The Mirror (Hong Kong)

A former apprentice to Alain Ducasse, Jeremy Biasiol is now the man behind The Mirror and I dare say it is quite an exciting restaurant which I would love to return soon if I can get a table that is. It is rather unfair to relate Jeremy with Alain Ducasse because he now has his own styles and approaches to traditional French cuisine. I think I can only say he was strongly inspired by Alain to become who he is right now. Looking at him behind the open kitchen in this rather homey and cozy setting, one can see his passion and dedication in cooking. He checks on his guests every now and then to control the pacing. I was observing him after my starter and he thought I was waiting impatiently so he looked at me and called onto the wait-staff by saying  快脆 (Faai3 ceoi3) in Cantonese which translates to "hurry up!" to serve us the mains. He even came out at the end of the night to chat with all guests and ask for comments and feedback. A very nice touch indeed!

Stay Hungry Stay Curious

I have been asked many times how I started this food blog and whenever I think back, it was quite a funny yet simple story. It all started because I (1) got plenty of time to kill, (2) love eating and am often very curious how things are prepared and (3) want to promote the appreciation the food from different cultures. Of course it was C's encouragement which pushed me to make my very first step.

Now almost 2 years have passed and food blogging has become part of me. It is my belief that good food is meant to be shared and the same applies to love and memorable experiences including dining experiences. This gastronomic journey has been great so far and I am enjoying every single moment of it. I have gained much (including a lot of weight) but I still have much to learn about food, writing and photography.

My sense of conviction with food and photography is growing and is motivating me to achieve more with my own goals and expectations. It is driving me to do something I enjoy, become more adventurous and embrace life one meal at a time. 

On 1 Jan 2010, I wrote on my personal blog I would welcome 2010 with open arms and aim to eat more, cook more, hug more, sleep more, read more, smile more, listen more, write more, tweet more, blog more and exercise more. I think I have accomplished all of the above (hello Michelin Bib's waistline!) except for the exercise part. I seriously should leave out exercises in the 2011 New Year's resolution because likely it will carry over to 2012 anyhow. 

Life in 2011 will be full of adventures, full of loves and full of feasts! I tend to travel more often if possible and experience as many food cultures as possible in the Asia region. Perhaps I should add in a bit more visual elements such as videos to my travels and gastronomic ventures?

Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct. -  Thomas Carlyle

Christmas Eve Dinner - Turkey

I know it is a bit too late but Merry Christmas everyone! It is better late than never right? :) ... I missed the chance to roast up turkey during Thanksgiving so I got to make it up somehow right? Christmas would be the perfect time to do so. It was Christmas Eve 2010 and a simple home dinner was all I wanted. My aunt invited me over for dinner on this special night because she was having TURKEY!! I was lucky enough that I only needed to show up and eat, but I felt bad so I helped her with the turkey by ... readjusting the it and put in more stuffing ... HAHA ... would like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to my aunt for inviting me over and I would like to share the wonderful feast with all of you!

Lobster Bar and Grill (Hong Kong)

Slurp! Slurp! and Slurp! ...  Such a simple word to describe my meal at Lobster Bar. Thanks to H who organized this dinner, I had the great pleasure to meet the person behind the food blog Slurp! which I got addicted to reading lately. The meal started with a long chat on food and related topics along with live Jazz from the band nearby which started around 8pm. I have been to the Lobster Bar quite a few times but only for drinks, it was my very first time to give their food a try. I have heard mixed reviews on this place but that did not deter me from trying myself. I really enjoyed the setting which was not overly pretentious (perhaps due to the slightly uncomfortable chairs) and the live band playing nearby. I should have ordered myself some whisky as well!

Christmas Bazaar at GSIS (Hong Kong)

A Bazaar by definition is a marketplace or shopping quarter where different vendors gather around to offer customers all sorts of items ranging from food to various clothing. The term originated from the Middle East and now it is a commonly used terms for all sorts of sales around the world. So what would interest me to this Christmas Bazaar held at the German Swiss International School (Hong Kong)? Cheeeeese! Racettle to be exact and of course I was very honored to be invited by V to join this event on this wonderful Saturday morning.  I thought 10am was very early but when we arrived at 10:15am, the party seems to have started hours earlier! A quick glance around, my focus was immediately directed to the far end of the venue where the Racettle stations were setup!

Feast @ Hotel EAST (Hong Kong)

As mentioned before, I rarely attend tasting events but this time would be an exception for the following reasons: (1) Mochachocolata Rita was joining as well, (2) the gathering was relatively small scale and (3) I could have the chance to meet Patricia of  Sù Yán Tiān Shǐ 素顏天使™ , the man behind Cha Xiu Bao Josh Tse as well as Nana Chan whose food writing I enjoy very much. However, it was to my disappointment that both Josh and Nana could not make it. Ah well, that certainly did not deter from from having a fun and entertaining evening.  Thanks for the warm invitation by Swire's Hotel EAST (Hong Kong), our night started off on the rooftop lounge Sugar overlooking the Victoria Harbour.

The Gingery - Winter Collection 2010

The title of this post hides no secret, it literally means Winter Collection for my freshly baked Gingerbread Men / Ladies! It may seems odd that I am doing such a thing but let me explain how I got inspired to work on this late night project. Inspiration: (1) Hong Kong Fashion Geek's coverage on their recent H&M x Lanvin craze, (2) my recent desire to crate stuff and (3) my recent Gingerbread Man Jamming session at Christmas Fair Tiffany (and my semi-shirtless gingerbread man). Actually there was a 4th inspiration which was from V who kindly gave me some of her first batch of gingerbread men this year (see attached pictures at the end of this post, their cuteness inspired me to do the same and bake some of my own gingerbread men! Thanks V). During the recent H&M x Lanvin 1-day sale, I saw many people lining up outside the store 4am the morning before with blankets and folding chairs looking at the display window that hosted the collection which they were so anxiously waiting to buy. Was is worth the wait? I cannot be the right person to judge unless we are talking about queue and food. It would be weird for me to line up just for the sake of experiencing the hype and part with nothing, so I decided to create my own collection, one that I design, one that I require no queuing to experience and one that I can EAT! ... The Gingery by Jason - Winter Collection 2010 is official launched!

Tiffany's Christmas Fair (Hong Kong)

The Circle of Giving, A Legacy of Light

Ruth Carter Stapleton once said "Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most." While it is very true, I think Dale Evans described it even more straight forward by saying "Christmas, my child, is love in action." Love is not to be given but shared, love is not only to be shared with your loved ones but with those in need of your love. I am very honored once again to be invited back by Tiffany & Co. for their Christmas Fair in partnership with Mother's Choice, held at the 1881 Heritage in Hong Kong. A few weeks ago, it was Breakfast at Tiffany and this time it was Christmas Fair Tiffany which I absolutely loved because the festive activities during the evening made me feel like a kid once again! Yes it is not always the food that makes me act feel like a kid, stuff like decorating gingerbread man or making snow globe can easily do the trick!

Butao Ramen 豚王

My first visit to this place was back in early Nov 2010, a few days before its prime time TV feature which created the recent hype on this little ramen joint with about a dozen seats. M (from eatshowandtell) and I waited for about 10 minutes only back then instead of the average 1 hour or perhaps 2 hours wait nowadays? It took me this long to blog about it because I wanted to give the rest of the ramen selection a try first. However, any queue for food that requires more than 30 mins wait and less than 10 mins consumption time will likely skip. Therefore, I might as well share my experiences now in the middle of the hype. If you require a more detail insight into the different selection during this hype, please check with e_tingfood.com (also Facebook Fan Page) and tomeatsjencooks.com, both who recently went an hour before it opens on a Saturday morning for its first bowl of ramen. Based on my latest information, the y have limited the supply of ramen per day to 200 bowls ....

Classified (Hong Kong)

I love cheese and that's not a secret for those who frequent my blog. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to Geoff (the man behind Geoff's Twitchen) for inviting me to this Mont d'Or event / gathering at the Classified, an event he single handedly organized. I had a cheesy yet amazing night at Classified (Wan Chai) but there was one thing really disappointed me: I thought we could have one carton of Mont d'Or for each one of us! :) ... Where was I with cheese again? Oh right, I love cheese and Mont d'Or can be considered a beginner's cheese. It is a seasonal soft cheese made from cow's milk. If you are not a fan of cheese at this moment, give Mont d'Or a try and eat with a spoon while watching TV. I am very serious about it! Let the cheese rest under room temperature inside the round wooden box and dig in when it becomes slightly running and creamy!!!!

Limehouse

Want to find a resto great for dating a girl? She wants to try something different yet offer no suggestion? A place that is quiet yet no need to walk so far with her heels? A place that tables are spaced wide enough to give you two enough personal space? A place that allow you to have certain walkable distance to the nearest MTR station after dinner? A location with more than a few crossings which you can make you lame move in garbing her hand while crossing the street? ... Don't worry, I think I have a recommendation for you: it's Limehouse on Ship Street, Wan Chai. Hiding behind the narrow and slightly steep street, you will immediate spot this rather outstanding white structure with several bright spotlights shining in all directions. 

Breakfast at Tiffany

It was quite difficult to ignore an email with subject line “Join us for Breakfast at Tiffany.” It sounded sort of cliché yet something irresistible! So what exact was it all about? Breakfast at Tiffany & Co. at 1881 Heritage to be exact! I am very honoured indeed to be invited by Tiffany & Co. (and PR IME) for this special event in celebration of Christmas and its upcoming seasonal events as well as its charity partnership with Mother’s Choice (Hong Kong) who will benefits from the Circle of Giving, A Legacy of Light. It was not the usual type of event I would attend but for such good cause and the “Breakfast at Tiffany,” I just cannot resist at all!

Da Dong Roast Duck 大董烤鸭店 (Beijing)

I said it once and I will say it again, I never get tired of Peking Duck! During my 3 days stay in Bejing over the National Day long weekend, we had more than one meal of Peking Duck of course, it was only fair to try as many as possible, my dear stomach told me. So after my Made in China Peking duck meal, I told myself it was hard to find one to top that and I was right. The visit to Da Dong Roast Duck 大董烤鸭店 for its famous Peking duck was rather disappointing, not just the Duck for in general. It was quite tiring too and let me tell you why in a bit. When you enter this branch, the very first thing you will see is a huge empty space in the middle of the lobby, like a stage with ovens on each 4 corners and raw ducks hanging in the center. Chefs walking back and forth holding a trident looking thing with the duck at the tip, in and out the ovens they shove the duck in to roast it. It was like a show ... but I did not recall coming here for a show, I came for the food the last I remembered. With is contemporary decor, I was quite sure they should put chairs around the stage so interested diners can sit and watch.  

Sushi Hiro (Hong Kong)

Many crave for sushi or sashimi regularly, I crave for both at least once every two weeks. Sushi Hiro is one of the few Japanese places which I would return regularly when I feel like indulging myself in the land of sashimi without using any brain power in regards to ordering. Why? They offer plenty of set diners and most of them are multi-courses as well. My friend and I each ordered a set and our dishes were basically mixed up since we were sharing so please considered the following items to be the combined sets.

Beijing on the 1st October ...

Showing his love for the country? 

I know this is a long overdue post but I have been quite busy eating around Asia and been sick (from the sudden weather change and not from the food of course!) for a little while as well. I am now back and will be posting accordingly to my old schedule! Anyhow, on the 1st Oct 2010, I spent the long weekend in Beijing, the capital of China (PRC) in celebration of its National Day.  I wasn't out of my mind to visit Beijing on its National Day when I KNOW there were CROWDS everywhere, I knew before departure and I wanted to experience that as well. One of the key events was the Flag Rising Ceremony on Tiananmen Square on 1 October, the morning following the night of our arrival.

Vitasoy Soybean Drink

Wandering around the supermarket late at night, I spotted this special set of Vitasoy soybean drink. The special design captured my attention to a point that I bought  2 half-a-dozen packages so I can collect all 4 designs! The drawings or theme focus on 4 aspects our lives (only partly of course), namely Working Moments, Happy Moments, Studying Moments and Loving Moments ... oh wait, what happened to Eating Moments??? That is a very important part of our lives! Are there more Moments I wonder, maybe there are more to this set???

Harlan's @ The One

Last year I had a very memorable experience at The Parlour @ Hullett House TST and won my top spot in my Afternoon Tea No More 2009 award. This year before the end of it, I found the establishment that qualified for the Afternoon Tea No More 2010 --- Harlan's @ The One TST.  First of all, I was attracted to here because of the Jo Malone Afternoon Tea set as promoted. I heard about it from many friends as well asking me to give it a try. It sounded interesting enough right? If I am from Jo Malone, I would expect my business partner to help promote this special offering as well, however, guess what, I have to request for the special menu and what was funny was that .... well, let me pull it as follows: 

Jason: "Hi, I would like to check out the Jo Malone Afternoon Tea set menu." 

Staff: "Jo Malone?" 

Jason: "Yeah, the perfumes, fragrances, candles ... "

Staff: " [pauses] Oh, I think I know what you are referring too, wait a moment please ... " 

Great job! I would be fairly pissed if I am from Jo Malone. 

(P.S. - based on my knowledge, Harlan @ The One is no longer run by Harlan Goldstein himself even though the name remains. Harlan Goldstein can now be found at the recently opened Gold by Harlan Goldstein @ LKF, Central, Hong Kong)

Time Out Hong Kong - Dining Awards 2010

It was indeed fun to be part of the judging panel for this year's Time Out Dining Awards 2010. I am very honored to be selected and get the chance to work with the best foodie judges in Hong Kong. 20 categories in total, I am sure one of them would tickle your taste buds! :) ... Check it out here!

Made In China 长安一号餐厅 (Beijing)

I came across an article somewhere talking about Peking Duck, particularly Sha Tin 18's Peking Duck inside Hyatt Regency Hong Kong. It reminds me of a much overdue review of my Beijing trip during early Oct 2010. Yes, it was a very crowded weekend due to China's National Day weekend but for the sake of gastronomic adventures and to get away from Hong Kong, such short trip was much needed!! Instead of going reporting my meal sequentially, let me jump the queue to the Peking Duck meal at Made in China  长安一号餐厅 in side Grand Hyatt Beijing which seriously reassemble that of Sha Tin 18 both in terms of decor and offerings. Sisters shops if you ask me!

Pied à Terre - Michelin 2** (London)

This post signifies a pleasant end of my week long stay here in London. We ended our trip with an exceptional meal at Pied à Terre, a Michelin 2** restaurant with Shane Osborne behind the kitchen. It was this meal that made me pondered a long while on the purpose and meaning of being starred by Michelin Guide. Is the star(s) for the restaurant? for the chef? or for diners? I have heard stories that some chefs strive to get an extra star by trying to achieve the so-called perfection in food and food presentation. In my opinion, what is perfect and great food presentation often translates to great food wastage. I have also heard stories that Michelin starred chefs overstressed themselves with the pressures in maintaining such starred standard years after years. The most notable and unfortunate example is Bernard Loiseau who killed himself due to the stress in maintaining the 3-star status its restaurant La Cute d'Or upheld for many years.

Gaucho (Piccadilly - London)

Specialized in Argentine Steak, Gaucho can be considered a well known popular joint among locals whenever they feel like quality steak at relatively reasonably price. Gaucho is a chained restaurant but definitely not those similar to Angus Steak House which is around every major intersections! I quite enjoyed the dimmed lit interior of Gaucho (Piccadilly - London) with hanging white lights and chairs + wallpaper  with black and white cow-skin patterns.

What's for Dinner on Friday Night?

Leong’s Legends Continues (London)

Quite a number of foodies (both visitors and local London foodies) have visited this little joint within Chinatown London. I think it is unfair to compared this place with those I had in Shanghai or even Hong Kong because there are simply not that many to compare with in London that serve similar Chinese regional cuisines. So here at Leong’s Legends Continues (London), you can find plenty options of noodles, Xiao Long Bao (XLB) as well as other popular Taiwanese dishes. It is likely a shop opened by Taiwanese if you ask me. The decor is very nice! I mean wooden tables and chairs with a touch of ... class in a sense. Nothing overly fancy of course just that it really made me feel I was a warrior sitting in one of those huts back in the Tang Dynasty waiting for my meal before heading off to fight the bad guys. Alright, enough day dreaming ....

PAUL - Revisited (London)

What is(are) your favourite item(s) from PAUL? Throughout my stay in London (8 days), I visited PAUL countless times, almost every single time I passed by it. There was a certain attraction that lured me in for some reasons. Perhaps it was the scent or aroma of freshly baked bread / pasty that diverted my intended path. One thing I notice though (I can be wrong of course), many items I saw, or most of them to be exact, were sweets. They do have bread of many sorts but sweet pastries such as danishes and macarons were all I saw in many of the outlets around town.

Apsleys Restaurant (London)

Apsleys Restaurant at the Lanesborough Hotel is quite intimating to be honest. Located right across from Hyde Park corner, this hotel seems to be very exclusive from the outside, at least to me. Bentley and Lamborghini are the type of cars you would see outside the hotel on a daily basis. I was here for Afternoon Tea only so I wasn't sure how the Michelin 1-star status of this place really matters to my experience. I went to another Michelin starred resto in London and the experience made me wonder on the intention and the ultimate objective of being starred. Is the star(s) for the restaurant? the chef? or both? ... What does it mean to get one? Does it mean diners would enjoy the meal more for sure? I will discuss more on that on another post.

Jamie's Italian (London)

It maybe a chained establishment but it is one that I wanted to try for a long time. I am not a big fan of Jamie but I certainly agree that he has a special charm that made him who he is now. I am yet to verify the truth to the following but someone told me that Jamie’s Italian is a truly equal opportunity employer of which it encourages the management to hire handicapped individuals as well as those who wish to turn a new leaf after recent release from correctional institutions. If that is the case I truly admire his responsibilities to the community while aiming to deliver a great dining experiences at reasonable cost. On this very evening, we went to the Canary Wharf outlet for an early dinner.

Nokia Ovi App - Jason Bon Vivant

Dear Nokia smartphone users, feel like reading yummy posts on the go? My mobile app for Nokia Ovi Store is now available for download ~here~ - Nokia Ovi App - Jason Bon Vivant

Roast Restaurant (London)

This post should have been right after my Borough Market post but I was too excited about the picnic @ Greenwich post that I had it jump the queue! Anyhow, after my pre-lunch at Monmouth Coffee, we headed over to Roast Restaurant located right in the Borough Market. The decor / atmosphere was rather contemporary compared with the environment of the Borough Market. It was nice but a bit too fancy in a very humble marketplace in my opinion.

Picnic @ Greenwich Park

I am not trying to show off or anything for putting up pictures of my picnic at one of the Royal Parks of UK, the Greenwich Park on one sunny afternoon with cheese and wine; all I wanted is to show the importance of work life balance and how one can achieve it if really wanted to. I have to admit that it is quite difficult to do that in Hong Kong, to have a nice relaxing picnic for the following major reasons: (1) many (or most) parks in Hong Kong restrict visitors from stepping onto the grass, not to mention about sitting on them, (2) most parks in Hong Kong do not allow dogs and (3) Where are the parks anyhow? parks that are big enough to have picnic under the Sunday with fresh air and cushion like grass fields?? I continue to question the logic behind the points I mentioned regarding Hong Kong's Parks but no luck so far unfortunately.

Borough Market and Monmouth Coffee (London)

Just a word of caution, if you intend to visit a restaurants in the Borough Market in London (or other dine-in establishments around the city), please avoid going between 11am and noon because many simply tell you to come back sharp at noon when they reopen for lunch. That was exactly what happened to us! Well, I guess that was good time to walk around the Borough Market, for some coffee and for some snacks before breakfast / lunch!

Carluccio's (London)

With so many other choices, why did I pick Carluccio's? Well, very simple. We were hungry and it was close to where we stayed, that was the reason. If you pay attention when you walk around the city, you will find that Carluccio's is a rather large chain restaurant!!! My past experiences with chained restaurants in Hong Kong or other countries were not something worth noting but this one in London, I may return not necessarily for its so-called food quality but for its convenience. Don't get my wrong, both my visits (brunch and lunch on two separately occasions) were ... alright, unexciting and boring to be exact, but with its convenience, setting, atmosphere (which is more fitted for a casual yet rush meal), occasional visits may happen.

PAUL (London)

Sorry for the delay in updating new entries, I am currently in London and I am still experiencing a bit of jet lag for some odd reasons even after two days! So I will post a short post for now and will update more during this weekend. We stayed near Canary Wharf which is not exactly a tourist location but more of a financial district I suppose. Since I took a red-eyed flight out of Hong Kong to London, it was 6am London time when I arrived. I was hungry as always but I had to wait for my brother to come meet up with us. What can be the best solution? Find snacks!!! I spotted PAUL the bakery from far away while walking around. Instead of ordering a croissant or sandwich, the HUGE Chocolate Macaron got my undivided attention. It was huge and overly sweet to be honestly but I needed sugar, I needed food! .... MORE FOOD TO COME!!! (Did I already gain weight!?)

Whisk - Sunday Brunch

Sumptuous is often the word being used to describe Sunday Brunches and I could not agree more. I enjoy Sunday Brunches because I believe that after a week long work week, we all deserve a little break during the weekend, to enjoy good food with great company. Here at Whisk, they started offering Sunday Brunch recently with free-flowing Louis Roederer champagne as well. Unfortunately, unlikes other hotel establishments, there is not option to opt-out the champagne if I recall correctly. I have been to the Whisk a few times before but mostly for dinner and I enjoyed my stay the last few times. My favorites include the Suckling Pig (Signature dish) and the Apple Crisp (at least the original version being served in the baking pan, they have changed the serving methods and portion recently unfortunately)

Spam Party

Some like to call it Canned Food Party, I prefer to call it SPAM PARTY! The whole point of this party was to prepare snacks and food using only canned food. Most of the items included Spam / Luncheon Meat so Spam Party is perfect! I would like to take this opportunity to extend thanks to Mochachocolata Rita for preparing most of the items, details of the relevant recipes can be found ~~ HERE ~~~. You can check out Gastronomous Anonymous' version HERE as well.

Serendipity

Life is full of surprises and meeting Jin was indeed a pleasant surprise! Our friendship started with our love of food and we chatted online talking about nothing but food for many late nights! If you think that was amazing, I think it is time to share how I met Jin in person for the first time. In her recent entry on her blog, www.jinlovestoeat.com, she "revealed" our amazing encounter! Let me post a snippet here ...

“Are you Jin?”

Frites - Belgium on Tap

Funny story. I ordered this Kwak beer because I found the name quite interesting on the menu and that was it. Apparently there is a story behind the name of this beer and how it was being served in this special funnel / glass. Half way through drinking from this funnel, the beer will start to flow through the narrow bottle neck with increased pressure pushing from the back towards the smaller opening, creating a crackling "quack quack" noise. Not only would it create such an unique noise, the liquid would start to flow in an accelerated pace without notice. If you aren't careful, prepare to wet your shirt! (unless your mouth is big enough to cover the whole opening while I seriously doubt!) How much truth is behind the story I am not certain but it did make the "quack" noise and I did wet my shirt! Argh ...

ABC Kitchen (Revisited)

My first visit to ABC Kitchen was a couple of months ago but on a different capacity. You can check out my first review here. This time around I finally got the chance to order the entire Roasted Suckling Pig since we have 6 people. Pictures will follow later. As mentioned before ABC Kitchen stands for A Better Cooking kitchen which offers a range of Continental cuisines including French, Italian and a bit or Portuguese.  Yeah, it is a mix of everything. Compared with m first visit, one thing I noticed was their menu which was updated quite a bit with a slightly increase in price. I guess that's normal for being popular. And they no long have set dinners, at least on the night we were there.

Duecento Otto 208

When I first steped into Duecento Otto 208, I truly thought I was at the scene of Sex and the City, at a restaurant somewhere in New York city. Why? Well, the decor was hip and trendy with beautifully decorated wall-tiles, but the key was the people, the crowds that were present at 7pm on a weeknights. For the brief stay I was there, the place was frequented by model like females and males as well. I mean many of the girls were either in 4" heels and ultra tight pencil skirts or 3" heels and really short skirts! As for guys, many were in tight jeans and pointy leather shoes with tight shirts that somehow lost the few top buttons. Were these good distractions elements for the rustic atmosphere? It is really up to your personal preferences and mood perhaps?

Fu 1088 / 福1088 (Shanghai)

Fu 1088 is not your typical Shanghainese restaurant in the metropolitan of Shanghai, it is located in a refurbished 1930's mansion / villa in the middle of town. The atmosphere was excellent with crackling staircases, wooden decor and beautifully tilted bathrooms. Guests can enjoy a peaceful meal in the individual private dining rooms located through the 3 floors restaurant. Oh wait, almost forgot the mention that there is a RMB 300 per person minimum charge at this atypical Shanghainese restaurant.

Jesse Restaurant 吉士酒家 (Shanghai)

Yet another famous local joint for its traditional Shanghainese dishes. When it comes to fame, the amount of tourists somehow gives you a big picture of its popularity to a certain extend. At this place, I can hear more Cantonese and English then Mandarin being exchanged. So what exactly is Shanghainese cuisine? A very good question because it is a product / combination of several nearby regional (coastal) cuisines and it gradually transformed into its own category over the years. This is one of the key reasons I enjoy Shanghainese cuisine, for its diversity as well as its ability to appreciate different regional cuisines to distinct itself through continuous refinement. (There is a so-called New Jesse vs this "old" Jesse and I have been informed that they are different establishment?)

Ding Tai Fung 鼎泰豐 @ Shanghai

So far I have been to 3 countries that have Ding Tai Fung, namely, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Shanghai. Frankly speaking, they all tasted about the same except for Taiwan's one which is still my favorite among the 3 for its overall services. We tried to order similar items so to compare but the result was pretty much as expected, at least for my taste bud: Rather unexciting.

La Creperie @ Shanghai

If you find the name La Creperie familiar, it is because there is one in Hong Kong as well located in the Wan Chai district as well. The Shanghai outlet is actually the first outlet of the franchise and I was here to give it a try before I go for the Hong Kong one.

World Expo 2010 @ Shanghai

I dislike queuing up;

I dislike queuing up for more than 30 minutes;

I dislike queuing up for more than 30 minutes under the sun;

I dislike queuing up for more than 30 minutes under the sun with people pushing from behind every 10 seconds;

I dislike queuing up for more than 30 minutes under the sun with people pushing from behind every 10 seconds without the slightest respect to the idea of queuing up.

The above pretty much summed up my experience at the World Expo 2010 at Shanghai.

Franck

This French restaurant located in Shanghai's French Concession area has built up its name as one of the best in town and I paid a lunch visit during my short stay in town. It is located inside Ferguson Lane, a charming red-bricked, hospital-turned trendy establishment full of history and of course different upscale cafes, art galleries and restaurants. I thought I was in Europe as soon as I stepped through the gate. It was a bit surreal when there was such a big contrast in terms of atmosphere compared with the streets outside full of rusted bicycles and individuals street vendors selling home grown fruits. Anyhow, I am here to talk about food, my opinion on the huge income disparity issues will be discussed here later.

Nanxiang Steamed Bun 南翔饅頭店

I am really not a fan of queueing, really hated it. When you see my in a line waiting, most likely it involves food! It was no difference this time. We lined up for over 40 minutes for its famous Xiao Long Bao (XLB) or what also known as Xiao Long Mantou 小籠饅頭 (mini buns). I think they are called mini buns / mantou for a reason because the XLBs being served have really thick dough / skin like tiny steamed mini buns.

Yang's Fry-Dumpling 小杨生煎馆

I am going to start off my Shanghai series with something simple yet extremely satisfying, Sheng jian bao (生煎包) or what many locals call it Shengjian mantou (生煎饅頭) from Yang's Fry-Dumpling 小杨生煎馆. It is basically a pan fried meat-filled bun. One of the key elements for a good Sheng jian bao is to have golden crisp bottom from the pan frying, at least to my understanding. The amount of meat juice inside the meat would make a big difference as well.

Golden Pond 金凱鮮庭

Hiding somewhere in between North Point and Fortress Hill, this small joint specializes in various kinds of seafood. There were literally 4 or perhaps 5 tables only with various cooked items inside the display fridge. Point and pick then you can start your meal. (yes, most of the seafood items are served chilled if you are wondering ...)

Basement Restaurant

I know it is not an acceptable excuse but I really cannot find the notes I jotted down for my visit to this restaurant. I have to be very careful with the notes from now on! Anyhow, a group of us gathered here for our friend J's birthday celebration and we enjoyed the meal very much because I remembered how we all left with smiles on our faces. Perhaps it was the wine or the ice cream cake that put the smiles on our faces but one thing for sure, we had a good time. Since I lost the notes, I am not going go into details of the dishes but treat this entry as a photo-journal. I think I will return later to make up for the review for sure.

McSorley's Ale House

Many informed us that McSorley's Ale House is one of the best burger places in town but our experience tell us that it may not be exactly the case. It was by no means bad, perhaps we expected too much. A matter of expectation management I suppose. Therefore, it is very important to be as mutual as possible when visiting new restos in my opinion.

Paisano's Pizzeria and Sub Shop

Pizza! Where can you find decent or NY-styled pizza in Hong Kong? A very good and tough question indeed! I am still in search of that plus it is rather hard to define what a good NY-styled pizza is, more towards personal preference but one thing for sure, those being served at Pizza Hut is NOT what we are talking about here. I recently came across this little pizzeria in Sai Kung famous for their 24" pizza!!!!