This Season Of Love, California Nostalgia Resonates at Café Sausalito

              The renaissance of retro Sham Shui Po 深水埗 has brought the Bay Area's nautical scene to 201 Tai Nan Street 大南街, where a quaint little café now resides. Café Sausalito is a new neighbourhood gem that serves up one of the best cup of joes in the area. I have been given the honor to leave a small footprint by helping create some of their weekend specials and homemade baked goods currently offered to the lovely citizens of Hong Kong. Although Coffee is the star of this joint, it is not the only thing that makes this place a special one.
               I had a blast these past few weeks while celebrating Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year in the span of two consecutive weekends. The café took this opportunity to put up fitting decorations in order to honour these major festivities with open arms. 
        For those days surrounding Valentine's Day, I put forth a lovely dark chocolate-rose tofu tart to pair with our special heart warming mocha that unlocked every mans heart. 
        Who really hates chocolate is really a hater, but those who are lovers won't mind a free chocolate strawberry tuxedo with a purchase of two coffees on Valentine's Day really enjoyed this delectable gift! 
     My girlfriends and I really had a great time creating these while on a girls night at the café bonding in-house with our very own resident barista baller, the sultry Michael Tam. He really did have quite a lot to complain about being the only man in the midst of 4 women dipping strawberries in chocolate. 
                    We also took the opportunity to invite local artists and musicians to showcase their skills at the café and welcomed everyone to come out for a coffee with a slice of cake. These artists included Alison a wonderful sketcher and Henna Tattoo artist to set up a little booth out front for anyone who wants give an as-you-wish sum in exchange for some artwork. 
            For another romantic afternoon, the pleasure was all ours when Anthony, a resident saxophonist from the Langham Hotel, stopped by for a couple of sets. He was definitely serenading all the patrons inside with well known cover tunes that span from the Western world all the way to songs from our closely related Chinese roots.  
           On Chinese New Year's Day, Tai Nan Street became the prime locations for a block party where we had The Anello, a Hong Kong based collaboration, stirring up the scene with familiar covers and also amazing originals. You can see them creating an amazing buzz throughout the café and its surroundings with such an awesome performance. 

       We can hardly wait until The Anello can come visit us again with more live performances!!! This was a perfect day to spend a holiday on the block with good live music, great coffee, good food and good company!!! The rain didn't stop us! 
   





       
             A hearty brunch was also served alongside this enjoyable event, which made a positive attribution to the whole experience. Can you really resist a toasted bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon, pickled cucumbers on top of French style scrambled eggs? I can answer that question for you! 
      Should you also compliment that with a warm homemade apple crumble tart? Oh, I think so! :) ...If apples and cinnamon are not a combination for you, may I suggest a homemade chocolate-hazelnut (Nutella) tofu tart or even a classic lemon tart for kicks. 

            I had the honour to develop and create a membership card board for Café Sausalito, which Michael delightfully accepted as my contribution. It is now conveniently displayed at the café for a place to put our important members' record of their coffee spending. 
       As a token of my appreciation, I made everyone drink steamed milk! 
I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day and a Happy Chinese New Year! 恭喜發財! Got Milk?!?!

A Healthy 3 Course Dinner with Wine Pairing

                     This past Thursday was the sold-out inaugural food and wine pairing event in Hong Kong for Brown Rice Meets the Pearl and I am glad to say it was a success. Thanks to all who participated and had a chance to enjoy the beautiful evening wining and dining together, which was completed with a nutritional talk and some cooking demonstrations.
            It all happened earlier that day at the kitchen space my cousin, Jennifer, lent to me along with her very wonderful helpers, Anson and Ricky. There is nothing but gratitude towards these exceptional people. 

It was amazing how much a set of helping hands could provide in a time of need, especially when it comes to transportation. 
       The passed hors d'oeuvres included a selection of tomato and basil bruschetta on whole grain toast and homemade hummus on whole wheat pita chips. Once everyone arrived, I provided a short but informative nutrition explanation of the menu and how it correlates with the "My Plate" module from the healthy guidelines of the US Department of Agriculture. This new module has replaced the "Food Pyramid" that many people learned previously. 

             As a dietitian and chef, I strive to incorporate healthy guidelines and standards of "My Plate" in my menus to help others understand how easy it is to follow these habits themselves, which does not have to feel like a meal full of bland vegetables, but can also look and taste great! I achieve to serve food that is aesthetically pleasing, exceptionally tasting and also healthy at the same time. I believe that all these three things can be achieved having ingredients that are locally available. 
         The appetizer was a salad, perfect for the beginning of summer with the warm weather we are having lately. I included jade melon (chinese zucchini), dragon fruit, cherry tomatoes, apples with a lemon-herb dressing and a red beet-cherry puree. A thin piece of 24 month aged Spanish Serrano ham and a Parmesan Reggiano crisp was added for a savory and crispy finish.
 The main course was a choice between a baked salmon or chicken breast roulade with sweet potato greens over an asparagus, mushroom, brown rice risotto and white wine sauce. 
 The dishes were cooked all on site, which allowed people to experience the dishes as they were ready. 

To finish off, the dessert was a red wine poached pear with honey-greek yogurt and homemade granola. To have a theatrical component, a small vessel created from a cherry was filled with liquor and as the desserts were served in dim lighting, the liquor was lit on fire for the grand finale. 

           Thank you for those of you who supported this event and me. My next event is just around the corner. It will be a cooking class with healthy summer dishes and beer pairing.  Tickets can be purchased in advance via Eventbrite by clicking here.

A Morning with DHA at The Peninsula

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                            It's not news that infant formula has been in the media lately because mainlanders have literally scoured the store shelves in Hong Kong to load luggage-full supplies back into China. The situation has gotten so bad that now there is a fine and possible jail time if a traveller is caught with over the granted limit leaving Hong Kong. I bring this up because many infant formulas now contain DHA and I recently was invited to attend a press release event at The Peninsula Hotel on April 23rd to witness a presentation of an important piece of clinical study. The presentation was sponsored by DSM, a large corporate company that produces vitamin and mineral supplements.
                            Do people even know what DHA is when they purchase jars after jars of these supplements? I know there is so much information in the media and people, nowadays, are very smart about their nutrition and diet but, many people who take these supplements do not even know that Omega -3 is a fat. Well, it is, and it is a good type of fat, but everything taken in moderation is a wise move and yet if you happen to overdose on Omega 3 fatty acids, the American Cancer Society states that one may experience difficulty forming blood clots when there are bodily injuries, as the platelets may be affected by the high levels of Omega-3 in the blood. Also taking Omega-3 supplements may prolong bleeding and have interactions with medications. 
                        DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid), like EPA, is an infamous Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) that has a critical role in the growth and development of the nervous system of infants and children. According to The University of Maryland in the US, DHA is found in seaweed and cold water fatty fish like salmon. DHA may have an affect in decreasing symptoms of ADHD, since it is involved in proper brain development. People with high triglycerides can take DHA to decrease their triglyceride levels and therefore lower their chances of cardiovascular disease. Also DHA is associated with lowering inflammation and decreasing joint paint for those with arthritis and pain. 

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                            Dr. Susan E Carlson, Ph.D was presenting on her latest DHA supplementation research at the legendary Peninsula Hotel last week, titled "Maternal Nutrition and Beyond". Since no EPA was used, DHA ultimately was placed on the pedestal. DHA is transferred from the mother to the fetus during pregnancy is also absorbed by the baby during breast feeding via the mother's milk. With mothers taking 600mg of perinatal supplementation a day, there is evidence of increased DHA in the blood of the baby and the blood of the mother compared to the placebo group. Her results also showed an increase in infant birth weights, head circumference, and birth length. For the mother, the days in the hospital post giving birth have decreased and the percentage of preterm birth has significantly decreased. Dr. Carlson even quoted that approximately $9 Billion USD a year, which equates to about $69 Billion HKD can be saved if every pregnant woman in America took 600mg of DHA a day per annum. Pregnant women only need as little as 200mg of DHA a day to provide adequate nutrition for daily functions but with many cases of low birth weight infants and preterm births, increasing the intake to 600mg, had not been shown to have any adverse effects. 
                            Either way, DHA should be taken in moderation and one should always consult your doctor or Registered Dietitian before you start any new diet or supplementation regimen. I believe in getting your DHA from food sources but, many fish contain mercury and pose an adverse health risk to humans. 

www.gnc.com.ph -

                  Fish sources of DHA include tuna (bluefin tuna has more DHA than other types of tuna), sardines, shellfish, and herring. Although some of these fish contain mercury, the Food and Drug Administration has stated that eating some fish each week have no risk to healthy people and provide many health benefits. Women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant should avoid fishes with high mercury levels such as, king mackerel, shark, swordfish, and tilefish and also limit consumption of white albacore tuna to under 6 oz weekly. A mother who eats a healthy diet produces milk that contains significant amounts of DHA and extra supplementation is not necessary. 
                           I did take advantage of this press release and got to taste a selection of healthy brunch-themed Hors D'oeuvres, which I thought to be very creative. I did not expect anything less from the chefs at The Peninsula Hotel.