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Sub-Zero: Quintessential Luxury of Wine-Storage | 25.03.2013
For centuries the matrimony of gourmet, aided with good wines spirits, has been the true spirit for one who seeks perfection in a high-quality life. To this we turn to Sub-Zero, the master for food refrigeration for more than 60 years of careful study and true experience in premium food refrigeratio...
Dario and Me | 24.04.2012
To beef or not to beef... and that's not the question. I think the real message is about our attitude towards food....
Chocolatiers Revisited | 10.04.2012
To say that we love chocolate is quite an understatement. As popularity grows more chocolate brands are opening shops selling their chocolates all over Hong Kong. It started with the big names, taking space from gourmet supermarkets and shopping malls, to starting pop-up kiosks all over town. It is...
Bone Marrow: Love it or Hate it? | 20.03.2012
Yep, it is not everyone's cup of tea, but if it's yours, oh boy, isn't that the most sumptuous, decadent, and orgasmic taste on earth? Obviously it is my cup of tea. Beef stock would lack the depth in flavour without it, and where would osso buco be without the marrow? I believe it is one of the mos...
Kung Hei Fat Choi! | 17.01.2012
Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese lunar calendar. Regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration vary but most of them share the common theme of bringing luck to the family in the coming year, and wishing loved ones a prosperous year ahead. While...
Eat, Drink and Be Merry at Azure | 12.12.2011
Azure Restaurant Slash Bar is a place to see and be seen. Food lovers can pamper their palate with creative dishes prepared with the freshest ingredients and with a presentation as dazzling as the view from the 29th and 30th floors of Hotel LKF by Rhombus in bustling Lan Kwai Fong, Central....
Celebrate Christmas at AVA | 12.12.2011
December is definitely the time to be merry, spending those precious moments with loved ones. Why not spend it at AVA Restaurant Slash Bar atop Hotel Panorama by Rhombus in Tsimshatsui, where Restaurant Chef Mike Boyle turns out one creative dish after another with equal parts of passion and appreci...
White Truffle | 09.11.2011
October marks the start of the much anticipated white truffle season, a time in the year when these hideously expensive - and rather hideous looking - mushrooms are shaved in front of diners at the table or otherwise closely guarded by the chefs. Of course they are no ordinary mushrooms. These prize...
Marco Polo German Bierfest 2011 | 14.10.2011
The Marco Polo German Bierfest has been the most sought-after event of the year and for the past 19 years, it has been an astounding and unprecedented success. This year, it is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Starting October 21, partygoers, beer-lovers and sausage fans will be able to enjoy the f...
Hairy Crabs for Lazy People | 13.10.2011
It is tradition for Shanghainese to go for hairy crab dinners when the temperature drops, but it seems like us Hong Kongers are even more fanatic about these crustaceans. Every year, hundreds of thousands if not millions hairy crab fans look forward to October when these bright orange delicacies are...
Sponsored Feature - Festive Menus at Santa Lucia | 10.12.2010
Perched on the 38th floor of Hotel Panorama in Tsim Sha Tsui, Santa Lucia is a dining experience worthy to spend those significant holidays wining and dining with those special people. Introducing two festive menus this season, the Christmas Day menu and the New Year’s Eve menu....
Sponsored Feature - Azure's Christmas & New Year Menus | 10.12.2010
Azure hails two reasons to why it's the best place to have your festive dinners this season. Introducing two stunning menus, the Christmas Day menu and the New Year's Eve menu, enough to entice and please every food lover's holiday cravings....
Sponsored Feature - Marco Polo German Bierfest | 18.10.2010
It is that time of the year again, the Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel is hosting the city’s most anticipated and fun-filled event in October, celebrating its 19th on-going German Bierfest....
Sponsored Feature: Hot pick on Igor's Group | 13.08.2010
Deciding which dining spot to go to? There are great opportunities to explore all the venues you have yet to try. Enjoy Citibank fabulous offers to enhance your dining experiences in Hong Kong....
Other Features - Hot Pick at Soho of Central | 24.06.2010
Whether you start at the bottom of the hill or at the top, Citibank fabulous offers are great opportunity to explore all the venues you have yet to try. The promotion starts from May to year end. Citibank Credit Cards or Cobrand Cards cardholders can now enjoy up to 50% off and array of dining privi...
International Dining - Sepia | 10.03.2010
Recently I have been questioning the Hong Kong dining scene, feeling that the standard of food has slipped and many new openings have been serving food that is average at best. Was I just jaded from several years of constant reviewing or was the quality and inspiration waning?...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 27 | 03.03.2010
Kate McGettigan, managing director of Coast restaurant/bar, has her first memories of the food industry are of growing up in a pub in Sydney. On her last visit to Hong Kong she 'just fell in love with the place' and brought over old mate and exec chef Aaron Kearney, who showed me a bizarre but beaut...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 26 | 24.02.2010
I was recently invited over to One Harbour Road at the Grand Hyatt to learn the secrets of a somewhat radical departure from traditional dim sum, by one of Hong Kong's chef representatives to the international cooking scene, who's been at the same hotel since I graduated high school....
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 25 | 19.02.2010
At last, a feel-good story about one of the last treasured hallmarks of 'old Hong Kong'. I found a little Dai Pai Dong called Sui Kee in a little alley called Gutz Laff Street in Central just near enough to Queen's Road to mention that if you are walking west, take the first alley past the Wellcome....
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 24 | 10.02.2010
"Do not be afraid of cooking, as your ingredients will know and misbehave" -Fergus Henderson. This is the motto of the chefs at Corner Kitchen: owner/chef Vivian Herijanto, formerly of Jean-Georges New York, and new recruits Nathan Hogan of Azure among others and finally Dan Segall of hit restauant...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 23 | 03.02.2010
Not so much an artistic type, I've tried to broaden my sensual horizons with a round of cultural experiences to see if these mad hatters get off on art as much as I do on food and wine. I ran into Ms. Siraporn at a jam courtesy of the good groovy folks at a gallery on Eberdeern Street of all places,...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 22 | 27.01.2010
On a recent excursion for new wines, I encountered something I would not have imagined in a thousand years. A locally-run wine company that sells very good wine for a very reasonable price, specifically designed for the Hong Kong market....
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 21 | 20.01.2010
I got a seed from a chili pepper in my vindaloo from Jashan restaurant on Hollywood in my eye and boy did that hurt. I suppose it was partly my fault because I had foolishly dared the fine team of chefs to make 'the hottest vindaloo possible'. After I finally recovered somewhat I vowed it might be t...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 20 | 06.01.2010
If you're hoping for a tale of newfound redemption in a Biblical way this might not be it, but I wanted to share something positive. This is about the people behind the food.Okay, one Biblical reference.Once again my computer is 'overused' so I send my dispatch to you via email, and by some Christma...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 19 | 23.12.2009
By some miraculous turn of events, my computer has come back to life and here I am again penning my adventures in the culinary zone. I went old, old school, my friends, the oldest kids on the block. These were some of the places I first came to in Hong Kong. The renamed ‘Ganga,’ which used to be cal...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 18 | 16.12.2009
I was invited to the big opening of Pastis, actually a small but cozy French bistro on Wydham Street in the former location of the doomed JC 65. It has actually been open for more than a month but as usual the liquor license was delayed even though the restaurant license was approved. Ergo, the dela...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 17 | 11.12.2009
I was recently invited by the wine promotion company Cottage Vineyards to the 'Arrogant Frog Cooking Class Winemakers Dinner' where hundreds of curious foodies and wine buffs came to learn about a new program at Wellcome that teaches you how to pair classic Chinese dishes with a wine line called Arr...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 16 | 18.11.2009
Festival Faux-Pas - Last weekend there were at least four major events on the foodie's calendar, you probably went to at least one. Of course I madly tried to make it to every one of them and as the crowds thickened and the weekend wore on I started to wonder how I might hold my own ‘Foodie Festival...
Cooking Demo & Lunch at Caprice for WOM members | 16.11.2009
Have you ever wanted to know what goes on behind the kitchen door at a 5-star hotel restaurant? Or how much work goes into one dish? We at WOM not only try to bring you the best dining experiences but also a chance to take a look at the behind-the-scene moments of a dish. In September we ran a comp...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 15 | 11.11.2009
Invitations Gone Wrong, and Right My best friend Scott Murphy is also the world’s best music & entertainment critic ever. Recently he has given me tips on writing though he would pale at the suggestion that I re-write my bit. That said, I am trying to kind of convert the column into something more...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 14 | 28.10.2009
Old & New I was feeling a bit nostalgic after hitting a slew of new restaurant openings and thought it about time for a visit to the very first place I went to and compare the experience to one of the new modern Chinese venues. After all, the restaurant guides each only have one rating system that...
The Marco Polo German Bierfest | 22.10.2009
Any gourmand or lover of all things German looks forward to Oktoberfest, one of Germany’s most famous festivals that sees millions of people from across the globe taking part every year in a hearty feast of traditional fare and of course — beer! Once confined to Munich, the German beer event th...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 13 | 14.10.2009
Chocomania Part 1 European delicacies we enjoy today were only a recent invention This city has seen an explosion in the number of specialty chocolate shops, but I wanted to remind all you sweettooths out there that it is not a Belgian, French or Italian invention. You will often hear gourmands d...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 12 | 07.10.2009
The Week I Couldn't Eat What's a foodie to do when stricken with a near-avian flu? Like what seems to have befallen many of our readers out there, I came down with a wicked ‘Mid-Autumn' flu, you know, the surprise in-between season flu when summer starts to sputter and cough before finally giving...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 11 | 02.10.2009
Suckers for Shellfish Despite a Michelin-star restaurant giving a ‘vomiting bug' to some 500 diners we still can't get enough For six weeks between January and February, The Fat Duck, consistently named one of the top three restaurants in the world, gave its customers norovirus, which the health d...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 10 | 23.09.2009
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Decanting Deconstructed Big occasion coming up? I find out one final, oft-neglected step makes all the difference in truly enjoying a good wine. I thought I knew a fair share about wine, but it seems I was leaving out one last ritual sommeliers insisted was essential for maximum enjoyment of a goo...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 9 | 16.09.2009
Supermarket vs. Wet Market Shopping Like a Chef It's ever so easy for a single person or a couple to overspend at the market so I spent the last couple of weeks cruising the markets with chefs to find out how they shop for their home meals....
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 8 | 02.09.2009
'Underground' Eating Parties Hit Hong Kong I first heard of semi-secret 'eating circuits' in New York City from a fellow foodie from the Big Apple about a year ago. Apparently, the rich had grown bored of 14-course tasting menus at five-star restaurants and wanted a new thrill. Following the mass...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 7 | 20.08.2009
Exposing the Food Fair A casual journey to the Food Expo turns surreal As I write this the Food Expo 2009 is still on, but after a full day yesterday I think I've had my fill, ha ha. I thought I might wander around with a fellow food writer and see what the new trends are; as soon as I got off t...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 6 | 14.08.2009
Dining With Star Chefs They're famous for their award-winning cooking, but what's it like to sit down at the table with them? Once in a while in food journalism you get a real treat: instead of just a 'menu tasting' in a media scrum the chef will sit down with you for a proper dinner. It can be...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 5 | 05.08.2009
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Women in Wine Or Wine Divas from around the world, as they like to be called, recently paid the city a visit to the city to illustrate how the feminine touch (and nose, or nez), in winemaking can make a difference in the complexity and beauty, if you will, to a great wine. If there was ever an...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 4 | 15.07.2009
Back in my chef years, I got 'promoted' from chef of my own kitchen to what is called the 'opening chef' for a restaurant supergroup. The gig was to travel around the country and assist in the new openings of other branches of the group. For several months at a clip, my job was to set up the kitchen...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 3 | 08.07.2009
"When imagination and hunger collide, it can be a beautiful thing." - actor Dennis Hopper on Traffic Chefs in the catering world, bar a special few, rarely achieve the fame, media coverage and fortune let alone recognition for their (if true) amazing cuisine, as hotel or stand-alone chefs in conv...
Red Hot Alfresco Dining Festival | 07.07.2009
It’s that time of the year again – you’re wearing shorts at weekends, your shades are more important than your Blackberry, and you’re debating whether to get a tan or go for SPF 50. Now that summer has descended in the city in earnest, it’s time to turn up the heat and where better to enjoy some red...
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 2 | 24.06.2009
I wanted to show you a day in the life a regular chef, having busted my chops in five-star hotel kitchens before running my own restaurant. So I went on the ‘hot' kitchen line at FINDS last Friday for a full shift, but found a better story on the way....
Behind the Kitchen Doors: Episode 1 | 17.06.2009
Some chefs are out to change the world through the magic of using only locally-grown organic produce, citing evil carbon footprints and keeping family farmers in business as their mantra. Jean Paul Gauci, formerly of 3-Michelin star Le Petit Nice in Marseilles, south France, only wants his creations...
A Whole New World of Wine | 12.05.2009
When the tax on wines got lifted, you started exploring the Old World; when the economy took a downturn, New World seemed like a whole new world. While leaving your comfort zone might be more difficult than getting out of bed on a Monday morning, there isn’t a better time to pack your bags and start...
Culinary Tours - Bespoke Tokyo | 02.01.2009
Nicole Fall and Charles Spreckley co-founded high-end travel consultancy Bespoke Tokyo in 2006, and in that short time have attracted royalty, pop stars, billionaires and the famous, plus discerning travellers looking for a tailored-made holiday in Tokyo with a difference....
Winery Profile – Wyndham Estate | 10.11.2008
Established in 1828, Wyndham Estate is the oldest operating winery in Australia. The winery has won almost 2,000 international and domestic awards, and is considered the "industry pioneer" responsible for launching Australian wines onto the world arena....
Cultural Kitchen – Basic Guide to Wine and Food Pairing | 10.11.2008
If you drink wine that matches the food you are eating the dish will be instantly lifted to a higher level and the wine will taste heavenly. Drink a wine that is a wrong match and the food will lose its appeal and the wine will taste like vinegar....
Wine Profile – Jacob's Creek Three Vines Range | 10.11.2008
The latest range from Australian winery Jacob's Creek to be introduced to the Hong Kong market is the Three Vines Range. As the name suggests each of the three wines combines three grape varietals – two classic wellknown varieties in Australia and one European varietal. The blending adding dimension...
A Culinary vacation | 10.11.2008
When the phone beside my bed rang at 7am I awoke wondering what the heck I’d let myself in for. Firstly, I don’t do 7am. Secondly, I can’t cook, which is why I have such extensive experience of restaurants. What on earth, I mused, had I been thinking when I enrolled on the JW Marriot Phuket Resort...
Cultural delicacies, Strange Delights | 10.11.2008
Any global traveler knows that when exploring a foreign country, it helps not to classify any types of food as ‘weird’ or ‘preposterous,’ but rather, go with the flow and try to immerse oneself in the culture by testing local delicacies. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? However, there are a...
Molecular Gastronomy = Haute Cuisine | 10.11.2008
As the culinary world evolves each day, a myriad of chefs continuously attempt to spin their wheels in order to cook up a nouveau food trend. Their willing, epicurean customers delight in trying something new and forbidden that will challenge their senses and prick up their tongues. So it is no wond...
Meet the Owner – Megu’s Hiro Nishida | 10.11.2008
Hiro Nishida is president of Food Scope America Inc, the parent company of hip Japanese restaurant Megu....
Product Profile - FIJI Water | 10.11.2008
It has become accepted wisdom: drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Celebrities and stars swear by it, and models strut along the streets carrying bottled water as the latest accessory....
Airy, Sweet, Satisfying - A Taste of Heaven | 10.11.2008
As a sign of my devotion to the sweet airy confection, on a recent trip to Paris, I devoured a box of 24 macarons from Ladurée in a day! Even for a die-hard macaron fan like me, I find that quite astonishing! What I can’t seem to stop eating is quite different from shredded coconut version of maca...
Global Culinary Trends | 01.11.2008
No more celebrity chefs, no more foam, and the growth of haute barnyard cuisine are just some of the current trends that have been identified by food writers and chefs. WOM takes a brief look at these international trends and how they are impacting Hong Kong diners....