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travels for friends, food and wine - in exactly this order
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San Sebastian, Spain
Born
July 21
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Dinner at 京祇園ねぎ焼 粉 Kona at 京祇園ねぎ焼 粉
Fantastic Okonomiyaki place around the corner from my apartment. Open late until 2am, always full with a Chef who is super friendly and very funny.
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Back at our local Yakiniku in Kyoto. This time we were very lucky, maybe because the president of Onishi also turned up.
We got three different cuts from the phantom beef, the Murasawa beef.
Usually the beef is named after the prefecture where it is coming from, not so Murasawa. The beef is so specific that it is called after the manufacturer. There... More
Back at our local Yakiniku in Kyoto. This time we were very lucky, maybe because the president of Onishi also turned up.
We got three different cuts from the phantom beef, the Murasawa beef.
Usually the beef is named after the prefecture where it is coming from, not so Murasawa. The beef is so specific that it is called after the manufacturer. There are three bloodlines which get traced pedantically in order to select the best cows for breeding. The cows are much older than normal when slaughtered and the annual contingent is only 80(!) cows. A rare treat which you only can get in very few places in Japan and no where overseas.
Whether we got the Murasawa beef because the president was there or vice versa, we don't know but we were very happy. Less
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Lunch at Hirasansou (比良山荘) at Hirasanso
There is Hirasansou and then there is Hirasansou in the fall. You sit in your room, overlooking the garden where the little creek creates soothing noises and the trees display a varying shade or red and yellow. And then of course there is Matsutake in combination with the wild bear and boar and one of the best dashis in the world.
You just sit back,... More
There is Hirasansou and then there is Hirasansou in the fall. You sit in your room, overlooking the garden where the little creek creates soothing noises and the trees display a varying shade or red and yellow. And then of course there is Matsutake in combination with the wild bear and boar and one of the best dashis in the world.
You just sit back, relax and let the Master cook for you and tell you when to take out the bear or boar. It melts in your mouth and you feel happy. Less
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Squashed between a four lane high way and a busy rail line lies the restaurant of 松山照三 Shozo Matsuyama and his lovely wife. Trained as engineer he migrated into the hospitality industry and now runs this one star Guide Michelin Kaiseki restaurant. Having a technical background and being young certainly helps to communicate with foreign customers... More
Squashed between a four lane high way and a busy rail line lies the restaurant of 松山照三 Shozo Matsuyama and his lovely wife. Trained as engineer he migrated into the hospitality industry and now runs this one star Guide Michelin Kaiseki restaurant. Having a technical background and being young certainly helps to communicate with foreign customers like myself as they provide an English menu and he operates a translating device which he uses to give you further explanations about the menu and his dishes. He also appears to be quite entrepreneurial as he has, besides his restaurant, an ice cream store and a sake brewery.
The place is tiny, maybe 8-9 seats (plus a private room) and spartanly furnished. What is striking is that Shozo-san’s wife, although dressed in a traditional kimono, not only does the service but also gets actively involved in the cooking.
The menu is composed as a traditional Kaiseki menu with an emphasis on seasonal products from the region. The quality of the ingredients are superb, as I can attest after tasting the matsutake, and the cooking precise. There are some very thoughtful touches like when he gives you a plate of root vegetables after a perfectly, spongy eel to “clean your breath”. His chawanmushi with blue crab and Ikura was one of the best I had this season. However, the outstanding dish of this meal was the Shaba-shabu of matsutake and nodoguro. Cooked in individual pots under the close supervision of the chef himself the fish, boiled for a few seconds in the matsutake broth, tasted exquisite. Accompanying the rice he has a variety for condiments but also one paste which he produced in baking and crushing tuna without using any gelatine. This paste mixed into the rice creates a beautiful combination which is very tasty.
A wonderful experience with a couple who live the Japanese hospitality, the Omotenashi. It is well worth to take the short train ride from either Kokura or Fukuoka. Less
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Lunch at Adimori at Ajimori
Number 1 Shabu shabu restaurant in Kagoshima. On the ground floor one can have a quick tonkatsu but upstairs there are the tatami rooms where you can get your fix of shabu shabu.
The soup is superbly seasoned and the pork cooks in seconds just to then melt in your mouth. The raw egg, whipped in your bowl and the assortment of vegetables add to... More
Number 1 Shabu shabu restaurant in Kagoshima. On the ground floor one can have a quick tonkatsu but upstairs there are the tatami rooms where you can get your fix of shabu shabu.
The soup is superbly seasoned and the pork cooks in seconds just to then melt in your mouth. The raw egg, whipped in your bowl and the assortment of vegetables add to the composition of great flavours.
All of this for less than €50. Make sure to drop in when here before walking down to the Kagoshima waterfront to enjoy a coffee and the marvellous view on Sakurajima. Less
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Dinner at CAINOYA (カイノヤ) at Ristorante CAINOYA
The places is clearly mislabelled as Italian. It is far away from anything you would expect in an Italian fine dining restaurant. Takayoshi-san is pushing boundaries while combining cutting edge techniques with traditional forms of cooking.
He cooks the Shintama first in a low pressure cooker, then he continues the procedure in a thermos oven using... More
The places is clearly mislabelled as Italian. It is far away from anything you would expect in an Italian fine dining restaurant. Takayoshi-san is pushing boundaries while combining cutting edge techniques with traditional forms of cooking.
He cooks the Shintama first in a low pressure cooker, then he continues the procedure in a thermos oven using the Robochon in-and-out method. At the very end the outside gets caramilzed using high heat from the binchotan grill.
Some outstanding dishes like the Shintama and the sawara.
Great place.
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Lunch at Otsuka at Otsuka
There is a good story. Work for a large meat distributor to learn the business, then open your own steak house which serves only the meat from your former company. Become so successful that you are only open for lunch during the week. And have a massive line outside your place which is now custom built to your purpose featuring super modern architecture... More
There is a good story. Work for a large meat distributor to learn the business, then open your own steak house which serves only the meat from your former company. Become so successful that you are only open for lunch during the week. And have a massive line outside your place which is now custom built to your purpose featuring super modern architecture combining wood, glass and concrete.
Meet Steak Otsuka in Arashiayma.
Wonderful cuts and sometimes the famous Murasawa sirloin. Pure pleasure which cannot be improved on. Go there and hope for the best regarding the waiting list. Less
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Wine tasting dinner with some of the best wine producer in South Africa:
Thomas Webb from Thelema
Christo Le Riche from Le Riche
Van Zyl du Toit from Allee Blue
Heidi Kritzinger from Kanonkop
Even though the emphasis was on wines, the food was astonishingly great. I was particularly impressed by the old Kanonkop (1991, 1995 and 1998)
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Dinner at The Test Kitchen at The Test Kitchen
Chef-proprietor Luke Dale-Robert's Test Kitchen is certainly one of the most inventive kitchen in the country and maybe even the world.
Freed from cooking "his country's cuisine" he draws inspiration from all over the world.
His technique is excellent, the flavours strong and the combinations sometimes daring. However, besides the sometimes lack... More
Chef-proprietor Luke Dale-Robert's Test Kitchen is certainly one of the most inventive kitchen in the country and maybe even the world.
Freed from cooking "his country's cuisine" he draws inspiration from all over the world.
His technique is excellent, the flavours strong and the combinations sometimes daring. However, besides the sometimes lack of focus (the wagyu carpaccio was overloaded with condiments and flavours) it works very well.
Their pairings are well chosen from South African wineries and combine nicely.
The prices are unlike anything in South Africa and compare with international levels.
All in, very good restaurant, maybe 2 star level, worth the trouble getting the reservation. Less
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