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The Loveliest Place on Lamma!
 There are so many lovely places on Lamma and everybody
has their own favourite, often secret spot. Some are well-known to
locals and tourists alike, some are beautiful, but very little known,
like the place on the right. No, not the Hotel Intercontinental in Tsim
Sha Tsui with a HK Island view. Guess!
It's the
Cococabana Restaurant in Mo Tat Wan, a 200-people village beyond
Sok Kwu Wan, in a romantic little bay overlooking Aberdeen, with its own
ferry pier. Owner/manager/chef Jean-Paul Gauci calls it "The
Loveliest Place on Lamma!" But he would, having just settled there 9
months ago with wife Patsy and son Nino. He finds YSW too busy & too
crowded, like HK Island!
 On a recent balmy afternoon, Lamma-Por and I sat down for
an early dinner and a long, friendly, funny chat with perfect host
Jean-Paul, who's cooked in many great restaurants worldwide. You can
take the ferry via Sok Kwu Wan, alighting just outside
Cococabana, or walk there from Sok Kwu Wan (at least 30 mins).
I had
walked there all the way from Yung Shue Wan via Lo Tik Wan (see story). Totally exhausted,
enjoying a glass of their cool, refreshing house wine on their
beach-front balcony (see left), the incredible food appearing course
after course, it certainly looked like the loveliest place to me!
 A fantastic place for a group booking, junk trip or any
party. We've sampled the Menu Surprise which is designed daily by
Jean-Paul, taking into consideration
Cococabana's most popular platters and what's fresh & best that
day. It's $320 per person, everything included, even Kir Royale,
coffee/tea, dessert & service charge. Not cheap, but definitely great
value! To our surprise, generous Jean-Paul didn't let me pay for the
Menu Surprise! See the special menu we enjoyed below right, click here
for their detailed Q&A. For
their website, click on any photo.
Without
exaggerating, this was by far the best non-Chinese meal we've EVER
had anywhere on Lamma! This is 5-star-hotel-quality food, but in a
quiet, peaceful al fresco setting above a clean, sandy beach, the best
of town & island life combined! Highly recommended!
|
 Jean-Paul:
Seafood & Eat it
We are a Restaurant and Bar and have a
great beach location, only 15 min
from HK by ferry. We serve Provençale
cooking, most recipes are
authentically created as in the Provençe of
Southern France. Our menu also includes some
delicious
Mediterranean
seafood dishes, Moroccan Grill, Greek
Houmas and lots more.
There are two other aspects to our menu. First, the Surprise Menu where our Chef
Jean Paul Gauci will create a tailored menu for your party from the
best of that day. Of course, it starts with a welcome drink on the
house, and lastly our very popular
Children’s Menu consists of all the kids' favourites
& our own comfort food.
Although we are a laid-back Mediterranean beach restaurant, you can be sure to find the family
feeling present throughout, fresh honest tastes, accurate and friendly service. We also
have a very modest wine list from Chateau Neuf du Pape to Australian Wolf Blass
Shiraz, not to mention French Provençale and
Italian wines for as little as $160 per bottle. |
Special menu:
Antipasti
platter w/Italian & Provençale Hors d'oeuvres,
Baked Saint
Maure Goat's Cheese wrapped in Bacon with Walnuts &
Balsamico dressing,
Prawns Piri
Piri sauteed in Chilli & Garlic w/fresh Herbs,
Grilled
Mediterranean Sardines with Rosemary Butter and Picard,
Dutch
Mussels steamed in white Wine, Herbs & Shallots,
Oven-grilled
African Chicken with Coconut, Peppers & Spice,
Barbary
Duck Confit with Rosemary, Honey and Lemon,
Dessert
sampler (French Apple Tart topped w/Ice-cream, Caramelized Egg
Cream, Chocolate Mousse Cake),
Tisane (French Herbal Tea). |
 (all photos provided by Cococabana,
click here for their Q&A)
Getting back home is easy, by
frequent ferries from just outside the restaurant to Aberdeen, and from
there a ferry back to YSW, if you live there. But way more fun is the
 speedboat that Jean-Paul can order for guests
anytime. Up to ten people sharing for $600, it's 15
minutes of high-speed racing back to YSW. Jean-Paul came along for one
of his rare journeys away from his little paradise. I invited him to the
Island Bar which he didn't know by name. Lamma-Por and I will soon
return for a special celebration, enjoying more of the amazing food and
jovial, relaxed atmosphere in
Cococabana. See you there?
Restaurants & Bars - April 2004
 New restaurants rarely manage to open on time;
especially when they're totally renovated from scratch like "Life"
(Bookworm-offspring in Soho, Central), renovated on-and-off like "The
Full Monty" and "The Waterfront", or renovated in-a-hurry like "Omi"
(new dessert place on Back Street, where Thai Thai used to be). To be
reviewed as soon as any of these "Opening soon!" restaurants actually
officially opens.
All the places above have unfortunately
missed probably the best weekend of the year for the local food &
beverage business: Easter. We might have gotten pretty close again this
year to those
all-time-high visitor arrival figures of last Easter. Glorious
weather, many shops/restaurants full to capacity, but it was almost
impossible to squeeze through the slowly moving herds on Main Street. We
really love tourists (at least their cash) coming in and patronising our
shops & restaurants, but do they all need to visit on the same weekend!?
|
Recent news & developments:
Is it a sign of
still tough times that some restaurants are teaming up, selling
each other's food on commission?
Island Bar is
selling the Bistro's food. New Holiday Mood has THREE menus these
days, offering their own Western-style dishes, Chinese from Lung
Wah Rest. (opposite Spicy Island) and Indian from Spicy Island.
What next?
Lamma Bistro is
looking for full-time and part-time staff. Interested? |
A disclaimer from the Editor:
Some of the restaurants mentioned in
this regular monthly feature are Lamma-zine advertisers (Deli,
Diesel's, Spicy Island, Island Bar,...). But that has not stopped
me in the past to be honest and slam anybody for bad food or
service, if encountered. I've gotten away with it so far,
fortunately.
Many places getting good comments
below are not advertisers (Bookworm, Man Kee, Tropicana). This
regular monthly feature is basically promotional in nature, trying
to get you to go out more and patronise the wide variety of great
restaurants on Lamma, helping to improve the local economy!
I'll always try to be honest and
fair in my own comments. But as many of my advertisers pay
partially in food/drinks barter, I'll obviously tend to visit them
more frequently, highlighting their promotions and special events
more, also taking more pictures of their dishes. Additional food
reviews from readers for publication are always highly encouraged,
good or bad!! |
Click here for an extensive & comprehensive
photo gallery of Restaurant & Bar
News - April 2004.
Land of Herbs & Veggies at
the Beach
 
 A new, truly organic farm opened a few months ago just
besides Hung Shing Yeh beach: vegetables, flowers and loads of herbs
direct from the farm. I've had a good look at this very idyllic farm
recently. Herboland has become very popular already, sometimes they have
two press interviews per day! See the SCMP
photographer on the left taking pictures of farmers Gavin & Gary for
a recent big
feature story in the SCM Post!
Gavin has contributed to Lamma.com.hk for quite some time
now, as member
the farmland. He's made good use of it for free promotion of
their  great venture. Trying some of their produce myself
(left), it is most tasty and flavourful indeed! Check it out yourself,
buy direct at the farm, order by
email or phone (see below). Daily deliveries to Main Street!
You're also most to check out
their website!
Click here
for the Herboland photo gallery!
Sexy Biaatch of Boracay
 Another one of the quite
frequent public birthday parties in Diesel's. This time for Rose who
doesn't mind being known as the Sexy Biaatch of Boracay, obviously
having a great sense of humour.
 It was a really fun party - beachwear dress
code, free buffet, sexy ladies & guys - lasting well through the night!
Check out the following photos and cheeky captions.
Want to see YOUR party in the Lamma-zine? Send me photos
w/captions or, even better, invite me for a free photo shoot, like
Diesel's did! ;-)
Click here for the "Sexy
Biaatch of Boracay party @ Diesel's" photo gallery!
Sacred Drums on Kublai's
Kahn
What are Lammaites
getting up to on weekends? Well, some of us seem to go drumming &
dancing on Chinese sailing junks, joining in with 8,000 sacred drums
synchronised around the world. Don't believe it? Hear from some
participants below, including Captain Marc who's recently left Lamma and
lives now on one of his boats, the Enterprise catamaran...
(Photos from Kinzie, Faris and Tim
O'Rourke)
|
 Kumi
- Drum Queen & Drum Jam organiser:
The 8,000 sacred drums ceremony
was held on 21st March (Spring Equinox), on Kublai's Kahn,
a 100m, beautiful Chinese junk --- retracing the tracks of old
Marco Polo voyage.
We were blessed to have been invited
to stage this event on board the Kublai's Kahn - the
expedition ship of the Marco Polo voyage which was in Hong Kong.
What to bring:
Drums, rattles, percussion instruments/toys (or borrow ours),
didgeridoos, flutes, drumming hands, dancing feet, singing voice,
and open hearts.
Details of the voyage at:
www.kinzie.com/marcopolo.html
57 of us from
different walks of life, drummed, danced, sang, toned, prayed and
vibrated ourselves together for an hour without a break, for
healing of the Mother Earth, life and peace.
This event was
held at more than 800 centres, sacred places and points on the
planet.
Our cyber man,
Faris, has put some photos onto one of his websites for your
viewing.
www.skylabel.com/gallery/
The purpose of
the ceremony was to join the Sound of the Sacred Drums for
an hour (60 minutes) at 12 noon (local time at every location on
the Planet) on March 21, 2004. We were joining in this ceremony in
Hong Kong, "for the healing of Mother Earth and ensure peace and
life".
More info on
the 8,000 sacred drums ceremony:
www.universidadindigena.org/...
Lastly, many
thanks to Axel Brümmer and the crew of the Kublai's Kahn,
Marc Cuthbert, Iain Donnachie, Kinzie, Diane Wilcoxon, Linda Fancy,
Cherence Yung, Tim Orourke, Faris Hanes and all of you who were
there that day for sharing their spirit.
drum, peace,
harmony.
Kumi Masunaga
- Rhythm of Life -
www.drumjam.com.hk
|
Captain Marc: From the Crow's Nest
Thanks for
your continued support and interest ...... I have passed this to
Kinzie and she intends to follow up by supplying you with something
juicy by the weekend. (Editor: see
below!)
Your
assumption is inaccurate (Editor: I
asked him if he lost interest in free PR in the Lamma-zine.) For this you shall be lashed to the foremast and
severely flogged with ostrich feathers on candyfloss sticks by two
large-breasted scantily clad Amazonian slave women!! - If you're
lucky!! So take that!
Of course, I
must stress that you must NOT praise me to the heavens and splatter
my good name with descriptions such as brave, dastardly, handsome,
witty, charming, adventurous, generous, kindly, 'strapping', etc
etc etc, anywhere in your periodical .... wouldn't want to risk
understatement.
You have not
heard from me in a while for the simple face that I've been
constantly and laboriously saving the baby from the jaws of the
rabid crocodile. (Ed: Baby=Marc).
ciao for now
..... i hear a scream .... must dash n' save ......
Capt'n Marco! |
|
 Kinzie - "the one and only",
HK Heartbeat:
Moved from Lamma and
not gone ...
On Monday 15 March, a magnificent
sailing junk, the Kublai's Kahn II sailed into Victoria
Harbour with Captain Marc Cuthbert aka Captain Yellowbeard aka
Captain Custard at her helm. To say this was an emotional moment
for Captain would be an understatement. The original Kublai's
Kahn is resting quietly on the bottom of the Indian Ocean where
she sank on May 21 last year after encountering rough weather. At
the time, she was known as the Precious Dragon and she was the
manifestation of Marc’s passion. Ownership was to be transferred to
Axel Brümmer and Peter Glöckner upon delivery in Singapore.
They had met
Marc when looking for the perfect boat for their project and they
found her in Goa, where Marc had been running charters. Her loss
was devastating to everyone involved. She now holds the happy
memories of many parties over her years in Hong Kong. She had
sailed under London’s Tower Bridge to commemorate the handover to
China. She lives on in Axel & Peter’s promotional materials and in
the opening credits of Star TV’s Travel Asia series. |
 Kublai's
Kahn II was recently finished in Indonesia and sailed to The
Philippines en route to Hong Kong where the crew would officially
launch the return to Venice following Marco Polo’s voyage of
discovery. Axel and Peter had started off on their spectacular
journey to China on 28 January 2001 – a trip that would retrace the
historical route of Marco Polo, the first European to travel to
China. The intention of the two cyclists’ latest project was to
build a bridge between cultures, just as Marco Polo had done in his
time.
Just as it is likely that Marco Polo
encountered unexpected challenges along the way, Axel & Peter have
had their share of tests of their commitment. On 6 March, Peter had
to return suddenly from The Philippines to Germany and attend to
urgent family matters. With no captain and a schedule to keep, they
called Captain Marc to the rescue. Marc flew to Manila on the
afternoon of 10 March and they set sail early the next morning,
arriving in Hong Kong on March 15. Marc provided leadership and
training for the crew to continue on their own to Singapore where
they hope to be re-joined by Peter. |
|
During their stay in
Hong Kong, the local community stepped up and provided their
support for the project. Several fundraisers were held and Captain
Marc took the helm for a Sunday afternoon of drumming in Repulse
Bay followed by a Sunset Cruise through Victoria Harbour on March
21. He guided the crew through the maze of boat fitters in Ap Lei
Chau where they were amazed by the variety and availability of
every imaginable part. Simpson Marine offered their service and
support to refit the engine with badly needed parts. The Aberdeen
Boat Club provided a mooring and facilities for the crew who
reveled in the availability of hot showers.
The Royal Geographic Society hosted a
last-minute field trip on Friday the 27th and nearly 100 members
showed up despite the promise of rain and the competing opening
night of rugby. An opportunity like this does not appear often and
Axel was at his entertaining best with his presentation. They have
held events, presentations and carnivals in Germany to raise all of
the funds for their trip. Axel & Peter draw crowds of up to 6,000
with talks and their amazing slide show in their home country. In
all, Hong Kong raised more than HK$20,000 to support the project.
She now has a beautiful new tender providing the crew with the
freedom to be moored offshore and travel easily to port. |
On Sunday afternoon,
28 March, while most of Hong Kong was either watching or recovering
from the 7’s, Kublai's Kahn II slipped quietly into the mist
on route to Venice. On board were Captain Axel & his wife Biga,
Axel’s cousin Henna, rescued Kublai's Kahn crew member Joerg,
Indonesian Harris who joined from the port where Kublai's Kahn
II was built, 3 Hong Kong recruits for the leg to Singapore
(Ian, Suzanne & Ted) and their newly adopted cats Ying and Yang. It
was a moment out of time and history. The adventure had truly
begun.
And Captain Marc returned to the business
of his own boats, The Enterprise and Varuna, moored in the quiet
surrounds of Tai Tam Bay. The Enterprise is home sweet home for
Marc and Slinky and PC and the ferry commute has been replaced by a
motorcycle ride.
While his IT business still consumes the
majority of his time and energy, he has lost none of his passion or
vision for both of his favorite ladies. The Enterprise is to be
made available for adventure sailing charters and Varuna is being
fitted for sail training. She will also be the centerpiece for
themed parties - anyone who was on hand for Marc’s 40th birthday
party can attest to her magic. Stay tuned… |
Nadia - Second-hand
Artist?
  You might have noticed the pointy-haired, rainbow-coloured
painting below left hanging in Aroy Thai? That's just one of Nadia's
many cheerful creations. You can find a lot more in the permanent
exhibition in her private art gallery cum 2nd-hand shop (or is it the
other way round?) a few doors down from Aroy Thai.
Working in
an amazingly wide variety of media (paper cutting, pen drawing, acrylic
paint, etc) Nadia is a self-taught, self-made woman, not restricted by
traditional artistic conventions. Painting & drawing "just for fun", as
she likes to exclaim, she has sold quite a few artworks, offering them
at low prices.
|
A new type of cover this time: if you haven't done so yet,
move your mouse over the cover graphics illustration at the
top of this issue, click on any picture that looks interesting! Try
it! The cover computer graphics was created from one of the first
"Multi-Shot" photos taken with my new digicam (see right), taking 16
continuous shots while waving the camera around wildly.
Friendly greetings from 
• Lammadonna interview:
• Dragonboating:
• Ran's story about