Celebrity Life

4 of our favorite cruelty-free treats

The post Locally Made Vegan Desserts Everyone Will Love appeared first on Palm Beach Illustrated.

Jeremy and Cindy Bearman moved to Florida in 2016 and purchased the location that became Oceano Kitchen, where they specialize in creative daily menus based on seasonal ingredients

The post The Culinary Duo Behind Lantana’s Oceano Kitchen appeared first on Palm Beach Illustrated.

Look beyond the casinos to find some of the best Cantonese restaurants in the world.

The post 4 Cantonese restaurants to check out when in Macau appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

Look beyond the casinos to find some of the best Cantonese restaurants in the world.

For more stories like this, visit www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg.

Steaming bowls of pho, the fragrant Vietnamese rice noodle soup, and crunchy sandwiches called banh mi slathered with rich pâté, pickled vegetables and chilli -- both are delicious and readily available in Hong Kong. And yet, surely there's more to Vietnamese cuisine than these crowd-pleasing (and overly familiar) dishes, right?

To answer that question, we met up with chef Que Vinh Dang, whom you may remember from private kitchen TBLS and Quest by Que, at his latest venture: a Vietnamese restaurant called Nhau. We spoke to the chef to find out what else Vietnamese food has to offer, how he created his cuisine and what’s beyond the kitchen for him.

[caption id="attachment_142771" align="alignnone" width="1795"] Chef Que Vinh Dang at his new Vietnamese restaurant Nhau.[/caption]

What does nhau mean? How should we pronounce it?

The proper way to pronounce it is "nyau" but most people say "now" -- which is close enough! Nhau means together. In Vietnam you would say nhau nhau, which means “Let’s eat and drink together”.

Describe your cuisine for us.

It’s a contemporary take on traditional Vietnamese flavours -- without being fusion. We use the essence of a traditional dish, but use fine-dining techniques to take it to the next level. The flavours are 100% Vietnamese, but it will be something you don’t expect.

For example, we serve bo la lot, which is a popular Vietnamese dish with minced meat and a touch of curry, wrapped in betel leaf and grilled. Our version is a cold [dish] format with Australian wagyu beef tartare mixed with curry mayonnaise, betel leaf purée and homemade beef flakes. It’s then served with crispy beef tendon crackers which have been dehydrated and deep fried. 

What are you doing that is different to other Vietnamese restaurants?

All of our ideas are conceptualised from beginning to end, which allows us to build [more] layers of flavour and texture into the dishes. There’s so much more to Vietnamese cuisine, so why focus on the same handful of items [pho or banh mi] that are available all over Hong Kong?

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How do you develop your dishes? 

Most of the dishes are in my head first. I try to work out the flavours and textures I want before we order the ingredients. I like to approach my style of cooking by keeping certain flavours that I feel my diners can connect with right away and build around that.

Do you have a signature or favourite dish on the menu?

I don’t like the idea of a signature dish. The idea of having an item follow me throughout my career seems a bit lazy. I currently like all of the dishes on the menu, but [at the same time] would happily change all of it, too.

You have a background in French cuisine, so why choose Vietnamese food for the new restaurant?

I’ve been cooking French and various other Western cuisines for the past two decades, and it dawned on me that most of what I was cooking didn’t fully represent who I was. I've noticed that every time I cook Vietnamese [food], I feel at ease and happy. It became an issue of what I was trained to do versus what I wanted to do. I’ve chosen the latter and because of that, I feel like it’s the right time for me to explore it, and not just to fill a dining void in Hong Kong’s food scene. 

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How did you get into cooking?

I realised I enjoyed cooking at a young age. It’s probably because I grew up being spoiled by my mom’s cooking. [But] the real reason why I got into cooking is because it’s a very easy conversation topic to talk about with the ladies! [Laughs.]

Why did you come to Hong Kong?

I was dating this amazing girl who moved to Hong Kong for work, so I decided to join her on this journey not knowing what would happen. We’re married now with three awesome kids.

What are you up to when you’re not in the kitchen? 

Aside from family and cooking, my other love is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I think I’m drawn to it because they have certain similarities that are needed in becoming a good chef. For example: solid fundamentals, creativity, humbleness. The faster chefs realise that it’s not a contest, the more creative their cooking becomes, and most importantly, [it’s about] enjoying the moment and trying to be happy.

Do you like the Vietnamese food in Hong Kong? If so, where do you go?

I don’t particularly go for Vietnamese in Hong Kong, but there’s one place I like in Sai Ying Pun. I think it’s called Vietnamese Restaurant, near HKU Station. It’s a no fuss, hole-in-the-wall [kind of place], but food is good there.

What do you have planned for Nhau? No pun intended!

Not sure, I’m still trying to figure it all out. Hopefully I can get one or two diners that can appreciate Vietnamese food for what it can be, and not what most people think it should be.

Nhau, 12 Circular Pathway, Central, Hong Kong; +852 3612 4568

The post Chef Que Vinh Dang of Nhau Goes Back to His Roots and Tells Us to Forget About Pho appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

In the mood for eel? Here're some of the top spots in Singapore that serve unagi.

The post Best restaurants in Singapore that serve unagi appeared first on The Peak Magazine.

In the mood for eel? Here're some of the top spots in Singapore that serve unagi.

For more stories like this, visit www.thepeakmagazine.com.sg.

Martha Stewart introduces the South Beach Wine & Food Festival to Palm Beach County with a one-night-only event at The Regional

The post SOBEWFF in Palm Beach – Here’s What to Expect Next Year appeared first on Palm Beach Illustrated.

Hong Kong is one of the world’s most exciting culinary capitals, where good food is more than abundant. In that light, we’ve put together a few of our tastiest tidbits and most memorable morsels that are worth tracking down to try.

Pez Limón at Ichu Peru

As the heat turns up in Hong Kong, we naturally turn to cooler and more refreshing dishes -- and there’s nothing quite like a ceviche that screams summer. At one of Ichu’s first-ever four-hand collaborations, we sampled dishes created by their very own Chef Sang Jeong and Chef Emanuel Alvarado from Crab Market in Dubai, and found an intensely bright, zesty ceviche that did just the job. Using fresh yellowtail bathed in a punchy leche de tigre with yuzu, the sharp and spicy flavours are sprinkled with a little sweetness from large Peruvian corn (or choclo) and sweet potato crisps. It makes us wonder what they have in store for their second four-hands menu with Chef Ferran Tadeo of La Rambla from 5–8 May too.

Ichu, 3/F, H Queen's, 80 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2477 7717

Caviar and Uni Tart at Écriture

Everything tastes better with caviar, which is why the Écriture x Royal Caviar Club collaboration menu has been the talk of the town for weeks now. The five-course meal begins with the star of the show -- an iconic pairing of creamy Hokkaido sea urchin with celeriac whipped cream on a buckwheat shell tart, topped with a ridiculously generous amount of Cristal caviar (a Royal Caviar Club hybrid blend of pickled roe of mature 8-year-old sturgeon). Oh, and did we mention that it’s finished off with a light yet decadent beurre blanc sauce? Écriture sets a pretty high bar with this dish when comes to over-the-top indulgence.

Ecriture, 26/F, H Queen's, 80 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2795 5996 

Braised Daikon at VEA

Another chef collaboration took us to another Asia’s 50 Best restaurant -- VEA -- which also retained its Michelin star in 2019. This time, Chef Vicky Cheng’s partner was 2018’s best female chef in Asia, Bongkoch “Bee” Satongun of Paste in Bangkok. Together, they created a degustation menu which we were lucky enough to preview. There were some incredible dishes packed with flavour, but the one that struck a chord was the braised daikon. Here the mild-flavoured radish was brought to life in a one-and-a-half-year-old master stock before being fried crispy, while a perfectly cooked Taiyouran egg sits atop and is dressed with truffle.

VEA, 30/F, 198 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2711 8639

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Okinawa at Arbor

During the four-hands collaboration between Chef Eric Räty of Michelin-starred Arbor in Hong Kong and Chef-Owner Noboru Arai of two Michelin-starred Hommage in Tokyo, we were treated to inventive flavours that were also visual delights -- one of which was a dish featuring produce from Okinawa. As enjoyable for the eyes as it was pleasant for the palate, the distinct flavours and texture of sweet corn ice cream and the pop of savoury sea grapes were blended with the tropical tang of passion fruit for the perfect little meal teaser.

Arbor, 25/F, H Queen's, 80 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong; +852 3185 8388

Gancini Chocolate Cake from Salvatore Ferragamo Afternoon Tea at Mandarin Oriental Macau

It's not often that we attend repeat afternoon tea collaborations, but Salvatore Ferragamo's fashion inspired set is too delectable to miss. Curated by Mandarin Oriental Macau's Executive Pastry Chef Sebatien Bernis, the cake selection draws from the Italian house's classic pieces such as the Varina ballet flat, which is paired with Vara mousse cake and the Amo Flowerful fragrance which was turned into a fragrant panna cotta. Our favourite morsel was the Gancini chocolate cake inspired by Ferragamo's iconic Studio bag with Gancini pattern that hides a chocolate cake underneath. Guests were also gifted a complimentary souvenir from Salvatore Ferragamo at Once Central Mall. Now if that isn't worth crossing over to Macau for, we don't know what is.

Mandarin Oriental Macau, N.945, Avenida Dr. Sun Yat Sen, Macau; +853 8805 8888

Handmade Pasta at J Pot

We know what it sounds like, and we’re right there with you in wondering why the newest hotpot spot in Causeway Bay is offering handmade Italian pasta. It turns out that JPOT is a combination of Chinese hot pot traditions, the freshest ingredients (such as Hiyama Kuroge Wagyu) and some Western accents along the way. In a special preview for the tasting menu, we were able to sample just that -- freshly made fettuccine, cooked perfectly al dente and draped with a thin slice of Wagyu sashimi.

J Pot, 1/F, 535 Jaffe Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong; +852 2885 0533

The post The Top 6 Dishes We Ate in April 2019 appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

We like to eat out, but we also like to spend time with our kids. So pretty much every Sunday we hunt down a restaurant…

The post The great (& not so great) Santiago restaurants with a play area for children appeared first on The Expater.

We like to eat out, but we also like to spend time with our kids. So pretty much every Sunday we hunt down a restaurant…

The post The great (& not so great) Santiago restaurants with a play area for children appeared first on The Expater.

So much was expected of Imperial Treasure when it arrived in London late in 2018. The restaurant group boasts four Michelin stars across its 23 sites, including the imperious two-starred Shanghai outpost. Since then, the reviews have been mixed to say the least. The Guardian’s Jay Rayner said his experience at Imperial Treasure ‘deadened the... View Article

The post Elite Review: Imperial Treasure London appeared first on Elite Traveler.