Ponytail Journal

One man’s trash is another’s treasure in the long gone Lap Sap Wan, Rubbish Island, Hong Kong. Big dining groups have opened up a flurry of cloned restaurant concepts in the area since few independent chefs can afford those ambitious rents, while gems like Alvy’s exist just around the corner. Anne Berry tells us about the tastiest pizza crusts on the island.

Anne talks about the harsh reminder of how supermarkets do more than just make our lives cheaper and easier—they also disrupt our food culture.

Most people have their own personal rituals when it comes to tea and coffee, be it milk and two sugars, or black without cream. These almost mechanical exercises help shape our days, and for the late-risers, a cup of coffee might come from the cheerful beeping of a Nespresso machine, while for early birds might have the time and energy to carefully draw circles upon circles of steaming water on a V60 drip. There’s a psychological benefit too, especially on cold, dark winter mornings when you need that transitory experience to transport your mind far away from the comfort of warm sheets.

The increasingly expensive rent and labour cost in Hong Kong has forced many companies over the last two decades to vacate their corrugated iron gates and reestablish factories further north in Mainland China. Anne Berry shows us some exciting eating and drinking experiences that prove a more grassroots approach to Hong Kong’s cutthroat food scene, all of which are taking advantage of the new abundance of industrial space.

At Casa Lolea in Barcelona, the booze is fresh and served on generously sized ice cubes, and their food is well thought out, humble, but luxurious all the same.

Many of us have probably experienced the Proustian phenomenon at least once, an idea which proposes that your olfactory system has more power than any other sense to trigger memories. For some it’s a tea-soaked madeleine, for others maybe a thick chicken broth. This week on PTJ, we’ve found a few classic Hong Kong dishes and eateries so good they’ll transport you in time and space to their inception. This list is by no means definitive of what Hong Kong has to offer and instead curates a small taste of the city’s favorite dishes and the people behind them.

A dish that came out of the Vietnam war when US Marine and Airforce troops kept base in Thailand, this tomato-y, bacon-y, fried chicken-y plate of goodness has remained a classic and rings home to a lot of folk today. Watch how to make it in a jiffy

If you ever find yourself in the central region of France in an area called Creuse, named after its mighty river that permeates...

My first visit to Myanmar happened a good ten years back when the country had just opened itself to a limited number of foreigne...

Im sharing a little secret with you, my favourite donuts in Tokyo. To set the scene it’s dark and cold out, I’ve been on my fee...

What is a trip to Istanbul without a kebab? Like a dog without his bone. Welcome to PTJ kebab etiquette, a step by step tour o...

The food at Wonka Old Bangkok speaks the same passionate language that it’s home speaks. The romance translates from the walls...