Peter Verey

Visiting @alainducasseatmorpheusmacau in winter is very rewarding . Refined winter dishes here are spectacular and the experience continues to improve on every visit . All credit to @cedricsatabin and his team who continue to push for excellence, the wealth of work from the kitchen team has never been more evident .

Case in point the signature Mediterranean Gamberoni dish, I have had this dish 6 times now and this was the best example . The rich umami of the gelee , the sweetness of the shrimp , the creamy salty @kaviari_paris , the winter citrus all absolutely sang . Perhaps it was the touch of magic from @zhhhhana who put the dish together on this occasion .

Ravioli of root vegetables may not sound like the most exciting dish on a menu , but this was superb, chick pea dough printed with watercress , roasted root vegetables which develop a lovely sweet note and a refreshing duck consommé.

John Dory from Brittany faces quite a journey to get to Macau but the fish is simply confit in oil and left to shine . Paired with multiple variations of chicory , this was well balanced and delicious .

Young pigeon from Merial was cooked over wood fire , noticeably gamier than his Chinese cousins , it was matched with a tumble of mushrooms and chestnut and a pumpkin puree . Great winter vibes .

A trio of desserts had me waddling out the door - Comte Reserve ( mousse and au natural ) , then a symposium of grapes with a terrific Roast Tea ice cream that I particularly enjoyed.
Finally the Ducasse Rum baba which was super light yet packed a rum punch .

Great wine pairing as well, highlighted by a 1982 Pomerol , superb evening !! Less

If you happen to have been silly enough to make a new year resolution and are looking to eat healthier , then for healthy fine dining , you can’t go past @zuicho.macau !
Protein rich , clean flavours and most certainly delicious .

A bright bring start to the meal in the form of Ankimo and monkfish eggs pressed with konbu .

The signature dish followed ( the only dish that remains on the monthly changing menu ) A5 Wagyu tenderloin katsu , the beef gets an hour of sous vide treatment before being deep fried , end result is disarmingly soft yet crispy .

A sashimi duo of Baby tuna ( Meiji ) and Yellowtail ( buri) preceded the highlight dish .. a gorgeous Tempura of Shirako which dissolved on the palate , paired with shirako rice on a stone grill . Rich textures, crispy rice .. loved it

The A5 Wagyu returned , this time the sirloin was given a sukiyaki hot pot treatment . Sweet dashi , soy cured egg yolk , matsutake . All that you could desire

Sea urchin and toro handroll was excellent , loved that the sea urchin was not only generously atop the hand roll but a little lobe was also right at the bottom which left a delicious sweet creamy last bite .

Final savoury dish was crab rice with mullet roe. Sweet female snow crab meat balanced the saltiness of the roe with aplomb

Dessert was a Monaka sandwich with brown sugar ice cream and strawberry. Less

It is my impression that the HK dining public seem to desert restaurants when a chef change occurs . I hope that this doesn’t occur with Hansik Goo as excellence will remain very much in its pedigree .

The lunch menu here is very similar to dinner with the portion sizes just minimised a little , it is well balanced , nutritious and there is no need for an afternoon food nap .

Kicking things off is Pine nut juk with crab - creamy and fresh , it’s a lovely balanced start .

A duo of raw fish follows , Amberjack is paired with caviar whilst Mackerel and kimchi form a great duo .

A crystal clear beef and radish soup with Mantou dumpling is warming and wholesome .

The gochujang glazed silver pomfret is perfectly cooked , a side of garlic chives and surf clam adds some freshness to the piquancy.

Scallion Pajeon is superbly crisp and the umami from the dried seafood carries the course .

Hanwoo meatball is Kofta - like and terrifically juicy , pork neck is fatty in the best way and there is plenty of kimchi and rice to round out the flavours.

A great take on Crème brûlée to end the meal , with vanilla ice cream encrusted with pecans . Less

Chef @chefvickycheng had been the hottest name in HK F&B for a while now , even when I visited Paris earlier this year Bruno Verjus was absolutely raving about him .

So I was well overdue for a first taste of his food , rather than kick things off at Wing , I thought starting at Vea would be a good introduction.

A very impressive meal it was , the dance of Chinese and French ingredients and techniques interplayed beautifully , every dish was thoughtful and delicious . Love the restaurant long counter set up as well .

The first dish of the night may have been my favourite.
Shima Aji and cucumber were both served as carpaccio and tartare , and dressed with longan juice and chive oil . Savoury and sweet , this reminded me of childhood cold cucumber soup , absolutely visually striking as well .

Brittany blue lobster was touched with only a whisper of heat , and combined with local squid , snap peas and snow cabbage , terrific again .

Sea cucumber is stuffed with a Tiger prawn farce but thankfully the farce keeps a lot of texture , served with a light crustacean broth and then augmented with sprays of aged yellow wine . This one hits all the senses .

A surprisingly thick cross section of Rough Scale Flounder was topped with a stuffed zucchini flower ( miss seeing this on menus ) , and served with tiny Bo-Kak mussels , these little seasonal gems are barely the size of a pinky nail but they make their presence felt !

Before the main course , a little comfort food . Yunnan matsutake mushrooms are prepared in a variety of textures and well matched to congee .

French pigeon is perfectly grilled and paired with carrot, apricot and five spice , all these flavour profiles are firm friends . Bulletproof dish .

We ease into dessert with a simply stunning piece of fruit , end of season Nagano peach is the floral sweet flavour that you wish all peaches would be , simply served with a dollop of jasmine infused cream , the dual floral notes soothe and inspire.

Final course is a petit bateau of Tarte Tatin camouflaged by fresh slices of Granny Smith apples .
Accompanied with burrata ice cream as well as apple and Chinese celery ice cream.

Terrific meal !! Less

After 2 weeks barely leaving the house and binging on the beauty of the 2024 Paris Olympics , it’s nice to return to normal routine and hop across the border for a chilled lunch .

Man Wah @mo_hkg has held a Michelin star for 16 years now , recently refurbished it’s a beautiful room with a great view of HK harbour .

A large Hokkaido scallop cooked medium well rather than the en vogue mi-cuit , held up very well to a punchy porcini mushroom sauce . It’s Yunnan mushroom season now and I think they are outstanding so I would have been happy with mushrooms playing a larger role here but it was an excellent dish .

M9 Australian Wagyu was served with a fresh and floral black pepper sauce , with lily bulbs the main garnish .

Prior to this , a duo of excellent dim sum , Har Gao was fashioned into the shape of an edamame pod and the shrimp was paired with edamame and green chilli . Very satisfying .

Mushroom and crab dumpling was also very moorish .

The small sample of the dim sum skills was excellent and I would return just to make a solid dent in the 14 varietal dim sum menu . Less

Came to Shanghai but had outstanding Cantonese food @102house_shanghai .

Originating from Foshan, the restaurant opened in Shanghai in 2021 and has allready obtained Michelin ⭐️ ⭐️ and a 40th ranking in Asia’s 50 best .

The only option is a seasonal set menu which last night ran to 21 dishes over 12 courses .

While most dishes were familiar to me and I have seen them on menus in HK or Macau , the quality of the execution was eye opening. In particular all the stir fry dishes were judged to the optimum level , with proteins and vegetables supremely tender , juicy and flavourful.

Photos attached represent some of my favourite courses .

Deep fried caul fat surrounded a jumble of oysters and mushrooms , the rough texture of the caul far wrapping gave terrific texture .

Pigeon and scallop was a stir fry combo that I haven’t encountered, the pigeon was juicy and slippery , the scallop supple and sweet .

Wok fried shrimp was served with Chinese onion and sweet peas , clean and fresh .

The Lobster with shrimp roe was one of the best examples of lobster cooking I have ever had , the meat just seperated from the shell and was juicy yet cooked thru .

Crispy chicken was deep fried but also deeply smoked for a great contrast .

Sweet and sour pork is the signature dish , the pork is pork belly and is crisp as glass, the fruit changes seasonally while it was pineapple on this occasion , other variations feature peach, ginger and strawberry.

A coral grouper was cooked with mild shrimp paste , ginger and tofu skin , fun dish to get messy with .

The final savoury course was were rice noodles in fish broth and geoduck , milky and cleansing .

Full menu in comments .. Less

When you go to Shanghai and while having lunch you find out that the chef from said restaurant will be in Macau next week 🤦‍♂️. ( Go check out the 4 hand dinner at Imperial Court April 26-28 )

But no regrets as was a delicious lunch @meetthebund.2019 .

Specialising in Fujian cuisine , loved the clarity of flavour in all the dishes .

Small Fujian surf clams were flavour packed with a chilli vinegar dressing , could happily slurp up dozens.

Chilled tofu skin with Celtuce was a super refreshing starter .

Angus beef was cooked with dry spices and mixed with a tangle of chilli threads and dried tangerine peel . Sweet and spicy ..

Miniature grouper was served 2 ways , first in a porridge that was so velvety , it really gave New England chowder vibes and was delicious .
Secondly the grouper was briefly scalded with hot oil and served atop a bed of seaweed , quality ingredient led cooking .

Finally a “mystery “ green veg stir fried with red pepper and garlic , great fragrance and the vegetable was perfectly set . Less

Onjaku is a Tabelog Gold restaurant located just outside of Shizuoka . They are privy to some of the best seafood available , and today the sweetness was certainly evident . While no individual dish was anything but satisfying , the overall menu composition would have perhaps benefited from a dish or two with more fat or a stronger garnish as the subtly sweet produce was a little monochromatic.

But let’s talk about the leek ! I think this is the best leek I have had in my life , somehow deep fried with a crisp casing that slightly separates from the vegetable, the leek itself was absurdly tender and sweet . I have had great leeks from the hands of Rene Redzepi, Magnus Nillsson and Sato Hideaki - but this dish blew me away .

Horse mackerel and deep fried gobo
Squid and choy sum blossom
Baby aji
Gurnard and bamboo
Spanish mackerel and squid
Leek
Langoustine
Shiitake with langoustine roe
Hairtail and kale , sancho pepper
Hokkaido Wagyu rump , cabbage , lotus root and squid Mochi
Bamboo and Wakame rice
Tamago donburi
Strawberry Less

Do not possess enough superlatives for this one . A 33 year old chef is creating absolute magic here , cannot fault the execution, the concept of dishes, the vibe , the service , all exemplary . There is a reason that Yamazaki is booked solid for the next 12 months .
(So joining @jtfoodcation may be the best way to secure the experience)
Would donate an organ to come back ….

Clean and sweet start with Hamaguri clam broth, and sweet early season Bamboo. A super simple dish but had great harmony .

Steamed Mochi rice , tempura of smelt and lily bulb with caviar . The caviar serves as the salt for the tempura . Balanced !

Shirako is chargrilled and is a pontoon in the midst of white miso broth with sweet daikon, and romanesco .

The best Eel of my life followed , charred brilliantly, mild in flavour , with spring vegetables in white miso paste

Kinmedai was indeed splendid , grilled aggressively on the coals , the end result was stupefying, shattering skin and mi cuit flesh . Paired with cabbage in chicken dashi .

Snow crab was bursting with oceanic sweetness, the sauce made from crab roe and sake . Stunning .

The body of the crab was turned into a croquette with Kuruma ebi , the prawn also turned into the sauce .

Duck was perfectly cooked and paired with a European style black garlic sauce , light but powerful.

Rice course was a highlight and despite the group being full, we pretty much all had seconds . Served with Mountain wasabi blossoms which received a good burst of wok Hei , herring roe and the perfect egg yolk .

Dessert was another case of ingenuity , chestnut skin is ground then infused in milk before being reduced and turned into the creamiest of gelato. The flesh is mashed and turned into brûlée . Less

The Tokyo trip really sprang into top gear at Sushi Arai last night . Tabelog gold rated and while I’m far from a sushi expert , this seems absolutely appropriate.

The quirky photo policy limits photos to Tuna only , and the Maguro was certainly a highlight , great mouthfeel , distinct aroma , absolutely filled the palate .

Other highlights included -

Hamaguri clam steamed in its juices and served with olive oil
Scallop , Oba leaf and Nori roll
Kujira - Whale - only my second time with whale and this was incredible . Using the tail muscle of Icelandic whale , the texture and perfect fat content ratio was memorable .
Ankimo and pickled watermelon - this was requested by my host , an off menu dish that Chef Arai hasn’t made for several years , but he was happy to oblige us .
Saba - Spanish mackerel - so different to the Australian species of this fish, richer yet somehow sharper and less buttery

Many thanks to @jtfoodcation and @chi.champagnefeast for making it all happen .

It’s going to be a great week !! Less