it's only 12:30am right now. Front desk just informed me that room service does not run until 1am on a Sunday, but they'll send up a menu from a nearby deli). But I suppose these things are easily solved by its convenient location.





For my late lunch, I walked over to Time Warner Center for a bit at Bouchon Bakery (where they sell freshly-baked gourmet doggie biscuits!). On the way there, I noticed the LV shop has the exact same window display (currently, it's a collage of vintage hotel luggage stickers set against a blue background) as the shops in Hong Kong! I know I shouldn't be surprised, but I didn't realize window displays were determined internationally. I think the building that the shop is in, but is it just me or does the LV facade look a bit like an obscene hand gesture??



Be careful when you order a bottle of water by yourself, because you will get a 1-litre bottle. The bread here is really great. I had the Rillettes aux Deux Saumons. It was delicious; as I cleaned up the jar with every last remaining crust of bread. Not good for my diet though, as its quite heavy on the butter and I ended up ordering a nice glass of Pinot Noir (can't remember if it was from Sonoma or Oregon) to wash it down. As I was enjoying my late lunch, I could hear people cheering from the Samsung showroom. The World Cup Final between France and Italy was on. When I finished at Bouchon Bakery, I walked over to watch the penalty kicks. I stood next to some French people. I'm not much into World Cup. I totally lost interest when the US team lost to Ghana. But if I had to choose a team to root for, I was rooting for France. The year I was in France, they won the World Cup. Unfortunately, we all know that France lost to Italy by 1 kick. I really felt for the French, they looked utterly dejected. I headed downstairs to pick up a couple National Geographic Trail Maps for Yellostone and Grand Teton National Park. I only have a morning to drive around Grand Teton before I start my pack trip, but I've been told by my uncle WW, that I have to stop by Jenny Lake Lodge.

Can't wait...next stop, Jackson, Wyoming! The Wild West!!

Chambers Hotel ADSL: Free

Uncle Moustache Private Kitchen

I had a delicious meal at a private kitchen run by Uncle Moustache over the weekend. It was a 10-course meal with 9 wine pairings for HK$600, a real steal. Uncle Moustache also runs a wine distribution business during the day and the wines on the menu are from his stable. Apparently, the chef used to work at the now-defunct Classic Passion. The one on the Peak used to be one of my favourite Chinese restaurants. And their signature strawberry spare ribs (paired with Willow Point Sparkling Shiraz) was the last course before dessert on this menu. Among the other courses, my favourite were a crispy rice with salty egg yolk and seafood broth, crab with glass noodles (paired with Ankena Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2004) and deep fried shrimp ball with a Champagne and wasabi sauce (paired with Merryvale Starmont Chardonnay 2004).

Uncle Moustache was definitely one of the few private kitchens I have tried of late that hasn't disappointed. I must say, I was a bit sceptical about going out to Chai Wan for another private kitchen experience, but this one was good value for money. While the decor was not much to write about (during the day, it is an office for a company that does fashion trading as well as the wine biz), the food and wine were great and Uncle Moustache was very hospitable. Our main complaint was that serving size was too small, which meant we all thought the food was good enough to ask for seconds.

Uncle Moustache Private Kitchen
Suite 1801, Chai Wan Industrial City Block 2
70 Wing Tai Road
Chai Wan, Hong Kong
T: +852 2898 9787

Hong Kong Restaurants for a Visiting Chef and His NYC Tips

For some reason, I have a reputation among my friends of not liking Chinese food. This really isn't true. What I don't like about dining out at Chinese restaurants has more to do with ambiance than food -- the noise, the thoughtlessness of the decor, the clutter and hygeine levels (too many stories of cholera found in the fish tanks of Hong Kong's Chinese-style seafood restaurants). But when there are visitors in town, it just makes sense to take them to Chinese restaurants.

I recently got an email from MH introducing me to SP, a chef who would be in town for a week and would like to sample what Chinese cuisine has to offer. So I had a think and came up with the following list with the goal in mind of showing that Chinese food is not just about fried rice, spring rolls, sweet-n-sour dishes or peking duck (even though Hong Kong does have the best Peking Duck):

1. Xi Yan Sweets -- I picked this for dinner, because it was just the two of us so we wouldn't be able to go to Xi Yan. But at least SP would get a taste of Jacky Yu's cooking style. I love the dan dan noodles here; the texture is perfect, nice and chewy.

2. Hutong -- This one's great for out-of-towners, you get the stunning view of Hong Kong island and if you get there around 8pm, you'll catch the Symphony of Lights show, where the Hong Kong Island office buildings perform a laser and light show. I love asking guests to try their shark's lips as well as "Jade" vegetable in ginger oil, crispy de-boned lamb ribs Hutong style and their dumplings.

3. Bistro Manchu in SoHo (lots of great, little restaurants around here as well) serves up great northern-style dumplings at 33 Elgin Street (T: 2536 9128).

4. Victoria City Seafood Restaurant in either 5/F CITIC Tower, 1 Tim Mei Avenue (T: 2877 2211) or the one in Repulse Bay (T: 2803 1882) for dim sum.

5. Bo Innoseki -- For a sort of Ferran Adria meets Chinese food experience.

6. Crystal Jade -- For Shanghainese noodles, dumplings and other dishes. Lots of outlets including Hong Kong Station (T: 2295 3811) and Harbour City Shopping Mall on Canton Road (T: 2622 2699).

7. Happy Valley wet market (top floor) for a great local food stall experience. The chicken with fried garlic at Sheung Kee (T: 2882 2994) is awesome.

8. Moon Garden Tea House -- A great place to sample all sorts of Chinese teas and snacks at 5 Hoi Ping Road, Causeway Bay (T: 2882 6878).

I had a great dinner chatting with SP. I had thought he was in town researching for a new restaurant. Turns out, he's a chef that doesn't like the restaurant biz. Which is why he switched to private chefing. He's the chef for a family in NYC. The way he tells it, he's got an awesome job cooking for 2 adults and creating exciting meals for a baby and dogs that also allows him time to explore other business ideas such as a gourmet, organic baby food shop. I think it's a great idea and hope he gets it going soon!! Part of his job is also to try out different restaurants and learn about different cuisines (which is why he is in Hong Kong, to learn more about Chinese food) so that the family he cooks for don't get bored eating the same dishes. His wife is also a chef who apprenticed as a pastry chef at El Bulli. They both worked together briefly at Lumière in Vancouver. Since I'll be in NYC for 2 weeks this summer, I couldn't resist grilling him on the restaurant scene there. Here are just some of the recommendations I remember:

Chef on the rise: Andrew Carmellini. A Voce, on 41 Madison Avenue (T: +1 212 545 8555), is a laid-back, modern Italian restaurant. Carmellini was awarded the Best Chef in New York last year by the James Beard Foundation.

Chef, whose meal can turn a bad day into a good one: Mario Batali

Other recommendations: Blue Hill, Luarent Tourondel's BLT restaurants (SP likes BLT Fish, but there's also BLT Steak and BLT Prime) and Upstairs at Bouley

Disappointing Private Kitchens

Went to Le Mieux Bistro, a private kitchen (unlicensed restaurants) on the 4th floor of an industrial building in Chai Wan (the opposite end of town, a 30-45 minute drive from Central). I had heard a few positive reviews about the place and decided to check it out. The 6-course, HK$700 (not including Champagne and wine which we brought) per head dinner was a disappointment. The dinner left me thinking about all the other places where HK$700 would have gotten me a much more satisfying meal! The 6-course set menu, while not bad, was nothing out of the ordinary. While the ingredients were fresh, the dishes (Tian of lobster, scallop and salmon; tomato consomme; grilled king prawn; pasta with spicy minced pork; mustard seed coated rack of lamb; baked turbot and totally unmemorable desserts) were uninspiring. Definitely not worth the trek all the way out to Chai Wan to dine in an industrial building where the ambiance is also very ordinary (white table cloths, simple place settings), very unimaginative. At HK$300/head, the dinner would have been acceptable, but not at HK$700/head. I could have had an excellent meal at Cipriani with great ambiance in a central location!

A couple weeks ago, I had dinner at Bonheur (same owners of non-defunct Plats), a private kitchen in Sheung Wan. While I was not bowled over by the meal, it is much better value in comparison to Le Mieux Bistro. What I find worrying is that the whole private kitchen concept has evolved into a much more commercialized venture, no different than a normal restaurant, but charging unjustifiably high prices by riding on the "private kitchen" concept. It seems private kitchens have gone the way of boutique/designer hotels. Gone is the passion and soul that differentiated these small ventures and allowed them to create surprising culinary experiences. These new private kitchens deliver stale, hollow dining concepts in low-rent locations.

Fortunately, there's still Xi Yan, Tribute (which is now a proper restaurant) and 131.

I love Singapore

I'm not out of my mind, I do love Singapore. I always have a great time in this city-state.





One of the reasons I love Singapore is because a pilates studio such as Sky Pilates can exist. Sky is trying to do for pilates what Pure Yoga has done for yoga. However, unlike yoga, the upfront investment in equipment is a lot higher, therefore class fees are higher, which means a more niche clientele than yoga. Sky is an extremely well-equiped, stylish and spacious pilates studio in the conveniently-located Liat Towers on Orchard Road. There's a room full of allegro machines for group classes, a curtained-off tower section, next to the reformer section with cadillac, barrel, chair as well as two gyrotonic machines. I met Teresa Woo, the studio owner, a few years back. She was working for a venture capital fund and getting her pilates instructor certification. Then she got married, got pregnant and started Sky Pilates in her last months of pregnancy. Teresa is really amazing. I know very few people who can juggle the birth of two babies at the same time -- an infant child and a brand-new business. I took a few classes with Ole during my stay and enjoyed them immensely.



I also love the fact that I can have a real brunch in Singapore. For me, a real brunches are not served in a five-star hotel; the atmosphere is all wrong. For some reason, a real brunch for me must be casual in a setting filled with sunshine and greenery, as well as a menu of staple breakfast foods (e.g. eggs any way you like them, sausages, bacon, hash browns, waffles, pancakes, salads, pastas, strawberries and Champagne) and great company. Hong Kong seems to be sorely lacking in such brunch places. I had Saturday brunch at P.S. Cafe (28B Harding Road; T: +65 6479 3343). The setting was perfect -- located in a pocket of seclusion off Dempsey Road, but still very close to Orchard Road/Botanical Garden area, the simple glass and brick building has one wall of glass that runs the full length of the building facing nothing but greenery. The cafe is opened by the same guys behind retail shop Blood Brothers. There's an emphasis on vintage chairs and lamps. The floor is rough, unfinished wooden planks. I had a delicious cheese and caramelized onion flan, followed by a banana chocolate cake. They have a very nice selection of teas.





For Sunday brunch, I went to graze (4 Rochester Park; T: +65 6775 9000) in a neighborhood of restaurants and bars in re-done colonial black-and-white bungalows near Holland Village. I stopped eating eggs benedict ever since I read about what Anthony Bourdain had to say about their preparation in Kitchen Confidential, but for some reason I decided to throw caution to the wind this Sunday and ordered myself an eggs marion (with smoked salmon and spinach instead of bacon). graze has a great garden and upstairs lounge bar, which is called mint. It's opened by the same woman who opened JIA in Hong Kong (and soon Shanghai and Krabi). It's a great place for people watching too. As GC pointed out, it seemed like everyone had given some thought to what they should wear to brunch.

Welcome to Würzburg!

Würzburg is a charming, little place, that's most famous for it's Residenz, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. My brother's wedding ceremony will take place in the Residenz's Chapel. Imagine having your wedding in an important, historic Baroque church and the most amazing thing is that it cost only EUR50 to rent the venue (If only all the other wedding-related expenses were so reasonably priced)!!

Welcome dinner for out-of-town guests was at Nikolaushof up on a hill by the 400-year-old, onion-domed, Käppele. It has great views of Würzburg from its terrace and is a great place a an outdoor reception in warmer weather. As it was, it was still a bit cold and the dinner was held indoors.

Since I am using wi-fi so much. I thought I'd start a public service and give people an indication of wi-fi hotspot pricing. So whenever I'm connecting via wi-fi, I'll indicate network and pricing at the end of the post.
Wi-fi connections used:
Best Western Premier Hotel Rebstock (service provider is probably T-Mobile) -- EUR5/24 hours (what a steal!!)
T-Mobile @ Frankfurt Airport (spent 3.5 hours at Starbucks in the New Shopping Avenue at Terminal 1's check-in level) -- EUR18/24 hours, you can also buy in smaller units such as EUR8/hour

Junkie no. 1

dictionary.com's definition of a junkie reads: "One who has an insatiable interest or devotion: a sports junkie". In my case, that would make me a powder junkie. I'm talking about the light, fluffy powder that falls from the skies on top of which skies and boards float, ever so effortlessly. I'm also another type of junkie, but I'll leave that for my next post.

Having just had a fix, like any junkie, I am left with wanting more. I am writing this post from my Causeway Bay office on a typically, overcast, hazy Hong Kong day, so you may have guessed that I am suffering from withdrawal symptoms.

I miss the feeling of freedom that is skiing (or boarding) -- to breath freely, move freely, and just letting go. It's all really zen when I'm at the top of that steep, black slope, starring down and telling myself that, I will go down with grace and ease. It's just me, the snow-covered mountain and silence (unless, of course, when it's me screaming as I spin and slide on my back down the mountain). It's about living in the moment, one sure-footed turn at a time, revelling in the sun, wind-swept snow and powder sprays coming off the edge of the skis. All I have to think about is the staccato tac-tac, tac-tac -- like a metronome -- of each pole plant as it accents a seamless transfer of weight that then translates into a perfect turn.

When I'm down the slopes, zen gives way to indulgence as I sit down, admire the view of what I've just conquered or am yet to conquer, and knock back a few bombardinos. If I'm really lucky, I get to fill your stomach with some delicious, yet simple, casunziei (beetroot ravioli with nothing else but melted butter, a sprinkling of parmesan and poppy seeds). At the moment, I am thinking of El Brite de Larieto, a charming farmhouse restaurant in Cortina surrounded by larch trees. But it could also be the terrace of Riffelalp in Zermatt with front row seats to the Matterhorn on a sunny day. Just substitute the bombardinos with a bottle of bubbly and the casunziei with an amazingly comforting pot au feu. Their chili con carne's not bad either. All that racing around mountains does work up quite an appetite! And then, after much cheer and joy and a full stomach, I go to bed with a feeling of total satisfaction and great anticipation for the next day. That is, if it's not my last day.

Back in Hong Kong, I am now counting the days until my next fix. Hopefully, it will be August in Bariloche. In the meantime, I've just googled a recipe for bombardinos.