Love in the Time of Corona
True love will not be thwarted by a pandemic. While some couples are postponing or cancelling their weddings, others are embracing the new normal by conducting their ceremonies online via Zoom or Instagram—like Max Levy, chef-owner of Okra, and sake sommelier Izaskun Fontanals.
They said “I do” at the Cotton Tree Drive marriage registry in April, after the virus foiled their plans to marry this summer in Ibiza, where they first met. “We were in Ibiza in February scouting for locations, and we watched as flights were being cancelled all over the world,” Levy says. “It was going to be a stretch to expect our friends and family to make a trip to Ibiza for our wedding. We decided we would just get married at the government office in Hong Kong and stream it on Instagram and Facebook.”
Fittingly, the couple tied the knot on the day of Sant Jordi festival, a traditional celebration of love and literature in Fontanals’ native Catalonia.
With her wearing a black lace dress and a leather jacket with the words “Till death” on the back and him dressed in a navy suit, the couple exchanged vows in front of two witnesses and a virtual crowd of friends and family who tuned in from 33 places across the world— from Beijing to Brazil, Melbourne to Moscow. “Some guests dressed up; others made a point of watching the ceremony naked, so that they could finally say they attended a casual wedding,” Levy says.
That wasn’t the only surprise element: Fontanals created a virtual seating chart using Hasbro’s family classic Guess Who? game, sticking photos of each guest onto the pop-up deck to mimic a congregation.
“We were having trouble finding a way to display our guests in a fun and easily transportable way,” says Levy. “The plan was to film Lego men with all their headshots but we couldn’t find enough Lego pieces. We then thought gummy bear guests, but finally a friend suggested Guess Who?. We made sure to treat the seating arrangement as if it were real too. Certain people would definitely be upset sitting next to others—even virtually,” says Levy.
Following the ceremony, the newlyweds and friends headed to Okra, where they shared a meal of homemade family recipes, which included tortilla de patatas and shrimp creole, washed down with their favourite sake. Instead of a white, tiered confection, they cut into a gluten-free carrot and pecan cake with cream cheese icing prepared by their friend, chef Conor Beach.
After an exhausting day, the couple took a nap at 6pm, waking up in time for their private sushi dinner at Michelin-starred restaurant Ryota Kappou Modern.
Looking ahead, Levy says the intimate day was a prelude to a larger celebration—whenever that may be. “Ibiza may need to stay on hold until next summer but it will definitely happen. Right now, our honeymoon is a toss-up between no-quarantine destinations Kowloon or Lamma island.”
This month, we celebrate the newest creative initiatives by women-owned food and drinks businesses that deserve our support
Inspired by society’s new-found appreciation for dining in, Vicky Lau of the two-michelin-starred Tate Dining Room has launched Date by Tate, which delivers high-end meals—complete with bread baskets, wine pairings and even tablecloths, candles and wine chillers to bring restaurant-level sophistication to your next at-home date night. distilleries in Hong Kong. Inside the bottles—locally crafted in a traditional copper still—is a proper London dry gin infused with botanicals, including Chinese tangerine peel and Madagascan vanilla pods. twomoonsdistillery.com
Victoria Chow has been busy since shutting The Woods in 2019. With her roaming pop-up The Woods Nomadic placed on ice due to the pandemic, Chow instead launched Sip Straight, an online hub of information about all things spirits. Her online spirits workshop, held over Zoom, includes eight liquor samples delivered to your home ahead of the scheduled class. menu of endlessly photogenic drinks, from Matchacanos to watermelon passionfruit matcha.
Nana Chan’s cafe Teakha is a firm favourite on the food scene and her follow-up teahouse Plantation is a treasure trove of lovingly sourced artisanal leaf blends from around Asia. Chan also recently launched a new tea subscription service for lovers of a good brew. Each month, Tealetter subscribers receive up to four hand-picked teas and access to an online teabrewing tutorial hosted by Chan.
Sizzling grilled octopus, creamy carabinero paella and the freshest avocado lobster rolls were just three of the dishes diners devoured at a charity collaboration by Hong Kong’s most celebrated Spanish chefs on April 29.
Funds from the night hosted by Ferran Tadeo and Daniel Gallo at IFC restaurant La Rambla by Catalunya went to virus relief efforts in Spain, which has been one of the countries that has struggled most with the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In Hong Kong, we have a very tight-knit Spanish community that has been devastated by what is happening in our home country. We want to do something to help, so I gathered some of my Spanish industry friends to share our food and passion for a good cause. This is the least we can do for Spain,” says Tadeo, executive chef at La Rambla by Catalunya.
The friends in question included a who’s who of Spanish cuisine in Hong Kong: Los Ibéricos chef Borja Sanchez; Alex Fargas from Fofo by El Willy; Martin Carrasco of Rubia; Elite Concepts’ Jordi Alcaraz; Pica Pica’s Edgar Sanuy; and Miguel Gallo from Doubleshot by Cupping Room.
A celebration of Spain’s unmistakeable cuisine, the 10-course set dinner paired iconic Spanish favourites, such as tomato salad with sardine and manchego cheese pearls, with newer flavours that played up the collective experience of the chefs in fusion dishes like spicy mala chicken wings.
All proceeds from the one-night-only feast were donated to World Central Kitchen, a charity founded by the Spanish-american celebrity chef José Andrés in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. What started as an initiative to feed those affected by disaster has gone global, leveraging a network of international chefs to make sure people in disaster-hit areas across the globe are fed. The Spanish arm of the charity works with restaurants and kitchens in Barcelona to serve meals to frontline healthcare workers and vulnerable members of the community.
Palates were cleansed at La Rambla with a summery Greek yoghurt, passion fruit and ginger crumble. As Tadeo’s team finally downed their tools, guests spilled out onto the dining room’s expansive terrace, Tanqueray and tonics in hand, to toast an evening of culinary theatre—for a cause.
1. Pica Pica’s Edgar Sanuy and Martin Carrasco from Rubia cooking Rubia Gallega carpaccio & truffle vinaigrette
2. Standing, left to right: Edgar Sanuy (Pica Pica), Ferran Tadeo (La Rambla by Catalunya), Alex Fargas (Fofo by El Willy), Jordi Alcaraz (Elite Concepts), Daniel Gallo (La Rambla by Catalunya). Seated, left to right: Martin Carrasco (Rubia), Borja Sanchez (Los Ibéricos), Miguel Gallo (Doubleshot by Cupping Room), Jorge Gutierrez (Fofo by El Willy)
3. Carabinero creamy rice and cured ravioli 4. Jordi Alcaraz from Elite Concepts preparing for service 5. Preparation for pulpo Gallego La Rambla style