Janice - Author at Chubby Hubby

Making soup dumplings in Taipei

A recent trip to Taiwan had me thinking about what constitutes Taiwanese food. Taipei, despite being smaller than many of its Asian capital city counterparts, is a food-lovers’ destination. History has made Taipei a hub for fusion. Taiwanese cuisine can’t really be defined as one particular thing. It has Chinese influences seen through Sichuan, Shanghainese, and Hokkien food. It also has the legacy of the Portuguese and Japanese that once controlled the island, as well as adaptations of common Western (fried) foods. Continue Reading →

Sweetness The Patisserie, tempting treats in Sydney

Sweetness is not your everyday patisserie, neither traditional French nor modern and overly elaborate. Sweetness has just the right dose of old and new. The delicacies are beautifully presented, wrapped with care, all made by hand. The flavours, on the other hand, cater to one’s inner child. They’re sweets that evoke a sense of longing – marshmallows, chewy caramel, whoopie pies, rocky road, fruit jujubes, caramel popcorn, are only the beginning of a number of insanely delicious treats. Continue Reading →

Sydney’s Farmhouse – an enticing rural escape in the city

Farmhouse is the new kid on the block; aside from being cool and chilled out, this new kid has a big, warm heart. Continue Reading →

Brooklyn Hide makes bagels boom in Sydney

Sydney’s latest craze for bagels, milkshakes and sloppy joes has seen a number of cafes and restaurants pop up with specialty items. A standout is Brooklyn Hide. Continue Reading →

Sydney’s Bourke Street Bakery

It’s easy to take a place for granted. Sometimes you forget to share or celebrate the sheer brilliance of a place because it is part of your regular routine. I came to that realisation as I walked into Bourke Street Bakery yet again, as I placed my order, looked around, and with a smile on my face thought, “that’s right, this is great.” Continue Reading →

Chef Diego Oka, expanding the Peruvian culinary empire

Diego Oka is a chef who started his culinary career with direction at a young age, but his trajectory as a chef has been quite different compared to most. He quickly skyrocketed to roles of high responsibility, travelling the world, managing restaurants in North and South America from the young age of twenty-one. Diego studied hospitality while working in one of Lima’s oldest traditional Japanese restaurants, Ichiban, where he spent three years learning all the essentials, from dishwasher to working behind the sushi bar. Continue Reading →

A Q & A with Diego Munoz, grand Peruvian chef

Diego Muñoz is a nomad, a surfer, and a master of his trade. I say these three things with utmost respect. A nomad because he has taken off solo and traveled the globe conquering kitchens and cuisines led by world-renowned chefs, in all corners of the world. His passion for surf keeps him grounded, balanced, connected to nature, simplified, and enjoying the outdoors whenever he has a spare minute. Continue Reading →

Daniel Chavez, Peru’s culinary ambassador to Singapore

When the Chavez family decided to relocate to Florida, little did Daniel know that his career would be taking a turn towards the biggest adventure of his life: discovering his culinary side. Continue Reading →

A Peruvian seafood bounty in two of Lima’s delightful cebicherias

During my most recent trip to Lima, I visited two prominent seafood restaurants famous for their cebiche: La Pescaderia and Pescados Capitales. Continue Reading →

Fresh catch off the coast of Lima, Peru

Cebiche is Peru’s national dish.

Also spelled ceviche, seviche, or sebiche, the former being the English-speaking community’s preference, probably because of the pronunciation: SAY-VEE-CHAY. Continue Reading →

Vietnamese dude food at Ms G’s in Sydney

Ms G’s is a fun space. From the name, you know this isn’t somewhere to take yourself too seriously. A play on the acronym for the common food additive monosodium glutamate (MSG), this modern Vietnamese restaurant has kept strong and steady since it opened in Sydney two years ago. Continue Reading →