Search Results for: wan chai

La Piola Wan Chai - Italian Restaurant

February 22, 2018 by Jennifer Che

La Piola Wan Chai

This is post #32, 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.

Piedmont has a special place in my heart.

I have very fond, nostalgic memories of Alba and the surrounding wine-growing regions of northern Italy when Bryan and I visited a couple years ago during white truffle season (the best!). Not only is the entire region absolutely stunning (definitely check out Barolo and Barbareseco!), the food is unique and absolutely delicious.

It's been awhile since I've had any northern Italian food, which is why I was thrilled to discover that La Piola, a restaurant focusing on Piemontese cuisine, had many of the special dishes that totally reminded me of my trip in 2015.

Despite the fact that its in a trendy happening location (which always makes me suspicious of food quality), Bryan and I were both tickled and pleased to discover that the food is quite authentic (one of the owners is Piemontese!) and very, very good....

Pici - Italian food in Wan Chai - { Pici Wan Chai Hong Kong }

February 20, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Pici Wan Chai

This is post #30, 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 fell in love with Pici even before I entered the restaurant.

I was meeting a friend there and she had told me that we should line up about 15 minutes before the 11:30AM opening time, since the restaurant doesn't take reservations and it's really popular.

As I walked up the steps of a narrow sidewalk in this hillier, steeper area of Wan Chai filled with narrow streets, tight corners, and small eateries, I couldn't help but be drawn to this quieter, off-the-beaten-path corner of Wan Chai. Standing in line I essentially people-watched, falling in love with the quaint neighborhood as well as the bustle of activity going on inside the kitchen....

Ham & Sherry Wan Chai Spanish Tapas Bar

February 12, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Ham & Sherry Wan Chai

This is post #22, 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.

Tapas!

I'm surprised at how many Spanish restaurants there are in Hong Kong, especially in Wan Chai. Several people had recommended to us the very popular 22 Ships by British Michelin starred Chef Jason Atherton (Pollen Street Social; Social Eating House in London). Its lesser known cousin is Ham & Sherry, another Spanish tapas bar located just across the street (also on Ship street) which is a collaboration between Chef Jason Atherton and local restauranteur Yenn Wong.

Ham & Sherry distinguishes itself from other Spanish tapas restaurants by boasting Asia's largest sherry list (over 50 varieties and styles).

It's a good casual place to grab a drink, enjoy a few snacks, or commit to a full dinner. It was the perfect venue for a quick bite with one of my friends, who had to leave at 8PM for another appointment, as well as for a 3-hour night of hanging out with a larger group another evening....

Akrame Hong Kong - Michelin Starred French Food in Wan Chai

February 8, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Akrame Hong Kong

This is post #18, 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.

Sometimes it feels like you don't need to leave Hong Kong to eat the world.

These were Chef Akrame Benallal's thoughts when he chose to expand his 2-Michelin starred eponymous French restaurant to Hong Kong . . . and only Hong Kong.

He saw Hong Kong as one of the most international cities in the world. So many foreigners travel through this Asian port city. Not only would he be among a dizzying array of global restaurants, he would be able to reach people from all around the world just by setting up shop in Hong Kong.

And thus Akrame Hong Kong was born in 2013, two years after the huge success of his Paris restaurant, which had opened two years earlier.

Chef Benallal, who was greatly influenced by his mentors Pierre Gagnaire and Ferran Adria, sees his dishes as an ever-changing pieces of art that he continually tries to perfect.

Interestingly, once it's perfected, he gets bored and removes it from the menu. This could explain why he changes his menu so frequently (at least monthly). The food is decidedly French, and almost all of the ingredients are sourced from France.

Lunch starts at $280 HKD per person (Tues - Thurs only), and goes up from there: $480 HKD for a four courses and $580 HKD for a six-courses. Sunday brunch is $680 per person. Dinner you can get either six courses for $888 HKD (so Chinese, such lucky numbers!) or eight courses for $1188.

We came here for dinner one evening as a "break" from Chinese food after Bryan had spent almost a week doing business in China....

22 Ships Wan Chai - Spanish Tapas {HONG KONG}

February 6, 2018 by Jennifer Che

22 Ships Wan Chai

This is post #16, 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.

One of the joys and benefits of living (and eating!) in Hong Kong is that you don't really have to travel to enjoy food from the world's top chefs and restaurants. They come to you.

Hong Kong has outposts of many of Asia's well-known restaurants, from Taiwan's famous Din Tai Fung and Singapore's well-loved Crystal Jade to high end Japanese places in Japan like Sushi Yoshitake (re-branded as Sushi Shikon in Hong Kong to avoid confusion) and Ryugin.

Many of the world's top chefs have opened restaurants here, like Joel Robuchon, Gordon Ramsey, and Alaine Ducasse (just to name a handful).

Chef Jason Atheron, Michelin-starred chef from the very popular Pollen Street Social in London was thrilled to open his first restaurant in Hong Kong. He saw Hong Kong as a melting pot of diverse cultures that really made the city come alive.

His first endeavor, a casual Spanish tapas bar called 22 Ships, has been tremendously successful. The food is good, the prices are reasonable, and the vibe is fun. This place is super popular, and lines can get long, so we stopped by one evening around 7PM (considered early in Hong Kong!), and grabbed one of the few remaining open seats for a nice, casual Spanish dinner....

Joy Hing Roasted Meat Wan Chai

February 5, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Joy Hing Roasted Meat Wan Chai

This is post #15, 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.

Hong Kong lines don't lie.

If there's a long line outside of a restaurant, chances are its really, really good. Furthermore, if a restaurant has been able to survive in Hong Kong's uber competitive food landscape, you know it's doing something right.

Joy Hing Roasted Meat has been around since the late Qing Dynasty (late 1800's) when it was a family-run business in Guangdong China. The business moved to Hong Kong in the early 1900's and has been running more or less non-stop, with the exception of the period around World War II.

The place is probably one of the most famous roast meat places in all of Hong Kong. The Michelin guide has given it a bib gourmand status, and Anthony Bourdain is a huge fan (publicly hoping that a branch of this famous place would open in his proposed international food market in New York). Local Hong Kongers, via OpenRice (community-supported food rating site), voted Joy Hing as the best restaurant in Wan Chai from 2008-2011 and 2013-2014....

The Optimist Wan Chai - Spanish food Hong Kong

February 4, 2018 by Jennifer Che

The Optimist Wan Chai

This is post #14, 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.

Even after a month living in Wan Chai, I am still amazed at the number of Spanish restaurants within a 5-minute walk of where I live. Hong Kongers like Spanish food, apparently, and the multiple ones that exist all thrive.

The Optimist is a Spanish restaurant that focuses on what they called asador-inspired menu. The word asador means "spit" and refers to restaurants that focus on the grill.

It's no surprise that this second restaurant by the Pirata group is Spanish. After all, the co-owners of the Pirata group are Christian Talpo from Italy and Manuel Palacio from Spain. Their first restaurant, Pirata, was and is a roaring success (it's one of my favorite local Italian places). Their second endeavor, located in the same building but on the first three floors, is The Optimist, which opened in 2015.

The restaurant includes a bar on the first floor and dining space on the second and third floors. There's the massive grill on the second floor. The focus, of course, is the grill. You choose the meat or seafood by weight, and then they grill it for you.

Portions are big. This is the type of restaurant that's great to visit with a larger group so you can order the heftier meats to share as well as sample several tapas/pintxos.

Since it was just the two of us, we opted for their Classic Tasting Menu, which would at least allow us to sample a variety of dishes throughout the menu. The tasting menu has a minimum participation of two people and costs $480 HKD per person.
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Momojein Hong Kong - Modern Korean in Wan Chai

February 2, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Momojein Hong Kong

This is post #12, 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.

It's usually hard for me to convince Bryan to go out for Korean food. He's been to Korea a few times and has tried all sorts of different types of business dinners there. At the end of the day, he tells me he just really isn't into the flavors as much.

"Too sweet" is his general reply.

So I was mildly surprised when he agreed to try out Momojein, a modern Korean restaurant in Wan Chai that was recommended by the Michelin guide.

cocktail made with shochu

Momojein opened in 2015 with an all-Korean staff under the guidance of a Korean TV celebrity chef Lim Heewon. The idea was to present Korean food in a modern way, by elevating it with more upscale or creative ingredients, or presenting traditional flavors in new forms.

Their most recent menu talks about how after exploring creative flavors at the beginning of their time here, they are now going back to some of the more traditional flavors.

Accordingly, the menu seems to be a mix of some slightly more creative dishes as well as some classics. We tried to order a mix of both.
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Torihana Tei Chicken Ramen in Wan Chai

January 27, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Torihana Tei chicken ramen

This is post #6, 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 love little-known neighborhood finds - the types of places where the restaurant just focuses on a couple dishes, but does them really well, and with heart and soul.

At the same time, I am quite risk-adversed. I hate just walking randomly into a restaurant and trying it, only to find out that the food was terrible, the prices were high, and I just wasted several hours, calories, and money. I know this from experience - it's happened one two many times when I'm in a touristy spot in a foreign country and I haven't done my homework.

As a result, I don't usually walk randomly into places.

However, one of my out-of-town friends is much more willing to just try things. During the week when he was in town visiting us, we ended up exploring many things in my neighborhood - things I would have never explored on my own. I was thrilled to discover a great Thai massage place (definitely would not have walked into one of those myself!) as well as a fantastic chicken ramen shop just around the corner from our new apartment....

Serge et le Phoque Wan Chai - French restaurant One Michelin Star

January 23, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Serge et le Phoque - Wan Chai Hong Kong

This is post #2, 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.

A street surrounded by Wan Chai Market on one side and a bustling very traditional Chinese outdoor market on the other side may not be the first place you would expect to see a fancy French restaurant. Yet Wan Chai, a "colorful" neighborhood (both literally and figuratively) known for its red light tinged nightlife, bustling farmers market, Michelin-starred restaurants, and local Chinese flavor, is where three powerhouse French restauranteurs decided to open their newest venture.

Former Le Chateaubriand chef-owner Frédéric Peneau, interior designer turned restauranteur Charles Pelletier, and Chef Christophe Pelé (former chef at 2-Michelin starred La Bigarrade) came together in 2014 to open Serge et Le Phoque.

Serge et le Phoque translates to "Serge and the Seal." Chelf Peneau's son, whose name is Serge, chose the animal for the restaurant name. Serge et Le Phoque has one Michelin star and has been recognized by Diner's Club World's 50 Best Discovery Series as a restaurant to watch. The restaurant has done so well, it opened up a second location in London at the end of 2017.

Serge et le Phoque would best be described as serving Asian-influenced French cuisine. The cooking techniques are decidedly French, but the ingredients are very Asian. Everything from local produce from the local market to vegetables flown in from Japan are featured on the eclectic menu.

We came here on a chilly Thursday evening. Surprisingly, the restaurant was only about half full the entire night, filled with a majority of French-speaking natives, some of whom seemed like regulars who knew the restaurant staff well.

There is an a la carte menu. Or alternatively, you can do the chef's tasting, which includes an appetizer, entree, cheese course, and dessert for $800 HKD a person. Because it was our first time, we opted for the tasting.

And oh what a tasting it was!

Our meal felt absolutely perfect. The food, the excellent wine, the laid-back, friendly, and warm service, all came together to form a perfect evening.
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Kam Fung Bakery Wan Chai - Traditional Hong Kong Breakfast

December 13, 2017 by Jennifer Che

Macaroni sausage & egg, coffee milk tea, egg tarts, and pineapple buns with butter Kam Fung Bakery Wan Chai

Macaroni sausage & egg, coffee milk tea, egg tarts, and pineapple buns with butter at Kam Fung Bakery Wan Chai

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 am a huge fan of Cantonese-style polobao, or pineapple bun, so named not because of its flavor, but because of its appearance. The delicious sugary, buttery crust on top resembles the texture of a pineapple. During my second visit Hong Kong this past summer, I immediately sought out the best pineapple bun in the city.

Two names consistently popped up: Kam Wah Bakery and Kam Fung Bakery. Kam Wah Bakery is on the Kowloon side in a bustling shopping area called Mongkok. Kam Fung Bakery is on the Hong Kong island side in Wan Chai. Because we were planning to spend the day on the island side, we decided to stop by Kam Fung Bakery early in the morning (heh, around 9AM) for some traditional Hong Kong breakfast....

Pirata Hong Kong - Italian in Wanchai

January 17, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Pirata Hong Kong

Despite the fact that we are surrounded by hundreds (if not thousands) of excellent Asian restaurants serving everything from casual Hong Kong breakfast buns and Beijing style street crepes to gourmet Iberico chashu pork and sushi omakase flown in from Japan, sometimes we crave dishes that remind us of home.

In Boston we got used to having really, really excellent Italian food. Homemade pasta was pretty common on many menus, and we were able to take advantage of the excellent seafood in Boston (hello lobster!) and enjoy them prepared Italian style. We had no idea what the Italian restaurants in Hong Kong would be like.

Colorful Wan Chai

After recently moving to Wan Chai, we have been thrilled to discover there are some excellent Italian restaurants. One of our recent favorite go-to places has become Pirata. Perched high up on the 30th floor in Wan Chai, Pirata serves excellent fresh pasta dishes, a fun assortment of authentic appetizers, and great "secondi" dishes together with great views of the bustling city....

Noodles and Dumplings at Hwangsaengga Kalguksu Seoul Korea

November 5, 2025 by Jennifer Che

Ah, who doesn't love handmade dumplings? Dumplings are showcased front and center at Hwangsaengga Kalguksu, a super famous (Michelin Bib Gourmand) dumpling and noodle shop not too far from Gyeongbokgung Palace.

A team of dumpling chefs methodically wrap these HUGE wang mandu (jumbo dumplings) right near the front entrance of the restaurant. You can't miss them.

And it is so mesmerizing to watch.

But First . . . you must wait in line

This place is so popular they have rows of chairs outside to let people sit while they are waiting.

Even though we showed up pretty early (well before lunch), we still had to wait about 30 minutes before we could enter the restaurant.

The menu is small, with just a few variations of noodles and dumplings. Their most famous dish is the "kalguksu", a type of noodle soup where the noodles are cut by a knife before being boiled in the soup.

The dumplings are HUGE! Way bigger than the Chinese ones I'm used to eating.

The house made knife-cut noodles are thick, chewy, and delicious.

The broths were flavorful, clean, and healthy. We each ordered a kalguksu with a few wang mandu, and just enjoyed some kimchi on the side.

These noodles + dumplings were very good, and it was nice to enjoy lunch here (in spite of the lines). It was super fun to enjoy such traditional foods in such a legendary place.

Hwangsaengga Kalguksu
78 Bukchon-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul

The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star)

June 6, 2025 by Jennifer Che

The last time I visited The Chairman was February 2022. It was at their original location in Central, and the pandemic era restrictions were still in full effect. In fact, at that time (February), Hong Kong's rules only permitted two people to dine together. I still remember four of us coming to the restaurant, sitting at a round table with a plexi-glass "shield" separating Bryan and me from our other two friends. At the time, Bryan was enjoying his "nice last HK meal for a bit" because he was heading for Spain, and then needed to quarantine for two weeks after returning to Hong Kong.

Then things went crazy. Later that year, The Chairman moved to a swankier but slightly smaller space in Central. This made it even harder to book. The Chairman has had a Michelin star for over a decade, but high rankings in the World's 50Best and Asia's 50Best list continue to raise its profile. In 2023 it made it into San Pellegrino's World's Top 50 Restaurants (at number 50). In Asia, it topped the 50Best list in 2021, and in 2025, it holds the number two spot in Asia and number 26 in the world. In 2024, Chef Danny Yip got the Icon Award from Asia's 50 Best Restaurants.

To get a Booking . . . .

Needless to say, it's been pretty impossible to get a booking at this restaurant, and I almost think back sentimentally back to when we first moved to Hong Kong, where we were able to get reservations at The Chairman relatively easily when our parents came to town to visit us in Hong Kong.

BUT . . . I have a friend who watches those reservations like a hawk. He has no special privileges, no special connections, but he books SUPER EARLY. He'll grab a table for four without knowing who he will go with, confident he can find someone. Sometimes he'll physically stop by the restaurant during the day to ask the front desk about available bookings. He's tenacious, he keeps trying, and he gets reservations.

So, one day in August 2023, our friend messaged us and asked if we were free to go to the Chairman. He had booked so far in advance he had forgotten about the reservation. Poor Bryan had a business trip and couldn't go, but I immediately jumped at the chance to try this newly revamped Chairman.

There were four of us, and my friend had already pre-ordered all the dishes (which is fine by me!).

Classic starters elegantly executed

The best steamed fish head I've ever had (it's MASSIVE)

Some say this is the best clay pot rice in Hong Kong . . .

It was sooooo good and I was thrilled to have a plateful of it!

The Chairman Hong Kong - General Thoughts

What can I saw? Food was phenomenal, and I still think back to some of those amazing dishes like the grouper head and the clay pot rice. I wish I could come back with Bryan, but I just haven't had the energy to try and fight for those reservations. I miss the days when it wasn't so impossible.

It's more fun to come with a bigger group. There are so many fun dishes to try! Additionally, it's hard to enjoy the larger format dishes otherwise.

The Chairman Hong Kong
3rd Floor, The Wellington
198 Wellington Street
Central, Hong Kong

The Chairman Four Person Set Menu {大班樓} Hong Kong
The Chairman Hong Kong - 大班樓
 Jen's Guide - Best Places to Eat in Hong Kong for Visitors!
Hong Kong Posts

Eating in Taiwan - 2024 Edition

November 3, 2024 by Jennifer Che

富錦樹台菜香檳 Fujin Tree Taiwanese Cuisine & Champagne Jen Bryan

After going to Taiwan in February 2017 and July 2017, I never would have imagined it would be so many more years before I returned again. After all, I lived in Hong Kong, only a 1.5 hour flight away. But then the pandemic came, and before you know it, it was 2023 before Hong Kong fully opened up again.

So . . . . I made up for lost time. Since Hong Kong opened up fully in March 2023, I have visited Taiwan a total of four times. That’s more times than the whole decade prior to this year (!).

Below is a summary of the top, notable places I visited during more recently while "eating in Taiwan". I'll follow up by writing some detailed posts about several of these, but I wanted to at least gather them all up into a single post (so I can share with others if they ask me "where do you recommend eating in Taiwan?").

Yongkang Street

I still love just walking down Yongkang Street. Foodies go there to get Tianjin Scallion Pancakes, delicious mango mochi shaved ice, or the famous Yongkang Beef Noodle Soup (Taiwan’s “national dish”). Of course the food is a huge draw, but even if you don’t plan on eating, it’s still a fun, lively street to explore. There are other small boutiques, and the whole street just has a really nice vibe. I even randomly ran into a friend from the US while walking down that street.

This street is only about a 10 minute walk from our old family home in Taiwan, so one evening my sister and I were tasked with walking here and picking up dinner for the extended family. We had so much fun walking into various shops to try different things. One of my favorites was the scallion pancake from Tianjin Scallion Pancake 天津蔥油餅 with just egg and basil. It was so good!

Fuhang Soybean Milk

This is probably THE most famous traditional Taiwanese “soymilk” restaurant in Taipei. The place is a sight to see, with workers making all sorts of scrumptious Taiwanese pastries from scratch right before your eyes. The lines are looooong, and start early. Basically, if you don’t want to wait in line, you should show up before 7AM. Otherwise, the line could be anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours (!).

Get the savory soy milk (which is kind of like a tofu pudding), fried crueller + sweet soy milk, the rice ball (fantuan) 飯糰, and sesame flatbread. The food is delicious, fresh, and cheap.

Ahong Popiah 阿宏潤餅

I am a huge lumpiah/popiah fan. This is a soft spring roll filled with vegetables that possibly gets it roots from Hokkien (you see it in Malaysia, Singapore, Xiamen, Taiwan . . .). My mom makes an awesome one (recipe here!), and I’m always trying to seek it out wherever I go. I tried one in Xiamen that I thought was phenomenal.

I looked up popiahs online and Ahong was highly recommended. We made the trip out (and even filmed a small video there!). It was my first time having freshly made wrappers! I was mesmerized watching the person hand make each one (watch the video to really appreciate his skills!). The texture of the skin was amazing, and the inside ingredients were fresh. Overall, it was tasty, though the version I ordered wasn’t as flavorful as I had hoped. I actually liked the one I had in Xiamen (as well as my mom’s version) a lot better.

Taiwanese Fruits & Vegetables

Taiwan is an agricultural haven and I LOVE eating fruits whenever I am there. It’s so inexpensive, fresh, and delicious. Depending on the season, some of my favorite fruits to eat in Taiwan include guavas, fresh jujubes, and rose apples. Haha, can you tell I especially like crispy, crunchy fruits?

Taiwan also has a bounty of vegetables, many that you won’t see anywhere else. I love just going to the morning market (the one in Dongmen or on Wuxing Street where Ahong Runbing is located are fantastic) to explore, photograph, and shop!

Raohe Night Market

I’ve been the Shilin Night Market 士林夜市 (the most famous one) and Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市) the more “foodie” one. Another famous one is Raohe 饒河夜市. I heard they had the really famous black pepper buns, so I dragged Bryan out there one night to experience this new might market.

I’ll dedicate a separate post about the whole experience, but it’s HUGE! And there are lots of black pepper buns (along with many other choices). Definitely get the quintessential lumpia filled with ice cream, peanuts, and cilantro. It’s surprisingly good! There are many other classic Taiwanese foods you must try. I think this is a pretty good night market. It’s bigger than Ningxia, probably not has huge and crazy as Shilin, but is still reasonable large and has lots of food options, many which seem quite good!

Fujin Tree Taiwanese Cuisine & Champagne

During our trip we visited one Michelin starred restaurant. Fujin Tree offers high quality Taiwanese dishes with a modern twist, optionally paired with champagne. We went to the original Songshan location. Apparently a month after our visit, they opened a new location inside Taipei 101!

Our meal here with food writer Nina Simonds (plus our photo above) was even featured in a Boston Globe article titled 50 Years Later I'm Still Falling for Taipei!

Din Tai Fung

Yes, even though I can now get Din Tai Fung delivered straight to my home in Hong Kong (and I can walk there in 20 minutes), I still love going to the Din Tai Fung in Taipei. There are a few additional items available in Taiwan. Plus there’s just something about this restaurant that makes me happy every time I come. The service was mad efficient yet super kind and friendly at the same time. The food is great, and the dining environment is comfortable. The cute smiling dumpling figures add to the happy vibe of the whole place.

These days, the original location at Xinyi is only a takeout counter. You cannot eat-in there. If you want to eat-in, you can go to the Xinsheng branch which is not too far away. This newer branch is also 3 stories (similar to the original one), but is newer, has an elevator, and a bigger area for those waiting in line to hang out.

There’s a large chance you’ll have to wait in line. One strategy is to show up early, grab a paper ticket, and then show up later. You can also monitor the wait times by downloading the Din Tai Fung app. It shows you the waiting times at each of the branches, which is pretty handy. I think you may even be able to monitor the progress of the line.

Tasting a Streetside Sesame Pastry

And Let’s Not Forget Taichung

My mom’s from Taichung and many of my relatives still live there. Now that it’s only a 45 minute high speed train ride from Taipei, it’s pretty easy to take a day trip there, or to go back and forth. During my summer trip to Taiwan with my sister’s family and my mom, we decided to take the high speed train straight to Taichung after landing at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport.

Train bentos

There’s a nostalgia for the boxed bentos that you can get at a train station in Taiwan. They always come in a paper box that’s held together by rubber bands. Inside, there’s rice, some picked veggies, maybe some meat sauce 滷肉, a soy braised egg 滷蛋, and usually a pork chop, chicken chop, or a vegetarian option. It’s delicious, reasonably priced, and super convenient.

Our family made sure to pick up some bentos at the train station in Taipei before getting on the high speed rail to Taichung.

Qin Yuan Chun 沁園春

My uncle in Taichung knew I was a foodie so he wanted to pick a special place to treat the whole family. He chose Qin Yuan Chun, also recommended by the Michelin Guide, which specialized in Shanghainese food.

The food was indeed excellent. The kids especially loved the deep fried steamed buns with condensed milk (yum!). All of the food was excellent, and I’d highly recommend it if you’re looking for a place to eat in Taichung.

The Most Amazing Danbing (Egg roll)

Taiwan shines in this casual street food, and the made freshly on-the-stop egg rolls 蛋餅 are no exception. Even though this egg roll comes from a chain store and only costs like $2 USD, it is simple, freshly made-to-order, and sooooo satisfying. Better than most Western fast food chains.

Stinky Tofu at Tofu Daddy in Taichung

I’ve learned to like stinky tofu, even though I acknowledge it’s an acquired taste. Stinky tofu connoisseurs will judge the level and type of “stink” that each stinky tofu has. Trust me, they are not all the same, and some have better “stinks” than others.

We tried a few, and all agreed that Tofu Daddy was top notch. Their stinky tofu is light, crispy, and has just the right amount of stink. They punch a hole in each tofu block, fill it with copious amounts of freshly grated garlic, and fill it with their delicious brown secret sauce. It was fantastic.

Bawan from Taichung

My uncle took a special extra trip on his motorcycle to stop by the most famous “Bawan” 肉丸 place in Taichung, called 台中肉員(yes, their version is better than the version I make at home). These chewy, sticky dumplings filled with pork, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and some special brown sauce and sweet chili sauce (it’s all in the sauce!), is sooo satisfying. Perhaps in some ways it’s comfort food for me, but I love it. Open since 1933, this place is also recommended by the Michelin Guide.

And that's a wrap . . . . for now

I still plan on visiting Taiwan at least a couple times a year, so hopefully I can continue building on this list of places to visit. Please feel free to recommend to me your favorite places in Taiwan!

Cheng Banzhang Taiwanese Delicacy Lai Chi Kok

June 27, 2019 by Jennifer Che

Welcome to Lai Chi Kok.

Lai Chi Kok is an industrial neighborhood in Hong Kong filled with a diverse mix of factory buildings, converted offices, and lots of local Hong Kong restaurants and shops. It's also a budding area for local artists and fashion designers.

Finally, it's where I work at my day job.

To be perfectly honest, it's been a bit of a challenge for me to really find restaurants I enjoy in this neighborhood. Factory buildings are prevalent, and most restaurants that operate within these factories are designed to serve the masses, churning out low cost, high volume food that satisfies the appetite but not often the palate.

However, there are some gems.

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Xihe Ya Yuan Hong Kong 羲和雅苑 - famous Peking duck chain from China

November 25, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Xihe Ya Yuan Hong Kong

Bryan and I lived in a serviced apartment right above Harbour City, a HUGE shopping megaplex in Tsim Sha Tsui, for several months before moving to Wan Chai. At the time, I don't think I fully realized or appreciated how much of a mecca Harbour City (together with Ocean Terminal and Ocean Centre) is for its concentration of world famous restaurants. It is almost mind-boggling how many globally renowned chefs have a presence in this one shopping complex . . . Joel Robuchon, Gordon Ramsey, Michael White, just to name a few.

On top of that, you also have lots of famous restaurant imports from all over the world, especially from Asia, such as Crystal Jade from Singapore, Tsuta Japanese Soba Noodle from Tokyo, Du Hsiao Yueh from Taiwan, and on and on. It's sort of like the Strip in Vegas, but condensed into one walkable set of buildings.

Xihe Yayuan falls into the second category. It is a very famous Peking duck restaurant from Beijing, China. The location in Hong Kong is right at Ocean Terminal and has gorgeous views of Victoria Harbour. The restaurant mostly focuses on traditional Chinese dishes but adds a slight, creative touch of modernity to certain dishes.

Bryan loves Peking duck, so he was quite curious to try this new place that was located so close to his workplace.

...

Chachawan Hong Kong

November 15, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Yum Makuar Yaw from Chachawan Hong Kong

I fell in love with the fresh, fragrant flavors of Thai food when I visited Thailand for the first time back in 2013. I took numerous cooking classes, tasted the world's best drunken noodle, sampled their glorious street food, and experienced the famous upscale Thai restaurant Nahm.

Just as I was experiencing Thailand for the first time in 2013, Nahm.-alum Adam Cliff was helping to open up Chachawan in Hong Kong.

Chachawan brought a different type of Thai food to Hong Kong, namely food from the northern part of Thailand, called Issan cuisine. Issan food is is spicy, sour, and salty. It relies on grilled meats a lot more, and uses plenty of heat and herbs but less sauces and curries. It's not as sweet as Thai food from other regions. It doesn't really use coconut milk much (which makes Bryan really happy).

Chef Adam Cliff left in 2016 to open his own place, Samsen in Wan Chai. However, Chachawan is still going strong. Run by the same folks who opened Duddell's and 22 Ships, Chachawan does not take reservations and has no service charge.

I came here one day for lunch on a weekday. The atmosphere was buzzing, and you could tell this was a very popular place....

The Chairman Four Person Set Menu {大班樓} Hong Kong

November 10, 2018 by Jennifer Che

Within six months of moving to Hong Kong, The Chairman quickly became one of my favorite places to enjoy a lighter, healthier, and more sustainable version of Cantonese food in a pleasant environment.

The Chairman cares A LOT about ingredients. They source their chickens and pigs locally from The New Territories in Hong Kong. They have their own little farm in Sheung Shui, where they cure their meat, pickle their vegetables, and grow some organic produce. They work with local fishermen who bring them fresh fish and shrimp (caught that morning!) straight from the South China Sea.

The restaurant says that it serves no shark’s fin, sea cucumber, or bird’s nest on its menu, partly because it finds them less interesting, but also because it’s less sustainable or “eco-friendly.”

After our first visit, where we enjoyed a lovely 2-person tasting menu, our waiter strongly encouraged us to come back with four people. He said The Chairman four person set menu was really special.

It took a while, but we finally came back with Bryan's parents several months later and reserved the four person tasting....

The Chairman Hong Kong - 大班樓

February 10, 2018 by Jennifer Che

The Chairman Hong Kong

This is post #20, 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.

Traditional high end Cantonese restaurants in Hong Kong typically offer dishes made with expensive, exotic ingredients such as shark's fin, abalone, and bird's nest. They tend to make excellent roasted meats, like charsiu pork made with Iberian pigs or roast pork with perfect crispy skin. There are flavorful double boiled soups and oftentimes excellent Peking duck. There's usually exquisite dim sum, only offered on weekends.

After visiting several of these types of restaurants, they started to meld together in my mind because they were so similar.

This is why The Chairman was so refreshing and felt like a breath of fresh air.

The Chairman immediately struck me as different. The food was lighter, yet just as flavorful. Each dish was made with precision, focus, and care. The ingredients were top notch an the flavors outstanding. To top that off, the service was extremely warm and attentive. I fell in love with the place.

The Chairman Hong Kong

I later found out that The Chairman cares A LOT about ingredients. They actually source their chickens and pigs locally from The New Territories in Hong Kong. They have their own little farm in Sheung Shui, where they cure their meat, pickle their vegetables, and grow some organic produce. They work with local fishermen who bring them fresh fish and shrimp (caught that morning!) straight from the South China Sea.

The restaurant says that it serves no shark's fin, sea cucumber, or bird's nest on its menu, partly because it finds them less interesting, but also because it's less sustainable or "eco-friendly."

We visited The Chairman one Sunday during lunch. We had wanted to eat dinner there, but the place books out so far ahead (I'm talking weeks!), the only spot that was open was lunch. Thankfully, the dinner menu is also available (more or less) during lunchtime.
...

Tsim Chai Kee Wonton Noodle - Hong Kong

November 27, 2017 by Jennifer Che

Tsim Chai Kee Wonton Noodle Soup (King Prawn)

This is one of many posts that are part of the series Jen's Guide - Best Places to Eat in Hong Kong for Visitors

Known for its crazy cheap prices, "ping pong" oversized wontons, and fast, non-nonsense service, Tsim Chai Kee has been an institution in Hong Kong's Central neighborhood with lines out the door for close to twenty years.

The restaurant does just one thing - wonton noodle soup - and it does it extremely well. The very limited menu fits on a single card and is displayed right on the table (in English too!). Diners simply need to choose (1) what kind of wontons and (2) what kind of noodles they want....

Tim Ho Wan (Singapore)

November 21, 2014 by Jennifer Che

Hailed as one of the cheapest Michelin starred meals you can get in the world, Tim Ho Wan has been an extremely popular dim sum place in Hong Kong since seemingly forever ago. More recently, they have expanded to many parts of Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and most recently, Taiwan (they are even expanding to Brisbane and Sydney in 2015!).

I didn't know when I would be traveling to Hong Kong, so I thought, "why not check out this famous restaurant's outpost in Singapore and see what all the hype was about?
...

A&J Restaurant (Taiwanese)

September 7, 2013 by Jennifer Che

This is the second post in the short series A Weekend in Our Nation's Capital, which covers the few meals I caught in DC while visiting the city for a wedding. Other posts in this series include Zaytinya (Jose Andres).

There's something about cozy, simple, and authentic Taiwanese places that just warms my heart. It's not like I grew up with these places around me (I did grow up in Northwest Ohio, after all), yet I feel a sort of nostalgia that probably comes from my Taiwanese heritage.

We had just arrived in DC and it was already pretty late. We were extremely hungry and yet had decided not to eat before arriving in DC, even though it was closer to 8PM by the time we finally sat down.

Our dear friends (who grew up in Taiwan but have been in the US for decades), took us to one of their regular haunts, a well-known chain in Asia that also has locations in Cupertino (Northern California), Irvine (Southern California), and Annandale (Virginia).*

We started out with one of my favorite dishes - this beautiful flaky scallion pancake of sorts, which I believe they call the Thousand Layer Pancake. I think in Mandarin it's called a "chua bing", which literally means a "grab" cake. I think the idea is that you can grab the flaky layers with your hands, but I'm actually not exactly sure why it's called that. (Does anyone have any insight they can offer me?)

What I can say is that this was delicious. It was crispy and flaky on the outside, yet moist and chewy on the inside. Granted, we were starving, so I'm sure it tasted even better than normal.

I love postickers that are made this way - long, sort of stuck together, and fried to a gorgeous golden grown at the bottom. These were very good as well.

Their noodles are handmade (yay!), and you can choose between thin noodles and thick noodles. Bryan loves thick chewy noodles, so it was no question we were going to get that. These had a nice chewy "Q" bite to them, and the accompanying simple sauce of ground pork was satisfying and delicious.

Even though this is a simple dish of just salted mustard greens, edamame, and tofu sheets, I love it. It's one of those dishes that tastes like homestyle cooking and just totally hits the spot. It doesn't hurt that I have a soft spot for anything made with tofu sheets.

For fun we ordered a sesame pancake filled with beef. This dish was solid as well. The sesame pancakes were flaky and crispy but not too greasy at all. The entire thing may have been just a tad dry, but overall the flavors were good (though still not as good as the best beef roll I've ever had).

We both really enjoyed our dinner here. I'm jealous of my DC friends who live so close to this place. It's simple, inexpensive, and serves up very solid Taiwanese dim sum style snacks. The handmade noodles are a huge plus - something that is still pretty rare in Boston (though there are a few places). All in all, it's a solid Taiwanese restaurant and would definitely be a welcomed addition to any neighborhood.

*To be honest, I'm not sure if these are all owned by the same people, though the type of food sold at all the A&J's I've been to are pretty similar.

Daai Zaak Mira Moon Causeway Bay Hong Kong

January 13, 2025 by Jennifer Che

*Signature Sesame Ball Moon at Daai Zaak Mira Moon*

Last week we had the opportunity to try a new restaurant that's pretty close to our home. Daai Zaak (大宅), is a new Chinese restaurant in the Mira Moon hotel in between Causeway Bay and Wan Chai. Bryan remembers this hotel because back when we used to live in Boston, he would stay here when visiting Hong Kong because "it was the only Starwood hotel on the Island."

These days, we don't need to stay in a hotel anymore (of course!). Our apartment is close by, and thus we were more than happy to come try this place out (thank you Dai Zaak for setting this up!).

Chef Wu Zhenpei (吳震霈) helms Daai Zaak Mira Moon, which just opened on December 22, 2024. Chef Wu has more than 30 years' experience cooking at various high end restaurants throughout Hong Kong, as well as having served many celebrities, politicians and business leaders through being a private chef.

Daai Zaak focuses on rediscovering certain "lost flavors of ancient Chinese heritage" through the sharing of "exclusive, time-honored family recipes." The cuisine is a fusion of Cantonese and Fujian styles.

Daai Zaak Mira Moon - Tasting Menu (HK880)

We began with a tasting of three of their appetizers.

The Pickle Turnip with Green Sichuan Peppercorn Oil (青花椒醬油蘿蔔 ) was crunchy with a mild mala kick.

The Marinated Pear with Roselle Juice was surprisingly good. I am sometimes not a huge pear fan (especially if it looks "cooked" in a liquid) since I really don't enjoy mushy textures. I am a crunchy fruit loyalist, even at the expense of sweetness (which is often the case). In this case, however, the pear was light and crispy, and the roselle added a nice tart balance to the bite.

The Smoked Vegetarian Goose 煙燻素鹅 was made with tofu skin wrapped around carrots, celtuce, and mushroom. The whole dish was light and felt healthy and wholesome. It didn't really taste like goose at all, and I wasn't exactly sure why it was called "vegetarian goose."

The Seasonal fresh fruits skewer (冰鎮時果) came served in perhaps a slightly over-dramatic fashion with dry ice floating all over the place. Inside each crystal teardrop was a single fruit tomato filled with cream cheese and candied walnut. I found it to be a bit heavy and sweet (this early in the meal), but was thankful for the wine (dry Barbaresco), which helped balance out the bite.

Soup

Braised Fish Maw Soup with Sea Cucumber and Croaker (花膠海參黃魚羹)

This rich, nourishing soup was thick (full of collagen), not too salty at all, with dense, rich flavor resulting from fish maw, sea cucumber, vegetarian shark fin, Jinhua ham, morel mushrooms, and dried scallops slowly cooked under a long "double boil" for hours. The chef adds a Fujian twist to the traditional soup with the incorporation of 20-year-old Huadiao wine, Jinhua ham, pork tendon, and pigeon eggs. We also tasted a hint of orange peel, which added a bright and floral note to the umami laden soup.

Main Dishes

Braised crab cream & fresh crab claw, vegetarian shark's fin (蟹黃銀針燴蟹鉗 )

This dish is made using a lot of crab meat (he begins with 2 lbs of crab!), crab roe, vegetarian shark fin, and chicken broth. The overall flavor was delicious, full of rich flavors coming from the crab and chicken broth. If real shark fin would have adde any additional flavors, I didn't miss it here. The texture of the vegetarian shark fin was pretty much just like the real stuff.

Abalone with fermented rice sauce & pepper oil (乾燒麻香鮮鮑魚 )

I'd never had abalone stir fried in such a bold way with chilis at a Cantonese restaurant. I liked this version, which included heat, spice, and numbing elements from the Sichuan peppercorns. The wok hei plus generous use of scallions also added to the fragrant and very satisfying flavors in this dish.

Slow cooked wagyu with homemade sauce and pan fried rice rolls

I actually exclaimed out loud in surprise when I tasted this dish. The flavors of their secret "homemade sauce," was intensely flavorful. It was slightly sweet but had plenty of umami, and (I found out after the fact) is made with star anise, bay leaves, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. The wagyu short ribs are cooked sous vide at 65°C for hours, and were melt in your mouth tender.

I loved the pan-fried crispy rice rolls (腸粉) that accompanied this dish. So brilliant!

Pan Fried Marinated fish （生煎一夜鮮）

This whole fish was deep fried flat and served table side. The server helped us cut up the fish into about 8 pieces, which we enjoyed with wok-fired scallions and (another) special soy sauce. Eating a piece of fried fish together with some scallions plus the soy sauce really reminded me of Cantonese steamed fish, but with an added crunch.

Handmade noodle soup with cabbage & yunnan Ham （手功煨麵）

We ended with handmade "simmered" noodle soup. The texture of the noodles reminded me of pho, and I am guessing that they were rice noodles.

Slivers of napa cabbage were cut to be about the same width as the noodles, while the Yunnan ham was present in small bits throughout the flavorful (chicken, I think?) based stock.

Desserts

大宅追月 Daai Zaak signature large sesame dumpling

Daai Zaak's signature large sesame dumpling is meant to remind diners of a full moon representing the joy of a reunion. These fried sesame balls were made using a blend of sticky rice and rice flour, coated generously with sesame seeds and deep fried.

They served it with a light inside, really resembling the moon!

Below is a video of our server cutting it up. I really enjoyed this crunchy and chewy at the same time snack. Reminded me of mochi.

京城石獅子 Sesame ice cream in a lion shape

The lion shaped black sesame ice cream was impressive to look at, and tasted fine (but was probablyan icier texture than I typically prefer when it comes to for ice cream).

芋茸燉鮮奶 Double boiled milk with mashed taro

At this point we were getting pretty full, but I love double boiled milk, so I wanted to give this one a try. The flavors were nice. Although I typically love taro, I felt that it made this dish quite heavy, especially for the end of the night. Perhaps I would have preferred just a simple double skin milk without the heaviness of the taro.

General Thoughts for Daai Zaak Mira Moon

All in all, though, we enjoyed our meal a lot. My favorite bites would probably be the fish maw soup, braised crab, stir fried abalone, and wagyu + rice rolls. I also think the sesame ball is pretty fun, and might be fun for mochi lovers and/or to show visitors to Hong Kong who have never seen anything like it.

A tasting menu similar to the one we had will cost around HK$880. They also have a vegetarian tasting menu for HK$368, a simpler tasting menu for $488, and some fancy CNY menus for $1488, $3288. There's also an extensive a la carte menu where you can have more control over exactly what you eat.

All in all, good food, reasonable prices, and decently central location (though a bit off the beaten path between Wan Chai and Causeway Bay).

Daai Zaak Mira Moon
MIRA MOON
388 Jaffe Road,
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

A Look Back at the Past 3 Years - Part III: 2024

January 8, 2025 by Jennifer Che

This is a 3-part series where I look back at the past 3 years (coming out of the pandemic) that just somehow seemed to whiz by.

I used to be really disciplined about reflecting back upon the year. I took a brief look back, and noticed I was quite consistent, publishing virtually annual, even publishing a series of reflections during my "peak" years of 2014 and 2015 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014-1 2014-2, 2015-1 2015-2 2015-3, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021-1 2021-2).

And then suddenly *POOF* it’s 2025?? Where did my summaries for 2022 - 2024 go? The pandemic sort of killed all that discipline as I fell further and further behind in blogging, largely due to the long extended trips I was taking during that time.

I’ve since largely caught up, and hope to be completely on top of my blogging backlog by the end of this month! As part of this greater catch up project, I've decided to kick-start 2025 by writing up annual summaries for 2022, 2023, and 2024 in these first few days of 2025. (Phew!!)

January:

2024 began "quietly", without any major travel. It's always nice to have a quiet month to catch up from the intense festivities of the fall/winter. On New Years Day while jogging along the Wan Chai Harbour front, I discovered a decommissioned East Rail Line MTR subway train, right on the seaside! It was decked out in holiday decorations, and everyone could go inside, sit down, and enjoy the ocean views.

January consisted of hosting out of town friends, hiking, and work. I also took a short trip to Shenzhen to visit our colleagues & friends there.

February: Thailand

In February we visited Thailand for the first time since 2020. It was strange to remember the last time we were in Thailand (January 2020). We were just starting to consider wearing masks, though still not aware of how scarce and precious these resources would soon become.

Our visit this time included plenty of mango sticky rice, sunshine, and relaxing time with friends. We spent a whole day exploring Bangkok with a Thai friend who showed us all her favorite local spots.

March: Taiwan with Mama!

In March my mom went to Taiwan, so I met her there! We lined up at one of Taipei’s most famous soy milk shops to train their famed salty soy milk. It was fantastic, as was their shaobing youtiao (燒餅油條), fried cruller sesame flatbread sandwich. I also hung out in Taichung, my mom’s hometown, where I had some incredible street food, such as the best stinky tofu I’ve had in recent memory (filled with gobs of GARLIC!), amazing egg pancake, and insanely sweet and crisp jujubes, guavas, and rose apples (all are my favorites!).

March: Brussels + Paris + London

It was so nice to visit Brussels, Paris, and London again. In Brussels we went back to Bozar (which now has 2 Michelin stars) to enjoy Bryan's favorite pithivier. Interestingly, this classic pithivier (which includes duck, foie gras, and mirepoix) is no longer on the menu, but they did specially make one for us.

Golden Poppy Dominique Crenn Paris France

One of our favorite meals in Paris this trip was at Golden Poppy by Dominique Crenn. We also ate at David Toutain (which I loved the first time), but this time we were quite disappointed with the pace of the service, which took waaayyy too long (the tasting menu took over 5 hours . . . .)

My favorite memories from this trip involve walking around Paris, jogging along the Eiffel Tower, and meeting up with various European friends & business contacts.

April: Tokyo Cherry Blossom

In late March/early April we traveled to Tokyo to visit friends of ours who had recently moved there. The weather was unseasonably cold earlier that month. Despite it being April already, most of the cherry blossoms were still not out!

Thankfully, my favorite park for cherry blossoms (Shinjuku Gyoen) had plenty of cherry blossoms. I love this park because it has over 1000 cherry blossom trees that all bloom at different times. You pretty much won’t miss the season completely if you visit Shinjuku Gyoen.

Meals I enjoyed this trip included Sushi Suzuki, Shinjuku Hoshi No Naru Ki (kaiseki), and Tawanmarai (soba).

April: Chaozhou, China

We have friends in Hong Kong - a husband and wife duo - whose are originally from Chaozhou, China. Chaozhou (or Chiu Chow in Hong Kong), is especially well-known for its beef. They cut beef into so many different types of cuts that are completely different from US beef cuts.

It was SUCH a fun foodie trip, made even more special because we had locals take us around. Some of the most interesting bites we had included yougan citrus juice, char kway teow (炒粿條), freshly made rice rolls, and Chaoshan beef hot pot. We also visited a tea garden in the Feng Huang mountain area, and we tried the local Kungfu Tea. To read all about what we ate and saw, you can read about Weekend in Chaozhou Part I and Weekend in Chaozhou Part II.

May: Xiamen, China

Earlier this year, Bryan’s Granduncle messaged him and said, “I am coming to Xiamen in early May. Come and meet me there.”

Bryan’s Granduncle is 88 years old (!!!) and was the person who showed us Bryan’s ancestral home in Xiamen the first time we ended up there (sort of happenstance). Granduncle Carl does not know if he will have the physical stamina to make another trip, so this was a very important trip. We knew we could not say no.

Xiamen Fujian China — Che Ancestral Home

The trip was indeed special. We went back to the ancestral home to see what it was like post-pandemic. Sadly, it looked like it was in worse shape. We also heard there may be plans to convert the entire village into a historic preserved area, where the government would take over the homes and make the area into some sort of tourist attraction.

This time one of Bryan’s distant cousins took us around and gave us a really unique and very local street food tour. This cousin grew up in the ancestral home, and thus knows the neighborhood really well. We had all sorts of really great food, such as Fuzhou fish balls, Xiamen popiah (fresh spring rolls), deep fried baby eels, sea worms, and more. It was a really meaningful trip, especially seeing our Granduncle reunite with all his relatives after being separated for so many years due to the pandemic.

Revisiting Xiamen: Xiamen Street Food Crawl

May: Boston + Ohio

Later in May, I flew to Boston to present and exhibit at a patent conference. This time Bryan also came to Boston, so we made many different arrangements to catch up with lots of friends and relatives.

Of course we enjoyed all of our favorite Boston foods, like lobster sandwiches (Alive & Kicking Lobster), Trillium Beer, hot buttered lobster rolls + raw oysters (Row 34), and much much more.

Summer: Doraemon & Friends

Summer of 2024 was so fun because of the Doraemon & Friends event that was happening in Hong Kong throughout the entire summer! It started with an incredible drone show, followed by two excellent Doraemon exhibits (both outdoor and indoor) at Tsim Sha Tsui.

There was also a free outdoor exhibit, including a HUGE inflatable Doraemon that I could see from across the Harbour from my balcony window (on a clear day). Tickets were surprisingly difficult to get (selling out in seconds), so I was happy I was able to grab some tickets for late in the summer.

I totally got caught up in the Doraemon-mania and bought a bunch of swag myself, haha. There are still many reminders throughout my apartment of the fun Doraemon-filled summer of 2024.

June: Lijiang, China

In June a good friend of mine (the same one whom I met in Versailles!) told me she was going to Lijiang, China in the summer and invited us to join her. The stars aligned and we were able to coordinate our schedules to visit this beautiful city together, along with Bryan and one other friend.

Lijiang is a beautiful village in the mountains of Yunnan province. The area is known for coffee and tea. I was really surprised to find sooooo many excellent artisanal coffee shops in this area. In recent years - as the intense pressures of work and life have overwhelmed many Chinese people - places like Lijiang have drawn many due to its unhurried, simple life style.

July: Kunming, China

In July another friend from Yunnan Province invited me to visit her (and her family). This time, I traveled to Kunming, the largest city in Yunnan Province. I got to try the famous Crossing the Bridge Noodles 過橋米線, visit a minority village, and wander the fun night markets in the city.

Other local specialties I enjoyed included mushroom hot pot, high mountain flatbread, wild free range mountain chicken soup (soooo good!), and local “fries” (deep fried potatoes) tossed in local spices.

August: Shunde, China

Shunde (pronounced SHUN - Duh) in Guangdong Province is known to be the original source of Cantonese food. The top chefs came out from Shunde, and many of the dishes in their most original, traditional form, can still be found here. It’s known to be a very foodie city. Local friends offered to drive us to Shunde across the newly built Zhongshan Bridge (which drastically cuts the time it takes to get to Shunde from Shenzhen).

In Shunde, we feasted on so many traditional Cantonese dishes, such as roasted pigeon, clay pot rice, congee seafood hot pot, double skim (buffalo) milk custard, stewed beef offal, dim sum, and my all time favorite, raw fish salad (pictured above . . . soooo good!). To see everything we ate, check out the post that I wrote: Top Foods to Taste in Shunde, China

September: Taiwan

I flew out to Taiwan in September to see my Mom and Dad. It was my Dad’s first trip to Taiwan since 2019.

We visited my Grandfather’s house in Taipei, the one where my Dad grew up. It brought back memories of my visits as a kid (when my grandparents were still alive). I chatted with my 88 year old aunt who was living there, and was so impressed by her sharp mind, devotion to daily exercise, and an endless hunger to keep learning (she still attends Bible studies to improve her English and Japanese!!).

Of course I had to have my Din Tai Fung fix, this time together with all the other aunties and uncles. It was nice to see them all together, especially with my Dad, whom the relatives hadn’t seen in a long time.

September: Vienna

Bryan had a business trip in Vienna in September. I’d never been to Austria before so I decided to tag along. I also figured I could travel to Munich (headquarters of the European Patent Office) and do a bunch of business meetings.

Vienna is a gorgeous city. However, the first several days the area experienced unprecedented rains. It was (frankly speaking) AWFUL walking around the city with the rain and winds whipping at your face. We were so cold! The flooding was so bad that for a couple days NO trains were going in or out of Vienna. My planned train trip to Munich fell through, and I stayed in Vienna for the whole week.

Thankfully, the sun came out later in the week, and we saw a glorious Vienna under full sunshine (which is SUCH a different experience!). I’m glad I got to see this side of Vienna before leaving.

We ate weinerschnitzel (of course), visited cafes serving coffee + cake, and soaked in the culture rich city. We also tried some excellent restaurants like Steirereck, Mast, and Meirer im StadtPark. Certain days we decided we were a bit tired of Viennese food, and opted for cuisines like Italian or Greek.

Stay tuned for the detailed posts about this trip!

October: Bali

I shared about Bryan’s unfortunately passport snafus last year that prevented him from going to Bali. This year, we finally successfully traveled to Bali, Indonesia together! We visited our friend who lives there, and together we spent time in both Ubud and Kuta.

We even re-visited our favorite night market, just to let Bryan try our favorite egg omelet made by this one street vendor. Yes, he was still there, and this year the line was so much shorter!

October: Boston + DC

In the latter half of October, I took my annual fall trip to Boston and DC (for work). The foliage was in full glory during my time in Boston, which was such a special treat.

My friends introduced me to a new restaurant called Amar in the Raffles Hotel. The tasting menu was excellent, and overall I was quite impressed.

I also revisited an ooooold favorite, the Afghan restaurant in Cambridge called Helmand's. I was thrilled the restaurant felt exactly the same, even after 20 years! Back then I loved their pumpkin kaddo bourani so much I tried to make it myself for a food blogging competition (which I won!) back in 2010.

I fell in love with the pizza from Joe's Pizza in Harvard Square, and also made sure to get a bite of grape nut ice cream from Tosci's.

My sister's family threw an early birthday party for me, which was really special. Living abroad, I don't get to see my family nearly as much as I used to, so I do cherish these times.

November: San Francisco and Napa Valley

I had heard that Waymo had rolled out self-driving taxis in San Francisco. I was soooo curious to try one, though a bit nervous about it at the same time. After trying it once, I was hooked! The cars are comfortable, clean, and it’s kind of nice not worrying about how to interact with a human driver. I ended up taking it several times!

It was also nice to spend time with several friends from college, many of whom I have not seen in years. I actually saw THREE of my previous room / apartment mates. It's such a funny coincidence that virtually all my past room/apartment mates move to the Bay area.

We also spent a week in Napa. AGAIN, we ran into some pretty heavy rains (I saw flooded vineyards), but thankfully had some sunny days in between. Wine tastings at Fialla and Spring Mountain were excellent. On my actual birthday, we had dinner at Auberge du Soleil.

December: San Francisco + Los Angeles + Ohio

I had almost a full month back in Hong Kong before it was time to head out again, this time to visit family for Christmas.

We did a mini family trip out to the Redwood Forests, seeing massive sequoia trees (something I’ve wanted to see ever since I was a kid). Alas, it rained AGAIN during the second half of our hike. Still, the trees were awe inspiring, and we very much enjoyed visiting the park.

We also got to do a really pretty hike at the Marin Headlands, right next to the Golden Gate Bridge. I loved the feeling of the vast expansive sky together with the (seemingly) endless rolling hills. The weather was cool, crispy, and sunny on Christmas morning, and thus hike was the perfect way to start Christmas.

After Christmas we flew down to Los Angeles to see more family before I flew out to Ohio to see my side of the family.

I hadn’t celebrated New Years with my sister since . . . maybe high school?? We taught her kids how to play mah-jong, and then just the two of us (everyone else had gone to bed), stayed up to celebrate the New Year (YES, with orange juice and milk!! - we couldn't find any alcohol at our parents' house, haha).

It was special to be together for New Years for once.

Now I am on the plane finally heading back to Hong Kong after a truly whirlwind year of travel! It'll be nice to slow down during the month of January. I do hope to catch up a bit on blog posts for trips I took in 2024, including trip reports for Vienna, Lijiang, Bali, Bangkok, and California.

Happy New Year!!!! Here's to 2025!

Related Posts

A Look Back at the Past 3 Years - Part I: 2022
A Look Back at the Past 3 Years - Part II: 2023
Eating and Travel Guides
Trip Reports
Travel Posts: by Location

Forbidden Duck Causeway Bay

February 17, 2024 by Jennifer Che

I have a friend who has been visiting us in Hong Kong regularly (from the US!) ever since we moved here in 2017. Every time he comes, there are a few favorite foods that he has to eat. One is any rendition of sweet & sour pork ribs (“咕嚕肉” or ”京都排骨“). The second is the fried chicken with pomelo at The Yuan (原汁原味）in Wan Chai. And the third is the fantastic aromatic duck seafood stew at Forbidden Duck (Causeway Bay).

Ever since the pandemic ended and international travel resumed, we've seen our friend on a regular basis again, which has been great. One side effect of that is more visits to Forbidden Duck lately!

Forbidden Duck is part of Chef Alvin Leung's empire of restaurants in Hong Kong (his most famous being his [formerly 3 now 2] Michelin starred Bo Innovation). Chef Alvin Leung is probably the most decorated Hong Kong home grown chef. Forbidden Duck is his more casual restaurant, and there are a few locations around Hong Kong.

The focus of the restaurant, of course, is the Peking Duck. They do an admirable job, and since duck is the focus of the restaurant, it's pretty much always available. (At a lot of other places, you typically have to pre-order the duck.)

The side veggies were a bit more creative a few years ago, including melon and pink radish. During a more recently visit, however, they've switched back to using just the traditional cucumbers and scallions.

The steamed skins are pretty nice, and they'll give you more if you run out.

I must agree that the Seafood Rice in Aromatic Duck Soup ($218) at Forbidden Duck is indeed amazing. My favorite part is how they use two textures of rice. There's an insanely aromatic broth made (presumably) from duck bones and other seafood. There's scallops, pieces of duck meat + skin, and rice inside the soup. The scallops are barely poached, and thus have an amazing texture. And the best part? The sizzling toasted rice 鍋巴 that comes on the side. Add them together, and you've got yourself a fantastic duck soup with beautifully contrasting crispy + soft rice all happening in one bite.

This is definitely a "must order". In fact, my friend comes to this restaurant just for this dish!

More recently Forbidden Duck started launching a coupon program where they give you five $100 (HKD) coupons to be used at a next visit (usually within a month). You have to spend $500 to use one $100 coupon, and you can only use 3 coupons. It's effectively 20% off a HKD$1500 meal. At the same time, I noticed prices have gone up quite a bit (~30%) since our first visit 5 years ago. Perhaps that is to be expected?

Since Bryan loves Peking duck so much, I don't ever need to really twist his arm to get him to agree to come here. I personally am happy as long as we get the Seafood Rice in Aromatic Duck Soup, (and would be totally fine if we skipped the duck!). Haha, of course Bryan wouldn't go for that.

All in all, this has surprisingly been a place we have visited more often this past year.

Forbidden Duck
Times Square
1001b, 1 Matheson St,
Causeway Bay

I'm Featured in the South China Morning Post! (SCMP)

July 19, 2023 by Jennifer Che

Hi all!

I'm thrilled to announce that I'm featured in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) today in the Food/Drink Section. I've shared my favorite places to eat in Hong Kong and during my travels. You can read the article at this link. They had to shorten my original interview by a lot because I just had too many places I wanted share! I've included my original responses to the interview below.

Enjoy!

Tell us about yourself

I am a US patent attorney and Vice President & Principal at Eagle IP, a patent firm headquartered in HK with offices in the GBA. I am also a food + travel writer, founder of Tiny Urban Kitchen, a food + travel website/blog that I’ve been writing for over 10 years. I moved to Hong Kong 6 years ago after spending most of my adult life in Boston, MA (USA), where I went to school. I am a second generation Asian American, and grew up in Toledo, Ohio to Taiwanese parents. I also love music and play guitar in my church band.

What did you grow up eating?

In Ohio back then, we didn’t have much access to Asian ingredients, so my mom was really, really creative and resourceful. She loves to cook and try new things, so growing up I actually ate a lot of home cooked Taiwanese foods, such as braised meat sauce over rice 滷肉飯，dried radish omelette 菜餔蛋，tea eggs 茶葉蛋，beef noodle soup 牛肉麵，egg crepe 蛋餅, steamed rice cake in a bowl 碗糕 (“wah guay”), and much much more.

She often modified traditional Taiwanese recipes using US supermarket ingredients. For example, did you know you can make an easy 饅頭 (steamed bun) by using Pilsbury dough? She always cooked from scratch, and every dinner involved 3+1 . . . three dishes and a soup. I still sort of hold myself to the same standard today, though it’s quite challenging to do it every day. I’m not sure how my mom was able to do it AND take care of her work, her aging parents, and us!

I also loved ice cream (I get that from my Dad) and fresh corn (Ohio grows TONS of corn). One particular food memory I have is my mom making her famous grilled Taiwanese street corn while we were at the beach.

What kind of food person are you?

I’ve eaten all kinds of food: slow food, fast food, street food, Michelin meals. I’ve dined at 3-Michelin starred restaurants in Paris, crunched on fried insects in Yunnan, hunted for white truffles in Alba, chewed on snake skin in Hunan, eaten nigiri sushi from the hands of Jiro himself, and the list goes on and on.

After all that, though, I think I actually go back to the basics. Perhaps it’s due to my simple upbringing. Perhaps it has something to do with my slight obsession with health and fitness. I love fresh produce, prepared simply so you can taste their original flavors.

When I’m at home, I am perfectly content just stir-frying or even just steaming or blanching fresh vegetables and eating them with just a bit of flavor. I’m totally OK not having meat, though I do love seafood, and occasionally a really good steak or Iberico pork chop. I also love dumplings of any kind (gyoza, 餃子), raw fish (sashimi, crudo, ceviche, etc.), and milk products, such as cheese, yogurt, and of course ice cream!

I do love cooking, and when I have time I totally get into learning how to make new dishes and acquiring new skills. I won a food blog competition in 2009 where in one of the rounds I learned how to make hand-pulled noodles and produced a video teaching it . . . all in 2 weeks!

If I had to pick a favorite cuisine, it would probably be Japanese, though I also love Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Mediterranean, Thai, and many many more. All cuisines have their unique special elements, and I enjoy many aspects of most cuisines.

In Hong Kong, what are some of your favourite restaurants and why?

Lunch

I told you I love dumplings, and I also love black truffle. Din Tai Fung is one of my favorite restaurants for any meal, including lunch. During the pandemic, I was so thankful that we lived close enough to get delivery of DTF dumplings. My favorites are the black truffle and the pork soup dumplings ( 小籠湯包), pork and vegetable steamed dumpling*, 香干馬蘭頭 dried bean curd + Indian Kalimeris vegetable, and taro dumpling for dessert.

Dinner

Yardbird, a yakitori restaurant that started in Hong Kong, is one of my favorite restaurants in Hong Kong (and probably the one I frequent most regularly). My favorite is by far the skin, but I also love the chicken oyster, meatball, and wing tip. The fruit tomato salad with yuba is fantastic, and the corn tempura is really special. The chicken + egg rice is a great way to end the meal.

For good Cantonese food, I like Kin’s Kitchen. Definitely get their signature smoked chicken and the handmade egg noodles with scallion oil and soy sauce, which are excellent. In Hong Kong, trying steamed garoupa is a must, and I usually like to get the stunning bright green vegetable soup with crab.

For higher end, I really enjoy Simon Rogan’s Roganic. I really like the artful and creative way Chef Rogan showcases vegetables. I also appreciate how the restaurant prioritizes sustainability and supports local farms.

For dessert or coffee, Shari Shari for Japanese kakigori (shaved ice) or Via Tokyo for their delicious matcha ice cream are some of my go-to places. I also love Omotesando Koffee, which I first discovered in Japan over 10 years ago!

Where would you take a new visitor to the city for lunch or dinner?

I’d definitely showcase one of Hong Kong’s most famous cuisines: dim sum! I usually try to book Lei Garden if I can. The food is high quality and consistent, the service is efficient, and the cost is reasonable. Tim Ho Wan is another fun one to visit, but it takes a bit more planning since they don’t take reservations and the lines can get long.

I always take out-of-town guests to one of my favorite egg tart places, Tai Cheong Bakery, to try both types of egg tarts, flaky pastry crust and cookie crust. Honolulu Bakery in Wan Chai also makes an amazing flaky crust version.

Finally, If there’s time, I would take the ferry to Lamma Island and hike from Yung Shue Wan to Sok Kwu Wan, where we’d enjoy Hong Kong seafood specialties at Lamma Rainbow.

For a local “hidden spot”, I might take them to Wong Kee 旺記打冷小菜館, a buzzing Chiu Chow place in Wan Chai that is super local, (menu is only in Chinese!) and makes great Chiu Chow classics like sliced marinated goose, oyster omelette, and many other dishes at super reasonable prices.

I have a soft spot for 1963 Tree 木十豆寸, a Taiwanese eatery hidden away on an upper floor of a nondescript building in Wan Chai. They serve interesting vegetables that are unique to Taiwan, and their Oolong tea smoked chicken is really good. The comfort dishes, like 滷肉飯（braised meat sauce over rice), also make me think of my family.

For a nicer Chinese meal, I might take them to Xin Rong Ji (squid ink rice cakes!), Liu Yuan Pavilion 留園雅敘 (giant sesame bread!), Kin’s Kitchen (smoked chicken!), or Mott32 (best Peking duck!).

Finally, one must try local milk tea. My favorite is Lan Fong Yuen in Central, right next to the escalators. The tea, still made with a sock using the traditional method, is intense, strong, and works great with milk. If there’s time, it’s fun to have a very traditional, local HK breakfast inside.

What is your splurge or celebration preference?

Sushi Shikon is my favorite high-end restaurant in Hong Kong, and I have gone there many times to celebrate a birthday or anniversary. The meals never disappoint and I do feel like I’m transported to Japan for a few hours, yet with a chef who can speak perfect English (Chef Kaki-san lived in the US for some time) and greets us with such warmth each time we come.

In terms of travel, where do you enjoy going for food?

Japan is hands down my favorite destination for food, and I’ve traveled there over a dozen times. One particularly favorite memory is my meal at Shoraian/Syourian, a tofu restaurant located on the edge of a mountain in the bamboo forest of Arashiyama in Western Kyoto. You need to hike a bit to get to the restaurant, but it’s so worth it. We had a fantastic multi-course menu focused just on tofu prepared so many different ways, even ending with a tofu ice cream!

Getaria — One of my favorite casual meals was enjoying freshly grilled seafood at Kaia Kaipe, a family-owned seaside restaurant with great views of the ocean. Must order the grilled turbot (enough to feed 2-4 people). #getaria #getariaspain #spain #tinyurbanspain #tinyurbantravels #grilledfish #grilledturbot #basqueregion #michelinplate

Spain is another favorite destination. The country is cutting edge on the high-end scene, and their local food is also fabulous. One of my favorite food memories is eating grilled turbot from Kaia Kaipe, a seafood restaurant in a tiny fishing town called Getaria (not far from San Sebastian). Even though we couldn’t get a reservation at its more famous cousin Elkano, we loved our meal and vowed to come back to San Sebastian again in 2020 . . . (which never happened due to this thing called the Pandemic).

I travel to Boston at lot. It’s the city where I lived for 20+ years before moving to Hong Kong, and I still have a lot of family and friends there. In terms of food, whenever I’m in Boston I seek out raw oysters, lobster, and local beer. One of my favorite off-the-beaten-path places is a tiny shack in Cambridge called Alive and Kicking Lobsters. They make a great lobster sandwich (don’t call it a lobster roll, they’ll correct you!) that you can eat on picnic benches right outside the shack. I also like going to Row 34, where I can get a hot buttered lobster roll, raw New England oysters on the half shell, and a fantastic selection of local New England beers all at one place.

*as far as I know, this version is only available in Asia. In the US, Din Tai Fung used to serve the version I like, but then one year started warning guests that the pork and vegetable dumpling was 90% vegetable. They eventually gave up and switched to a version that had more meat (which I don’t like as much). I guess even Din Tai Fung had to “localize” their dumplings for the American palate!

Shun Kee Typhoon Shelter Boat Dining Causeway Bay

April 25, 2023 by Jennifer Che

Typhoon shelter crab is a dish that is very unique to Hong Kong and has a fascinating history. Its roots can be traced back to the typhoon shelters of Hong Kong, which were built to protect what used to be a large boat-dwelling community of fisherfolk and their families.

The boat-dwelling communities sold snacks, opened restaurants, and even offered entertainment from the boats. The typhoon shelter crab was a popular dish that arose from these restaurants.

The popular dish moved beyond the typhoon shelters and eventually made its way into Hong Kong's local restaurants. Over time, most of the boat-dwellers moved inland. The "marine population" in Hong Kong dropped from 130,000+ people in the early 1960's to just a little over a thousand by 2011. The era of dining on sampans in the typhoon shelters pretty much died out in the 1990's.

Typhoon Shelter Seafood Meal

In 2011, Chef Leung Hoi, a local chef who grew up in the typhoon shelter boat communities, successfully obtained a license to run a boat restaurant.

Shun Kee Typhoon Shelter, a floating restaurant located "off the coast" of Causeway Bay, offers dining in individual, traditional sampans docked right at the bay.

The Boat Ride from the Shore

Getting there involves first hopping into a little boat which takes you to the "dining boats". Don't be late! They'll tell you when to be at the dock to catch this little "transfer" boat.

The ride from the shore to the dining boats is short, but the views are stunning.

Each party gets its own individual boat. Our meal was about HK$500 per person (we had a party of 6 people) for the multi-course meal that you'll see in more detail below.

We asked the lady serving us how long she'd been at the restaurant, and she said "over 20 years." Chef Leung hired several former boat dwelling neighbors to join him in working at this restaurant, so it's quite possible that our server was an old time neighbor (I regret not asking at the time!).

All of the food is made at a central boat kitchen, and then "ferried" over to the individual boats by a server.

The Shun Kee Typhoon Shelter Boat Set Meal

Boiled prawns simply enjoyed for their inherent sweet flavor. These come with head and shell on, so you'll have to get your hands dirty to enjoy this dish.

Boiled sea snails, or whelk, is another simple dish. Just pluck out the bouncy, chewy meat from the shell with toothpicks.

Steamed razor clams with vermicelli and garlic is a classic Hong Kong seafood dish, and this one was delicious.

"Hand-Shredded Chicken" was a cold dish and also included chicken feet, chicken gizzards, as well as pig ears.

Typhoon Shelter soy sauce stir-fried clams was fresh and full of flavor.

The star of the show is, of course, the Typhoon Shelter Fried Crab. The crispy garlic is addictive and certainly the best part. The pairing with the crab is perfect, and it's hard not to put the garlic topping on EVERYTHING.

The token vegetable, steamed Chinese broccoli with soy sauce.

The amenities on the boat are pretty basic. There is a bathroom, but you need to use a bucket and draw water to "flush" it yourself. Other than that, overall we found the boat to be pretty comfortable.

General Thoughts: Shun Kee Typhoon Shelter Boat Dining

The food served on this boat is tasty, authentic, and no-fuss. The ingredients are fresh, and the preparation is simple. Is it the best I've had? In such a competitive environment as Hong Kong, there are plenty of excellent seafood restaurants in Sai Kung and the outerlying islands (Lamma, Peng Chau, Cheung Chau) that make arguably better versions of these seafood dishes. Same goes for typhoon shelter crab.

However, it's hard to beat the unique environment of this meal. We six gals had the whole boat to ourselves the entire evening. It felt comfortable, private, even "safe" during those Covid times (since it was outdoors). The view of Causeway Bay was stunning. The food was still very, very good.

All in all, I would not hesitate to come back here, especially if I am entertaining out-of-town friends. As an overall package, Shun Kee Typhoon Shelter offers a pretty unique Hong Kong experience in a location that's surprisingly convenient (right near Causeway Bay), yet feels like you have traveled to one of the outerlying islands.

The best part? I just walked along the harbour back home to Wan Chai. So convenient!

There are only limited number of boats, and it's not easy to book. Definitely book ahead!

Such amazing views from the Causeway Bay Dockside

Shun Kee Typhoon Shelter Boat
(+852) 81120075
Water Selling Kiosk
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong

London Trip Report - Spring 2022

April 13, 2023 by Jennifer Che

I've been to London many, many times, so in many ways, visiting is more like saying hello to an old friend than visiting a place like a tourist. I find myself doing the same favorite activities over and over, whether it be walking along Oxford Street, taking a stroll along the Thames, or checking out a new restaurant.

This trip I came twice, once by myself for just an overnight trip. Another time with Bryan for one of his work events.

Queen's Jubilee

One exciting difference this time was the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. The entire country was celebrating Queen Elizabeth's 70th year in power (no small feat!). Streets and markets were decked out with the British flag. Little did we know at that time that we would soon have to say good-by to her.

The new Elizabeth Line was open! This one was built by Hong Kong's MTR Corporation, and it showed! The style of this particular tube line was super modern, with high ceilings, deep escalators, modern trains, and the works. I had so much fun riding it!

I always love walking, and this trip was no exception. The weather was perfect in late May, and I had the opportunity to walk both along the Thames River and also within Hyde Park (which is HUGE!).

Westminster Abbey + Big Ben

In the past few trips I've been staying near St. Pancras since it's right near the train station for easy access to Brussels or Paris. This time, since Bryan had a work event at the House of Common, so we stayed right in that neighborhood, which was so much fun!

We were situated right near the London Eye! Big Ben was finally unveiled (after being covered up in constructions for a LONG time!). The new shiny clock is gorgeous and definitely stands out compared to the old one.

It had been years since we visited Westminster Abbey, so we decided to revisit this fascinating building (where many, many very famous people are buried!).

Scottish Themed Dinner at the House of Common

Though I've never been to Scotland, this Scottish event at the House of Commons sure felt quite close! We listened to a bagpipe performance, heard a reading of a Robert Burns poem, and enjoyed haggis. I can't believe it, but I actually like it!

Day Trip to Cambridge

I took the train for a short visit to Cambridge to visit a friend.

What Kind of Food

Poppies Fish & Chips

We decided to actually have some traditional British food - yes, fish & chips!

Chinatown - Wan Chai in London??

We just got a kick out of this restaurant, since we live in Wan Chai in Hong Kong.

Dishoom London

Dining solo is one way of getting into restaurants with long lines. Dishoom is a very, very popular modern Indian restaurant. The wait at the Granary Square location was about 1.5 hours. However, when I showed up solo, I didn't have to wait at all, and I got a bar seat immediately!

California Dinner in London at Sola Soho

It might seem a bit strange for us to eat at a California restaurant in London, but we had a great time at Sola Soho. I'll be dedicating a whole separate post to our meal at that restaurant.

smoked salty salmoncucumber snowbrothfresh, caviar adds salt YUM!

Hope to be able to come back again soon!

Wong Kee Restaurant 旺記打冷小菜館

March 14, 2023 by Jennifer Che

I’ve been studying Chinese part-time with a private tutor for several years now (started during the pandemic). Despite the fact that my Chinese has improved a lot, I’m still a bit nervous about eating at a restaurant with a menu that’s ONLY in Chinese. Not only is there the challenge of reading every word (often I can only pick out the basics), many dishes have artistic sounding names that don’t really tell you what you’re ACTUALLY eating.

Recently a new Chiu Chow restaurant opened literally right across the street from our apartment (1 minute walk from our entrance). We’ve noticed that it is ALWAYS packed. Multiple people have confirmed that it’s really good. But, alas, it’s very VERY local. The menus are only in Chinese, there are umpteen signs on the walls describing the menu, and it’s always crowded (aka hard to get in). Because of this fear, we hadn’t ventured into this very obvious excellent place.

A couple weeks ago, one of our local Hong Kong friends offered to take us there as a belated birthday meal for me. Finally! We had a chance to venture into this very local, very popular restaurant, for a taste of the favorites.

Our friend was clearly a regular.

“How often do you come here?” Bryan asked her.

“About once a month” she replied.

All of a sudden, she started waving at someone at another table. It was her close friends. This was clearly a popular hangout for the locals, so much so that they regularly ran into friends here.

“I’m excited, what shall we try?”

We looked around at the various tables around us. Almost every table had a dish consisting of stir fried chives, cashews, and dried shrimp.

“This is called “小炒王” our friend explained. It’s very good here.

Other popular dishes we could see around us included the winter lamb clay pot (which we did not get), oyster pancake, and soy sauce braised goose (signature Chiu Chow dish and also specialty of the restaurant). We also ordered deep fried shrimp (head and shell on!), fried fish cakes, and fried sea snails (!!).

The braised goose was excellent, and among the tops ones I’ve had at other Chiu Chow restaurants that cost a lot more than this “hole-in-the-wall.” (It actually kind of is a hole in the wall, since there isn’t really a door in the front . . .

The large fluffy fried oyster pancake was awesome. It’s certainly that largest, crispiest one I’ve had, and the flavor was very satisfying.

You must eat it with the fish sauce that’s provided.

The fish cake was nicely fried and enjoyable as well. It’s one of our friends’ favorites.

The sea snails are an acquired taste. I thought they were OK, but it wasn’t my favorite.

Similarly, if you are not a huge shrimp head + shell person, you may not want to deal with the whole friend shrimp (though it was quite delicious!). The shrimp is deep fried in a flavorful salted egg yolk batter, so you do need to either eat the shell or somehow spit it out while enjoying the crunchy salted egg yolk deliciousness.

If you want goose, though, come early. They only make a limited number each night, and once it's gone, it's gone for the night. The restaurant closes around midnight, but one time I arrived around 9PM and virtually all of the goose was already spoken for . . .

Service is fast, attentive, and good, though everything was done in Cantonese. I’m not sure how I would have fared if we didn’t go with our friends.

At least we’ve been initiated, and overall it was a really fun experience. The food is delicious, and the prices are very, very reasonable. I would seriously consider coming back at least for takeout of the soy braised goose, if not other dishes on the menu. My personal favorites this time were the chives + cashew stir fry, oyster omelette, and the soy braised goose.

Highly recommended! Even better if you speak Cantonese and read Chinese!

Wong Kee Restaurant 旺記打冷小菜館
G/F, 2 Triangle Street, Wan Chai

Studio City by Cali-Mex Causeway Bay Hong Kong

March 17, 2022 by Jennifer Che

Bryan grew up in Southern California, only a couple hours away from Mexico. It's one of his favorite cuisines, and (sadly), there's not that much of it in Hong Kong. Sure, we love the delicious (but pricey) tacos at 11 Westside and the Japanese-Mexican fare at Chino. However, both of those places have historically been difficult to book, and Kennedy Town is still a bit far from us.

Lately, we've found a new favorite that's much, much closer, cheaper, and still delicious. Introducing Studio City by Cali-Mex, a new higher-end Mexican concept by the same folks who brought us Cali-Mex, the fast-casual burrito spot with locations around the city.

To be perfectly honest, Cali-Mex is only OK. For Bryan, it satisfies his cravings from Mexican food and he still gets in on occasion, but he doesn't love their burritos. As such, we weren't sure what we would think of Studio City by Cali-Mex.

We were pleasantly surprised! We visited their Causeway Bay location (right in Fashion Walk area) and met up with a friend for dinner and drinks.

...

Liu Yuan Pavilion 留園雅敘

July 14, 2021 by Jennifer Che

It's an odd time here in Hong Kong. On the surface, life seems normal. Sure, everyone is sporting a mask and we can't dine in groups of greater than four. However, malls are crowded over the weekend, the streets are bustling full of people, and restaurants are even hard to book! Life feels normal, in one sense.

In another sense, it's really different. There's any underlying sense of uncertainty about the future. The world as we know it has changed, and it's hard to know what the future holds. Recently, some of our friends, colleagues, and acquaintances have started to leave Hong Kong. The reasons vary, but I'm sure the past two challenging years did not help.

It's always tough to say good-by to dear friends we've made in our (relatively short) time living here. One very small silver lining was the discovery of Liu Yuan Pavilion 留園雅敘, a fantastic Shanghainese restaurant recommended by some good friends who were moving away from Hong Kong.

It seems like I was the only one in the world left in the dark about this place. The rest of the world clearly knew about it. Liu Yuan Pavilion has one Michelin Star, and it appears on many English language travel guides.

...

Nostalgic Reminders of Home: Five Guys Hong Kong

January 6, 2021 by Jennifer Che

Hong Kong diners are a tough crowd. They have really high standards, easily get bored of restaurant concepts, and can quickly move on. The restaurant world here is intensely brutal and unforgiving.

There was a ridiculous amount of buzz when Five Guys first announced they were coming. In fact, I myself was thrilled that they were coming to Wan Chai, which is where I live.

But when it opened, the lines were RIDICULOUS. It was as if everybody in Hong Kong wanted to eat at Five Guys ALL THE TIME. The line never seemed to subside until late into the night.

...

Elementary Hong Kong

January 5, 2021 by Jennifer Che

Sometimes it takes very unusual circumstances to drag us out from our regular, comfort zone to explore new places. We never would have discovered Elementary otherwise.

We had friends visiting from out of town. We had originally suggested The Optimist, a fun Spanish restaurant on Hennessy Road in Wan Chai near our apartment. However, our dinner outing happened to coincide with a large protest happening right on Hennessy Road. In the interest of staying safe, we unfortunately thought it was best to change locations.

It was a challenging decision on where to meet instead. We didn't feel comfortable taking the subway (the MTR near us often had issues during a protest), and it didn't make sense for our friends to come out to where we were (very close to the protest route). After some back and forth, our friends suggested Elementary, situated in Tai Hang just south of Causeway Bay.

What a great find!

I was pleasantly surprised to discover such a warm and cozy little contemporary spot serving various types of plates designed for sharing.

...

Divino Patio Hong Kong

December 16, 2020 by Jennifer Che

We've noticed a trend in Hong Kong restaurants that's very different from Boston. Restaurants virtually never change their menus. Instead, concepts survive until they are no longer popular, and the restaurant groups tear down the concepts and build a new one. Instead of focusing on chefs who create new menus and dishes, Hong Kong restaurant groups create and knock down concepts according to the whim of the exacting and fickle Hong Kong diner.

If a restaurant survives long term, then you know it is doing something right and has a long lasting formula that works.

Divino Patio is one of those places. Though I often wish restaurants would change up their menus more often, I am beginning to appreciate why Hong Kongers might want a restaurant to keep the same menu.

Diners want to order their favorite dishes at certain restaurants. In Hong Kong, there are so many restaurants, if I wanted a different dish, I could just go to another restaurant. Therefore, restaurants tend to stick with what they are good at, and just keep on making the same dishes over and over again, save a few seasonal dishes or specials once in awhile.

Divino Patio offers some delicious classics that they do consistently well: beautiful pastas, refreshing salads, and a surprisingly good value and excellent steak. Combine that with a nice outdoor patio and a good wine list, you've got yourself a winner that even I don't want them to change.

Below is a just a sample of some of the dishes we like to get.

...

Eating in Hong Kong During Covid Times

November 30, 2020 by Jennifer Che

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)

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

August 2, 2020 by Jennifer Che

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!

Uma Nota Hong Kong - Modern Brazilian Japanese

February 27, 2020 by Jennifer Che

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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Ciak In the Kitchen Hong Kong

January 28, 2020 by Jennifer Che

Ciak in the Kitchen is the casual cousin to 8 ½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana, the only Italian restaurant outside of Italy ever to earn three Michelin stars. Both restaurants are located in Central in the Landmark Center.

We've been to Ciak in the Kitchen several times and the food is pretty good. Of course, it cannot compare to Otto e Mezzo, but the restaurants serves solid pastas, pizzas, and main dishes.

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Miss Lee Vegetarian Modern Chinese Food 李好純

January 21, 2020 by Jennifer Che

Miss Lee vegetarian restaurant Hong Kong

Miss Lee or 李好純 is a brand new concept in Sheung Wan that transforms classic Hong Kong flavors into modern vegetarian fare. Their emphasis on fresh and natural flavors results in dishes that overall feel light and healthy. Instead of wine pairing (which is available, of course), you can opt for a juice pairing which includes house-crafted juices made from a variety of colorful and vitamin-packed vegetables (think beets, carrots, ginger, spinach, and the like).

The best way to enjoy the chef's signature offerings is to do the Chef's Tasting, which, at HKD 288, won't break the bank and gives you the opportunity to sample some of the most signature dishes on the menu.

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