Tiny Urban Kitchen: Cooking and Tasting Around the World

About Me

I am Jen, an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always.

I've eaten at over 800 restaurants, developed close to 350 recipes, and have traveled to over 50 cities spanning 20+ countries and 5 continents. Have a look around, and enjoy!

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Latest Articles

Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley CaliforniaMay 8, 2025
My favorite types of restaurants - the ones to which I am happy to revisit over and over again - tend to actually be quite simple. They are grounded in excellent ingredients, good execution, and consistency. I love “hearth” type restaurants that are centered around a grill. Fresh, seasonal ingredients...
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Cole's Chop House Napa CaliforniaMay 5, 2025
Cole's Chop House is a well known, storied steakhouse in Napa that serves high quality cuts of dry-aged Prime steaks, seafood, and other classic steakhouse sides and desserts. We were in Napa with several people from China, so it seemed like a fitting place to introduce them to good old...
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Compline Restaurant + Wine Shop NapaMay 2, 2025
Compline is a Wine shop, Wine Bar, and Restaurant, all located within the same shopping area in downtown Napa right near the Napa Visitor’s Center. It’s been said to be a favorite among “industry folk” (meaning chefs, servers, bartenders, wine people, etc.). Wine prices are quite reasonable since you can...
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Thomas Keller's La Calenda: A Tribute {Now Closed}April 30, 2025
This post is sort of a tribute to the amazing meals we had at La Calenda, Thomas Keller’s Oaxan Mexican restaurant. We loved the restaurant so much on our first visit, we came back on our last day in California before flying back to Hong Kong. Little did we know...
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Thomas Keller Ad Hoc + Addendum + Bouchon BakeryApril 27, 2025
For years and years I was a Bouchon Bakery junkie. Every time I went to New York or Las Vegas (Beverly Hills!) I had to stop by a Bouchon Bakery to get my favorite TKO (“Thomas Keller Oreo”). But then we didn’t come to Napa for a long time, and...
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Mandalay San Francisco (Burmese Food)April 24, 2025
I still dream of my first time trying Burmese food (at the original Burma Superstar location soooo many years ago) and falling in love with Burmese Tea Leaf Salad. We’ve since had Burmese food a number of times, whether it’s at the new Burma Love or catered to my workplace...
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Latest Hong Kong Articles

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Recipes by Category

Globetrotter

I travel A LOT, and I always do extensive research about food before going to a new location. Therefore, if you’re planning on visiting a new place, definitely check out the places I’ve visited and written about in these locations when you’re planning your trip.

United States

I grew up in Ohio (where I ate mostly my mom's cooking - see recipes above!), but spent 20+ years living in Cambridge, a college city right next to Boston. I've spent a lot of time trying food all over the US. There are certain places I visit almost annually, and thus know especially well, such as New York, Las Vegas, and both Northern and Southern California.

See more US travel posts

Other North + South America, AU/NZ

Asia

I have lived in Hong Kong for the past 5 years and thus have traveled quite a bit around the region (heh, until the pandemic came). Hong Kong and Japan are both magnificent food cities. One could spend a lifetime just exploring those two places alone. Taiwan is the place of my roots, and I have nostalgic memories visiting it with my family. Finally, these past several years I’ve been able to taste my way through numerous cities in Mainland China, as well as explored many locations throughout Southeast Asia.

Europe

I love Europe's rich history, stunning architecture, breathtaking landscapes, and incredible food. There's a sense of familiarity, perhaps because I spent so much time in Boston, a most "European-like" city in the US. Through the years I've had unique opportunities to explore many parts of this continent, both for work and pleasure. I never tire of it.