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Charmaine Mok

“You have the best job in the world” is something I’ve heard a lot over the years. As someone who literally gets paid to dine out – a role I have been doing for more than 16 years now, in various capacities – I often agree.
But as with every dream job, there’s most certainly a downside.
In 2024, the long-time New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells announced that he would be leaving the role after 12 years, citing ill health.
After finally getting a long-overdue health check, which he had been putting off to finish his epic 100 Best Restaurants in New York City list, he had a reckoning.

“My scores were bad across the board; my cholesterol, blood sugar and hypertension were worse than I’d expected even in my doomiest moments,” he wrote. “The terms prediabetes, fatty liver disease and metabolic syndrome were thrown around. I was technically obese.”
Recently, Post staff were invited to take part in a several health checks, including a body composition analysis. I discovered that my water retention levels were elevated – something the consultant suggested was linked to a diet higher in sodium.
My own preference for savoury rather than sweet foods contributes to this, and it’s no surprise that restaurants tend to have a liberal hand when it comes to seasoning – though more chefs are becoming conscious of this and pivoting to herbs and spices to add flavour, rather than salt.
Restaurant meals also tend to be incredibly rich, bolstered by butter and cream, and there are so many courses. Wine pairings only add to the calorie count and, when not done well, simply exhaust the palate.
The effect of not dining out constantly was most obvious during the Covid-19 social-distancing measures.
While some saw their weight balloon because of increased food and alcohol consumption combined with a sedentary lifestyle from being cooped up indoors, I shed more pounds than ever before.
Having wholesome, home-cooked meals and following a regular workout routine worked wonders (though let us just say there were no major changes in alcohol consumption).

Starting 2025 off with a stubborn cold has only added to my determination to pay more attention to what my body needs.
To be kinder to myself this year, there are a few small things I’ll be more mindful of and a few tasks I am throwing out into the wild to keep myself accountable. One of those is, of course, a full body check.
A traditional physical will be on the cards, but I’ve also long been intrigued by the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine. More young people are buying into its principles, but I’ve long avoided going to a Chinese doctor (who would be aghast at my eating habits and addiction to sparkling water).
It would be fun to finally understand if my body constitution is deficient in yin or yang, or if I’m of the “phlegmy and damp” type, or someone with “damp heat”.
Either way, I am warming up to TCM principles slowly – starting with drinking more warm water. I now keep a flask by my bedside table so that the first thing I do upon waking is take a long drink of warm water, because the aunties were right.

Chinese wisdom has it that drinking warm water helps to nourish the yang in your body, helping digestion and nutrient absorption, and overall organ function.
I’ve also succumbed to the cult of the sleepy tea, where I’ll make myself a mug of hot camomile – one of the best known remedies for sleeping problems – before bed. The camomile flower is proven to have mild sedative qualities as well as anti-inflammatory properties.
Might there be something of a placebo effect taking place? Maybe, but the ritual is seemingly doing wonders for my winding-down routine and sleep quality.
While I’m still grateful to be able to sample the very best of the city’s dining scene, I think being more aware of what I’m consuming is the only way to ensure this is something I can continue to do.


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Food and Drinks

Being a food critic is a dream job with health risks. How I’ll strike a balance this year

A doctor gives a patient a check. Photo: Shutterstock

Regularly eating out at restaurants can present risks for food critics. Monitoring one’s health is key. Photo: Bompas & Parr

An overdue health check produced shocking results for New York Times restaurant critic Pete Wells, causing him to leave his position. Photo: Shutterstock

Traditional Chinese medicine can provide insights into one’s health, and the principles are being bought into by more young people. Photo: Shutterstock

Camomile tea, said to be one of the best remedies for sleeping problems, also has anti-inflammatory properties. Photo: Shutterstock

How the lost art of the Song dynasty tea ceremony is being revived by a new generation

Hot water is gently poured into the tea bowl before whisking begins. Photo: Kayla Chan

The Chinese tea ceremony dates back 1,000 years or more to the Song dynasty and is the forerunner of the Japanese tea ceremony. Photo: Kayla Chan

An example of chabaixi at Yuen Tea, with drawings etched onto tea foam using green tea paste. Photo: Yuen Tea

The bamboo whisk commonly used to mix matcha has its origins in the Tang and Song dynasties. Photo: Kayla Chan

After the tea is whisked until a thick foam forms, a tea paste is used to gently paint on the surface. Photo: Kayla Chan

Tea master Janice Zhu demonstrates the art of diancha, or Song dynasty tea whisking. Photo: Kayla Chan

Tea master Janice Zhu of Yuen Tea (left) hosts workshops at her Tsim Sha Tsui studio to teach the art of Song dynasty tea whisking. Photo: Kayla Chan

Tea surface bearing a pattern made by Zhang Zhifeng, a tea artist from east China’s Fujian province.

The 10 best new restaurants of 2024 in Hong Kong, ranked

Suki haeng served at Samsen Central Thai restaurant.

Deep-fried five-spice pork roll from Ming Pavilion at the Island Shangri-La hotel in Admiralty, Hong Kong, one of our pick of the 10 best new restaurants of 2024 in the city. Photo: Ming Pavilion

Simple gyoza done right at Hong Kong’s Gyoza AnD. Photo: Instagram/@gyozaandhk

Xiamen-style popiah at Ming Pavilion, at the Island Shangri-La hotel in Admiralty, come with plenty of fillings, including seaweed, crab and shrimp. Photo: Ming Pavilion

Grilled chicken sandwich (front) and a stewed pork sandwich at Banh Mi Nem, in Wan Chai. Photo: Eugene Lee

The interior of Prince and the Peacock, which serves high-end Indian food. Photo: courtesy of Black Sheep Restaurants

Rainbow fried rice layered with egg fried rice, and seafood at Hung’s Delicacies, in Causeway Bay. Photo: Hung’s Delicacies

Spanish restaurant 22 Ships has moved to a larger space in Tai Kwun, Central. Photo: Nicholas Wong / Sixteen Photography for 22 Ships

Suki haeng at Samsen Central restaurant, in Central. Photo: Nicholas Wong Sixteen Photography for Samsen Thai restaurant

Chef Vicky Cheng’s dual-concept venture Liz & Tori, a gelateria, and Medora, a Western restaurant that fuses European and American influences. 

Oliver Li with Ying Jee Club executive chef Siu Hin-chi. Photo: Handout

Hamachi carpaccio with smoked artichoke, cucumber and lemon from Trattoria Felino, a Neapolitan restaurant in Wan Chai. Photo: Trattoria Felino

A food editor’s 8 best Hong Kong dishes of 2024, including hotpot, and one of the worst

Trattoria Felino’s scialatielli pasta is a chewy delight. Photo: Trattoria Felino

Mok’s Beef King Hotpot was one of food editor Charmaine Mok’s top dishes of 2024. Photo: Charmaine Mok

Vivant served its last dinner in November. 

JJ’s is an offshoot of popular hotpot restaurant Big JJ’s Seafood Hotpot. Photo: JJ’s

Leela’s chicken tikka kulcha is a Persian dish by way of Punjab. Photo: Charmaine Mok

Censu’s playful twist on Cup Noodles brings together udon, a spicy sesame sauce, three yellow chicken and watercress. Photo: Censu

Le Clos at Club Batard serves Penang-style char kway teow. Photo: Club Batard

At Sushi Zinc, chef Zinc Leung serves creative dishes such as braised fish maw tempura. Photo: Sushi Zinc

Wing by chef Vicky Cheng is known for its precise plating and complex flavours. Photo: Wing

Miss Tira’s curry fishball tiramisu is a mash-up of the street snack and the Italian dessert. Photo: Charmaine Mok

‘Mysterious’ fish that’s famous in Fukuoka, and why it is sumo wrestlers’ food of choice

Fukuoka chef Kazutaka Hagiwara prepares longtooth grouper. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Ingredients for “chanko nabe” or sumo wrestler’s stew, including longtooth grouper, a fish Japanese call kue which is a speciality of the southern city of Fukuoka. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Kazutaka Hagiwara, chef de cuisine of sushi restaurant Tomozuna on the top floor of the Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk, gets to work on a longtooth grouper in its kitchen. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Hitoshi Hirokawa, executive director of Fukuoka’s Nagahama Fish Market, calls longtooth grouper “the most famous fish in Fukuoka”. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

The sharp teeth of the longtooth grouper make it difficult for sushi chefs to handle. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Dishes prepared using the flesh of the longtooth grouper fish, including sashimi (front). Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

A longtooth grouper at the seafood market in Fukuoka. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Longtooth grouper stew. Photo: Llewellyn Cheung

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Dining out often is great, but can lead to various health issues. Here’s how I’ll rein it in 2025 without compromising too much


Dining out often is great, but can lead to various health issues. Here’s how I’ll rein it in 2025 without compromising too much.


Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

Wellness

Healthy eating

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

On the Menu

On the Menu | Being a food critic is a dream job with health risks. How I’ll strike a balance this year

Dining out often is great, but can lead to various health issues. Here’s how I’ll rein it in 2025 without compromising too much