Foodle

Sushi Hatou (波濤) in Kagurazaka remains one of Tokyo’s most refined sushi experiences—a serene eight-seat counter where kaiseki discipline meets the precision of Edomae sushi. Since opening in 2020 under Chef Daichi Kumagiri (熊切大地), a former kaiseki chef from the Ishikawa Group, Hatou has evolved steadily into one of the capital’s most complete expressions of Japanese taste and texture. Kumagiri-san’s background is evident in the pacing, the clarity of flavors, and the way each course feels balanced yet emotionally resonant. His otsumami—drawn from classical Japanese cooking rather than izakaya-style snacks—belong among the very best in Tokyo, rivaling even the great kaiseki counters. The nigiri, once slightly restrained, have grown in both confidence and depth over the years.

Yesterday’s meal marked my 24th visit since June 2020, and it once again confirmed Hatou’s remarkable consistency and quiet evolution. The hamaguri soup, a recurring signature, remains untouchable—an ideal of clarity and depth, with layer upon layer of umami that somehow stays light and fragrant. It is the kind of dish that embodies Kumagiri-san’s style: technique in the service of emotion.

The ikura was another standout. Exceptionally soft, with less of the usual popping texture, it revealed a deep sweetness and an expansive release of umami—generous, elegant, and unforgettable. The kagahagi nigiri (thread-sail filefish) showed a perfect equilibrium between the delicately seasoned shari and the clean, smooth flesh of the fish, finishing with a faint acidity that lifted the entire bite.

Hatou’s tuna program, sourced from Ireland, continues to impress. The akami in particular was outstanding—aged with precision, its texture supple yet substantial, with a purity of flavor that recalled the finest traditions of Edomae. Each slice captured the quiet confidence of a chef who knows exactly how far to push his maturation and when to let nature speak.

Chef Kumagiri’s evolution from kaiseki to sushi now feels complete. He has built a restaurant that sits at the intersection of restraint and richness, intellect and instinct. Hatou is no longer a hidden gem—it is one of Tokyo’s most essential counters. Less

Open since 1943, a must visit while in Naples is Mimi alla ferrovia 👌🏻
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Michelin Guide -
La Liste -
W50B -
Best Chef Awards -
OAD -
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#Worlds50Best #LaListeRestaurants #OADTopRestaurants #MichelinDining #BestChefAwards #FineDiningExperience #GastronomyLovers #CulinaryArt #ModernGastronomy #TastingMenu #RestaurantTour #FoodTourExperience #CulinaryTravel #DestinationDining #AchefabroadTours #InstaGourmet #FoodieTravel #GlobalFoodie #EatTheWorld #LuxuryTravelEats #Foodstagram #ChefLife #GourmetJourney #DineDifferently #TravelToTaste Less

Studio Frantzén Dubai

𝑩𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒄 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝑫𝒖𝒃𝒂𝒊, 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒛é𝒏 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒚? 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉. 𝑯𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒛𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒗𝒖𝒍𝒈𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑨 𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒔 𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒈𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚: 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍; 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒆𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒔.
𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝑫𝒖𝒃𝒂𝒊’𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒐𝒓 𝑫𝒖𝒃𝒂𝒊 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕, 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍. 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓: 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓 – 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆.”

Full article on the blog
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“Ao trazer a sua gramática nórdica para o Dubai, será que Frantzén abre mão de parte da sua identidade? Mais do que ceder, ganha alcance. Democratizou-se sem vulgarizar, aproximando-se sem a banalização que tantas vezes encontramos. Um gesto que diz muito sobre a gastronomia contemporânea: já não basta cozinhar bem, é preciso dialogar com diferentes públicos e geografias.

Se a assinatura nórdica se adaptará ao excesso do Dubai, ou se será o Dubai a aprender contenção, só o tempo o dirá. Por agora, importa reconhecer: neste palco improvável, a alta cozinha encontrou uma nova gramática, e o resultado é irresistível.”

Artigo completo no blog
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#studiofrantzén #studiofrantzendubai #bjornfrantzen #torstenvildgaard #atlantisthepalm #dubai #finedining #socialdining #flavorsandsenses #theaetofplating #50bestdiscovery Less

No 6ª melhor restaurante do mundo, em Bangkok. 

Há mais de 10 anos, quando dei por mim a escrever a minha tese de mestrado (a quem interessar, google “arte alta cozinha”, primeiro artigo), Gaggan foi um dos restaurantes que saltou logo à vista, já à data uma referência pela criatividade que colocava no seu restaurante que tem o seu nome. @gaggan_anand

Muito se passou desde então quando Gaggan era “apenas” considerado o melhor restaurante da Ásia - fechou, “morreu” , abriu, renasceu. Superou o nível de outros tempos, acolhendo o que de melhor os anos trouxeram quanto ao desenvolvimento da técnica, processo criativo e estética,- deu-se à experimentação e performance, aos sentidos, ao story telling - e quem me segue sabe que esse é o tipo de experiência gastronómica que mais aprecio. 

Também por isso foi a melhor experiência do presente ano, e uma das melhores de sempre. Claro que a comida também teve de fazer sentido, mas quando envolvemos os 5 sentidos, o jantar passa a ser uma gastro-performence onde somos convidados a participa - passamos a ter outros focos de atenção. 

À frente do restaurante e braço direito de Gaggan está Fábio (@costa.fdf) que me recordou que nos cruzamos há largos anos, em Lisboa, num jantar da @confrariadarabanada, quando cozinhava ao lado de @vitoradao e @lucasazevedorj . Parabéns mais uma vez Fábio pelo incrível trabalho que aí tens feito.

Ora, depois do jantar, veio a ceia juntamente com a equipa e Gaggan himself, num restaurante local onde costumam ir depois do serviço, e foi até longas horas da noite. E que belo serão. Obrigado ❤️ #gaggan #world50best #bangkok #thailand Less

Forno
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Modestly under the radar place located in Hiroo with a chef who worked at Tacubo previously. Understandably high expectations for grilling, the meats definitely dont disappoint. Pin point perfection for cooking, with that beautiful color all the way through to the center. Pastas are not shabby either with large portions to satisfy the carbo cravings. Service has continually improved over the past couple times I've been also, and this place has one of the nicest vibes in Tokyo.
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#料理 #レストラン #東京 #食事 #food #foodie #foodstagram #stuffieat #kevcheeats #kevchetokyo #kevche #グルメ #foodporn #東京グルメ #kevcheitalian #forno Less

Less, Better Done. The Evolution of Eel Tempura at @logy.tw 2021–2025
Eel tempura with burnt brown sugar lacquer, 100% dark chocolate, Comté, mushroom broth, white balsamic, and green Sichuan peppercorn oil.

Just hearing the description made me wonder how it could possibly work. But I got hooked at first bite! What surprised me wasn’t just that it worked, but how naturally the ingredients seemed to speak to each other. There’s a clear logic beneath the chaos. Umami runs through Comté and mushroom broth. Acidity from the white balsamic and dark chocolate cuts through the richness of the eel. Nutty notes echo between Comté and dark chocolate. Bitterness from burnt brown sugar and dark chocolate adds depth. And then there’s the green Sichuan peppercorn- floral, citrusy, gently numbing, a final genius touch.

If anyone can make such an unlikely combination not just cohesive but craveable, it’s @ryogotahara_logy Less