W Taipei, "The Kitchen Table" W台北 "キッチンテーブル"

"The Kitchen Table", W Taipei's all day dining restaurant, is located on the 10th floor of the hotel.

It serves various types of food from the breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea to the dinner.

 

Entrance of "The Kitchen Table" (top left), Inside of the restaurant (top right)

Outside terrace at night (bottom)

Dessert section (left), restaurant interior (right top) and table setting (right bottom)

 

 

Some may find the food variety of the buffet isn't good enough, compare to the other 5 star hotel's buffet restaurants in the town, but I found the quality of the food in "The Kitchen Table" was much better than others.

They also "pass around" their special dish of the day, several times during each meal period. I had grilled fish, deep fried prawn, individual portioned mini-gratin during my dinner time. Those pass around dishes were all nicely presented in the small portion and very tasty indeed.

 

 

Cold appetizers, sushi/sashimi (left bottom) and hand roll (right)

Dessert selection

Salad (left) and Asian hot food (right) selection

Cold cuts (left) and dessert (right) selection

 

 

For more details on their official websites → W TAIPEI - THE KITCHEN TABLE

Hot Openings: W Bogota show offs dramatic style

“The opening of W Bogota is a milestone in Colombia’s hotel landscape, setting the stage for a redefined luxury experience in one of the world’s most vibrant destinations,” said Paul James, global brand leader, W Hotels, St. Regis and The Luxury Collection. “As emerging economies expand, so does tourism, and W Bogota’s highly anticipated debut is symbolic of the whims and wishes of today’s more global and interconnected modern travelers.”

- See more at: http://www.hotelsmag.com

  

Golden tones dominate the lounge

W Taipei, W台北

Trip to Taipei in the middle of November 2014, I had experienced the hottest energy source of the city, W Taipei, for the first time.

 

Exterior view of W Taipei (left), Giant chain at the entrace(right)

*The Chian "anchors the energy of the W Taipei into the ground"

(See more at: W Hotels Worldwide Debuts in Taiwan with the Opening of W Taipei)

 

 

For the first time, I heard of "W" hotel brand was back in 2010 when I was still working for Shangri-La hotel in Taipei. I had never heard of the name before and had no idea what the W brand was. After the hotel started recruitment, people also started to talk about it. Some said "it's a new brand from Hong Kong", "it's a boutique hotel combined with a night club"....

After 4 years, I work for the one in Guangzhoiu now and came to understand more about the brand.

Also the people in Taiwan have better understanding of this unique, inovative hotel brand and they seemed to love it! 

 

 

Fabulous Room (495 Square Feet / 46 Square Meters)

Fabulous Room in the evening

 

I have stayed in their "Fabulous" room, facing down to "WET" swimming pool (BTW, this swimming pool can be changed to an ice-skate link in the winnter time!).

The room was very clean, of course, big and nice design with all the necessary amenities. 

I personaly liked the big TV with the great sound from Bose speaker. That was awesome!

 

42" Flat Screen TV

 

Rainforest Shower (left), Bath room with W Signature Bathrobe & Bliss® Spa Bath Amenities (right)

W Signature Bathrobe & Separate Bathtub

Unique designed room. Wooden panels separates the bathroom and bed room, can be opened/closed.
Besides the design, they got all the basics just right. Such as hot water -hot enough-, water pressure -strong enough-, cleanliness, amenities...etc.

Bliss® Spa Bath Amenities (left), A Full Length Mirror (right)

Coffee Plunger (left), Munchie Box (right)

WET® Pool View

 

Elevator hall (left) and Hall way (right) at the guest floor

 

Elevator hall (left) and Entrance hall (right) at the ground floor



Entrance hall (left top), Entrance (left bottom) and W sign (right) outside

Jet bath (left) Sauna and Shower (right) in a FIT gym Change Room

My perosnal favorite, as being a Japanese, was the jet bath & sauna in the change room. Japanese people love "Onsen" -hot springs- and soak themselves in a hote bath tub, especially during the cold winter time.

Entrance to WET pool (left), Change Room (right)

WET pool (left) and WET® Bar(right)

WET pool (left) and WET® Bar

WET, swimming pool, is located just next to "The Kitchen Table" all day dining resturant, "WET BAR" and "WOO BAR"  The water tempature was warm enough but unfortunately I didn't have time to swim this time. Besides, I would be too shy to swim in the middle of the restaurat and bars...

Exterior of the hotel from pool side at night

Pool side and outside of WOOBAR at night

I understand why W Taipei is so popular in Taiwan and even for the people from outside Taiwan. It was an extraordinary experience that you can get in the latest, busiest part of the city of Taipei. And yet, they also have covered all the basic necessities that 5star hotels must have. I would recommend this hotel to everyone and love to go back again!

 

 

 

 

Wish You a Merry Christmas from W Guangzhou!

 

2014 Christmas Tree in W Guangzhou Living Room

 

2014 Christmas Tree in W Guangzhou Living Room

2014 Christmas Tree in W Guangzhou Living Room

SPG Keyless Check-in

On November 5, 2014, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has started SPG Keyless, the hospitality industry's first mobile, keyless entry system allowing guests to use their smartphone as a key.

Start off from three Starwood brands: A Loft, Element and W hotels in Beijing, Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles and Doha.

 

 -On YouTube Video-

 

It's a revolution, bring us to an new era of hotel industry around the globe.

Nobody wants to line up and waste any time on check-in, especially after spending hours on traveling. All we want is just to drop off the luggage and lie down on a bed or take a hot shower as soon as we reach the hotels. SPG Keyless will make our wish come true.

 

 

See more details at: www.spgpromos.com 

 

China Restaurant Week in Guangzhou

"Restaurant Week is a culinary event that takes place worldwide and is all about fine dining at the best for less. During Restaurant Week you have the chance to dine at top restaurants for a discounted set menu-price."  "Restaurant Week China is being organized by DiningCity China. DiningCity is the leading international restaurant guide with a clutter-free database of more than 25,000 carefully selected restaurants across the globe."  by Restaurant Week China.
- See more at official website → http://www.restaurantweek.cn/

This year, in September, we have been selected to join "Guangzhou Restaurant Week -Summer Edition 2014-"
In those 11days, we have received over 800 guests in "I by Inagiku" Japanese Restaurant and we are honored to be selected as "Best Newcomer"!! As one of the winners, we are once again serving the special set menu RMB118 for Lunch / RMB 248 for Dinner.

 

 

The new lounge at St. Regis Bangkok

"The lounge has become one of the most important pieces of any hotel's design." by  HOTELSMag.com

- See more at: What's Hot: Bangkok hotel debuts new lounge

Le Meridien Cyberport, Hong Kong ル メリディアン数碼港、香港

Le Meridien Cyberport has completed and opened in March 2004.
It is located at the Cyberport in the Southern district of Hong Kong. The location itself isn't a perfect spot for shopping or any other entertainment center. However, the hotel provides free shuttle bus ride between the hotel and the Hong Kong station in every hour. It takes about 20 minutes ride between the two destinations.

 "Smart Room" with one king bed

 

Bathroom with walk-in rain shower

Room with mountain view (top left), elevator hall on the guest room floor (bottom left), 

snacks & souvenirs (right)  



 

I stayed in a "Smart Room". It was very clean, nice modern design, got a view of the mountains and the ocean. Though, once thing I didn't like about the room was it didn't have a bathtub... (Japanese people love bath!)

 

 

Swimming pool

 

Cyberport park (left), outside of "Prompt" -the all day dining- (top right), 

picture of the ocean view taken from the room (bottom right) 



I was there over the weekend and saw many families with kids enjoying the meals in the restaurants, swimming pool and running around the park just outside of Prompt -the all day dining restaurant- .

Also, there is a shopping mall locates next door. You can get some snacks in a super market, enjoy the latest movies in cinemas and select what you want to eat from their restaurants in the food court.

All these, you can just relax, get it done stress-free,without any hustle on getting the movie tickets or finding a table at the food court.

So, I think this is a perfect weekend getaway destination from the stressful city life!

Hotel exterior in a day time (left), hotel front desk (middle), hotel lobby (right)

"Umami" Japanese restaurant + bar at grand floor

Business lunch sets in "Umami" Japanese restaurant

 

 "Umami" Japanese restaurant + bar

 

Hotel exterior in a night time (left), hotel front desk (middle), hotel entrance (right)

Elevator hall on the grand floor (left), public area on the grand floor (right)

Elevator hall on the grand floor (left), inside the elevator (middle),

corridor on the guest room floor (right)

 

See more detail →Le Meridien Cyberport Official Web Site

 

"Unagi" Freshwater Eel, 鳗鱼, うなぎ

In Japan, people are accustomed to eating eel during the summer. Eel contains a lot of protein and easy to be digested. So, that's why Japanese people believe it is good to eat eel during the hot summer time when they lose their appetite and easily get tired from the heat.  

 

 

In Japan, there are many small restaurants which specialized in eel. They mainly serve eel dishes and only few non-eel related items. 

And the Japanese people even have a special "Eel Day"(in Japanese "do yo no ushi no hi") for eating eel in the midsummer day of OX. In this year, 2014, it will be on July 29.

 

 

"Unagi Kaba-yaki" Grilled Eel with special Tare sauce 

 

Live eel in fish tank (left), how to cut eel (right) 

 

 

Freshwater eel has a distinctive muddy taste. In order to get rid of that muddy flavor, live eel must have been kept in the fish tank with clean freshwater for a couple of days.

 

There are few differences in how to prepare the eel between "Kanto" region (Eastern Japan) and "Kansai" region (Western Japan).

Usually open up the eel from the back side of the eel in "Kanto" and from the belly side of the eel in "Kansai" because the time when eel dish became popular in Edo period, there were more Samurai in "Kanto" than "Kansai" and the way cutting eel from belly side reminds them of "Hara-kiri", that's why the eel are cut from back side in "Kanto" region. 

 

How to cut eel

 

 

Also, cooking methods are different between "Kanto" and "Kansai".
In "Kanto" region, after cut and cleaned the eel, it will be lightly grilled, steamed and then grilled again with "Tare" special sauce (*Every eel restaurants has their own recipe for "Tare" sauce and usually it's been kept for decades, as same age as the history of the restaurants).
In "Kansai" region, after cut and cleaned the eel, it will be simply just grilled with "Tare" sauce.
So, the taste of eel in "Kanto" is said to be less fatty and texture is tenderer. In "Kansai", taste is richer and texture is tougher

The eel grilled with the sauce is call "Kaba-yaki"(蒲烧) and without sauce is called "Shira-yaki"(白烧) . "Shira-yaki" goes well with grated fresh wasabi. And "Sansho" pepper (山椒粉) for both "Kaba-yaki" and "Shira-yaki"

Let's eat eels in the summer!!

Filleted eel (left), Grill the eel (right)