Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond
Giando is an elegant, warm, and relaxed Italian restaurant tucked in the Star Street Precinct neighborhood of Wan Chai. Chef Gianni Caprioli serves modern Italian food, sourcing ingredients from artisan producers and small family farms in Italy.
Prior to opening up his restaurants in Hong Kong, Chef Gianni worked as a private chef for the Agnelli family, one of the richest families in Italy and owner of FIAT.
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We hardly ever leave Wan Chai when it comes time to find a place to eat dinner. In Wan Chai alone, there are so many ridiculously good restaurants, we actually find ourselves getting lazy, thinking that even Causeway Bay (only a 15-min walk away) feels too far away some nights.
Having said that, we make a huge exception when it comes to Mexican food. There is a dearth of good Mexican food in Hong Kong. This is why we were thrilled when we discovered great Mexican food in Kennedy Town, despite the fact that it was (*gasp*) a whole six stops away on the subway.
We fell in love with the food at Chino the first time we visited. Chef Erik Idos grew up in Los Angeles (just like Bryan!) and was surrounded by really good Mexican food ever since he was a kid. He later trained at Nobu (California, New York, and Hong Kong) for eight years before opening his own place.
Chino considers itself a "modern Mexican style restaurant inspired by Japanese ingredients and cooking techniques." We enjoyed the creative blend of the two cuisines - marrying Mexican bold flavors with top notch Japanese ingredients (and flavors).
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The first time we walked by Morty's Delicatessen in the Star Street Precinct neighborhood of Wan Chai we almost did a double take. Is that what I think that is?? Is that a New York deli right in the heart of Hong Kong?
"It's been so long since I've had a pastrami sandwich" Bryan quipped.
Although we had already eaten that day, we promised to come back . . . soon. Within a few weeks, we found an opportunity to come with a few friends who live in Hong Kong now (but whom we knew in Boston). We had a grand time eating nostalgic pastrami sandwiches, poutine, and beer on tap.
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I have been intrigued to try Sushi Masataka for some time now for several reasons. One, very trusted sources indicated that this restaurant was fantastic, arguably one of the best sushi places in Hong Kong. Second, Sushi Masataka Hong Kong (previously Rozan) has received significant accolades, such as being featured on numerous "best sushi" lists as well as having a Michelin Plate. Finally, it is literally just steps away from our apartment. We knew we would eventually try it, just to find out what our "neighborhood" sushi restaurant was all about.
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Our hike around Lamma Island before our dinner at Lamma Rainbow
I still remember being stunned by the beauty of Hong Kong's verdant hills and seemingly endless ocean views after moving to Hong Kong. I distinctly remember thinking "this really looks like Hawaii!."
Like many tourists, I only knew of Hong Kong's tall skyscrapers, crowded streets, and vast shopping and eating opportunities - not a lush island that really does remind me Hawaii in some ways. I really do love the numerous hiking trails in Hong Kong, and I've made an effort to start showing friends and family a different side of Hong Kong when they visit.
When my mom came to visit me in Hong Kong last November, I purposely booked a dinner at Lamma Rainbow, a well-known seafood restaurant on Lamma Island that even provides free boat rides for its guests from Central (Pier 9) and Tsim Sha Tsui to Lamma Island....
Happy New Year!
Wow, what a year it's been. This marks my first full year living in Asia. In a lot of ways, it feels like it has flown by and I am just now starting to get settled. On the other hand, I feel like I have learned so much since moving here and I am sure I have changed in a lot of ways, From that perspective, my life in Boston seems like a long time ago. I started out this year having only spent a few months in Hong Kong. I had no job, hardly any friends, and not a lot of activities or structure around my life. Now - one year later - things look really different. I have a full-time job, I have made some really friends, and I am involved in many different activities. It's nice to have structure, and it's also amazing how long it takes for one to really feel settled.
I'm not fully there yet, but I'm well on my way there. I look forward to what this next year might bring!
For now, here's a brief look at the past year and what I've been up to . . .
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TeppanRoom Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
It's odd to think that I've had more teppanyaki in Hong Kong the past six months than I have had in my ten consecutive years of visiting Japan. I think we always prioritized sushi whenever we traveled to Tokyo, and thus never truly explored teppanyaki there, save for one magical experience.
Hong Kong has excellent Japanese food in general, and teppanyaki is no exception. Hong Kong restaurants are able to source a lot of premium ingredients from Japan, and yet they also have the flexibility to incorporate more western elements, due to the very international population that passes through this tiny island.
TeppanRoom Grand Hyatt Hong Kong is unique just for that reason. The menu is pretty Japanese, yet the restaurant incorporates some European influences into the dishes. It's fusion teppanyaki at its best.
The counter-style seating can only fit 16 guests at one time. The guests all sit around the Teppanyaki grill and can watch the chef in action. It's a fun experience for all different types of people....
Motorino Hong Kong exists because of the bold dream of an entrepreneur.
More than 5 years ago, a young restauranteur from Hong Kong approached Motorino in New York and asked whether they would consider opening in Hong Kong, since there was nothing like Motorino's signature Neapolitan-style pizza in Hong Kong.
Motorino knew that it took a lot of work to exactly replicate the pizzas they make in New York. However, Motorino said that if the restauranteur was willing to do whatever it took to reproduce the restaurant faithfully in Hong Kong, then they were willing to support it.
In 2013, the first Motorino opened in the Soho neighborhood of Hong Kong to much success, and a second one opened in Wan Chai a year later. It's been five years, and the two restaurants are still doing very well. We have visited several times, and we enjoy the Neapolitan style pizzas quite a bit....
Shiwei Knife Shaved Noodles Hong Kong
He is always playing second fiddle to his sexier big brother, the hand-pulled noodle. After all, the art of pulling noodles, or "la mian" 拉麵 is difficult to master (trust me, I've tried taking classes in Beijing and even attempted it myself at home). Those who can do it make it look simple, but it's really not. The finished product is also delicious, full of bouncy, al dente chewiness.
To be perfectly honest, however, I must confess that I may actually prefer the texture of knife shaved noodles, or dao xiao mian 刀削麵 over the famous hand-pulled noodle. I love its slightly uneven, rough, and thicker texture that comes from the rhythmic and manual shaving of the huge block of dough.
I really enjoy chewing on those thick ribbons. They have a distinctive "Q" chew to them that is addictive. Imagine our delight when we discovered that there was a knife-shaved noodle shop less than a 5-minute walk from our apartment in Hong Kong.
Madame Ching Hong Kong
The Pirata Group is at it again, this time with a modern Chinese concept called Madame Ching. Madame Ching Hong Kong is located on Star Street on the Northern section of Wan Chai not too far from Admiralty. The concept is Chinese food with a "surprising twist", inspired by the powerful pirate Madame Ching Shih who terrorized the China Seas during the Qing Dynasty (commanding over 300 junk boats!).
Madame Ching focuses on various types of roast meats, a Hong Kong specialty. The head chef, Chef Son, trained under Cantonese celebrity chef Suser Lee (whom I've met before!) before coming to Hong Kong to oversee this restaurant....
Frites Belgian on Tap - Wan Chai location
One of our favorite casual go-to places in Wan Chai for a simple dinner has become, surprisingly, a Belgian moules frites (mussels and fries) place called Frites. It's actually not because we particularly love moules frites (though they do an excellent job here). It's because this place has one of the best selections of Belgian beer in Hong Kong (75 different beers! 4 on tap, rotating) and surprisingly good salads!
The moules frites are excellent. Our favorite is the Mediterranean, where mussels are steamed with chorizo, chili, onion, coriander, and a yellow pepper sauce (so good!). The others are fine too, but we find this one the most flavorful. The Hoegaarden is a lighter tasting one, with coriander, fennel, lemon zest and Hoegaarden beer....
Chifa Dumpling House
Peruvian-Chinese?
I'd heard of Peruvian-Japanese, also known as Nikkei cuisine. However, the idea of blending Peruvian with Chinese was intriguing. I was quite curious to see what Chifa Dumpling House, a new restaurant from the Pirata Group, was going to be like.
In general, we're big fans of the Pirata Group. We regularly visit many of the group's restaurant, such as Pirata, Pici, and The Optimist. We have generally found the restaurants to be well-run, food quality to be quite good, and prices reasonable.
The Pirata Group restaurants often has a tasting menu that allows you to sample many of the restaurant's signature dishes. Since it was our first time, we decided to order the Chifa Tasting Menu (HKD320 per person), and let their team chose a selection of favorite dishes for us to try....
Brass Spoon Hong Kong
We have always been fans of Vietnamese food. Bryan grew up going to church near Little Saigon in Westminster, California, so he was quite familiar with authentic Vietnamese food his whole life. Hong Kong is only an hour flight from Vietnam, so it seems natural that there would be a lot of good Vietnamese food in Hong Kong.
One popular Vietnamese Pho restaurant we discovered in our Wan Chai neighborhood is Brass Spoon, a casual pho restaurant that emphasizes premium ingredients, no use of MSG, and and clean, light flavors. The restaurant has received Michelin's Bib Gourmand status, a designation given to restaurants who have "exceptionally good food at moderate prices."
We lined up on a Saturday around 12:30PM and waited about 5-10 min before being seated....
This past May (2018) the Mercedes Me Store moved to new more spacious location right in the heart of Central. This expanded location, designed to evoke the sense of being inside a haus (house), has two floors, including a flexible event space that can be used for various types of activities and events.
Wait, isn't this a food blog? Why are we discussing cars and houses?
Guess what? The Mercedes Me Store also houses a "cafe" that offers food all day, from breakfast through late night dinner and drinks.The food derives inspiration from both European and Asian cuisine using open fire cooking techniques. Plates are designed for sharing, and the ambiance is relaxed yet casual. Drinks from the bar on the second floor take a similar approach, basing recipes on classic Western drinks but with an added Asian "Hong Kong" flare.
Upstairs Bar at Mercedes Me
Maximal Concepts (the folks behind Mott32, Blue Butcher & Meat Specialists, and Limewood, just to name a few) runs the entire food and beverage program. Executive Chef Russell Doctrove and Head Chef Joaquin Elizondo oversee the culinary team.
We were invited to try the Mercedes Me champagne brunch. The champagne brunch is decidedly much more European than Asian, but it was still executed very, very well. It brought back memories of excellent brunches I've had in the U.S. (and in Hong Kong for that matter)....
Bo Innovation Hong Kong
This is one of many posts that are part of the series Jen's Guide - Best Places to Eat in Hong Kong for Visitors. This is also post #49 part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.
This wasn't just any milestone birthday.
This was a milestone birthday that occurred right after we had moved internationally, relocating to the other side of the globe. We hadn't made new friends yet, and all of our old friends were really, really far away. Despite those obstacles, a whole group of Bryan's closest friends, eight in total, made a special effort to fly all the way out to Hong Kong (from Boston!) in order to celebrate this special birthday with him.
It was hard to choose a place that would be fitting. We wanted it to be special (Bryan likes his fine wining and dining) and unique as well. Some of our friends are reasonably well-traveled and have dined at their fair share of fancy French restaurants. I was looking for something different.
We ended up at Bo Innovation, a restaurant serving uniquely Hong Kong-focused "X-treme Cuisine" inspired by traditional Hong Kong classics using modern, "molecular" techniques. We thought the Hong Kong focus would make it special for our friends, and the innovative cooking would be fun for everyone....
The Butcher's Club Burger
This is post #46, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.
The Butcher's Club was started by a group of meat enthusiasts with a passion for creating high quality dry aged beef in Hong Kong. They import Black Angus beef from a farm in New South Wales Australia and dry age the meat in Hong Kong for various lengths of time, minimum 30 days to "as long as their customers would like . . ." (perhaps we can request a Hong Kong version of the famous 9-month aged Riserva steaks??)
I have yet to visit the butcher shop, but I've visited one of their more recent concepts, the Butcher's Club Burger, which first opened in Wan Chai in 2014 and now boasts five locations throughout Hong Kong (Wan Chai, Central, Tsim Sha Tsui, Quarry Bay, and Wong Chuk Hang), as well as a new location Beijing.
The fast casual eatery focuses on hand crafted burgers (made with a blend of rump, chuck, and brisket that is dry-aged and then ground), beer, and bourbon. It's simple, but it works. The beer selection is good, and the burgers are delicious....
Megan's Kitchen Hong Kong
This is post #42, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.
Who doesn't love hot pot on a chilly winter's day?
Although winter here in Hong Kong is nowhere near the (literally) freezing temperatures I used to endure in Boston, it still does get quite chilly here. Consider that most homes (including ours) don't have central heat, chilly damp days actually feel quite bone-chilling.
I've been loving having hot pots during these cold days, and our new favorite place is Megan's Kitchen, conveniently located in Wan Chai not too far from our new apartment.
Megan's Kitchen is predominantly a hot pot restaurant, though it does have special Cantonese tasting menus you can pre-book for events and such. For most walk-in visitors, however, hot pot is the only option. The restaurant has won its fair share of awards, including receiving Bib Gourmande status from the Michelin Guide as well as being listed under Hong Kong Tatler's list of Best Restaurants.
They are famous for their contemporary and creative broths. We didn't go wild this time and ordered two broths: Sichuan Spicy Tofu broth ($168 HKD) and Coriander and Preserved Duck Egg ($98 HKD). Some more unusual ones on the menu include tomato and crab soup, fresh lobster borsch soup, apple and corn soup with spareribs, and double boiled French spring chicken stuffed with porcini mushroom and quinoa. You can see the whole list in my photos of the menus here and here....
Modern cute dim sim at Crystal Jade Jiang Nan
This is post #40, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.
Crystal Jade is a well known, very popular dim sum group of restaurants originating out of Singapore with locations around the world. We've been to the ones in Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, and have always been impressed with their authentic Cantonese dim sum, roast pork, noodles, and other Chinese specialities.
The new concept Crystal Jade Jiang Nan was born in 2016, the 15th anniversary of the original Crystal Jade restaurants. You can think of Crystal Jade Jiang Nan as the contemporary, more health-conscious cousin of Crystal Jade. Crystal Jade Jiang Nan offers both traditional and modern takes on Jiang Nan cuisine, as well as healthier and creative interpretations of classic Chinese dishes.
Jiang Nan, which literally means south of the Yangtze river, refers to a region of China that includes Shanghai as well as parts of Jaingxi, Jaingsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui province. Signature Jiang Nan dishes that Crystal Jade Jiang Nan offers include homemade wine flavored egg (from the Jaingsu and Zhejiang regions), braised pork belly, and braised pork ribs Wuxi style.
We have visited Crystal Jade Jiang Nan a few times and we like it a lot. We like how the menu has a nice variety of Crystal Jade classics such as xiao long bao (soup dumplings) and noodles, while also incorporating Jiang Nan fare and the newer, contemporary dishes. The environment is classy and modern, and the food is all quite good. Here's a look at some dishes we've enjoyed....
Pho Bar Hong Kong - Supreme Combo ($93)
This is post #38, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.
Pho is starting to get more and more popular in Hong Kong, especially with the recent openings of more modern, "trendy" pho joints opened by those with European or western influences.
Brothers Norman and Russell Stradmoor, who are self-proclaimed "quarter British", decided to open up Pho Bar because a friend's space in Central had become available. The friend's business was shutting down but the lease wasn't over yet, so the brothers decided to try opening a pho restaurant in that space since they thought they had a pretty good recipe. The Central location opened on January 15th, 2016.
Interestingly, Norman and Russell Stradmoor's main focus is in fact their coffee business, Omotesando Koffee in Wan Chai. However, Pho Bar has been so successful, they have opened up another location in Causeway Bay....
La Ramba IFC
This is post #35, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.
As I continue to explore Spanish food here in Hong Kong, I can't help but be really, really impressed.
La Rambla is a new spin-off from the very popular restaurant Catalunya, located on Morrison Hill in Wan Chai. Located in the International Finance Centre (IFC), this Catalan-focused restaurant serves all sorts of small plates (tapas, pinxtos) as well as paellas, suckling pig, seafood from Japan, as well as 90-day and 120-day aged Galician beef from Spain. The restaurant focuses on fresh, seasonal ingredients, flying in ingredients twice a week from Japan and Europe
Chef Ferran Tadeo, who is also executive chef of Catalunya, was mentored by Albert Adrià (el Bulli) and Sergi Arola (Arola).
La Rambla IFC has only been open since November 2017, but it already seems to be doing quite well. I came during lunch on a weekday and there were plenty of diners, likely the office crowd enjoying a high quality lunch in between work.
The best part about lunch is the gorgeous buffet spread of all sorts of small bites. It's one of the options of the three course lunch (which is the only option during lunchtime).
If you don't want the buffet spread, you can get a soup or another starter, but trust me . . . you want the spread....
Qi House of Sichuan - Wan Chai, HONG KONG
This is post #33, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.
I learned a mind blowing fact the other day.
Did you know that Sichuan cuisine was not always spicy? Hot chili peppers are not native to China. The people of Sichuan have always loved bold, flavorful foods, but used local Sichuan peppercorns, the numbing spice that is still broadly associated with Sichuan cuisine, as well as garlic and scallions to achieve these flavors.
South America introduced China to hot chili peppers in the late 1500's. The pepper slowly made its way up the Yangzhe River, reaching Sichuan, Hunan, Hubeo, and Guizhou, provinces that are all associated with hot, spicy food today.
Today, the word Sichuan is virtually synonymous with hot and spicy food. Sichuan cuisine is celebrated all over China as one of the eight great cuisines. Furthermore, it has made phenomenal in-roads around the world.
Hong Kong has its fare share of great Sichuan restaurants. Because the Cantonese palate is lighter than other fiery parts of China, some restaurants tame down the fiery spice levels of Sichuan food in Hong Kong in order to appease the local taste buds.
We had a Chinese friend from Jiangxi province visiting us in Hong Kong. Although Jiangxi cuisine is less known outside of China, within China they are known for eating some of the spiciest and most intensely flavored foods. They even eat stir fried chili peppers straight as a vegetable (!).
We decided to take our friend to Qi House of Sichuan, a one-Michelin starred Sichuan restaurant in Wan Chai that was well-regarded for its authentic Sichuan dishes....
Chilli Fagara Hong Kong
This is post #26, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.
Chilli Fagara is a family-owned restaurant from third-generation restaurant owner Tracy Wong. Tracy grew up in Vancouver where her family ran several restaurants in the city. In 2005 she decided to open up a restaurant focused on the cuisine of her heritage. The dishes are based off of her mother's recipes, and focus on the flavor profiles of "ma" (numbing), "la" (spicy), and "tang" (neutral).
The restaurant received a Michelin star in 2011 and maintained it through 2013. The restaurant re-appeared in the guide as a recommended restaurant in 2017 and 2018.
The menu is divided up into three main sections: "ma" (numbing), "la" (spicy), and "tian" (neutral). Additionally, there is an entire section in the back devoted to vegetarian dishes, also with the same three categories. It's easy to recognize which section is which. In short, the green text denotes vegetarian, the red text denotes the regular menu.
For fun we decided to try something from each section in order to get a sense of the entire menu.
The salad of crunchy wood ear and Chinese celery ($68 HKD) comes with fresh wood ear mushroom and celery lightly tossed with white sesame oil and infused Sichuan peppercorn oil. I really enjoyed the fresh wood ear, which is something I don't get as often in the US. Though the dish was on the "ma" section of the menu, the flavors were more "la" and not as "ma" as we had hoped.
The mapo tofu ($118 HKD) was a lovely dish, topped with a generous dose of Sichuan peppercorns (my favorite!) to give it a nice, "ma" flavor along with the house made chili sauce.
The server suggested that we try the Chilli Fagara Chicken, a signature dish from the "La" (spicy) section that consisted of boneless chicken pieces stir fried in a dark soy sauce and topped with deep fried basil leaves. In all honesty, this dish tasted quite "westernized" in style, with its soy-based, thick gooey sauce and boneless chicken pieces. The dish itself was quite salty yet didn't really have the strong, fragrant, chili aromas I associate with fiery Sichuan cuisine.
Surprisingly, I ended up liking the restaurant's non-spicy food a lot better than the spicy ones.
One of their most popular dishes is the Crispy Caramelized Shredded Beef ($108 HKD) made with thin slices of beef that have been caramelized with a garlic and ginger glaze. I loved the sweet and savory caramelized edges. I swear it's almost like eating beef as a candy.
We also enjoyed the intense flavors of the Jasmine Tea Smoked Duck ($168 HKD for a half portion). The flavors were rich, smoky, and perfectly seasoned. The skin was crispy, though the duck meat itself was a bit dry.
I think the best dish of the night was the simple Potato Starch Noodles stir fried with egg and cabbage, a dish from a separate card featuring Chef's Recommendations / Specials. It was a simple dish, but the texture of the potato starch noodles was so fun to eat, and the flavors were nicely balanced.
Stir fried bok choy with garlic was solid and provided nice balance to the spicier, more intensely flavored dishes.
Purists will argue that the food at Chilli Fagara does not reach the searing spice levels of authentic Sichuan food. Most customers would be relieved to hear that, since the slightly modified spice levels still pack a major punch for most. As a foreigner, I certainly thought the spice levels were fine, and I happily ate most of the dishes without having to stop completely. {I contrast that to House of Qi in Wan Chai, which was suuuuper spicy. Our friend from mainland China loved it while I struggled to taste anything in my fiery mouth!}
Still, our experience at Chilli Fagara was mixed. On the one hand, there were some really enjoyable dishes, like the potato noodles or crispy caramelized shredded beef. At the same time, execution for certain dishes, like the Chilli Fagara chicken and the tea smoked duck, could have been improved. Prices are quite high for the portion size, so this place definitely caters more for business wallets.
My general take-away impression is that this place caters to foreigners. The space is beautifully decorated, the menus are in English, and the food is modified to suite western tastes. Interestingly, the day we went, every single person in the restaurant was a foreigner (we heard tons of English being spoken). It was clear this was a popular expat hangout.
If I'm looking for good, authentic Sichuan food, this would not be my first choice. However, if I'm looking for a foreigner-friendly restaurant with enjoyable food and nice ambiance (and I don't mind paying more for that), this is still a perfectly fine choice.
Chilli Fagara
7 Old Bailey St, Central
HONG KONG
2893 3330
Hee Kee typhoon shelter fried crab
This is post #25, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.
In general, I find Cantonese food to one of the more recognized cuisines to those in North America. Due to the predominance of Cantonese restaurants in many Chinatowns across the United States, most Americans are familiar with classic dim sum staples like fried turnip cakes, steamed shrimp dumplings, and rice rolls. I definitely had my fair share of egg tarts in the US, and I loved pineapple buns (or polobuns) and charsiu roast pork.
However, there are so many other types of Hong Kong specific dishes that I didn't discover until I moved here (and I'm still constantly exploring and learning about new dishes every day!).
One absolutely delicious specialty I discovered recently was the typhoon shelter fried crab.
A very, very iconic Hong Kong local cuisine, typhoon shelter crabs supposedly arose from boat dwellers that used to live around Causeway Bay. They brought in fresh crabs from the Harbour and set up shop in typhoon shelters, frying up these mud crabs with loads of garlic and spices.
The resultant dish is intensely flavorful and downright addictive.
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A meal for two at Sijie Sichuan Restaurant
This is post #9, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.
I've only visited a handful of private kitchens in my life. I was first exposed to the concept more broadly when I traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where "closed door restaurants", or private kitchens, was where the best food in the city was being served. In Boston, I dined at the home of Chef Peter Ungár, now chef-owner of the excellent restaurant Tasting Counter in Somerville.
After moving to Hong Kong, I discovered that the private kitchen scene in Hong Kong is also thriving.
High rents have caused some chefs to go the private kitchen route, serving exquisite meals out of their own homes or other types of spaces. In Hong Kong, private kitchens make use of a private club license, which has less fees and restrictions compared to a restaurant license, but also less freedom to publicize.
Private kitchens range from occasional meals that a chef prepares in his personal home all the way to full-on operations that are virtually indistinguishable from a normal restaurant.
Sijie Sichuan Restaurant is one such restaurant....
Golden Valley Restaurant hot pot
This is post #8, part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.
We were looking for legitimate spicy Sichuan hot pot, ideally with lots of Sichuan peppercorns.
"I don't want shabu" said Bryan, referring to the Japanese version of hot pot which usually involves lighter, cleaner broths, a simpler assortment of vegetables, and a stronger focus on fine cuts of meat. We wanted the real Chinese deal, complete with spicy broth, fish balls, Chinese vegetables, and bold, flavorful dipping sauces.
After some quick searching, we decided upon Golden Valley, an upscale (formerly) Michelin-starred Cantonese/Guangdong restaurant located in the Emperor Hotel between Wan Chai and Happy Valley. We chose it because it frequently showed up on various sites' top lists for hot pot, and more importantly, was known for its flavorful, Sichuan broth - exactly what we were looking for....
New seasonal dishes: two types of Tsuta duck ramen
This is post #1 out of 50 as part of my #50PostsIn50Days personal challenge to document my first 100 days in Hong Kong. Other posts in this series may be found at the bottom of the original post.
Tsuta Japanese Soba Noodle was one of the first restaurants I got to know when I moved to Hong Kong.
We were living in temporary housing at the time, and our apartment was located right above Hong Kong's biggest mall, Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui. Tsuta was literally less than 100 steps outside of our apartment lobby. Every time we walked home, we would inevitably pass the restaurant and the fragrant smells of the black truffle shoyu ramen would tempt me to enter in.
I won't tell you how many times I answered that call....
Time is a weird thing. One the one hand, it can feel like it's going by really really fast. On the other hand, things that happened just a few months ago can feel like eons ago.
That's how I feel about my move to Hong Kong.
As of today, I have official spent one hundred days in Hong Kong. In many ways, the time has just flown by. I feel like I just got here. We moved into our permanent apartment less than three weeks ago, and we're still learning how to navigate our new neighborhood and city. We most certainly don't feel like locals.
Yet on the other hand, my life in Boston feels like a lifetime ago. It was so different from what my life looks like now: the activities, the friends, the work, the environment . . . it was all so so different. And largely because of the vast difference in lifestyles - I think - the past feels very far away right now.
So I guess you could say I'm in some sort of limbo right now. Not quite settled in my new life, yet feeling like I left my old life a long time ago.
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Despite feeling nomadic, it's been fun having fewer responsibilities and obligations. With any move, you give up a lot of your prior responsibilities and it takes time to adopt new ones. I've been trying to enjoy this unusual time of rest, to savor it and take advantage of it as much as possible. I've tried - as much as I can - to go hiking and to enjoy the gorgeous trails in Hong Kong.
Bryan and I have also been overwhelmed by the abundance of good food here in Hong Kong. We have definitely been taking advantage of it, trying more new restaurants in 100 days than we ever had in our lives.
In fact, I've realized that I have been falling woefully behind on blogging about these restaurants. We are eating out at a much faster rate than we ever did in Boston, and my backlog is growing.
In an effort to reduce the backlog, I've decided to take on a personal challenge. I've done personal challenges in the past before, though it's been a few years. Back in 2014, I resolved to post 31 posts in 31 days in the month of May. It was an insane amount of work (resulting in a bit of lost sleep on certain nights), but I felt a huge sense of accomplishment when I actually completed it. I tried it again, in 2015, but limited it to posting just on every weekday for the month. In both cases, the commitment to post caused me to write many posts I may have never gotten around to writing.
This time, I know I have at least 50 posts covering 50 different places I’ve visited in this first 100 days in Hong Kong. In order to keep things moving, I will commit to posting 50 posts in 50 days.
Help! Let’s see how this goes. Hope you enjoy the ride!
*And of course, like always, if you want to follow my day to day experiences in Hong Kong more “live”, please follow one of my many social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter).
Running List of Posts from this Series [will continually be updated]
100 Days in Hong Kong - Reflections and Personal Challenge
Tsuta Japanese Soba Noodle - Seasonal Duck Ramen (Causeway Bay)
Serge et le Phoque Wan Chai - French Restaurant with 1 Michelin Star (Wan Chai)
M&C Duck, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui
Tasty Congee & Noodle (IFC)
Torihana Tei chicken ramen (Wan Chai)
Fu Ho Cantonese Restaurant (Mira Place One, TST)
Golden Valley Restaurant Hot Pot (Happy Valley)
Sijie Sichuan Restaurant (Causeway Bay / Wan Chai)
On Yasai Japanese Shabu (Causeway Bay)
Yum Cha - Modern Chinese Dim Sum (TST, Central, Causeway Bay)
Momojein - Modern Korean (Wan Chai)
Ho Hung Kee - Michelin starred wonton noodles (Causeway Bay)
The Optimist - Spanish (Wan Chai)
Joy Hing Roasted Meat (Wan Chai)
22 Ships - Spanish Tapas (Wan Chai)
Peking Garden - Peking duck (TST)
Akrame - Michelin starred French (Wan Chai)
Sushi Ta-Ke (Causeway Bay)
The Chairman (Central)
La Locanda by Giancarlo Perbellini (TST)
Ham & Sherry - Spanish (Wan Chai)
Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao
Sushi Uehara (Causeway Bay)
Hee Kee Fried Crab Experts (Wan Chai)
Chilli Fagara - Sichuan (Central)
Dim Sum Bar TST
HAKU - Japanese inspired TST
The Steakhouse Winebar + Grill (Intercontinental TST)
Pici - Italian (Wan Chai)
Tsui Hang Village - Cantonese (TST)
La Piola - Piemontese Italian (Wan Chai)
Qi House of Sichuan (Wan Chai)
Limewood Repulse Bay
La Rambla - Spanish (IFC)
Yu Chu Jian Bing - Beijing street food (Wan Chai)
Duddell's - Cantonese (Central)
Pho Bar (Central, Causeway Bay)]
Yung Kee Roast Goose (Central)
Crystal Jade Jiang Nan (Wan Chai)
Le Bistro Winebeast - French - (Wan Chai)
Megan's Kitchen - Hot pot (Wan Chai)
The Square - Cantonese (Central)
Paper Moon - Italian (TST)
Seventh Son - Cantonese (Wan Chai)
The Butcher's Club Burger (TST, Wan Chai)
Trusty Congee King (Wan Chai)
Australian Dairy Company - HK breakfast (Jordan)
Bo Innovation - Modern Chinese (Wan Chai)
Sushi Shikon (Sheung Wan)
Social Place Hong Kong
This is one of many posts that are part of the series Jen's Guide - Best Places to Eat in Hong Kong for Visitors
I immediately fell in love with both the concept and the food at Social Place, a modern dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong with locations in both Central and Tsim Sha Tsui. OK, I'll admit it - I was initially drawn to the cute dim sum items that they make, my favorite being the shiitake mushroom shaped bao that tastes like black truffle inside (so good!).
However, as I dined there a few more times, I began to appreciate the overall high quality of the food, good service, and creativity of the menu. It's a fun place to go with a larger group so you can explore the wide variety of excellent food they have.
Social Place says its goal is to allow "diners to enjoy a range of healthy delicious dishes with a unique modern twist." I think they've done it quite well, which is why I keep going back. ...
Kam's Roast Goose Hong Kong
This is one of many posts that are part of the series Jen's Guide - Best Places to Eat in Hong Kong for Visitors
Roast goose is one of those quintessential Hong Kong foods that definitely falls on the "must-try" lists for any visitor to Hong Kong. Goose is generally hard to find in a lot of countries. In the US, I hardly ever see it in the super market or on restaurant menus. My Singaporean friends who used to live in Hong Kong lament that roast goose is one of the things they make sure to eat when they visit Hong Kong, because it's hard to get elsewhere.
Right now, Kam's Roast Goose, which earned a Michelin star almost immediately after it opened in 2014, is most certainly one of the most popular and one of the best.
Kam's Roast Goose was started by Hardy Kam, grandson of the late Mr. Kam Shui Fai who founded the acclaimed roast goose restaurant Yung Kee Restaurant in 1942. The iconic Yung Kee Restaurant has served all sorts of people for generations and is synonymous with roast goose in Hong Kong. The historic building has one of Hong Kong's only charcoal fired ovens (grandfathered in before new regulations) and its roast geese have that unique flavor.
It sort of a sad story how Kam's started in the first place.
After the founder of Yung Kee passed away, a power dispute between the two sons led to various lawsuits. Due to the family's inability to come to an agreement, the court finally ordered a liquidation of the family business after buyout talks failed.
Yvonne Kam Kiu-yan, the daughter of the younger brother, had stated back in 2015, “[m]y father promised to my late grandfather that we would try our very best to take care of Yung Kee. We are still trying very hard to keep the business.”
Sadly, the liquidation order is now in effect. It will find buyers for the restaurant and the building. They weren't able to save and keep "Grandpa's restaurant" within the family. Yung Kee lost its Michelin star in 2011 amidst all the dispute and has failed to regain it.
The heirs of the younger brother still run Yung Kee Restaurant. The sons of the elder brother went on to apply their know-how to open Kam's Roast Goose, which has immediately become wildly, wildly successful....
Kam Wah Cafe
This is one of many posts that are part of the series Jen's Guide - Best Places to Eat in Hong Kong for Visitors
If you come to Hong Kong you must experience traditional Hong Kong breakfast from a Hong Kong style eatery called a cha chaan teng, literally “tea restaurant”. These are old school, no-nonsense, casual breakfast spots where prices are cheap, the dining space is cramped, everything moves lightening fast.
There are many, many excellent places around the city. Different ones specialize in different things. Some of them do multiple things well.
I first heard of Kam Wah Cafe because I was desperately searching for the best boloyau, a pineapple shaped sugar encrusted buns served with a slab of ice cold butter. Time after time, website after website, I saw the same few bakeries pop up, with Kam Wah Cafe appearing more than any other place....
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This post was originally published on November 9, 2017. It has since been updated multiple times
[latest update, May 17, 2018]
Has it been one month already?
Temperatures are finally cooling down here in Hong Kong to tolerable temperatures. People are starting to go outside, and I’ve enjoyed hiking the many beautiful trails that exist all over Hong Kong. I’m still looking for a permanent apartment, and our shipment from the US has not arrived yet. Despite still feeling a bit temporary, I am definitely starting to get a feel of Hong Kong and what it’s like to live (and eat!) here.
I’ve only been here for a month, but I’ve already started receiving requests from friends who plan on visiting Hong Kong for recommendations on where to eat.
So . . . I decided to write this post!
I will caveat this entire post by saying that I’m still learning. However, I have also done a sizable amount of research, and I think I have a decent handle on many of the best places to eat in Hong Kong for visitors.
Please enjoy the list! I fully intend on writing more detailed write ups on most (if not all) of the restaurants listed in below. Over time, I’ll continually update this post with new favorites, as well as add hyperlinks to posts that describe each restaurant in more detail.
Enjoy, and feel free to recommend your own favorites for me to try in the comments!
...
This is the thirty-second post in the Around the World Birthday Extravaganza Series. Please scroll to the bottom to see all the other posts in this series.
Welcome to Hong Kong!
Bryan and I arrived in Hong Kong after five lovely days in Japan. This was the last stop of this crazy 3-week trip we had planned for my birthday. Why Hong Kong? Bryan had previously fallen in love with Hong Kong after visiting it on business trips. He really wanted me to see it, and had added it to the end of our itinerary.
Hong Kong is a fascinating city filled with countless food stalls, insane amounts of shopping, and more skyscrapers than you could ever imagine.
The views are stunning and the energy is unparalleled.
And the food!
Hong Kong probably has some of the best food in the world.
Fu Sing Seafood Restaurant Hong Kong
After an underwhelming dinner our first night in Hong Kong (don't ask, I'm not even going to write about it), we decided to pursue what Hong Kong does best: an authentic Cantonese meal. We chose to have dim sum at Fu Sing, a highly recommended (Michelin bib gourmand) seafood restaurant with three locations in Hong Kong. We went to the original one at Sunshine Plaza. Note: the one listed in the Michelin guide is the one at Causeway Bay.
The interior was classic - many large round tables with white table clothes and covered chairs. We sat at a round table in the corner, giving us a great view of the entire bustling restaurant.
It was so hard to decide what to order. Ha ha, clearly we ordered more than we could eat!
The picture menu, written in both English and Chinese, was very handy for ordering.
Their most famous dish is the BBQ pork, or charsiu, and for good reason. It is simply out of this world. The BBQ flavors are complex and deeply flavorful. The meat is super tender and soft, with a lovely crispy skin.
We really couldn't stop eating it, even though we were pretty stuffed near the end.
I absolutely loved their BBQ Pork Baked Buns.
I had already been blown away by the BBQ pork buns at Tim Ho Wan in Singapore, but after trying these, I was convinced these were better.
These buns also have that lovely sugar-encrusted top and a pop of sweet + savory BBQ pork inside. It was seriously out of this world. It's better than the famous BBQ pork buns at Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong. In fact, this currently ranks as the best charsiu bao I've ever had in my life.
The turnip cakes were also excellent, pan fried perfectly with a delicate thin crust all around the outside.
Yum!
Other dishes were very good as well. We also enjoyed this creamy bone broth with wontons and bok choy. It was warm, nourishing, and tasty.
The handmade wontons were great.
For dessert, we had custard filled steamed buns, which were fine, but not nearly as mind-blowing as the BBQ pork baked buns.
All in all, Fu Sing Seafood Restaurant is a great place to get some of the best dim sum in Hong Kong.
It's well regarded everywhere. Not only is it a Michelin bib gourmand ("quality meal at an affordable price"), it's on the Eater 38 for Hong Kong (38 Essential Restaurants to visit), and shows up in numerous articles and lists of "best dim sum" or "best BBQ pork" in Hong Kong.
As it goes with all popular restaurants, definitely make reservations if you can. Otherwise, show up early to avoid waiting in long lines, especially on weekends and during lunchtime.
Stay tuned as we continue this Hong Kong portion of this crazy series with an aim to finish it all by December 3rd (exactly one year to the date I returned from that trip - can't believe it's almost been a year!)
Fu Sing Seafood Restaurant Hong Kong
1-3/F, Sunshine Plaza
353 Lockhart Rd,
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
Update - January 19, 2018
We have gone back since moving there and the food is still excellent. Here are just a few more dishes we've tried and enjoyed.
Steamed Shrimp Dumpling
Chicken Feet
Sauteed lotus root with gingko beans, wood ear mushroom, and green beans.
Crispy Chicken
Around the World Birthday Extravaganza
Alba White Truffle Fair
Osteria Dei Sognatori - A Traditional Piedmontese Dinner
Italy Wine Tour - Barbaresco
Lunch at Donna Selvatica in Neive, Italy
Dinner at a Truffle Hunter's Inn - Tra Art e Querce
G.D.Vajra Winery
Trattoria Della Posta in Montfort D'Alba
Nighttime Truffle Hunting with a Dog in Alba
Osteria della Arco - last dinner in Alba
Stunning Images of La Morra and Barolo, Italy
First Day In Bordeaux, France - Une Cuisine en Ville
Chateau Haut-Brion Tour in Bordeaux France
Restaurant Le St. James
Touring Bordeaux Wineries - Day 1 - Left Bank
La Tupina, Bordeaux (traditional French dinner)
Cos d'Estournel Tour
Touring Bordeaux - Pauillac, Chateau Lynch-Bages
Chateau Cordeillan-Bages
A Different Paris
Le Relais de l'Entrecote
Pirouette Paris
L'Ambroisie Paris
Hiking at Mount Takao in Japan
Florilege
Sushi Harutaka
Rokurinsha ramen breakfast (六厘舎)
Azabu Kadowaki
Nakameguro Iguchi yakitori (中目黒いぐち)
Sushi-Ya (すし家)
Shirohige's Cream Puff Factory - Totoro Cream Puff
Sushi Yoshitake
Is there really such thing as a "best kept secret"?
After all, good secrets in the food world are hard to keep, and hidden gems quickly gain cult status through word-of-mouth, blog posts, and social media.
But it's hard to keep track of it all. And frankly, even though this tiny coffee shop has gained quite a following in the past year, I had no idea it existed. It's only because of my lunch and subsequent conversation with Shirley of Lovely Lanvin during our ethereal tempura lunch that I even found out about this place.
Welcome to Omotesando Koffee, one of the most unusual coffee shops I've ever visited.
Omotesando Koffee is most definitely "hidden". The tiny cube of a shop is quite difficult to find. Bryan and I meandered around this ritzy neighborhood in Omotesando quite a few times before we saw this tiny little sign.
Omotesando Koffee is probably unlike any coffee shop you've ever seen. Once you get past the traditional Japanese fence, beyond the lush green plants, you stumble upon this old, tatami-style Japanese home.
Except that it's anything but traditional.
The inside of this Japanese "home" is completely empty except for a large, single cube stuck right in the middle of the house. A lone barista stands inside the cube with his La Cimbali coffee machine and a few snacks.
The menu is simple - variations of iced "koffee", hot "koffee", and some snacks.
One of their most well known snacks or "kashi" is the Baked Custard, tiny cubes that remind me of French canelé (which I love).
I love the Baked Custard, which has a nice, hefty crust yet is gorgeously chewy on the inside. It goes perfectly with my cup of cappuccino. I think it's cute how they serve all of their desserts inside coffee filters. The coffee filters are also printed with the shop name as well as a map of the surrounding area.
The cappuccino is excellent. It's on par with my favorite coffee shops in Cambridge.
Off to the side you can buy other fun coffee related items, such as metal filters, insulated mugs, and even a "cup of coffee" literally made out of coffee beans. Of course, the cube-esque theme is quite pronounced here as well.
As I look around, I realize that I'm very lucky to be able to even visit this place.
You see, Omotesando Koffee was intended to just be a temporary pop-up. In fact, the old Japanese house was slated for destruction sometime in 2012. The original lease was only 12-months long. Owner Eichii Kunitomo's went with this box-like design because it could easily be disassembled and reassembled as it "popped up" around the world.
Things have changed since those original plans. The pop-up became so popular that people didn't really want it to leave the neighborhood. The 12-month lease has since been extended, which means Omotesando Koffee isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Who knows how long it will be before the shop is able to go where it dreams of going, reflected by the long list of destinations on its website? When will it get to actually disassemble and reassemble in a new location, the way it was designed to move?
I guess we'll have to wait and see, though it seems perfectly happy at Omotesando for the moment.
The Facts
This place is not far at all from all the wonderful places to shop in Omotesando (my favorite being Kiddie Land, which I think has one of the best selections of Ghibli & Totoro themed stuff in Tokyo). You can easily walk from Harajuku (another really fun neighborhood to visit) to Omotesando. They are right next to each other. If you really like walking, you can do what Bryan and I like to do, which is to walk all the way from Shibuya to Harajuku to Omotesando.
One of the most famous tonkatsu restaurants in Tokyo, Maisen, is located just around the corner from this coffee shop. You can easily visit both in one day, maybe grab a coffee here after a meal at Maisen?
This place is cash only. If you need to get cash, there is a 7-11 right around the corner which accepts international debit cards.
This is a fun place to visit, though if you're short on time, I think it's also OK to skip it, especially if your goal is to experience things that are uniquely Japanese. The coffee is good, but not better than the best artisanal coffee shops in the US. Instead, I like to think that it's offering a wonderful opportunity for the Japanese to experience really good coffee, something we're blessed to have in abundance here on this side of the globe.
Update December 2022: the original Omotesando Koffee in Omotesando closed in 2016, but the brand has expanded beyond Japan, opening up multiple locations in Hong Kong, Singapore, London, and even the Philippines. Now that I live in Hong Kong, I'm personally thrilled there are TWO Omotesando Koffee shops within my neighborhood (Wan Chai).
We have nostalgic memories of Brussels.
After all, we were stuck here at the beginning of the pandemic for close to seven weeks. It became like a second home of sorts. We got to know neighborhood restaurants, and even be-friended some of the families running those restaurants.
Bozar was by far our most memorable meal during that period.
Bryan fell in love with the signature pithivier that Bozar makes, and I just loved Chef’s overall approach to food and his obsession with quality.
Since our first visit, Bozar has attained another Michelin star now holding two stars total.
To be honest, I’ve always thought it’s quality was excellent and fully deserving of two stars. So I’m really glad Chef Karen Torosyan is finally getting the recognition that he deserves.
The menu does not include Chef's classic, signature pithivier anymore (the one filled with duck, foie gras, and mirepoix). However, Bryan called in advance, and they confirmed that they could still make the classic version.
Yay! We decided to relive our memories from our previous visits once again during our visit to Brussels just this past March (2024).
We love this place. I highly recommend Bozar if you want to have a really thoughtfully designed and executed meal. Even if you don't get the classic, you can still enjoy a croute as part of the tasting menu.
The last two times we came, the restaurant gave us a keychain to commemorate the number of pithivier that we ate. We'd eaten 221 the first time and 319 the second time. Alas, they told us they don't give away key chains anymore.
I'll treasure the other two that I already have. At least they are still willing to make the pithivier! Thank you Chef Torosyan and the entire team!
Bozar Restaurant Brussels
Rue Baron Horta 3
1000 Bruxelles
Bryan's birthday has had its fair share of drama in the past few years. In 2019 his birthday fell on a weekend, and thus the scheduled date of a massive protest. Despite the "danger", close friends ventured out and joined us for dinner at Tosca di Angelo at the top of the ICC. The next several years, the pandemic hit, making gathering together as a large group always an iffy thing. Despite rolling restrictions, we managed to dine out for his birthday with different sized groups starting in 2021 (Xin Rong Ji, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon), and even traveled around Hong Kong's outerlying island, geopark, and Saikung in 2020 when we were "stuck" in Hong Kong.
This past year in October, a different threat arose. The first potentially category 8 or higher typhoon was on its way, heading towards Hong Kong. Although we had booked a junk boat trip a month earlier, it turned out that this typhoon just might hit Hong Kong on Bryan's birthday.
"We'll have to wait and see" the captain said.
As his birthday got closer, the winds changed a bit, and it seemed like the typhoon wouldn't come until the evening of Bryan's birthday. It was tough and truly a test of patience for us as we waited and waited, intently watching how the storm would move. We had friends traveling in from out of town just to come celebrate on this half-day boat outing, so the weather made things particularly hard to plan.
Finally, the morning of his birthday, the captain green lit the boat trip. The typhoon wouldn't start until later that evening.
It was a GO!
After taking a leisurely boat ride around Hong Kong island, we landed at Lamma Island right in time for a seafood banquet. The sky was still blue, almost clear at this point! I even enjoyed another "first" in my lifetime. First time playing guitar (and singing hymns!) on a boat together with a professional musician from the Hong Kong Philharmonic orchestra!
We had pre-ordered the 10-person set meal and added a few additional dishes (for our non-seafood eating friend) after arriving. The restaurant was very responsive via WhatsApp, and everything went very smoothly. They sent me different menus and the wine list via WhatsApp, so we were able to put in our order early. Lamma Rainbow has a great wine prices (hardly a mark-up), so we ordered some nice bottles of champagne (always a crowd pleaser).
As an aside, I will say Lamma Rainbow was very, very accommodating and flexible with respect to our reservation due to the weather. I told them we couldn't confirm whether we could come or not until literally the morning of the meal, since we had to watch the weather. They were very kind and agreed to hold our reservation (without any deposit) until the morning of the meal (which was a lunch!).
Thankfully, we were able to set sail, and after a lovely excursion around Hong Kong island, we arrived at Lamma Rainbow around 12PM for lunch.
There are many different levels of set menus, as you can imagine. Prices range roughly from HK$250 per person to $HK1000 per person (plus tea charge of $20 and 10% service charge). The menus change, so it's best to contact them to get the most recent menu. The below set meal for 10 people was HK$9699 total.
We had a friend who didn't eat seafood, so we did order a few non-seafood items.
We had a great table right next to the waterfront, so we could enjoy dining outside while looking at the ocean.
Afterwards, we took a short stroll along the waterfront back to the boat, which was waiting for us at the dock.
If it wasn't this special occasion, we probably would have done what most of the other diners did, take Lamma Rainbow's free ferry for their guests. It picks up at TST, Central Pier, Cyberport, and even Aberdeen, and goes straight to Sok Kwu Wan (which is where the restaurant is). You just need to book about a day in advance. You can also just take the normal ferry, depending on which time slot works better for you. I like hiking from Sok Kwu Wan to the other end of the island (Yung Shue Wan). In that case, I'd just take the public ferry back home from Yung Shue Wan.
Originally we were thinking we might hike a bit on the island (like I did with my mom back in 2019), but the typhoon was coming, so we had to get going. Unfortunately, due to the winds, the captain said we had to go back. Our original plan to stop at Stanley had to be canceled.
The ride back was peaceful (though we kept our eye on the skies). The clouds were coming in, but there was still no rain. We hung out on the boat, chatting, taking photos, and generally just relaxing.
The boat arrived at the pier right around 5PM. Everyone made it back home with no issues, and we're very thankful for the wisdom of the captain in allowing us to have our birthday trip in a very safe manner. The category 3 typhoon warning signal came down around 6PM that evening.
Even though we didn't get to visit as many islands, we're still thankful for the sunshine in the morning, lack of rain, and the cool weather. Most importantly, it was a blessed time to spend together with friends, and we're truly thankful for the entire day.
Happy Birthday Bryan!
Lamma Rainbow
G/F, 23-27 First Street
Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island, Hong Kong
WhatsApp: +852 6407 4179
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Eating in Hong Kong during Covid Times
As soon as we knew we would be in Brussels for a slightly extended amount of time, Bryan asked if we could go back to “that pithivier place”. He still had fond memories of our last meal there, back in early 2020, when we experienced Chef Karen’s stunning works of art for the first time.
It’s been two years, and a lot last happened. As you may recall, Brussels went into lockdown in early March, the DAY we left Brussels to take one of the last direct flights back to Hong Kong. Who would have guessed that 2 years later, that direct flight is still not flying . . .
It hasn’t been easy. We talked to area restauranteurs. The family that owns Pasta Divina told us they were closed for 8 months, and many other businesses did not survive the pandemic at all.
Nevertheless, Brussels is coming back to life. As the days become longer and the sun sets later and later, people are reveling in the freedom of a society that is opening back up. We hardly saw masks anywhere (except perhaps inside trains, cars, and airplanes). There’s also no more need to show the digital “Green Pass” to enter restaurants.
This trip (Spring 2022) we mostly revisited our favorites from past trips. We were thrilled to see that our favorite pasta place, Pasta Divina, was still going strong, fully booked every single evening. In the fall of 2021, it was still relatively easy to get a last minute booking or walk into a popular restaurant. No more. Brussels is back, including the tourists, and restaurants are packed.
This was our first time in Brussels during the spring, so we were surprised to learn that mussels are not in season between March and July. Alas, no fresh moules frites this trip. We made sure to taste our favorite beers, such as the wild fermented lambics from Cantillon, “best beer in the world” brown beer from Westleveteren, Triple Karmeliet, Orval, Rochefort, and many many more.
Similarly, public areas such as The Grand Place and St. Catherine were teeming with life, filled with crowds that acted like it was 2019, i.e. “the Before Times.”
Despite all the tourists, thankfully I was able to secure a reservation at Restaurant Bozar again. It had been two years since we were last there, and we were looking forward to trying Chef Karan's signature pithivier again.
We had already pre-ordered the pithivier a few days before (must order 48 hours in advance!), and thus we were all set for our main course. We just had to choose a few appetizers. If you don't pre-order, you can still enjoy his "croutes" (meat filled pastry creations) by ordering the croute tasting (195 EUROS per person, minimum 2ppl), which includes trying four different ones, including a dessert croute!
I must say the attention to detail and the pure artistry of the food at Bozar never cease to amaze me.
It's not merely artistry, of course. Each course is elegantly composed, with balanced flavor combinations that are just a delight to eat.
The fresh, handmade ravioli was beautifully al dente, and the consomme together with the lobster (from Brittany) and sweet peas was just perfect.
There are several different types of croutes, filled with different types of meat such as Basque pork, pigeon, or duck. We (again) ordered the duck pithivier, which includes Dombes duck, goose foie gras, spinach, morel mushrooms, and root vegetables.
I really want to try the salmon one (which also has spinach, buckwheat, mushrooms, and a white butter sauce with caviar), but the menu says it is for 6-8 persons.
It takes so much precision to get all the layers to cook just right.
So amazing.
We finished with some light petit fours, including some freshly baked warm madeleines.
Our first time here was in 2020, right when the pandemic began. It was a scary time, when masks were scarce, little was known about the disease, and it was unclear how long we'd be stuck in Brussels.
So much has changed in two years.
Back then we ate the 221st pithivier. Two years later, our new keychain told us we had just eaten the 319th pithivier. Wow, Chef has made close to 100 more pithiviers since then, which is impressive considering the pandemic was roaring during a lot of this time . . .
We were thrilled to be back this time, and hopefully won't wait another 2 years before we return.
Bozar Restaurant Brussels
Rue Baron Horta 3
1000 Bruxelles
Tel : 02 / 503.00.00
Mail : [email protected]
20 years???
In some ways it's really hard for me to believe that I have been married for 20 years (the years flew by!). Yet in another way, when I look back and think about all the different things we've gone through together -- how we've both grown, changed, and experienced so many different chapters together in so many different ways -- then it does feel like it's been a long time.
I met Bryan when he was 17 and I was 19. We were mere kids, not really knowing anything about our futures, where we would go, what we would become. We got married soon out of college, still figuring out our directions in life.
Marriage is truly a step of faith and also commitment (especially when you're really young and you still don't really know yourself!).
We got married on September 1, 2001. It was ten days before the horrific attacks on 9/11 that changed America and our lives forever. We were on our honeymoon in Italy at the time, and started out our marriage stuck in Brussels for days before finally catching a flight to Montreal and driving down the Boston.
I thought it would be fun to reflect upon how we have celebrated our anniversary over the past 20 years. Of course, our 20 years of marriage is defined by so much more than just food or annual celebrations. However, it has played an important part of how we enjoy time together as a couple, and (of course), it is the focus of this blog. 🙂 Enjoy!
2002 was a different time, define by a post 9/11 world and yet pre-digital and pre-social media. Although we received our first digital camera as a wedding present, I woefully have very few photos from that era, and I can't remember for the life of me how we celebrated! All I remember is that I gave Bryan a coffee grinder and Illy espresso cups for our first Valentine's Day, which we use to this day.
I changed careers in 2003 and started attending law school at night and working full time during the day. Needless to say, we started out our marriage being quite busy! Although my weeknights were filled with classes and weekends full of study, we still played in our church band together, ran a Bible study group at our home, and enjoyed local trips around New England.
2006: I love biking, and one of my favorite activities is to bike the minuteman trail (from Cambridge to Lexington) for ice cream at Rancatore's, and then bike back for a nice dinner in Cambridge. This time, we took a day off of work and ended the day with a French meal in Harvard Square.
When I graduated from law school, I was so ready to explore a plethora of hobbies (after being "cooped up" for 4 years studying law during my freetime). I threw myself into trying new activities, such as sewing handbags, oil painting, running, capoeira, cooking, and starting a food blog.
In the early days, the blog had no photos (!). I really just wanted to keep a journal of the restaurants I ate at, and also my mom's recipes. Because of that, my write-up of our 6th anniversary meal at Craigie Street Bistrot (one of the earliest blog posts at Tiny Urban Kitchen) is shockingly photo-less.
As life would have it, as I became "freer", Bryan started traveling more and more for work. At our first anniversary apart in 2008 (due to one of Bryan's many business trips), Bryan sent me roses at work for the first time.
In 2009 I started to blog more seriously. Bryan had bought me a lovely little camera that took really good photos of food. I changed the name of the blog, joined an ad network, and started to write more seriously about both my cooking and my dining out.
That year, we celebrated our anniversary with a lovely meal at Boston's classic No. 9 Park.
2010 was a momentous year. I won Project Food Blog: The Next Food Blog Star, and I started blogging a lot more. We celebrated our 9th with a lovely meal at Barbara Lynch's flagship restaurant Menton, where we enjoyed New England inspired food elevated to the highest level Boston had ever seen.
For our 10th anniversary we did something crazy. Our friend, a wedding photographer in Las Vegas, offered to treat us to a photoshoot in the desert! We brought along my wedding dress and took all sorts of fun photos, the below being one of my favorite.
We also enjoyed a mind-blowing meal at 3-Michelin starred The Mansion at Joel Robuchon. Truly an unforgettable meal.
2012 was a special year because Bryan's parents retired that year. Bryan had so many airline miles from his years of travel that he gifted his parents a choice of two first class tickets anywhere in the world.
They looked on a globe and picked the farthest location they could find: Australia and New Zealand. Oh, and they wanted to go together as a family. In 2012, we took a 3+ week vacation (longest we'd ever taken!) and traveled around that stunning region. I woefully have never given it a proper write-up on the blog, but there are a few food posts I was able to write.
Due to the crazy travel in November that year, we took it easy for our anniversary (and also for Christmas), not traveling at all but just resting and staying put. We celebrated 11 years of marriage with a lovely Japanese-inspired meal at Uni Sashimi Bar, back when it was just a small corner of Clio, pre-Tony Messina. How things have changed!
I have such, such fond memories of California's wine region. I got to know the region when I used to travel there annually to cover the S. Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef competitions. For years we went back annually, savoring the beautiful scenery, amazing food, and in Sonoma and Napa. I have many, many fond memories of those trips, and am so thankful for the numerous opportunities we had to visit that amazing region.
Boston's own backyard, the Berkshires, is a lovely place to visit in the summertime. For our 13th anniversary, we finally enjoyed a picnic while listening to a concert at Tanglewood, the quintessential New England summer experience!
Our friends asked us months earlier whether we wanted to make a special trip to Chicago just to dine at Alinea, one of the most famous fine-dining restaurants in the US. It had been years since I had visited Chicago, and I fell in love with the city! I guess my Midwestern roots are still strong, and perhaps a part of me felt at home there. The meal at Alinea was also really special, especially because we got to spend this anniversary with some of our best friends.
2015 was also memorable for me because that fall Bryan took me on an "Around the World" trip to celebrate my 40th birthday. It was a momentous and crazy trip. We visited wineries in Bordeaux, explored museums in Paris, sampled white truffles in Alba (even went on a truffle hunt!), learned all about the barbaresco and barolo regions, savored Tokyo's food and culture, and also stopped by Hong Kong, Bryan's favorite city in the world. At that time, we never would have ever imagined that we would move there some day.
Finally, I started a new job as head of IP at a biotech start-up in Cambridge, which was super exciting. What a year!
In 2016 I got to enjoy one of my favorite meals (ever) in the US, our anniversary dinner at Saison in San Francisco. I loved how the chef incorporated so many Japanese concepts and ingredients into the tasting menu.
2017 was an unique year. It was the year I moved to Hong Kong. At that time, Bryan had already moved to Hong Kong first and had returned to Boston right before our anniversary to wrap up our move. For our anniversary, we visited our favorite hangout spot Bergamot and enjoyed a boisterous meal at the bar with close friends.
After moving to Hong Kong, we started to value and cherish our times at Bergamot more and more. We returned again in 2018 for yet another anniversary celebration at the same bar. Little did we know that would be our last time . . .
We couldn't make it to Boston for our 18th anniversary. Instead, we decided to book Amber in Hong Kong in the midst of an intense time of social unrest in Hong Kong. It was a crazy story of how Bryan barely made it out of the airport (which was overrun with protestors) right before the police locked down the airport. Many people were stuck in traffic for hours. I was so thankful Bryan was able to make it back in time for us to celebrate together. I am even more thankful he had the foresight to book a night at the Landmark Mandarin so we wouldn't have to worry about how to get home afterwards.
It goes without saying that 2020 has been the most upended, unpredictable, and crazy year to date. 2020 meant we had been "locked in" working from home for close to two months. In late August, Hong Kong finally started to open up a bit. We ventured out, cautious, celebrating our first "socially distanced" dinner out at Xin Rong Ji.
Happy Anniversary!!! Here we are at our 20th. We are so, so thankful that the Covid situation in Hong Kong is quite good, with no local cases in months. We've been enjoying an extended week of celebrations, visiting some favorites such as Sushi Shikon, Ando, Mott32, and Din Tai Fung, just to name a few.
Sometimes it's shocking to me how little we knew ourselves and each other when we took the plunge and decided to tie the knot at such a young age. However, I truly believe it's because of God's amazing grace that we have been able to grow so much as as couple these past 20 years.
The 20th anniversary gift according to tradition is China, while the modern version is Platinum. It's fitting, considering we currently live in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, and Platinum is the material we chose for our wedding bands and my engagement ring so many years ago.
I feel very, very thankful and blessed beyond measure.
Happy Anniversary!
Happy New Year!
Ever since this blog began I have written something on New Years Day, a reflection of sorts on the past year. Through the years my posts took on a familiar pattern, summarizing top recipes (back when I published more recipe posts) and moving into a reflection of my travels that past year.
When I look at what I wrote last year, I can't help but chuckle. So little did I know . . .
And that's a wrap! What a year. As always, nothing is predictable and you never know how your year is going to turn out. We never would have expected the crazy geopolitical events happening around us. In some ways I feel like it's been A LONG time since I've lived and worked in Boston. In other ways, I feel like time is zooming by and I can't believe I've already been here for two years.
We take each day one step at a time. You never know what surprises might come along. Here's to 2020 and all that it brings.
- Jen from Tiny Urban Kitchen . . . . . January 2020
. . . "and all that it brings." Yep, that about sums it up.
This year has been undoubtedly different. We did not step foot in the US for the first time in our entire lives. We have not seen family for over a year. We have not left Hong Kong since March.
Though we can't travel for leisure, Bryan also does not need to travel for work, which has been an unexpected blessing. We have spent a TON of time together - whether it be hanging out at home over home-cooked meals (or delivery!), or exploring lesser known parts of Hong Kong between lockdown waves.
I've also picked up classical piano again, started "painting" with the Apple pencil, and cooked more this year than I have the last two years combined. I've focused on my Mandarin studies and I can actually see progress, especially in my writing, which was so, so difficult for me.
We have re-connected with old friends through Zoom, and I've secretly enjoyed not commuting every day on the crowded Hong Kong subways. One of my favorite aspects of working from home is the ability to enjoy lunch with Bryan every day at home.
It's unclear what next year will bring, and I have no idea if it will be better, worse, or just different. I've learned not to expect anything, nor take anything for granted. I constantly remind myself to appreciate and be thankful for my current situation and what I have now.
Below are highlights of this strange year. Instead of sharing about my various travels, it will be about how we navigated ever-changing pandemic "lockdowns", "re-opens", and various day-to-day restrictions.
In terms of months, January was the most "normal" month of the year. As I look back at what we were doing, I feel a bit nostalgic and sad at how so many of those things came to an abrupt, unexpected stop.
We did things that seemed so normal back then, but impossible since then . . . . like visiting Dafen Village, where we sat in the alleyways of this artist village in Shenzhen and painted with the help of a teacher.
Or our annual trip to Thailand, where we caught up with old friends, tasted fantastic food, and just enjoyed being outside without a mask. Although people still weren't wearing masks regularly at that time, we were already aware of the virus and wore masks during our flight.
I will never forget the fast progression from mask-free to full-on masks. It happened within a week in late January right before Lunar New Year. I distinctly remember looking around me and seeing how many people were wearing masks on the subways. I personally began wearing a mask starting around Wednesday that week. When Bryan came back to Hong Kong on Thursday, he said "maybe I'll wear a mask today." By Friday, the whole city was covered in masks, and every other person seemed to be a disease-carrying suspect.
A few days later, Bryan left for a week long business trip in Belgium. I stayed behind, spending time with some friends from China who were seriously considering not going back, due to quickly escalating situation in Wuhan.
And then I got the call. Just like my friends from China, Bryan was also advised by his boss not to come back, but to stay in Belgium instead.
I've never done this before, but I booked an airplane ticket to leave in less than 48 hours. I hastily packed (including packing some more things for Bryan!), and off I went, not knowing when I would return.
February was an odd month. As we watched the pandemic unfold in China (and the panic that ensued in Hong Kong), we felt a bit insulated from all that. Europe seemed relatively safe at the time, so we actually had the opportunity to be regular tourists. Not only did we explore Brussels (where we "lived"), we also visited nearly towns Ghent and Brugges, as well as took longer excursions to Paris, London, and Amsterdam. I've written about our European adventures in more details at this post.
It was a surreal time. As the situation globally got worse, our original plans (to visit Northern Italy, Spain, and the US) got canceled one by one. As mid-March rolled around, things started to look bad even in Europe.
We scoured around looking for flights and managed to book one of the last direct flights from Brussels to Hong Kong. We arrived back in Hong Kong just in time to enter Hong Kong's second lockdown.
Hong Kong locked down soon after we came back, entering its "second wave". It was tough coming back, and I had to figure out how to live under these new circumstances. Jetlag and general pandemic tiredness got to me, and I hardly exercised during those first several weeks at home.
Finally, near the end of the lockdown, we began to hike, and had the opportunity to visit some beautiful places in Hong Kong.
In May and June, the number of cases in Hong Kong hovered close to zero. People let out a sigh of relief, and life began to get back to normal.
I started physically going back into the office. Churches, movie theaters, and gyms opened for service. We tentatively began dining out again, and eventually, even sharing meals with small groups of friends. I continued to cook a lot at home, making chive dumplings, quinoa chips, Chinese pumpkin cakes, and much, much more.
There was sadness in May, however, as I found out that an old friend from college had died in a plane crash transporting coronavirus supplies to a remote village in Indonesia. It was quite a bit to process. She was a pilot, doing what she loved and serving people in one of the most remote places in the world. She knew being a missionary pilot was her calling in life, and she trained for 10+ years to prepare for this difficult and specialized job. Why did she have to go so soon?
It was therapeutic to grieve together with old friends over Zoom, and we re-connected with so many college friends during that painful time.
A stunning rainbow that appeared during a sunny rainstorm in June reminded me that God was in control and that things would be OK.
In July Hong Kong cases began to rise again, and we entered our "Third Wave." During that time, I began to order organic vegetables weekly from a local Hong Kong farm.
Life in lockdown wasn't that different from our earlier lockdown, though we had gotten more experienced. We knew how to navigate and manage the plethora of take-out and delivery options, which grew and grew as the pandemic worsened and dining restrictions increased. We started to figure out which places we liked the most. Some of my regular go-to lunch delivery spots included my weekly Din Tai Fung fix, falafels from Maison Libanaise, banh mi from Le Petit Saigon, and knife shaved noodles from Shiwei.
In June we also had fun being interviewed on a podcast with my friend Joe from Saverocity Observation Deck. We had a lively conversation about Hong Kong, food, the pandemic, and much more. Here is a complete list of restaurants mentioned in the podcast.
Things finally improved in September and we had a really enjoyable couple of months where life felt like it was returning to normal again. We were thankful that this "safer" period included our anniversary and both our birthdays, allowing us to actually go out and celebrate those moments.
During this golden period, we explored many new restaurants, such as La Castanella, Ando, Roganic, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, and the Araki, just to name a few.
During the October Golden Week Holiday, we took a week of "staycation", exploring Hong Kong by hiking, biking, and visiting its small fishing islands and geoparks. It was a much needed time just to get away and enjoy nature.
My memories of early November are warm and pleasant. Church had re-opened, and we were able to celebrate the baptisms of several friends. Bryan and I even attended our first symphony orchestra concert (masks on at all times!). We also enjoyed other lovely celebrations with smaller groups of friends, such as for Thanksgiving and also my birthday.
Two days after my birthday two things happened: I twisted my ankle and Hong Kong went into its fourth lockdown. In some ways, it sort of worked out that I couldn't walk very well just as the city was becoming less accessible to me anyway.
In December we spent our first Christmas ever in Hong Kong. I ended up getting in touch with my artistic side, making my own Christmas tree out of a yoga mat and collaborating with my Chinese teacher to illustrate a book as a gift for Bryan.
On Christmas Day we Zoomed for hours at various times to connect with family all over the US. We opened presents over Zoom, chatted with some friends, and overall had a very chill day.
We took the whole week off between Christmas and New Years just to relax. This time, because of my (still) recovering ankle, we couldn't take any longer "trips" within Hong Kong. It's tough for an active person like me to sit still (!) but the lockdown does make it easier. Can't wait to get back onto the hiking trail!
And just like that, 2020 vanished into the night. I've learned not to expect anything, because you really, really have no idea what will happen next. Last year, after an unprecedented period of unrest in Hong Kong, everybody was looking forward to moving past 2019 into a new year. Little did we know what was in store for us. Similarly, we really have no idea what next year holds. Therefore, I live day to day, being thankful for each day as it comes.
Let's appreciate those around us, and try to bless others a bit each day. I personally hope to be more mindful of that this coming year.
Happy New Year!
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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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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