Hong Kong people are skinny. There are a few heavy set people, but rarely. Riding in the MTR (subway) the seats are not even design to fit more heavy set people.

3 Main reasons why they are fit

1) Amount of walking. In the States, I drive my car to even to the local super market a few blocks away. With an efficient MTR subway, I can go from Wan Chai to Central (business downtown) within ten minutes. I walk to the MTR and each station is only a few minutes away from each other.

2) Portion control. At Seven Eleven, there is no Big Gulp. From ice coffee at restaurants, just about everything is small relative to the United States.

3) The general diet. Chinese is the primary cuisine. A small bowl of wonton noodle soup can be considered lunch. View the picture above. The wonton noodle soup was on $3USD but it was small.

The won ton noodle soup at a local Wan Chai restaurant had chewy noodles that married well with wonton. Also, Japanese comes in a close second in terms of popular cuisines. Sushi restaurants are everywhere. Since sushi lacks oil, it is considered a healthy choice.

My grandma has aged well considering she is 83, so what does she eat?
Her diet is simple.

Steamed fish with soy sauce, soup, and corn.

No fatty cheese, no artery blockers. After working for Lee Kum Kee, the major sauce company in Asia, I discovered that Chinese cuisine is healthy. Many soy products from soy sauce, tofu, to soy milk are part of the daily diet.

I conclude that diet alone does not make one healthy. But a great diet, exercise, along with family oriented community is a great combination.

In terms of kitchen space, it is very compact. Every appliance is built in a compact manner.

Food is more than just something we put in our mouths. It is even more than just substance the provides us with energy. Food is dynamic.

For instance, a hot strawberry Pop Tarts reminds me about my elementary school mornings. My mom would yell “grab the Pop Tart and eat in the car, you’re late!”

Lunchables reminds me of the elementary school days. I had a rice bowl hair cut, braces, and awkward social skills. Basically, certain foods connects us with memories and allows us to recall certain events.

I Love, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti written by Giulia Melucci is a book that recounts certain boyfriend relationships that are connected with different food recipes.

The book is charming and reaffirms how certain dishes are connected with certain events in our lives. Italian food recipes are embedded within the book.

Note: Special thanks to Anna Baalasi, Associate Web Publicist for Hachette Book for the book.

The Japan Michelin guide arrives in Japan. Having traveled to both Paris and Tokyo, I see a few similarities in their foods.

1st. They both value food art. Food plating just made me want to eat every dish.
2nd. They focus on quality, not quantity. (flaky croissants and crepes)

note: Thanks to @Blkrocket from Twitter for the source.

Campusfork loves Twitter. Through this micro blogging site, we have been able to share food photos and blogs. Now, even San Francisco top chefs are doing the same.

Read about it in the San Francisco Chronicle Article: Gastronomic glitterati joins the Twitterverse

If you’re on Twitter, add us.
@rayfilwong

“O% trans fat!” Located on the upper right hand corner on the bag of potato chip. But caution, a recent article from NPR goes into more details about how this really isn’t accurate.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!Watch the video above for corn beef and cabbage recipe.

Food Network’s creative spin on a classic is corn beef and cabbage pizza recipe.

This post is for foodies that love history. New York Times Article featuring the history of cashew chicken.

Reader’s Digest wrote about Top 10 Aphrodisiacs. I am going out to make an avocado banana shake.

When I was in elementary school, my passion for cooking began sprouting.
But Mom said, “get out of the kitchen, stay away from the hot stove.”

If I only had a copy of Cooking Mama.
Testing out the game with my third grade friend, I can see her animated expressions as she wiggled back and forth the Wii remote.

Best, part. No messy cleanup.

Before each cook off, instructions are given to the plays.
The challenge range from cracking an egg to chopping vegetables.

Launched in 2007, Cooking Mama can be found on Amazon for only $14.99.
The game play is easy to understand and great food lovers.

Continue to trek down the path toward knife mastery, the 5min video displays cutting vegetables without losing your fingers. Main point to consider, always keep your finger nails facing the wall, not the ceiling when cutting.

Happy New Year!

Food art adds creativity to a dish. From a diver rising above water melon flesh to a guitar pear, hands down, OMGowned has the best food art I have seen.

Oops, not this type of knife skills! (Please do not attempt at home)

That’s better. A show about knife skills used in Japanese cuisine

Martin Yan demonstrating his knife skills

Often times, details can make a good dish super. This includes having great knife skills.

When I in middle school, I would wake up Saturday morning not to watch Smurfs and other cartoons but to flip to Channel 9, KQED. My eyes widen as I saw Martin Yan “Yan Can Cook” chop his ingredients with precision and speed. On a side note, last year I had Chinese New Year dinner with him at Koi Palace. This guy works hard as ever.

Yesterday, I spoke with Ty from My Ceramic Knives. His site is dedicated to ceramic knives, the ones that do not need sharpening. I was first exposed to ceramic knives from Chef Ming Tsai.

As a former food writer for Asian Week last year dining at so many restaurant, I have a better idea about knife skills. Putting it simply, size matters.

Think about the hamburger and sautéed mushrooms. Chunky sized mushrooms would not only fall off the burger but also take too much of a texture role. Now, if you use thinly sliced mushrooms, the flavor profile changes to more of a silky texture. Also, the mushroom produces a strong earthy taste so large chunks would mask the meat. Knife skills take years to masters.

Science Geeks out there will love this experiment.
I think hot ice makes a beautiful backdrop for a food platter.

Presentation is everything!

Mom said, “Eat your bok choy. No eat canned vegetables. No good.”

Well… so I thought. Just like Sherlock Holmes digging for answers, an article in Parade recently debunked common myths. Canned vegetable can be healthier than fresh vegetables.

Read the full list in Parade article.

A few years ago, I started writing an entrepreneur book featuring Asian Entrepreneurs. While interviewing Clarence Mao, the founder of Ling Ling’s,famously known for their pot stickers he suggested I get in contact with Jennifer 8. Lee.

A few years later, her book Fortune Cookie Chronicles becomes a New York Times best seller.

She was a dynamic speaker at TED, a conference devoted to featuring top innovators and leader in entertainment, technology, and design. Her appearance on the Colbert Nation rocked!

Hey look! Thats Phoebe Buffay from Friends. Video game king Nintendo has published Personal Trainer: Cooking that allows users to cook using interactive recipes.

It’s really cool.

Voice activated commands such as “Next” (next step in recipe) and “Details” (providing more specific information) allow users to talk to the game console.

Other features
-Built in calculator to keep track of expenses
-You can also enter the number of calories you want to eat as a criteria
-Enter number of guests and the recipe adjust accordingly

For list of features, click here.

Read the Full article from Sfgate titled “So long, mystery meat: Top chefs come to Cal cafeteria”