Christmas Wishes and Snoopy in Hong Kong

I visited Hong Kong with my brother a couple of weeks ago and it was a good experience since the weather was cool and there are so many Christmas themed displays when you go around.

The malls with nice Christmas displays are The Landmark mall in Central and Times Square in Causeway Bay.

Christmas-themed display at the Landmark Hong Kong 

The Landmark's Christmas display is prominently located in the ground floor area and it featured a combination of moving dolls and animals. The Landmark also has a partnership with Make-a-Wish foundation since they also have a Wishing Machine where shoppers get to make a wish and a donation is made by Landmark to Make-A-Wish. 

Below are some photos of the Landmark Christmas themed display:

Christmas display at the Landmark Hong Kong
is prominently located at the ground floor

There are moving dolls also hanging and moving from
 the ceiling such as a doll riding on a paper boat 

A cute doll sits on an origami-inspired bird

Moving dolls representing different kids globally
 are found in the huge village type structure

Wishing Machine

Shoppers can share a wish with Santa Paws(the bear Santa)
and for a child in need. The Landmark donates HKD20 to
Make-A-Wish for every wish collected in the machine.

At Times Square mall the theme is a Snoopy Christmas. Since Snoopy is one of the most well-known cartoon characters  the display attracted both kids and adults. Below are some of the displays featured.

Snoopy and the Peanuts gang are displayed
outside Times Square mall in Hong Kong

Snoopy and the Christmas tree

This is one of the favorite spots that people go
to take photos

Snoopy and Woodstock 

A big version of Snoopy holding
multiple Woodstock characters

A big Snoopy and Woodstock display
hanging inside the middle area
of Times Square mall

A wonderful  lighted version of  Snoopy
displayed in a dark room

The cute Christmas-themed displays add a spirit of fun as mall visitors end up viewing the displays and end up taking various photos of themselves, friends and family members  with the displays as background. 

Merry Christmas!

The Book of Joy: Learnings from the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

“The Book of Joy” by the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, shares about teachings on how to cultivate joy in life.  The two authors are well known spiritual leaders and are both Nobel Peace Prize recipients.

source: amazon.com 

It was mentioned in the book that suffering is a core aspect of human life and that pain and suffering can actually be fruitful and constructive. An example that was given is childbirth, since every mother knows how painful it is but mothers accept the pain necessary because of the tremendous joy that a new child brings.

In life, people sometimes experience suffering that is beyond their control and one always has a choice on how to respond. Just like building our body’s immunity to sickness by being healthy, one also needs to build mental immunity. In order to build mental immunity, it is important to understand that fear and frustration are facets of the mind, not of reality. Thus, one should not have them control one’s life and one can opt to find joy in any situation.

One occasion mentioned that was unexpected was when the Dalai Lama had a canceled flight and he had to make a six-hour long journey to the next closest airport with filmmaker Peggy Callahan. Instead of getting frustrated with the situation, they just made the road trip more enjoyable by sharing funny travel stories along the way.

The book also featured the importance of the 8 Pillars of Joy:

          (1) Perspective 

•       It is important to observe circumstances through a wider lens and realize that any given moment cannot last forever.
•     It is good to sharpen one’s focus on the present and bring joy and hope in one’s life.

    (2) Humility

•     One must not view oneself as more superior than others.

An example given is how the Dalai Lama used to get nervous when he was a young man since he viewed himself as above his audience before when he was providing spiritual teaching. Today, he just sees himself as just another person and this dissipates his anxiety when he teaches others and makes his experience more relatable.

(3) Humor

•       Humor and acceptance can defuse tense situations and set you at ease.

An example given was how Desmond Tutu was able to use humor to speak to two warring ethnic groups. He told a fictional story about a place where the big-nosed people discriminated against the small-nosed people. Apart from making the audience laugh, Tutu was able to make them understand the absurdity of prejudice.

(4) Acceptance

•     One must accept that life has its hard moments and most of which one does not have control over.

(5) Gratitude

•    Gratitude as a virtue is to take nothing for granted and to be thankful for everything that you have and all that you have experienced.

(6)  Forgiveness

•       Forgiveness lets one move on from the past and enjoy the present.

     (7) Compassionate concern

•        Being compassionate fills the heart with joy and can grow one’s happiness.

(8) Spending time on others’ happiness

•     One can become happy by helping others feel happy.

    For pillars 7 and 8, an example given is an act of altruism by James Doty, the founder of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University. He earned his fortune as a medical technology entrepreneur, donated USD 30 Million to a charity and opted not to follow the advise of his lawyers to withdraw his charitable donations when he lost all his wealth in a stock market crash since it made him happy to help others.

The book teaches us that suffering is part of life and that cultivating joy is possible even if we encounter challenges. By having a better perspective of a situation, having humility, humor and gratitude, accepting situations that are beyond our control, being able to forgive and responding with compassion and generosity to others, we can achieve true happiness.

Louis Vuitton Island Maison

Louis Vuitton Island Maison

A floating glass pavillion structure located on the waters of
Marina Bay in Singapore

The Louis Vuitton Island Maison store located on the waters of Marina Bay in Singapore is truly a stunning structure especially at night when the light illuminates from the glass structure. The store is the world’s largest Louis Vuitton boutique outside of the flagship store in Champs-Elysee in Paris.

The LV Island Maison was a design collaboration by architect Moshe Safdie, who created the structure  and designer Peter Marino, who created the interiors. The glass pavilion is a  25,000 square foot  structure and the panels were surfaced with UV resistant membrane skin to protect the luxury goods on display inside from the sun’s harmful rays.

The store’s interiors is nautical-inspired and is apt for the brand’s association with travel and the store’s location on the waters of Marina Bay. The store has three floors. The ground floor is usually used for exhibits and art events, the second floor features the bags, shoes, and clothes and the third features the luggage, books and a relaxing viewing deck similar to a viewing deck of a yacht.

Below are some of the things we saw during a visit at the store last month:

Fondation Louis Vuitton scale model
and books are displayed on the first
floor area

LV clothes and shoes on
display at the first
floor area

LV trunk and clothes 

LV leather hammock

LV  personalized luggage tag samples and luggage  items
are found on the third floor

Lounge area at the  viewing deck on  the
third floor

A view of Fullerton hotel from
the LV viewing deck

A view of The Esplanade
from the LV viewing deck

Visiting the LV Island Maison store in Singapore is always nice since you get to see the latest fashion items from LV, books on art and travel and one can also enjoy seeing Singapore's well-known structures from the relaxing viewing deck.

Pizzeria Mozza Revisited

source: singapore.pizzeriamozza.com 

I was able to have a fun get together dinner with friends at Pizzeria Mozza in Marina Bay Sands Mall, Singapore a couple of weeks ago. 

Pizzeria Mozza is one of my favourite casual restaurants in Singapore since it serves good Italian food and it was really nice that I was able to revisit it. 

The pizza is the must-try dish at the restaurant since it makes use of a recipe uniquely created by Chef Nancy Silverton.

Chef Nancy Silverton

source: netflix.com

Nancy Silverton, co-owner of Pizzeria Mozza and one of the chef's featured in Netflix's Chef's Table. I remember watching the episode  a few months ago and I was certainly impressed on how she created her own pizza recipe. 

Nancy shared before that she has a two-fold inspiration for her pizza recipe. One inspiration was when she tried Chris Bianco's pizza at Pizzeria Bianco in Arizona  and her second inspiration was when she tried a Pizza Bianca at a bakery in Piazza Campo di Fiori  in Rome. She liked the puffy, tender and crispy pizzas that she tried in these places and was inspired to create her own recipe. She tweaked a bread recipe she made for La Brea before to make her own pizza recipe.

PIzzas are freshly made and cooked in ovens
near the bar area.

For our dinner, we had the following dishes:

Nancy's Chopped Salad

A mixture of raddichio, cherry tomatoes, sesame, aged
provolone and pepperoncini

Prosciutto di Parma & Mozzarella Bufala

Margherita Pizza

Mozzarella , tomatoes and basil

The pizza at Pizzeria Mozza is still our favourite dish. We liked the crispy crust that had the right thickness and made use of flavourful and fresh ingredients. Our dinner at Pizzeria Mozza was simply deliciozo!

Trying Different Flavours at Made Nice Supper Club

The entrance and  facade of Made Nice Supper Club 

I had a group dinner with my brother and friends a few days ago at a new restaurant called Made Nice Supper Club. The restaurant is located on Esteban street in Legaspi village, Makati City. 

The restaurant was established through a collaboration of five young and creative chefs who are all under 30 years old, have been inspired by working at restaurants abroad and their travels and wanted to introduce new flavours and dishes to Manila's booming food and restaurant scene.

Outside the restaurant a simple black signage that says "MN" can be seen and the interiors are understated yet stylish as it combines mainly elements of wood and glass. The look and feel is a mix of Scandinavian and industrial design and may even make one feel that he or she has been transported to a dining area inspired from a Kinflolk home feature.

A simple Scandanavian inspired table setting at MN

Their menu is quite simple as one can order a starter dish and a main course from a list that comprised of 7 starters and 8 main course dishes.

We were informed by the staff that the Steak, which was good for sharing, is not available for the night so we ended up ordering different dishes.

Each one of us tried different dishes and below are some of  the items that we ordered:

Octopus

The octopus dish had mole, ashitaba and lemon

Crab and Scallop

This starter dish is made using brioche with crab, scallops, lettuce
 and aligue

Bone Marrow

This starter dish is a mix of Tagliolini, reslish and toast. 

Halibut

The main dish is a mix of Halibut, prawns, clams, mussels,
white beans and parmesan.

Dining at MN is quite a good experience. The staff are very service oriented such that they will make sure that they greet you and assist you from the time you enter the restaurant until the time you are dining.

They have an open kitchen where guests can see busy young chefs and kitchen staff preparing each meal like it's a work of art and the dining area is quiet and conducive to having good conversations with friends.

Our friend liked the Crab and Scallop starter which is like a fancy take on a canape. I tried the Bone Marrow starter which is like a ramen dish with Bone Marrow broth which simply has the same taste profile as the local Filipino soup dish known as Bulalo.

The octopus starter dish was also pretty good since it was very tender and flavourful.

I liked my main dish which is the Halibut dish since it has a mix of very interesting flavours. The chefs made use of molecular gastronomy to turn the parmesan cheese into foam version, the white beans were pureed and had complemented the seafood mix of prawns, halibut and mussels.

Since the owners like offering new tastes they will definitely keep on changing the menu every now and then, thus, it is also nice to go back to this place to try other dishes too. Cheers!

PMQ Hong Kong: A Hub for Creative Entrepreneurs

PMQ Hong Kong

During my  most recent visit to Hong Kong, I was able to visit PMQ.

PMQ currently houses a lot of young create-preneurs or Creative Entrepreneurs is located along Aberdeen Street in Central, Hong Kong. It showcases HK’s high quality brands and also features innovative products.

PMQ was built in 1951 as the Police Married Quarters. In 2010, the Hong Kong government decided to preserve the site for creative industry use and operating rights was awarded to PMQ Management Co, Ltd, a non-profit social enterprise which collaborated with Hong Kong Design Centre, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Hong Kong Design Institute of the Vocational Training Council.

PMQ helps promote creativity in the community and provides a venue where create-preneurs can showcase and sell their products. The place includes different restaurants and shops. Special events are also held in PMQ since they are promoting it as a place for creative lifestyle experiences.

Below are some of the shops and finds at PMQ:

Goods of Desire store carries interesting
products which are made in HK

Found Muji store in PMQ
carries products which are different
from the regular Muji stores

The theme for Found Muji was on Germany.
They carried products such as German beer
mugs made by artisans from communities.

Packaged teas in quirky designed packages
were being sold in one of the stores

Tea leaves  are being sold in
colourful and quirky designed cans

Various bulbs are also being sold in one of the stores at PMQ

During my visit at PMQ I also noticed a display of stylish chairs made by well-known designers.

Chairs made by designers such as Prouve, Wegner
and Eames were displayed at PMQ.

Wishbone chair by Wegner

PMQ is an interesting place to explore as it houses products that can be used for homes and some are fashion items that are created by local artists. It also hosts different art and design related events that attract both locals and tourists.

Going Greek at Souv

I recently tried the new Greek restaurant by Cyma group called SOUV. The restaurant is located on the ground floor of Net Park building in BGC and is a few steps away from Green Pastures which is also under the same restaurant group run by Chef Robby Goco.

Souv by Cyma is a casual restaurant that serves good tasting and freshly prepared Greek dishes.

During my visit I tried the grilled Beef Kalamaki with two salads. Usually the options for the beef dish pairing is either fries of oven baked potatoes but since I wanted salad with my meat I requested the waitress to replace the potatoes with a Spring salad instead. I also tried their Greek Frozen Yoghurt for dessert which was nice and not too sweet.

Grilled Beef Kalamaki with parsley salad and
Greek Spring Salad

Orange saffron Greek Frozen Yoghurt

This dessert is not on the menu but was recommended
by the waitress since it is one of their best-sellers

Since Souv is relatively new and a lot of people have been going there it is best to go there during off peak hours like past 2PM on a weekday for a late lunch or go for an early dinner during weekdays or weekends.

I have yet to try the other interesting dishes in the menu but I would probably go there with a group of friends so that we can also try the dishes that are good for sharing. 

Madrid Fusion Manila 2017

I attended the Madrid Fusion event in Manila last April at SMX in Manila. The event featured various local and international culinary chefs and food products. Some of the chefs who presented in the culinary congress included chefs from the Top 50 Restaurants list by San Pellegrino.

Below is a video teaser used for promoting the Madrid Fusion Manila event.

This year the overall theme for the culinary event is “Towards a Sustainable Gastronomy Planet", which is truly relevant since a lot of renowned chefs around the world are also working towards sustainability today by using local ingredients for their dishes and some are also working with farmers to ensure sustainability.

I was able to talk to third generation farmers, who are mainly millenial farmers, during the event and it is actually good to know that they are very much involved in helping their families grow their farm business by tapping various restaurants, using social media to promote their businesses and tap into into consumers and farm-to-table restaurants. Below are some of the produce that these farms currently offer.

An interesting part of the event apart from doing tasting of wines, chorizo, jamon and other products from the event exhibitors is watching the live cooking demo of the chefs from Terry's  restaurant who taught visitors to make Paella Negra, one of their top sellers.

Terry's chef gives step-by-step tips on how to
cook Paella Negra the Terry's way

Terry's Paella Negra with prawns and squid ink

Other products in the event included artisanal chocolates and local liquor products which can be used for culinary dishes.

CMV artisanal chocolates

CMV artisanal chocolates for corporate gifts

Intramuros coffe liquor can be used with ice cream

It is also interesting to see that Filipino chefs like Margarita Fores are very active in the event and have become ambassadors in promoting Filipino dishes globally. The chefs have been busy innovating to create new dishes using local ingredients. Below is the video of the ambassadors for the event.

With Madrid Fusion Manila, the Philippines is able to showcase the innovative dishes and ingredients that Filipinos can produce. It is certainly a good way of promoting our food products and show the creativity of Filipinos too. Cheers!