Sichuan jasmine

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For the last couple of years, Mr. Chichi has been hell bent on getting me to eat spicy food with him, despite having been told that my tolerance level for heat is not very high. I've flat out turned down invitations to Hunanese cuisine, even though they were invitations from restaurants and I wouldn't have to pay. I kinda pushed my limits last month at Chef 1996 Restaurant (1996川菜•主厨餐厅) in Beijing, and I know that meal made Foursheets pretty happy. So when Mr. Chichi extended an invitation to Deng G (鄧記), I relayed it to wifey... who promptly said 'Yes'. Having tasted Chef Deng's cuisine a few times over the years, I know that his style isn't all about red chili oil, so I figured I could do it.

The only problem is that the original location in Wanchai closed, and we now have to cross the harbor to the remaining outlet in K11 MUSEA. Travel distance aside, I really hate dining inside this mall - because the whole place reeks of that fake vanilla scent that's pumped throught the entire complex. Not only does it interfere with the food, it also kills any decent wine I bring to my meals. So I very, very rarely willingly go and dine in any establishments there. But I now have to do it for Foursheets.

Well... these digs are certainly a lot more grand than the old shop, and since our host is a VIP, we got ourselves a private room with harbor views. Foursheets even thought that the fake vanilla scent in the mall wasn't as bad as she remembered...

...but unfortunately, vanilla has been replaced with jasmine, which was pumped into our room mere moments after I sat down. Is that better? Perhaps, since jasmine tea is at least part of Chinese cuisine while vanilla isn't really used much. But the periodic spray into the room did annoy me, especially since there were a couple of bottles of wine on the table.

As always, Chef Deng Huadong (邓华东) put together a special menu for the VIP, and unfortunately it included one of my dietary restrictions. Sigh.

Once again, we started with Deng G six appetizer combination (鄧記六小碟):

Spicy seafood medley (鮮椒海鮮匯)

No snake no problem

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It's our annual team dinner tonight, and for a number of reasons I decided that Man Ho (萬豪金殿) would be the most suitable location. I've always enjoyed Jayson Tang (鄧家濠)'s creations, and truth be told, it's been too long since I last showed him some love. So I was pretty happy to ask him to put together a menu based on our budget.

I was pretty happy to see that we would be served mostly dishes I've never has before, which involves Jayson pushing the boundaries of Cantonese cuisine as he adds flavors which aren't considered "traditional" or "classic". I'm always happy to see chefs doing this, as long as they're not being flippant - or "taking a piss", as the Brits would say.

We had an amuse bouche to start, featuring a little abalone with pickled cucumber, and a sweet gelée that tasted of five-spice (五香).

Next came a trio of chef's specialties (萬豪金殿獻萃):

A night with raw shellfish

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A well-known foodie who happens to be a compatriot of mine is eating her way through town, and DaRC had originally invited me to join them for dinner tomorrow at my favorite private dining facility. Unfortunately I had to schedule a team dinner for tomorrow, so DaRC very kindly made room for me at Yong Fu (甬府) tonight. I know that the restaurant is launching the spring banquet later this week, and I was secretly hoping that some of those dishes would show up tonight...

It's been some time since I last saw Ms. Yu, and when I arrived she was already in the room along with Chef Liu chatting with our guest of honor. I sneaked a peek at the menu, and it was obvious that I hadn't tasted most of these dishes. Yay!

I love these snacks! Mahua (麻花) is something I loved since childhood, and the other puffed rice cracker kinda reminds me of hineriage (ひねり揚げ), or kali-kali (卡哩卡哩) as they're called in Taiwan. I couldn't stop eating these throughout dinner, despite all the delicious dishes we had in front of us.

Chiuchow classics

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We have a visitor in town who wanted a meal that wasn't Cantonese, so The Great One asked RAW Yeah to pick a place for Chiuchow cuisine. I had never heard of Chiu Ka Banquet (潮家宴) before, but it's just walking distance from my office, so that worked out well.

As I approached the door of the building, I saw a light box out front advertising the name of the restaurant. As it turns out, the restaurant is inside the clubhouse of the Hong Kong Chinese Importers' and Exporters' Association (香港中華出入口商會). The powers that be had, probably years ago, decided to shorten this to 中出商會... so naturally the club is called 中出會所. Well... anyone who has remotely had any exposure to Japanese AV would know what 中出し means...

L'Ami du vin

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After a year of inactivity, MNSC is playing catch up this year. So for the second week in a row, the boys gathered over dinner to blind taste a few bottles. We haven't seen much of Dr. Poon since the onset of the pandemic, so it was good of him to be hosting tonight. Knowing his close connection to Sébastien Allano, it's not surprising that he chose Ami as the venue.

It is perhaps surprising to myself that I have yet to visit the restaurant despite it having opened some four years ago. I dined at Épure several times, and enjoyed Nicholas Boutin's cuisine. After handing over the reins of Épure and setting up Ami, though, he somehow fell off my radar... as friends I dine out with don't seem to mention the place. This would be a good time to redress the situation.

We were, naturally, seated in the private dining area. Unfortunately, the soundproofing was practically non-existent, so the diners outside were probably still subject to our conversations...

I was a little hungry, so the sourdough and buckwheat and genmai (玄米) smoked butter was a welcome relief.

Rayas does British

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I was a little bummed about missing the MNSC dinner that Pineapple hosted on Christmas Day. He is a perennial generous host and I was envious of my fellow MNSC members for being able to taste the fantastic wines he opened. But truth the told, these days my priority is to spend more time with the Parental Units, and Christmas is just family time for me. I made the same decision to miss the MNSC dinner for Pineapple's 30th birthday in order to travel to Japan with family.

As we hadn't been holding MNSC tastings for a whole 11 months last year, it was decided we needed to catch up this year... and Lord Rayas took responsibility for hosting one tonight at Roganic. I had forgotten that he likes Simon Rogan's cuisine, but I happy to come back after my second visit to 2.0 a few months ago. Tonight I would get to try some of the dishes I didn't choose from my last visit.

Raw Spanish mackerel, oyster emulsion, pickled kohlrabi and smoked roe - very refreshing, almost a little cheesy.

Beijing trip 2026 day 4: barbecue by the lake

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Our last morning in Beijing, and we still didn't have much of an appetite for breakfast. We did, however, need some caffeine this morning, so we walked around and stopped at CITIC Bookstore (中信书店) next to our hotel. It's a nice little space where one could have coffee and hang out, and there are even books I could read while chillin'.

We checked out of our hotel and brought our luggage to lunch. Our taxi didn't want to make the long loop to the restaurant entrance, so we dragged our suitcase a short distance along the shores of Houhai (后海) to Kaorouji (烤肉季). Having done traditional Pekinese lamb hotpot for our first meal, it is somewhat fitting that our last meal of the trip should be old school lamb barbecue.

A special room upstairs had been arranged for us, with an adjoining barbecue room affording us a lovely view of both the Drum Tower (钟楼) and Bell Tower (鼓楼).

The real attraction, though, was the big wood fire griddle (炙子) made by welding strips of iron together. The intention is for the fat to drip down the gaps between the iron strips, although I do wonder if that still happens with this particular griddle that reportedly has been in use for some 60 years.

Beijing trip 2026 day 3: no referral

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There was a short and awkward period between the end of our sightseeing and our appointed dinner time. We had planned to park ourselves somewhere for a quick drink, but the bar below the restaurant at Taikoo Li Sanlitun (太古里三里屯) wasn't open yet, so we decided to just show up early to Old Tower for our dinner.

I'm not familiar with the dining scene in Beijing, and I never knew about this restaurant's existence until it came up on our itinerary. Truth be told, I was not familiar Chef Talib Hudda. Well, I have heard of his previous restaurant Refer, because it showed up on Asia's Top 50 Restaurants one year and registered in the back of my mind. I didn't really have an idea what Talib's cuisine is like, and certainly didn't know that his new restaurant is so named because of his nickname in Chinese, but like the rest of this trip... I just follow loh.

We were seated in the "private" area, which was just outside the entrance to the kitchen, and separation with the main dining room was by means of a drawn curtain. This arrangement felt kinda awkward, as staff must pass by our table every time they go in and out of the kitchen, and they also have to navigate the nearly floor-length curtains drawn for privacy.

Well, we did tell Talib that we came early to have a drink, and he very kindly comped us a bottle of bubbly to start...

Krug Grande Cuvée, 173ème Édition, ID 124007 - this has got that classic toasty brioche nose of Grande Cuvée, while the acidity on the palate was on the high side.

Pistachio chips - made with scraps, and meant to be something one can snack on with drinks. A little on the spicy side.

Beijing trip 2026 day 3: 3 ducks with Da Dong

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Another day, another morning with no appetite for breakfast. Knowing we have another big lunch coming up, I decided to give up my search for that jianbing (煎饼) breakkie I have so longed to have.

I've always enjoyed my meals at restaurants bearing the Da Dong (大董) name. While Mr. Dong is famous for his newer style, "crispy not greasy (酥不腻)" roast Peking ducks, it's a style I don't particularly care for. I like my ducks juicy and greasy, and nothing excites me more than seeing the juices run down as a chef slices up a bird. However, I am a BIG fan of his other dishes - from the more traditional Shandong cuisine to even his "creative" work involving molecular gastronomy.

I was really happy that Gastro Esthetics at DaDong (美•大董海参店) was included on our itinerary. It's been too long since my last visit to DaDong, and I still think about the sea cucumber I enjoyed 9 years ago...

Foursheets noticed the Maybach SUV parked right outside the restaurant entrance, but we quickly went upstairs to our private dining room. Chef Dee from Chef 1996 Restaurant (1996川菜•主厨餐厅) was our hostess today, and there was a spread of little snacks for us to enjoy while we waited for everyone to arrive.

The menu at DaDong's restaurants have always seemed like literary works. I still recall the big, à la carte menus looking like traditional Chinese texts, and our custom menu today read like a scroll. The title was Banquet Postlude to Winter (冬趣).

We started with some Champagne. Since I don't have to work today, I don't mind a little light drinking at lunch...

Perrier-Jouët Blanc de Blancs, dégorgée le 31 Juillet 2023 - good acidity balance on the palate.

Finger food: 4 Pekinese snacks (手指餐：北京小吃四款): I guess we got a little extra since I counted 6...

Pickled celtuce cubes (泡莴苣丁) - in chili oil.

Visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites

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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 to see!

Here is the list that I have already visited so far. Click on the links to see pictures from my Google albums.

Total count: 79 sites in 21 countries

Australia
Greater Blue Mountains Area - 1976
Sydney Opera House - 1976

Belgium
The Architectural Works of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement - 2018
Belfries of Belgium and France - 2018
Historic Centre of Brugge - 2018
La Grand-Place, Brussels - 2018
Major Townhouses of the Architect Victor Horta - 2018
Plantin-Moretus House-Workshops-Museum Complex - 2018
Stoclet House - 2018

Cambodia 
Angkor - 2001

Beijing trip 2026 day 2: Sichuan in Beijing

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When I signed up for this trip to Beijing, I knew there would inevitably be meals which showcased northern Chinese cuisine such as Pekinese (京菜) and Shandong (鲁菜). I did not expect a stop at a Sichuanese restaurant to be part of our itinerary. Having said that, I do remember Mr. Chichi posting about Chef 1996 Restaurant (1996川菜•主厨餐厅), so I guess I wasn't too surprised to see this name pop up.

Foursheets and I arrived about half an hour before the appointed time for dinner, and the crowd that had gathered was already bigger than our lunch group today. The Man in White T-shirt Lightly-buzzed Chef (微醺大廚) and Dada had arrived in the city, and we were treated to the sight of him walking around in shorts in freezing temperatures.

The guest of honor tonight was the famed director of the popular TV series A Bite of China (舌尖上的中国) - someone who possesses an incredible amount of knowledge about various Chinese cuisines - and after he arrived, it was time to begin the feast. I didn't realize until later that tonight would include the "feast of the preserved meats", which was why the tonight's menu was inscribed with the title "Winter Sichuan banquet (腊珍宴)". I knew I was in trouble when I saw that the printed menu was 4 pages long... Chef owner Liang Di (梁棣) was really pulling out all the stops for our guest of honor, and Foursheets and I were so lucky to have been the the fly on the wall...

Sichuanese cuisine has categorized 24 different types of flavors (二十四味型), and the menu tonight clearly specified which flavor category each dish belonged to. Each chapter of the menu was also named after specific Song ci (宋詞).

Xing Xiang Zi • Opening (行香子 • 启品)

We were presented with the seasonal produce being used tonight, which we had seen on display while touring the main restaurant earlier.

Beijing trip 2026 day 2: plant-based lunch

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Considerating that I went to bed around 3 a.m. this morning, I definitely woke up too early. I had spent a little time yesterday researching for potential breakfast spots around Conrad Beiing, but I simply had zero appetite this morning. My dream of an authentic jianbing (煎饼) breakfast would have to wait until tomorrow, then...

One of the reasons why I chose our hotel was that it was only a short walk to our lunch venue today - and I would be able to avoid sitting in the notorious Beijing traffic. With the sun being out and it not being a windy day and all, the 20-minute walk to lunch was leisurely and nice. We even passed by one of the breakfast spots I had found on Dianping (大众点评).

I was kinda excited when our tour guide announced Lamdre (兰斋) as our lunch venue for today. Having earned a couple of Michelin stars as well as a place on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, Chef Dai Jun (戴军) must be doing some seriously good plant-based cuisine. Foursheets and I are always happy to explore restaurants that offer fine dining experiences in this genre, and the lighter nature of this meal would be a welcome break from our packed dining schedule.

Since we're in China and it is lunch, Mr. Chichi suggested that we take the restaurant's tea pairing.

Sweet osmanthus Oolong, Anxi (桂花乌龙, 安溪), 1996 - this was pretty nice and elegant. Very soft and very fragrant.

The first course of our tasting menu - entitled Rooted in the Autumn (京归秋根) - came with a trio of bites:

Beijing trip 2026 day 1: back in Strong country

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I'm spending a few days in Beijing, joining an eating tour organized by Mr. Chichi (吃吃君). It's been YEARS since I last went to a decent restaurant in Beijing - 9 years to be exact, and I haven't been back in the city since that short business trip 2 months before the pandemic started. With someone who's in the know doing all the planning, Foursheets and I just needed to tag along with the gang and bring our appetites. Sweet!

We took an evening flight that landed 10ish, and went straight to meet up with the rest of the gang for late supper. Our tour leader initially asked whether we would be up for mutton hotpot, then arranged for a table at Bistro Strong (壮壮酒馆). Having not done any homework ourselves and just blindly following (and trusting) our friend, we didn't realize how interesting this place would be until we arrived with our luggage in tow.

A long table had been set up in the middle of the floor for us, and the boss himself - whose nickname is "Strong Strong (壮壮)" - joined us for our late night feast.

I was so happy to see a plate of kumquats (金桔). These are so clean-tasting, so sweet and refreshing... without the strong acidity that I eschew in some citrus fruits. I had trouble stopping myself and, in the end, pretty much took most the plate.

2026 osechi: part 2

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A pleasant surprise for this new year is the gift of a second osechi (おせち) box, courtesy of Mr. Chichi (吃吃君). I went to pick this up from Sushi Kumogaku (寿し雲隠) today, and I was pretty excited to check out the contents.

2026 osechi: part 1

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It’s New Year’s Day, and we decided to kick off 2026 with some osechi (おせち), the traditional Japanese meal for the new year prepared in advance to be served during the first few days of the year. In the old days, many restaurants are closed during this period, and home cooks also get the chance to have a break, so having a few days’ supply of dishes that can be served without reheating became the way to survive for a few days.

I happened to have some Shangri-La Golden Circle points expiring at the end of 2025, and decided to redeem the points to exchange for the osechi from Nadaman (なだ万). We did this a couple of years ago, and while I don’t know if theirs is the best one in town, one certain can’t go wrong with this option.