bc magazine

Learn Traditional French Cooking

Two years ago Disciples Escoffier, the French culinary association launched a partnership with Towngas Cooking Centre to offer a course in traditional French cooking the Disciples Escoffier Diploma in Culinary Arts. Established in France in 1954, and based on a 5,000 menu cookbook published in 1903, the Disciples Escoffier Diploma is an intense and expensive culinary programme, taught locally by chef Vincent Leroux and split into the 3 levels. Each level features 180 hours of study and cooking over three months.

The Basic level ($60,000) teaches the core French cooking techniques, including knifing skills, ingredients and sauce matching, handling of unusual ingredients, as well as dish plating and creativity training. Upon completion of the course and passing the exam you can move onto the Intermediate ($70,000) and Upper ($80,000) levels.

The ability and quality of those able to complete the full course is such that the CEO of the Institut Culiniaire Disciples Escoffier Robert Fontana commented that if he rang a Michelin starred restaurant in France and asked them if they’d employ a course graduate – the restaurant would offer them a trial sight unseen purely based on the person having graduated the course. Application for the February 2017 basic course is now open, contact 2576 1535 for more information.

J.CO Donuts to Open in Wanchai

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Asian donut shop J.CO arrives in Hong Kong. The shop will open, subject to government licences, sometime this week at 55 Hennessy Road in Wanchai. J.Co has hundreds of outlets across Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia offering donuts, coffee and frozen yoghurt.

Locally the store will offer 24 different flavoured donuts including 4 Hong Kong themed ones in two different styles ring and filled. According to Managing Director Frankie Lin the local specials are ring donuts Alcapone, Jacky Chunk and filled shells Tiramisu, Coco Loco and Why Nut.

The $15 donuts are light and not too sweet, the dough is a lot less dense and filling than traditional European styled donuts – which given their success across Asia obviously goes down well with Asian palates. For me, based on the three we tried, they’re a little unsubstantial and bland, but there’s still 21 to taste.

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There are also boxes of mini donuts called J.Pops ($98) which look perfect for gifting or sharing with friends. They only make a limited number of boxes each day, so call ahead and order if must have a box.

The J.Club breakfast menu, available until 11am, offers 5 different breakfast sandwiches ($22) made using the donut dough. We didn’t get to taste these, but will be back to try them out. None of the drinks were available so we can’t comment on the quality of the Indonesian coffee.

The shop is bigger than you’d expect and offers numerous seats – whether J.Co will be comfortable with long term seat hogs as happens in many coffee shops remains to be seen.

J.Co has one big problem though, it makes extensive use of that disgusting artificial plastic tasting fluffy white stuff that masquerades as ‘cream’ in Hong Kong. It’s piled on top of drinks, mixed into some of the donut fillings which ruins both. Steer clear of this ‘cream’ and you’ll enjoy J.Co a lot more!

J.Co: 55 Hennessy Road, Wanchai
Opening hours: 7:30am-9pm www.jcodonuts.com.hk

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Edited: 13 December to correct a factual error

Luxe Culinary Launch

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Nelson Siu publisher of local wine magazine Wine Luxe has launched a new catering service Luxe Culinary offering bespoke and celebrity chef catering. Currently there are three celebrity chefs on board celebrity chefs: Charmaine Cheung, Christian Yang and Jacky Yu and they have created a range of menus and canapés (priced upwards from $300 per 12 pieces).

As well food they offer advice on food and wine parings, cutlery and everything you need when you’d rather have someone else do the heavy lifting at your next party/ corporate event.

5th Annual Nebraska Beef Macau BBQ @ Studio City – 14 November, 2016

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The 5th Annual American BBQ, Nebraska in Macau took place at Studio City on the 14 November, 2016. Over 300 people including US Consul General Kurt Tong and Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts enjoyed Nebraska and US beef, pork and lamb cooked and prepared in over 20 different ways.

Sponsored by the Nebraska Beef Council and organised by US Meat Export Federation and the Nebraska and US Agricultural Trade Offices in HK with assistance from Angliss. The annual event looks to raise awareness of the quality and taste of American meat and agricultural produce.
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Crft Pit Tasting Brunch @ Ap Lei Chau

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With an expanded retail menu American BBQ kitchen Crft Pit, which opened in 2015, is now offering it’s wide range of BBQ’d meats for order online with home delivery.

Located in Ap Lei Chau the food factory, under the helm of Chef Leo Kam, also offers a Saturday tasting brunch (1-4pm) where you can sample their broad range of Southern BBQ’d and smoked meats on the terrace overlooking the South China Sea or inside watching the kitchen in action. The retail store also offers whiskey, wine, beer and soft drinks to pair with your BBQ.

Everything is served on metal take-away trays with paper wraps which matches with the working kitchen feel. bc sampled several items, sadly the tasty and popular pulled pork, which we sampled at Wine & Dine, had sold out, so well be back to have that again. What stands out across the menu is for want of a better description the cleanness of the meat. The lack of hormones, msg and additives, plus the light smoking allow the meat’s flavour to stand out. The beef is mainly from the US, while the New Zealand lamb and French spring chicken are both halal. The clean flavours are because Crft Pit is a food factory and sell their products to many restaurants across the city who then flavour them as they desire.

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The highlights are the pulled pork sliders and the sausages ($20 each), they’re superb meaty and full of flavour. The hot pastrami sandwich ($118) is pretty good, it’s hard not to compare it to the three inch thick pastrami slabs from New York, but that’s really not a fair comparison. The St Louis style spare ribs ($50) are meaty and not too heavily sauced so as to wipe out the meat. While the Texas short rib is a big slab of beef. For sides there’s Jalapeno Mac n Cheese ($30), Southorn Slaw ($25) and BBQ lentils ($30) – all tasty and good sized portions.

Everything is served to be shared, the tables are big, the atmosphere relaxed and it’s a very enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon, or host your own event there. The negatives it’s, in Hong Kong terms, in the middle of nowhere, although the 671 bus stops outside the door and there’s on street parking. Don’t want to go to Ap Lei Chau, see the online menu at www.crft-pit.com and have your food cooked for you and delivered directly to your door.

With Thanksgiving coming up see Crft-Pit’s Thanksgiving Turkey Set which feeds 4-6 people for $1998.

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Belgium Week Brings Vibrant Culture to Hong Kong

An eclectic introduction to modern Belgium culture is perhaps the best description for Belgium Week which runs from the 12-19 November and showcases a diverse range of artists including Filip Jordens, Jacques Brel, Peter Lenaerts, DJ Maxime Firket, Yves Ullens de Schooten, Harold Ancart, Sophie Whettnall, Belgian comics and gastronomy.

The weeks events launch with DJ Maxime Firket at Kee Club on the 12 November. On Sunday one of the more interesting performances is Filip Jordens Homage a Brel where he performs a repetoire of the legendary singer-songwriter and actor Jacques Brel songs at Ping Pong Gintonería in Sai Ying Pun, tickets are $500.

https://youtu.be/E7zgNye6HTE

The most unusual event is sound artist Peter Lenaerts MicroSleepDub ‘residency’ at Wing in Chai Wan from the 17-27 November. MicroSleepDub is about micro sound, architecture and urbanism. It’s a durational performance built around a sound composition for dub plates where Lenaerts listens and looks for sounds that are too quiet, too vague, or too low to be heard normally. Using a microphone as a microscope, he zooms in and amplifies these neglected, underexposed and discarded sounds. MicroSleepDub is an all night performance, where listening and sleeping are both encouraged. Entry is free, but registration is required.

A series of art exhibitions at the Kee Club and Artone will showcase established and new artists from Belgium whose artworks reflect Belgium as a country; rich in culture and artistic expression. Exhibition curator Emilie Rolin Jacquemyns commented that “I wanted to showcase a wide spectrum of artists that could really give a deeper feeling of Belgium. Each time I look at their artwork, there is a part of our culture, history and way of life that I see. Light is at the core of all their work, everything is subtle, minimalist and perfect. To me, there is a calming sense that unite all these pieces, and a sense of brightness, an expression of colour, that brings Belgium closer to home for me here in Hong Kong.”

Artists exhibiting at the KEE Club include:
Harold Ancart: born in Brussels but now lives and works in New York, he will be presenting an untitled piece. Using space and repetition for his architectural installations and works on paper, his work is often minimalist with recurring motifs of parrots, the jungle and palm trees.

Ann Veronica Janssens: an artist who uses distribution of light, colour, and reflective surfaces to reveal the instability of perception of time and space. She will showcase her art piece named Magic Mirror.

Sophie Whettnall: lives and works in Brussels and focuses on light but also has an eye for its absence, as well as landscape – a frequent theme in her work, uses raw and natural elements to reflect contradictory concepts and perceptions and will be exhibiting Border Lines #26.

Poetic Views
Date: 11am-11pm, 14-18 November, 2016
Venue: KEE Club
Tickets: Free

Photographer Yves Ullens de Schooten who will be showcasing The Theatre of Lights using abstract photography as his medium to express emotion and energy brought by light and colour at ArtOne.

Matières et contrast (Materials and Contrast)
Date: 10am-9pm, 12-19 November, 2016
Venue: Artone
Tickets: Free

In addition to the KEE and ArtOne exhibitions, Michel Mouffe has a solo show at the Axel Vervoordt Gallery and Andy Wauman, a solo show at Art Statements, Wong Chuk Hang. There is also an exhibition of photography, by Jean-Pierre Ruelle – Hong Kong and Islands at the Lightstage Gallery, Sheung Wan.

For a full program of events see www.belgiumhk.com

Belgium Week
Date: 12-19 November, 2016
Venue: Various
Tickets: See individual events
More info: www.BelgiumHK.com

8th Great American BBQ, Nebraska in Macau @ Venetian – 29 October, 2019

The 8th Great American BBQ, Nebraska in Macau took place at the Venetian and saw hundreds of people enjoy Nebraska beef cooked and cooked in a wide variety of ways. Those present included the new US Consul General Hanscom Smith and former Miss Macau.

Sponsored by the Nebraska Beef Council and organised by US Meat Export Federation and US Agricultural Trade Offices in HK. The annual event looks to raise awareness of the quality and taste of American meat and agricultural produce.
Click here or on any photo to see all the images.

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Wine & Dine 2016 – A Few Things to Enjoy

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It’s Wine & Dine! After a walk around under the blazing sun here’s a few things to enjoy. We can’t say it’s a ‘best of’, there’s over 400 booths to explore taste and savour. Have fun finding your own favourites.

It’s not cheap! While many outlets are offering discounts on their regular shop prices for buying bottles (with many happy to home deliver after the festival). Food is pricey, most places are averaging $50-75 per portion.

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In an attempt no doubt to break up the massive crowds this year’s Wine & Dine Festival is laid out in short blocks set at sharp angles. It’s not instinctively easy to find your way back to an outlet/booth so eat /drink what you want when you see/find it. This layout also makes it hard to direct friends to a spot they’d enjoy – take a photo of the booth number.

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Wine Whiskey and Beer

There are more wine companies and stands than you can possibly sample… decisions, decisions. Your wine tokens get a tasting portion – not a full glass. Ensure they rinse your glass first! Check out the Riedel tent, the glass manufacturer has an ongoing selection of talks and tastings.

There’s a large, essentially craft, beer area – towards the Admiralty end, far side from the harbour – with a wide range of local and international beers to sample. Several stands have special beers only available at Wine & Dine. Want a bite with your beer? Next to the beer stands at booth E814 you can find a mixed sausage platter of black cuttlefish and traditional German cheese sausages covered in melted cheese for $40.

If you like whiskey there are single brand whiskey stands, most are grouped in the middle of the festival. Except for the Jack Daniels booth which is in the American area. Celebrating it’s 150 anniversary, you’ll be able to taste a wide selection of Jack Daniels.

Food

It won’t mean much to many but one of the booths in the American street is offering a free drink to those who kiss Hillary and or punch Donald 🙂 For for a simple snack try Millennium Seafoods lobster soup.

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Enjoy a big tasty sausage? Opposite the stage the 30cm Mega Jumbo Wurst ($75) offers a nice meaty custom made German sausage. Cooked over a massive circular BBQ, the team is organised and ready for the rush, their target to serve you in 60 seconds. There’s also a 15cm version ($65) which is the same type of sausage but sold more like a hotdog in a bigger bun. Wash is down with some Fruh Radler (lemon beer).

Flavabomb (E506) has a lovely light refreshing Gelato di Moscato – a choice gelato ice-cream, topped up with moscato and we added in a few dried strawberry flakes (top photo). A light refreshing option perfect in the summer sun or after dark. They also have a range of bakery products including croissants and pain au chocolat and some tasty beef balls with truffle.

Seafood: Abalone more abalone plus a bit of shellfish. There several booths offering abalone from a variety of different locations, in different sizes and farmed or wild. On the harbourfront edge of festival The Gold Coast Hotel has a bowl of their signature tasty Sri-Lankan crab for $98 and a hearty German sausage with sauerkraut for $60. Both portions sized to be almost a complete meal in themselves. Next door the Panda Hotel has a lobster bun ($40) and salmon, crab, cheese tarts ($40).

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If want a change from seafood, U Banquet is offering Grilled Assorted Balls for $20 a portion

While you’re picking up your free cookies from Lucullus check out some of their other offerings the predominantly Kowloon side chain has a range of tasty bakery and desserts on offer including cheese tarts (original, durian or green tea, $30 for 2) and stuffed baked parmesan cheese rolls (chicken, Thai green curry, sichuan spicy pork $35 for 2) and some cute looking chilled offerings.

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There are lots of desserts on offer, one of bc’s favourites from last year returns at booth E507. A rich silky smooth egg custard served in a real egg shell. $40 for box of 4, it’s seriously delicious.

Other food booths to check out –pork knuckle specialists Golden Pig, K-Town, Butcher and Baker who are offering hotdogs ($40) and baked chocolate fondants topped with ice-cream $30. And for something a little different, next to the Admiralty entrance, Kwun Tong private kitchen Wines Buddy and Dining at Home.

Basic things: A reminder there is little shade! Sun cream and a hat or expect to boil during the day. Bring water, there’s lots and lots and lots of wine, beer, whiskey – but little water to keep hydrated. There are very few seats.

NO refunds on coupons! In fact, unless you want to sample wine, there’s very little point in waiting in the long lines to buy coupons at a rough estimate over 80% of booths accept cash.

It’s outside, there’s food, wine, beer, whiskey, live music… what’s not to like, have fun!

Wine & Dine Festival 2016
Date: 27-30 October, 2016
Venue: Central Harbourfront
Tickets: $30

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