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.

Anne Berry has plucked a few select spots from her favourites for your next winter cruise. We are sure Nagano is no slouch in the summer, but everyone knows winter holds all the best rewards

For Chinese New Year we’ll celebrate at Ponytail Journal with something more joyous – a crispy slice (or ten) of Peking Duck. This is a recipe that has been perfected over the last 700 years, and even though the methods are relatively straightforward, every master roaster has their own tricks to make the bird sing once again.

Tong Chong Street Markets in Hong Kong does not seek to replace wet markets, but rather provides a complementary alternative while giving a little helping hand to the growing number of innovative vendors in this overgrown city. It’s a breath of fresh air in a city that thrives on chain stores and big brands – wander around the market and you’ll find locally brewed beer, gooey homemade brownies, and freshly churned almond milk ice cream, all crafted by young entrepreneurs. Anne Berry dives into the delicious degustation

This week Anne travels by rail around the island of Shikoku to explore the land of udon, intricate feudal castles, and her favourite fruit – the prized yuzu.

Anne Berry took the chance to meet up with James Ling of ’The Ale Project’ and ’Second Draft’ in Hong Kong to find how he manages to keep his business sleeves rolled up, while getting elbow-deep into the malts and hops of beer-geekery with curious customers.

The beauty of a fervently creative city like Tokyo is what you can find in the nook and crannies if you look closely. This week we explore a little-known treasure in the city’s center: Miyagawa. Anne Berry tells us about when she had the most delicious tempura ever.

Supermarkets can be awfully uninspiring places for those in search of good food. The whole concept of goodness is watered down under blinking fluorescent lights, and inside flimsy plastic boxes. It’s not just the image of our industrial foodscape, but the reality of it. Anne Berry explores

Tokyo: Along the Toei Oedo metro line sits a discreet little place called Bar Gen Yamamoto. Picture a small space carved out of a 500-year-old Mizunara tree, seating only eight at a time. There is no music or gaudy bar décor, merely an ikebana flower arrangement near the door. The menu itself is limited to either a tasting of 4 or 6 cocktails and their philosophy, seems quite simple: to make really really good cocktails.

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.