Peter Verey

Back at @restaurant_petrus for another dose of @uweo ‘s clean modern classical cuisine . Complimented by one of the best by the glass wine lists in town , it’s a great venue to revisit again and again ….

Mackerel from Fukuoka was lightly cured and paired with a herbaceous cucumber jelly , zucchini stuffed with mascarpone and a light Parmesan foam .

Foie gras was melded into the shape of Dekapon and the sphere was stuffed with a perfect amount of Dekapon jam. Heston Blumenthal made this presentation famous , but for me this version was superior , the “fruit” both appeared more life like and the flavour was lighter and cleaner .

Lobster medallions and lobster ravioli were matched with a Vin Jaune sauce and a duo of caviar / fish roe , the lobster was terrific , the sauce and caviar perhaps a little high in salt . The young green peas that floated in the sauce added some sweetness.

Pork Belly from Spain was crisp and yielding , with the classical pairing of apple , mashed potato and also Celtuce . Great comfort food dish very well executed .

A strawberry sponge dessert was certainly not simple . The sponge was bruleed , crusted with pistachios and stuffed with both strawberry cream and jam . On top a quenelle of terrific strawberry ice cream , love the texture of fine dining ice cream so much softer than even the best ice cream shops . Less

First time having Italian-Japanese in Japan and this became one of my favourite meals of the trip . Dishes had tremendous balance and creativity and also some Peruvian elements added which further built on a very individual menu from Chef Ken Sakamoto .

Kicking off with Japanese prosciutto served with a dosa flavoured with cardamon and turmeric and filled with an eggplant cream certainly alerted you that this meal would be different. This was a terrific start .

A tartare of Katsuo with cucumber, almond and raspberry had great harmony , I really enjoy raspberry as the acidic element in crudo dishes.

A savoury trio of bites followed , with Hamo, pressed tofu and cucumber serving as the primary ingredients .

Quinoa , cashew nuts , black rice made up a soothing mixed grains dish .

Well set Beef was almost standing proudly by itself , the minimalist accompaniments were a celeriac fondant and brown rice vinegar relish

Pasta course was delicious , asparagus and grilled sea whelk complimented by a Huacatay sauce which perfectly coated the Taglioni

Porcini Mushroon risotto was lifted with a touch of Mikan .

Desserts hit the mark , firstly jasmine and peach which is certainly the combination of the moment/season .

Then a base of rice pudding littered with interesting textures of Amazo Less

After a week in Japan still had bandwidth for more Japanese kappo cuisine upon returning home . An enjoyable meal if somewhat flawed. Perhaps it just suffered in comparison to the Tokyo dining junket , but on the whole the ingredients didn’t quite sing to the same extent .

Cauliflower, Ancient Cheese, Firefly Squid, Black Truffle- cauliflower and rice were combined into a congee and paired with truffle , the squid which was mashed and had a certain funk seasoned the dish .

Bonito sashimi with garlic scape sauce - one of my favourite fish but this was not outstanding.

Red Sea Bream, Hairy Crab, Green Princess Onion- my favourite dish of the night , the bream collar was used for the flesh and nested atop a loose ball of picked crab meat , the broth from the sea bream bones completed a terrific dish .

Maguro and Uni hand roll - nothing wrong with a crowd pleaser .

Miyazaki Wagyu Beef, Japanese Baby Leaf, Spring New Potato, Grain Mustard - very European , the potato was paired with young leek into what was basically a Colcannon . The Wagyu tenderloin was slow grilled for over an hour but was just okay .

Mozuku Sea Moss, Ark shell clam , Fresh Urchin,
Baby Cucumber, Micro Tomato in Tomato water - fun presentation but ingredients didn’t really mesh for me .

Belt Fish, stuffed with Carrot, Yam, Shiso Leaf, Salted Plum sauce - very interesting Tempura, almost a Tempura Wellington but didn’t love the textures here .

SAKURA Trout, Usui beans, SAKURA Flower
Pickles, Miso Soup- lovely rice dish

Sancho pepper ice cream - great flavour but ice cream was icy .

Uguisu Mochi Less

La Cime really surprised me in the best way , more subtle than I am usually drawn to , the dishes and the menu really grew on me , this was a very serious adult menu which clearly had a lot of thought injected into it .
The other obstacle to my personal preferences is that the courses here are broken up into 2-3 presentations in the style popularised by Yannick Alleno , and that is something I have never enjoyed , however this once again largely proved no impediment to enjoyment .

Squid sashimi with , kumquat , herbs , along with squid and fish sauce cold broth was one of the 5 amuses bouches but could have easily been a signature course . Squid was shaved as thin as lardo and simply garnished with gorgeous fresh herbs.

Bonito with bonito and watercress jelly, shiso flower and a watercress bozushi - this is one where the quality of the watercress really shined.

Deep fried Ayu with nasturtium cream and knotweed - classic

Broad bean , green peas and Edamame tofu with green bean tempura - highlighting an array of beans this was a great vegan course

Asparagus and spot prawn , asparagus and pomelo jelly , asparagus tart - only the asparagus tart really sang with asparagus . This highlights my pet peeve of the 3 preparation for 1 course style as it’s hard to come up with 3 great dishes when you automatically compare and contrast each one to the other .

Scallop gnocchi , with sake lees beurre Blanc and sea grapes - classic French

Grouper from Nagasaki with wild spinach , taco shell made from fish bone and seaweed, filled with passion fruit and dill - loved the taco here , ingenious.

Turnip filled with duck confit , turnip broth - turnip was essentially transformed into bao dough , this had great deep flavour .

Wagyu from Kumamoto with a variety of vegetable puree , the beef was brilliantly cooked , almost gave NYC smoked brisket vibes , loved this .

Rice cream and jasmine flower ice cream

Peach ravioli with rose sauce , peach and almond cobbler . Both desserts played to familiar and classic flavours very well Less

With a slew of Beijing and Sichuan style dishes to choose from , I somehow accidentally on purpose tend to order the same dishes every time I visit Golden Flower.

The must order is the golden bronze Chicken wing , sprinkled with Sichuan pepper and stuffed with birds nest . It is unctuous to eat .

The yellow croaker and fish maw soup provides a collagen hit , lightened with white pepper and spring onion .

Kung pao prawn is one handsome prawn in a deep flavoured sweet and sour sauce that has no resemblance to the fluorescent sauce from the food courts of our youth .

A stellar fried rice with minced sea cucumber , abalone and prawn ticks the box .

Always finish with the homemade yoghurt with Beijing glutinous rice pastries . As good yoghurt is not imported into Macau , this is a simple pleasure . Less

Final meal in Tokyo was @aca_kyoto_tokyo , an addition to the itinerary due to a late invite from @jtfoodcation 🙏.
I was thrilled to obtain the opportunity to visit a legendary restaurant where bookings are close to impossible.

It was the best meal of the trip .

Spanish cuisine thru a Japanese lens and Japanese ingredients , only 2 ingredients are from Spain ( Serrano ham and saffron ) . Cooking largely over fire is precise , service is warm and Chef was happy to have a long chat at the conclusion of the meal .

Teleport me back !

Spanish mackerel with sherry vinegar and nasturtium - Sawara is perfectly opaque , glazed with sherry vinegar , the sharpness balances the fatty fish .

Kohada, tomato bread , oba leaf - signature dish , the Kohada is cured less than in Sushiyas , the tomato bread and oba bring the freshness .

Squid ink paella with aka uni - as mentioned am loving Aka uni season , this was a great contrast of creamy and sweet with earthy and saline .

Kinome leaf , leek , ayu , crepe - ayu “wraps” seem to be a thing , and I subscribe to that trend .

Fig , with almond and garlic sauce - this one blew me away , fig with a crema from white gazpacho ingredients, amazing marriage .

Garlic Prawn and shark fin - the traditional gambas fish has the addition of sharks fin which really took on the flavours of the sauce .

Serrano ham consommé with Yunnan matautake . Salty and balanced .

Beef fillet from shirame with togarashi peppers - choice of two beef options and we all chose both . I rarely order fillet but this was brilliant with the charcoal flavour .

Matsusaka Sirloin with sancho pepper - again perfect simplicity .

Kegani crab paella with sancho aioli - the sancho aioli was a crowd pleaser , signature dish for a reason .

Goat milk ice cream and olive oil - loved this , local olive oil that the ACA team picks and makes themselves with deeply creamy ice cream . Less

An incredible sushi experience @____kurosaki_____ last night .

Chef ( and ex-rapper ) Kazumi Karusaki is absolutely meticulous, not a movement is wasted , all while exuding a calm , cool, effortless manner ,his team work frenetically to keep pace , it is kitchen ballet and it is beautiful to witness .

The food itself is faultless , an astounding array of textures and flavours , additional dabs of flavours are trademarks .

All the gratitude to @jtfoodcation and @chi.champagnefeast for arranging the magical experience!
Great to be part of a dining dream team with @ssstephkannn @miffylee046 @ryankongg @gourmet.over.here

Hirame
Mackerel - incredibly buttery
Raw Octopus - sweet !
Just set Warm oyster from Nagasaki
Squid stuffed with the sperm from three squid - creamy and delicious .

Kawahagi- with its own liver , amazing .
Marinated iwashi
Fugu Karage with fugu broth and skin jelly
KOHADA
Best Kuruma ebi to date
Snow crab chawanmushi - crab to egg ratio was seemingly 80% crab . Phenomenal!
Geoduck
Bafun Uni from Hokkaido
A trio of Maguro which shined with sweetness
Fugu shirako nigiri - this was brilliant
Crispy prawn head
Clam broth rice
Saury
Anago
Tamago 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

Have had a lot of fine dining meals in Japan now and still haven’t had Tempura !! . This was the closest available option on a public holiday Monday , a Kaiseki/ tempura hybrid. Armed with a Michelin ⭐️ Ginza Kitagawa is from the lineage of Ginza Shinohara but has a greater focus on Tempura .
I ended up enjoying the non-tempura courses more but did enjoy the creativity across the meal .

Hassun - consisted of preparations of shin ika , hamo , tubogai and akigai .
Kuruma ebi tempura
Kyoto eggplant tempura
Matsutake and Suppon soup
Kashiage with green onion
Katsuo with mayonnaise and alium sauce
Black pepper hida beef
Amadai tempura with dashi
Tenbara rice
Matsutake rice
Egg tempura rice
Tempura sweet potato with lemon sherbet ice Less

A little break from fine dining, with a visit to @terusumi0422 for terrific yakitori, great r&b tunes from the 00’s , terrific sake and awesome friendly vibes .

Hidai chicken from Akita prefecture is used , and we enjoyed a great selection of pieces .
My first time having Chicken sashimi , it was juicy, fresh and had great mouthfeel , would certainly have no qualms about having it again .
The chicken liver was outstanding , perfectly cooked, sweet and earthy . Speaking of liver there were a few non-yakitori courses and the liver parfait was sublime . It’s been forever since I last ordered one and it had to go back into the dining rotation .

But the highlight was the alchemy between the many courses and the sake , a terrific endless flow over the course of 3+ hours !

Full menu below, the starred dishes were my favs and are also pictured .

***Chicken sashimi
Breast with skin
***Chicken liver
Quail egg
***Chicken neck with mountain wasabi
Chicken skin and elbow in miso vinegar
***Minced chicken with cured yolk
***Chicken liver parfait
Duck and chicken croquette with aged potato
Chicken thigh
Muscovy duck with aged mushroom sauce
Chicken wing
***Chicken heart
Tip of chicken thigh
***Chicken hanger steak
Chicken oyster
Chicken rice Less