Back in Vancouver when I was organizing this trip (a.k.a. = our eating schedule) I asked Ivon if there was any particular food or restaurant he wanted to try. To his credit, he wanted to try everything - but there was one place in particular place he wanted to visit while in town: The Molecular…
December 13, 2010: Tokyo Travel Day #7! Pachon! Great Burger! Harajuku!
Having subsisted on nothing but fat, sugar, and alcohol for the past twenty-four hours, I was feeling a little light-headed as dinner time rolled in last night. Under normal circumstances, I might have called it an early night but, of course, these were not normal circumstances. I was in Tokyo and headed to Pachon, a restaurant…
December 12, 2010: Tokyo Travel Day #6! Sawada! More Star Bar! We eat a half pound of fat for lunch! Strolling down Ginza Dori!
First, the Jelly update. She's on her way home today! So last night, I paid a return visit to one of my favorite sushi restaurants in Tokyo: Sawada. I figured that since this was Ivon's first visit to the city, he should be treated to a true sushi feast. And Sawada did not disappoint... Then, we moved…
December 11, 2010: Tokyo Day #5! Tofuro! Star Bar! Pizza Salvatore Cuomo! Akihabara!
Last night was one of those reservationless evenings designed to allow us to play things by ear, get some local input on our eating schedule. And so it was that, following a recommendation from the hotel concierge, we found ourselves at Tofuro izakaya. Now, the first thing that struck us was the ancient Chinese prison-like…
December 10, 2010: Tokyo Trip Day #4! Butagumi pork-out! Omotesando dessert run! Izakaya Tofuro!
My feet hurt. I figured this trip would be a great opportunity to break in those new shoes but, instead, they seem to be breaking me. We've been doing a fair amount of walking these past couple of days and if it weren't for the endless array of desserts that have given me the much-needed…
December 9, 2010: Tokyo Trip Day #3 – Jelly Update! Ivon is finally reunited with a long lost love! Roppongi! Birdland!
Jelly's doctor emailed me this morning to tell me that the surgery went like clockwork and the disc came away nicely. My gal is waking up and, hopefully, on the road to a speedy recovery. Last night, the airport called to inform Ivon his luggage had finally completed its long and eventful journey from Canada…
December 8, 2010: Tokyo Travel Day #2 – Sushi Breakfast! Roppongi! Desserts! And lots of walking!
The great thing about traveling from west to east is that the jet lag actually works in your favor. You're exhausted by 10:00 p.m. but up and ready to go by 6:00 a.m. Or, in Ivon's case this morning, 5:00 a.m. As an added bonus, he didn't need to waste time deciding what to wear because, as…
November 22, 2010: Rate my Tokyo restaurant list!
In approximately two weeks, Ivon and I will be Tokyo-bound. Since I'll be in company this time rather flying solo, I've decided to mix things up a bit. Instead of the strictly Michelin star blowouts of past years, I've elected to broaden my horizons by incorporating a little high and a low-end dining into the…
November 30, 2006: The Sichuan/Peking Restaurant, Hong Kong
It was way past our bedtime when we turned in for the night after our evening at the Happy Valley race track, so it was way past our usual wake up time when we finally made it out of bed this morning.9:30 a.m. By the time we were washed and dressed, it was too late…
Let’s call it November 29th: Hong Kong Day #4! Massage massacre! Happy Valley Racetrack!
I managed to wake up a little earlier today and squeeze in a work-out before heading down for a power breakfast: grilled fish (for low-fat protein), smoked salmon (for omega 3 oils), oatmeal and muesli (for fibre), papaya (for vitamin c), Eggs Benny on a baked tomato (for lutein and lycopene), and dim sum and…
November 27th – Let’s call it the 28th: Hong Kong Day #3! Lantau Island! A trip to the tailor!
Reflecting back on our tour to Lantau Island, it was, for the most part, unremarkable.That said, it did have its highs and lows. High points: Some of the people we met on the tour: the softspoken Edgar, CFO of Price Waterhouse Cooper in Columbia, retired social worker Manju, and her wisecracking husband Dilip. Our tour…
November 26th – actually, it’s the 27th here: Hong Kong Day #2! Po Lin Monastery!
Faced with the prospect of a grueling all-day tour (and a vegetarian lunch), I decided to fortify myself with a well-balanced breakfast of Eggs Benny, four kinds of dim sum, some smoked fish, grilled salmon, and two pieces of papaya (again, purely for decorative purposes). And it’s a good thing I did because it was…
November 25th-ish: Hong Kong Day 1! Let the eating beginning!
We got in a little after 8:30 p.m. and were in bed by 10:00 p.m. I assumed I would sleep until 7:00 a.m., giving me a good 9 hours to get over the jetlag and have me well-rested enough for our first full day in Hong Kong. Everything was going according to plan – until…
November 24, 2006: A heartfelt send-off from mom!
For some reason, the women in my family share a propensity for speaking their minds with a refreshing obliviousness to consequence. There was the time my then 110 year old grandmother who, when asked to make a toast at my cousin’s wedding, offered the following off-the-cuff gem: “Of all the guys she could have married,…
November 21, 2006: The Beginning
Here I sit, watching the battery recharge on my new HD camera (less than an hour to go!), making final preparations for my trip to Hong Kong and Tokyo. For the purposes of keeping a travel diary of sorts - and keeping you all entertained, natch - I'm attempting my second foray into the wonderful…