Susan Jung’s Valentine’s Day menu is sure to impress your significant other
It’s Valentine’s Day on Tuesday – a work day, which means there won’t be much time after you get home to prepare a romantic meal for your loved one. But that doesn’t mean it cannot be done. Buy as...
View ArticleOn his first trip to China, Enrico Crippa says being a chef isn’t easy
First impressions? “It’s my first trip to China. We spent three days in Macau and now a few days in Hong Kong. It’s a fast city. Umberto [Bombana] took us to see the wet markets and try the street...
View ArticleA Hongkonger’s love affair with spicy food
There are many places in the world where you might expect someone to fall in love with spicy food, but north Wales isn’t one of them. It is, however, where Stuart Farr went to university – and there he...
View ArticleTête de cuvée, the best of the best champagne
A tête de cuvée is a champagne house’s top drop. It is made from grapes that have been nurtured and cultivated from its best grand cru and premier cru vineyards. It is made only in extraordinary years,...
View ArticleAlimentari, a cookbook inspired by dishes from a Melbourne deli
Alimentari, in Melbourne, Australia, was opened in 1998 by two friends who thought their neighbourhood needed a good continental deli. Dolores (“Dee”) Napolitano (who died in 2010) and Linda Malcolm...
View ArticleEnglish sparkling wines are pushing Champagne off its pedestal
English sparkling wine is now a serious industry player. In 2015, more than five million bottles of sparkling and still wines were produced in the country. Land under vine has doubled in the past 10...
View ArticleA cookbook for domestic helpers – in English and Tagalog
Authors often dedicate their books to someone special: family members, mentors or others in their field who they admire. Frog Michaels dedicated her cookbook, A Helping Hand, to her “wonderful...
View ArticleSusan Jung’s recipes for one: Korean winter warmers
Chigae – a Korean dish that is somewhere between a stew and a soup – is flavourful, warming comfort food, and perfect for solo dining. These two recipes are the ones I make most frequently because...
View ArticleBartender Michito Kaneko talks the award-winning walk
Describe your childhood. “My parents are ceramic artists. They don’t just make plates but also wall art. I grew up on a mountainside in Nara, Japan, where they have a studio. They didn’t expect me to...
View ArticlePinot noir wineries step in and step up as Burgundy prices soar
Local wine lovers remain entranced by Burgundy but a succession of tiny harvests, making already-limited supplies even harder to come by, has driven prices to stratospheric levels. Despite the soft...
View ArticleTraditional Macanese Recipes, with a soupçon of history
You can probably tell by the subtitle of the book, from my auntie Albertina, that Traditional Macanese Recipes is a personal volume by a well-bred lady and not by a bearded hipster chef who overuses...
View ArticleSusan Jung’s recipe for saffron and blood orange cake; and crème brûlée
Many people will be familiar with saffron in savoury dishes, such as risotto Milanese, bouillabaisse and paella. The expensive spice is also delicious in desserts, especially those with a lot of butter...
View ArticleWhat a vegetarian Hongkonger’s pantry looks like
The concept of Green Monday – being vegetarian for one day a week – is now familiar to many Hongkongers, thanks primarily to entrepreneur David Yeung, who co-founded the social enterprise in the city...
View ArticleCelebrity chef Jason Atherton on his three loves – food, fashion and fitness
Describe your childhood. “I grew up in a small seaside town called Skegness, in Lincolnshire, [eastern England] that had a bad reputation for food. But my mum is a good cook. She had a bed and...
View ArticleCookbook: Everything You Want to Know About Chinese Cooking
With the title of the cookbook, Everything You Want to Know About Chinese Cooking, the authors have set expectations very high. Really – everything I want to know? That’s a lot. So, I decided to scour...
View ArticleSusan Jung’s recipes for slow-roasted beef ribs and fresh kimchi salad
I used to think that beef short ribs got their name because they’re ribs that are cut through the bone into short pieces to make dishes such as kalbi or braised beef short ribs cooked with red wine....
View ArticleAqua serves tasty Italian and Japanese – and creative cocktails
Perched on top of One Peking, the spectacular harbour view complements the chic décor. There are cosy tables for two near the windows with booths for groups further back. The menu is Italian and...
View ArticleFrench chef Pierre Gagnaire on teamwork and the chefs he inspired, in Hong...
What are your childhood memories of food? “My father was a good chef. He made good roast chicken and a fantastic tarte tartin that was huge – it could serve 50 guests. He taught me to work hard and be...
View ArticleKorea’s ‘Black Day’ noodle dish and its Chinese roots
On Tuesday, Japan will celebrate White Day, when men give gifts to the women who gave them chocolate on Valentine’s Day, a month earlier. South Koreans celebrate these days, too, but have added a...
View ArticleSusan Jung’s recipe for steamed crabs with soy and garlic dip, and roast duck...
When I was growing up in California, my grandmother, a fantastic cook,would prepare Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch for dozens of people every week. On public holidays, her entire family (six...
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