(Part 3) Hong Kong : Se Wong Yee + Mui Kee Cookfood Stall

Hong Kong Trip June 2013

Macdonald breakfast

Their macdonal breakfast pretty much the same except that they have this macaroni on their breakfast menu. Surprisingly, I saw alot of elderly there instead of filled with students order only 1 drink and sit there for long hours like in Singapore. lol

Se Wong Yee 蛇王二(燒臘飯店) - Michelin recommendation

This also a Michelin recommendation. I did not realise until I googled about it. Regretted for not ordering snake broth since bf does not drink.

Wintermelon pork rib soup

Char siew rice

Roast duck rice

Why did we go to a snake king shop and did not order their snake broth? lol our mindset was wrong.. haha

Se Wong Yee 蛇王二(燒臘飯店)

Address: 24 Percival St 銅鑼灣波斯富街24號
Nearest MTR station: Causeway bay station exit C

Tel: +852 2831 0163 or +852 2832 2977

Hang Heung Cake Shop 恆香老餅家

Local snack to bring home! My colleague specified what brand of loupo beng (wife biscuits) he wants.. ~.~ lucky the brand can be found in all Sogo departmental stores. Otherwise, will not buy for him..

Hang Heung Cake Shop 恆香老餅家

Address: Causeway Bay, Sogo Department Store, Basement 2

Nearest MTR station: Causeway bay station exit D3

Refer to their main website for other branches location

Koi Kee Bakery 澳門鉅記手信

This one is for myself! The original shop is in Macau. They have many different bakery products but I only have my eyes on their phoenix egg roll with seaweed and shredded pork floss 紫菜肉鬆鳳凰卷. Bought a few boxes home... all for myself lol..

Koi Kee Bakery 澳門鉅記手信

Address: 1 Shop A G/F Lee On Building,No.56-62 Argyle Street, Mongkok

Nearest MTR station: MongKok station Exit D3,Shop fronts to Sin Tat Plaza

Refer to their main website for other branches location

Cookies Quartet 曲奇四重奏

Recommended by bf's collegues. Below pic is taken from their main website. Most popular is their palmier biscuits. I love the original flavour one!

Source: Cookie Quartet

Cookie Quartet 曲奇四重奏

Address: Shop E, G/F, Carnarvon Mansion, 10B Carnarvon Road, Tsim Sha Tsui 

九龍尖沙咀加拿芬道10B嘉芬大廈地下E號商舖

Nearest MTR station: Tsim Sha Tsui exit D2 or N2

Refer to their main website for other branches location

Mui Kee Cookfood Stall 妹記大排檔 

Credit to FT

Panoramic view of the interior. Seems like alot of locals like to come here and eat

Here's a funny conversation between the order taker and me (in cantonese + mandarin) :

Me: May we order please?

Him: What would you like to order?

Me: I want this (while pointing to the dish name).

Him: No no that one not very nice (and shake his head at the same time)

Me: then this leh?

Him: ok this one nice. 

Me: this leh?

Him: this one not delicious also. You know, some dishes here are nice some dishes not nice one. (while he looks around the place, afraid other people overhear him)

Me: then you tell me what's nice then I order lah..

Him: some special dishes are not on the menu one.. must look at the black board in front. For example, this egg white mixed crab meat very good one!

Me: OKOK I want that one! 

After we were done with the ordering, I whispered to my bf "I like this guy leh he very funny, cute and honest!"

From left to right: egg white mixed crab meat 賽螃蟹 -> oyster fritter 蠔餅 -> claypot chicken 秘製鋼鍋雞
(english names created by myself)

Mui Kee Cookfood Stall 妹記大排檔

Address: G/F, 45-47Kimberly Road, Kimberly Plaza, Tsim Sha Tsui 

尖沙咀金巴利道45-47號金巴利廣場地下

Tel: +852 2721 2123

Back to Mongkok for a walk..

Bought these magnets from ladies market. Must remember to bargain! Ladies market always chops tourists! I bought these magnets for HKD25 down from HKD40 if I am not wrong. 

The next morning before the flight, had a last minute dim sum breakfast at the hotel.

Hope to see you again next year, Hong Kong!
May be go small islands like cheung chau 长洲 during Bun Festival or lamma island 南丫岛 ^.^

How to mark the Kristallnacht anniversary? With glorious synagogues

Entryway, Jubilee synagogue, Prague. Photo © Ruth Ellen Gruber

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

This weekend marks the 75th anniversary of what we call Kristallnacht, the Night of the Broken Glass, the night of violent coordinated Nazi attacks against Jews, Jewish property, and Jewish places of worship which saw some 7,000 Jewish businesses trashed and more than 1,000 synagogues put to the torch all over Germany and German-occupied lands. Some 30,000 Jews were imprisoned and more than 90 were killed.

The destruction wrought on the night of November 9-10, 1938 foreshadowed the mass destruction of the Holocaust that followed a few years later.

To mark this anniversary, rather than dwell on the destruction, I thought I would focus on rebirth and survival, in particular the survival of synagogues whose restoration over the past two decades has been a symbol of Jewish rebirth in Germany and elsewhere in central and eastern Europe.

Here, then, just a few photographs of synagogues, still used by Jewish communities, that stand now as enduring monuments to the glory of what was destroyed -- and offer hope that the still somewhat fragile renewal of Jewish life in Europe may continue to strengthen. This is only a very small sample of the synagogue buildings that have been restored in Europe (most of them now used for cultural or other purposes).

Tempel synagogue, Krakow. Photo © Ruth Ellen Gruber

Interior, Tempel Synagogue, Krakow. Photo © JCC Krakow

Facade, Pilsen synagogue, Czech Republic. Photo © Ruth Ellen Gruber

Dohany st. Synagogue, Budapest. Photo © Ruth Ellen Gruber

Dohany st. Synagogue, Budapest. Restored in the 1990s

Dohany st. Synagogue, Budapest. Restored in the 1990s

Kazinczy st synagogue, Budapest

Ceiling, Kazinczy st synagogue, Budapest

Ark, Kazinczy st. Synagogue, Budapest

Orthodox synagogue, Presov, Slovakia. Photo © Ruth Ellen Gruber

Orthodox synagogue, Presov, Slovakia. Photo © Ruth Ellen Gruber

And here are a couple of synagogues built in recent years. The use of glass is a real answer to Kristallnacht, no?:

Ohel Jakob synagogue , Munich (l) built 2004-2006

Synagogue in Graz, Austria, dedicated in 2000 on the site of the magnificent synagogue destroyed on Kristallnacht. Notice how the upper part of this synagogue is a glass dome. A real answer to the Night of Broken Glass. Photo © Ruth Ellen Gruber

Glass dome of the new synagogue in Graz. Photo © Ruth Ellen Gruber

Florence synagogue highlighted at Cafe Balagan this past summer

By Ruth Ellen Gruber

Almost every week last summer, from early June through the end of August, the palm-shaded garden of the Florence synagogue was the scene of "Cafe Balagan" -- a sort of mini-Jewish culture and food festival aimed at opening up the Jewish community to the city -- and encouraging the city to recognize and embrace its Jewish history.

I took part in the last edition, at the end of August, engaging in a public conversation about Jewish culture and mainstream society, with Enrico Fink, the musician (and director of cultural affairs for the Florence Jewish community) who devised the event.

I wrote about it all for The Forward, in an article published this past week:

Putting Florence's Jewish History into the Spotlight 

By Ruth Ellen Gruber 

Nov. 5, 2013 

If you look out over Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo, high above the Arno, two domes catch your eye. One is Filipo Brunelleschi’s masterpiece, the immense ribbed dome of the Duomo. The other, off to the right, is much smaller but in its way also distinctive: It is the tall, bright green copper dome of the Florence synagogue. 

“Anyone who looks at the Florence skyline sees the Duomo and the synagogue,” said Enrico Fink, a musician and actor who last December took up the post of cultural affairs director of the Florence Jewish community. 

Dedicated in 1882, the synagogue is a monument to 19th century Jewish emancipation and a grand example of Moorish style architecture, with a soaring arched façade and two slim side towers. 

But while the Duomo is one of the most famous attractions in Italy, visited by millions, the synagogue and the Jewish history of the city remain largely unknown to most Florence residents as well as to the vast majority of tourists. 

Fink and other recently installed leaders of the 800- to 900-member Jewish community want to change this. Breaking with past policy, they have embarked on a plan to actively engage with mainstream Florence. They endeavor to make the Jewish community more visible and accessible, demystifying Jews and Jewishness for local non-Jews, while putting Jewish heritage on the local tourist map. 

“We want people in Florence to understand who we are, and to understand that the Jewish community belongs to the city, that we are part of the fabric of the city,” community president Sara Cividali, an energetic woman with a mass of silver hair, told me over lunch at Ruth’s, a kosher vegetarian restaurant next door to the synagogue. “It isn’t assimilation; it’s different, it’s participation,” she said. 

This new strategy was launched this summer with the Balagan Café, an unprecedented experiment in outreach that turned the synagogue’s palm-shaded garden into a mini-Jewish culture festival almost every Thursday night from June through August. Balagan, more or less, means “chaos” — and, said Fink, the idea behind calling the summer’s experiment “Balagan” was “an acceptance of confusion that’s not easy to define.” 

Each Café featured music, lectures, discussions, performances and other events. There were free guided tours of the synagogue and stands selling books, CDs, Judaica and Balagan Café T-shirts depicting a full moon over the synagogue dome. Performers and featured participants included nationally known figures such as the rock singer Raiz, the Tzadik label klezmer jazz clarinetist Gabriele Coen, and the architect Massimiliano Fuksas, who designed, among other things, the Peres Peace House in Israel. 

Meanwhile, food stands sold kosher meals and kosher wine to crowds eager to sample couscous, baked eggplant, beans with cumin and harissa, spicy chickpeas, Roman-style sweet and sour zucchini and other specialties. One evening saw a “competition” between Sephardic and Ashkenazic cooking; another featured a lesson in challah-making.


Read more: http://forward.com/articles/186528/putting-florences-jewish-history-into-the-spotligh/?p=all#ixzz2k8wSvZGS

(Part 2) Hong Kong : Ho Hung Kee wanton noodles + Tsui Hwa restaurant

Hong Kong Trip June 2013

Good morning!

"I am so gonna gain weight after this trip.. lol" - This sentence has been on my mind since my first meal in HK. Shrugged my shoulder and continued my food trip lol..

Went to random cha chan teng near hotel to have our breakfast. Ordered this Hong Kong style instant noodles "gong zai mian"  港式公仔面 ,sandwiches and milk tea. We forgot to order bo luo bau 菠蘿包...

If you are a HK drama fan, these transportation will be very familiar to you. I did not dare to take the small bus as it travels through small alley.. scared of getting lost.. 

Electric tram! Interesting.. I guess this is the fastest/cheapest way to get around the city if there is mega jam among the cars.

Only pay fare upon alighting.. same fare rate for all distances. 

Ho Hung Kee 何洪記

Hong Kong's one star Michelin wonton noodles and congee. 5 minutes queue only. Right timing again!

Initially I was quite skeptical to think that how could a wanton mee taste so good that it could win Michelin star. I was wrong and bf totally lovin' it! It does not have the normal plastic taste that yellow noodles would have. The wanton skin was so thin that it melted in your mouth. Ok may be I am a little exaggerating..

Should have also order the congee to try though..

Ho Hung Kee 何洪記

Shopping mall: 12/F Hysan Place, Causeway Bay 銅鑼灣希慎廣場12樓

Nearest MTR station: Causeway Bay station exit F

Typical street on causeway bay

You will pass by Chow Tai Fook jewelry shop every 5 or 10 minutes.. crazy one lol

Mongkok where you can shop till drop~ Argyle center is just like our bugis village.

local snacks

Love this egglets 鸡蛋仔 to the max. They have so many more flavour than in Singapore. Personal favourite is black sesame.

Curry fish balls 咖喱魚蛋

Tsui Wah restaurant 翠華餐廳

Was not planned to eat Tsui Wah but since we passed by it so we decided to see what was the commotion over it.

I think bf missed singapore food so he ordered chicken rice... ~.~ go hk eat chicken rice lol

Verdict: too over rated... will not visit again..

Tsui Wah restaurant 翠華餐廳

Address: G/F, 244 Portland St., Mong Kok.  砵蘭街

Nearest MTR station: Mong Kok station exit C4 or E1

Tel : +852 2392 3889

Go to (Part 1) Hong Kong : Tim Ho Wan + Cong Sao Dessert + Yung Kee

New series of Western Cuisine at Lazio Italian Restaurant and Bar, Danga Bay - Johor Bahru

There are new series of Western Cuisine available at Lazio Italian Restaurant (N1.47423 E103.72441) since months ago and we decided to try out on one of the evening. Lazio Restaurant is located at Danga Bay of Johor Bahru, you can relax and enjoy the meal along with the beautiful scenery of Straits of Johor. You can read through my previous blog post about the restaurant here.

Lazio Italian Restaurant of Danga Bay

The decoration of the restaurant still remain the same as we visited a year ago...

The new Exeutive Chef - Mr Stanley Yim from the restaurant had launched the new series of delightful dishes which provide a different dining experience to their customers. At first he humbly presented 3 different type of pasta for us before the main dish...

Pesto Di Funghi

The pasta above was served with mushroom and pesto sauce in spinach basil linguine pasta. It was tasty and special.

Aragosta

The dish was served with half lobster, herbs tomato sauce in Fettuchini pasta. It was rich tomato flavor and went well with the cheese and lobster.

Capesante

The dark colour pasta above was delicious! The squid ink fettuccine pasta was served with scallops on fetta cheese cream sauce. I like the taste very much!

Before we can finish the pastas on the table, the Main Attraction of the day - The Aussie Wagyu Tomahawk Chop Rip-eye Steak served on our table!
The weight was 2.11kg.

The Grilled Wagyu Tomahawk Chop Rip-eye Steak from Lazio Italian Restaurant

"A tomahawk (also referred to as a hawk) is a type of axe from North America, traditionally resembling a hatchet with a straight shaft. You can read more here."

The Tomahawk Steak is a Bone-In Rib Steak with the entire rib bone intact. This long bone is frenched (trimmed of meat and fat), leaving a beautiful presentation piece. The Tomahawk, being a Rib Steak, has the largest amount of intermuscular fat, making it the most flavorful steak. The Tomahawk is cut based on the thickness of the bone and is typically two inches thick. One Tomahawk can easily feed two people. The Tomahawk is cut from the rib section. The primary muscle of the Tomahawk is the longissimus dorsi, which is also the primary muscle in the Porterhouse. Source from here.

The Tomahawk was served together with mushroom sauce, steak sauce and garlic sauce.

The rip-eye steak that we had was about 2-3 inches thick and serve up to 4 persons.

The Tomahawk steak had everyone full attention once it nicely presented on the table. Mr Stanley and his assistant gently cut the prime steak and served to each of us....

Mr Stanley and his assistant

The big 2.11kg weight of Rib Eye Steak was cut into 7-8 pieces and it was about 200-250g each...

The steak was grilled to perfect with a little of char on the outside...the medium rare doneness is a Must for a prime steak.

The bone with the tender flesh and fat

The flesh was succulent together with the precious fat and meat juice. The steak was so nice untill we felt it really melt in our mouth!

The slice of Wagyu Tomahawk Ribeye Steak

I like my steak with the original taste which is without any sauce, but I did tried out the 3 types of sauces provided. Among all, I like the garlic sauce very much (strongly recommended by Mr Stanley).

This was a total different dining experience enjoying the steak in Johor Bahru. And It was also my great pleasure to enjoyed this wonderful dinner together with Mr Tony from Johorkaki.

Thanks to Mr Stanley and his team who presented such a Fabulous dish from Lazio Restaurant.

The Executive Chef of Lazio Restaurant - Mr Stanley Yim

For steak lover in JB, you must try out (at least once) this extraordinary steak from Lazio Italian Restaurant with your family and friends, I bet you will not regret! And I believe they are the Only restaurant serve the Aussie Wagyu Tomahawk Chop Ripeye Steak for the moment.

*  The Aussie Wagyu Tomahawk Chop Ripeye Steak above was 2.11kg with the cost of RM850++. Every Tomahawk steak serve with the minimum weight of 2kg. Please make your reservation for the particular dish in one week advance with the 50% deposit.

Lazio Italian Restaurant and Bar
Danga Bay, Johor Bahru.
Tel : +607-2217988/+607-2215688
Business hour : 12pm - 1am, 12pm - 2am for Fri, Sat & holiday eve

https://www.facebook.com/groups/laziodangabay/

GPS coordinates : N1.47423 E103.72441

Location map of Lazio Italian Restaurant and Bar at Danga Bay

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