About
travels for friends, food and wine - in exactly this order
From
San Sebastian, Spain
Born
July 21
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Dinner at Sugita at Nihonbashi Kakigaracho Sugita
Currently ranked #2 on tabelog Sugita pleases with greatly calibrated otsumami and nigiris. His shari is less acidic as Saito-san's but it fits to his style.
Great place and wonderful to have Saito and Sugita almost back to back
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Yosuke Suga joined the Joel Robuchon Group at the age of 25. He then worked his way up to become executive Chef and opened a number of restaurants for the group.
He opened up his own place in Tokyo in 2014. His training and background is French, but he sources as many ingredients from Japan as possible. He closes the restaurant each month to travel... More
Yosuke Suga joined the Joel Robuchon Group at the age of 25. He then worked his way up to become executive Chef and opened a number of restaurants for the group.
He opened up his own place in Tokyo in 2014. His training and background is French, but he sources as many ingredients from Japan as possible. He closes the restaurant each month to travel through Japan in order to find more products he could use. The technique is classical, pure, honest and flawless. The flavours strong but not over powering.
Excellent meal with some outstanding dishes:
The scallops topped with French caviar, perfectly cooked with glassy center, were incredibly sweet and flavourful.
Snow crab risotto with his own Sugalabo rice outstanding with its layers of taste and texture.
Fantastic place which I can highly recommend, even though I have a troubled relationship with French restaurants in Japan. Less
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Cakes at Ete (ete) at ete (ete)
Overhyped and overpriced. You can get a similar cake in any good pastry shop in Austria. Don’t get me wrong a very good cake but now reason to get excited about and paid $100 for it.
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Lunch at Bon.nu (ボニュ) at Bon.nu
Bon.nu, a Tabelog Gold level restaurant, tries to simplify the dishes it serves. The number of ingredients used in any given dish will be reduced to the absolute minimum. The green on top of a tomato gets used as a green sauce to counterbalance the tomato sauce in colour and taste.
The influences come from France, Italy and Spain. It thus creates... More
Bon.nu, a Tabelog Gold level restaurant, tries to simplify the dishes it serves. The number of ingredients used in any given dish will be reduced to the absolute minimum. The green on top of a tomato gets used as a green sauce to counterbalance the tomato sauce in colour and taste.
The influences come from France, Italy and Spain. It thus creates a very interesting Mediterranean potpourri.
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Test Beer flights in a great place in Bangkok. Over 20 drafts beer, taco restaurant and cigar/whiskey bar all rolled into one.
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Dinner at Gaggan Anand Restaurant at Gaggan
Ok, I admit it, I am hooked now. I did not want to be a fan and to be honest had a cynical attitude to this meal. I wanted to go there only to see what the new place is like, only to take it off the bucket list and because an opportunity arrived. But now everything is different.
The new Gaggan venture is located in a house with three floors, the... More
Ok, I admit it, I am hooked now. I did not want to be a fan and to be honest had a cynical attitude to this meal. I wanted to go there only to see what the new place is like, only to take it off the bucket list and because an opportunity arrived. But now everything is different.
The new Gaggan venture is located in a house with three floors, the downstairs houses the G-Spot, the counter only part, the second the normal restaurant were you get the same menu but served individually at your table and the third is the Gaggan room, bean bags all over to relax and brainstorm. I was in the G-Spot.
There are 25 servings with a wine pairing of 9 wines, all served by the Chefs in the smallish open kitchen with a lengthy explanation of the dish, not only the ingredients but also the way they cook it and the background of its creation. All of this to very loud music which is curated partially from the questionnaire the dinners needed to submit.
The food itself is also emoji based but somewhat it feels that the emoji pairing is strained and only done because of the tradition of the restaurant and not because it drives the meal. This is a tasting menu which draws inspiration from many parts of the world, mostly from India and Japan, but makes reference to Thailand as the host country and the various countries where the Chefs are coming from. Based on the explanations we got, most of the Chef, old trusted hands of Gaggan, as 22 of the 24 have been working in the old place, have contributed to the menu in submitting dishes which Gaggan then approved. These dishes are entirely creations of their own. Astonishingly they managed to splice these various dishes into a nicely choreographed meal of 25 servings. For me these dishes were much more food than in the Emoji 2 menu, the ingredients well thought out and paired, the techniques sometimes completely over the top in complexity and effort. However somehow it combines to a incredible menu which left my deeply satisfied.
Don’t get me wrong, of course there was the odd dish which maybe will be replaced very soon based on the feedback of the dinners and I think the pastry section, well meaning, needs to be completely changed. But overall, this is a brand new place, just opened a few weeks ago and going incredibly strong. Some dishes on the other hand will be classics. For example the pickled bamboo vindaloo. Simply served in a bush on a stick, you bite into it and are happy. The texture, the combination of spices and the lasting linger of the bamboo is extraordinary. The main course, a rack of lamb grilled on the binchotan grill served without cutlery, just on the bone, is perfect. It sourced from a farm of a Lady Farmer who stopped her career to become a sustainable farmer.
This brings me to the man himself. Gaggan, larger than life, certainly not an easy person to work with, is in his restaurant a conceptual cook like Damian Hirst is a conceptual artist. The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living of Mr. Hirst, a great piece of Art, was not done by himself. But he thought of it and created the concept. Gaggan seems to do the same with his team of cooks. They create a meal based on his concept. He inspires them, pushes them and creates deep loyalty for him and pride to be part of this team. A truly charismatic personality (and actually also a great cook as the meal he whipped up for a small group of people in his house just jumping off an airplane from Frankfurt can attest to).
I am sure the chorus of the traditionalist and ingredient driven diners will degrade it as a failed swan song, but I tell you it is a great release of a rebel hard rock band.
PS: they do not provide you with a written menu, the descriptions of the dishes are therefore based on me frantically writing while the chefs described the dishes. Less
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Lunch at Baannual at Baan Nual
Owner Sittisak Sakornsin and Sister Yuwarat run this place which is housed in an old Thai house which reminds him of the house of his grand father. It only has 2 tables and up to 12 people. On e has to call ahead to order from the range of 50+ dishes so they can go and buy the ingredients necessary.
Yuwarat cooks everything in just two woks and it... More
Owner Sittisak Sakornsin and Sister Yuwarat run this place which is housed in an old Thai house which reminds him of the house of his grand father. It only has 2 tables and up to 12 people. On e has to call ahead to order from the range of 50+ dishes so they can go and buy the ingredients necessary.
Yuwarat cooks everything in just two woks and it really tastes great. The outstanding dish of a great line up were the river prawns with the fried garlic. They cook it separately and then combine it on the plate. An incredibly dish. Less
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Dinner at 55 Pochana at 55 Pochana
Local Chinese-Thai eatery. Best to visit late after a night out.
Incredible value for money, not the best food but really tasty.
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Lunch at Yui Kee at Yiu Kee
Lunch at Ao Lei Chau Fish market. Great concept, one browses the food stands in the fish market and selects the fish or seafood one would like to eat, buys it and brings it upstairs where there are little hacker stands which cook it for you.
Super fresh, simple but good cooking and what an experience.
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Dinner at Belon貝隆餐廳 at Belon貝隆餐廳
2nd meal at Belon. This young Chef continues to show some real potential. Apparently there is a plan in place to move the restaurant to another location in order to provide him with appropriate work space.
I am sure that once this is accomplished his journey of refinement will have no limits.
One dish was absolutely outstanding. The drunken pigeon,... More
2nd meal at Belon. This young Chef continues to show some real potential. Apparently there is a plan in place to move the restaurant to another location in order to provide him with appropriate work space.
I am sure that once this is accomplished his journey of refinement will have no limits.
One dish was absolutely outstanding. The drunken pigeon, a Chinese dish translated intelligently into French cuisine. Who would have thoughts that a COLD pigeon really tastes well.
You can only hope that Daniel Calvert can come up with dishes like this in the future. It will be thankfully added to his growing lists of signature like his pies.
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