Recipes

December 11, 2020 Chinese Recipes

Pan Charred Okra Stir Fry

During this pandemic as I have been cooking more, I began supporting a local organic farm in Hong Kong. It reminds me of my old days in Boston when I used to receive gorgeous bounties of produce every week from Siena Farms, a local farm that practiced sustainable and organic methods. This Hong Kong farm is located in one of Hong Kong's land areas preserved for farming. It's been a joy to receive weekly deliveries of local, organic produce again.

I've always enjoyed farm shares because they give me incentive to try cooking vegetables I've never cooked before. In Boston these farm shares exposed me to things like French breakfast radish, rutabaga, celeriac, watermelon radish, garlic scapes, and much, much more.

Recently my Hong Kong organic farm started to grow okra. I've usually had okra either in a gumbo (where it's sticky, gooey, and soft) or deep fried Southern style. Here in Asia, I learned that you could quickly char okra and then quickly stir fry with your favorite meat.

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December 10, 2020 Hong Kong

Sushi Wadatsumi Hong Kong

Sushi Wadatsumi began as the second location of Tokyo's Sushi Iwa, a highly regarded edomae sushiya in Tokyo. Originally called Ginza Iwa when it opened in 2013, it separated and became its own restaurant, changing its name to Sushi Wadatsumi around 2015. It achieved a Michelin Star in 2014 and has maintained it ever since.

The sushi chef, a local Hong Konger who trained at Sushi Iwa, was extremely precise, detail oriented, and truly a craftsman in everything he did.

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December 9, 2020 Cuisine

DK1885 Wan Chai Vietnamese

DK1885 Hong Kong — Mixed Beef Pho with Vietnamese sausage, beef, sawtooth coriander HKD88

We first discovered DK1885, a local favorite Vietnamese restaurant a bit off the beaten path in Wan Chai because we were looking for restaurants where we could bring our own wine - aka no corkage fee.

We were pleasantly surprised to discover that we also really enjoyed the food. DK1885 serves Northern Vietnamese dishes with a bit of French influence. We loved the vibrant flavors, fresh ingredients, and reasonable prices. The ability to bring our own wine was another huge plus.

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December 8, 2020 Asian

Taiwanese Pork Stuffed Bitter Melon

Bitter melon was heavily featured in the early summer. Although green bitter melon is pretty easy to find in Hong Kong, I was excited that this Hong Kong farm also had white bitter melon, which we usually import from Taiwan.

White bitter melon is sweeter and less bitter than the green bitter melon. Bitter melon in general is very healthy and has been known in traditional Chinese medicine to lower blood sugar. More recent scientific studies have demonstrated anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer effects in various in vitro and in vivo models.

I actually love both types of bitter melon, so I ate a lot of it during this seasonal time.

One of my favorite dishes to make was this Taiwanese pork-stuffed bitter melon. Because bitter melon and pork cook at pretty different rates, it's best to pre-steam the bitter melon before stuffing it with the pork (and then pan-frying the whole thing).

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December 7, 2020 Hong Kong

Castellana - Piedmont Cuisine in Hong Kong

In 2015 for my milestone birthday Bryan organized an Around the World trip for me. One of the places I had always wanted to visit was the Piedmont region in Northern Italy. Even though I typically don't love my November birthday (the November weather in Boston leaves much to be desired), I knew that white truffle season peaked around November. Therefore, we planned our trip around the White Alba Truffle Festival.

Along the way, we discovered our love for Piedmont food and also the amazing wine in the region (hello Barolo and Barbaresco!).

Though we can't travel right now, we got a taste of our Piedmont memories at Castellana, a new Piedmont restaurant that opened in Causeway Bay at the Cubus building.

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December 6, 2020 Hong Kong

Wagyumafia Hong Kong

For those obsessed with the top beef in the world, Wagyumafia is at the pinnacle. Wagyumafia started out as a private supper club in Tokyo. Beef exporters Hisato Hamada and entrepreneur Takafumi Horie held private wagyu-themed pop-up dinners in Tokyo showcasing top cuts of beef from the best producers in Japan.

Wagyumafia's claim to fame is the humble beef katsu-"sando" (sandwich). Wagyumafia's version uses the chateaubriand - one of the most highly prizes portions of a cow - and Ozaki beef, from Miyazaki, Japan. Farmer Ozaki feeds his cows mineral water, organic ryegrass, and a 12-ingredient grains mixture that includes barley and corn. He only raises 60 cows a year, 30 for Japan, 30 for the international market.

A full sandwich using this prized beef in Tokyo costs JPY200,000, or close to $200 USD. At Wagyumafia Hong Kong, adding a tasting portion of this wagyu sando (as an optional supplemental to the basic tasting menu) will set you back HKD$1000 (USD$127).

The first WAGYUMAFIA restaurant opened in Tokyo in 2016. This was a members only restaurant, and within a few years, it was virtually impossible to get membership at this exclusive restaurant in Tokyo. In 2018, Wagyumafia opened its first international location in Hong Kong.

As luck would have it, this new Wagyumafia was located just a 5-minute walk from our apartment. We had been curious about Wagyumafia for years (ever since it was open in Tokyo), but never had the opportunity to try it in Tokyo. Now, FINALLY, it was virtually in our backyard.

Bryan signed up as a member and we booked our first Members Only Omakase dinner.

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December 5, 2020 Hong Kong

Ninetys Wan Chai - Australian-Style Coffee Cafe

It seems like every time I have walked by Ninetys in Wan Chai, there has been a line out the door. This Australian-style cafe serves a variety of food but its roots and heart are in coffee. It's founder and head barista Bruno Koo placed first runner up at at the American world latte art championship in San Diego.

The Coffee

The restaurant's aim is to be a "platform where craftsmanship is appreciated [and] a place where human is connected." The focus on coffee craftsmanship is high, with a large team of dedicated baristas who are devoted to their craft.

When I ordered a pourover coffee (HKD 68), the barista asked me to choose between fruity, nutty, or chocolately. I likely chose nutty, which might explain why he paired the coffee with some raw almonds?

It was very fun and quite interesting to play around with tasting the coffee with and without the almond. I could really taste the difference.

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December 4, 2020 Hong Kong

Ramen House Konjiki Hotogisu - Japanese Michelin starred Ramen in Hong Kong

There are only three Michelin-starred ramen restaurants in the entire world, and they are all in Tokyo. We in Hong Kong are lucky enough to have TWO of these restaurants also choose to open one or more locations in Hong Kong.

The first ever Michelin-starred ramen in Tokyo (and the world) was Tsuta. The truffle shoyu ramen from Tsuta in Hong Kong is probably my favorite ramen in Hong Kong. When we used to live in Tsim Sha Tsui, I used to go all the time.

The second Michelin-starred ramen restaurant, Nakiryu, is not in Hong Kong . . . yet. The third, Konjiki Hotogisu, opened in Hong Kong in the glitzy IFC Mall in December of 2019.

Konjiki Hototogisu is best known for its clam-based pork bone broth, which is lighter and more clear than the thick milky tonkotsu broths.

The ramen is delicious. The broth was flavorful, the noodles were "al dente", and all in all it was an excellent bowl of ramen. I still have a soft spot for Tsuta, which is still my favorite in Hong Kong, but this one is also quite good.

A second location has just opened in October 2020 in Festival Walk. Now ramen lovers on both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon can have easy access to this delicious ramen from Japan, even if they can't travel to Tokyo right now.

Ramen House Konjiki Hotogisu IFC
Ramen House Konjiki Hotogisu Festival Walk

This is one of many posts that are part of the Eating in Hong Kong During Covid Times challenge of writing 50 posts in 50 days, mostly about Hong Kong. Head over to that link to see a list of all posts in this series.

December 3, 2020 Hong Kong

Ando Hong Kong

It's been tough visiting restaurants this year, with the waves of the pandemic ebbing and flowing as the months go by. Back in September, when Hong Kong's third wave finally started to die down again, we had the opportunity to venture out on one of our first restaurants dates in a long time. Our friend Chef Agustin Balbi, who previously headed up Haku in Harbour City, had recently opened Ando Hong Kong under the JIA Group, the same group that oversees 22 Ships, Duddel's, and Chachawan.

Chef Agustin Balbi is from Argentina but his roots are Italian and Spain. His childhood food memories lean towards Spanish food because his Spanish grandmother raised him while he was young. He has also embraced Japanese culture. Balbi spent five years living and working in Japan (at fine establishments like Nihonryori Ryugin!). He speaks fluent Japanese and is married to a Japanese woman.

We were excited to see how Chef Balbi, now with complete free reign, would express his Italian and Spanish roots in conjunction with his Japanese training.

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December 2, 2020 Appetizer

Japanese Potato Salad

I have always wished that the little dollop of potato salad in a Japanese bento were bigger. Since I was young, I much preferred the light, whipped, airy Japanese potato salad over the typical US picnic variety (doused in mayonnaise) or even the German kind, which was tart and mustard-y. However, it always seemed elusive because I only saw it when I went to a Japanese restaurant, and they never gave a lot.

This year, I finally decided to try making it. I was floored at how easy it was to replicate my all-time favorite potato salad. This time, I did not hold back, and made a HUGE portion to make up for all those childhood times when I longed for another scoop of this creamy, potato salad that almost resembles mashed potatoes.

Japanese potato salad is much lighter, and the addition of rice vinegar adds just enough brightness to balance out the Japanese Kewpie mayo.

Finally, the addition of quickly salted cucumbers and lightly blanched carrots adds a lovely crunch to the salad.

Step by Step - How to Make Japanese Potato Salad

Boil potatoes starting with cold, salted water until done, around 15 min. Drain and let stand. It's better to use a fluffy type of potato versus a waxy one (e.g. Yukon gold vs. red potato).

Meanwhile, make a quick salted "pickles" for both the cucumbers and onions by mixing with sea salt, mix, and let stand for 10 minutes to let the water "sweat" out. Squeeze out the water, rinse, and set aside.

Gently mash the potatoes and then add salt, pepper, rice vinegar, and sugar. Add quick pickled cucumbers, carrots, onions, and Kewpie mayonnaise.
Serve or chill for serving later.

Yum!

Japanese Potato Salad

Adapted from Lovely Lanvin
5 medium Yukon gold potatoes
⅓ cup Kewpie mayo
½ Japanese cucumber, thinly sliced
¼ red onion, minced
½ carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
⅓ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 T rice vinegar
1 T sugar|

Potatoes
Boil potatoes starting with cold, slated water until done, around 15 min. Drain and let stand.

Quick Pickled Cucumbers
Meanwhile, make a quick salted "pickles" for both the cucumbers and onions by mixing with sea salt, mix, and let stand for 10 min to let water out. Squeeze out the water, rinse, and set aside.

Blanched Carrots
Quickly blanch carrots for 1-2 min. Drain and set aside

Put It All Together
Gently mash the potatoes and then add salt, pepper, rice vinegar, and sugar. Add quick pickled cucumbers, carrots, onions, and Kewpie mayonnaise.
Serve or chill for serving later.

December 1, 2020 Hong Kong

Amelia Hong Kong

Though we can't travel right now, we were whisked back to our trip to San Sebastian last year when we visited a San Sebastian Michelin-starred restaurant's second location in Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui.

We visited Amelia San Sebastian in 2019 during our weeklong trip to San Sebastian in mid-2019. Chef-owner Paulo Airaudo was born in Argentina to Italian immigrants and has worked in many well-known places such as Arzak, The Fat Duck, and Magnolia in Italy. Amelia is named after Chef Airaudo’s daughter Amélie.

While we were in San Sebastian, we actually met Chef Paulo, who told us about his plans to open a new restaurant in Hong Kong.

It's been a tough environment to launch something so big, but Amelia opened in December 2019, right in the midst of social unrest and the beginning of the pandemic.

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November 30, 2020 Hong Kong

Eating in Hong Kong During Covid Times

Is it really December?

I'm sure I'm not the only one, bewildered that virtually a year has gone by in this altered reality called Covid. My sense of time has gone out the window. On the one hand, it doesn't feel like I left Belgium that long ago. On the other hand, it has felt like a ridiculously long year, and the carefree pre-Covid days seem like another lifetime ago.

I've been blogging mostly about Belgium, largely because we spent so much time there, and we ate out every single meal - thus a huge backlog. However, it's not as if I have nothing to write about in Hong Kong. In fact, the opposite is true.

We've been stuck in Hong Kong since mid-March. Since then, we've gone through multiple waves of open versus closed states. During the open times we've had the opportunity to eat at some phenomenal restaurants. During the closed times, we've become experts at the ever-changing delivery scene in Hong Kong, and I've started cooking A LOT. We even started supporting a local Hong Kong organic farm, buying various seasonal vegetables from them every week.

We've also been able to explore parts of Hong Kong we'd never visited before, such as the gorgeous beaches and hiking trails in Sai Kung, the quaint fishing car-less island of Peng Chau, the fascinating land bridge to Sharp Island, and numerous hiking trails all around Hong Kong.

I am dedicating the month of December, and maybe spilling into January, to all things Hong Kong. This time I have recipes, travel posts, and restaurants . . . basically the food and "travel" during these past 9 months. Perhaps once in awhile I'll sneak in a post from Europe, but it will be predominantly about Hong Kong. My goal is to post everyday.

Enjoy!

Update Running List of COVID 2020 Pandemic Posts
1. Amelia Hong Kong (Spanish)
2. Japanese Potato Salad (Recipe)
3. Ando Hong Kong (Spanish/Japanese)
4. Ramen Konjiki Hotogisu (Japanese)
5. Ninetys Wan Chai (Australian coffee shop)
6. Wagyumafia (Japanese steak)
7. Castellana (Piedmont Italian)
8. DK1885 Wan Chai (Vietnamese)
9. Sushi Wadatsumi (Japanese)
10. Classified Hong Kong (Burgers)
11. Yakinikumafia (yakiniku)
12. Divino Patio (Italian)
13. Roganic (Modern British)
14. Sushi Shikon (Japanese)
15. Nice Yakiniku and Fine Wine (Yakiniku)

November 24, 2020 Belgium

Vismet Brussels

I so wished I had discovered Vismet Brussels sooner during our unexpected 7-week stint in Brussels. We dined here our last week in Belgium and I fell in love with it.

This popular Michelin Plate restaurant located in Place Sainte Catherine serves up wonderfully executed seafood dishes in a warm, inviting environment. The seafood is fresh and seasonal, and the dishes are refined and well executed.

Service was warm and friendly. I loved how the dishes felt effortless and relaxed while at the same time maintaining the utmost standards of quality and elegance.

It was easy to fall in love with the place. If I lived in the area, this would totally be a place where I would become a regular.

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November 16, 2020 Europe

Yam'Tcha Paris

Chef Adeline Grattard describes Yam'Tcha as a "love story between France and Hong Kong." Chef Adeline is French and her husband Chi Wah Chan is a Hong Konger and tea aficionado. Chef Grattard's brilliant cooking at her impossible-to-book restaurant Yam'Tcha in Paris most certainly reflects the unique path that she took during the course of her culinary training.

Originally from Dijon, France, Chef Adeline Grattard cooked for a couple years at Astrannce in Paris before setting her sights on China. Despite not knowing Cantonese, she moved to Hong Kong and dusted her chops in Chinese kitchens in Hong Kong, honing her skills in dim sum and traditional Cantonese cooking. Chi Wah joined her later on, and they spent several years in Hong Kong together.

In 2009, they returned to Paris to open their own restaurant. Immediately the critics fell in love with her unique French-Chinese fusion cuisine. Soon afterwards, Yam'TCha received a Michelin Star. More recently, Chef's Table also created a really nice documentary about Chef Grattard and her culinary journey that led her to where she is today.

Chef Grattard cooks by intuition and she's a genius when it comes to flavors. There are no recipes and nothing is written down. She cooks by feel, and every day the dishes may be different.

Yam T'Cha is notorious difficult to book. In fact, I've gone to Paris several times in the past five years, and never once was successful in obtaining a booking. That's why when I managed to snag a lunch booking, we stuck with it, even though it was literally the day we were leaving Paris to go back to Brussels.

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November 5, 2020 Belgium

Le Cirio Brussels

Cafe Le Cirio: Like Walking Back in Time

Walking into Cafe Le Cirio sort of feels like you are walking back in time. The historic cafe is full of character and old world luxurious class. In fact, this was once a favorite hangout places for literary giants Victor Hugo and Alexadros Doumas. Writers, painters, scientists, and all different types of artists met here to exchange ideas.

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October 27, 2020 Belgium

Umamido Ramen Brussels

During the first two to three weeks of our unexpected 7-week stint in Brussels, we were enamored by the local food, tasting Belgian waffles, exploring Belgian beers, and getting our moules frites fix. By the third week, we were getting a bit tired of Belgian cuisine and started to crave Asian flavors.

We were pleasantly surprised by what we found.

Umamido Ramen is a hip ramen bar that's walking distance away from the Grand Place. They pride themselves in making what they call "honest ramen", ramen made with "ethically farmed ingredients" and "locally sourced produce."

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October 21, 2020 Belgium

Day Trip to Ghent Belgium

Ghent is a beautiful and deeply historic city about half an hour away by train from Brussels. Its medieval architecture is stunning and the city is very walkable, since the city center actually is car-free. Unlike Brugges, which is beautifully quaint and idyllic yet has actually very few residents, Ghent is a living and breathing city, with an active university nearby and a much larger population. In fact, Ghent is the capital of East Flanders and the third largest city in Belgium after Brussels and Antwerp.

Ghent has a rich, rich history. I highly recommend going on some sort of walking tour so you can learn a bit about the history and architecture of the buildings. We went on a free walking tour (in English) with Ghent Free Walking Tours and I absolutely loved it. Our tour guide was a local university student who grew up in Ghent. He told wild stories about how certain buildings came to be the way they were, and also shared a lot of fun historical facts.

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October 12, 2020 Belgium

Day Trip to Bruges Belgium

Bruges Belgium is a beautiful historic town about an hour away from Brussels by train. This UNESCO world heritage site is small, super walkable, yet packs in a lot of really interesting historic sites and beautiful paths to explore.

I loved Bruges and really enjoyed the general feel of the town. It was rich with history, abounding in beautiful architecture, and just had this relaxing, peaceful feel. It was a lovely place to just get lost, wander, and explore.

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September 30, 2020 Belgium

SAN Bruxelles - NOW Vertige Brussels

Chef Sang Hoon Degeimbre has a unique background of being of Korean descent but being adopted by a Belgian family when he was five. A self-taught chef, he became well known through his use of modern cooking techniques and hyperlocal ingredients (predominantly from the restaurant's own farm) at his flagship restaurant, L'Air du Temps (two Michelin stars), located out in the "countryside" about an hour outside of Brussels.

SANS is Sang-Hoon Degeimbre's expression in the city. Instead of focusing on farm ingredients, the restaurants focus on his travels around the world.

It's no accident that every single course is served in bowls and only with a spoon. Chef Sang-Hoon Degeimbre says it reminds him of his childhood when "it was not yet possible to sort out what was on the plate and we ate with gusto."

Sometimes SANS will serve signature dishes from L'Air du Temps.

The food at SANS draws from influences around the world. We very much enjoyed the creative 5-course tasting paired with wine. At 95 Euros it was reasonable and was well executed.

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September 21, 2020 Appetizer

Instant Pot Chinese Pumpkin Cake [Pressure Cooker] Plus VIDEO!

Is it really almost October???!

COVID-19 has really messed with my sense of time. I think perhaps a lot of us feel the same way. On the one hand, 2020 has felt like an eternity, and the carefree mask-free, travel-filled days of 2019 feels like a distant memory. On the other hand, time seemed to stop around March. I feel like I've living on perpetual "pause", still waiting for life to re-start again.

Because of that, it feels like we just recently just celebrated Bryan's birthday and our anniversary before the world went on HOLD.

Even though it doesn't feel like fall here in Hong Kong, I still decided to focus on PUMPKIN for this next post. I spruced up a blog post I wrote back in 2010(!) and updated in 2015 about an old family recipe from Bryan's roots.

This time, I've "modernized" it by trying to make it in the Instant Pot, which worked beautifully. I also decided to film a video on how to make it in Mandarin Chinese (!!) to share with a Mandarin speaking group at my church here in Hong Kong.

It's been a loooooong time since I've really made a cooking video, and eons since my most viewed cooking video about hand-pulled noodle video).

Nevertheless, it was fun to play around with different filming angles and video methods (all iPhone video this time around). A lot has changed since 10 years ago when I used an SLR to film everything!

Enjoy, and please excuse my Mandarin Chinese, haha. It's still not great, but I thought I would try. I also added English subtitles, so you can follow along if you don't know Chinese.

The video discusses both cooking methods, and I have included the Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker updated recipe in English below.

Enjoy!

Instant Pot (or Oven) Chinese Pumpkin Cake (family recipe)

Recipe Type: Appetizer
Cuisine: Chinese
Author: Jennifer Che from Tiny Urban Kitchen
Pumpkin baking time (if using fresh): 1 hour
Prep time: 1 hour
Pressure Cook time: 40 min + 20 min pressure release
Total time: 2 hours mins

Please click here for the traditional oven steam-bake method

Ingredients

3 lb pumpkin flesh, baked and mashed (or you can use canned)
1 lb long grain rice flour
1 lb pork loin, cut into 1-2 cm chunks
1 T soy sauce
1 T cornstarch
1 T vegetable oil
1 T Dried shrimp, soaked and rinsed (optional)
5-7 Dried shitake mushrooms, soaked, rinsed, and sliced
3-4 shallots, peeled and chopped
3 stalks of scallions, chopped
¼ teaspoon five spice powder
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
white pepper (to taste)
1-2 T Chinese Shaoxing rice wine or sherry

Instructions

Stir Fry Ingredients

Mix pork with soy sauce and cornstarch and let marinate for 20 minutes. Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok (or Dutch oven) until hot. Add dried shrimp (if using), Shiitake mushrooms, shallots, and scallions and stir fry for a few minutes until the shallots are translucent. Add the marinated pork and stir fry for about a minute. Add five spice powder, garlic powder, white pepper and cooking wine and continue to stir fry until the meat is cooked. Set aside.

The Rice Cake

Mix mashed pumpkin with the rice flour and mix thoroughly. Add the Stir Fry Ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into one or two glass square containers that fits inside the Instant Pot. Add about 1-2 cups of water into the Instant Pot.

Cook on Manual high pressure for 40 minutes. Let release either naturally or quickly. I used Glasslock containers (affiliate link!) and stacked two on top of each other.

Cool the cakes in the refrigerator. Once cool, slice into ½ inch long pieces and pan fry. Serve hot!

Enjoy!

Times are crazy now, but I hope you can all enjoy autumn as much as possible during this unprecedented, crazy time. One bright spot in the midst of all this is that I have been able to cook a lot more. Frankly speaking, it's been years since I've written a recipe onto this blog, but maybe it's time to start again.

Stay safe and hang in there.

Original Recipe: Savory Pumpkin Cakes
Visiting the CHE Home in Xiamen, China
Kabocha Pumpkin Mochi Cake
Pumpkin Thousand Layer Spiral Mooncakes
Project Food Blog Competition: Round 8 - An Unusual Take on Pumpkin

September 15, 2020 Belgium

Maison Dandoy Brussels

Belgium is famous for its waffles and I happen to be obsessed with waffles. I love waffles in all forms, from Belgian waffles, waffle cones, and Hong Kong's famous egg waffles to American chicken & waffles and PAGU's potato wafflatos, I love them all.

In fact, in my younger days I loved eating toasted Eggo waffles topped with vanilla ice cream. Soooo good.

I remember trying my first ever Belgian waffle when we got stuck in Belgium during our flight home from our honeymoon after the 9/11 attacks. Although the circumstances surrounding the unexpected stopover were stressful and overwhelming, we do hold special memories from the several days we spent in Brussels. While we were there, we tried their famous waffles for the first time, explored the Grand Place, and bonded with others New Englanders who were on our same flight (and thus same situation).

Almost two decades later, we finally made it back to Brussels. I immediately started searching around for the best Belgium waffle. Virtually everywhere I looked I read about Maison Dandoy.

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September 10, 2020 Belgium

Resto Henri Brussels

Resto Henri Brussels, located on the Rue de Flandre with a number of other excellent restaurants, has a nice blend of modern European and traditional Belgian dishes all served in a warm, pleasant setting. The restaurant is a Michelin Plate ("good cooking") and is known for its use of fresh ingredients and capable prepration.

The menu changes frequently, about every four weeks, and is inspired by the seasonal produce that is available at the time.

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September 3, 2020 Belgium

Marriott Grand Place Brussels + Midtown Grille

View from our hotel room at the Marriott Grand Place

The Marriott Grand Place in Brussels inadvertently became our home for seven weeks when Bryan got "stuck" there during a business trip in Asia. Initially I flew out to spend a month with him, thinking that the pandemic would quickly improve.

Before you knew it, the virus had spread to Europe, and then the US. Our original plans continued to evolve, twist, change, and eventually resulted in this 7-week stay in Brussels before we flew back to Hong Kong.

During this time, the Marriott Grand Place in Brussels became our temporary home. The staff were amazing, take really good care of us even when our plans continued to change and despite the older (historic!) building and rooms, which on occasion would have minor problems that needed to be fixed.

We chose it mostly because of its excellent location. It is right in the old part of town that includes many car-free cobblestone roads leading to a number of key tourist spots, museums, bars, restaurants, chocolate shops, beautiful buildings and the Grand Place itself.

I loved how so many great things were within walking distance, from the beautiful dirt running paths in the park and the great museums to the elegant chocolate shops and quaint cafes.

Interestingly, the American steakhouse in the hotel lobby, Midtown Grille, rated extremely well on Tripadvisor, maybe because Americans were nostalgic for their own food.

The food was solid, and they have a nice selection of steaks. For us, the highlight was the availability of Spain's famous Rubia Gallega steak, a steak that is typically quite difficult to find. The price was reasonable, and it was significantly better than the other, normal American steak that we ordered.

We had free breakfast included with our hotel room, so this dining room became a familiar spot for me every morning. I loved making my own waffles on their waffle griddle, and I typically balanced that out with a salad for breakfast, though sometimes I would order an omelet instead and then skip lunch.

Since I was working remotely, I sometimes spent a whole morning in the dining room, getting free refills on sparkling water, coffee, and waffles while working away on my computer (until my battery ran out!).

It was sad our last morning in Belgium when we saw the sign showing that, due to COVID-19, the dining room at the Marriott would be closed indefinitely. Belgium had just announced a mandatory lockdown, and shops were busily arranging various things to comply with the new orders.

The staff who had been so attentive to us during this 7-week stay handed us two take-away bags with breakfast sandwiches and fruit inside. So we carried our "picnic lunches" and took one last walk around this neighborhood we had grown to know in the past month and a half.

It was eerily quiet and empty on this otherwise bright and sunny Saturday morning.

Thank you Marriott! They took amazing care of us during our extended stay. The lounge where I had spent many-a-days working remotely was now closed, with just a coffee machine on a cart outside.

We feel fortunate that we had the opportunity to enjoy the hospitality of this hotel before everything closed down in Europe.

At the time we didn't know how badly the pandemic situation would continue to spiral, eventually affecting the entire world. Looking back, I am very thankful for our time in Brussels. Sometimes I wonder if that was my last taste (for a very, very long time) of a carefree world that no longer exists.

August 26, 2020 Belgium

La Villette Brussels

If you're looking for a quaint, charming, and authentically Belgian restaurant, La Villette Brussels is a great choice. I had my first authentic Belgian meal here after not too long after arriving in the city.

The restaurant is located on the Rue du Vieux Marché aux Grains in a bustling part of the old city called Place Sainte-Catherine. Checked table clothes, an excellent selection of 40+ Belgian beers, and all the traditional classic Belgian dishes made this place ideal for a first taste of Belgium.

Seafood

Shrimp Croquettes are very common and a quintessential Belgian dish. The ones at La Villette are house made and filled with shrimp and a creamy bechamel based sauce. They are quite rich and filling, but are pretty tasty. I recommend sharing an order since it's hard to eat more than one!

We've always loved moules frites, one of the most famous Belgian dishes outside of Belgium. The Mussels with white wine cream sauce here was delicious, and came with a nice side of fries ("frites").

Poultry

For mains, Bryan ordered a guinea fowl with cranberries, which he said was good and reminded him of American Thanksgiving.

Steak + Flemish Beef Stew

Steak was executed a good rare, and came with a side of polenta.

Flemish Stew is another classic, beef cooked for hours in a sauce that includes beer.

The restaurant is not huge so it's best to make reservations, which you can do online through their website or just have your hotel call them.

We had a lovely first Belgian meal here. The service was friendly, the food was hearty and enjoyable, and the ambiance was really charming. They have re-opened as of June 8, 2020 and do have outdoor dining now.

Le Villette Brussels
Rue du Vieux Marché aux grains (Place Sainte-Catherine) 3, 1000, Bruxelles

August 20, 2020 Belgium

Cantillon - Best Lambic in the World Right in Brussels

A small wooden sign with the words "Le temps ne respecte pas ce qui se fait sans lui" hang inside the beer cellar at Cantillon Brewery in Brussels. The single phrase "time does not respect what is made without it" perfectly captures the essence of the beer making philosophy at Cantillon, maker of one of the world's best and most sought after lambic beers.

Cantillon specializes in spontaneously fermented lambic beers. Unlike most beers which rely on a particular strain of yeast added during the beer making process, Cantillon beer is left in open vats and collects wild yeast from the atmosphere. No two batches are identical, and the flavors change depending on the season, climate, and nature of the yeast that is in the air.

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August 13, 2020 Belgium

Top Places to Eat Around the Grand Place Brussels

*Jen & Bryan at The Grand Place Brussels*

Who would have ever imagined that when Bryan left to go to Belgium for a 5-day business trip in late January 2020, he would end up getting "stuck" for seven weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic? I talked more about the details of our whole crazy pandemic travel story here.

*Fresh off the plane after a 12hr flight & "reuniting" at the Marriott Grand Place* *Brussels*

Suffice it say, never would we have ever thought we would end up "living" in Brussels for almost two months. It was a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to really get to know this city, something that's typically hard to do on a normal vacation where you only have a handful of days.

*View from our window at the Marriott Grand Place Brussels*

Our home base was the Marriott Grand Place Brussels, which has a great location in the center of the old city and is surrounded by a lot of restaurants. Because of that, we ended up not venturing far at all to eat, and ate almost all of our meals during those 6-7 weeks within walking distance of our hotel.

Below, I've tried my best to summarize our experiences dining in Brussels, especially around the Grand Place, and highlight some of our favorites. I will write in more detail about many of these places, but it's always nice to have an overview.

Presenting . . . my top places to eat around the Grand Place Brussels.

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August 6, 2020 Boston

Farewell Bergamot

This pandemic has been so, so hard on the restaurant industry. A few months ago, we had to bid a very, very sad farewell to our old haunt Bergamot.

The bar at Bergamot bar was our version of the Cheers bar, where "everybody knows your name". We were good friends with Paul, the bartender and loved catching up with him whenever we were there over an Elizabetta cocktail (for Bryan), and sparkling water (free and unlimited at the bar!).

We loved our staple bar favorites, like the $1 oysters, lobster melt, the rotating butters (my favorite - "everything but the bagel" butter) and the deep fried fish head special (always a good deal!). And then there were Chef Keith's constant attempts at making a good burger . . . some of which worked better than others.

Our good friend Peter (who first introduced us to the restaurant) and his family would often meet us there. In fact, we sometimes joke that his daughter (now seven) grew up at the bar, knowing as a toddler what it takes to make a cocktail ("shake shake") and developing an early love of charcuterie and wine corks.

Our memories of Bergamot went beyond the bar. We celebrated birthdays and anniversaries there, attended their special events, and even went on short trips with some of them. We loved how the menu changed frequently (something we miss in Hong Kong!), and we especially enjoyed the creativity and heart that went into the every-morphing menu.

We actually preferred going a bit later at night, when the restaurant quieted down and the staff were less hurried and thus able to hang out with us a bit more.

Then the launch of BISq came along. At the time owner Servio held a kickstarter fundraiser for the restaurant. We ended up supporting BISq by "purchasing" a dinner for eight people cooked right at our home. It was really special to have Dan, Servio, and Paul all at our home, recreating a different version of Bergamot for our friends.

Over time, the staff at Bergamot became like a second family to us. Though they seldom had time off, New Years Day was one of those few days when the restaurant closed. We took advantage and enjoyed several memorable New Years wine dinners with them.

Just imagine . . . a potluck dinner at your house where half the people are really amazing chefs! Needless to say, the pressure for me (a home cook!) was immense. At the same time, the food and wine at these events was unforgettable. I will never forget those special celebrations we had.

When we found out we were moving to Hong Kong, they sent us off with so much love. We had our going-away party for Bryan at Bergamot before he first moved to Hong Kong. We both chose to spend our final night in Boston at the Bergamot bar before stepping on a plane to move to Hong Kong.

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Thanks @chefbergamot for a great final dinner in #Boston @bergamotrestaurant before I headed to the airport back to HK. Always love the seafood that you make (best swordfish in town) and it was fun enjoying so much summer produce. Until next time! #bostonfoodblogger #bostonfood #bostonblogger #tinyurbanboston #somerville #cambridge #camberville

A post shared by Jennifer Che (@tinyurbankitchen) on Sep 11, 2018 at 8:56am PDT

Even after we moved to Hong Kong, we still kept in touch. We made sure to visit Bergamot every time we went back to Boston. Bryan made a habit of bringing interesting beers to give to Paul every time we went back.

When this current pandemic began, we connected online and heard about the current struggles of the restaurant community in Boston. It was during one of these calls that we first learned about the plan to close Bergamot.

The struggle is real and we are in unprecedented times. Restaurant owners have to deal with making hard decisions about when/how to open up, how to cover the costs of the restaurant, whether/how to incorporate takeout/delivery/patio dining . . . all while facing the real, terrifying risk that the virus may spread in your restaurant if just one thing goes wrong. It's an immense amount of pressure to face. Worst yet, there's no end in sight, so eventually you have to pivot or close.

The pivot for Bergamot to B2 was fast. The physical conversion of the space only took a couple weeks. We barely had time to mourn the loss of the bar where we spent many-a-happy times.

The Bergamot space is now B2, a gastropub serving beer from FAB Brewery and offering take-out. This model seems to be much more sustainable during uncertain times like this.

I will always have very fond memories of Bergamot. Although Bergamot as we knew it is gone, the friendships we made there will live on. The next time we return to Boston (God willing!), I'm sure we will visit our Bergamot friends wherever they have ended up. We'll still bring beer for Paul (Paul, we've got some hard-to-get Belgian sour beers waiting for you!), try to catch Servio at Taqueria El Barrio, and visit other Bergamot "alumni", such as Dan Bazz at Terra and Paul & Lydia at Sycamore.

Farewell Bergamot, and thank you for the memories.

August 2, 2020 Uncategorized

I'm on a Podcast! Complete List of Restaurants & Posts Mentioned

Hi all! I just wanted to follow up from my podcast on Saverocity Observation Deck last week by providing the names and links to the specific restaurants mentioned on the podcast. I've also written a brief summary of some of the content from the podcast, though I highly recommend listening to the podcast to get a fuller picture!

Tell us about how you got "stuck" in Europe during the coronavirus pandemic

We unexpectedly ended up spending 6+ weeks in Belgium this past February and March because Bryan had been in Brussels when the coronavirus situation exploded in China. Basically, his boss thought he'd be safer out there and asked him to stay for awhile. Since everyone in HK was working from home at that point, I flew out to join him. You can read more here. I plan to share even more about my whole European experience in the upcoming weeks on this blog.

Name some favorite memories from that time

We had a blast getting to know Brussels during the first few weeks of our stay. We visited several breweries, restaurants, and museums. However, one of my favorite memories from our whole time in Europe was our weekend trip to Amsterdam. I had never been to the Netherlands. As someone who loves water and bridges, I fell in love with Amsterdam, a city built on canals and full of endless waterways along which to explore.

From Belgium, one of my favorite food memories was eating fresh Belgian Waffles topped with whipped cream from Maison Dandoy.

Bryan had fond memories of Belgium from childhood because his father traveled there for work and would bring back Belgian chocolates as souvenirs. It has been 18 years since we were last in Belgium, where we were stuck for three days after our honeymoon due to the September 11 attacks in the US. Back then, we were mostly pre-occupied with getting back home and only had limited time to explore.

This time around, we especially enjoyed trying a huge variety of beers, visiting the Cantillon Brewery as well as tasting a great selection of beers at Moeder Lambic (ha ha, while doing laundry - a great way to pass the time!).

Name some favorite restaurant experiences in the world from all your travels

Kin's Kitchen Wan Chai — Carbonara from Roscioli

Bryan immediate pointed out Salumeria Roscioli, a food market, restaurant, and wine bar in Rome that makes the best carbonara we've ever had.

Chicken in Hong Kong is pretty amazing in general, but the signature smoked soy sauce chicken at Kin's Kitchen 留家廚房 is exceptional and stands out as one of Bryan's memorable favorites.

We both fell in love with San Sebastian. We had a phenomenal trip there where we ate all sorts of memorable food - everything from casual pinxtos to dining at the best restaurant in the world.

Bryan chose Mugaritz as his favorite high end dining experience. There, we experienced one of the most forward-thinking, mind-bending and fascinating explorations of food, wine, and the intricate interplay between the two.

Bryan shared about one course that paired a single green pepper with vintages of fine wines that had "grassy" notes (Opus One and Chateau Haut-Brion) to highlight distinctive "green pepper" notes from the pyrazine molecule, the subject of exploration in this course.

I also shared about Raan Jay Fai, where I enjoyed chef Jay Fai's legendary pad khee mao ("drunken noodle"), full of wok "hei" and absolutely bursting with flavor. She now has a Michelin Star, and (until the recent pandemic), tourists lined up for hours to try her phenomenal cooking.

Sushi Shikon Hong Kong - November 2017 — Kaki-San from Sushi Shikon

Finally, I shared a bit about my love for Japan, especially its food. Sushi Mizutani is one of my favorites. However, since he is now retired, I also shared some other favorite places, such as Sushi Yoshitake (JP) / Sushi Shikon (HK), Sushi Saito, and Sushi Ishiyama (previously at Sushi Ya, Sushi Kanesaka) for lunch.

What is Life in HK like during COVID times?

Hong Kong never had a complete lockdown. Though we both personally worked from home for periods at a time, many businesses stayed open, and restaurants pretty much continued to run, though with limited capacity and opening hours.

We've mostly been cooking at home or ordering delivery. You can see example photos of our take-out and my home cooking meals over on Instagram.

We've enjoyed some pretty amazing take-out, such the perfectly formed soup dumplings from Din Tai Fung or roast chicken from Michelin-starred Asia's Top 50 No. 6 restaurant Belon. Bryan shared about how ramen places are pretty sophisticated in the way they package delivery, separating key ingredients (e.g., noodles, broth, toppings, etc) in a specially designed container so that everything can be put together quickly and easily at the time of eating.

Hong Kong coronavirus numbers have still not fallen, so, for now, we are still stuck in in this "shelter-in-place" limbo for some time. We take things day by day. These days, I mostly stay at home except to go out and exercise (which I do solo with a mask worn at ALL TIMES) or to pick up essential groceries.

Stay safe everyone!

July 29, 2020 Belgium

I'm on a Podcast! HK, Food, and Europe during Covid Times

Hello friends!

And a warm welcome to any listeners who came here from my recent interview on the Saverocity Observation Deck podcast! Feel free to leave a comment to say hello, or connect with me via any of my social media platforms: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter .

Yes we were on a podcast! Bryan and I had the opportunity to share about experiences as Americans living in Hong Kong, getting stuck in Europe, and living through this crazy time in history on Saverocity Observation Deck, a travel hacking podcast by one of my Boston friends Joe Cheung.

Here is the link to the podcast.

Joe is a travel and miles/points aficionado. It always amazes me how he is able to go on such incredible trips with his family (THREE kids!) all through his creative use of airline miles, hotel points, etc. Joe has a connection to Hong Kong because his family is from Hong Kong and he lived here for a few years. We also both studied chemistry in college, attended the same church in Boston, and have a shared love of food, travel, music, and Disney!

*Joe and I enjoying our version of comfort food, our church's Chinese rice based lunch, which has not changed in over 20 years.*

Aside from his podcast at Saverocity Observation Deck, which covers all sorts of travel hacking tips, Joe is also producer and co-host on another travel hacking site Miles to Memories, and a Disney planning podcast Disney Deciphered. Definitely check out his podcasts. He has excellent tips for travel, especially traveling with young children.

I'm Back to Blogging Again . . .

*New hobbies I picked up during the pandemic: piano! I've really enjoyed re-learning a piece I studied while I was in high school: Chopin Scherzo Opus 31.*

It's so nice to be back to blogging!

In fact, it's been a looooong time. I'm not sure exactly what happened. I was on such a roll, blogging frequently the first several months of this year working diligently through my backlog of Hong Kong restaurants and our trips to Paris, Tokyo, and Thailand. And then I hit a rut in mid-March, slowing my blogging down to a crawl (by my standards), eking out posts once every 2-4 weeks.

*Being silly while spending a weekend in Bruges and Ghent in Belgium*

OK, I guess a few major things have been going on here. Not only did COVID-19 hit Hong Kong early (resulting in our crazy 6-week long unexpected detour in Europe earlier this year), we're in the midst of our third wave of the coronavirus right now. After tasting near freedom and normalcy for a few months, the world in Hong Kong has reverted back to the lockdown feel we had back in mid-March.

We're also dealing with a trade war between the US and China, a new security law, and political unrest on top of all that. Plus the US (where all of our family live), is going through insane times as well. Needless to say, life has been quite unprecedented and very, very different.

Compared to during the March lockdown (when we didn't know what we were doing), I now feel like I know how to manage this "shelter-in-place" thing. It's pretty clear that this thing won't go away so fast. I've figured out how to do delivery (Hello Din Tai Fung!), where to order organic HK vegetables and excellent meat/seafood, and how to meal plan for a pandemic when you're really trying to avoid going out.

I've gotten surprisingly good at whipping together a four-course meal in one hour. I guess practice makes perfect, and I have plenty of opportunities to practice. In fact, the days are starting to blend together . . .

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My mom used to cook at least 4 dishes for our family of 4. Often 3 dishes plus a soup. I feel like I have been averaging 4-5 dishes, for two people! 😂 I guess I like variety. Dinner tonight! Chinese chives + 5 spice tofu, bitter melon + salted duck egg, celery, carrots, pork w/ black bean sauce, pan fried Hokkaido scallops with charred scallions, Olive oil slow baked Ora king salmon w/ baby bok choy. Cooked it all in one hour after work and finished eating dinner before 8PM online church meeting and 9:30PM Chinese tutoring session. 😅 Practiced piano late at night (trying to revive an old Chopin Scherzo I learned in high school). #busyday #scotchnightcap #laphroaigpxcask #tinyurbancovid19 #tinyurbanhkkitchen #tinyurbanhk #chinesecooking #recipeontheblog #workfromhome #socialdistancing

A post shared by Jennifer Che (@tinyurbankitchen) on Apr 2, 2020 at 9:40am PDT

Having an opportunity to do this podcast re-ignited my motivation to start blogging again. I've been working hard to organize all my photos from our six weeks in Europe. I've got tons of amazing food and travel stories from that surreal time, mostly in Brussels but also including side trips to Bruges, Ghent, Amsterdam, Paris, and London. For now, if you want the quick summary of what my time in Europe was like, check out this summary blog post or my social media accounts.

Stay tuned and stay safe! See you back on this blog!

(A sneak peek at photos from upcoming Belgium posts!)

May 31, 2020 Europe

The Greenhouse London

When I think back to our trip to Europe back in December of 2019, it feels like a surreal other world that no longer exists. I'm not even sure when and if we will ever return to something that resembles that time.

At the time, Bryan had been traveling to Europe a lot due to his work. It meant we often spent one to two weeks apart while he was in Europe and I stayed in Hong Kong.

However, the stars aligned in December and I was able to come along with him for a week long trip to Paris and London.

Our time in London was relatively short, but we did manage to squeeze in one nice meal right in the neighborhood where we were staying, Mayfair.

The Greenhouse in London has held a Michelin star since 2004 and has had two Michelin stars since 2013. The food is exquisite, beautiful, and thoughtfully designed. I loved it!

Here's a closer look at our meal.

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May 4, 2020 Europe

David Toutain Paris - 2 Michelin Stars

Ah Paris.

It's hard to believe that it was only three months ago that I was in Paris. I never thought this would happen, but I actually visited Paris TWICE in the last three months, once in mid-December and once at the end of February.

That carefree, simple, problem-free world seems so distant now. A lifetime ago.

Both times we were in Paris because of Bryan's work. In fact, we ended up getting "stuck" in Europe during the months of February and March. In late January, Bryan happened to be in Brussels for a week long business trip. When the COVID-19 epidemic started getting bad in China, his employer told him to stay in Europe until things got better in Asia.

At that time, Hong Kong was locking down and everyone was starting to work remotely. I had never done this before, but I literally booked a flight to join Bryan that left the next day. I had one day to pack. It was so crazy and so unprecedented.

Little did I know that this was just the beginning of "unprecedented".

I ended up being "stuck" in Europe for over six weeks before finally flying back to Asia.

During our first December trip to Paris, I was drawn to two-Michelin starred David Toutain because he trained under legendary French chef Alain Passard, famous for how he cooks vegetables. As a huge fan of Alain Passard, I was definitely intrigued by his pupils and those that were trained by him.

I was not disappointed. The meal was absolutely phenomenal, definitely my favorite in recent memory. I loved the elegant and exquisite focus on ingredients as well as meticulous and artful presentation. All in all, we loved it and I would highly, highly recommend it.

...

April 20, 2020 Belgium

Hello from Hong Kong (again)

Dear friends,

Hello from Hong Kong, again. I apologize for the silence this past month. After all, I did promise in early January that I would start to post five blog posts a week to clear up backlog after realizing how little I had posted in 2019.

And I managed to do pretty well, publishing 22 posts in January and 17 posts in February. In March I began with the same fervor, but stopped when things just started to get crazier and crazier in the world. It felt wrong to continue pushing out posts needlessly while ignoring what was going on all around me.

Meanwhile, my life was a bit crazy too. In late January, Bryan flew to Belgium for a one-week business trip. While he was there, the coronavirus situation in China started to worsen significantly. Due to the many meetings Bryan needed to attend in Europe, his boss advised him to stay in Europe indefinitely until the situation got better in China.

At that time, things were getting worse in Hong Kong too. The government closed schools for a month, instructed all civil servants to work from home, and advised private companies to do the same.

HKG --> Brussels

*This is right after I got off a 12 hour flight from Hong Kong and arrived at what would be our temporary home for the next six weeks in Brussels*

After getting clearance from my company, I flew out to Brussels to be with Bryan. I brought him some more clothing, a 2-month supply of contact lenses, and other daily living items he might need for the longer haul.

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A post shared by Jennifer Che (@tinyurbankitchen) on Feb 7, 2020 at 6:51am PST

At the time, things were a bit hectic in Hong Kong. The city didn't have enough face masks, and people were hoarding disinfectants, face masks, and toilet paper. There was even a robbery where the robbers made off with rolls and roll of toilet paper.

I was thankful to be in Belgium with Bryan. At the time, Belgium only had a handful of cases, so life carried on very much like normal. Initially, I thought I would only stay in Brussels for two weeks before heading back to Hong Kong. Because of that, I tried to make the most of those first two weeks in Brussels, packing in recommended restaurants, famous beer destinations, and top museums. (Thank you so much for those who sent me recommendations on social media. I used A LOT of those recs!)

Signature pithivier from Bozar Restaurant in Brussels. This thing takes five hours to make and needs to be preordered in advance!

I plan to blog in detail about the many wonderful places that we visited in Belgium. For now, you can find some on my instagram feed (#tinyurbanbelgium), which I updated from time to time while in Brussels.

My plans for returning to Hong Kong in two weeks changed when it became clear the situation was not getting better that fast. The HK government extended school closures and work-from-home policies. Since I was planning on going to Boston in March, I thought (wrongly, in retrospect) that it would be easier to enter the US from "safe" Europe versus from Asia, which was in the middle of a massive coronavirus battle at the time.

Bruges and Ghent

I canceled my return trip to Hong Kong and booked a new flight to Boston in March. Since things in Europe were still not bad, we took a few short weekend trips to cute little towns around Brussels, such as Bruges and Ghent.

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Bonjour Paris! Mind blown that I am back in #Paris again, even if only for a few days. Bryan has some business meetings here so I tagged along. #tinyurbanparis #tinyurbantravels #tinyurbaneurope #lamadeleine #toureiffel #pinkumbrellas

A post shared by Jennifer Che (@tinyurbankitchen) on Mar 1, 2020 at 12:49pm PST

Paris France

Bryan had some business in Paris so we spent half a week in this city of lights. I had not expected to return so soon, since I had just visited in early December. I mostly worked in the hotel while I was there, but it was still nice to enjoy a few nice walks around the Arc de Triomphe area and enjoy a lovely dinner and my favorite galette.

Trying a waffle from Maison Dandoy, a place known for its speculoos and waffles in Brussels.

In Brussels I continued to work remotely in my hotel during the week. In order to stay closer to Hong Kong's time zone, I woke up at 5:30AM and worked all throughout the morning from 6AM onwards, sometimes straight until 2PM. Then I would finally let myself take a long lunch break after my colleagues turned in for the night.

Bryan commuted to his company's Belgium office every day, and we had dinner together every night in Brussels. Because we stayed in the center of town right near the Grand Place, we had walking distance access to many, many excellent restaurants.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

In early February, we took a short weekend trip to Amsterdam, which I absolutely loved.

This stunning city has incredible museums, beautiful canals, and so much to see. It is a walker's paradise with endless cute streets to explore.

Alas, things started to get worse in Europe starting around the beginning of March. Bryan originally had additional meetings in Europe, but they were getting canceled left and right. Finally, even the Boston meetings got canceled.

London, England

I had already made plans for some business meetings in London. By then, I was feeling quite nervous about the whole situation, but decided to go just for a short 2-day visit. I ended up even shortening that trip to 30 hours. I took precautions, going against the grain by wearing a face mask on the Eurostar train (even though no one else was doing it). I avoided public transportation and crowded restaurants. I even walked from one meeting to the next, even if it took close to an hour!

It's amazing how quickly things change. Part of the reason I cut my London trip short was because the situation in Europe quickly worsened that week. We managed to book the last two seats on one of the few remaining direct flight from Brussels to Hong Kong (flying only once a week). It was seriously quite a miracle it all worked out, and we are so, so thankful.

Belgium Lockdown

The timing was impeccable. The morning of our flight, Brussels locked down the city and closed all restaurants. Even our hotel restaurant, where we had enjoyed breakfast for over 6 weeks, was shut down.

On the morning before our flight out, we took one last "good-by" nostalgic visit to the beautiful Grand Place. It was amazing how empty it was.

Back to Hong Kong (again)

Our flight home was relatively smooth, despite the numerous temperature checks, discomforts of sleeping with a mask, and having my nerves rattled every time I heard a cough nearby.

After nearly two months away, it was so nice to finally be home again. Although we made it back to Hong Kong before they started enforcing mandatory self-quarantine for Europe passengers, we still chose to self-quarantine and actually spent the next four weeks at home.

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Been cooking A LOT lately. 🥣🍽🥘Practicing social distancing for us means not eating out and only cooking & eating take-out at home. Cooking dry-aged USDA Prime ribeye tonight brought back fond memories of the steaks we used to make on our grill in Boston. Actually, HK gas stoves are pretty powerful & I was pleased w/ the sear I got on the pan. 😊 #steak #🥩 #tinyurbanhkkitchen #homecooking #wanchai #socialdistancing #usdaprime #tinyurbancovid19

A post shared by Jennifer Che (@tinyurbankitchen) on Mar 21, 2020 at 10:04am PDT

After being away from home for sooooo long, I actually really enjoyed being home for the self-quarantine. It was nice to revisit cooking again, something I hadn't done in a very long time.

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So thrilled with how my pretty floral chives pies (韭菜盒子) turned out! Having all this time at home has re-ignited my creative self. I made dough from scratch and cut out & embedded flower shapes using purple scallions. Recipe for chive pies on the blog. I am also working on a video version! #comingsoon #tinyurbancovid19 #homecooking #chivepies #韭菜 #韭菜盒子 #🌷 #🥟 #韭菜花 #dumplings #healthy #socialdistancing #beautifulfood #foodisart #tulips

A post shared by Jennifer Che (@tinyurbankitchen) on Apr 5, 2020 at 9:24am PDT

You can see some of my post-Brussels home cooking projects on Instagram or Facebook.

So now that things are finally settled back in Hong Kong, I think I can finally get back to blogging regularly. I hope to write about the many wonderful places in Belgium, Amsterdam, Paris, and London that I visited. I may also write a few posts that are timely for our current situation, such as our experience with great restaurants offering delivery in Hong Kong during this pandemic, or just new ideas for cooking.

I hope you all are staying safe during this crazy time. I am very, very thankful to be OK despite my recent crazy travel schedule. I am so touched by the numerous acts of kindness and generosity I have seen around me. I pray daily for our front line workers, the patients, those risking their lives to make our cities run, and our leaders.

Stay safe everyone. "See" you again soon.

March 18, 2020 Europe

Divellec Paris - 1 Michelin Star seafood

"Les poissons, les poissons, how I love les poissons . . "

Even if you didn't study French, if you grew up with Beauty in the Beast like I did, you'll recognize these lyrics. French Chef Louis sings these lyrics while trying to catch one of the main characters, Sebastian the crab, for his dinner (!)

I personally love all types of seafood, including les poissons. However, when I am in France, I often find that the traditional French bistros focus more on meat-heavy dishes. During this last trip to Paris, I made a conscious effort to shift away from traditional, rich French cuisine to a lighter, seafood focus.

This is how I found Divellec Paris.

This Michelin-starred restaurant makes beautiful seafood dishes influenced by cuisines around the globe. There are a la carte options as well as a few tasting menus. Our table decided to go for the six course tasting menu (210 €), which is what I've highlighted below. Everyone at the table must participate in the same tasting menu.

...

March 12, 2020 Europe

Breizh Cafe Paris

This is one of my new favorite lunch spots in Paris. Breizh Cafe Paris specializes in Breton-style galettes and crepes. Galettes are thin pancakes made from buckwheat flour.

Breizh Cafe originally started in Japan. French chef Bertrand Larcher moved to Japan and opened Japan's first creperie in Tokyo in 1995. Soon after, he opened more and more creperies, eventually opening Breizh Cafe in locations throughout Japan and France.

Breizh Cafe Paris offers a variety of crepes (wheat flour based) and galettes (buckwheat flour based) served with various types of toppings. There are sweet dessert ones, savory ones that could double as lunch, and even vegan ones.

The first time I went I visited the Breizh Cafe in Le Marais, a trendy district in Paris filled with narrow roads, small shops, and numerous cafes. I tried a simple galette topped with salad, goat's cheese, and honey. I fell in love with the balance of savory and sweet from the goat cheese, salad and the honey.

The galette itself was thin, crispy, and had a really nice toasty flavor from the buckwheat. I was hooked.

I virtually never do this while I am on a trip, but I actually sought out the other location of this cafe (in Batignolle) and walked there the next day for lunch.

This time my eyes caught a bright green salad chock full of avocados (yum!) at a neighboring table. I essentially told the server "I'll have what she's having."

It turns out she was eating a vegan galette piled high with a gorgeous avocado salad. Although the salad was delicious, the galette did not have the same light, crispy texture as the normal galette. It was much gummier and soft, and frankly, not particularly to my liking.

In order to get my galette fix, I order a dessert galette, probably my favorite item on the entire menu: a buckwheat galette topped with honey, buckwheat ice cream, and puffed grains.

It was AMAZING. I may be biased because I love ice cream so much, but this was really the perfect combination. I absolutely loved the warm, toasty galette served with cold ice cream and honey. The crunch from the puffed grains was a plus.

We didn't expect it, but we found ourselves back in Paris in February 2020, just two months later. I brought Bryan to my favorite cafe (again - third time for me!) and I tried yet another delicious savory galette filled with spinach, pumpkin, and eggs.

Loved it.

This time, Bryan got the 3-course set lunch, which included a galette, a drink, and a crepe for dessert. Even though I love galettes, I discovered that their crepes are fantastic too!

This simple one, just topped with butter and sugar, was perfect. Even though I would not have ordered a crepe (I think I'm too in love with the galettes), I was pleasantly surprised to find out how much I enjoyed it.

General Thoughts - Breizh Cafe Paris

All in all, I have nothing bad to say about this place. I love both locations in Paris and have enjoyed excellent galettes at each place. The menus are somewhat different, although there is a decent amount of overlap. For example, the goat cheese salad version I ate my first time in Le Marais was not available at the Batignolle location.

The cafe ambiance is cozy and feels very French. The staff are friendly and they even have English language menus. In Batignolle there is a shop next door that sells buckwheat-themed items. I bought some fun artisanal buckwheat flatbread as well as a bag of buckwheat tea (sobacha), which I really, really enjoy.

Highly recommended!

Breizh Café Le Marais
109 Rue Vieille du Temple, 75003 Paris, France

Breizh Café Batignolle
Z31 Rue des Batignolles, 75017 Paris, France

March 10, 2020 Hong Kong

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice Hong Kong

One of Singapore's Most Famous Stalls

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken is one of Singapore's most famous street stalls. There are always a long line at this institution inside Maxwell Food Centre, a casual food stall centre in Singapore's Chinatown with open seating.

*Bryan standing in line at Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore*

Anthony Bourdain visited Tian Tian on his Travel Channel show No Reservations and proclaimed it the best chicken rice in the world. Tian Tian’s chicken rice also beat out Gordon Ramsay’s version in a Hawker Heroes Challenge in 2013. Finally, the Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmande, "simple yet skilful cooking for under £28 or €40."

*Maxwell Food Centre in Singapore's Chinatown*

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March 7, 2020 Thailand

Street Food in a Seaside Resort Town in Thailand

For the past several years, we have been spending our Lunar New Year in Thailand. Although we love exploring the vibrant food scene in Bangkok, we also head to the smaller seaside towns for a change in pace.

Night markets and street stalls are a great way to try many Thai specialties at once. One market we really enjoy is the Cicada Night Market in the seaside town of Hua Hin. Cicada Night Market is big, clean, a bit more "upscale", and includes many, many food stalls as well as vendors selling handbags, crafts, and all sorts of stuff.

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March 4, 2020 Hong Kong

Bedu Hong Kong - Middle Eastern food in Sheung Wan

I had never had Middle Eastern food until I went to college. I'll never forget the first time I had a falafel, for only $2.50 from this food truck on Mass Ave right on MIT campus. I loved the rich, creamy tahini based sauce that they poured on the falafels. I was smitten with the seemingly exotic flavors in the falafel. In short, I was hooked. It became one of my favorite fast food lunches during my time on campus.

Years later, I'm still a huge fan. Unfortunately, Bryan is less obsessed with this cuisine than I am (though he is willing to eat it from time to time). As a result, sadly, I haven't had as many opportunities to explore Hong Kong's Middle Eastern food scene.

About six months ago, one of my friends who currently lives in Korea (but has roots in Hong Kong) stopped by for a business trip. During that time, BEDU had just invited me in to try their dishes. It was the perfect opportunity to catch up with my friend while sampling this wonderful array of Middle Eastern food together.

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March 3, 2020 Asian

Roots Wan Chai - Modern Cantonese French cuisine

You can get almost any type of food in Hong Kong - everything from French cafes and sushi flown in from Japan to local Chinese street noodle carts and FIVE GUYS. However, whenever friends visit from out of town, we like to show them restaurants that are unique to Hong Kong.

Roots is definitely a twist on the traditional Cantonese fare that is prevalent throughout Hong Kong. Chef Stephanie Wong takes French cooking techniques executes traditional Cantonese fare using a blend of Eastern and Western ideas and ingredients. It's a very unique cuisine that you may not even fully appreciate unless if you really know traditional Hong Kong dishes.

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February 28, 2020 Cuisine

A Tribute to Al Molo Harbour City

This has been the hardest year for Hong Kong in a long, long time . . . perhaps one of the worst in its entire history. We've been dealing with social unrest for close to nine months. As a result, businesses have been suffering dramatically since last summer. More recently, the coronavirus appeared, dealing yet another blow to an already fragile situation. We're starting to see the effects as numerous stores and restaurants shutter one by one in Hong Kong.

I've decided to occasionally pay tribute to some of these places. Although they are now closed, I still have fond memories of many of them. I've already published one tribute not too long ago, for the excellent Gough's on Gough. Sadly, I fear there will be more coming in the next few months.

This post will honor Al Molo Harbour City.

Chitarra - squid ink spaghetti, clams, chili, leeks HKD198

This excellent Italian restaurant was right on the water in Harbour City in TST and had stunning views of Victoria Harbour. It was one of the first restaurants Bryan discovered when he first moved to Hong Kong, largely because he loves Italian food and our first apartment was located right in Harbour City.

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February 27, 2020 Hong Kong

Uma Nota Hong Kong - Modern Brazilian Japanese

We love the massive amounts of excellent Chinese food, French food, Italian food, and even steaks here in Hong Kong. It's truly a food lover's paradise because many of the world's top restaurants come and open a location here. However, one area that's more lacking is Central and South American food.

Bryan, who's from Los Angeles, craves amazing Mexican, and it's been hard to find here in Hong Kong, though we've identified a couple. We've also seen very little food from Peru, Brazil, Argentina, and the like.

This is why I was so keen to try Uma Nota, a modern Brazilian Japanese place in Central.

I don't mind the fact that it has Asian influence. In fact, I love the Japanese/South American combination. It reminds me of Nobu Matsuhisa, the famous Japanese chef who took inspiration from his time in Peru. Nobu married Peruvian ingredients with Japanese cuisine and started a whole new trend of dishes - such as jalapenos on yellowtail - that were widely imitated.

At Uma Nota, we happened to come on a Monday, where they were featuring their "Meatless Monday" menu. We still ordered a few non-meatless (is that a word?) items. All in all, we really enjoyed the vibrant flavors, fresh ingredients, and nice change in pace.

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