https://www.scmp.com/rss/16549/feed After two decades of noshing in Hong Kong, Mischa Moselle likes to think he knows his way around a plate and a bottle. As his tailor knows, he’ll eat and drink anything but particular favourites are gutsy French and Thai food and well-made wine from anywhere. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Can eating cinnamon help the diabetic control their blood sugar levels or the obese lose weight? The straight answer: one study suggests eating cinnamon can reduce blood sugar levels but there is no evidence it can help with weight loss. The facts: advocates make some powerful claims for the healing powers of the spice cinnamon. It is said to increase sensitivity to insulin and decrease blood sugar levels. Cinnamon is supposed to take more energy to process than other foods, thus boosting the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/2027808/can-cinnamon-have-benefits-diabetics-and-dieters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/2027808/can-cinnamon-have-benefits-diabetics-and-dieters?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Oct 2016 04:01:33 +0000 It’s a story sure to divide the sexes – how much you think it’s now traditional to make a wedding proposal with a diamond ring probably depends on whether you are buying or receiving it. The tradition dates back 130 years, according to the company history of jewellers Tiffany & Co. It was in 1886, in the decade that saw the invention of the electric iron, the ballpoint pen, the dishwasher and Coca-Cola, that Charles Lewis Tiffany created the first raised setting for a diamond on a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-luxury/article/2027698/hong-kong-celebrates-130-years-tiffany-diamond-engagement?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-luxury/article/2027698/hong-kong-celebrates-130-years-tiffany-diamond-engagement?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Oct 2016 21:48:56 +0000 Glass is not quite the unforgiving and artistic fragile medium it might seem, says etcher Dominic Fonde. “It’s very contradictory. That’s I why I call this ‘the glass age’. It’s an endlessly useful material and you can virtually do anything with it. You can even put Pyrex on an open flame. Of course, a thin wine glass is fragile,” says the British artist, who lives in Kobe with his Japanese wife. Fonde is in Hong Kong for the launch of three limited edition pieces at tableware and home... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-luxury/article/2026054/artist-exquisite-etchings-hong-kongs-iconic-landmarks-glass?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-luxury/article/2026054/artist-exquisite-etchings-hong-kongs-iconic-landmarks-glass?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Oct 2016 07:37:26 +0000 Three small towns outside Mumbai in India have replaced Antwerp in Belgium as the world’s diamond-cutting centre. Instead of stones being cut and polished by Orthodox Jews who have a centuries-old connection to the jewel industry, they are now processed by Indians using sophisticated tools in a hi-tech environment. The customer base is changing too – many buyers are likely to be from Hong Kong and increasingly the mainland and Taiwan. The highly portable asset has retained its exclusivity and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-luxury/article/2023954/rare-argyle-pink-diamond-collection-coming-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-luxury/article/2023954/rare-argyle-pink-diamond-collection-coming-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Sep 2016 04:45:15 +0000 Question: Does eating chicken tail give you cancer or other diseases? The straight answer: no – but be aware that this titbit is high in fat so should be eaten in moderation. The facts: Tail, butt, haunch, the parson’s nose – whatever the name given to a chicken’s rear end, it’s a popular snack skewered and grilled in many parts of Asia. Fans like it because it’s juicy and has a relatively strong flavour for an often bland bird. However, it’s also a part that gets a bad rap as a supposed... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/2012239/can-eating-chicken-tails-cause-cancer-or-other-diseases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/2012239/can-eating-chicken-tails-cause-cancer-or-other-diseases?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Sep 2016 04:01:19 +0000 Chinese antiques collectors have made a wise choice in buying furniture by 19th century Parisian maker Francois Linke in recent years, says British expert Christopher Payne. He should know – he’s one of the world’s leading authorities on the subject. “Many middle-class Chinese will buy 19th century French furniture. It’s very good quality and a fantastic investment,” Payne says of the highly decorative pieces. Best known as one of the experts on BBC TV’s popular Antiques Roadshow, on which he... https://www.scmp.com/culture/arts-entertainment/article/1989239/advice-chinese-antique-buyers-man-who-wrote-bible?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/arts-entertainment/article/1989239/advice-chinese-antique-buyers-man-who-wrote-bible?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Jul 2016 04:45:15 +0000 Frenchman Olivier Sublett has been making wine from rice for two years. The Chinese have been making rice wine for about 9,000 years, but that isn’t stopping Sublett selling them his version. “I’m French, so I’m arrogant. I’m from Bordeaux, so I’m top of the podium for that,” says Sublett. Perhaps he is being a bit harsh on himself. After some trial and error, the first edition (it’s not a vintage) of his rice wine was released this February.It’s a complicated offer – it tastes like grape wines,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1982494/how-self-proclaimed-arrogant-frenchman-added-european-twists?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1982494/how-self-proclaimed-arrogant-frenchman-added-european-twists?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Jun 2016 04:17:56 +0000 Gloopy sweet and sour pork, chicken chop suey and fried rice were once Chinese dishes of choice in Britain. Fortunately, places serving these poorly made versions of Cantonese classics – and Western inventions – are now being rivalled by restaurants dishing up the best of China’s regional cuisines. It’s a development that has been fostered by the rising number of people from China visiting the country and also Britons’ expanding food horizons. British-born Chinese foodie David Chan, who lives in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1975078/hold-chop-suey-british-fans-chinese-cuisine-can-now-eat-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1975078/hold-chop-suey-british-fans-chinese-cuisine-can-now-eat-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jun 2016 04:45:56 +0000 Chinese drinkers will soon get a taste of Scottish lager, with the announcement of plans to import beers produced by Glasgow brewer Tennent’s – maker of “Scotland’s favourite pint”, Tennent’s Lager. The Tennent’s name may be new to China, but in Britain it has a chequered past. Whether fairly or not, it is strongly linked to a stereotype of Glaswegians as hard-drinking brawlers with impenetrable accents. That image is particularly associated with Tennent’s Super, which has a 9 per cent alcohol... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1962588/china-get-taste-tennents-lagers-including-gluten-free-brew?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1962588/china-get-taste-tennents-lagers-including-gluten-free-brew?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jun 2016 08:01:29 +0000 An invitation fiasco is threatening to overshadow next week’s Vinexpo Asia-Pacific in Wan Chai, with prospective Hong Kong retailers and restaurateurs complaining of difficulties in securing invitations to the wine trade fair and balking at a HK$450 entrance fee. Although primarily a forum for building relationships, the trade expo is also a chance for buyers to sample wines they may consider adding to shop shelves and wine lists. Cool-climate fine wines the best accompaniment to a Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1947231/hong-kong-wine-buyers-complain-difficulty-getting-passes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1947231/hong-kong-wine-buyers-complain-difficulty-getting-passes?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 May 2016 04:27:41 +0000 Can I let you in on a secret? It’s one I found out during my Indian odyssey. I’m a moron. Harsh perhaps but I’ve checked my dates and I gave myself 88 days to complete a 90-day challenge. That challenge was to walk 1,450km and I managed a mere 450km. I could blame my bad back, several minor stomach upsets and poor research for some more days taken out of the equation, not to mention insomnia. I’m not discounting them but the main reason for the low distance was that I didn’t gain nearly as much... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1920589/obese-hong-kong-food-writer-falls-short-india-weight-loss?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1920589/obese-hong-kong-food-writer-falls-short-india-weight-loss?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Mar 2016 18:00:27 +0000 Dear reader, perhaps an apology is in order. Here I am having the trek of a lifetime around the magnificence of India and it seems like all I’ve done is whine about cracked pavements and carbohydrates. Cheerfulness will be resumed shortly. In the meantime, I’m still in Ooty, the hill station in Tamil Nadu that the British used to retreat to for its cooler climate. As well as the rolling hillsides themselves, there are tea plantations and botanical gardens to visit. Despite the natural beauty,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1912383/overweight-hk-food-editor-shaves-5mm-his-waistline-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1912383/overweight-hk-food-editor-shaves-5mm-his-waistline-india?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Feb 2016 03:00:30 +0000 Pondicherry is one of the highlights of my trip in travel terms, but feels less of a success in terms of fitness goals. Next stop is Coimbatore, which really is a total loss, but I’m writing this from Ooty, where I have just arrived and where there are plenty of opportunities for walking. READ MORE: Meet the ‘grotesquely obese’ food writer who’s on a mission to shed the pounds by walking 1,450km in 90 days The problem is that I should be walking eight hours a day by now – according to my... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1908058/obese-hong-kong-food-writer-hit-doubt-weight-loss-trek?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1908058/obese-hong-kong-food-writer-hit-doubt-weight-loss-trek?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Feb 2016 16:00:30 +0000 I’ve been all over the place – I almost went round the bend. Perhaps I started to let conditions in India get to me. Doing a lot of walking means spending a lot of time looking at pavements and there seem to be rivers of muck flowing under so many of them. You look through the many gaps between the broad concrete paving slabs and there is a flow of black water with oil floating on the top and a host of unidentifiable objects – perhaps that’s a good thing – and the odd dead rat. SEE ALSO: Obese... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1902309/obese-hong-kong-food-writer-sheds-chin-india-weight-loss?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1902309/obese-hong-kong-food-writer-sheds-chin-india-weight-loss?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Jan 2016 18:00:40 +0000 I’m in Thiruvananthapuram for a spell, but fortunately not a spelling test. Better known as Trivandrum, Kerala’s state capital is my kind of town – there are museums, a weird restaurant and some shopping, which also turns weird. SEE ALSO: Meet the ‘grotesquely obese’ food writer who’s on a mission to shed the pounds by walking 1,450km in 90 days The Napier Museum has a small collection of figurines of Hindu gods and goddesses, a temple chariot and leather puppets from Javanese wayang kulit... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1896795/obese-hong-kong-food-writer-drops-another-size-india-trek?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1896795/obese-hong-kong-food-writer-drops-another-size-india-trek?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Jan 2016 21:48:08 +0000 I’m off to the beach but forget sunbathing and swimming – I’m too busy avoiding goats. The beach at Beypore, near Kozhikode (Calicut) is one you may have seen in photos. To one side is a majestic sweep of golden sand fringed with coconut palms, to the other lies a red and white lighthouse overlooking the Lakshadweep Sea. Next stop Africa. Well that’s how it looks in photos. I hit the beach and see rubbish everywhere. Then there are the goats. They’re everywhere the rubbish is, busy eating. My... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1892394/obese-hong-kong-food-writer-battles-back-pain-and-temptation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1892394/obese-hong-kong-food-writer-battles-back-pain-and-temptation?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Dec 2015 08:45:30 +0000 You know you’re unfit when you’re wheezing up a hill and a nun breezes past leading a group of children. It’s day eight of my attempt to walk 1,450 kilometres in 90 days in India and I’m at the Edakkal caves in Kerala, known for the inscriptions several thousand years old on their walls. Nothing here is quite as it seems. The “cave” is actually a gap between two boulders with a roof made by a further boulder that rolled on top. I’m told the climb is “a short walk and then just a few steps”. It’s... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1886701/obese-hongkonger-makes-strides-india-walk-lose-weight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1886701/obese-hongkonger-makes-strides-india-walk-lose-weight?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Dec 2015 06:30:30 +0000 By the time I get to … …Wayanad, I’ll have walked a mere 45km around Bangalore and Mysore. The intensity picks up as I move to 9.6km a day. … Kozhikode, where Vasco Da Gama arrived in 1498, I’ll be on 13km a day and should have walked 202km. … Malappuram, a centre of religious learning, wildlife and trekking, I aim to be on 16km a day. I’ll try walking up some small hills and see the effect on my ankles, knees and thighs. Kochi (formerly Cochin), via Ponnani and Thrissur, a trading centre,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1885161/journey-1450-kilometres-starts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1885161/journey-1450-kilometres-starts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Nov 2015 22:00:30 +0000 As you read this I’m at the start of an attempt to walk 1,450 kilometres in 90 days in southern India. My plan is to turn my sedentary lifestyle into something far more active and healthy. The problem is that for most of my life I’ve been a fatness fanatic, spending more than half my career in journalism focusing on food and drink, especially alcoholic drink. I’ve ended up grotesquely obese – that’s my new category above morbidly obese. My normal exercise is a 20-minute stroll from my house to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1885159/one-meaty-mans-mission-shed-pounds-walking-1450km?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/1885159/one-meaty-mans-mission-shed-pounds-walking-1450km?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Nov 2015 22:00:15 +0000 How much money does Stanley Ho Hung-sun need? Macau gaming revenues might be a little dented but surely he's made enough to retire in comfort? Apparently not. Having spent a day discovering just how bad public transport in Macau now is and then sitting on a ferry that initially would not start, on the journey home I really needed a beer and packet of crisps. A small can of Blue Girl on one of Ho's ferries costs HK$40 (yes, four zero) and the Hot & Spicy crisps are a gobsmacking HK$25. The same... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1873696/how-stanley-ho-and-li-ka-shing-line-their-pockets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1873696/how-stanley-ho-and-li-ka-shing-line-their-pockets?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Oct 2015 14:33:19 +0000 When I describe the dinner being served in Hong Kong by Spanish chef Ferran Adria next weekend as "marmite", I'm not referring to the ingredients but to the divisive nature of the price of the 12-course feast. There are people who are prepared to pay HK$10,888 per head (plus service charge) and then there are normal people, who find that cost crass and unpalatable. I've been writing about food and wine for 11 years and just cannot accept that any meal could be worth that amount of money, hence... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1867799/hk10k-dinner-not-even-if-its-ferran-adria-kitchen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1867799/hk10k-dinner-not-even-if-its-ferran-adria-kitchen?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Oct 2015 00:06:59 +0000 1. Where to eat For a south Indian thali,  head to one of the four daily sittings at Mavalli Tiffin Room,  a favourite among the city’s foodies. A small army of waiters distribute compartmentalised trays and dosa pancakes, crisp on one side, fluffy on the other. Next they dish out rice and as many as 10 different curries and condiments from spotless silver pails. Don’t ask for more – you have to tell the waiters when to stop. Arrive early to beat the queues. Foodies also head to the VB Bakery... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/1865176/bangalore-five-ways-get-best-out-visit-indias-it-hub?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/1865176/bangalore-five-ways-get-best-out-visit-indias-it-hub?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Oct 2015 07:01:01 +0000 Fish School,  Yenn Wong’s newest venture, is only the latest in a series of restaurant venues that could best be described as eclectic. The new Sai Ying Pun  establishment is a collaboration with  David Lai that will promote a menu of mostly locally caught fish cooked using French and international techniques. Lai is a chef and restaurateur known equally for his love of diving into local wet markets to buy fish and his dedication to French technique, as Hong Kong diners who’ve eaten at his... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1859356/fish-school-take-hong-kong-caught-fish-and-cook-them-french?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1859356/fish-school-take-hong-kong-caught-fish-and-cook-them-french?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2015 08:41:48 +0000 Hong Kong has some brilliant bars and terrible pubs - I can't explain why. The distinction isn't based on journalistic pedantry but beer and spirits. (Wine bar culture here is relatively young and needs time to develop before journalists lay into it.) A good pub, sorely lacking in Hong Kong, should sell well-maintained beer at a reasonable price and be an excellent place for banter. Despite those tediously unfunny signs, you should be able to talk about sports, politics and religion. This is a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1851112/why-does-hong-kong-have-great-bars-terrible-pubs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1851112/why-does-hong-kong-have-great-bars-terrible-pubs?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Aug 2015 15:54:58 +0000 There’s a mean-spirited and unlikely story that says the Americano coffee got its name from American tourists visiting Italy. When local baristas saw that these customers were dismayed at the size of their espresso coffees, the baristas would add lots of hot water, sacrilegious to an Italian. Given the influence of Italians on US coffee culture – just think of those Starbucks serving size names for one example – this all seems highly unlikely. The origins of the name Americano for an early form... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1849197/cocktail-hour-americano-stazione-novella-bonds-first-tipple?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1849197/cocktail-hour-americano-stazione-novella-bonds-first-tipple?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Aug 2015 09:45:15 +0000 I'm not sure if the bartender at Mod Bar is an uncle, but it's certainly true that everyone and his uncle is serving a Negroni these days. It's currently Hong Kong's hottest trend. Some of them are straight up, some come with a twist like barrel ageing or obscure, artisan and definitely premium ingredients. Many are absurdly sour, but that's supposed to get the saliva flowing, the work of a pre-dinner sharpener. At Mod Bar, below Tycoon Tann in Wellington Street, Central - which you might visit... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1846473/sloely-does-it-sweeter-take-trendy-negroni?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1846473/sloely-does-it-sweeter-take-trendy-negroni?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 Aug 2015 06:30:15 +0000 Salting, fermenting and pickling - chef Nurdin Topham is adding age-old techniques from a variety of cultures to his repertoire of skills and the results are apparent on his new summer menu. While you're reading this, Topham is likely to be taking a leaf out of the Noma book and foraging for produce on the outskirts of Copenhagen. Nur Restaurant's head chef is holidaying in northern Europe, but his influences don't just come from the leader of the new Scandinavian trend, where he worked... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1845146/nurdin-topham-nur-restaurant-experiments-new-flavours?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1845146/nurdin-topham-nur-restaurant-experiments-new-flavours?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jul 2015 16:29:55 +0000 Breakfast, the most important meal of the day. For some the breakfast of champions might just be a couple of slices of bacon in the morning; for others it’s often some kind of hangover cure involving fast food. As one online dictionary says, it might be “the perfect hangover breakfast based on junk food and other rubbish you can possibly find in a college student's kitchen cabinet”.  Most of us have a favourite, whether it’s a McDonald’s number seven or a bowl of ramen. For some it might involve... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1845108/cocktail-hour-kentucky-breakfast-may-not-go-eggs-or-toast?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1845108/cocktail-hour-kentucky-breakfast-may-not-go-eggs-or-toast?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jul 2015 06:34:50 +0000 There’s a bit of lateral thinking going on at Le Port Parfumé in Sheung Wan. The bistro’s name is French for the fragrant harbour, our own dear Hong Kong. Where many another establishment would run with the idea of fragrance by adding some jasmine tea to their cocktail or a favourite Hong Kong fruit such as lychee, this venue has riffed on the word port. Hence we have the Summer Barrel cocktail (HK$100). The base of the drink is a white port. Next comes a London gin because London is also a port... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1843052/summer-barrel-cocktail-punchy-little-number?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1843052/summer-barrel-cocktail-punchy-little-number?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jul 2015 06:30:19 +0000 Toothy pike from France's river Rhone look like a vicious relic of the dinosaur era. The classic French bistro dish they star in, quenelles de brochet (or, more prosaically, pike dumplings) is fast becoming a relic on restaurant menus. But the recipe has found a champion in chef Emmanuel Xu Zhao of Scarlett Cafe & Wine Bar in Tsim Sha Tsui. It's probably easier to understand why the dish has come off so many menus than how it has tenaciously clung on in just a few spots. As Zhao has not found a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1840202/quenelles-club-hong-kong-bistro-chef-champions-tricky-fish?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1840202/quenelles-club-hong-kong-bistro-chef-champions-tricky-fish?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Jul 2015 22:36:02 +0000 One would expect nothing less from the quiet and unassuming Harlan Goldstein than that his cocktail menu would be elegant and understated. While cocktails and rude names have a history stretching back decades, the menu at Penthouse by Harlan Goldstein - named, we’re sure, for the rooftop location on the 30th floor of Soundwill Plaza, Causeway Bay, and not for that magazine - takes these names a stage further. Forget your slippery nipples or long slow screws against the wall. The lemongrass drop... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1840179/passion-baby-penthouse-mojito-hefty-twist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1840179/passion-baby-penthouse-mojito-hefty-twist?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Jul 2015 08:03:24 +0000 The Continental’s excellently moustachioed barman Timothee Becqueriaux says the absinthe-based Strangled Parrot (HK$90) is basically a basil smash with a twist. When we hear the word basil we can but think of Basil Fawlty (the manic, hen-pecked hotelier played by John Cleese in the 1970s BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers). Whether drinking absinthe would have been good for Basil Fawlty is highly debatable. It comes in at between 55 and 75 per cent alcohol by volume, so drinking it undiluted is probably... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1835059/cocktail-hour-strangled-parrot-continental-twisted-basil-smash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1835059/cocktail-hour-strangled-parrot-continental-twisted-basil-smash?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jul 2015 06:30:45 +0000 I can picture the bureaucrats I've dealt with recently. I see them not just ticking boxes, but being so anally retentive that they can hold the pen with their rectums when doing so. Sorry, but why does that country need to know my religion or where I stayed when I was last there? In 1988. Apparently, it's preferable to tick any religion rather than say "atheist". Is it any wonder why it gets seven million and not 70 million foreign tourist arrivals a year! I'm used to hostile immigration... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1830948/why-cant-civil-servants-write-legibly-and-use-some-logic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1830948/why-cant-civil-servants-write-legibly-and-use-some-logic?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Jul 2015 13:15:00 +0000 Will China ever move from being mainly a producer of high volume and low quality wines to a producer of wines to rival the best of the rest of the world? The country has a wide variety of climates and soils, and optimists have always said it will produce good wine when those elements are married with the right grapes and know-how. Winemakers in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region believe they are already producing quality wines and this September's Ningxia Winemaker's Contest is an attempt to... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1831690/ningxia-winemakers-contest-shine-spotlight-rising-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1831690/ningxia-winemakers-contest-shine-spotlight-rising-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jul 2015 22:00:45 +0000 Guacamole is a little dip that’s been causing a big firestorm and it’s New York Times journalist Melissa Clark who’s been feeling the Twitter heat. She’s even provoked a reaction from the president of the United States. Her crime was the suggestion that peas could be added to the avocado-based dip. The dish is one of those, like pizza – peasant food turned middle class status symbol – that seems ripe for arguments. Sour cream, cottage cheese and tomatoes are other contentious... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1831698/no-peas-guacamole-hong-kong-mexicans-weigh-nyt-recipe-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1831698/no-peas-guacamole-hong-kong-mexicans-weigh-nyt-recipe-row?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jul 2015 09:30:30 +0000 Tunny Grattidge, manager and mixologist at the hip Thai restaurant Chachawan, in Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, was headhunted by the owners from Sydney, where he had been working with Jowett Yu of Ho Lee Fook fame. The Papua New Guinean is well travelled and although “backpacking around Asia” is not normally considered a job qualification, familiarity with the continent’s flavours has helped him compile a cocktail list to match the restaurant’s spice-laden Isaan menu. The key, he says, is... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1831654/cocktail-hour-pomelo-smash-chachawan-counters-feisty-thai-fare?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1831654/cocktail-hour-pomelo-smash-chachawan-counters-feisty-thai-fare?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Jul 2015 06:45:15 +0000 Queen Victoria, the rapacious old imperialist, is commemorated in hundreds of statues and place names for everything from state capitals to railway stations. Her likeness even appears on the label of Bombay Sapphire gin It’s debatable whether she should be commemorated with a gin – she is said to have been partial to tincture of cannabis and a 19th century tonic of claret infused with cocaine. Nonetheless, the gin is partly the inspiration for the Holy Smoke at Flint Grill & Bar at the JW... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1823862/holy-smoke-zingy-fruity-cocktail-if-ever-there-was-one?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1823862/holy-smoke-zingy-fruity-cocktail-if-ever-there-was-one?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Jun 2015 06:30:45 +0000 The world’s drinks press can’t decide if there is a prosecco drought this summer or not. There is going to be a shortage of New Zealand sauvignon blanc, though. It’s hot and tense outside, and that’s all the excuse we need to look for alternatives. Prosecco is designed as an aperitif but is often treated as a summer quaffer for all-day drinking. It often has a sharp but short-lived attack from its fizz, followed by sweetness and not much else in the mouth, sometimes some apple or pear. It’s also... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1823736/eight-wines-drink-if-theres-prosecco-and-sauvignon-blanc?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1823736/eight-wines-drink-if-theres-prosecco-and-sauvignon-blanc?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Jun 2015 06:30:15 +0000 With Portuguese cuisine being touted as the next big thing by food luminaries such as Andrew Zimmern, can the country's wine be far behind? Both food and wine have had 174 years to establish a toehold here, but haven't done so yet. The rich, often heavy food is never likely to be a winner in Hong Kong's humid climate. Baby squid stuffed with braised oxtail on a fennel purée with cep mushrooms might be good fuel for an afternoon in a dusty olive grove, but it's probably a bit much for an office... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1823457/whats-wrong-portuguese-wines-and-how-estates-have-put-it-right?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1823457/whats-wrong-portuguese-wines-and-how-estates-have-put-it-right?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Jun 2015 22:13:09 +0000 Understandably, Macau is often compared to Las Vegas, but a comparison with New Orleans would perhaps in some ways be more apt. Both are port cities that have brought together different peoples and cultures with resulting new hybrid cultures, cuisines and patois. In New Orleans, white teenage boys from rich families would be moved into a garconniere at the rear of the house. Here they would learn to sing, dance, duel, drink, play cards and make love to women. So, not that different to life in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1823418/voodoo-brew-packs-punch-raise-glass-queen-new-orleans-marie-laveau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1823418/voodoo-brew-packs-punch-raise-glass-queen-new-orleans-marie-laveau?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Jun 2015 07:00:45 +0000 For local shoppers the water spinach, yard-long beans and bitter gourds piled high on Graham Street market barrows are everyday ingredients, typical purchases of daily shopping. For the Australian journalists accompanying chef Neil Perry on a tour of the Central market, they seem quite exotic. Perry is a good choice for tour guide - he loves the ingredients, uses them in his restaurants and is enthusiastic with his explanations. "I don't know the Chinese name for this water spinach or morning... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/1820236/celebrity-chef-neil-perry-raves-about-chinese-produce-visit-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/1820236/celebrity-chef-neil-perry-raves-about-chinese-produce-visit-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jun 2015 01:45:30 +0000 France is one of the Kit Kat bar’s most successful markets. Demand there as elsewhere is fuelled by the “Have a break …” slogan used to market the bar. Have a break from what, some might be tempted to ask. Still, it’s the 21st century and time to set aside our silly nationalist prejudices. Recent figures show the French working an average of 1,476 hours a year. That’s not up to the 2,193 hours worked in South Korea or 2,287 in Singapore. It’s certainly more than the “industrious” Germans at... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1820176/have-break-have-stiff-chocolatey-kit-kat-cocktail?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1820176/have-break-have-stiff-chocolatey-kit-kat-cocktail?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Jun 2015 07:00:45 +0000 Louche is a word often attached to the atmosphere cocktails are drunk in, if not the drinks themselves. With The Spritz from Mitte we’re looking at a very louche combination – mixing references to old roués, Romantic poets and Berlin bunker bars. The original spritzer, a mix of hock, a sweet white German wine, and sour soda water, has been with us for some time, but its existence still came as a surprise to the eccentric old goat of a British politician and diarist, Alan Clark. One night he... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1816236/spritz-mitte-out-still-wine-and-soda-and-hello-prosecco?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1816236/spritz-mitte-out-still-wine-and-soda-and-hello-prosecco?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jun 2015 07:30:15 +0000 This is deeply mysterious. Nobody at The Pawn is quite sure how the Oriental 1908 got its name. Sure, there was a cocktail consultant who came in to create the drink and he named it for some kind of personal reason, but they’re not sure what that was. Something to do with Leyton Orient, a lower-division football club in unfashionable east London? Difficult to imagine the O's being celebrated by a cocktail in a Wan Chai gastropub. The Orient cargo ship capsized in 1908, leaving its cargo of salt... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1811164/anyone-pawn-cocktail-be-warned-they-come-twist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1811164/anyone-pawn-cocktail-be-warned-they-come-twist?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 May 2015 07:00:30 +0000 British chef Fergus Henderson was in Hong Kong earlier this week promoting the concept of nose-to-tail eating. On his second visit to the city, Henderson hosted two dinners at the Blue Butcher on Hollywood Road, serving signature dishes such as roast veal bone marrow with parsley salad, grilled ox heart, beetroot and horseradish, foie gras, trotter, prunes and mash and Welsh rarebit. The self-taught chef and his restaurants are closely associated with two of the major trends of the past two... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1805306/british-nose-tail-cooking-pioneer-fergus-hendersons-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1805306/british-nose-tail-cooking-pioneer-fergus-hendersons-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 May 2015 22:53:00 +0000 I recently walked past a pho shop called Vietnamese Noodle Concept. I wonder how long it took for them to come up with that name. I’ll admit to a similar thought when I saw that Viet Kitchen’s signature cocktail is called Viet Signature Drink. It's a slightly guilty thought because not only am I a big fan of the restaurant’s founder and chef Peter Cuong Franklin and his fresh, delicious cooking, but he is sitting in front of me when I’m told the name. Open for barely a month on the wrong side of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1805239/viet-kitchens-signature-cocktail-dangerously-drinkable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1805239/viet-kitchens-signature-cocktail-dangerously-drinkable?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 May 2015 07:30:45 +0000 Scotching the myth that the brown spirits category is dead, rare whiskies are appreciating in value by 25 to 30 per cent a year - and attracting a new fan base. That's expected to be borne out at auctions in Hong Kong later this month. James Espey, a veteran of the Scotch whisky industry, says he's noticed growing interest in whisky among women. Espey, who's in his early 70s and has been visiting China since 1993, when he launched Chivas Regal whisky there, expects Asia will soon be buying a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1797992/hong-kong-sales-rare-whiskies-set-show-spirits-growing-appeal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1797992/hong-kong-sales-rare-whiskies-set-show-spirits-growing-appeal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 May 2015 22:45:15 +0000 Lobster fans are enjoying a glut of the previously pricey delicacy as it turns up on menus from the expected fine dining establishments to more casual burger joints. Bad weather in the North Atlantic, strict management of its fisheries and low numbers of predators such as cod are all responsible for the booming lobster population. Galaxy Cheung, a sales executive at food services company Angliss Hong Kong, says Canadian fishermen had been "afraid to fish" in bad weather, leaving undisturbed... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1796475/lobster-all-over-lasagna-pizzas-burgers-and-more-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1796475/lobster-all-over-lasagna-pizzas-burgers-and-more-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 May 2015 22:30:30 +0000 It’s still nearly three months away, but perhaps we need that much time to mentally prepare for a celebration of China’s national spirit. The first World Baijiu Day is being held on August 8 to celebrate the strong, pungent alcoholic drink. Beijing-based drinks consultant and writer Jim Boyce is organising the event as a way of highlighting existing interest in the drink and generating some more. “The event aims to raise the profile of baijiu, which ranks as the planet's most consumed spirit but... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1796418/countdown-begins-world-baijiu-day-celebration-chinese-spirit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1796418/countdown-begins-world-baijiu-day-celebration-chinese-spirit?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 May 2015 07:15:54 +0000 Some feminists used to say, "You start off by sinking into his arms, you finish with your arms in his sink." These days, Hong Kong's frustrated cooks and lovers are apparently content enough just to find a sink. Young couples seeking kitchens larger than the city's typical minuscule spaces are turning to companies that hire out large fully fitted kitchens with comfortable dining areas attached. Many are finding that the spaces also provide private time away from the families with whom they are... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1781730/how-hong-kongs-frustrated-home-cooks-are-renting-fully-fitted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/1781730/how-hong-kongs-frustrated-home-cooks-are-renting-fully-fitted?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Apr 2015 22:15:30 +0000