Barton family winemakers keep fans loyal with quality Bordeaux without the...
Even after almost 300 years in Bordeaux, the Barton family of winemakers is renowned for its international outlook. Lilian Barton-Sartorius, the current and seventh generation owner of the business,...
View ArticleSusan Jung’s favourite comfort food: two easy-to-make recipes with feel-good...
My list of comfort foods is long and includes everything from soondubu chigae to sausages and mashed potatoes to Hainan chicken rice. But when I’m really tired, I crave the food I grew up with. These...
View ArticleUp your biscuit game with The French Cookie Book
This book couldn’t be more different from Dorie’s Cookies, which I reviewed a few weeks ago. “Different” doesn’t mean bad, though, and there’s definitely space on my shelves for both volumes. The...
View ArticleWhat Hong Kong’s top vegetarian restaurateur cooks at home – Peggy Chan’s...
Peggy Chan is the chef and owner of Grassroots Pantry, one of the most progressive plant-based restaurants in Hong Kong. The 30-something has been a vegetarian since her teens, and her home, like her...
View ArticleHow khichdi, mix of lentils and rice, became India’s ‘national dish’, and its...
The question had never been asked before, perhaps because it seemed preposterous; like asking Italians which pasta is the finest; or Germans which sausage best embodies the soul of the country; or...
View ArticleHow Hong Kong bakery hit the big time during the Sars epidemic
From across the street, you can smell it. The warm, buttery aroma of freshly baked bread wafts out of the bakery windows and lingers in the crisp autumn air.“Office workers in the area often follow the...
View ArticleWhat goes into making a great wine
Grapes go through many stages before they become the magical, delicious liquid we know as wine, and decisions made at every step of the winemaking process, including while the fruit is still on the...
View ArticleUmami-rich ragu recipes for cosy winter evenings in Hong Kong
The word ragu brings to mind deeply flavourful sauces that take hours to simmer, reduce and intensify. It doesn’t always have to be that way, though, depending on the ingredients you use. The first...
View ArticleHow to be a good cook: book reveals the four basic factors you need to know...
Samin Nosrat asks us to read Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat (2017) in a certain way.“I recommend that you start by reading it through from beginning to end.” Who does that with a cookbook? Most of the time I...
View ArticleHow scion of top Argentina wine family helped malbec earn its reputation for...
As a child in Argentina, Laura Catena was always on the move, so much so that her grandfather called her “little mouse”. Her passion for science and desire to help people led her to a career in...
View ArticleWhy experimental Hong Kong chef sticks to tradition at home when she cooks...
Vicky Lau is known for her elegant dishes and for experimenting with flavours from around the globe. But Chinese ingredients had never been a focus until her Hong Kong restaurant, Tate Dining Room, in...
View ArticleChoose fresh abalone for an easy-to-prepare seafood treat
When it comes to abalone, most Chinese people think of the expensive dried versions that take hours to soak and braise. The dried stuff is expensive for a reason: to get the size that’s normally sold,...
View ArticleBritish cookbook queen serves up a grand tour of European cuisine
As you would expect of a volume just 256 pages long, Jane Grigson’s Book of European Cookery (1983) does not go into great detail about each country it covers, although the writer, who died in 1990,...
View ArticleHow former US ambassador’s winery survived the California wildfires
What plans do you have for Hong Kong? “Hong Kong has traditionally been a French-oriented market in the category of ultra-premium wines. It’s going to take time for us to build our business here, to...
View ArticleThe evolution of wine: from the rough to the smooth
Tasting wine before it is bottled is an experience that isn’t open to everyone; wineries usually grant only wine professionals, writers and special clients this privilege. Tasters have to look past...
View ArticleLondon chef draws on her Turkish-Cypriot heritage for cookbook
Like many children of immigrants, Selin Kiazim, chef and owner of Oklava restaurant in London, didn’t set out to become a professional cook preparing dishes based on the food of her ancestors. Born in...
View ArticleHow to make fluffy cheese buns using the tangzhong roux technique
This recipe uses a technique that I haven’t written about before: tangzhong. It goes by several other names, such as hot water bread (or water roux bread), Hokkaido or Japanese milk bread and 65 degree...
View ArticleProsperity toss: where the Chinese New Year dish yu sheng comes from
Until recently, when Hongkongers talked about “yu sang” (“raw fish”), they would have meant the Japanese interpretation – sashimi. But these days, around Lunar New Year, the term is also used to refer...
View ArticleHow veteran snake handler overcame his fears to give Hongkongers...
How did you get into the snake meat industry? “In 1948, three years after the second world war, my body was not in a very good condition. I started looking for work but I had asthma and I was so...
View ArticleChinese New Year recipes: traditional radish cake cooks up good luck
Loh bok goh – often called radish cake or pudding, turnip cake or pudding, or carrot cake (mostly in Singapore and Malaysia) – is available year-round, but is especially popular at the start of the...
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