Month: June 2018

How much sashimi can you get in a Japanese izakaya with 20 USD? (Hint: A lot.)

Izakayas are my favorite everyday dining venues when travelling in Japan (with the only big caveat that customers are usually allowed to smoke inside, that’s a minus for me, someone might enjoy it). I have seen the term “izakaya” translated as “Japanese pub”, but I think it is not enough. Sure, people go to the izakayas after work to drink with colleagues and friends and this is what happens with pubs. But izakayas also offer extensive food menus that are unheard of in typical British-style pubs. I prefer to think of izakayas as a crossbreed between pubs and Italian “osteria”, an informal restaurant serving home-cooked dishes.

I like izakayas because they give you a chance to sample a variety of local dishes and they are usually good value for money. (But beware: I have noticed the tendency outside Japan to use the term izakaya to indicate high-end small restaurants inspired by Japanese cuisine and they are not cheap).

The Visit

The specific izakaya I am describing is located in Hakodate, a city in Hokkaido. Hakodate, by the way, is a nice destination, off the beaten path for international tourists, with one of the most breathtaking view in Japan from the mount bearing the same name. But even if you will never visit Hakodate, what I am presenting applies pretty much to all izakayas you might find in secondary cities (or outside main touristic areas). Most of the times you will find this kind of venues nearby stations or business districts as they cater to local workers. They might not have an English menu (they had one in this particular izakaya), but their menus are routinely enriched by detailed images of the food, so you can order even without any command of the Japanese language.

I found this izakaya, called Ikataro and belonging to a group with venues in other parts of town, in the Honcho district, nearby the Goryokaku-Koen-Mae station of the Hakodate tram. You can look it up here on Google Maps. It is a district full of this type of dining venues and my impression is that these places are less expensive and more interesting than the establishments near Hakodate station that seem to cater to tourists for the most part.

To my surprise they had an English menu, so ordering was easy. I wanted sashimi. Izakays, typically, do not serve sushi, but they do stock sashimi that Japanese like as a snack when drinking after work. I went for a sashimi platter suggested for 2 or 3 people and I added a couple of other small dishes.

The sashimi platter was majestic. They had all the usual suspects: tuna, salmon, squid, arc shell, scallop, a couple of bites of amber jack, omelette and even a couple of rice balls filled with cooked salmon. This bounty went for arond 2000 yen including taxes (that would be less than 20 USD. Difficult to beat this value for money.

The other small dishes were some cod roe (an essential Japanese ingredient, in this case raw, with a strong salty and sweet flavor) and some squid fermented with its innards (vaguely resembling a pudding, it is called shiokara in Japanese). The squid is one of the original catch of Hakodate and should not be missed.

The check

Overall, I ended up paying 3769 yen (equivalent to around 35 USD), including a cover charge of 300 yen, a soft drink reasonably priced at 250 yen, the two additional dishes and the 8% service charge. A few years back I had a similar experience in another secondary Japanese city, Tottori, just to confirm the pattern. I also had great experiences in izakayas in Tokyo, but they were way more expensive for the fresh seafood. Would I go back? While this was a very normal, run of the mill izakaya I was very pleased and I would certainly go back to try more dishes. I would also like to explore further the dining scene in the Honcho district of Hakodate.

Where in Hakodate
Izakaya Ikataro (or Ikatarou)
4-15 Honchō, Hakodate-shi, Hokkaidō 040-0011
Address in Japanese: 〒040-0011 北海道函館市本町 4−15
See Google Maps. Tip: take the tram to Goryokaku-Koen-Mae.

 

Beautiful and delicious set meal in a museum – in Tokyo

On the famed Frasier television show, one of the lead characters once made a snarky remark: “Art in restaurants is on par with food in museums”. Explained: both are very bad (and maybe out of place). Admittedly, it is difficult to find a museum cafeteria that is not overpriced and offering low quality food (after all, it is not their core business).

To find a glorious exception to this rule, you need to go to Tokyo (of course). To the Suntory Art Museum to be precise, located in the glossy luxury mega-mall Midtown Galleria.

I cannot credit myself for the discovery. A friend of mine knew about the place and he insisted for a lunch there. I concealed my skepticism (the quote from Frasier kept coming back on the way to the museum). My friend certainly knew best.

Suntory is a private museum hosting special exhibitions throughout the year. But the art is not limited to the museum. The cafe offers great set menus (ideal for a lunch) produced by Produced by ‘Kaga-fu Fumuroya’, a well-established store from Kanazawa that boasts 150 years of tradition. Their dishes are artistically and beautifully assembled. But it is not just appearance. Every bite is tasty and researched. Pro-tip: ask for the seasonal set menus.

I strongly recommend a stop at the museum in your trips to Tokyo. And also the art exhibitions hosted by the museum are usually interesting, by the way.

Where in Tokyo
Tokyo Midtown Galleria 3F,
9-7-4 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8643, Japan
Check the official website for up to date info.

 

Godiva gourmet dessert at a convenience store – in Japan!

Japan loves limited editions. Or at least marketers in Japan do. Even the most trivial product gets special editions released in limited quantities for a limited time. Japan also loves convenience stores (called combini)… the Lawsons and 7/11s in Japan offer quality food for quick launches and dinners (nothing compared to their counterparts in other countries).

Combine these two elements and you will get limited editions gourmet desserts.

At the beginning of June 2018 Lawson launched a dessert featuring a collaboration between the famed chocolatier Godiva and Uichi Café, a brand of quality desserts sold in convenience stores. At the time of this post – late June 2018 – a few units are still available here and there (we found ours in Kyoto). They will be gone soon. Limited edition marketing has the upside to keep things interesting, but it clearly has the downside to abruptly interrupt the supply of a new product you might end up liking.

The Godiva roll cake is delicious. It is basically a sponge chocolate cake with soft serve Godiva chocolate and a layer of gianduia chocolate that gives additional texture and flavor. Sold for 450 yen (around 4 USD) including tax.

So next time you travel in Japan pop up in Lawson, 7/11 and maybe Family Mart (they are the major chains and are literally everywhere); chances are that you can get something special and unrepeatable.

PS: do not exaggerate… this small cake alone is 420 calories.

The quest for the perfect burger – Hong Kong edition

I am using  this page to collect visits to burger places in Hong Kong. For me the perfect burger must have a tender and juicy (but not crumbling) patty, firm buns, appropriate condiments, and be eatable bite by bite without making a mess. In the future I might build a ranking of the places described below, but for now they are listed in no specific order.

The Butchers Club – Wan Chai

Their claim to fame is the use of dry-aged meat for their patties. Apparently they source the beef from Australia and then dry-age it in their own facilities in Hong Kong. They have been featured in the Michelin guide since 2016 when the Hong Kong edition introduced the street food category (they are not a starred restaurant or a Bib Gourmand to be clear).

In my most recent visit (June 2018) I patronized the Wan Chai joint and had a Hogtown burger (160 HKD, around 20 USD). This specific burger adds a good amount of pulled pork to the mix. I give this burger two thumbs up, as not only the patty is juicy and firm, but the various ingredients are splendidly amalgamated. Their standard burger is also excellent and at the time of writing is priced 100 HKD (12.75 USD). I added their duck fat fries (fries “washed up” in duck grease, just to add some cholesterol) and an ice-cream sandwich. This last item is not shown on the receipt in the gallery and accounted for 40 HKD, around 5 USD. The ice cream sandwich is made on the spot, using two of their classic chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream. The cookies were a bit too hard for my taste, I will probably skip the dessert next time.  The only big con of this joint is that their locations are very essential, you can only seat on a steel stool. I am ok for a quick burger and I will certainly go back, but I would look for other options if I was to entertain friends.

Where in Hong Kong:
Rialto Building, 2 Landale St, Wan Chai
Other locations across Hong Kong. Check their website for their locations in mainland China as well.

Beef and Liberty – Central

Beef and Liberty is another homegrown gourmet burger operation. In many ways Beef and Liberty and The Butchers Club seem to track each other… In this case the meat is not dry-aged but sourced from Scotland and ground in Hong Kong.

The result is commendable. In my recent visit in June 2018 I went to their location in Central at the third floor of California Tower (in a nice gourmet enclave just a stone’s throw away from the bustling Queen’s Road. It was a public holiday, lunch menus were not available, but some additional brunch items were. I sank my teeth into a Bacon Cheese burger and I added chili fries and an avocado and ricotta toast. The burger was excellent and honestly I have a hard time telling the difference between their meet and the one used by the Butchers Club. They use glazed buns that are ok but not my favorite. In terms of value for money, not sure that the addition of the bacon and a bit of raclette cheese justify the higher price (135 HKD, around 17 USD) as compared to the plain burger that goes for 99 HKD (around 12.6 USD). The avocado and ricotta toast was a nice side (you see, I am totally for healthy food). It should be mentioned that there was a lot of avocado, but only a hint of ricotta. I could not find any dessert to complete my meal, but that was a nice excuse to walk for an ice cream nearby. A big plus is their location in Central: it is a very nice location, ideal to hang out with friends or for business lunches.

Where in Hong Kong:
3/F California Tower, 30-32 D’Aguilar Street, Central
See their website for other locations in Hong Kong and mainland China.

Shake Shack

In May 2018 one of the big events in the Hong Kong food scene was the opening of Shake Shack on the fourth level of the International Finance Center. This is an interesting development, as the fourth level of IFC has always been underutilized in my opinion, while it offers a spectacular view of the harbor. I had an evening burger with friends in mid June and I liked their smoke burger. Smaller than other gourmet burgers reviewed on this page (but you can always order a double patty), but with the addition of crispy bacon strips (I shall repeat crispy twice) that added to the flavor and made it a favorite of mine.

I visited Shake Shack again in July 2018 and I had the smoke burger again and one of their hot dogs. I avoided lines by going right after the opening at 11am. The story of the firm is linked to hot dogs, that’s how they started. It was a very good hot dog, a rarity in Asia. But let’s be clear, it was just a hot dog.

Where in Hong Kong:
4018, IFC, 1 Harbour View Street, Central (4th level of IFC shopping mall)
They are open from 11am to 11pm.
The HK branch has a website.

Five Guys

Similarly to Shake Shack, Five Guys is another acclaimed American burger chain. Their cheese burgers come with two patties and make them a big eat. You can select the condiments, otherwise they will serve it “all the way”, with everything. It is a satisfying burger, but I would not queue for it. Part of the experience, you can pick peanuts for free and nib them while you wait.

Where in Hong Kong:
60 Johnston Road, Wanchai.
Website: http://www.fiveguys.com.hk/

Burger Room

An old player in the Hong Kong burger scene, the Burger Room means creativity. They have a ton of different burgers available. Of note also their seafood burgers. Patties come well done (which is not my favorite) and they have some decadent choice of fries.

  • Guacamole Cheese Burger
  • Portobello Bacon Burger (with Portobello mushrooms
  • Melted cheese twisted fries and fries with guacamole
  • The check

Where in Hong Kong:
Shop D, G/F, 50-56 Paterson Street, Fashion Walk.
Website: http://burgeroom.com/ (They also have another location in TST).

Honbo

Honbo is a one-shop burger joint in Wan Chai (Sun street, you may need to take a steep stair if you come from Queen’s Road East). I tried their soft-shell crab burger. I ended up trying also their signature Honbo burger that is a “dirty” American-style cheese burger. Both were excellent and worth a 20-minute wait on a Saturday evening (June 2019). “Honbo” means “burger” in Cantonese.

  • Soft-shell crab burger
  • Honbo burger

Where in Hong Kong:
G/F New Sun House, 6-7 Sun Street, Wan Chai.
Website: honbo.hk.

Hitting the noodle jack pot in Sham Shui Po – Hong Kong

Authentic hand-made food in Hong Kong is a rarity nowadays. Chain restaurants are quickly taking over all available spaces and for the long-timers the temptation to just cash-in on the touristic traffic is high. Luckily, good traditional food outlets still exist and thrive. This post is about Lau Sum Kee, a noodle place that came to a certain degree of fame with Western audiences after a visit by Anthony Bourdain and that continues to offer delicious noodles no matter what.

The shop is located in Sham Shui Po, an interesting area in itself. People used to come to Sham Shui Po mostly for the markets (there is a huge electronic market, a fashion and garment market, a Jade market, you can really find everything here). Now more and more food outlets have opened around the crowded streets and it is a perfect destination where to combine food and shopping.

The visit

I was lucky enough to be escorted by two local friends. Given the recent departure of Bourdain, I was expecting to find a long line of tourists trying to retrace the celebrity chef’s footsteps in Hong Kong. Luckily I could have not been more wrong and at around 1.30pm on a Friday afternoon there were no tourists and our small party was immediately seated (sharing the round table with two ladies, Hong Kong style for this kind of establishment).

When you step in, you can smell the aroma of fresh noodles in the air. You can see two staff members (I suppose family members as well) working on filling wontons just across the cash register. The round table are meant to be shared and, as expected, you seat on stool. The menu is in Chinese only.

I ordered soup noodles with shrimp wontons and my friend went for the classic Hong Kong brisket noodles. Pickles are available on the table to kill time while waiting for the food. Also warm water is available for free.

Finally the food arrived. You can easily detect that the noodles are hand-made: their texture is irregular and every strand seems to have its own individuality. But the real surprise was the shrimp wonton. I have eaten many shrimp wontons and so many times they are tasteless, like crunching a piece of plastic. Not these ones! The fresh shrimp flavor immediately emerged bite after bite.

Their menu is not limited to brisket and shrimp noodles. They also have fish balls, other types of meat and you can even order two or three toppings. The noodles are available both with soup and with just sauce.

The check

A reasonably sized bowl of shrimp noodles cost me 32 HKD (around 4 USD). I was extremely pleased by the experience and I plan to go back, next time probably having a combo topping.

Bonus

Not far away, we completed our short foodie excursion with a tofu pudding, another quintessential Hong Kong dish. It is a piece of cold tofu that you can mix with sugar cane. It is the perfect dessert for the summer. Among the many shops that sells tofu pudding we chose Hong Kong Kung Wo Bean Curd Factory (bean curd means tofu) that is a sort of a local institution and also offers tofu in other savory preparations. A small portion of the pudding goes for 10 HKD (1.25 USD).

Where in Hong Kong:
Lau Sum Kee: 48 Kweilin Street, Sham Shui Po
Hong Kong Kung Wo Bean Curd Factory: 118 Pei Ho Street, Sham Shui Po

Brunch at the Phénix – Shanghai

The Phénix Eatery and Bar is the flagship restaurant of the luxurious Puli hotel in Shanghai. They were awarded one star in the 2018 Shanghai Michelin guide that was confirmed in 2019. I also visited them for dinner.

The visit

I had heard that they had started offering Sunday brunches and I had been thinking of trying for a while. On a sunny Sunday of June the stars aligned and I showed up.

They are one of the many establishments now offering a “semi-buffet”. It works like this: you order a couple of dishes from a menu (usually the choice is quite limited) and while you wait for the hot dishes you can indulge yourself in a buffet with exquisite sides and cold dishes.

The Phénix follows this format. The menu is based on breakfast dishes (from omelettes to tartares). You can choose two mains and a dessert from the menu and have fun with their buffet spread.

From the menu I chose an omlette (with a hint of truffle) and a beef tartare. Small portions. Done by the book. From the buffet I chose to try their oysters, a quiche Lorraine, cheese (they had five or six types available, more than the average buffet in Shanghai), cold cuts (in particular some ham) and some other random stuff. I certainly enjoyed the dessert from the menu, a nicely made chocolate cake.

Juices and tea/coffee were also included. You can check the menu on their website.

The check

The final check was 545 RMB and changes (around 85 USD). When I think about it, I cannot complain about anything, but at the same time there was nothing that stood up and made me think: “I need to come back for it!” I guess the brunch is not indicative of the cuisine that won them the Michelin star. Would I go back? No, in Shanghai there are way better choices for less that money (the weekend buffet at the Kitchen Studios at the Andaz hotel comes to my mind as the best deal at the moment and it is a bona fide full buffet; for a semi-buffet, with a little bit more the Cathay Room at the Peace Hotel offers a choice of more substantial dishes). Subsequently I also had dinner with them and I was equally not that impressed. I might go back to try their full fledged menu though.

Where in Shanghai:
2/F, 1 Changde Lu, near Yan’an Xi Lu
常德路1号璞麗酒店二楼, 近延安西路

Chop Chop Club – Shanghai (Closed)

How can you innovate the restaurant experience? In Tokyo there is a place where you have to literally fish your meal (and if you do not, a premium will apply on the check). In Kuala Lumpur once I visited a Marché restaurant where you can build your meal hopping from a food kiosk to another. But let’s be honest, you can only go so far…

Chop Chop Club tries to add something new with a set of timed dishes… Every 15 minutes two or three mains are available for order, either in a portion or the whole dish. Guests are welcomed with the à la carte menu encompassing a variety of appetizers and side dishes, while on a separate page (that I guess is updated on a daily basis) you can find the list of the mains and their serving times. The daily mains are also displayed on a large screen.

As the name suggests, the kitchen specializes in meat, but also some fish is available.

Chop Chop Club is located in one of the iconic “food palaces” on the Bund, Three on the Bund. It shares the same space of Unico, a self-proclaimed “Latin-infused” (do not ask me what it means) restaurant and lounge. From what I understand, the Chop Chop Club kitchen operate from 6pm to 9pm, then it is all Unico.

The visit

I visited Chop Chop Club on a calm Sunday evening in June attracted by the new format and by the fact that the restaurant is the latest brainchild of Paul Pairet, a well-known Shanghai restaurateur behind the three Michelin star Ultraviolet (one day!) and one of my all-time Shanghai favorites, Mr and Ms Bund.  Easy reservation through Chope.

I went with a friend and, in general, that’s a good idea, since the portions are not huge, but they can easily be shared among two people.

We had three mains: a portion of the house pork sausage (that came with a bit of mashed patato), a portion of Grilled seabass, and a portion of  char roasted lamb shoulder. Everything was cooked by the book, maybe the lamb was a bit cold when it arrived. The sausage, that for some reason in Asia they never get right, was also good. We had only one side, some creamy cabbage (that was exceptionally good, it did not taste as cabbage at all… I should have tried more side dishes).  On the menu for the evening there were also Wagyu sirloin steak (for 450 USD), black pepper short ribs from Singapore, cote de boef and lemon chicken. The dishes arrived punctual, the kitchen must be operating like the proverbial Swiss clock.

I and my friend were very pleased by the desserts we chose: I went for a decadent Nutella mousse (you cannot go wrong with Nutella) and my friend for chilled pomelo.

The check

The total bill for two people came to 1128 RMB (around 176 USD). It was a substantial but not a pantagruelic meal and only my friend had a cocktail. Just to say that you could easily spend much more…

I enjoyed the food and the ambience. The place delivered what it promised: solid good traditional food without excessive frills and the place and service kind of justify the premium price. And what about the idea of timing the dishes? Honestly, it did not add much to the experience. Whoever out there is on a mission to innovate the restaurant format, you need to keep trying.

Conclusion: I would come back if I had to entertain a small group of friends.

Pro-tip

From the opening at 6pm to 7.30pm it is happy hour and alcoholic beverages are 50% off.

Where in Shanghai: 
2/F, 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Guangdong Lu
请带我去 中山东一路3号2楼, 近广东路

December 2018 Update: now it seems to operate on a reduced schedule on Fridays and Saturdays and on a new model: you share a table with a blind menu. See their website.