難道香港人真的沒有想像力了嗎？ Continue reading

I was absolutely mesmerized when I stepped into Mezamashi Kohi’s “trio” store on Jing Cheng Seventh Street in Taichung. One of the most beautiful cafes I’ve ever seen, Kohi sits nestled in the Jing Cheng Street area, a former US Army Dependants Village... Continue reading

Received the prettiest notebooks today from designer Tamasyn Gambell from London, just had to share it with everyone. Perhaps teakha will stock them at her next zakka store. Continue reading

《失物招領》 的第二個據點，同樣位於現已變得忙碌的國子監上 （記得兩年前的國子監，樹影婆紗，人煙稀少，卻有一股老北京的滄桑味兒，甚有情調），是我最近見過最有感覺的空間。Lost and Found II，和她的原始店一樣坐落於老房子裡。特別之處是她的中庭，四面玻璃讓人有一種置身於一個倒空的熱帶玻璃屋內，庭院中央卻是一片藍天白雲，滿室（或者應該說是滿「缸」）綠意怏然。 Continue reading

從太平山街往下走，經過摩羅上街的古玩店，順勢沿著東街往下走，右邊出現一個個綠色的排檔，再經過左邊的百年香料店，最下面那個排檔是做鐵器的。樹幹一般的大「菜板 」用來切割鐵片，還有古老的燒焊器; 有充滿香港味道的郵筒，鐵箱，還有茶罐；身後掛著－拍照每張＄200 的招牌，只怕慕名來拜訪老伯的遊客已經不少。老伯大約已70多歲，身體還是好得很，嘰哩咕嚕地跟我討論他做得茶葉罐手工如何如何地好。 Continue reading

I love Beijing in the winter... Continue reading

It was the annual Tweed Run, a group bicycle ride first initiated in London in 2009 during which cyclists are expected to dress in traditional British cycling attire, particularly tweed plus four suits (breeches or trousers that extend 4 inches (10 cm) below the knee). Classic vintage bicycles are encouraged and any effort to recreate the spirit of a bygone era is always appreciated. It was Osaka’s first Tweed Run this year, and graf was one of the rest stops sponsoring tea and cakes... Continue reading

A wood-laden, rustic, organic, and laid back tearoom with pages upon pages of different milk teas and chais to choose from – what were the chances of me stumbling upon this heavenly place? Moreover, their black teas are all single estate and carefully graded according to origin and quality, for example FOP/ TGFOP, a dedication few people in this coffee & wine overloaded society would recognize and understand. Continue reading

Ippodo is a teahouse more than three centuries old. However, its first tearoom outside of Kyoto, the Kaboku Tearoom in the Marunouchi district in Tokyo, aims to bring a young edge to this old traditional tea brand with cute, almost whimsical packaging and clean, sleek lines in the form of dark, solid wood... Continue reading

On a quiet side street branching out from busy Omotesando lies an old Japanese style house with a peculiar brass cube structure standing in its main room. Omotesando Koffee Is Eiichi Kunitomo's pet project to test out new innovative ways of serving coffee... Continue reading

If I were to own a shop, it would probably look like Mirth. Rustic whimsical chic - that's how I would describe its look. Think whitewashed walls interspersed by a single panel of bright green or blue, ceiling fans, tables made of unfinished wood... Continue reading

I fell in love with roselle flowers earlier this year making roselle scones for sale at Taipei’s Simple Market. My roselle scones were a big hit, the roselle imbuing a tinge of its beautiful, bright red colour to the flaky crumbs. I bought three catties of fresh organic roselle from the farmer’s market at Star Ferry Central the other day and immediately got down to work. I’m going to make preserved roselle to be used in making scones and roselle jam for spreading... Continue reading

Etxebarri was never given a star by Michelin, yet critics rave about this highly personalised cuisine - chef Victor Arguinzoniz, part chef and part blacksmith, grills every single one of his dishes. He even makes his own charcoal, and invented his own oven and grilling contraptions to take it to a whole other level – and the restaurant has been ranked top 50 in the world for a good many years. Some foodies claim it to be "impossible perfection". Continue reading

Corey Lee, French Laundry alum, has created a brand new form of cuisine worth shutting off other forms of distracting sensory receptors to focus merely on your taste buds and the aesthetics of the food. Continue reading

When David Barzelay was laid off from his law firm in 2009, what does he do? He starts hosting friends and family for dinner and now proudly owns one of San Francisco's best underground restaurants. That's one cool Lazy Bear. Continue reading

To have one of the better meals of your life in a gas station is bizarre. It leaves you staring at your plate for a moment or two in disbelief... Continue reading

A cute little addition to the VVG empire that occupies one end of Alley 40 on Lane 181, VVG Something sells beautifully bound, imported hardbacks on gastronomy, along with random household knickknacks like old typewriters, ice-shavers, copper teapots from India, enameled brassware from Poland, and handmade stationary from Japan. If this doesn't already send you pacing out the door to go find it, add bright red French doors, white brick walls a big fat lamps with a black shade, and an oh-so-cute coffee counter that reminds you of an old ticketing booth. Continue reading

台灣最近提倡所謂「小確幸」， 即說生活中「微小但確切的幸福」。最近我才碰巧在香港某報章中看到，發現原來這「小確幸」是出自村上春樹Murakami Haruki 的手筆。《小確幸》摘於村上春樹《蘭格漢斯島的午後》一書， 在文章中，村上說他自己選購內褲，把洗滌過的潔淨內褲捲摺好然後整齊的放在抽屜中，就是一種微小而真確的幸福。 P 說他的小確幸是忙碌工作完一整天後的小酌，而我呢？其實也差不多，是我的奶茶。 Continue reading

從荷里活道一直忘西邊走，在文武廟旁轉上樓梯街吧。有看過60年代 The World of Suzie Wong 的朋友們會記得 Robery Lomax 追著載著 Suzie 的人力車那一幕吧；Robert 站在樓梯街前茫然地徘徊找尋美麗的 Suzie。今天，繞著樓梯街往西走過去，你會看到的卻是截然不同的景致。樓梯街後是四方街。這裡有一家性格Showroom, 不定時的開門， 展示設計師老闆 David Ericsson 和 Alexis Holm 的自家鞋履及皮革品牌。 Continue reading

在台北待了一陣子，開始有人問我，想念香港嗎？我想了想，發現除了家人朋友，最想念的，還是香港的茶餐廳。曾幾何時，我也和我初到香港旅遊的不丹朋友P 一樣，覺得這是甚麼不三不四的通粉，公仔麵，咖啡奶茶，簡直就有點騙人嘛，家裡現成的東西怎麼拿了出來賣呢？ Continue reading

Ms. Yang took me to a beautiful art gallery on the foot on the Jinguashi mountains and facing the vast Pacific Ocean. One signature piece from the gallery was a wooden chime made to resemble the bells worn on the belts of miners so that they could find each other in the dark when trapped. The crafter designed this wooden chime in memory of his father. As a kid, he always remembered the joy of hearing the bells’ muted ring outside the house, because it meant that his father was coming home safe from the mines... Continue reading

Private Spot is tucked so high up in the mountains of Dulan and guarantees such breathtaking views that, well honestly, I’d rather not share it with anyone if it were mine. Owners 翠娟 Cui Juan and 淑雲 Shu Yun obviously have a much bigger heart than I do because not only does their private spot boast individual villas to rent, they also have a huge lounge area (with a peculiar stonework design) where their renowned coffee is cooked and shared amongst friends, and a pebbled front yard where guests sit, lie, or splay out in whatever position comfortable to watch the plethora of stars above (PS: this is a nightly event. Thus is life in Dulan). Continue reading

When next in Taitung, don't forget to pig out on local fresh fish, often a red-throated coris or til... Continue reading

In PiSiLiAng in Taitung, community development director Chen Chun-mei teamed up with music teacher Zhi-ming to develop a drumming group for teenagers. The group turned out to be a huge success. Soon, every kid and teenager wanted to join. The children make their own drums from abandoned buoys from the ocean, and the drumhead from dried sheepskin. Their name, Paw Paw, literally means buoy. Today, proud to be part of the Amis tribe and part of the group, the children start to cherish their culture and the traditional Amis language. Continue reading

When I first visited 耀宗Yao Zong’s “Urn Lily Spring” Restaurant near Shitiping in Hualian, the place resembled more of a derelict factory of some sort. With its plastic chairs and Yao Zong’s topless Amis muscular physique, we wouldn’t even have guessed that it was a restaurant, let alone a fantastic one. However, that meal left me mesmerized, and I was not able to stop thinking about it for the next two years. Continue reading