Foodle

More highlights from last week's South Texas barbecue swing. Up next: Vera's Backyard BBQ in Brownsville, about two miles from the Mexican border.

There's a reason Vera is an American classic. The cachete (beef cheeks) are a little smoky and pull into long, sublimely tender chunks. I think I may like the birria (lamb, in Vera's case) even better — bursting with rich, smoky, savory flavor. Fragrant sauces are and tortillas warm from the griddle seal the deal.

#bbq #eatbbq #fooddrinktravel #txbbq #messinwithtexas #behindenemylines #bbqbreakfast Less

Fans of chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng’s exquisite Thai cuisine at Richmond’s Baan Lao restaurant can celebrate International Women’s Month in a momentous dinner collaboration with three brilliant female chefs.

These masters (mistresses?) of Thai cuisine — and it’s not an exaggeration to say they are three of the world’s most influential Thai chefs — will present a tasting menu that ranges from the refined Royal Thai cuisine to the bold flavours of Southern Thailand and the culinary synthesis of Bangkok’s Chinatown.
Guest chef “Pam” Pichaya Soontornyanakij of Bangkok’s Michelin-starred Potong restaurant was named the world’s best female chef in 2025 and her restaurant ranked thirteenth in the World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025.

She will be joined by Chef Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon of Philadelphia’s Kalaya restaurant, named best female chef in North America last year. Her restaurant ranked seventh in North America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025.

Chef Nutcha can, of course, more than hold her own in this company. Baan Lao was named the best restaurant in Canada by the World Culinary Awards in 2024 and 2025 and was ranked twelfth on North America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025.

The dinners at Baan Lao are two nights only, March 17 and 18, and seating is limited. The cost is a stratospheric $850 per person, but for those who can afford it, this promises to be a beautiful, heaven-sent event and ticket prices include the 22-course collaboration menu, premium wine pairings and a welcome glass of Rothschild Champagne. They do not include tax and gratuity. Tickets are available on Open Table’s Baan Lao site.

Chef “Pam” Pichaya Soontornyanakij, Chef Chutatip “Nok” Suntaranon, Chef Nutcha Phanthoupheng (L to R)
Photo credit: @gastrofilm Less

Miku Japanese restaurant is about to open another location at the River Rock Casino with a soft opening on February 17, ahead of its official opening, to be announced in March. Limited reservations can be made online now at mikurichmond.com.
Expect the same level of service and food as at the Coal Harbour location, including well-known dishes such as: aburi oshi sushi, ebi fritters, Iwate Wagyu carpaccio, Saikyo miso sablefish, along with the nigiri and sashimi platters.
The first Miku, of Aburi Restaurants Canada, opened in 2008 and a second opened 10 years later in Toronto. Less

Recommended bowl: Kyoto style

Old-school family run shop, serving local Kyoto style ramen. Clear tonkotsu-shoyu soup, piled with fresh green negi. Miso ramen also popular, and many customers opt for bowls of white rice on the side. The master here trained at Ramen Daiki, another well-known old-school Kyoto shop located near Arashiyama. Ramen Yū open since 1996. Less

The River Cafe @therivercafelondon on good form. Green tagliarini with pork ragu, pancetta, fennel and lemon peel 👏🏽 / spaghetti with prawns, tomatoes and bottarga / monkfish with purple sprouting broccoli and hot olive sauce / veal shin with polenta, butter and parmesan / chocolate nemesis 🤌🏽 / tiramisu / pannacotta with rhubarb #foodinlondon #therivercafe #rivercafe #rivercafelondon #therivercafelondon Less

This is Austria’s best restaurant and one of the best in the world 🇦🇹🔥

In Vienna, at 2-Michelin-starred @restaurant_doubek , the night begins quietly: an aperitif in the lounge, a few snacks and then you’re led into an intimate dining room where Chef @stefandbk cooks over live fire, right in front of you.

Vienna has long been home to the world’s greatest creative minds: Freud, Klimt, Schiele, Mozart, Beethoven, you name it.
But today, it’s also home to a new artistic elite: modern culinary geniuses led by Stefan Doubek and @selina_nora Nora Pein.

Everything is cooked over live fire. No electricity. No compromises.
From meticulously plated herb butter to live langoustine cooked over embers, every detail is obsessed over because here, excellence isn’t luck.

If you travel the world in search of unforgettable meals, put Doubek at the top of your list, and ask for Adam’s table for the best seats in the house.
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📍 Doubek, Vienna – Austria 🇦🇹
💶 Tasting menu: €345
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*invitation
#ChasingStars #TheFoodFetishist #WorldsBestRestaurants #Vienna #Austria #Doubek Less

大人になってから、ようやく分かった。
ある味は思い出として保存されるのではなく、時間と一緒に身体の奥へ沈殿していくのだ。
冬至が近づくと、家の空気は理由もなく張りつめ、少し冷える。母は市場へ行き、子持ちのワタリガニを選び、黙々と鹹焗蟹の仕込みを始める。同じ頃、血蚶（ハイガイ）が食卓に現れる。殻は黒く艶やかで、指先に触れると、海の冷たさがそのまま伝わってくる。
普段は台所に立たない父が、このときだけ鍋の前に立つ。湯が沸き、血蚶（ハイガイ）を落とす。父は何も言わず、八秒から十秒を数える。短ければ生、長ければ硬い。殻が弾け、赤い滴が滲んだ瞬間が正解だ。歯を立てると、脆さの奥から甘みと鉄のような旨味が溢れ出す。冬にしか成立しない味だった。
今夜、香港の「甬府」でその血蚶を口にした瞬間、記憶が不意に作動した。寧波の海、細かな泥、藻の匂い、寒暖差が生む静かな甘さ。主張しないが、確実に残る。
鍋の前に立つ父の背中は、もう現実にはない。味だけが、取り残される。
料理に感動するのではない。
その一口が、人と時間と、二度と戻らない家を、容赦なく思い出させるからだ。
#甬府香港
直到長大以後，才懂得，有些味道不是被記住的，而是被時間一點一點滲進身體裡。
冬至將近，家裡的空氣先一步轉涼。母親上市場挑母梭子蟹，準備鹹焗蟹；同一個時節，血蚶也會如期而至，殼色深亮，帶著海水的寒意。
父親平日極少進廚房，唯獨此刻站在鍋邊。水滾，血蚶下鍋，他低頭默數八到十秒——短了生冷，久了生硬。時間掐得正好，蚶殼乍開，血汁微滲，肉質脆爽，鮮甜在齒間炸開，那是冬天獨有的滋味。
今晚在香港甬府再嘗血蚶，入口的一瞬，記憶忽然回來了。寧波的血蚶，泥質細、海藻多、溫差大，甜味乾淨，不張揚，卻靜靜留在舌尖。
鍋邊的背影仍在記憶裡，蒸氣裡卻已無人。味道沒變，只是父親不在了。
原來真正動人的，不只是菜，而是那一口，替你留住了一個人、一段季節，與一個回不去的家。
#寧波
#甬府
Some flavors aren’t remembered.
They’re absorbed—slowly—until they become part of you.
As the Winter Solstice nears, the house cools before the weather does. My mother goes to the market for female blue crabs. And every year, blood clams arrive—dark shells, cold as the sea.
My father rarely cooked, except for this. Water boiling, clams in. He counted silently: eight to ten seconds. Too short, raw. Too long, tough. At just the right moment, the shells opened, releasing a trace of crimson. Crisp, sweet, unmistakably winter.
Tonight at Yong Fu in Hong Kong, one bite brought it all back. Ningbo blood clams—shaped by fine mud, seaweed, and sharp seasons—carry a quiet sweetness that lingers.
I can still see my father by the stove.
The flavor hasn’t changed.
Only he is gone.
That’s the power of food: one bite can hold a person, a season, and a home you can never return to.
#蟹
#浙江 Less

Rubia Gallega ‘Bikini’ from @restauranteamos @rosewoodvillamagna @rosewoodhotels @_jesussanchez 😮‍💨🥩
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This was a crazy bite. The bikini originated in Barcelona but is hugely popular across Spain - didn’t realise until I got to Madrid. This version takes things to another level, with an ingredient selection and level of refinement far above the norm.

Super flakey croissant bread, toasted in clarified butter and Galician beef fat. Briefly pan-seared Rubia Gallega beef tenderloin, served medium. Granja La Sierra cheese from the very same cow, melted beautifully over the top. Confit chocolate peppers and anchovy mayonnaise to finish.

It’s properly indulgent and rich. The anchovy mayo and beef fat hit immediately with deep umami, while the croissant bread is buttery, flakey and seriously moreish.

It’s a sandwich that’ll either put you to sleep or give you enough energy to get you through the day. Wild! Less