Tasting the Flavours of Thailand at Mak Mak and Chachawan Hong Kong

During my trip to Hong Kong last month, my brother brought me to two Thai restaurants owned by the JIA Group, the same company that manages good restaurants that foodies like such as 22 Ships, Ham and Sherry and Duddell's. 

One restaurant is called "Mak Mak" located at the upscale Landmark Atrium mall and the other one is "Chachawan" located on Hollywood Road.

The two restaurants are different since they offer different menus. Mak Mak offers dishes from Central Thailand which is a mixture of sweet, sour an spicy while Chachawan offers Northern Thai dishes inspired by street food from the Isaan region which is a combination of sour, salty and spicy flavours.

Mak Mak's restaurant facade was inspired from a traditional Thai grocery store. Various Thai products such as coconut milk in cans, fish sauce in bottles, etc. were displayed on the shelves. What is interesting about this restaurant is the secret door on the right side that functions as an enclosure with product shelf. The restaurant staff opens the secret door for customers and brings them to the cozy and dimly lit dining area.

We tried several dishes at Mak Mak which included some of our staple Thai dish orders such as Pomelo Prawn Salad, Tom Yum Goong and Pad Thai.

Pomelo Prawn Salad

Tom Yum Goong soup

An order of the Tom Yum Goong Soup is good
for 2 to 3 people

Chicken Wrapped in Pandan Leaves

Pad Thai

Stri fry brocolli leaves

Omelet with pork

Condiments on the table for adding more spice, sweetness
 or salty flavour from fish sauce

 We opted to go to Chachawan for lunch a few days after we had our dinner at Mak Mak.

Chachawan facade

We had the flattened, grilled chicken thighs on stick which is juicy, tender and simply delicious. We also had some veggie dishes that we paired with fresh and sweet Thai coconut juice.

Gai Yung(Grilled  chicken thigh with sweet and
 spicy Thai sauce)

Stir fried morning glory

Som Dtum (green papaya salad) and fresh young
Thai coconut juice

If you prefer to have more street food type Thai food in that is affordable it would be good to try Chachawan. They also have  a bar that serves various drinks and cocktails which would go well with the spicy dishes they offer.

If you like a more relaxed ambience and quiet dinner while enjoying Thai dishes then Mak Mak is a good option. Plus, it is located at the Landmark Atrium and is also near the shopping area on Queen's road so it is quite convenient to go there.

Next time I'm in Hong Kong I will probably go back to Chachawan for dinner and drinks with friends. Their lunch menu is not as extensive as their dinner menu and it would be good to try their other dishes too. Cheers! 

The Little Prince Movie and Exhibit in Hong Kong

I was able to watch The Little Prince movie with my brother at Pacific Place mall in Hong Kong last month.

The Little Prince movie is based on the internationally renowned novel entitled “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. 

The film version is not a straight adaptation of the novel as the film depicts a more modern approach since the story revolves around a little girl with an overbearing mother who made a life plan and imposed a very strict study schedule during the summer in order to ensure that the little girl passes the exam and gets enrolled at the prestigious Werth Academy school.

Since the little girl and her mom moved to a new home to be near Werth Academy, she ended up befriending her elderly neighbor who tells her about the story of The Little Prince since he is the same aviator narrator who had encountered the little prince in the desert  before.

The film was able to include the important parts of the story from the novel with the scenes showing the elderly aviator sharing his story to the little girl about the little prince and the scenes showing the little girl going on an adventure to search for the little prince by taking the aviator’s plane and landing on an asteroid. The little girl encountered the little prince and other characters from the book.

Here's the movie trailer from The Little Prince movie:

Aside from watching the movie, I was able to see The Little Prince exhibit at Pacific Place mall too. 

 Below are photos of some of the interesting displays at the exhibit.

The Little Prince

The fox, the rose and the Little Prince

The Businessman

The Lamplighter

The Geograph

The King

One of the key learnings from The Little Prince is a quote that says "All grown-ups were once children...but only a few of them remember it." This reminds us that even as adults we must not forget or lose sight of the sense of innocence and imagination of a child. It is important to have a sense of wonder about the world and to continue to learn. 

In the movie, the narrator mentioned that the drawing of a hat like figure is far more than that since it is actually a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. It is a simple example  that shows us the importance of having a child-like imagination changes how we see things in life.

The figure shows a boa constrictor digesting an elephant

Although the film is animated and may seem a movie for children, The Little Prince is definitely a story that adults can relate to given the different learnings that one can get from watching it.

Bread Street Kitchen & Bar Hong Kong

Hong Kong is known to be one of the places where one can find restaurants owned by internationally famous chefs.

During my visit to Hong Kong during Christmas I was able to try Gordon Ramsay's restaurant called Bread Street Kitchen and Bar which is located at the Mezzanine floor of the LKF Hotel on Wyndham Street in Hong Kong's Lan Kwai Fong area.

Gordon Ramsay is a multi-Michelin starred chef, cook book author and host of popular cooking television shows such as Hell's Kitchen, Master Chef and Master Chef Junior. He also leads his restaurant group which has a total of 30 restaurants globally and 6 Michelin stars.

Gordon Ramsay


Source: www.gordonramsay.com

The interiors of the casual restaurant is a mix of vintage and modern decor. It is dimly lit and quite a cozy place to hangout for a weekend lunch or for dinner and drinks with family and friends.

Bread Street Kitchen & Bar offers a British-European menu which includes dishes from its London counterpart.

My brother and I opted to have an early dinner and we tried different dishes.

Honey glazed beef short ribs with scalions, sesame
 seeds and pomegranate

Seared octopus with aubergine puree, lime and
mustard dressing. This is one of the dishes that
Gordon Ramsay recommends from the menu.

Grilled pork chop

Since the serving portions at Bread Street is not as big as other bar-restaurants, it would be good to order several dishes if you are eating there with a group of friends.

To know more about Bread Street Kitchen & Bar Hong Kong, you can check out their website: Bread Street Kitchen HK.

Awesome Christmas in Hong Kong

I feel blessed. One of the awesome Christmas gifts that my brother gave me this Christmas is a trip to Hong Kong.

View of Hong Kong from Angelina's Cafe at IFC mall

Spending time in Hong Kong during December is always nice since the weather is cool. During my visit the temperature ranged from 17 to 21 degrees Celsius. Walking is certainly more enjoyable and seeing a lot of Christmas displays just adds to the happy holiday vibe as I went around in Hong Kong.

I was able to see the wonderful Christmas themed displays at the Landmark and Elements mall.

The Landmark mall featured a lot of cuddly bears in action that both kids and kids at heart enjoyed seeing. The display showed bears moving around. The bear riding inside a boat that goes around from the ceiling is really eye-catching.

Bears dressed in Santa outfits dancing was entertaining to watch

Bear on  a boat moves around from the ceilling

Video showing the bears and a booth for Christmas wishes at the Landmark

The Elements mall located at the Kowloon side featured 100 Kouklitas (which means dolls in Greek) Christmas dolls made by Fashion Designer and Illustrator, Andrew Yang, who is known for his past collaborations with Barney's and Nick Knight Studios. 

Seeing the Christmas displays in the malls in Hong Kong and families taking photos with the displays on the background just shows us that simple family time and taking a few minutes to watch Christmas themed moving displays brings back a lot of happy childhood memories. 
Hong Kong holds a special place in my heart since it was the first international destination out of my home country that I have visited with my dad and brothers when I was a kid. Cheers!