05/08/14 11:00am
BOROUGHLEE

Borough Market in a relatively calm moment.

London’s Borough Market predates the age of foodies by a good 163 years. I visited the bustling food paradise which offers everything from fresh produce and truffles to traditional English sausage rolls and Spanish charcuterie as part of the whirlwind weekend that was the 2014 Chowzter Awards. When I arrived there with my international food blogger posse—Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet, Catherine Ling of Camemberu, and Stanislaus Hans Danial Subianto of Eats and Treats—the crowds were pretty thin. Within about an hour they’d reached Times Square New Year’s Eve proportions as every permutation of foodies and tourists milled around taking snapshots. I of course qualified as both. Here’s a look at what we ate. (more…)

05/02/14 10:33am
CHOWZTER-CEVICHE

Chez Wong’s ceviche took top honors at the Chowzter Awards in London.

Last November I had the privilege of taking Jeffrey Merrihue, founder of Chowzter, and Richard Vines, Bloomberg’s U.K. food critic, on a whirlwind food tour of Queens. The goal of the tour was to showcase the best Queens had to offer. We only made it to about ten of the stops out of the 16 I’d planned, but we had a blast doing it, hitting such Flushing favorites as Taipei Hong’s secret fried chicken and  Soybean Flower Chen along the way.

Finding the best food item in Queens is a daunting nigh impossible task. After all it’s a vast diverse borough, and really what’s best for me—balut, tripe to name a few—might not be best for you. Leaving aside the issue of subjectivity, one thing’s for sure, I don’t ever like to eat anythings subpar. Seeking out the best is also the mission of the Chowzter app and web site. It aims to showcase the top places to eat local food in more than 70 travel destinations around the world from Lima to Singapore and points in between. I am honored to be the Chief Chowzter for Queens, which is how I found myself at the second annual Chowzter Awards in London this past weekend. (more…)

04/29/14 1:40pm
PELLICCIFUSION

Both the full English and the penne Pellicci are impeccable.

I’m grateful to my new friend Anton Diaz of Our Awesome Planet, a Manila-based blogger who I met over the weekend in London at the 2014 Chowzter Awards. For without his gentle prodding I might never have experienced the wonders of a proper English full breakfast at E. Pellicci, an old school East End diner. On my last evening in London the jet lag was kicking pretty hard, but I’m glad that I ventured out next morning to Bethnal Green with Anton and two other international food bloggers Catherine Ling of Camemberu and Stanislaus Hans Danial Subianto of Eats and Treats to this family-run institution. (more…)