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!