2016 - Page 4 of 9 - Gazing and Grazing

Odette – Divine Dining if Not For the Wine Pairing

June 13th, 2016

One of Singapore's more highly lauded fine dining restaurants since it opened in late 2015, Odette's food definitely deserves its accolades. In fact, it's likely to be one of those with Michelin stars when the inaugural list for Singapore is published in July. In short, the food is good but our experience was marred by a rather bizarre wine pairing that seemed to fight Chef Julien Royer's creations rather than to complement them (at least in my simple non-expert view - I've seen contrary...

Nice Day Out at Singapore’s National Orchid Garden

June 6th, 2016

As a friend says, the Botanical Gardens is possibly the best thing about Singapore and certainly, the National Orchid Garden is one key reason. I do a regular Sunday walk at the Botanical Gardens but seldom go into the National Orchid Garden because there's usually a SGD5.00 fee and it's not part of the exercise routine. However, it really is a small fee to pay as the area is beautifully landscaped and there is a wide variety of orchids you don't normally see elsewhere. Since my walking...

Royal J’s Seafood – Hits and Some Miss

June 2nd, 2016

Royal J's Seafood is a highly lauded coffeeshop for local (Singapore/Malaysia) style Chinese food with some standout dishes but also some odd items. For me, the outstanding items were the fried porridge, and the two chicken dishes - one fried and one steamed. Two of the other main house specialties, the crab with glass vermicelli and the prawns with cheese, disappointed us. And with the hot weather in Singapore recently, eating at Royal J's, which is located in a food court with no air...

Hong Kong’s Lung King Heen – Still One of the Finer Cantonese Restaurants Anywhere

May 24th, 2016

It's always a treat to eat at Hong Kong's Lung King Heen restaurant, one of the finest cantonese restaurants probably anywhere in the world. Although I've had plenty of equally satisfying cantonese meals elsewhere, especially for cheaper if you factor in the premium Michelin 3-star pricing at Lung King Heen, I don't think any of the others equal in terms of how elegant the cooking actually is. Much of this is reflected in the sauces which just seem very fine at Lung King Heen.

The...

Japan’s Shirakawa-go – Picture Perfect Ginger Bread Houses

May 15th, 2016

They may not be real ginger bread houses, but Shirakawa-go's unique farm houses make the village look like a Christmas log cake came to life. Nestled in Japan's Hida Mountains ("northern alps"), this mountain village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of these historic farmhouses. Because of its location, this is a great place to visit in the winter if you're seeking snow.

Indeed the day I visited just after Christmas 2014, it probably only stopped snowing for just 15 minutes....