The Time Traveller's Ball

Join in the fun on Thursday, 23, January

Yelp, an online urban guide is hosting "The Time Traveller's Ball" in the grand ballroom in the Grosvenor Square Marriott. The party will be for about 600 people in fancy dress and it will show off the best of local London in the past, present and future (hence the time travel theme). There will be free food, drinks, DJs, Twitter walls, casino games, ping pong, a photobooth in the back of a black London cab.... For the food and drinks lovers, expect some trendy street food from Big Apple Hot Dog and top notch craft beer from Brew Dog as well as classy cocktails from Jameson Irish Whiskey. (And many more!)

An award ceremony will also take place called "The Time Travellers' Awards", which are to celebrate the best of London's past in 2013 and looking forward to 2014. There are unique and different categories like "Best London Spot For A First Awkwardly-Adorable Online Date" Anyone can vote on those here if they have a favourite spot in London (and the winners will be announced at the Ball).

The event is free, to have a chance to attend please register on this link  RSVP on the official page to get on the waiting list.

For more information on the event, you can click here (Yelp Presents: The Time Travellers' Ball).

Hung's Delicacies

Marinated feast

Hung's Delicacies, a Chinese restaurant in North Point is all about traditional "Lou mei". Lou mei is a Chinese way of marinating/braising different types of meat and is usually made up of soy sauces, sugar, five spices, ginger and all kinds of local spices. It is a popular way to use leftover cuts or animals internal organs as the richness of the stock can cover off the overly bitterness and earthiness of the cheap cuts. Hung's Delicacies is famous for championing "Lou mei" but using fine quality meat which had created a buzz among the media and it has gained itself a Michelin star.

Hung's Delicacies

Ming Court

Smart casual hotel lunch

Ming Court at the Langham Place Hotel in Mong Kok is regarded as one of the very best Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong, popular to the locals as well as tourists, it has held 2 Michelin stars for 3 years but it was dropped to a 1 star rating in the 2014 edition. Not that I am bothered about it as I had a great dinner there last year and that was the reason I returned for lunch. I gathered that there was a new chef in charge who is the previous head chef's brother and ex executive chef at Fook Lam Moon, ranked as one of the Asia 50 best restaurants.

Ming court

The Grill at The Dorchester

Christmas dinner with Zomato

Located in the The Dorchester Hotel, one of the most iconic hotels in London's Mayfair on Park Lane, The Grill offers British dishes with a touch of modern vibe. I was invited by the wonderful people from Zomato to join up for a foodies evening there. As you would expect from The Dorchester, the decor of The Grill was elegant and classy, plenty of height with traditional colours and patterns to represent the booming years of the Great British Empire.

mini lobster burgers

We were offered a special 3 course menu and started off with some canapes of mini lobster burgers followed by an amuse bounche of scallop. The lobster had a little too much mayo for my liking which covered the natural sweetness of the lobster meat. I also ordered some classic cocktails throughout the evening from the bar managed by the living cocktail legend Giuliano Morandin. My Sidecar had a perfect balance of Remy Martin, lemon juice and orange liqueur, as I would expect from the old school master.

Sidecar

Cafe Murano

Casual Italian joy

Cafe Murano by Angela Hartnett on St James Street is a new Italian restaurant on the former site of the original, much celebrated Petrus. Heavily focused on Northern Italian food with a regular changing menu depending on available fresh ingredients. The concept of Cafe Murano is pretty much Murano but in a much more casual and simpler manner, diners can have a quick lunch by the bar or just a single item off the menu instead of a full on meal which is ideal for people with little time but demanding high quality food at the same time.

bar

Warm octopus was tender and moist, great flavour delivered by the well blended pesto with chickpeas in the mix. The sweet and sour mackerel was nicely seasoned, the raisins enhanced the rich flavour from the mackerel while the pinenuts added a nice crunchy texture, I just love how Italians handle seafood, simple ingredients but with bold and flavoursome outcomes.

truffle arancini

warm octopus, chickpeas, pesto

mackerel, raisins, pinenuts