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Japanese new year feast
Believe it or not, despite having spent a few years growing up in Japan and having eaten Japanese food for most of my life, I've never had the celebratory meals taken during the first few days of the...
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Backdoor cousins
It's now January and I've gone off the reservation for the last 3 weeks. I'm happy to see that I haven't gained back all that much weight, but it's time to get back to my diet. I'm loosening the...
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Expensive menu change
It's the start of January, and that means it's time to celebrate a couple of birthdays with the gang. No prize for guessing that the restaurant of choice was Fook Lam Moon (福臨門)... What was different...
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Skanky and spicy
I was invited by some friends tonight for a casual gathering at their home. Dinner involved two things that don’t feature often in my eating habits – hotpot and spicy food, so things would be a little...
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Everything but the duck
I'm in Beijing for a short business trip, attending a conference organized by a former employer. As part of the overall program, I'm attending two dinners hosted by my prime broker, and Peking duck...
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My second and last night in Beijing on this trip, and once again my friendly neighborhood prime broker arranged a dinner with Peking duck. We were shipped off in batches to Duck de Chine (全鸭季) - the...
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Disney with Bear
More than eight years after opening, I still hadn't been to Hong Kong Disneyland. I never felt to urge to fight with the Mainland Chinese crowds that I was bound to be surrounded by, and my last visit...
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The most expensive whisky in the world
The wine auction circuit started again today, with 3 auction houses holding simultaneous auctions in Hong Kong. These days I've stopped going to the Acker and Zachys auctions, and I dutifully showed...
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Oompa Lupa
Drew pinged me early in the morning, letting me know that he's in town again. Normally he hangs out with the head honcho of an auction house whenever he's around, and I've failed to catch him the last...
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The new and healthier Harlan
It's the last Friday before Lunar New Year, and I decided to take the team out for lunch. Our little fund launched just about a year ago, and it seemed like an appropriate time to gather the troops...
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Be good to yourself
Some time very late last night - or in the wee hours this morning - I made a decision to take a "me day" today. Once in a while, it's good to take some time out and make yourself happy, since - as...
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The best stuffed crab shell in Hong Kong?
I was running about an hour late for lunch, thanks to unscheduled delays while meeting a prospective client. So when I finally arrived at Man Wah (文華廳) and sat down, Tigger and family had already gone...
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Lil' ol' chapels
We usually do our MNSC annual dinner in January, and I'm thankful yet again that I don't have to play the role of organizer. Given the boys'recent experience with a bottle of ex-château La Chapelle...
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In the presence of greatness
There are a few people I haven't seen for a couple of months, and someone's been asking me to organize a dinner together. After looking around for interesting places to eat, I figured we could do any...
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The North Shore
I'm back in Taiwan spending Lunar New Year with the parental units, and the weather has been absolutely incredible for the last few days. I can't recall the last time when the sun was out for such an...
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Ducky and the queen - another look
We've been having fantastically good weather in northern Taiwan lately, and as I've got my new toy with me, I decided to take 2 short trips outside Taipei within the space of 12 hours. I wanted to...
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Day trip south
It's been 2 years since I last saw my friend B in Shanghai, and she's been away from her Swiss home for a long time. This time I'm seeing her in her hometown Kaoshiung, and I finally have a local...
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The cat with white whiskers
Tigger spent his birthday out of town, and as it turned out I wasn't the first to take him out for a belated birthday dinner. It's a big one this year and he was kind enough to treat me when I turned...
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Partner appreciation day
It's been just over a year since our little fund was launched, and we've been lucky to have strong support from our prime brokers since the very beginning. I've known some of the people for a few...
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Sake and then some
A casual get together to catch up with a couple of friends, and it would be my first chance to try out the dim sum at Seventh Son (家全七福). I'd heard mixed reviews regarding lunch, so I was pretty...
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