Tag: Top 2018

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.

A perfect filet in this American steakhouse in Kaohsiung, Taiwan

This was my Christmas 2018 lunch! I had found that in Taiwan there were some outposts of an upscale American steakhouse called Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse (the strange name came about because the new owner, Ruth, had to relocate the restaurant due to a fire but for some reason she could not use the old name in the new location, so she just added hers in front). This seemed like the right place where to satisfy my hunger for a steak in Kaohsiung,

The visit

I headed to the steakhouse directly from the high speed train station using the metro. It is very close to a metro exit (number 2, City Council Station), but it was not so easy to find because the restaurant was located on the 25th floor of a nondescript building; there were no signs clearly visible and at the time of my visit the ground floor was vacant, so it may be easy to miss. But eventually I made it.

The dining room was elegant, with both tables and booths. Not many people on Christmas Day.

A waitress took me to my assigned booth not without letting me know her name (a classic American touch). I was promptly served the bread, still warm, and the butter.

I started with pan-seared tuna (I would say tataki style). Quite good, but the sauce was probably too spicy.

The this monster came: a 310-gram corn-fed USDA prime filet beef. It was perfectly cooked medium rare. The steak was served sizzling on a plate 260 degree hot with a light layer of butter. When it arrived it was really sizzling and it helped keeping the steak warm.

I can only say that it was one of the best steaks had in my years in Asia. Probably the best. The filet was splendidly tender and the big chunk was perfectly cooked (it is not so easy to cook this cut of filet).

Also had mashed potatoes as a side, which I finished, even if it was a large portion.

The check

Total check was 2805 NTD (or 91 USD). The steak alone was 1947 NTD or 63 USD. As compared to Mainland China this was a bargain. And this was one of the priciest cuts in the menu. Taiwan really maintains reasonably priced restaurants.

A great meal, highly recommended. They are also in Taipei and Taichung, where I suspect you would find exactly the same service and menu.

Where in Kaohsiung:
No. 211, Zhongzheng 4th Rd, Qianjin District, 25th floor.
Could not find online booking options, but you can call: +886 7 241 8888.

Seafood adventure at Donggang Huaqiao Fish Market in Taiwan

Did you know that Taiwan is one of the major sources of tuna in Asia? And the epicenter of the tuna trade is Donggang, a township in the Southern part of Taiwan. As soon as I learnt it I knew I had to visit its fish market. In December 2018 I ventured for the first time in the
Huaqiao Fish Market that has a large retail area ready to welcome visitors hungry for sashimi.

The visit

I got to Donggang with a public bus from Kaohsiung stopping at Pingtung Bus Station then I walked one kilometer to the fish market located next to the ferry terminal. It is also possible to find a shuttle that will leave you at the ferry terminal next to the market (more about transportation at the end of the page). Also, no need to wake up early, as this retail market opens at 11am…

The market is quite large with both sellers of any type of seafood and kiosks catering to visitors selling fresh sashimi. Here and there you can find stools and counters where to seat.


My first stop was at stall 186 where I had a lovely sashimi set with tuna, salmon, yellow tail and another type of sashimi. All for 200 NTD (6.5 USD). The sashimi was cut fresh on the spot.


Second stop at stall 118 for another sashimi set with yellow tail, salmon and tuna. This time they handed me the box with the pre-cut pieces of sashimi. Still fresh though.

At stall 227, for 400 NTD (13 USD) I had four slices of the prized kama-toro: marbled tuna collar. This cut is very rare (it accounts for only 1% of the tuna mass) and it is regarded as a delicacy. It is marbled like o-toro, but more compact. They also threw three pieces of regular tuna included in the price.

Many stalls have a piece of kama-toro on display ready to be cut.

Also had a piece of the fish cake pictured above.

At one extremity of the market there is a small restaurant (menu only in Chinese). In this restaurant I tried one of the local specialties, the flying fish roe sausage. This is really just a sausage sprinkled with flying fish roe. I won’t need to eat another one.

Finally, all over the market there are stalls selling a kind of flavored jelly. They are available in many flavors and one strip costs only 10 NTD (0.32 USD). A good way to cap the meal!

The check

Prices are quite standardized. Sashimi sets cost from 100 to 200 NTD (3.2 to 6.5 USD). The most expensive cut is of course the marbled tuna collar that goes for 100 NTD for slice. By comparison, this is easily between 1 fourth to 1 eight of what you would spend for the same amount of sashimi in a Japanese restaurant in Japan or Mainland China. The feast cost me less than 1000 NTD (33 USD).

These are wholesome market prices! I have never eaten sashimi so fresh and cheap. Needless to say, I highly recommend the detour. I will be back.

Appendix: how to get there

From Kaohsiung you can get a shuttle to the ferry terminal next to the market for 150 NTD. Do not bother buying the return ticket as it is more practical to book another shuttle while in Donggang, there are many hovering in front of the ferry terminal and their normal fare to Kaohsiung is again 150 NTD.

In front of Kaohsiung main station (not the HSR station) there is a vendor of tickets for such a shuttle inside a bike shop at the South-East corner of Zhongnan and Jianguo roads. Here’s a ticket showing the shuttle times:

However, for some reason on the day of my trip the shuttle was not running… so I just moved twenty meters ahead to a bus station for a ticket on the regular 9127A bus. It was a very smooth 45 minute ride. My stop was the Pingtunt bus station in downtown Donggang. From there I walked to my destination.

The most amazing food experience in Shanghai: Ultraviolet

Was it a fine dining event? Or was it a movie? Or an ASMR experience? Or an artistic performance? A dinner at Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet is all of this and more. It is difficult to label Ultraviolet because Paul Pairet created a new genre by fusing innovative food and multi-sensory cues. 

Ultraviolet is the only triple-starred restaurant in the 2018 and 2019 Shanghai edition of the Michelin Guide (oddly it had only two stars in the 2017 inaugural Shanghai edition). Three stars, in the Guide’s jargon, mean “exceptional cuisine that is worth a special journey”. Is Ultraviolet worth a special journey? Absolutely. If you were to travel to Shanghai just for this, it would make perfect sense. 

I have dined at Ultraviolet in December 2018 as part of the ongoing Shanghai Michelin Guide scramble, and I have given a lot of thought on how to put together this write-up. Initially I thought to provide a very detailed account of the experience, but I will not do that. It would be like writing a review full of spoilers. Rather, I will focus on the dishes and give a general idea of what I experienced.

The visit

I had been eyeing the Ultraviolet calendar since early 2017… it took me a while before I could find an available slot in a day fitting my schedule. The website worked well and I was able to make my reservation and pay the 50% deposit. 

Ultraviolet only seats 10 diners per evening from Tuesday to Saturday and spots at the table are booked quickly. 

Since my booking, I was contacted by email a couple of times to confirm the menu and to be reminded the time for the meeting. At the time of my booking, Ultraviolet was sporting 3 multi-course menus, mine was B (the second  in chronological order to be introduced… the first one is A and the latest one is C). Menus come with drink pairings, including an option for a non-alcoholic pairing that I chose 

The meeting point for the guests is the other Pairet’s restaurant in Shanghai, Mr and Ms Bund. The exact address of the dining room is a well-kept secret and I will not disclose it. Before leaving, the two hosts (Ms Kim and Mr Colin) briefed the group both in English and Chinese.

By 7pm our group was on the mini-bus heading to the secret dining room and by 7.30 we were seated. Not only the address is secret, but to step into the dining room a secret door had to be revealed. 

I will say upfront that the pictures that I will include in this write-up do not do justice to the experience. 

By the time the first dish was served, the tone of the evening became clear: every second of the dinner was perfectly choreographed in terms of lights, sounds, music, movements by the staff, images projected on the walls and the table. And everything had the quality of a high value movie production: it was not a flimsy video projector; every image and sequence had been meticulously edited to seamlessly fuse with the surroundings. 

The first dish, pictured above, was made of bits of pomelo and grapefruit fused together by using dry ice or some similar component: the fruit was immersed in the cooling agent in front of the table and the dish was literally created on the spot. I must confess that I do not crazy about the outcome of this process, but the creativity and the showmanship was mind-blowing. 

The next two dishes were inspired by Pairet’s early years in France where, like in many Southern European countries, children were entitled an afternoon snack before dinner. Specifically, the dishes were inspired by yogurt and a chocolate tartine (but with foie gras). 


Next, the scene moved in a busy fish market with some seafood dishes. The first was a delicious oyster with caviar, pepper and lemon, then a dish based on crab and finally an homage to France and Japan fusion: a piece of tuna steak and deep fried whitebait. For all the dishes we received instructions on how to eat them to taste them better; usually, the suggestion was to eat all the ingredients together.

Then we had a slice of meunière truffle bread. The dish is also available from Mr and Ms Bund and is one of my favorite dishes in Shanghai. It is a slice of toasted bread soaked in meunière sauce, a very traditional French sauce made of brown butter, chopped parsley, and lemon (usually used for the sole fish). Then the bread is covered with truffle flakes. However, there was a twist. The bread was served under a glass cover containing some cigar smoke. The cigar odor was distinctive and added to the tasting experience of this great dish. Around us the images of a foggy forest completed the experience (I swear I could smell the fog… not sure if something was released in the air or if the sensory component was just so good to activate some memories of this kind of environment). 

Then we were served a delicious egg with truffle and taleggio. 

The last dish before the break was clearly designed to play with the audience. We were asked to prepare our own noodles using a set of surgical-like instruments. The noodles were made of coconut paste and obtaining them was part of the fun of this dish. 

At this point we were invited outside the dining room for a break. Needless to say, even during the break something happened… 

Upon our re-entering the main dining room, we found that the table and the imagery had been reset to look like a meadow ready for a pic nic. We were presented the next dishes including cod, chicken and veal.

We were given a chance to look at the main ingredients of the next dishes before they were finalized in the kitchen. They were presented with the right theatrics and they were not just cod, chicken, and veal, but cod cooked with a jelly cover, chicken in a jar with aromas, and “beggar’s veal” cooked in a clay container full of herbs. 

The final dishes were the cod with rice and condiments; a piece of chicken with foie gras; and a glorious piece of veal with sauces. These were substantial dishes. 

Next was a very creative dish called “mozza and again”: mozzarella with condiments in two seemingly identical dishes. I will not disclose more, but this dish was clearly meant to engage not only with the palate but also with the brain of the guests. 

The truffle bread was presented again, this time in a “sweet” version with peanut butter. I prefer the original one, but it was a nice variation.


At this point the dinner was starting to come to an end. The last dish on the menu was a “Montblanc snowball” dominated by a scoop of Yakult ice cream. It came with orange blossom water with a polar bear on an ice cube.

But no, actually the dinner was not finished yet… there was a “coda”: we were invited to have an American breakfast! With eggs, bread, frozen passion fruit and more. 

By this time I could see I was full… I enjoyed every single dish throughout the dinner and, even if I am not a chef, I could appreciate the sophisticated techniques used to prepare the dishes in which not the slightest detail was overlooked. 

I also appreciated the non-alcoholic pairings that came in the form of various delicate infusions. But of course, the food was only one component of a sophisticated multimedia performance where the guests were both users and actors. 

Before leaving, a final coup the theater was the opportunity to meet the kitchen staff and Paul Pairet in person. It was nice to have a chance to interact with the staff because all the staff showed an incredible degree of professionalism. In the kitchen Paired welcomed us with a final delight and some champagne. Time to celebrate.

At the very end we were asked to pay the check and the shuttle bus brought (part of) the group back to the Bund (others chose to take a cab). 

We were back by 11.45. Overall, the dinner lasted around 4 hours. I cannot say that I was bored for a single instant. Every second there was something happening absorbing my attention and filling my senses. 

The check 

Dining at Ultraviolet cost me 4,000 RMB (around 580 USD). This is the price for Tuesdays and Wednesdays. the other days usually cost 6,000 (with a more prestigious wine pairing). They also have some special evenings priced 8,888 or 10,000 RMB. 

Clearly, at this price level it not just about the food. The dishes are masterpieces and the ingredients are top-shelf, but you pay for the whole experience and for being part of a unique performance. Is it worth? Personally I think so, especially if you consider that in China you could easily end up spending that sum of money for some lobster and abalone. The creative investment behind the performance in my opinion justifies the price point.

As I wrote at the beginning, Pairet created a new genre and enriched Shanghai’s food scene with an unique experience that is well worth the trip. 

Where in Shanghai?
Consult Ultraviolet’s website for info and bookings. 

Every dish a masterpiece at Taian Table in Shanghai

Taian Table debuted in mid 2016 and by October had gained a star in the inaugural edition of the Shanghai’s Michelin Guide. The restaurant, the brainchild of German chef Stefan Stiller, was named after Tai’an road, where it was initially located. The current location is on Zhenning Road, near Xinzha Road in Changning District in an office complex. The restaurant has retained its star in the second and third edition of the Shanghai Michelin Guide. This review is part of the Shanghai Michelin Guide Scramble. UPDATE: Deservedly, the restaurant got two stars in the 2020 edition of the Guide.

What is special about Taian Table that intrigued me was their changing menu. In some of these fine dining venues, modifications of the menu are infrequent if not rare. Contrast this with Taian Table team that, since its opening, has minted 17 different menus, sometimes with profound changes. This is an impressive degree of creativity. Even better, I love the current format. While Taian Table is a classic multi-course dining experience, only 8 dishes are fixed, then each guest can customize his/her selection with 2, 4 or 6 additional dishes chosen from “classics” and “specials”.

The visit

I booked through the website and it was very simple. I had to put down a 500 CNY deposit for each guest (I and a friend) that was easy to pay electronically.

I and my friend arrived at around 7pm and were welcomed in the dining room dominated by two L shaped counters enclosing the open kitchen. The counter sported high chairs, which I usually hate, but these were comfortable (also thanks to a foot rest space placed on the counter base).

We were immediately welcomed with the initial “snacks and nibbles”: some honey-glazed nuts and crackers with flavor coming from nori and kombu seaweeds. The nuts were nuts, but the crackers were remarkable, with a decisive “sea” flavor.

As part of these initial snacks we were offered a cappuccino with foie gras, chicken stock and Parmesan emulsion and some bread crumbs. It was something delicious.

More nibbles were waiting for us with a trio: a dumpling with tomato extract (I think reminiscent of Italian fagottini), a pastry with vitello tonnato and a salmon tart.

At this point we also had a chance to know the chef in charge of the kitchen, Mr Johnny Pham. Johnny would personally explain each dish to us throughout the rest of the evening.

The first “institutional” dish was called Foie Gras Snow. Foie gras flakes were covering a layer of lychee panna cotta and Riesling jelly. The dish was very refreshing, with no single flavor dominating others.

Next came a small work of art: thin slices of char fish (a freshwater fish found in cold mountain lakes) enclosed in equally thin slices of cucumber (and with trout roe on top). I admired this dish, but honestly it was probably my least favorite as I prefer stronger flavors.

The third dish consisted in snails covered in parsley. The white pearls in the dish were made of garlic. I am not a big fan of snails, but with these dressings they were very pleasant to eat.

At this point I was served the first of my two “free” dishes: a spoon of sea urchin on sour-dough bread (that appeared to be caramelized I think thanks to brown butter) and capped with a slice of apple. I ate it in two bites and I found that the sour-dough greatly enhanced the sea urchin flavor.

My friend opted for a piece of seared foie gras.

Then we went back to a dish made with French components with a bite of Dover sole and mussels in a sauce made with daikon and dill-oil. This was incredibly satisfying.

Then there was some more sea waiting with a charcoal grilled turbot fish on a layer of sauerkraut and capped with a teaspoon of caviar.

My friend opted for a bite of lobster (again in dill-oil).

The next masterpiece was the chef’s interpretation of the classic Oeuf en Meurette. In this case the poached egg came with a slice of crispy Parma ham and a wine sauce with pickled Shimeji mushrooms. I was later explained by chef Stiller that the pinkish color of the egg is the result of a brining process lasting for about 2-3 hours during which the eggs are soaked in a mix of beetroot juice and reduced port-wine. The inspiration coming from the Chinese Tea Egg.

Now time for a sorbet: a watermelon sorbet served with some borage (and at the perfect temperature).

But before entering the final act, we were served another big ticket item: a bite of slow-cooked beef short-rib with various condiments such as celeriac mash, chanterelle, and crispy beef tendon. I was able to cut the meat with my chopsticks.

Th last official dish was called ‘Îles flottantes’ (Floating island) and was a glorious lemon sorbet with various fruit condiments.

In the closing act, we were offered a trio of mini sweet pastries, a selection of chocolate pralines and a stick with cotton candy. More than enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

The check

We spent 1228 CNY (177 USD) per person that was the cost of the 10 course menu (including two dishes chosen from the list of the classics). We did not drink wine and we relied on the house water. This means that this was the absolute minimum to dine at the restaurant. We opted for the 10 course menu with the idea to throw in a couple of additional dishes if we felt like it, but by mid-dinner we realized that 10 courses were more than enough for our appetite. Special appreciation for the staff that was very professional and not pushy in asking us to order wine or cocktails. I can only recommend to go for dinner with an healthy appetite since every dish is just phenomenal and it would not have been bad to try the 12 course option.

Of course 1228 is a handsome sum for a dinner, but I think the value and the creativity of the offering justify the price point. Many of these dishes required hours of preparation. Every single dish was unique and creative and, overall, provided a nice balance between Eastern and Westerner flavors.

I wish Stefan, Johnny and their team continued success as I would totally go back to try one of their future menus if I have a chance.

Where in Shanghai:
465 Zhenning Road, Lane No 161, 101-102, Building No 1
Address in Chinese: 上海市长宁区镇宁路465弄161号1号楼101-102号
Pro-tip: the restaurant does not seem to be listed on Didi, the Chinese Uber. If you use Didi, you can indicate “Anken South Gate”: the entrance of this complex is next to the location of the restaurant.
Reservation and menu on the restaurant’s website.

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.

This burger was amazing and you cannot have it: Soul Burger in Ho Chi Minh City

What I like in a restaurant experience is substance paired with creativity. Creativity alone can be dissatisfying and substance is important but can get boring. For this reason, I am a big fun of Soul Burger in Ho Chi Minh City since in their burgers I can find both creativity and substance. This is particularly true of their burger of the month. Unfortunately these burgers are limited editions. But also the rest of the menu is mouth-watering and over the years, since their opening in 2015, I had a chance to try almost every item (including the juggernaut double patty eponymous Soul Burger) and never got disappointed.

The visit

My most recent visits date back to July 2018 and one big trigger was their burger of the month called Chuck Norris, an homage to the 4th of July American National Day. But let’s proceed with order.

Soul Burger is located on the second level of a building facing the popular Ben Thanh market in central Ho Chi Minh City. To get to the stairs, you have to walk through a narrow corridor beside a noodle shop.

Upstairs, the dining room is long and narrow as per the classic design of Vietnamese buildings. Furniture is comfortable and everywhere there are references to the world of Soul music.

They also have a few seats on a balcony from which you can see Ben Thanh market (and after dusk the busy night market).

The menu is printed on the paper cover and comes with an extensive drink list. The burger names remind again Soul music: the Diana Rose, the Blues Brothers, etc.

The beauty pictured above was the Chuck Norris burger of the month of July 2018: the classic Soul Burger 150 gram beef patty, topped with house made potato chips and a slice of dill pickle between melted cheese sandwiches. Yes, you heard me, they replaced the buns with two melted cheese sandwiches. I am sure Chuck Norris would approve indeed.

Eating this limited edition burger was very satisfying. The cheese was hot and the sandwich crunchy. Overall, I did not make a mess and I was able to eat it bite after bite without compromising its structural integrity (I mean, spilling its content all over the place).

Icing on the cake, the set came with a house made mildly spicy tomato soup. The fries were the standard ones coming with a burger.

Since you won’t have a chance to try the Chuck Norris (but ask for the new burger of the month!), here’s also one of their regular burgers, the Diana Ross. It comes with a 150-gram house-ground beef patty obtained from USDA Choice beef, topped with charred green onion salsa verde, slided avocado, paprika, aioli, cilatro and crispy tortilla chips. They maintain a 80/20 lean to fat ration to ensure the right taste. An unspeakable explosion of flavor!

All burgers include a salad or cut fries and come on a plate with additional leaves of salad, onion, tomato and pickles that you can add as you like. The buns are made of pretzel bread and can be regarded as a signature element of Soul Burger (not seen them used elsewhere in Asia).

And if a burger is not enough, I recommend their fried buffalo wings in their original sauce.

Also the staff deserves some kudos as they speak English and are very friendly and professional.

The check

 

Most burgers cost around 275,000 VND, that is around 12 USD (but there is also the Little Richard, the most basic one, for just around 225,000 VND). If you compare these burgers with the gourmet burgers I tried in Hong Kong and Shanghai, you can realize the the value for money (in Hong Kong and Shanghai usually the patty is only 100 grams and they cost more!).

A meal with the Chuck Norris, half dozen wings and a soda cost me 451,000 VND (a bit less than 20 USD). Just a burger (the Diana Ross) and a soda cost me 308,000 VND (13,20 USD). With this price point, one could easily argue that Soul Burger is good value for money when it comes to Westerner food in Ho Chi Minh City.

But what counts more to me is the passion and the creativity. You can see that this restaurant is a labor of love. Every detail, from the naming of the burgers to the drink list or the wall-decorations, was well thought to tell a story. In an interview chef and owner Gabe Boyer said “Burgers are in my blood… My grandfather owned Goldy’s, a famous burger joint in the suburbs of Chicago, but it was sold before I had the chance to be a part of it.” This is where the passion and creativity comes from: when a restaurant marks the culmination of a life and career trajectory you can bet that the owner will care. When the owner also happens to be extremely creative and talented, then you get a memorable eatery like Soul Burger.

Where in Ho Chi Minh City:
4 Phan Bội Châu, District 1 (read the review to see how the entrance looks like; also, after 7pm the street is closed to traffic to make room for the night market).
Pro-tip I: at the time of publishing this review, they are open for lunch and dinner and closed on Mondays.
Pro-tip II: keep an eye on their Facebook page for promotions. These where available when I visited in July 2018:

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.

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.

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.