Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central, シェラトン・マカオホテル、コタイセントラル

I have experienced the largest Sheraton in the world!

 

Sheraton Macao Official Website →"http://sheratonmacao.com/en/"

 

  

Sheraton Macao Hotel, Cotai Central (澳門喜來登金沙城中心酒店), opened on September 20, 2012,

with 3,896 total guest rooms. Largest hotel in Macao and also largest of all Starwood's hotels.

 

 

 Executive Suite, Living Room

 

 Executive Suite, Bed Room

 

Executive Suite, Bath Room

 

893 ft²/83 m² Executive Suite with a 46-inch flat screen TV and queen-size sleeper sofa in the living room, one king size Sheraton Sweet Sleeper® bed with a 42-inch flat screen TV in the bed room and  the marble bathroom with a stand-alone bathtub, walk-in glass shower and premium Shine by Sheraton™ bath amenities. It's simply Gorgeous!

(They also have Family Suites with Nintendo® Wii™ and children's amenity.)

 

 

 

 Welcome Amenity

 

 Swimming Pool

 

In the swimming pool area, they were showing dream works movies for the families on the side of the swimming pool. In the hotel, they also offer a bunch of activities for kids.  

This hotel is a perfect place to stay for both the adults and kids on their vacation.

 "Palms" the lobby lounge (left), public place on the 1st floor (middle, right)

 

 Front desk -check in counter-, elevator hall

 

Hundreds of people check-in and check-out everyday in this hotel. Check-in counter with 10 experienced front desk staff handle checking-in process very smoothly and it didn't take 5 minutes to get me check-in.

 

 

 Exterior of the hotel

(the buildings in the middle and the right are Sheraton hotel and the left is Conrad and Holiday-Inn) 

 

 Picture in June, 2011

 

I visited Macao in 2011 for the first time, right after the Galaxy in Cotai Strip has opened. At that time, Sheraton and whole complex was still under construction.

Please see the post from 2years ago →"Hotels in Macao" July 18, 2011

To be continued...

Canape カナッペ

"Canape" is a French word, it can be mean "Hors d'oeuvre" or "Amuse-bouche",

it specially comes in a bite size and perfect for a cocktail party.

 

Last week, I was honored to work with my boss, Chef Garth Welsh, Director of Culinary of W Guangzhou, to help him make some of his creations for our VIP guests. 14 different types of savory canapes.

(Get to know more about Chef Garth, here is the video on youku优酷! →"Summer Food That Wows")

 

Sugar Cured Beef, Celery Jelly (left), Scallop, Cauliflower Jelly, Chive Gremolata (middle),

Scallop Ceviche, Watermelon (right)

   

Seared Scallop, Seaweed, Yuzu Jelly (left), Prawns and Chicken Pate, Sliced Papaya and Chili Jam (middle), Chilled Crab Salad, Sliced Mango, Tamarind (right)

  

Spiced Tuna, Pickled Beetroot and Feta (left), Oyster, Cucumber Jelly and Caviar (middle),  Vanilla Cured salmon, Sweet Corn Jelly and Salmon Roe(right)

 

Salmon Tartar, Tomato Consomme Jelly (left), Ginger Tuna, Avocado Puree and Radish (middle), Lobster, Mango Jelly and Mango Chili Coconut Salsa (right) 

 

Asparagus, Quail Egg and Hazelnut (left), Beetroot Jelly, Yogurt and Garlic Chip(right) 

 

 

Making those Canape was not really a Japanese thing but I felt that the process of making those 2cm² sized delicate canapes had so much in common with Japanese cuisine or any other cuisine I guess...

Pay attention to details, paring the flavors to each individual dishes, mixing the different types of textures together to one dish....etc

 

All those Canapes can be used in Japanese "Zensai" appetizer, just change the spices and seasonings, like thymes, chervils, fennel and basils, to Japanese flavors, like miso, oba leaf, soy sauce and wasabi. 

It was very good opportunity for me and my team to learn something different but so much in common. 





 14 types of Canapes ready for the Tasting of VIP event



 Plus 7 types of sweet canape from pastry kitchen (left), Savory canapes for tasting (right)

 

  

P.S. Those pictures below are another canapes Chef Garth has created prior to the ones he and I made last week. 

 

Spinach, Dried Cherry Tomato (left), Pickled Beetroot, Labne, Hazelnut Dukkah (middle left),

Sugar Cured Beef, Celeriac Remoulade (middle right), Pigs’ Cheeks, Pea Custard (right)

 

Smoked Salmon Mousse, Horseradish (left), Spiced Rare Roast Lamb, Cucumber, Tzatziki (middle left), Rillette of Duck, Foie Gras, Cognac Jelly (middle right), Vanilla Cured Salmon, Mussel Salad, Lemon Cream (right)



 

 Date Tarts (left), Crab Salad, Avocado, Flying Fish Roe (middle left), 

Peach and Almond Crumble (middle right), Chocolate Caramel Tarts (right)

 Lime and Ginger Tartlets (left), Espresso Panna Cotta (middle left),

Spiced Blueberry Compote Meringue (middle right), Orange Crème Reverse (right)




 

 

Trip to Singapore シンガポール小旅行

 View of downtown Singapore

 

 

Singapore, one of the international financial centers of Asia, as Tokyo and Hongkong.

Country size is as small as Special wards of Tokyo, with population of over 5 million.

 

I have visited Singapore in the end of August for 4 days to see my old friends and enjoy it's famous diversity of food!

 

 

Sheraton Towers Singapore, Deluxe Room (left and middle), swimming pool (right)

 

 

For 3 nights, I stayed with Sheraton Towers Singapore.

The hotel located near MRT Newton Station, less than 5mins walk from the station. If the weather is not too hot, you can walk to Orchard Road -the entertainment hub and tourist attraction of Singapore-it takes about 15mins.

It's quiet yet not far from the crowd. The hotel itself is quite old but still the service, cleanliness and location are exceptionally good. 

 

 

  Bathroom (left), room amenity (right),

 

 

There are great restaurants inside the hotel, ("Li Bai" Cantonese restaurant, "DOMVS" Italian restaurant, buffet restaurant and bars) but if you care for a local delicacy, there is a food center near by the hotel. Just across the street from the Newton MRT station, NEWTON FOOD CENTRE is there. You can enjoy all the different types of food for a reasonable price (I wouldn't say "Cheap" price because it is not that cheap... well, cheap for the people in Singapore, I guess...)

 



 

 Newton food centre, locates at near Sheraton Towers

 

 

 Singapore's famous Chicken Rice, Fujian style noodle and BBQ Chicken rice (left),

Newton Food Centre's shops and dining area (right)

 

 

There are few things you don't want to miss in Singapore, other than the great food.

Marina Bay Sands is one of them. As soon as it's officially opened in June 2010 (grand opening in Feb. 2011), because of it's characteristic facade, it became a new symbol of Singapore.

Looks like a giant space ship landed on the top of three buildings! The space ship part, "Sands SkyPark", actually is a "Infinity swimming pool / observation deck / restaurants & bars with a panoramic view of Singapore

 

 

 

 Marina Bay Sands, New Symbol of Singapore

 

 Exterior of Marina Bay Sands (left), inside of Marina Bat Sands (middle and right)

 

As I mentioned, many "Must Try" great food in Singapore. "Bak Kut Teh" (or 肉骨茶 in Chinese) is one of them. "Bak Kut Teh" is a pork ribs broth with spices and herbs, usually eaten with noodles or  a bowl of steamed rice.

 

 one of the famous "Bak Kut Teh" restaurants in Singapore (left), "Bak Kut Teh" (right)

 

 Singapore River

A colonial-style Raffles Hotel is one of the oldest luxury hotels in Singapore, another "Must Visit" place in Singapore.

World known cocktail "Singapore Sling" was invented by a bartender in Raffle Hotel between 1910-1915. You can still enjoy their signature Singapore Sling at one of the bars in the hotel.

 Raffles Hotel's Signature Singapore Sling

 

 

One of the great things about Singapore is the diversity of people and food.

The country has many foreign residents and immigrants, such as Chinese, Indian, English, Malay etc, and that connects to a daily necessity.."FOOD"!

I went to Little India and enjoyed Indian Naan bread with curry. Once I stepped into a part of the town, instantly I smell the different types of masala and curry and made me feel like I was in India.

 

 

 Little India area lies between MRT Little India station and Farrer Park station

 

 Variety of colorful and tasty food in Little India's Food Centre

 

Naan Bread with curry dip(left), Food Centre in Little India (right)

 

 

During my short stay, I also have enjoyed Satay -grilled skewers-, Laksa -spicy noodle soup-  in China town and Turkish delicacy in Arabic street.

 

 

 China Town, Chinese temple (top left), Food Centre in China town (top right), Satay skewers (bottom left), Laksa (bottom middle), Chicken rice and poached chicken liver (bottom right)

 

 Dinner at Turkish restaurant (left and middle), night view of Arabic street (right)

  

 

At the last day of my stay in Singapore, I have decided to visit Sentosa island which also recommended by friends who live there.

Going to Sentosa island was easier and quicker than I thought. It is very convenient.



 

 

Way to the Singaporeans' weekend resort island "Sentosa"

 

 Sentosa's Beaches

 Merlion statue at Sentosa Island (left), tropical birds (middle), Universal Studios Singapore (right)

 

 

Inside the island, there are many attractions other than famous Universal Studios Singapore.

There are the beaches, golf course, SPA and 5 star hotels -like, W Sentosa Cove Singapore, Shangri-la's Rasa Sentosa Resort etc-

This time, I didn't have enough time to enjoy those attractions but I would love to come back and stay in one those hotels in Santosa and enjoy the resort.

 

 



Huangsha -Seafood Market, Guangzhou- 黄沙、広州の海鮮市場

Huangsha Seafood Market (or Aquatic Product Trading Market) is located in Liwan District, Guangzhou city. It's said to be the biggest aquatic product trading center in Southern China.

Huangsha Seafood Market

 

 

It wasn't as bad as I expected... I mean, the conditions and cleanliness of the market. Of course, you don't want to go there with high-heel shoes or leather shoes. The ground there is covered with dirty water but as far as I know, almost every seafood market is like that.

So, I would say it wasn't the best but quite organized.

Many varieties of live seafood

 

 

In the market, I could find whole bunch of seasonal fresh, live seafood, like, lobster, abalone, clam, shrimp, crab, octopus, cuttlefish and so on...

You can purchase the seafood you like, bring it to the restaurants upstairs of the market and ask them to cook it the way you like. Though you still have to pay for both the ingredients and the cooking, at least you can eat the things you like in the way you like and it's very fresh for sure!

 

"Kuruma Ebi" tiger prawn (left), "Koh Ika" Cuttlefish

 

"Tako" octopus (left), variety of fresh sea fish (right)

 

 

Besides the seafood, I also found many different types of "weird stuff" in the market...

Alligators (or Crocodiles?), Turtles, Diving Beetles, Snakes, Worms and Scorpions!!

 

There is an old saying, mentioning about the food in Guangzhou (食在广州). There are several different ways to interpret it, however, people in Guangzhou told me that the saying means people of Guangzhou love to eat. That I strongly agree.

They say Guangzhou people eat everything in the sky except air plane, everything on the ground with four legs except tables and chairs, everything with two legs except human!

 

Turtle (left), Caddis worm (right)

 

Scorpion (left), Yellow Mealworm (right)

 

 

You can access to the market by taking Guangzhou subway -line 1- and 10 minutes walk from the Huangsha station.

 

 

Inagiku at IFC Hong Kong

Inagiku at IFC Hong Kong is one of the busiest Inagiku restaurants in the world.

The restaurant opened in 2007 as second branch of Inagiku restaurant in Hong Kong after the first one in Royal Garden Hotel in East Tsim Sha Tsui.

 

 

 The entrance of Inagiku Japanese restaurant at IFC Hong Kong (left),

"Ten-Don" Assorted tempura with special sweet soy sauce on a bowl of steamed rice (right)

 

 

I have been to the restaurant right after it's opened in 2007.

Japanese master chef, Makoto Yumoto (my boss at the time) who opened the first Inagiku restaurant in Royal Garden, recommended me to go there, see the restaurant and the kitchen.

 

After 6years, 2013 in June, I went to the restaurant again. This time, I spend two whole days in the kitchen and see how the daily operations in the busiest Inagiku restaurant are and learn something from them.

 

 

Private dining room with Teppanyaki and Tempura at the counter (left),

Cozy bar counter at the bar lounge area (right)

 

 

Teppanyaki griddle and tempura fryer in a private dining room

 

 

The restaurant has a direct access from Four Season Hotel, locates at inside IFC mall in Hong Kong's busiest financial district. Also, the restaurant has got a beautiful Hong Kong Harbour view from the dining room.

So, it is perfect for those busy business people for their quick lunch, or for the ones who want to talk business over the lunch, or for the nice anniversary dinner.... 

 

Those two days when I was there, the restaurant was busy as usual.

Most of the kitchen staff there have been working for Inagiku from the opening (some of them are even longer, transferred from Inagiku in the Royal Garden hotel), which means over 6years. Each staff knows exactly what they are doing, therefore, the operation was very smooth.

They also have many royal guests who come to the restaurant in a regular basis. The guests know the staff behind the sushi bar or teppanyaki. The staff know them as well.

 

I could see that 6 years of constant hard work of each individuals made this restaurant so successful. 

After the two days visit, I kept that in my mind and came back to Guangzhou to make that happen in "I by Inagiku" W Guangzhou!

 

 

View from IFC (left), Exterior of Four Seasons hotel (right)

 

See more detail →INAGIKU AT IFC

W Hong Kong, -trip from Guangzhou to Hong Kong-

View from W Hong Kong

  

In early June this year, I went to Hong Kong for 3days on the business trip.

There are a few ways to travel between Guangzhou and Hong Kong. By Train, Bus and Ferry.

Personally, I feel the train is the most convenient. (it will be even more convenient and traveling time will be much shorter after the high speed train between Guangzhou South station, Shenzhen North station, Futian station and Kowloon West station are completed in the near future...)

 



Guangzhou East Train Station, GZ East to HK Kowloon



 

The train leaves about every 45 minutes, it only takes less than 2 hours from Guangzhou East Station to Kowloon, Hung Hom Station.

However, I set the time to be at the station 60 minutes before the departure, because my friend told me that the immigration process takes time and the gates close 10 minutes before the departure.

 You can purchase the ticket at the station easily for HK$190 or purchase through travel agent for additional fee of 10-15RMB then they can deliver the tickets to you in advance to the departure day.

Inside of the train, heading to Kowloon

 

 

Train makes several stops, Shenzhen Luohu station is one of them

 

 

W Hong Kong is located in Kowloon, can be accessed directly from Kowloon Station.

The hotel opened it's door in September 2008 as "Soft Opening" period and "Grand Opening" in January 2009, keeps "WOW"ing people in HK ever since.

 

 W HK ground floor entrance in day time (left), the light screen on the bottom of the lift (middle),

A Card key to the guest room (right)

 

The hotel with 393 guests rooms, has very unique, cool comtemporary style all over the place.

Once you get into the lift from the ground floor to the 6th floor where you check-in counter locate at, you will notice the floor of the lift has a screen and it greets you with "Good Afternoon" or "Good Evening" in the evening!!

 

 "Kitchen" the signature restaurant (left top), Door bell of the guest room (left bottom),

Elevator hall at the guest room floor (right) 

 

 "Wonderful Room" with the great HK view, 42" LCD HDTV, iPod docking station and more!

 

 

 Nice confortable bed (left), "Munchie Box" (right)

 

 W HK ground floor entrance in evening time (left), the light screen on the bottom of the lift (right).

Unfortunately, I didn't have much time to try either of it's famous roof top swimming pool, Woo Bar, Kitchen -all day dining- restaurant or Sing Ying -Cantonese- restaurant.... Hopefully I will have chance to enjoy any of those next time I visit.