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!

Chanel's Coco Cafe in Hong Kong

The facade of the Coco Cafe pop-up shop in
Causeway Bay in Hong Kong

Chanel had a pop-up event in Hong Kong from June 10-25, 2017. During the event, a coffee shop known as Coffee Academics in Causeway Bay was transformed into Coco Cafe by Chanel.

The bright pink signage on the entrance door

I had a chance to check-out the cafe which had a fun and chic vibe. The facade of the cafe is very Chanel since it makes use of the signature black and white color combination that the brand is known for which used for its brand shopping bags and packaging. 

The shop's facade is certainly eye catching as it
used the signature black and white colour
combination that Chanel is known for .

The combination of having a cafe and beauty stuff from Chanel is simply cool.  They have made a pop-up a cafe where women can have their Chanel beauty products and have their dessert too. 

Perfume inspired juice flavors and pretty mini cakes
were served at Coco Cafe

The Coco Cafe by Chanel offered visitors a place where they can have a cup of coffee and even have pretty mini cakes while they checkout new lip colours  from Chanel's Rouge Coco gloss product range. Make-over sessions using Chanel's fabulous make-up products also enticed visitors to try and buy beauty products. Striking nail polish colours were also available at the nail bar.

Chanel Rouge Coco Gloss products

Chanel is definitely known for high quality beauty products. I like their beauty products so I ended up buying some nail polish, Chanel Rouge Coco gloss products and some face powder. 

Hope to see another fun and chic Chanel event again soon. Cheers!

Belle de Jour Exhibit in Hong Kong

I appreciate looking at artistic and wonderful photographs that captures certain emotions or conveys a certain message. During my most recent trip to Hong Kong this month, I was able to go to the exhibit dubbed as Belle de Jour which was held at YELLOWKORNER Hollywood Rd and PMQ galleries in Hong Kong.

Belle de Jour in English means "beautiful by day" and may also refer to a a beautiful woman or a beauty of the day. With beautiful women as main focus for the exhibit, YELLOWKORNER and the French Embassy in Hong Kong collaborated and featured interesting photos of women which were captured by famous French photographers.

Below are some of the wonderful photographs that I saw at the exhibit:

Love Me Sweet

This photo by Michel Haddi shows iconic model  Kate Moss
 when she was barely 17 years old. This is one of the best-
selling photos from the Fashion photos being sold by
YELLOWKORNER.

Sunrise I
by Sime Eskinja

The photographs are displayed on a white brick wall and it makes it easy for customers to visualize them when they are turned into a photo wall at one's home or living space.

The big photo showing 3 women doing handstands  is a
photo taken by Juliette Jourdain entitled
"The Wonders Anne".

Seeing striking photos in black and white with outstanding composition is simply inspiring. I appreciate looking at photo walls. In my own home I have photo walls featuring selected photos taken by well-known photographer Richard Avedon. My brother is artistic and is really good with home interiors that he has curated the photos for my door entrance welcome wall and my bedroom wall.

I feel blessed that I was able to see the Belle de Jour exhibit since it gave me ideas on what are the possible images I can put for my next home in the future. Cheers!

Tsuta Ramen: The World's First Michelin Starred Ramen Shop from Tokyo

One of the things I truly enjoy when I travel is having the chance to try new restaurants. During my recent trip to Hong Kong this month, I was able to try a new restaurant in Causeway Bay area called Tsuta.

Tsuta's best-selling ramen dish 
is the Ajitama Char Siu  Shoyu Soba

Tsuta was founded by Master Chef Onishi Yuki in Tokyo, Japan in 2012. He believes that ramen is the noodle dish that Japan can truly boast of globally and he was right since his ramen shop has become known and it currently has branches outside Japan. 

Tsuta is now present in countries such as Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Apart from this, Tsuta ramen shop was also awarded a Michelin star in 2015. Thus, it simply offers high quality and delicious ramen that serious foodies and culinary enthusiasts truly appreciate.

Unlike other ramen restaurants, Tsuta has certainly elevated traditional ramen by adding truffle pureed in truffle oil in their ramen dishes. The soup stock that they use is also MSG free and makes use of whole chickens, fresh clams, dried fish and herbs. One thing that you will notice when you taste the soup of the ramen is that it is light and it is not too salty. Their ramen soup broth seems to be a lighter and healthier version compared to the ramen soup broth of other restaurants.

The Hong Kong branch of Tsuta features an open kitchen with ramen bar set-up that can accommodate 20 customers. The ramen shop can be found easily since it is on a street located near Times Square Mall in Causeway Bay area. If you have been to Jamie Oliver's restaurant in Causeway Bay, it is located on the same street as Jamie's restaurant on a street called Tang Lung Street. 

I ordered the best-selling ramen dish which is the Ajitama Char Siu  Shoyu Soba. I was lucky that the seat they gave me was  in the middle of the bar and I was able to see how my ramen was carefully prepared by the staff. I noticed how the char siu was cut in perfectly thin slices and how they place only 3 bowls on the counter each time they prepare the orders. A big ladle is used to put the soup in the bowl, then the soba noodles, bamboo shoot, leeks and the black truffle pureed with truffle oil is placed last in the dish preparation and is placed on top of one of the char siu slices.

Trained by Tsuta's Japanese chef and owner, the
staff  prepare the ramen orders the same way
orders are prepared for customers in Tokyo

Truffle puree in truffle oil is placed on top of the char siu 
as a final touch prior to serving the ramen dish
 to  customers

Ajitama Char Siu  Shoyu Soba

This is the house special and best-seller and includes
4 slices of char siu, flavoured egg, bamboo shoot, 
leeks and truffle pureed in truffle oil.

What I like about Tsuta ramen is that it is different, light and is a level-up version of ramen since it has truffle pureed in truffle oil. It is a must-try ramen lovers and it is also a good alternative to traditional type of soup noodle dishes that can be found in Hong Kong. it is also affordable and provides good value for money as their best-seller ramen is priced at HKD149, which is also the same amount that you will shell out for a typical lunch or dinner meal in Hong Kong.

Below is a video from youtube website featuring the founder of Tsuta Ramen, Chef Onishi Yuki.

Tsuta is definitely one of the best ramen noodle dishes that I have tried. The good news is that Foodee Global Concepts, the Philippine owned company that brought in Tim Ho Wan to Manila will also be bringing Tsuta in Manila soon.  It is definitely something to look forward to in the food scene in Manila. Cheers!

Pingpong Diplomacy: An Unconventional Take on Chinese Cuisine

Pingpong Diplomacy's paddle-covered blue wall
becomes a focal point for customers at
 the quirky American-Chinese restaurant

Pingpong Diplomacy, a new American-Chinese restaurant that opened recently at SM Aura mall in BGC, is from the same group that owns Digital Walker.

The restaurant's name was inspired by the 1970s exchange of table tennis players between the U.S. and China. The interiors of modern restaurant is quite quirky and unique. One will surely notice the paddle covered blue wall in the restaurant. It kind of brings back memories of Forrest Gump and his love for playing table tennis.

The photo wall at Pingpong Diplomacy

 The bar near the entrance for customers who prefer
to casually dine and drink with friends

The dining area at Pingpong Diplomacy

The restaurant's menu is quite interesting as most dishes are unique or fusion type dishes. The waiter brought me a menu and a separate reference that contains the photos of the dishes. Honestly, I prefer menus with visual pegs especially for menus that are quite unfamiliar.

My American friend and I wanted to try different dishes and a dessert. We also wanted to pair our food with some hot tea but  we found it a bit strange that they did not have some hot tea available that time. 

Below are some of the dishes that we tried.

Truffled Mushroom Edamame Shumai

Crispy eggplant

Noodles with chicken

Fortune balls which includes taro, ginger and black
sesame mochi with a sesame crumble and pistachio cream

From the four dishes we ordered, we liked the Truffled Mushroom Edamame Shumai and the Crispy Eggpant. We both found the noodles to be a healthier version of the traditional Chinese style noodles since it was not as oily as the usual noodle dishes that other restaurants offer. The Fortune Balls dessert, which was created by Chef Miko Aspiras, was quite light and had just the right sweetness since we both preferred desserts that are not too sweet. 

Pingpong Diplomacy is a nice place to visit with a group of friends or with family since the interiors are quite interesting and Instagrammable. Plus, they offer a fusion of flavours and unique dishes that are worth trying. Cheers!