Shenzhen with MO day 2: Up the Hill

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Woke up to another beautiful day in Shenzhen, although I didn't get to sleep until very late while watching events unfold in Korea. I finally rolled down (or actually up) to breakfast at Bazaar, the café where guests at the Mandarin Oriental Shenzhen take their morning meal. This is buffet-style but one could also order up some noodles, eggs, or even beef noodle soup for something a little more substantial. I opted for a lighter breakfast so chose none of those.

I was really intrigued by how cheese names are translated in China. Gruyère into "古老也" is a phonetic and slightly funny take, while Emmental being called "大孔芝士" - literally "big hole cheese" had me sideways.

Shenzhen with MO day 1: tapas night

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Believe it or not, after my delicioius lunch earlier today, I actually went to the gym at the Mandarin Oriental Shenzhen for my usual quick run. I can't remember the last time I worked out in a hotel gym while traveling, but it was good to get back to it.

I desperately needed to rehydrate after running, and fortunately the hotel provided me with a bottle of pear with white fungus (银耳雪梨汤), which was very helpful.

After watching the sunset in my room, I headed up to dinner at Tapas 77, with commanding views of the Shenzhen skyline. Chef Ivan Arroyo has had an interesting journey in his culinary career, but now focuses on introducing the local clientele to classic Spanish fare.

Shenzhen with MO day 1: back at The Bay

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On my first trip back to Shenzhen last November, Foursheet and I had a very enjoyable dinner at The Bay by Chef Fei (东湾 - 由辉师傅主理) in the Mandarin Oriental Shenzhen. When an invitation came to spend a couple of days at the hotel, including a meal at the restaurant, I didn't hesitate to say 'YES' once I figured out my travel schedule.

The jouney by car on a weekday morning took just less than 1 hour, and we were greeted by the ladies from the hotel upon arrival. Minutes later I stepped into the Skyline View Suite the hotel had prepared for me, and the view over the city was just fantastic.

After soaking up the calm above the city, it was time to head to The Bay by Chef Fei for our lunch. This time we were placed in one of the private dining rooms and not in the main dining room. A few of the nibbles were already laid out on the table when I arrived.

Six stars in Kowloon

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Chef Sung Anh (안성재) has become a global household name this year, thanks to his part in the Netflix series Culinary Class Wars. Although he was already well-known in the culinary world after opening Mosu in Seoul and receiving 3 Michelin stars, it was only after the airing of the Netflix show that those who don't regularly patronize fine dining establishments became familiar with his name.

Mosu Hong Kong opened in the first half of 2022 while Hong Kong's borders were still closed, and I've had the opportunity to dine there twice - although I've not been back in some time. When it was announced that Chef Sung would be in town for a collaboration with Jimmy Lim of JL Studio - making it "6 stars" in the kitchen - I was pretty excited to see how the menu would look like. I had thought about grabbing a table when booking opened, but hesitated as I was still unsure of my travel plans around this time. Thankfully an invitation came to join a tasting today with other media and "KOLs", and I happily crossed the harbor on a beautiful day for lunch.

I was a little apprehensive about the seating arrangements today, as things didn't work out so well the last time I accepted an invitation to join a tasting at one of restaurants from this group. Thankfully they seated me with the boss man, who got so tired of my company that he started to socialize with guests at other tables...

We started with a few small bites from both kitchen teams:

The welcome drink was a Korean rice wine, with grains of (glutinous?) rice, cinnamon, ginger, and interestingly lemongrass for a touch of Southeast Asia.

Lucky 14

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I haven't seen much of DaRC and Ro Ro this year due to their busy travel schedule, and as we met up for a casual dinner a few weeks ago, we realized there would be limited chances we could see each other for the rest of the year. So they very graciously added me to the guest list for tonight's dinner at my favorite private dining facility, and the group would eventually grow to a party of 14.

Our host arranged the menu with Chef Tak, which are full of the classics that I have become familiar over the years. The highlight, though, would undoubtedly be the snake soup, which is only offered when the reptiles are in season during this cooler part of the year. I was definitely very excited.

1996 Bruno Paillard Assemblage, dégorgée en Janvier 2006, en magnum - the acidity was quite nice on the palate. The wine was starting to show some maturity but still tasted youthful and lively. On the nose there was a little flint, a little sugar cane, and a hint of straw. Overall this was rather elegant.