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?!?!

Feb 17th, 2015: Pancake Day at HKU With Feeding Hong Kong 樂餉社‬

airbitz.co

As a part of the charitable events by Feeding Hong Kong (樂餉社‬ ), and being a part of "Chefs in the Community"(社區廚師計劃), I am very honored to be invited a second time to be a part of the annual Pancake Day event held in the Hong Kong University Campus (香港大學) at the Haking Wong Podium (黃克競平台). 

feedinghk.org

I will be there starting at 12pm (noon) making and selling pancakes and supporting the pancake races! Please come to support a good and charitable cause and eat pancakes! 

Cooking Demo: Longines Hong Kong Masters February 15th, 2015

Join me at The Longines Hong Kong Master Grand Slam this coming Sunday at Asia World Expo Venue 8!!!
I will be there along with Feeding Hong Kong presenting a cooking demo at 11:00am and 1:00pm!

Come learn how to make Vegetable Summer Rolls with a Peanut Dipping Sauce! 

www.tartineandapronstrings.com

See you there!

A Hong Kong Boozy Brunch, Spanish Style at Boqueria

                     It's not everyday that I get to spend a Sunday with a worthy bunch of humans eating and drinking our lives away to unlimited Spanish food and booze. There are countless restaurants and bars in Central Hong Kong for brunch, which has become a weekend trend and we secretly wish we could indulge in it everyday. Brunch is slowly seeping into the cracks of westernized civilizations like Hong Kong from our favorite dreamland over in the other side of the world. 

            La Boqueria Market being no doubt one the most famous farmers market in the middle of Barcelona in Spain continues to drive traffic from all around the world.  The city comes to shop, dine and socialize at this central meeting place, which sets another example of how food brings people together.  

              On the other hand, Boqueria in Hong Kong, sets itself aside as a Spanish restaurant serving specialty tapas provides a wonderful accommodation for us to enjoy a lazy afternoon with a brunch buffet and an optional free-flow drink pairing. Located in the Hotel Lan Kwai Fong (LKF), Boqueria is also in the center of where everything happens. Lan Kwai Fong is an area where people from all walks of life accumulate once the sun sets and throughout the weekends. It's basically heaven for the young and the young at heart. For a restaurant to be able to survive here really does take some skill and strength, since we all know the rent is quite the heavy load in this city. 

          Once you exited the elevator inside the hotel that led to the restaurant, you would quickly notice the exquisite legs of Iberico ham hanging by its hooves all lined up for the dramatic accent. At the end of the train of ham, a prolific Paella peaked out from behind and beckoned you to taste its pleasures. The pan was comparable to the diameter of my bathtub and conveniently rested next to the self-serve sangria station. The sangria station was really a one stop shop for patrons to make their own elixir with the bottomless wine, fruits, sodas and juices presented to you. Thankful for the food and drinks in our first world, I quickly sat down and grabbed a plate. 

          Our wait staff was quite attentive with asking for our drink orders and before I knew it, I was bombarded by 5 different glasses all lined up on my place mat. 5 shades of yellow?! :0, Oh, what? OK don't mind me :) Since it was free-flow, there was no one there to stop me from the gluttony I was about to embark on for my day of rest and recuperation. So I ordered my Bloody Mary, Cava, OJ, and made a red Sangria on my own, also some water just in case I was dehydrated. 

            The buffet bar was stocked with a selection cured meats, salads, gazpacho, fruits and mini churros. There were also oysters on the half shell, clams and fried bacon with Brussel sprouts included in the brunch menu, made to order. The buffet bar and menu was not the only place for food, there were also these tables on wheels that served as a platform cutting board where the staff wheeled around the restaurant like dim sum carts. A little bit like a child on Christmas Day, I was quite excited to see the whole roasted pork, roast lamb, and salmon with potatoes on these movable carts.  
              The pork was seasoned well that fell of the bone and covered with crispy skin that may make a grown man tear. The roasted lamb was quite tender and flavorful, which complimented my sangria and the salmon was juicy, not dry and paired well with some Cava. 

            Without notice, a general staff comes by the table and nonchalantly offers a bib to one of my friends, who we were bidding farewell to. With a wicked smile, he revealed his Porron and showed us how it was done. The Porron was a drinking vessel native to Spain and allowed everyone in the party to share a drink from a communal spout, which would never touch your lips. After all, sharing was caring and let's hope that the fountain of life would continue to bring joy and laughter through food and wine.
          After many good laughs with our bulging bellies and multiple rounds of glasses refilled, good times always comes to an end with the bill :0 It was not a fortune neither a bargain, but it did leave happy campers with gratified hearts, which was well worth it. Will come again to get porroned! 

Recipe: Vegetarian Cauliflower Pizza! Easy, Healthy and Gluten Free!

             How many pizza's slices can you eat? I know I'll be tempted to go for seconds and thirds for a pizza that just came out of the oven, but how many calories would you regret racking up by the end of the night!                              Don't like veggies? You won't even think there are any vegetables in this crust! Even if you don't have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, this pizza would be a great alternative to increase your vegetable and dietary fiber intake without losing all the flavors and mouthfeel of a real pizza!!! I know it's hard to believe but this is my 'raison d'etre' as a culinary dietitian. I live to research, test and produce a highly nutritional dish that will tantalize everyone's tastebuds and yet makes them feel extra good about eating it. 

simplyscratch.com

      Cauliflower is a natural cruciferous vegetable that is highly versatile, highly nutritious and related to disease prevention. They are not only high in vitamins, minerals and fiber, but in recent scientific studies, cruciferous vegetables have been linked to cancer prevention where animal laboratory results show anti-inflammatory effects, protection against DNA damage, and have antiviral and antibacterial affects. How exciting! There's now more reason to add these amazing vegetables to your diet and help you live a more fulfilling and healthy life! There are many versions of this cauliflower recipe and many links on the web are really good, I've just compiled a few recipes I've found and modified it to my own liking, I hope you'll try this at home. 

         

Recipe: Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Barbecue Sauce and Tomatoes and Onions 

Ingredients: (Makes Two 9x9 inch round pizza)

Crust:          2             heads of cauliflower 

                    4             eggs 

                    1 cup      mozzarella cheese, shredded 

                    1/2 tsp    salt 

                    1/4 tsp    black pepper cracked

                    1 tsp       oregano, dried

                    1 Tbsp    garlic, minced

Toppings:    4 Tbsp    Barbecue sauce (any)

                    2             roma tomato cut into wedges

                    1/2          red onion sliced thin

                    1 cup      mozzarella pizza cheese, shredded

                    1 cup      chicken breast, diced (optional for carnivores)

Method: 

1) Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celcius or 400 degrees Fahrenheit

2) Cut cauliflower into chunks and pulse in a food processor or a blender. Be careful not to puree it too finely, a texture like rice is what you want. (as shown). Take riced cauliflower out and drain and squeeze out any excess liquids and place in a large mixing bowl. This process can be done before hand and can keep a stash of riced cauliflower in your freezer so you can make pizza on demand! 

3) In the bowl, add in cheese, salt, pepper, eggs, oregano, and garlic and mix thoroughly to combine. 

4) On a parchment lined flat baking tray (can be square or round) spoon cauliflower mixture onto tray and spread evenly to about 1cm thick and place in the over for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. 

5) After taking the crust out of the oven, you can low spoon on the barbecue sauce then layer on the tomatoes and onions. If you would like to add meat, some diced chicken breast would be a great addition. At the end sprinkle on the cheese and return to the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and some browning occurs. 

There is nothing better than a slice of homemade pizza, fresh out of the oven! Enjoy! :)

Avoiding Added Sugar is The Most Difficult Decision I Have Made This Year!

carlogoldenwellness.com

             It's the time to reflect on the choices we made last year to hopefully become better people this year. I can't say that I am a dietary saint, but I had a diet that emphasized eating all foods in moderation and a lifestyle with good physical activity.  I love food so much, it is just human nature to find it difficult to resist the scrumptious desserts and beverages that rack up all those unwanted empty calories in our diet. 

cookingclassy.com

        By empty calories, I really mean those food and beverages that are processed with solid fats and added sugars. These foods include cakes, cookies, muffins, pastries, doughnuts, sodas, juices, energy and sport drinks, candy and also ice cream. 


        'Preventative medicine is always the best type of medicine.' - Anon. SO TRUE!!! 

         My family has a history of Diabetes and Heart Disease and avoiding such empty calories in my food may contribute to my well being just as much as it will to yours even if you do not have a similar background. 

hungryforchange.tv

       You may think giving up foods with added sugars is an easy thing to do, but you are forgetting that many food items contain some sort of sugar in them. Some foods have 'disguised sugar' in their nutrition labels with some terms that you may not suspect to be a sugar but actually is. 

hateandanger.files.wordpress.com

       The list can go on for a while, but some of the common ones are: 
"corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, fruit juice concentrates, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, invert sugar,
lactose, maltose, malt syrup, raw sugar, sucrose, sugar syrup, cane crystals, cane sugar, crystalline fructose, evaporated cane juice, corn syrup solids, and malt syrup. "
      "A sugar is a sugar", that's what the Corn Refiner's Association said in their high fructose corn syrup advertisement. A recent 2014 study published in the scientific journal: Current Opinion in Lipidology reveals that in some circumstances, fructose may increase cholesterol, tryglyceride levels and uric acid in the body after eating, but "it does not appear to be any worse than glucose in its effects on other aspects of the lipid profile, insulin, or markers of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease." 

fitlink.co.nz

      My concern is NOT which one is worse than the other, but it is the fact that we cannot escape added sugars in our daily diet. It is everywhere and not only in sweets but anywhere from sauces to soups, marinades to sausages, dried fruits and dressings!

www.knoxvilledentist.co

       As mentioned in the American Heart Association, the rule for women is to not exceed 6 teaspoons (100 calories) of sugar and 9 teaspoons (150 calories) for men in one day. There are 4grams of sugar in 1 teaspoon. Also the labels for added sugar is not quite clear in our food system, which make it difficult to judge what is ok and what is too much. The sugar labelling on food items are as follows:

• Sugar-Free – less than 0.5 g of sugar per serving
• Reduced Sugar or Less Sugar – at least 25 percent less sugars per serving compared to a standard serving size of the traditional variety
• No Added Sugars or Without Added Sugars – no sugars or sugar-containing ingredient such as juice or dry fruit is added during processing
• Low Sugar – not defined or allowed as a claim on food labels

A better rule is to not let these claims sway you to buy a product on the market shelf. A method that diabetics use efficiently is carbohydrate counting where one serving of a carbohydrate contains about 15 grams of carbs and 40-65 grams of carbohydrate should make up each meal. That is useful to really keep your carbohydrate load in check, I also use this rule of thumb to read food labels and when there's more than 15 grams of carbs per a serving, I tend to NOT buy it. 

The following 5 rules are practically the epitome of my new year's resolution and hopefully I will persevere: 

1. Drink nothing that tastes sweet! 

i.dailymail.co.uk

   We crave sugar because most of the foods we eat have added sugars and our tastebuds have been conditioned to taste more and more sugar throughout the years. The idea is to condition yourself to like less sweet foods and eventually we will lose the craving. This means, no sugar/honey in your coffee or tea, no sweetened smoothies, no fruit juices, no soda or sport drinks, even if it is a  'diet' drink or made with 'artificial sweeteners' like aspartame and sorbitol, -- which are not the best for you either. For alcohol, it is best to stay away from sweet cocktails and opt for club soda instead of coke/sprite/tonic water and ask for more lemon/lime juice or even a slice of cucumber to freshen up the taste. This also includes coconut water!

           
2. NO dessert after a meal and if it's in front of you and your friend insists on sharing, have ONLY 1 slow bite-sized piece and make sure you try to taste every ingredient inside and savor every moment of it! 
    This means no peeking at the dessert menu!

3. Chew your food thoroughly before swallowing it and avoid scarfing everything down at once. The previous rule led perfectly to this one where you should always taste your food by eating slower. You will become full quicker since there is now time for the signals of the stomach to let your brain process that you are eating and it is filling up. "Mindful Eating" from the Harvard Medical School preaches the practice of eating slowly to help you notice satisfaction before you have eaten too much. 

bujournalism.com

    Think of every dish as a treat and take as long as you need to taste what kind of ingredients went into making it or how it was produced. Review every ingredient like flour, sugar or salt to the kind of fruit and whether it was fresh or dried fruit and possibly if any cream or egg was it in with spices and herbs. For fruits or vegetables, think of how it was produced in the orchard or farm. We hardly take our time to investigate what goes into making a dish or a food before swallowing it after a couple of chews. I urge you to become more familiar with the ingredients and trust me, a whole new world of flavors will emerge when you eat slower. 

4. In the market, read each food label of the items you are purchasing, if there's anything in the ingredients that have a similar name to those 'hidden sugars' from the list above, I'd put it down. Also, if the food contains more than 15grams of carbohydrates per a serving, I'd also reconsider. 

groceriesdelivered.ca

     Careful with those granola bars, condiments and vitamin waters! 

5. Stay away from fancy sweet dressings and sweet sauces, they usually have more sugar in them than if you only used vinegar/lemon juice and olive oil with some salt and pepper. 

cozoso.com

     I know you love your sweet and sour pork at your favorite Chinese restaurant or a nice fruity vinaigrette on your salad, but it is all full of sugar. Try blending in a fresh fruit or a roasted root vegetables like beets/carrots, roasted pumpkin or caramelized onions to your sauces and dressings to increase fiber and enhance flavors.    

popsugar.com

    What is a sugar?  A sugar is a simple carbohydrate and they are present in breads, potatoes, crackers and even in vegetables and fruits that provide the first source of energy for your body in everyday functions. It can raise your blood glucose levels and normalized with the help of insulin. In the past decade or so, carbohydrates have gotten such a bad reputation for the cause of obesity, low energy levels and diabetes. I believe it is a problem with the nutrition education among the general public as to who and what to listen to when it comes to nutritional advice. 

           We as humans are programmed to thrive on carbohydrates and it is one of the most important food groups next to protein and fats. All of those nutrients are essential to our bodies, especially with normal brain function, we need carbohydrates! It is a balanced diet that I am concerned about and the amount of carbohydrates we eat daily should stay within a range to help keep blood glucose levels within control. If the amount of carbohydrates vary too greatly on a daily basis, our insulin levels do so as well, therefore making our body work extra hard to normalize our blood glucose causing many effects such as insulin resistance, obesity and diabetes. 

hsph.harvard.edu

            The Glycemic Index (GI) is a measurement associated with the time it takes for the carbohydrates in the food to turn into glucose via your blood stream where glucose is 100 and other foods come before. The lower the GI the slower it breaks down during digestion, therefore helping glucose regulation. 

         In the end of the day, the most important message here is to stay away from unnecessary sweets and focus on a diet where you can eat most food groups in moderation and incorporate ample amounts of physical activity into your lifestyle to balance your overall wellbeing. I hereby wish you a happy, healthy and harmonious 2015!!!