Don Alfonso, Macau

My advice is – opt for simple food (actually the cheapest options) when you are at Don Alfonso 1890 Macau (sister restaurant of Ristorante Don Alfonso 1890 in Massa Lubrense, Italy.

Opera, Beijing

The Chinese market is definitely warming up to the Bombana-style. Not too long after Chef Umberto Bombana opened his glitzy Shanghai outlet – the Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA – he set his eyes on Beijing. In this latest foray of the chef known for his truffle adventures, he started Opera, a casual fine dining restaurant in the Chinese capital.

Marea, New York

The taste of freshly made pasta at Marea will be ingrained in your mind in the first visit. I love their taliolini, which is served with manila clams, calamari and hot chilli. The smooth and soft texture of the pasta matches the crunchiness of the baby squid and clams. All the flavours are weaved together with that bit of spiciness. Easily the best dish in the menu. It’s so good that the Tagliata dry-aged Sirloin was cast into the shade.

8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA, Hong Kong

Just before the Lunar New Year, I joined my friend for lunch at the 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo BOMBANA, a  newly crowned three Michelin star Italian restaurant  here in Hong Kong. Apparently, it’s the first and only Three Michelin-starred  Italian restaurant outside Italy. It created a global buzz when the 2012 Michelin Guide was released.

La Peca’s first visit to Macau

Apparently these two weeks has been quite busy for me, and undoubtedly, for a lot of food and wine reporters too. First of all, quite some guest chefs marched in to Hong Kong’s Michelin restaurants starting from October. Second of all, as the tax haven for wine in Asia, wine events are held almost every single day. With the arrival of the distinguish wine critic (or maybe a wine addict who drink 5 bottles of wine a day) Robert Parker tomorrow, I could foresee that another long week is ahead of me.