*** Fine dining – Page 10

The Sunday brunch at the Shangri-La in Chiang Mai

There is no lack of food in Chiang Mai. But there are relatively few five star hotels. One of the best is certainly the Shangri-La that provides a standard international buffet on evenings and for breakfast. On Sundays, they offer a buffet for brunch. Since I did not see much information online, I figured out it could be useful to share some pictures from my visit in early August 2018.

The visit

The buffet is served in the Kad Kafé, one of the dining venues of the Shanagri-La. Kad Kafé is located on the lobby floor (technically level 2) and is a very spacious environment. I had a booking, but it was not really necessary. Doors opened at 11.30.

Salmon gravlax, carpaccio, and shrimp cocktails

The most popular station: crabs and lobster claws

The check

Overall it was a standard international five star buffet. And by “standard” I mean that the level was high, in terms of variety and choice. Very few Thai dishes though, if you are after Thai fare this might not be the right place.

It cost me 1,188 THB, around 36 USD. The value for money is there. You do not get a similar buffet for less easily nowadays.

They also have a lobster and crab feast night on Fridays that costs close to 2,000 TBH (60 USD) per person, but it should offer unlimited lobsters and crabs. Not sure if it is worth the price tag, considering that you already get an half lobster and unlimited lobster claws and crabs in this buffet. On other evenings, the buffet is even less expensive, 888 THB at time of writing this review.

Where in Chiang Mai:
89/8 Changklan Rd, ตำบล สุเทพ Amphoe Mueang.
Please check their website for updated information about their offering.

One of the best meals of my life in this hidden gem in Chiang Mai: The Redbox Restaurant

My best meal in my first trip to Chiang Mai turned up to be totally unplanned. After skipping lunch, I was craving for an early dinner when I came across an article on Chiang Mai City Life about a new fine dining restaurant, The Redbox Restaurant. (By the way, Chiang Mai City life turned out to be the best source for reliable information about the city.) The backstory was really stimulating: a relatively young chef, Dan, with experience in Brunei and Australia, coming home with his wife Proud to open their dream restaurant. Luckily they had no problem accepting my booking for a very early dinner and the rest is history.

The visit

The restaurant is located in an elegant villa in a quiet residential “soi” (alleyway), not far away from the Maya Shopping Center. I suggest you to get there using Grabcar app as I did.

The interior is very nicely decorated. It feels like to be in a private home. They have seating both indoor and outdoor. The indoor dining room is very intimate and warm.

They have an extensive menu! It was not easy to limit my choice to three dishes.

I started my meal with a bang. I ordered what I later discovered was meant to be one of their signature dishes: watermelon and foie gras (but they also have a version with fried tofu). I really wanted to try how the flavors would combine. This was a very refreshing and tasty appetizer. The sweetness of the watermelon and the foie gras were balanced by the bitterness of the rocket salad and the balsamic vinegar sauce. I can see how the use of fruit as an ingredient can be regarded as an homage to Thai cuisine where combining fruit with meat or seafood is not uncommon. At the same time, the dish possessed the creativity to be in the menu of a Michelin-rated venue. I was later explained that the watermelons are handpicked to ensure that the piece used for the dish is seedless, perfectly ripe and solid. This dish was a great introduction to the Redbox philosophy and their care for all the details of their dishes.

Then I opted for something substantial (remember that I had skipped lunch!) that I had never tried before: a crispy pata, a Filipino dish consisting of deep fried pig knuckles served with a soy-vinegar dip. Every bite of this pork meat was sensational and the skin was super crispy and tasty (it reminded me Spanish fried pork skin). They use a quality of pork imported from Japan that is famous for its thick skin and juicy meat.

The dish came with salad and some delicious sauces, in addition to some mustard and the traditional soy-vinegar for the meat (honestly the meat was so good that mustard and dip sauce were hardly indispensable).

I had room for another main course (honestly the previous dish could have been easily split between two people…). I asked for a traditional Thai dish and I was recommended the tamarind prawns. In the pictures above you can see it both how it came nicely presented out of the kitchen and how its content looked spread on my dish. I was particularly impressed by the big size and meatiness of the prawns that made this traditional dish particularly satisfying.

At this point chef Dan came to greet me and we had a brief chat. He explained me how the “RED” philosophy came into being and gave me more insights about the dishes I had. RED stands for “ready, edible and distinctive”. The philosophy came to be in the Brunei where Dan’s family runs a restaurant business and where he introduced gourmet boxes catering to expat workers that were not entirely happy with the local food options. He also shared that his mum is Filipino and this explained the crispy pata on the menu. I was then invited to have my dessert in their tearoom downstairs.

The tearoom is even more intimate and some of the desserts are on display.

I had a slice of banoffee pie and a teapot of a custom Siam tea blend. The dessert was on par with the previous magnificent dishes. In the pie I could clearly distinguish the sweet crumble base, the banana and the tiramisu cream (made using sugar cane from Northern Thailand).

Finally, on the house, I was offered two bites of a traditional Thai shortbread cookie called lambduan. To make them more special, they were presented inside a special teapot where some aromatic substance was burning giving them additional fragrance. Marvelous finale.

The check

This first class meal cost me 1,530 THB, around 46 USD. For three substantial dishes, tea and dessert, this is incredible value for money. Among other things, I appreciate that they charged water at a nominal rate (I start hating restaurants that charge me 10 USD or more for a bottle of water…).

My only regret is that the following day they were full and could not accommodate me for another meal. This is the kind of restaurant that would prompt me to organize another trip to Chiang Mai. I wish the best to Dan and Proud for their business because what I saw was talent combined with true passion and care. I am just afraid that in the near future, as soon as word starts spreading, it will be very tough to secure a table in this world class restaurant.

Where in Chiang Mai:
No. 6 Jannsaap Alley, Huay Keaw Road.
Check their Facebook page for updated information. Currently open for lunch and dinner and closed on Tuesdays.
They are active on LINE app: @redboxth.

Vietnamese fine dining with a backstory of unfulfilled love: TIB in Ho Chi Minh City

There is an interesting backstory to this restaurant. It has been repeatedly told by a Vietnamese friend that seems to be super sure about its accuracy. Admittedly, I did not find any corroboration online (but also nothing to falsify it). So maybe I am uncovering something new for the English-speaking web, or maybe not.

It goes like this. The restaurant was opened in 1993 by a very famous Vietnamese composer and song writer named Trịnh Công Sơn (deceased in 2001) and now run by his younger sister Tam. With the name of the venue, he meant to hint his love for singer Lê Hồng Nhung (born 1970), nicknamed Bong. Tib should stand for “toi ieu Bong” or “I love Bong”, where “ieu” is a variation of the most common “yeu”, “to love”. It was probably a love not meant to happen given the huge age gap between the two. Certainly, Nhung/Bong was regarded as a powerful interpreter of Son’s love songs so the two of them were in some kind of relation.

The restaurant quickly gained notoriety as a luxury interpretation of Hue food (Trịnh Công Sơn grew up in Hue, a historic city and former Vietnam’s capital). That was something relatively new a that time. In 2007 Tib was chosen by George W. Bush, then president of the United States, to host a dinner with the Australian Prime Minister during a visit to Vietnam.

The visit

Tib restaurant is tucked away in an alley of Hai Ba Trung Street and occupies what could have been an old Saigon patrician house. The decor, characterized by massive wooden furniture and old paintings hanged on the wall, is both classy and decadent. You are usually welcomed by a Vietnamese gentleman dressed like a butler and of course old Vietnamese love songs play in the background.

This review is based on their original location in Hai Ba Trung. They also operate a vegetarian restaurant in District 1 called Tib Chay (170 Tran Quang Khai Street) and a more informal eatery in Phu My Hung (100 Nguyen Luong Bang Street, Dist 7).

I recommend you to eat at Tib in a large group so you can share multiple dishes that are usually designed for sharing. This is what I had with two friends.

As an appetizer we had banh beo, that is some tiny rice pancakes with ground shrimp. They are supposed to be dipped in fish sauce and you can add some chilies. Honestly I would not recommend this appetizer, there are better choices in the menu. It is just not that tasty.

Then I could not avoid ordering a soft shell crab fried with garlic. These soft shell crabs are one of my favorite dishes in Vietnam, as you can eat everything of the crab. Sometimes the frying is overdone, but not in this case.

As customary for seafood dishes, you can dip them in a sauce of lime, salt and pepper (see picture above; they leave you the pleasure to squeeze the lime).

Another classic Vietnamese dish: a fish soup with tomato, herbs and a good quantity of white fish. There were no bones. It is an excellent dish to share and have with rice.

Somebody in the party really wanted a beef steak. Please do not order a beef steak in this kind of restaurant, really a waste when so many more interesting items are available!

We also ordered some pork ribs glazed in sweet (and sticky) fish sauce. A bit messy to eat, but a nice flavor combining different tastes.

The check

The dishes my small party had represent just a tiny selection from a very vast menu. Soups, fish, meat, vegetables, you name it. Tib has a lot of choices. Still, I hope that this review can give you an idea of how Vietnamese find dining can look like.

The check (handwritten…) reflects the fine dining concept. We spent a total of 1,298,000 VND (or 56 USD, that is less than 20 USD per person) that may seem extreme for Vietnamese food, but it seems reasonable for a fine dining venue.

Evidently, Tib suffers from a lot of competition nowadays in Ho Chi Minh City and they seem happy to continue to provide their traditional menu. If you want to jump back in time and have a “vintage” fine dining experience with classic Vietnamese dishes, Tib may just be the right place. But if you fancy a hipster decor and innovative dishes, you may want to look elsewhere.

Where in Ho Chi Minh City:
187 ter Hai Ba Trung, District 3.
They have a website, even if not necessarily up to date.

Italian fine dining at its best at Romeo and Juliet (R&J) in Ho Chi Minh City

For years I had a recurring line with friends asking me to comment on Italian food in Saigon: “In Ho Chi Minh City there are a lot of Italian restaurants, but not really Italian food”. The joke illustrated the problem. Even the places run by Italians would be plagued by problems with personnel turnover and I found them very inconsistent and not going beyond the level of everyday cuisine. I can now confidently say that there is an exception to this trend and it is Romeo and Juliet (R&J) lounge and restaurant. And it is not just run-of-the-mill Italian food, but bona fide high cuisine fine dining (a rarity with Italian food in Asia). If you ask me what is my top pick for Italian cuisine in HCMC, R&J is now my answer.

R&J is one of the eateries of the luxury Reverie Hotel located in Times Square, one of Saigon’s iconic buildings, towering on two of the main central thoroughfares, Nguyen Hue and Dong Khoi. It features a heavily baroque dining room, but it is still intimate, with some booths for parties requiring privacy and the furniture is very comfortable.

Behind R&J, The Long and the other eateries of the Reverie and some sister properties there is a team mainly comprised of well-seasoned Italian chefs. Over the years I spoke, more than once, with their director, Giovanni, and I had a chance to speak to the new head chef of R&J, Enrico, that at the time of my visits had just overhauled the menu. Enrico hails from Capri, where he was working in a Michelin-starred restaurant.

The visit(s)

I visited R&J twice in July 2018. On my first visit I opted for one of their two set menus, Juliet. This was a five-course menu and provided a good introduction to the venue. On my second visit, I tested one of their lobster-based seasonal dishes. On both occasions, food and service were outstanding.

Let’s see what I got during the first visit. The service started with the bread basket and an amuse bouche. The bread basket alone is worth the visit! They have half dozen varieties of bread, all based on the Italian tradition, including delicious fritters with seaweed called “zeppoline” in Naples. The amuse bouche was also inspired by the flavors of Naples, admittedly one of the culinary capitals of Italy, and consisted in a bite of amberjack (“ricciola”) surmounted by zucchini and lumpfish roe, cooked in olive oil. Just delicious.

The first dish was a burrata, on a base of tomato jelly and a piece of roasted tomato. Olive oil, oregano and basil completed the presentation. The burrata was imported from Italy and retained all of its flavor.

The second dish was an oyster on crème brûlée and salmon roe in a creamy and succulent fish soup. I wish soup was always so good.

With the third dish, the meal reached its seafood climax with a seafood risotto. This is a traditional Italian dish and there was a lot of seafood including prawns, squid, razor clams, a mussel and a clam.

The fourth dish was a slowly cooked piece of brisket (a cut that is not so common in Italy and it is a favorite of mine). The brisket came with a very rich dressing whose core element was mushrooms.

Finally, a very Italian dessert, a chocolate tortino and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This kind of cake is served hot and comes with a heart of melting chocolate. I could not ask for a better ending.

The gallery below shows the individual dishes.

Burrata on roasted tomato and tomato jelly

Slow baked Wagyu beef brisket, purple potato, porcini mushroom, spring truffle

On my second visit I ordered à la carte. I wanted to try one of their seasonal dishes based on lobster from Nha Trang, a Vietnamese coastal city. I ordered three dishes.

The amuse bouche was an interesting combination of white asparagus, beef, a quail egg and sea grape. With my first dish, I sampled Vietnamese and French oysters. The French oysters were more meaty but the Vietnamese oysters did not disappoint. If you are hungry for oysters in Vietnam, go local. Then I had their octopus, imported from Japan and pan-seared, enriched by a lemony potatoes salad, salmon roe, and tarragon. Then, my main course was a special type of pasta, called “scialatielli“. This fettuccine-like pasta is typical of modern Campanian cuisine and became popular in the Eighties. Its main characteristic is that is is made with milk instead of eggs and with the addition of basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil and Parmesan cheese. The result is a velvety texture and a melt-in-your mouth effect. Apart from the half lobster, the pasta was prepared according to a modified Nerano recipe (Nerano is a city in Campania, an Italy’s region): basil, zucchini and shallot confit. All in all, this was a majestic lobster pasta dish.

Finally, during my visits, I was offered a chance also to try two other dishes: their lamb and their brand new fagottini. The lamb chop, coming from a fee range farm, was juicy and tasty and came with two potato mille-feuilles and spinach. It is a must-have of the Italian culinary tradition. The fagottini was a brand new dish. Fagottini is a type of filled pasta. In this case filled with lobster meat, dressed with caviar and sea grapes and enriched by asparagus and an extract of prawn. It was an incredibly rich and satisfying dish.

The check(s)

The first five-course dinner cost me 1,370,000 VND (around 60 USD), the second dinner with the lobster pasta cost me 1,492,000 VND (around 65 USD). I only had water, the cost of course can sensibly rise if you like a good wine pairing.

I found the pricing more than reasonable for what I got. In Vietnam this price point can be considered as luxury, but if you look at the wider region (Singapore, Greater China, etc.) this is actually great value for money. All the elements of a great dining experience were there: excellent service (with an Italian professional, Michele, overseeing the staff), comfortable environment, an optimal mix between local and imported top-notch ingredients, an equally optimal mix between creativity and respect for the tradition, masterful presentation of the dishes. This is fine dining at its best.

I have been in many Michelin-starred restaurants around the world. I can confidently say that R&J is on a par with many of the best restaurants I have experienced in my travels. I have to say that luckily the Michelin Guide has not come to Vietnam yet: as a result you can still find a team of chefs like the ones at the Reverie and at R&J that care about a great culinary product and are not just about getting stars from the Guide.

Needless to say, I highly recommend R&J for true high cuisine Italian style, something that you won’t experience anywhere else in Saigon. If you are looking for something more casual, The Long upstairs is also a great option (I recommend their original Naples pizza).

Where in Ho Chi Minh City:
The Reverie Saigon/Times Square Building (level B1), 22-36 Nguyen Hue Boulevard, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1.
You enter through The Long, the bar and restaurant between Times Square and Lucky Plaza (you can access it both from Nguyen Hue and from Dong Khoi).
Check R&J webpage to consult the menu and see what is going on.

The first tempura kaiseki in Vietnam: my dinner at Hanabi Japanese Cuisine in Saigon

I like when food is linked to compelling personal stories. While I was triggered to visit Hanabi in Saigon by my passion for Japanese food, I found much more. The place was started a little over one year ago, in June 2017, by a freshly married Japanese couple that met in Vietnam. Chef Taka used to work as a chef for the Japanese Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and, upon meeting Ms Nabby, they decided to make Vietnam their home. This prompted them to start Hanabi – Japanese Cuisine in a calm street in district 2, just a stone throw away from the busy Xuan Thuy street. After a while, they found their niche in tempura, a lightly battered and deep fried type of cuisine. I have heard tempura restaurants in Tokyo and Sapporo, but I have never heard of one in Vietnam. While tempura is a common item in Japanese menus, Hanabi must be the first to focus on this type of cuisine and this is certainly a welcome addition to Saigon food scene.

You can perceive a family atmosphere in the intimate and nicely furnished restaurant. They have a number of counter seats where you can see the chef frying the tempura food on the spot, but also a private room is available (a very polite and quiet group was using it during my visit).

The visit

I made a reservation via email for a Tuesday evening dinner and I opted for the larger menu including 8 types of tempura.

The first dish consisted in a beautifully presented set of appetizers, six! (I kind of got excited and I forgot to take a picture, in the gallery you can see only two appetizers). The set included a cocktail with okra, seaweed, ikura (samlon roe) and clam; a cup of tofu, actually bell pepper tofu that tasted much more delicious than similar puddings I had before; a bite of pumpkin with cream cheese; a piece of crab sushi and, finally, a refreshing cup of tomato gazpacho. That was an amazing start.

The second dish came in the form of a two pieces of lightly seared yellow tail with vegetables and yuzukoshō sauce (a type of Japanese seasoning made from chili peppers, yuzu peel and salt) that was a perfect match for this carpaccio.

Then the chef, in this case Ms Tam, the sous-chef, since Mr Taka was away, came to the frying station to work on the tempura. Meantime Ms Nabby played a very important role explaining the dishes in English to me and other non Japanese speakers in attendance. Each item was battered and fried on the spot in front of me and other guests seating at the counter. The start of the tempura part of the meal was signaled by the salts and sauces that were brought to my place: Himalaya pink salt, matcha (green tea) salt, sea salt, white radish pulp (daikon) and the special tempura sauce (it is not soy sauce!) that came warm. The salts were incredibly tasty, even a few grains would enrich the flavor of the tempura, but I did not overuse the condiments as the tempura dishes were already exquisite as they were.

You can have a look at the individual dishes in the gallery below, here’s a description:

Prawn (ebi in Japanese): this is a classic piece of tempura that you can find in any Japanese restaurant, but here’s the catch: the tempura that I or you have had in other Japanese restaurants in Saigon has very little to do with the tempura prepared at Hababi. Honestly, in other restaurants tempura dishes just look like normal deep fried food, but at Hanabi you can taste the real tempura that is only lightly battered and fried, more like a delicate veil. Having the ebi was the perfect start.
Dragon bean: a vegetable tempura, first time I tried, a new flavor for me.
Young Asian royal fern (zenmai in Japanese): this was a specimen of young Osmunda Japonica, an edible mountain herb found in Japan and other East Asian countries. The flavor was incredibly delicate and the fried herb literally melted in my mouth. Something new that I had never tried.
Japanese whiting (or sillago). This is a small white fish, found in Japanese waters, locally called Shiro-gisu or Kisu, that seems to be born to become a tempura dish. It is rarely used for sushi or sashimi (and only if super fresh). It makes a perfect tempura dish that can be consumed in its entirety and has a very nice marine flavor.
Watercress: an aquatic plant. You would never expect that it can taste so good. Magic of the tempura.
Zucchini flower: it is always a pleasure to eat them as fritters.
Pork: a nice bite.
Baby onion: the last dish looked like a golf ball and hid a super tender baby onion (I was told that it is pre-boiled for 20 minutes).

But the meal was not finished yet! After the tempura dishes I was offered a delicious palate cleanser combining watermelon, squid and an addictive vinegar jelly. Later, another substantial dish came: two pieces of marinated chicken tight (retaining its soft skin) and some vegetables. The dish flavor was enriched by using a sweet sauce that is usually used for unagi (freshwater eel).

Before the dessert, one more dish: a bowl of cold somen noodles with clam stocks and seafood. While I am not a big fan of cold noodles in general, this dish was very refreshing and perfect to slow down before dessert. At this point also a cup of green tea was offered.

The last dish was a trio of dessert: cherry tomato compote, a bite of pomelo and one of dragon fruit, and finally an apple sherbet on a piece of frosted watermelon.

The check

The total bill after 10% tax and a bottle of water totaled 1,127,500 VND (around 48.5 USD). I really appreciated that they did not overcharge the water as most fine dining venues nowadays routinely do. It should be mentioned that they also have slightly simpler menus for 660,000 and 880,000 VND (that is around 28 and 38 USD). Given the quality of the food, attention to the details, level of authenticity and the overall experience, I find these prices very reasonable.

Overall, it felt like having a meal in Osaka or Sapporo and this kaiseki (multi-course meal) experience based on tempura dishes is something new in Saigon. Personally, I highly recommend Hanabi restaurant to those who wish to experience a real fine dining Japanese dinner and I hope to visit them again.

They change menus on a monthly basis and, comparing my dishes with the ones served to another blogger, I can see that the changes may be substantial (one more reason to come back).

Where in Ho Chi Minh City:
~~36A Nguyen Ba Huan St., Thao Dien, District 2~~
New address: số 18 đường 41, Thảo Điền, Quận 2 (just 200 meters from the old address).
Check their Facebook page for updated information and new menus.
Phone: +84 93 111 50 88 Email: kaiseki.hanabi@gmail.com
Reservation is required at least one day in advance (open for dinner only).

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.

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.

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