Daniel from Hong Kong 🇭🇰

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L’Effervescence
Early Feb, 2023
French
Tokyo, Japan
1st Visit

Reasons for Visit
- 4.52 Tabelog Silver Award, 2nd Highest ranked French in Japan
- 17.5/20 Gault & Millau Japan
- No. 71 in 2022 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants
- 3 Michelin Star

Impressions
- lots of Japanese kaiseki touches from starting with a small glass of alcohol, rice in the first course, free refill of rice course (ravioli here) to ending the meal with matcha
- intriguing signature dish, Fixed Point, where a turnip is prepared the same way all year round allowing the seasonal idiosyncrasies of the raw material to speak for itself
- serving bread cold is a complete head scratcher. Just don’t get why that is better than a warm one especially on a cold day

Favorites
- 59 types of artisanal vegetables and fruits (pic 2, 3)
- Fixed Point - Tokyo Turnip (pic 4) Less

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Sazenka [茶禅華]
Early Feb, 2023
Chinese
Tokyo, Japan
1st Visit

Reasons for Visit
- Chinese restaurant with the most accolades in all of Japan
- 4.52 Tabelog Gold Award, Highest ranked Chinese in Japan
- No. 11 in 2022 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants
- No. 59 in 2022 World’s 50 Best Restaurants
- 3 Michelin Stars

Impressions
- Building used to be part of Germany’s embassy and feels like dining in a wealthy friend’s home in Minami Azabu (pic 1)
- A refined interpretation of Chinese food with subtle flavors. Techniques really shone through in the pheasant and chicken broths
- Beautiful ceramics projecting an understated elegance. Most plates are uniform in color but with underlying variations in form, surface or patterns (pic 2)
- Impressive how all dishes are served piping hot
- A bit of fun in the menu like almond tofu in two temperatures but overall feels too safe

Favorites
- Steamed Hokkigai (pic 3) was served piping hot! Look at all that steam coming out
- Rice with Fukahire Sauce (pic 4) Less

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Ginza Oishi [銀座 大石]
Early Feb, 2023
French
Ginza, Tokyo, Japan
1st Visit

Reasons for Visit
- 4.33 Tabelog Silver Award

Impressions
- Seated at the counter with a display of black truffle, foie gras, caviar, wagyu, … perfectly encapsulates the bling bling luxury of Ginza dining (pic 2)
- Chef Oishi (pic 1) is very friendly and seems to have an unending supply of energy
- This is not about super refined flavors or technical execution. Be prepared for a fun time, luxury ingredients and lots of it!
- Can easily skip lunch before coming here

Favorites
- Black truffle and foie gras pie was an add-on and the thick cut of black truffle really made a difference. Not that aromatic but can really taste the underlying flavors (pic 3)
- Crab Rice has crab meat, fried crab croquettes, crab sauce all mixed together. Nice play with texture and a crab flavor bomb (pic 4) Less

2022 Top 10 Dishes
(No. 9 in chronological order)

Fish Skin, Fried Shirako, Potato Salad, Neighborhood, Hong Kong
December 2022

Neighborhood is one of those places I really miss when out of town. The menu changes everyday depending on what seasonal ingredients is available and David always manage to come up with new dishes that just works. Fried shirako here added creaminess and texture to the dish and the flavor reminds me of Chinese-style salt and pepper preparation

In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 Less

2022 Top 10 Dishes
(No. 10 in chronological order)

Drunken Hairy Crab
Tin Heung Lau, Hong Kong
December 2022

Usually only eat hairy crabs once or twice when they are in season. Was surprised that two hairy crab dishes made it on my list this year but this was just too good. Raw female crabs are marinated in shaoxing wine for over a month and the crab soaks up all the complexity of the wine

In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 Less

2022 Top 10 Dishes
(No. 8 in chronological order)

Hairy Crab Sushi
The Araki, Hong Kong
December 2022

Always excited to see the Master experimenting with new ingredients and this time was hairy crab. Don’t recall seeing this being used here before and the result is sublime. Spot on seasoning and proportion allowing one to taste each layer separately, the meat, the miso and then all combined together. A bit of Chinese vinegar was also added to the nikiri brushed on top. All chefs are at the mercy of nature though and when I came back in January, the hairy crab is no longer as good

In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 Less

2022 Top 10 Dishes
(No. 7 in chronological order)

Kinoko, Salt, Water
Myoujyaku, Japan
November 2022

Hirohisa Koyama (小山裕久) of Tokushima Aoyagi (徳島青柳) has trained a group of chefs who dominated the Michelin rankings in Tokyo and I have always wanted to understand the style of this lineage. Chef Nakamura trained at Aoyagi for 11 years before moving on to other restaurants and he opened Myoujyaku in April 2022. This is the first course and what a statement! Mushroom cooked in water and salt. Nothing else is added and yet the aroma and flavor is delicate and layered. When I went in early November, it was a relative easy reservation on Omakase. After gaining two Michelin stars later that month, it has become quite difficult to book

In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 Less

2022 Top 10 Dishes
(No. 5 in chronological order)

Tartare of Red Deer, Red Sorrel, Birch Tree
Me|Mu, Denmark
September 2022

Vejle is a small town about 2.5 hours from Copenhagen with two Michelin Star restaurants. At first, I was a bit hesitant since there weren’t much online reviews but this is a hidden gem that I would highly recommend to others. Red deer tartare is mixed with woodruff oil. Sitting on top are birch tree mayo and gel with some red sorrel leaves providing acidity. Can’t think of the last time I have raw red deer but it has a light and elegant air dried beef flavor with the whole dish developing into a sweet forest floor like a young pinot. This dish was so memorable that I picked it out to be a top 10 dishes on the spot

In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 Less

2022 Top 10 Dishes
(No. 6 in chronological order)

Supersmash Burger
Funky Chicken Food Truck, Sweden
October 2022

How good can a burger be? Turns out just as good and satisfying as any other dishes if done right! Funky Chicken Food Truck in Stockholm started as a chicken over rice food truck but its signature these days are their beef burgers. Good ratio of bun, cheese, toppings and patty. Smashed and well charred patty along with the toasted buns give it a crispy layer in the middle and the texture really stood out. What a finale to a fun few days on a @the.hungries food tour and thank you @andershusa and @carnivorr for all the arrangements!

In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 Less

2022 Top 10 Dishes
(No. 3 in chronological order)

Caviar, Peas, Oyster Cream, Clam Broth
Falsled Kro, Denmark
July 2022

New Nordic cuisine, like kaiseki ryori of Japan, is highly seasonal and pea makes frequent appearance in the month of July. This pea dish is particularly memorable on how layered the flavors are. With all the ingredients in a bite, the bouillon flavor first comes out, followed by saltiness and umami of caviar, sweetness of peas and then the oyster cream. Quite amazing how the chef has managed to construct all the layers to work together and really don’t understand why this place does not have a star. Not only is it a beautiful restaurant, the inn is also a charming place to spend a night and stroll the gardens

In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 Less