Surprise Singapore Day 1: Tower Club + Chili Crab

So goes Day 1 of my Singapore Surprise trip... After we checked in at Scarlet Hotel, I wanted to get some business done before the pleasure, so first on the agenda was a business lunch with my banker to get some updates.

I asked for directions on where we were to meet, but instead she sent Barry and his Benz to pick us up and take us to our destination.

Barry, is a private driver whose card reads "Have Barry, Will Travel. He gives great tips on where to go after my lunch meeting, and I pick up his card just in case I want to feel snooty and get chauffered around Singapore.

Foie Gras Xiao Long Bao at HK's Wang Jia Sha

The Holy Grail of XLBs: Foie Gras Xiao Long Bao

Wan Jia Sha

In a city with enough Chinese restaurants to make you feel no need to pay well for it, sometimes it is worth it to leave the hole-in-a-wall establishments in Hong Kong and venture to somewhere more, well, established. Wang Jia Sha is another import from Mainland China since 1945 offering traditional Shanghai Dim Sum favorites, and has even ventured out as far as California, making this dining spot internationally known.

Chinese Restos to Celebrate Kung Hei Fat Choi

Chinese culture and cuisine is tightly linked with Filipino heritage and history. Hence, we celebrate Chinese New Year with as much jubilation and anticipation as the mainlanders do. Where to go get a super Lauriat meal, or some dim sim in the area? Here are ToT's picks for the ultimate Kung Hei Fat Choi celebration meal:

Choi Garden

My family's Chinese kitchen extension where we dine on a weekly basis. Food is authentic HK cuisine because of the 8 chefs which specialize in dimsum, roasts, soups, sauce, etcetc. Call in beforehand to reserve the Fried Chicken or the Lechon Kawali. My pick over Gloria Maris anytime. Here are my favorite dishes at Choi.

 Summer Palace

The ultimate Chinese restaurant for celebrations & special occasions. I love the Cereal Prawn, the Taro covered duck, and their excuisite seafood. Worth dressing up and feeling very Joy Luck Club for. If you can let go of some semblance of control and let the restaurant manager Nancy order for your party, you will be in good hands.

Eat Well Delicious Kitchen

 The go-to for easy Chinese food, casual ambiance, and pork chop that rivals Delicious in HK. I like the Wanton Noodle Soup as well as pork siumai as big as golf balls.

Xiang Chuan Restaurant

If you want to try something new without breaking the bank, look for this secret Hunan restaurant in Makati that serves up authentic spicy and saucy Hunan food. Nothing fancy, everything spicy!

Din Tai Fung, Hong Kong

If you're willing to fly for good food. Din Tai Fung is the ambassador of Xiao Long Bao, or soup dumpling. The crab version is better than anything in this world. 

Luk Fu Tea House, Hong Kong

They don't serve Xiao Long Bao, but they do have traditional yum cha/dim sum served in a pre-colonial setting right in Central HK.

Yun Kee, Hong Kong

If you want a real Kung Hei Fat Choi meal in HK, I would recommend Yun Kee if  only for their aromatic century eggs, and roasted goose. You can even bring home the Century Eggs for travel!

And if the Manila and Hong Kong restaurants just won't do it for you... I guess there's no where else to go but China!

Kung Hei Fat Choi.... I mean, Choy! Choi!

These Are a Few of my Favorite (Choi) Things

 Since Chinese New Year is coming up, I'd like to refresh ToT with a "Favorite Things" post on my favorite Chinese restaurant: Choi Garden

 Choi Garden is where our family dines when we can't think of anywhere else to go, aside from Cyma for some Mediterranean food. We have tried a lot of dishes, and think that their flavors and dishes are spot on. No need to hit up Hong Kong. They have almost everything you need here and more. 

 One of our favorite things to order is their Shabu-Shabu, or hot pot, which is basically a big bowl of broth and meats & seafoods with vegetables and noodles that you can cook for flavor. Traditionally. Shabu-Shabu involves only dipping the meat onto the soup for flavor, but for most Filipinos, we also use the broth as soup and use the meats to flavor the soup. Different strokes for different folks.

Spice Fusion's Authentic South East Asian Flavor

Spice Fusion

Since I'm in Cebu right now for the upcoming Sinulog Festival, one of my priorities is definitely where to eat, aside from Hotel Elizabeth's Flora Cafe, and where to take my friends out for an awesome meal. One of the places I thoroughly enjoyed during a previous visit was Spice Fusion, a South East Asian Restaurant located in Banilad Town Center just off Banilad Road.

The interiors aren't that impressive, a bit plain really, but their menu is as extensive as can be! If you're craving for Singaporean, Indonesian, Malaysian and other SEA food, then this is the place to go especially since it's managed by Malaysian chef Ling Sui Ching formerly from the Cebu Waterfront Hotels. Since my Cebu Crew is very good at filling up my naivete Manila tummy with Cebu resto finds, I gave them the liberty to order... and order they did!

Sumptous Chinese Spread at Shangri-La's Summer Palace

If you can't go to Hong Kong to get authentic Chinese cuisine, bring Hong Kong to your tummy via Summer Palace, my family's favorite restaurant for fine Chinese food with elegant ambiance. Ever since I was a kid, I remembered celebrating our special occasions at Summer Palace. When I grew up and began working, a lot of our lunches would be dimsum in this much-loved restaurant.

Though we frequent Choi Garden more because it's more relaxed and their Shabu-Shabu menu is fantastic, Summer Palace is the perfect lunch location. Plus all Shangri-La hotels have impeccable Chinese restaurants, and Summer Palace is really in a league of its own.

One of my favorite spots for dining is the Crystal Room, which is right in the center of the restaurant, enclosed by Chinese etched rosewood enveloping diners for more privacy.

Hong Kong Honeymoon

Let me tell you, Hong Kong can make you do crazy things. The food begs you to eat a lot. The sales lure you to shop a lot. The streets ensure you will walk a lot... speaking of walking... HK also made me sleep walk. More on that later.

My trip started with my shuttle ride to Park Lane hotel with a tornado hanging over our heads. RAIN!

As a birthday gift to myself, (aside from my Muse ii and my Tubbataha trip) I met up with my Santa Monica roommate in HK while her fam flew in from Jakarta. Well, that and the underwater cam case purchase that made me trek to the HK ghetto aka talahib (grassfields).

My very first meal while waiting for roomie's arrival was from a random sushi place atop the AMC movie theater in Causeway Bay. I was unsure what I was hungry for so I headed to the nearest resto from the hotel... Talk about a gem of a find; in that resto-that-will-remain-nameless I taste the most amazing shake (salmon) sushi which melts in your mouth with perfect oiliness.