Sunday, October 26, 2014

Introducing the Sizzle & Fry Show


Just a quick one to say that I'm hosting a brand new web TV show with chef, F&B pro and Empire Media CEO Jason Black, called the Sizzle and Fry Show. The show looks at issues in the F&B industry in Hong Kong, from reviewer's ethics, the point of organic certification, to staff shortages and more. We have some fun bits like prank calls, cooking and "Up Close and Personal" chats with HK's top chefs too. It's not like most F&B shows where people eat stuff and say "Mmm, yum!" because you need pretty models to do that, and I'm clearly not a pretty model.

Here's the first episode on reviews and reviewers, where we have Adele Wong (HK Magazine), Johannes Pong (fabulous freelance reviewer & more), Susan Jung (SCMP) and Kelvin Ho (HK Epicurus blog) answer our questions about how they review, what it's like in HK and how they think it should be done. One of my favourite topics as you might have noticed.

You'll find the rest of the episodes (full shows) on Empire Media's website or on the Youtube channel. You can also keep up to date with new uploads (every Thursday) and other news on the Facebook Page. Feel free to comment and send us feedback!

A HUGE thank you to wonderful ethical, sustainable clothing e-retailer A Boy Named Sue for my amazing outfits and Hollywood Hair for my hair and make-up!

Carbone - Old School Birthday Feast

Veal parmesan at Carbone
The jetsetters among you will know that Carbone is a cult New York restaurant. There, it's had mixed reviews, and when I tweeted about it opening in Hong Kong, I immediately got replies about how expensive it's perceived to be. Plus, I've learned to be wary of "big name" restaurant imports into HK these days, so I didn't expect much of Carbone, until some trusty pals went to check it out - in general they had pretty good things to say, so I put it on my to-try list.

Thursday, October 09, 2014

Tokyo notes - Buying and tasting whisk(e)y

Ichiro's Malt Chichibu French Oak Single Cask #2357 (photo from Isetan blog)
Just a super quick post to remind myself (and to share with you) to always visit the alcohol section in the basement of Isetan Department Store in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The main reason, aside from its rather reasonable selection of wines (reasonably priced if you compare them to HK, but then again, HK is ridic), is the whisk(e)y selection and tasting bar. Yes, a bar in a department store.