My top restaurant experiences in 2018

This is my 100th post. The blog started back in June 2018 and now has over 100 restaurants reviewed (some posts deal with more than one place) spread over a dozen cities in South East Asia and the Far East. The top cities are Shanghai (22 reviews), Ho Chi Minh City (17), Tokyo (14), and Hong Kong (11). Japanese cuisine is the most reviewed with 34 posts, then French and Italian (but the Italian category mostly includes ice cream places!). 

Looking back at the second half of 2018 there were a lot of memorable food experiences. Here’s my top ten. 

1. Ultraviolet: I was initially skeptical about this “multisensory” experience, but chef Pairet cracked it and created his own genre. 
2. Sushi Chiharu: I can only describe it as a divine omakase. 
3. The Red Box: just a fantastic find in Chiang Mai, I loved the food, the creativity, the passion of the chef. 
4. Yakitori Ueda: another Osaka winner (Osaka is still underrepresented, one of the goal for 2019 will be to go visit the city again) for my best yakitori to date.
5. Taian Table: in Shanghai is just another mind-blowing multi-course experience. Just ridiculous that they have only one star in the Michelin Guide. 
6. Romeo and Juliet: Italian fine dining at its best in Ho Chi Minh City. 
7. Soul Burger: I honestly wish I could try all of their burger of the month. 
8. Donggang Fish market: a little adventure to get fresh sashimi at real wholesome prices including some rare cuts. 
9. Teppanyaki Mitsui: eating quality Japanese meat in a family setting.
10. Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse: that was a good steak!

Many honorable mentions including Donggang Tuna in Seoul, Mott 32, Le Corto, TNT BBQ, Hokkaido Sachi, Hanabi Japanese Cuisine, Sushi Manten, Leputing, Addiction Aquatic Development and Korean Fried Chicken at Kyochon.

2019 will start with a full immersion in Vietnam again, then mostly Shanghai (with the occasional detour to Taipei or Hong Kong) and in the second part of 2019 there are already a couple of trips planned to Japan. I should also be able to go back to Chiang Mai and probably touch Laos as well this time.