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Occupy Amber: 2.0
Without a doubt, the most highly-anticipated restaurant opening in Hong Kong in 2019 actually isn't a new entrant. It's the re-opening of Amber at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental after almost 6 months'...
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Kyoto 2019 day 1: Hello Kitty x Hello Kitty
I'm off to spend a few days in Kyoto with my college roommate MorgChop and his family. The original plan was to go visit them in Hawaii back a few months ago, but my new job kinda rendered a long trip...
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Kyoto 2019 day 1: Kobe in Kyoto
Tonight's dinner is arguably the most-anticipated meal during our short trip. As I didn't plan my meals early enough, some of the most sought-after reservations in Kyoto were no longer possible for...
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Kyoto 2019 day 2: an easy start
MorgChop and family arrived in Kyoto this morning, and we would have the next three days together. It's been a few years since I last saw him, but it's been more than 15 years since I last saw his...
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Kyoto 2019 day 2: Karhu's hangout
It was supposed to be perfect. I had planned our day's itinerary so that we would end up around Gion (祗園) during early evening to try to catch any geisha (芸者) shuffling down Hanamikoji-dori (花見小路通り)...
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Kyoto 2019 day 3: Higashiyama
I didn't get much sleep last night, as I woke up early and decided to update the firmware of my DJI Mavic Pro. After going through the necessary steps and thinking I was ready to go, I began...
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Kyoto 2019 day 3: wooden mountain
Tonight was my biggest hope of getting some high-end kyo-ryori (京料理). I knew I had no chance of getting into the most sought-after places since I didn't start planning my meals until about 2 weeks...
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Kyoto 2019 day 4: go west
It's our last day exploring Kyoto together, and our itinerary would take us to the western side of the city - hitting some of the key temples there. When we realized we had just missed the Raku 101...
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Kyoto 2019 day 4: silk in the river
On my first trip to Kyoto in 1998, the most memorable meal during my stay was the one I had at Nishiki (京 嵐山 錦) in Arashiyama (嵐山). The restaurant on Nakanoshima (中之島) in the middle of the...
View ArticleWe will never forget: 30 years on
Thirty years ago something happened that shook the world. Tanks and trucks carrying soldiers rolled into the middle of Beijing during the wee hours, and opened fire on the peaceful crowd that had been...
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Home court advantage
A couple of weeks ago Ricardo Chaneton pinged me and told me about an upcoming guest chef/four hands event he was putting together at Petrus. Owing to my busy travel schedule this year, it's been...
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Delicious Italian classics
It's been quite a few years since I gave up my Quintessentially membership, and with it access to some 'members only' clubs. My Favorite Cousin wanted to get together for dinner, and suggested that we...
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Abalone feast
My friend KC has been organizing dinner gatherings for years, but I haven't had many chances to join him. Over the years I've only been able to jin him on a handful of occasions - the last one being...
View ArticleVisiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Since early 2007, I have been wanting to gear my future travels towards visiting more locations which have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There are so many amazing places around the world...
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Swedes serving swede
Hello Kitty asked where she could take me for my birthday, so I started to think about restaurants I'm fond of but haven't visited in a while - and there were quite a lot of them. Eventually I settled...
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Triple birthday dinner
I sound like a broken record. I don't visit my favorite restaurants enough, and the problem seems to get worse each year... as I go on eating tours outside Hong Kong and would have to go through a...
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A casual star in Central
The Compatriot is back in town for a few days, and we finally managed to meet up for a meal. Now that he's spending most of his time in Rosbifland, he needs his fix of good Asian and Cantonese food...
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Villa dining
Another year, another birthday spent with the Parental Units. My search for decent restaurants offering both à la carte dining (i.e. not forcing diners to go through a multi-course dégustation) and...
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Private Burgundy
We have a visitor in town from Bangkok, and DaRC arranged for a gathering at Softbank Kitchen. It's been a few months since my last visit, and this was a good chance to taste some fantastic, old...
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A long and excruciating dinner
It has, once again, been way too long since my last visit to Bo Innovation. I've been thinking about going to the "new" location ever since they moved, but somehow the place just doesn't come up...
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