July 2018 – Page 2 – Check Please!

The best chocolaterie in Vietnam: Maison Marou in Ho Chi Minh City

I am hardly unveiling anything new. Chocolate Marou was covered by The New York Times a few years ago. Still, I feel compelled to write about it since their Maison Marou in Ho Chi Minh City is, in my opinion, is one of the best dessert experiences in Vietnam.

Chocolate Marou was founded by two French gentleman, Samuel Maruta (also of Japanese heritage) and and Vincent Mourou back in 2011 (now you can guess where the name comes from). They were not chocolatier by trade, but they did learn fast and had the brilliant idea to exploit local coco bean varieties, each with its own unique texture and aroma depending on the place of origin (the so called terroir).

But this review is not about the chocolate itself, rather it is about Maison Marou, a chocolaterie that is a coffee shop, but also an atelier, but also a miniature chocolate factory, but also a shop, but also a learning center and now even a tourist destination.

The visit

I have patronized Maison Marou since its opening. It is just a great place where to meet friends or just have a solitary dessert. It is quite busy on weekends; weekdays in the early afternoon is probably the best time to go.

At Maison Marou you can shop for Marou chocolate bars, pralines and other souvenirs. You can see the machine roasting the coco beans in action (you can even taste a raw coco bean).

But the star of Maison Marou is represented by their chocolate pastry creations. In my latest visit I tried the tiramisu that was excellent and certainly not an easy dish. In the past I also tried their opera cake, eclairs (love the hard slide of chocolate inside, instead of the regular soft cream), tarts, and other seasonal treats. I have never been let down. One comfort food that I strongly recommend is their giant chocolate chips cookie. It is a great blend of chocolate and cookie paste. They also serve coffee and hot/iced chocolate (and a few other drinks) to complete the experience, otherwise iced water is complimentary (as customary in Vietnamese coffee shops).

In my last visit I also tried one of their new products, a sort of power bar called Ironbar. The balance between the chocolate and the various grains and fibers was good.

The check

For a tiramisu and the chocolate energy bar I spent 210,000 VND (or around 9 USD). The eclair is 70,000 VND (3 USD), but most desserts are priced around 150,000 VND (6.55 USD). By Vietnamese standards, it is not cheap. However, it is difficult to quibble about the price if you take into account the quality of the ingredients and the attractiveness of the venue. For reference, a sampler with 6 bars of their chocolate costs 600,000 VND (around 26 USD). It is pleonastic, but yes, good chocolate is not cheap nowadays.

Where in Ho Chi Minh City:
169 Calmette, Phường Nguyễn Thái Bìn, District 1
Open daily from 9am to 10pm (11pm on Fridays and Weekends).
Check their website and facebook page for updated information.
They also have a Maison Marou in Hanoi.

Learning the difference between Gelato and ice cream at Ralf’s Artisan Gelato in Ho Chi Minh City

One of the pluses of Ho Chi Minh City’s food scene is that it still leaves room to compelling personal stories. Sure, international chains are already everywhere, but if you are patient enough you can still find self-motivated individuals that just want to do the right thing. The owner and artisan behind Ralf’s Artisan Gelato has one of these stories to tell. For him gelato was a destiny, Vietnam is probably an accident. He first tried to take over a gelato parlor in Germany when he was in his mid-twenties, but the Italian owner called off the deal. So he went on another professional trajectory for 30 years or so. Finally, he was able to acquire a gelato parlor in Germany and spent the past 10 years learning and perfecting his trade. Finally, life brought him in Vietnam where all what he learnt finally came together.

The visit

I was introduced to this gelato parlor (you will see why I cannot write ice cream in a moment) by a good friend of mine in 2017. Now, every time I visit Ho Chi Minh City a stop is mandatory. My latest visit dates back to July 2018 and on this occasion I had a chance to speak to Ralf and I was even given a tour of his laboratory.

Certificate of membership Gelatieri per il Gelato

Ralf’s Artisan Gelato is a representative of the Italian tradition, but using the Italian term “gelato” to designate its creations is not just an homage to Italy. Rather, gelato indicates a distinct production process that leads to something different from ordinary industrial ice cream. The key is that gelato contains less fat (less cream and more milk is used) and less air than ice cream and it is served at warmer temperatures. This results in a more organic, intense flavor and a richer texture. The association Gelatieri per il Gelato (Ralf is their only Asian member) also stresses the use of fresh, natural, high quality ingredients and the production in small batches.

But there is more. Even in Italy, the vast majority of gelato parlors use semi-finished products to quickly produce their gelato. Ralf is among the few artisan that produces his gelato from scratch. This means that he picks the best ingredients and turns them into gelato step by step. For example, producing a batch of passion fruit may involve a week-long process that starts with letting the fruits mature to the right point, harvest the pulp and so on. This is not a process that can be easily scaled and, not surprisingly, real gelato artisan operates small shops.

These points were optimally illustrated by my choice, a scoop of coffee ice cream and one of Marou chocolate (Marou is a Vietnamese brand of chocolate… more in another review). The coffee flavor was intense, but not pungent like in some industrial ice cream I experienced elsewhere and the texture of the chocolate was closer to a mousse than regular ice cream.

Before leaving I also tasted a few of the more exotic flavors available. Ralf created a fish sauce flavor that is scoring very well with locals (not my cup of tea, but fish sauce is so intimately part of the Vietnamese culture that I am not surprised the flavor can have a lot of admirers). I liked another Vietnam-inspired flavor, yogurt and black rice (a typical Vietnamese dessert). Finally, I would recommend trying the pumpkin seed oil that has a nutty back-taste and is made with pumpkin oil imported from Austria.

The check

One scoop currently sells for 60,000 VND (2.62 USD). Two scoops like in my order make a good portion, so you will spend between 2.60 and 5.20 USD to taste this labor of love. I find the price point more than reasonable considering all the work and dedication necessary to get to the finished product. Besides, industrial ice creams sell for around the same (sometimes even more). I am not even comparing these prices with Shanghai or Hong Kong where prices are higher, but the quality is spotty. The gelato can be tasted in a cup or in a cone (I prefer the former). The shop also has tables and I and a friend enjoyed the gelato indoor with complimentary iced tea, but, of course, it also makes sense to enjoy it as a street food (in this case cone is the right choice!). So, all in all, I want to say thanks to Ralf for teaching me something new about food and for having brought this tradition to Vietnam. I hope to visit him again and again.

Where in Ho Chi Minh City:
39 Đặng Thị Nhu, Phường Nguyễn Thái Bìn, District 1
At the time of posting it is closed on Mondays and opens at 1pm during the week, at 11.30 on weekends and keeps open till 10pm. Check their Facebook page for up to date information.

UPDATE
I also would like to share this gelato drink popular in Germany and Austria that Ralf has on his menu:

It is basically a chocolate drink with two scoops of gelato (also the coffee version is available). It is an extremely rich drink highly recommended to chocolate lovers.

How many ways can you cook a crab? The answer at Sapporo Kanihonke

Hokkaido means seafood. And one type of seafood that cannot be missed in Hokkaido is crab. Options to try it abound. In my case I ended up having an early lunch in one of the crab institutions of Sapporo, Sapporo Kanihonke. This crab restaurant is today a chain with venues across all Japan. According to their website, they have been the first restaurant to serve crab cuisine and their founder is know as the father of crab cuisine in Japan. So much for the hype. I am very suspicious of chains (and this one reminds me of Red Lobster for some reason…), so my expectations were low. However, on a Sunday morning at 11.30 there were very few eateries open in Susukino district, so I eventually overcame my doubts and asked for a table.

The visit

The Susukino branch occupies a seven-story building literally covered in crabs signs. You cannot miss it. I was promptly escorted in a private room for two people. Very nice start. It is always nice to have a private room and considering that when I left there was a notice indicating that the restaurant was sold out I guess I was a little bit lucky.

They have an extensive menu sporting snow and hairy crab dishes and a number of other seafood options. They have a number of “kaiseki” set menus. Kaiseki is the traditional Japanese multi-course meal. I would describe their kaiseki as “mini”, since they do not perfectly reflect the grammar of a full kaiseki, but, after doing some math, they are a great way to get an introduction to crab cuisine since you can save some bucks as opposed to order individual dishes.

My choice was a Hanasaki menu only available for lunch for 5,400 yen (around 50 USD). I shall now describe the individual dishes that came with this menu.

The first course included a selection of appetizers and the main crab dish of the menu: three pieces of butter roasted snow crab. The pieces were quite meaty (but not that much to eat overall). You could definitely taste the freshness of the crab from its juices. Please note that you are being provided both chopsticks and a crab fork to reach any piece of pulp in the dishes (chopstick and fork are placed on a cute chopstick rest modeled like a crab).

The second course included a portion of crab gratin (white cram with a few pieces of crab meat) and a rice ball called “crab marimo” on the menu. The rice ball tasted like sticky rice and, of course, was enriched by a few specks of crab meat.

The third course brought some variety with a piece of grilled white fish (called “sable fish” on the menu) marinated in miso. Nice.

The fourth course was fried crab meat on shell. Very nice, I finished it. No need to use the accompanying sauce to enjoy it in my opinion.

And now time for some sushi. The two important parts here are the piece of crab sushi and the piece of mackerel sushi. In both cases, mackerel and crab pulp were pressed and marinated. The course is completed by a miso soup.

The sixth and last course was a simple dessert: fruit in a yogurt sauce. Not my cup of tea, but glad to have it. By the way, hot tea was included, I only paid extra for a soft drink.

The check

The final check amounted to 5810 yen (or around 52 USD). All dishes were enticing. My only marginal regret is that I did not order some more substantial dish (like their king crab steak!), but one of such dishes would have added at least 30 USD to the final check and, honestly, there was enough food already.

Overall, the place scored beyond my expectations. I think one of their multi-course menus is a great way to be introduced to crab cuisine. Apart from the quality of the food and its presentation, service was also excellent and the dishes were perfectly timed. They have a lot of experience in a place like this.

Sapporo Kanihonke certainly earned my recommendation. If you go, just consider making a reservation to be sure not to be disappointed. You can find them across Japan, so you do not need to go to Sapporo to try their menu.

PS: Before leaving, at the cashier, you can buy as a souvenir many of their crab-inspired paraphernalia. I bought the crab double rest for chopsticks and fork for just 200 yen.

Where in Sapporo:
Sapporo Kanihonke – Susukino Branch
4-1-3 Minami-Rokujyou-Nishi, Cyuou-ku
Visit their website to check other locations and the booking system (they recommend to place reservations 10 days in advance).

Japanese-grade yakitori in Hong Kong: Yardbird

In Hong Kong there are a couple of places where you can find authentic Japanese yakitori (chicken skewers cuisine). One of these is Yardbird. Hardly a hidden secret, Yardbird has been very popular since its inception in 2011. Luckily towards the end of 2017 they moved to a larger location in Sheung Wan and now if you show up the at right time (maybe between 6 or 7pm) during a weekday with a little bit of luck you do not have to queue. As in many successful yakitori places in Japan, they do not take reservations. At the helm of this restaurant a relatively young Canadian chef, Matt Abergel.

What? Wait? How can a Canadian chef serve the best yakitori in town? I think I understood by reading this interview to Matt. According to the interview, Matt “first fell in love with grilled meat on a stick when he was 17 years old and went to Japan after graduating from high school”. Retrospectively, all of his career built up to opening a yakitori place. I guess that when you care and have enough passion, you can make up any geographical and cultural disadvantage. This is certainly the case for Yardbird that is an independent restaurant, not another offspring of a chain trying to capitalize on the latest gastronomic trend.

The visit

I got a table on a calm Tuesday evening arriving around 7pm. I got one of thet last spots at the counter. I think that during the evening it would have been possible for a solo diner to find a place, more difficult for a group. What enticed me to try the venue and learn more about it was not only my passion for yakitori, but also the positive experience that I had with Ronin, a more recent creation of the same group behind Yardbird.

When I stepped in I could recognize the same relaxed and yet sophisticated atmosphere and the same friendly and hipster staff.

The menu is not limited to yakitori, but the skewers are certainly the star. The gallery below shows what I got. A digression on my only non-skewer-dish: it was a katsu sando, or a Japanese cutlet sandwich. This was uber-delicious. In practice, what I got was a lightly bread crumb coated fried chicken with seasonings between sandwich bread buns. Double. The flavor was just fantastic, all the ingredients worked well together.

My choice of skewers included skin (nicely crispy, with sake and sea salt), heart (with a lot of spring onion, good flavor even without condiments), the hardly-seen thyroid (very chewy, with strong flavor), miso breast (with an accent of parsley, basil, and garlic), the classic meatball with egg yolk dip, fillet (with yuzu and miso), inner tigh (with pepper and sea salt).

I liked all the skewers; the flavor was always distinct and delicious, even in the difficult parts such as thyroid and the heart. My only complaint is that the skewers tended to come out burned just a tad too much (but not at a point to compromise the flavor).

The check

I spent a total of 534 HKD equivalent to 68 USD for 7 skewers and and the cutlet sandwich, including an expensive bottle of water (that in these fine dining establishments I kind of accept as a form of cover charge). This is just a little bit more expensive than what I paid for an excellent yakitori in Osaka just a few weeks earlier (around 55 USD for appetizer, 8 skewers and an additional dish if I only account for one person). Comparisons are tricky. We all know that fine dining is expensive in Hong Kong. Overall I would say that the price point is acceptable for the quality of the experience and the work that takes place behind the scenes. By the way, they do not apply compulsory service charge (usually 10%) and invite you to tip if you are happy with the service. This is a place where I would certainly go back and honestly I cannot say the same for a lot of other fine dining places I tried in Hong Kong.

Bonus

In May 2018 Matt Abergel published a book titled Chicken and Charcoal (Phaidon Press, 240 pages) that goes into specifics about his knowledge of yakitori. The book is richly illustrated and covers topics such as how to break down a chicken to obtain all those exotic parts that you find in real yakitori menus, how to grill them using charcoal, how to marinate them and make the right sauces and even how to choose the right drink pairings. While at time of writing the book is not available for delivery on Amazon (release date in October 2018), I could browse a copy in an Hong Kong bookstore and I was impressed. I see it as an additional piece of evidence of Matt’s passion for what he does. It is on my wishlist (but this time I just did not have space left in my baggage…).

Where in Hong Kong:
G/F, 154-158 Wing Lok Street Sheung Wan
Address in Chinese: 上環 154-158 永樂街
For more information including the menu see their website.

How a Michelin-recommended yakitori dinner looks like in Japan – Yakitori Ueda in Osaka

Yakitori is a type of Japanese cuisine (and restaurant) serving chicken skewers. Sounds trivial? It is not… Yakitori is no-holds-barred: in a real Japanese yakitori you will be served parts of the chicken you have never heard about. Breaking down a chicken to get those parts and preparing them for the grill requires some artistry. Additionally, cooking is not a trivial matter either: yakitori is grilled over charcoal fire and a skilled chef knows how to achieve the best results by varying the level of the heat depending on the type of skewer.

For this culinary adventure I patronized Kitahama Yakitori Ueda in Osaka. I selected this specific venue as it was part of handful venues recommended by the local Michelin Guide (Ueda is a Bib Gourmand, that indicates excellent value in addition to quality of the food offering). As I do not speak Japanese, it was not an easy feat. My first attempt in the summer 2017 failed miserably (they seemed to be fully booked when I showed up). Next time – end of June 2018 – I enlisted the help of a local guide, found through the amazing service of the Osaka good-will guides association (a service pairing visitors with locals willing to act as tour guides at no charge). They do not usually help in restaurant bookings, but I convinced my guide to have a tour in central Osaka and then to go together to this yakitori (I picked up, joyfully, the tab for both).

The visit

I and my guide arrived at around 6pm when the restaurant had just opened. At that time we could see office workers swarming around us rushing to the nearest metro station. Yakitori Ueda is located in the basement of an office building in one of Osaka commercial districts. It is easy to miss, since the entrance is not on the main road, but it is located on a side of the building. Having someone willing to translate made the visit perfect as I could get a lot of details about the food that I would have otherwise missed.

We chose the set menu including 8 skewers and we added a couple of items. What follows is a description of what we got.

The mandatory starter was a small portion of chicken liver pâté. Nothing special, sweet flavor; the pâté resembled a portion of crème brûlée.

Before beginning with the skewers, we got some raw chicken tight with fermented seaweed. This dish was not 100% real chicken sashimi, since it was a bit seared. Having overcome the fear of essentially raw chicken meat, I truly enjoyed the dish. The restaurant, by the way, has a special focus on chicken sashimi. A couple sitting at the counter next to me had a mountain of completely raw chicken. The menu suggested to eat raw chicken within 20 minutes of serving (to avoid contamination) and declined any responsibility in case of sickness.

The other dish we ordered apart from the skewers was chicken skin in ponzu sauce. The skin was soft, not crispy and amalgamated very well with the flavor of the sauce.

The first skewer was made of shirako. Shirako indicates the sperm sac of an animal (it is usually used for fish). Yes, I ate the sperm sac of a bunch of chickens. Actually it was delicious: once you bite and break the skin, the interior seems like melted cheese.

The second skewer involved three pieces of chicken stomach. The chicken is an incredible animal, it does not have any teeth, but part of the stomach actively grinds grains and fiber in smaller particles (this is my source). This part is called gizzard, while the part used for storage is called proventriculus. We got some gizzard. This meat is gummy (probably consequence of its muscular nature); I had tried it elsewhere and I had not liked it. Not this time. The meat had great flavor, like a herb sausage, and I did not mind the texture.

This was a piece of ‘furisode’. According to this source, the “term is used to refer to the shoulder meat of the chicken, which is the intermediate portion of the chicken between the breast and the wing”. It came with some sauce made of fermented beans and miso. A very tasty piece.

The fourth skewer presented a meaty piece of chicken tight cooked medium raw and dipped in vinegar. This was a very juicy bite.

Now that we were midway through our eight dishes, we were offered an “intermission”: some vegetables with miso dipping sauce. Nice to clean the palate.

The fifth skewer was made of a piece of neck. Again a different flavor! This time the meat was tender, a bit chewy and with a hint of flavor coming from fat.

The sixth skewer consisted in a piece of the bum of the chicken. This was a more plain flavor in my opinion.

The seventh skewer was the classic chicken meatball. Apparently every serious yakitori restaurant has its own recipe for this kind of meatball. In this case, it was different from any other skewered chicken meatball I had experienced. What made the difference was the presence of some herbs and some raw meat inside.

The last dish seemed trivial after all of these exotic parts… chicken wings with a speck of lime. The meat was pinkish, revealing a medium raw cooking and the skin soft.

What an incredible meal! Every skewer had its own unique flavor and every bite delivered intense ad superb taste. Certainly the quality of the meat (the chicken are sourced from the nearby Nara) had a part, but the artful cooking was what made the difference in bringing out the flavor in each skewer.

The check

I do not have a picture of the check, but the set menu for two, two additional dishes and a couple of drinks totaled around 12000 yen (around 54 USD per person). Given the quality of the experience, I find it hardly expensive. Sure, you can have a similar number of skewers for half this price if not less, but you will not come even close to this quality in the cooking and in the preparation of the meat. All in all, I was very happy to score this restaurant and I would recommend anyone to try a serious yakitori while in Japan.

Where in Osaka:
2-6-6 Kitahama, Chuo-ku | Crystal Tower B1F, Chuo, Osaka 541-0041
Address in Japanese: 〒541-0041 大阪府大阪市中央区北浜2-6-6 クリスタルタワーB1
Note: menu was only available in Japanese and staff only spoke Japanese. Reservation possible via phone (06-6205-8855). If you do not speak Japanese I strongly encourage you to find a local willing to come with you.
Read this article to learn more about yakitori.

Dim Sum feast in a Michelin starred restaurant for just 36 USD – Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong

Tim Ho Wan story is quit recent. It all started in 2009 when Mak Kwai-pui, formerly a chef in a three-Michelin-starred restaurant, opened a dim sum diner in Mongkok. The restaurant earned a Michelin star of its own in the 2010 Hong Kong and Macau Guide and it has retained the award ever since. The Mongkok location does not exist anymore; three locations in Hong Kong are listed under the one-starred restaurants in the 2018 Michelin Guide: Sham Shui Po, North Point, and Tai Kwok Tsui (Olympian City 2). A bit of clarity is in order: this is a real starred restaurant, not a Big Gourmand (a category introduced to acknowledge affordable restaurants standing up for good value) or a street food entry. Second point to be made: the famed Michelin Guide rates specific locations, not brands. This means that only the locations mentioned above deserve to be regarded as “starred”; this is not the case for the plethora of locations elsewhere in Hong Kong and across Asia and other countries (while this does not mean that other locations are bad of course, especially considering that the Guide does not cover all countries were Tim Ho Wan is present).

The visit

My visit to the Sham Shui Po branch dates back to early July 2018. I showed up at noon on a weekday and I was promptly offered a seat for me and a friend. Service is fast and people keep churning at an impressive rate. You can easily spot both tourists (with their trolleys) and locals. The venue is relatively small and do not expect any privacy: you will seat shoulder to shoulder with other customers. But this is the beauty of real dim sum in Hong Kong.

A word on dim sum in case you are not familiar with it (otherwise skip to the next paragraph). Dim sum refers to the small bite-size dishes designed for brunch in Chinese cuisine, in particular Cantonese (that exercises the largest influence on Hong Kong Chinese cuisine). Tea is a mandatory complement. Someone claims that there are hundreds of such dishes. In a typical dim sum restaurant you get a menu where you can tick off the specific items you like to order. Dim sum is not really the everyday breakfast for people in Hong Kong or elsewhere in China, it is more like the weekend or holiday treat. Having said so, in a city like Hong Kong, dim sum restaurants are open and busy all week long both for lunch and dinner. Nowadays, luxury dim sum venues are common in cities like Hong Kong, however dim sum remains a popular cuisine and, in my opinion, it is best experienced in places characterized by a mildly chaotic atmosphere. (Make no mistake, in a place like Tim Ho Wan they are ultra-efficient and very quick in delivering orders.)

Tim Ho Wan has a menu divided in six sections: steamed dishes, deep fried food, steamed rice, congee, vermicelli, and dessert. I could count 36 items, including a few seasonal offerings (marked by an asterisk). In the gallery below you can find a detailed description of the dishes we ordered.

Just a few general comments. The baked bun with BBQ pork (also known as Cha siu bao) lived up its reputation. Technically it is a pineapple bun (no pineapple involved, but the bun is sweet). The sweetness of the bun combined with the savory flavor of the pork and its sauce generate a unique irresistible fragrance. My favorite were also the deep fried shrimp toast (with sizable pieces of shrimp on a crispy toast) and the beef balls (right tenderness and texture). Also the classics did not let us down, including the dumplings and the glutinous vermicelli with shrimps. I was less impressed by the chicken. The green bean cold soup was listed as a dessert, but I found it appropriate to accompany the meal as a refreshing drink.

The check

Tim Ho Wan is consistently listed as one of the cheapest Michelin starred restaurants in the world. Truth be told, I and my friend spent 283 HKD, or around 36 USD, for a feast that left both completely satisfied. Tea was included in the 2 HKD per person cover charge. Yes, for once the value for money is out of question and not only because this experience does not cost you a kidney, but also because the food is genuinely good and fresh. I should clarify that in this case the lunch was a treat, but the final receipt, in this case two, is provided on the table as a form of order confirmation so I got the picture anyway and I am not letting out any secret. My friend from Hong Kong commented that the price is reasonable even within the same category of dim sum eateries: you can easily find worse places around Mong Kok or Sham Shui Po and end up paying more. I won’t discuss the heated topic of whether the Michelin Guide applies different standards to different territories (it kind of does…), but I want to say that I appreciate the fact that this restaurant did not sell out after earning its award but continued to offer excellent food at reasonable prices.

Where in Hong Kong:
9-11 Fuk Wing St, Sham Shui Po
See website for other locations in Hong Kong and other countries.
Michelin Guide entry for the Sham Shui Po branch.

Fine Cantonese cuisine in an English-style club at Duddell’s in Hong Kong

From the end of the first Opium War that started the British rule the island and its territories to today’s megalopolis ultimately controlled by China, Hong Kong has always been a meeting point between East and West. This is reflected in so many details of its material culture and heritage. This premise to say that it should come to no surprise that you can find a place like Duddell’s in Hong Kong, British in style, beginning with the name, but with a strong Cantonese soul. Duddell’s is a restaurant, an art gallery, an elegant tea room and a club all in one. I visited it for the first time in July 2018 intrigued by its one Michelin star award.

The visit

I reserved a lunch through their website (that connects to Opentable). They confirmed the reservation calling me on my Hong Kong phone number the day before. I visited Duddell’s on a Monday; while I was one of the first diners to arrive at noon, by one o’clock the restaurant was almost full (and pretty noisy).

The entrance is from Duddell street 1, next to Shanghai Tang flagship store (you need to step into the unassuming lobby and take the elevator to the third floor). You are meters away from the bustling streets and offices of Central Hong Kong, but as you get off on the third floor you are taken in a different atmosphere.

I ordered their business lunch that, with its 6 courses, was expected to provide me a good introduction to Duddell’s cuisine. Here’s what I got:

Dim sum and barbecued selection: two pieces of glazed iberico pork (must be from Spain these days to get a Michelin star!), a shrimp dumpling and two spring rolls. All the three samples were excellent and I was impressed by the intense fresh flavor of the prawn.
Abalone broth with mixed dried seafood: it was a good soup, I cannot say that it was anything life-changing.
Steamed garoupa fillet with bean curd in soy sauce: very delicate seafood and the tofu was a perfect match keeping the dish refreshing.
Sautéed prawns with vegetables in X.O. chilli sauce: meaty and tasty.
Fried rice with crispy pork belly and preserved vegetable: I guess a rice dish could not be avoided. Excellent, but not much pork belly. If I am not mistaken, the rice also included some tofu that was a good complement to the other condiments.
Duddell’s dessert selection: it included a delicious red bean soup (with some nutty flavor), one more red-bean based jelly and a mini lemon bignè.

In the gallery below you can take a look at the individual dishes.

The check

The check came to 834 HKD (around 106 USD) after adding service charge and a bottle of still water. There was also a slightly cheaper set menu for lunch, but make no mistake, this was the cheapest option to get an introduction to the restaurant. The tasting menu starts at 1480 HKD (and it is available both for lunch and dinner) and you can easily spend thousands of HKD (if not USD) when you start ordering delicacies such as abalone, bird’s nest, lobster etc. Nothing surprising, you are in a Michelin starred restaurant in Central Hong Kong. Considering that you can easily spend close to 1000 HKD even in mediocre restaurants in Hong Kong, I think overall the check was reasonable to experience fine Cantonese cuisine with creative touches, fresh ingredients in an elegant establishment.

Before leaving the staff let me have a look at the tea room on the fourth floor: with a terrace and comfortable and colorful furniture seems a great place where to meet friends or just hang out (they have a separate snack menu for the tea room). I enjoyed the experience and I think I will go back to try more of the dim sum options, possibly during their weekend brunches.

Where in Hong Kong:
Level 3 Shanghai Tang Mansion, 1 Duddell St, Central
Menus and link to booking system on their website.

Luxury omakase chez Sushi Tanabe – in Sapporo

Omakase means more or less “I leave it to you” and it is a code word for luxury multi-course meals in Japan where the chef decide what you get. Typically an omakase involves sushi and this was the case with Sushi Tanabe, a premium dining venue in Sapporo, Hokkaido. Sushi Tanabe has been around for around 13 years (my visit dates back to July 2018) and 3 years ago moved in the current location a stone throw away from Sapporo station in a fancy commercial tower, The Rokkattei Building, on the 9th floor (where, by pure coincidence, you can find another interesting venue, Molière Café, the coffee shop spin-off of one of the most renown restaurants in town). In 2012 it was one of the 4 restaurants to get three stars (the highest award) in the inaugural Michelin guide for Hokkaido. The stars were abruptly dropped in the 2017 guide (more on this later).

The visit

I was able to make a reservation for dinner (it is not open for lunch) by email (a, rarity in Japan), but it does not look like a sold-out location any longer so walk-ins are probably possible. By the way, they have a pretty large location, with a big counter seating 13 guests and two cooking stations for two chefs to work simultaneously (they also have two private rooms, but the beauty of an omakase is to seat close to the chef).

I ordered the basic omakase set including an appetizer, 10 pieces of sushi and desserts for 10,500 yen plus plus (more on this in the “the check” section). Two more menus were available with additional grilled dishes and sashimi (the most expensive being priced 16,800 yen or around 150 USD).

As it happens in this kind of restaurants, the chef personally grated the horseradish to use in the sushi rice (no horseradish/wasabi available for the diner, all is taken care by the chef including the soy sauce) and cut the ginger (that was not replenished during the meal).

On the contrary of what happened in my previous omakase in Osaka, the chef served multiple customers arriving at different times and ordering different menus.

Here’s what I got:

Appetizer: a succulent oyster from Hokkaido with vinegar (but it was a small bite, I did not have the time to dip it).
Hirame: white fish usually translated with halibut.
Maguro: classic slice of tuna.
Kohada: gizzard shad is a small fish (around 5 inches) and the preparation involved to cut the fish slice on the surface, I guess to make it softer and get the flavor to emerge). According to the Sushi Geek, this fish undergoes extensive preparation and is marinated in vinegar.
Hotate: a meaty Hokkaido scallop, cleaned on the spot by the chef from the shell.
Aji: Japanese horse mackerel, with spring onion.
Kin medai: a reddish slice of golden eye snapper.
Uni: served on rice sprinkled with salt.
Sake: salmon, a piece with a bit of skin attached for extra flavor.
Ikura: a generous amount of salmon roe.
Miso soup.
Anago: a melt-in-your mouth saltwater eel.
Tamago: two bites of Japanese omlette.
Two desserts: Japanese tea and a cup of crème brûlée and ice cream with a bite of Hokkaido melon.

From the drink menu I ordered a Japanese peach juice. You can browse the gallery below to see pictures of each dish.

All dishes were delicious and executed by the book by the chef in front of me.

The check

The total damage for the dinner was 12,398 yen (around 112 USD). For an omakase dinner like this I find the price acceptable. I was put off by the flat service charge of 1,500 yen (that’s 13.5 USD) that I had not seen mentioned on the website. I know that it is normal for Japanese restaurants to levy cover charges (usually in exchange for a small appetizer called otashi), but I would have preferred them to embed this charge in the menu price or declare it on the website. While overall I was satisfied and I got my omakase, the large space and the fact that the chef was serving multiple customers with different orders at the same time made the meal less intimate than my omakase in Osaka. I would call this omakase “by the book”. Everything was executed well, no complaints, but I found the chef a bit too mechanic and hasty. Maybe was this the reason the restaurant lost its Michelin award? This is just speculation, but I felt there was no soul in the overall experience and I was in a cookie-cutter type of operation. This is not meant to be a disparaging comment. I would certainly recommend the place to others, especially considering that they are accustomed to deal with foreign customers and that’s certainly a plus. Personally, now I know what I want: in the future I will scout for smaller and more intimate places where I can see the chef/owner truly involved and enthusiast about the food he or she is preparing.

Where in Sapporo:
The Rokkattei Building 9 floor, 3-3, North 4 West 6, Chu-ou-ku, Sapporo city
Address in Japanese: 札幌市中央区北４条西６丁目六花亭ビル９階
See website in English for more information.

This meal changed the way I see sushi, for ever

Everybody knows about sushi: that quintessential Japanese food, raw fish on rice. I ate tons of sushi around the world in my life and I thought to be an expert, but I came to the conclusion that I had only scratched the surface after this unforgettable lunch in a classic “omakase” sushi restaurant in Osaka called Sushi Chiharu. Omakase means “”I’ll leave it up to you” and indicates a course meal whose components are decided by the chef. Sushi Chiharu embodies this concept in a classic small restaurant where all customers seat together at the counter and are served directly by the chef. In the case of Sushi Chiharu they have 7 seats on the first floor for lunch and 6 more seats upstairs that are available for dinner. All the diners are served simultaneously and this means that you need to show up punctually (lunch starts either at 11am or at 12.30; I joined the second group).

PS: I was back in June 2019 and I tried also their premium dinner omakase.

The visit

I chose this restaurant because it was recommended by the Michelin Guide (as a Bib Gourmand) and it allowed online reservation in English. This is really not common, most of these restaurants are very difficult to access without phone reservation. The reservation process was easy and did not involve any deposit. You can find the details on the restaurant’s website. (Update: since June 2019 they have been using a new system that requires credit card guarantee.)

The restaurant is located in an alley full of eateries in what seems an interesting neighborhood for food, Fukushima, and is operated by young chefs (the restaurant is affiliated with a cooking school). A female chef attended my group and prepared the sushi in front of us, while the male colleague worked in the tiny kitchen behind the scenes. All the other diners were Japanese and I certainly appreciated that the chef spoke in English to explain me the dishes.

What impressed me was how meticulously every piece of sushi was prepared. Forget about raw fish on rice! The fish component was attentively cut and dipped in soy sauce when appropriate while the rice was enriched with horseradish (wasabi) that was freshly grated at the very beginning of the meal (and it is not strong). Additional condiments were added for each piece of sushi in order to extol the right flavor. The best part was seeing the chef handling the rice in one hand, the fish in the other and finally putting the two together. There was something artistic in the movement and the result was that rice and seafood were seamlessly amalgamated together. This is how sushi is supposed to be made. Let’s see each piece of sushi part of this omakase.

The appetizer consisted in a small bite of broiled tuna surmounted by two specs of bell pepper.

The first piece of sushi was squid (ika) that was shredded by the chef with her knife and recomposed on each piece of rice. A sprinkle of lime and salt was added to enrich the flavor. Ika is not usually my kind of sushi but with this kind of preparation it was delicious.

The second piece was another white fish (hirame, most likely halibut). The fish was soaked in soy sauce but no wasabi was added to the rice to keep the flavor simple.

The third piece was a classic mackerel made sweet by the soy sauce.

The fourth piece was tuna (maguro) slightly seared. The chef added a tiny bit of mustard on top that beautifully added to the flavor.

The fifth dish was a tablespoon of sea urchin presented in a bowl with a pinch of wasabi. We were invited to mix it in the bowl with a wooden spoon.

The sixth dish was again a piece of sushi, this time a scallop (hotate), very meaty and generously soaked in soy sauce (but the sauce did not interfere with the natural taste of the scallop).

The seventh piece of sushi was made with tai (a pinkish fish that in English is usually translated as red snapper or seabream). A good dose of wasabi and lime were added. Tai is not usually that tasty, but it was in this case.

As an eighth dish we got a double piece of sushi made with a big cooked prawn whose shell was removed by the chef in front of us. The prawn was also soaked in egg yolk sauce and different types of salt and condiments were added to each piece.

The ninth piece of sushi sported a cut of saltwater eel called anago in Japanese. This is very different from the more common unagi (freshwater eel) that has a strong bitter flavor. Anago is a bit sweet and very tender. It melted in the mouth and did not leave any bad taste. The anago was grilled before being placed on the sushi.

The tenth dish consisted in two pieced of Japanese omlette called tamago and in a cup of miso soup. Tamago is also served on rice, but in this case was offered alone as the final dish. Since it has a sweet flavor, it is customarily left as the final piece of sushi to have in a meal. At this point of the meal the chef also asked if anyone wanted any additional piece of sushi (that was possible at a cost of course).

The check

I loved every second of this meal. Every dish was fresh and tasty like no similar sushi I had tasted before. I enjoyed watching the chef that not only showed impeccable skills but also looked genuinely happy in doing her work. I will venture to say that her calm passion was transmitted in the outcome of her work and in the atmosphere of the meal in general. The final check was 3000 yen (27 USD) that is more than reasonable and included green tea. Actually, I felt it was a steal. This kind of omakase meals easily cost 100 USD and up and, as I would have experienced shortly after in Sapporo, the added cost does not always translate in additional benefits. Sometimes, you end paying this money for a matsu (mix) of sushi in a regular sushi restaurant that will not show this level of attention and competence in the preparation of each piece of sushi. All in all, Sushi Chiharu was a great find and I would recommend it to everyone who wants to try this kind of experience.

Where in Osaka
5-12-14, Fukushima, Fukushima-ku Osaka-shi, Osaka
Address in Japanese: 所在地〒553-0003 大阪府大阪市福島区福島5-12-14コーポ福島1
See their website for more information and link to the reservation system.

Discovering Shiretoko beef at Teppanyaki Mitsui – in Sapporo

One of the things I like about Japan is that every region, every prefecture, almost every town boast its own food delicacy, usually the labor of love of many generations meticulously improving production techniques. The popularity of Kobe beef is a spectacular example of this local search for excellence, but actually beef from Kobe is only one of many top-shelf qualities of beef available in Japan. When I heard that a particular quality of wagyu (marbled) beef from the remote Shiretoko peninsula was available in Sapporo I knew I needed to give it a try.

The visit

Reading an article on Savory Japan, I learnt that Shiretoko beef was available in a teppanyaki restaurant owned and operated by a native of the town source of the beef. By the way, if you fancy quality meat in Japan, the teppanyaki style (based on a flat surface grill) is the way to go, not only because it ensures an uniform and perfect cooking, but also because you have a chance to seat at the counter and observe the chef doing his or her magic.

I visited the restaurant very early (5pm or so) because I was afraid of possible competition. I ordered the signature 100-gram beef rump steak (medium rare) and the Sachiku pork in tonpei yaki style. I also got the customary otoshi appetizer in the form of a soup and some eggplant.

First came the pork that was ably prepared in front of me on the hot plate. Sachiku pork comes from a farm in Sachi, a town also located on the Shiretako peninsula. According to an online source, this “red pork comes from the crossbreeding of male Duroc and several other breeds. It has been trademarked for ten years. This farm’s breeding area is twice as large as typical breeding grounds, and they feed the pigs original vegetal fodder made of barley. The farm also strictly controls its hygiene and quality by not putting stress on the pigs. The pork that comes from these pigs is sweet and fatty without a strong pork smell.”

I can attest that the pork chop that was cut in front of me was ostensibly reddish and it tasted sweet, but without too much fat. In the tonpei yaki style, the pork meat was enclosed in an omelette, also cooked on the teppanyaki, and a number of sauces were added, including mayonnaise and the sweet tonkatsu sauce. This set up is very similar to the dressing of the classic okonomiyaki, the Japanese savory pancake. The pork meat was slightly rare to enhance its flavor. It was a large portion, ideal for two people to share.

Then the beef steak came! The preparation included warming up the meat (you can see how marbled it is in the picture above), cooking it with the addition of beef butter and some use of the blowtorch to light up the oil. The steak came cut in eight pieces (chopstick friendly) with some salt and mountain horseradish (this is a very light wasabi, not spicy at all). I enjoyed trying this tasty and juicy meat that seemed as natural as it gets. It was less marbled than original Kobe beef, but to me this was a plus, since I find meat that is too marbled (hint: marbling comes from the fat!) a bit difficult to digest. Overall it was a great piece of meat!

Finally, I had the guts to add a dessert: matcha (green tea) ice cream coming with slim chocolate cookies (pictured above, on the right, while the otoshi is pictured on the left).

The check

The check was 4530 yen (around 40 USD) that I found reasonable for a dinner in Sapporo with this kind of ingredients. The steak was 2000 yen before tax and the pork 900 yen. The otoshi added 500 yen.

I truly enjoyed the visit and the owner/chef spoke some English and gave me some insights on the cooking process. Beside the food, I really liked the atmosphere. I immediately felt to be around family. This, in the best tradition of Japanese cooking, is a family business; the wife was around attending to the tables and the restaurant has a warm and cosy feeling. I also appreciated their attention to the details in decorating the restaurant. Their chopstick holders are particularly kawaii and you really get the feeling to step into someone’s living room. I highly recommend this place if you are in Sapporo (they also have okonomiyaki and an extensive selection of wines and sakes and I wish I had time to try their hamburger steak). I personally liked this establishment more than some luxury restaurants I visited in Tokyo or Sapporo. I am surprised it is not listed yet as a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin’s guide, but for once I might just be ahead of the curve.

Where in Sapporo
7-7-2, Minami 3-jo Nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido
Address in Japanese: 北海道札幌市中央区南三条西7-7-2
Tip: with the English name you won’t find it on Google map, but you can use this map or Google map with the name in Japanese. It is six minute from Susukino subway stop and even closer to the Shiseikanshogakko-Mae Station of the tramway. Finally, you can find on Google map the location of a nice coffee shop that is just adjacent to the restaurant.