Feasting Pigs

in milan, italy (march’24)

amazing homey milanese trattoria slightly further out of the city center. cozy space, great service and long menu filled with delicious hearty dishes.

began with some tinned anchovies and butter with bread, and highly recommend their golden fried veal brains. the batter takes away any or all the gaminess and love the batter which was light and not oily. the pickled vegetables it came with was also very tasty. for main, we got a homemade agnolotti del plin which the filling was a bit too rich and meaty, but love the butter sauce with a hint of sage. highlight was the incredible ossobuco and risotto, perfectly braised and tender, generous sauce and marrow to go with the strongly saffron risotto. the best rendition we have had this trip.

ended with a warm green apple sorta like bread pudding and a bowl of pure mascarpone cream with 2 biscuit thins. dessert can be skipped but overall a highly recommended spot i really enjoyed.

cantabrian anchovies in their tin with toasted bread (€18)
✨golden fried veal brains (€16)
✨oven stewed veal ossobuco with saffron risotto (€32)
✨sauteed veal kidney with cipollini onions (€18)
agnolotti del plin (€18)

green apple cake, hazelnut ice cream (€9)
✨mascarpone cream, ladyfinger biscuits (€9)
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would revisit: yes
reservations online / by phone
price range pp: €30-€60
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📍TRATTORIA MASUELLI S.MARCO
location: vials umbria 80, milan
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in milan, italy (march’24)

touch down milan and headed straight to this new-style pasta specialised shop by porto romana, love the range and diversity of pasta dishes here. generous portions and good flavours, prices are also decent. but for me i guess it lacks the heartiness and feels a bit like a tourist-centric hotspot.

the signature spaghetti with yellow tomato was refreshing, stracciatella quality wasn’t milky enough to bring out its flavour from the tomato, i thought the pink prawn tartare wasn’t also the freshest. busiate with sheep ragu really lacked heartiness and depth of flavour, but the rabbit liver ragu was interesting to eat, the paccheri pasta was also perfectly al dente.

ended with a slightly dry frangipane, but love the very light whipped mascarpone in the tiramisu. a good lunch spot to visit with a group of friends but albeit a bit of a tourist hotspot.

spaghetti, yellow tomato sauce, stracciatella cheese, pink prawn tartare (€19)
busiate pasta, wandering sheep of orobic valley (€16)
✨paccheri, rabbit liver ragu, parsley pesto (€15)

hazelnut frangipane, gianduja (€8)
✨puffed tiramisu (€8)
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would revisit: try once
reservations: yes
price range pp: €30-€60
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📍PASTAMADRE
location: via bernardino corio 8, milan
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in tokyo, japan (jan’24)

little bit off the town of odowara, between tokyo and shizouka is this famous unagi shop, known for the specially farmed unagi for lunch. they accept phone reservations for unagi couple months ahead of time, or you could also walk-in relatively early to reserve a spot and wait in line for a table. we arrived around 10:15am (they open at 10am), and got seated around 11am.

their unajyu was indeed very enjoyable, unagi itself was so so plump and melts in your mouth upon each bite. really like their tare too, it wasn’t overly sweet nor too viscous, but it got slightly cloying after half the bowl because of how fatty the unagi was. the set was served with unagi innard dashi and pickles which were enjoyable also. a great unajyu lunch spot to try, worth the treck if you have onward journey plans into shizouka or en route to ryokan in the izu direction.
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うな重 unajyu set (¥6600)
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would revisit: if in the area
reservations: yes/ walk-in early
price range pp: under ¥10,000
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📍うなぎ友栄
location: 122 kazamatsuri, odawara, kanagawa
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in tokyo, japan (march’24)

was super looking forward to this meal / gathering with the joly kasamoto san brightening the meal and making it a night to remember.

to date, one of the most memorable tempura meals i’ve had in japan. by no means ‘traditional’ with the start of the gorgeous but also tasty hassun, and the off-menu pork and cheese which was one of my favourite pieces of the evening. so happy i came in spring, right in the midst of sansai season. the fukinoto and taranome were so so good, as well as the takenoko tempura. the seasons speciality is ise-ebi, drenched in a special tare which for me was a tad on the salty end. staples like the prawn duo and kisu were also executed well, with the thin, crisp batter and not at all oily. the signature chateaubriand also much exceeded expectation, as a person whos not a huge beef lover, this was so tender but flavourful.

compared to other styles i’ve tried so far, takiya embodies the light and crisp style i enjoy, with the moisture and flavours retained, and remains to be the opposite of cloying. a great meal to remember with great great company, thank you again for the invitation, would love to come back for the food here.

dinner omakase (~¥50,000)
八寸 hassun
車海老 kuruma prawn
車海老の脚 kuruma prawn head
空豆 broad bean
キス kisu
✨蕗の薹 fukinoto
ウニ uni
✨タラの芽 taranome
しらす 桜塩 shirasu with sakura salt
✨たけのこ takenoko
伊勢海老 ise-ebi
桜海老のサラダ sakura ebi salad
✨シャトーブリアン chateaubriand
✨さわら sawara
✨豚チーズ pork and cheese
車海老 kuruma ebi
天丼 tendon
苺とマンゴーゼリー stawberry mango jelly
蕨餅 warabi mochi
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would revisit: yes
introduction-only
price range pp: ¥60,000-¥100,000
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📍麻布十番 たきや
location: 2/f 2-8-6 azabujyuban, tokyo
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in tokyo, japan (march’24)

chinese cuisine is one i’m surprisingly super into in japan, given their sensitivity and delicacy of japanese cooking, i slightly prefer it this way compared to hkg, where places tend to be too salty or jam packed full of msg.

one of the ones i’ve been longing to try was wasa, especially know chef is closing his shop soon i knew i had to somehow make my way over. his signature gyozas really surprised me with its thin but crispy, and juicy flavourful filling of pork, chicken and veg respectively. also really enjoyed his bifun (cold vermicelli) with homemade karasumi and ‘bou-bou’ chicken, fukahire duo was also extremely delicious, first came as a fried version in broth, before the bubbling version of dried scallop broth, rice and some more fukahire. first couple spoons were a bit overpowering with shaoxing wine flavour but it slowly mellows out, especially after it was poured in with the bubbling broth. harumaki and stir fry was a tad on the oily side, but the fried rice was one of the best i’ve tried, full of wokhey and very ‘dry’. mapo tofu also seriously packs a punch and so flavourful, tantan mian came in a massive portion and was a bit too sweet for me. ended with one of the best annin-tofus i’ve had (almond tofu), so soft silky and not at all powerful with artificial almond flavour which i’m afraid of.

overall a really really good meal, thank you yoshoku king h-san for inviting me along to your precious reservation.

dinner omakase: (¥40,000)
✨カラスミビーフン karasumi cold vermicelli
✨棒棒鶏 bon bon chicken
✨搾菜 餃子 焼壳 pickled vegetable, gyoza, siumai
よだれ肉 braised beef with potato gratin
春巻き spring roll with spring vegetables
蛍烏賊 hotaru ika stir fry
✨フカヒレ白湯スープ fukahire in paitan soup
✨炒飯 fried rice
✨麻婆豆腐 mapo tofu
坦々麺 tantan men
✨杏仁豆腐 almond tofu
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would revisit: yes
introduction only (omakase cancels)
price range pp: ¥30,000-¥60,000
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📍わさ
location: 3-16-1 higashi, shibuya city, tokyo
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in tokyo, japan (march’24)

got extremely lucky to have received a last minute invite to this acclaimed spanish/japanese innovative restaurant which relocated to tokyo from kyoto a couple years back.

been eyeing their signatures for quite sometime, from their kohada bocadillo to their paella, but what surprised me were the unexpected dishes in between. began with a lovely snap pea caldozo, followed by their kohada bocadillo and a lovely grilled nodoguro. their ‘herb salad’ with 24 types of vegetables were quite special, with an almond based ajoblanco poured over. was not too fond of their version of the kuruma ebi and fugu shirako ajillo, slightly overdone and i guess with this i prefer a more fragrant oil. the homemade bread that came with it was also borderline passable. one of my favourites of the evening was their serrano ham broth with hana sansho, so so good, and of course really enjoyed their hotaru ika and takenoko version of their paella, limited to spring. enjoyed the desserts and herb tea and overall was a nice meal.

happy i finally tried it but was indeed more leaning towards an ‘innovative’ cuisine with a spanish influence more so than a spanish meal. can’t really compare it with any places i’ve been to in spain at all, stylistically different and profiles here are definitely more delicate and sensitive. would like to come back for their other paella renditions and their sobrasada - but not in a rush to return.

dinner course (~¥50,000)
✨スナップエンドウのカにルドソ
✨小肌のボカティージョ
✨のどぐろの炭焼き菜の花
24種の野菜とアホブランコのサラダ
車海老と河豚白子のアヒージョ
✨ハモンセラーノのスープ
佐賀産ヒレの薪火焼き
鹿児島サーロインの薪火焼き
✨蛍烏賊と筍のパエリア
京都産の亀岡女峰苺
✨プリンと山羊のアイスクリーム
アマゾンカカオとスペイン産チョコレート

✨snap peas caldozo
✨kohada bocadillo
✨grilled nodoguro
herb salad with ajo blanco
kuruma ebi and fugu shirako ajillo with bread
✨serrano ham consumme
grilled saga beef fillet
grilled kagoshima sirloin
✨hotaru ika, takenoko paella
kyoto strawberry
✨pudding and goats milk ice cream
amazon cacao, spain chocolate
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📍ACA
location: 2-1-1 nihonbashi muromachi, tokyo
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would revisit: yes
introduction only
price range pp: ¥60,000-¥100,000
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in gunma, japan (march’24)

a splendid sushi lunch with the best company, sushi obana has exceeded an already high expectation and makes me want to come back repeatedly despite the ~1.5hour train ride to get there.

tsumami were somewhat simple but unique, started with a lovely tatebayashi tomato, before a series of sashimi. highlights were the konowata chawanmushi and uni parfait, and loved the little maki made with akagai himo and cucumber.

obana san wasn’t shy to explain in detail the making of his shari and use of ingredients, showcasing his different sources of salt for example, with some harvested on a new moon versus full moon for different intents. truly enjoyed his use of aged vinegar for his shari which matched well with the range of neta. his special connections also meant he can get some of the best fish in the country, in particular his maguro, so looking forward to come back during winter time. highlights this lunch included his kanpachi, sayori, sumi ika, sawara, as well as all his shellfish today. so plump and so much briny flavour which surpassed all the other places i visited on this trip. not to mention his ikura, my most looking forward item, in his secret blend of miso and dashi shoyu, could happily indulge in the whole bowl.

definitely one of my top top sushiyas recently, especially with the laidback environment and obana san’s humble and approachable personality making it a worthwhile journey. looking forward to coming back here, thank you for the invitation.

lunch omakase (¥28,000)
✨館林市トマト local tomato
黒鯛 kuro dai
さわらの藁焼き sawara
✨ウニパフェ uni ‘parfait’
牡蠣と柚子胡椒 oyster with yuzukosho
✨このわたの茶碗蒸し konowata chawanmushi
あん肝 ankimo
赤貝ひも　キュウリ akagai with cucumber

✨カンパチ kanpachi
小肌 kohada
✨いくら漬け ikura
赤身 akami
中トロ chutoro
大トロ otoro
✨スミイカ sumi ika
✨サヨリ sayori
✨赤貝 akagai
✨さわら sawara
牡丹海老 botan ebi
✨鳥貝 torigai
車海老丼 kuruma ebi don
✨紫ウニ murasaki uni
追加:貝割れ大根 daikon sprouts
✨追加:ハマグリ hamaguri
穴子 anago
卵焼き tamagoyaki

アイスモナカ ice-cream monaka
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would revisit: yes
introduction only
price range pp: ¥20,000-¥60,000
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📍鮨おばな
location: 5-1 otemachi, tatebayashi, gunma
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in tokyo, japan (march’24)

a really humbling and anticipated moment at my first visit to sugita, one of the most well respected shokunins of the industry, thank you so much again a-chan for the opportunity and great company.

some textbook tsumamis to start, like the plump hotate and kawahagi with liver sauce, oyster chawanmushi and a kama toro skewer. so so lucky to have gotten the signature iwashi maki which didn’t disappoint. really loved the hotaru ika miso zuke, and truly the best ankimo i’ve tried to date, kept getting more cuz it was so so good. then we were led to a series of add-on tsumamis, got them all so was slightly full by the the nigiri segment. favourite here was the grilled squid tenticles and uni misozuke, note to self to choose carefully at my next visit.

nigiri began with his famed kohada, leaning on the savoury side especially with his shari, which was more on the salty end with not much acidity. his pieces were also generally on the larger spectrum, so was pretty full quite quickly. favourite pieces today were the tai, kasugo dai, chutoro, komochi ika and aji. truly blown away by the white fish served here which i thought was the type of neta that complemented best with his shari. ended with a half shio, half tare anago, kanpyo and really lovely tamago yaki to end.

so grateful to have tried and witnessed the elegance of sugita san, his famous eye-closed moment when making nigiris and the unique ‘sinking’ of his nigiri. not one i am dying to return to, but won’t hesitate when offered the opportunity to revisit.

空豆 broad beans
ホタテ, ✨カワハギ hotate, kawahagi
牡蠣の茶碗蒸し oyster chawamushi
✨鯖の磯辺巻き iwashi roll
蛍イカの味噌漬け hotaru ika
✨あん肝 ankimo
カマトロ ‘ねぎま’ kama toro skewer
焼き北寄貝 hokkigai
イカの下足 squid tenticles
数の子 kazunoko
穴子白焼き grilled anago
ウニの味噌漬け marinated uni
ホタテの磯辺焼き grilled scallop

✨小肌 kohada
✨鯛 tai
✨春子鯛 kasugo dai
赤身 akami
✨中トロ chutoro
✨鯵 aji
✨子持ちいか komochi ika
鳥貝 torigai
金目鯛 kinmedai
車海老 kuruma ebi
馬糞うに bafun uni
青柳 aoyagi
穴子 anago
干瓢巻き kanpyo maki
✨玉子 tamago
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would revisit: yes
introduction only (or tableall?)
price range pp: ¥60,000-¥100,000
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📍日本橋蛎殻町すぎた
location: 1-33-6 kakigaracho, tokyo
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in tokyo, japan (jan’24)

have been hearing really good things about this thai japanese fusion restaurant, and since our itinerary had a lot of washoku meals this trip, decided to end on a different note.

love the idea of seasonal japanese ingredients, extenuated with thai spices and flavours, without straying far from either cuisine’s traditional cooking or flavour. favourite dishes tonight were the fried fugu, thai oyster omelette inspired but with kuro awabi, chives and topped with ikura, the omi beef burger patty finished with laab spices was also really enjoyable to eat, the touch of caviar was also a good addition without being too gimmick. the signature fukahire was really nicely done, braised well with a rich suppon based sauce which i found a little starchy but flavour-wise spot on with a dash of black vinegar. also really loved the curry here, served with a pandan infused jasmine rice. we sampled a boar and takenoko green curry and a omi beef with ebi imo masaman curry which was a bit sweet, both i really wish could’ve been spicier. the tuna dish with a thai egg-yolk sauce though nice, didn’t feel like it was needed on the menu, and ended with thai tea, anko pandan mochi and a generous scoop of hojicha and coconut ice cream.

overall a really enjoyable meal, a great break from washoku and overall service, cospa, food were all beyond expectations. a highly recommended spot in tokyo right now which is also very bookable.
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february 2024
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dinner course (¥28,500):
kobako kani, ankimo, chrysanthemum
tom yam with hamaguri, kinki, shimeji mushroom, ebi meatball
✨fugu fried with thai spices
fukahire with suppon soup
✨oswan with black abalone
longtooth grouper with lime sauce
✨laab, hamburg with fresh thai herbs
tuna truffle
✨masaman, green curry with jasmine rice
kanompyankpun
hojicha, coconut ice cream
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would revisit: yes
reservations on omakase
price range pp: ¥20,000-¥50,000
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📍美会
location: 2f kitayama building, 7-3-21 roppongi, tokyo
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in shizouka, japan (jan’24)

standing as one of the most highly ranked and regarded ramenyas in the whole of japan, it has been on my to try list for quite some time given its isolated location by yugawara, shizouka. they have now introduced a online reservation system, released weekly which makes the commute more manageable and easily planned. the whole experience there felt more like a restaurant than a casual ramen-ya, timed seatings, staff on water service and hand towels distributed upon arrival.

we tried 3 of their most signature, shoyu, shio and shoyu based tsukemen. in which all 3 were amazing, each in its right. as a shoyu lover this really brought so much depth and layers of flavours in the broth, finished with a layer of oil that brought a richer umami from the pork. they prize themselves also with their use of premium cuts of pork for their chasiu, one such as tokyo-x. shio was also delicate but filled with umami,

tsukemen comprised of 2 types of noodles, a thicker cut noodle and one which is similar with buckwheat soba, richer in flavour and texturally more course, preferred the normal type of noodle with the soup and the buckwheat style with the cold tsuyu they also gave us. would love to come back for their shio and shoyu, tsukemen i think trying once was enough. definitely worth the trip, a very solid and hearty bowl of ramen.

わんたん入り醤油チャーシュー麺 shoyu ramen complete (¥2700)
わんたん入り塩チャーシュー麺 shio ramen complete (¥2700)
しょうゆ味つけ麺 tsukemen shoyu ramen (¥2200)

would revisit: yes
reservations: through omakase
price range pp: under ¥5000
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📍らぁめん飯田商店
location: 2-12-14 yugawara, ashigarashimo distinct, kanagawa
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