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 Hairy Crab Dinner at Sézanne at SÉZANNE
First time Shanghai crab dinner at Sezanne. Some excellent dishes. Stand out of the evening was the SHANGHAI HAIRY CRAB MARINATED IN YELLOW WINE FROM JURA WITH KOSHIHIKARI RICE. Wonderful combination of flavours and texture.
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Lunch at Sushi Saito at Sushi Saitou (鮨 さいとう)
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Dinner at Alter Ego at ALTER EGO (ALTER EGO)
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Fans of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA are surely fans of Jerome Waag, who moved from California to Tokyo in 2016 to set up this place. They have a huge map of Japan on the back wall where they mark the location of their various suppliers which they groomed over the years.
The food is changing all the time, it is European with Japanese accents well executed... More
Fans of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA are surely fans of Jerome Waag, who moved from California to Tokyo in 2016 to set up this place. They have a huge map of Japan on the back wall where they mark the location of their various suppliers which they groomed over the years.
The food is changing all the time, it is European with Japanese accents well executed and tasty. And the prices are very kind. Less
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Dinner at Hiyama (樋山) at Hiyama (樋山)
Unbelievable matsuktake orgy. It started with a Matsutake chawanmushi and continued from there to the grand finale, the wagyu Matsutake shabushabu . The only non Matsutake dish was two pieces of a beautiful, really delicious tune, Akami and Otoro.
This place is one hour by Metro from the center of Tokyo but it is truly worth the journey.
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Dinner at Hijikata (土方) at Hijikata (土方)
When I think of classic Kaiseki I think of Kyoto. However there are for me two places not in Kyoto which are at least as good as the top Kaiseki places in Kyoto. Kataori in Kanazawa and Hijikata in Nagoya. (I am sure there are more, but I have not been to them).
Another fall menu with seasonal flavors, Matsutake and chestnuts. The precision of the... More
When I think of classic Kaiseki I think of Kyoto. However there are for me two places not in Kyoto which are at least as good as the top Kaiseki places in Kyoto. Kataori in Kanazawa and Hijikata in Nagoya. (I am sure there are more, but I have not been to them).
Another fall menu with seasonal flavors, Matsutake and chestnuts. The precision of the cooking and the restraint in flavoring is always astonishing.
The ise ebi (Japanese spiny lobster; 伊勢蝦) was barely cooked and served with a sauce of the liver and other inner parts. A great combination. The sashimi course was tai and ika. Great chewiness in the tai and immense sweetness in the ika. The Matsutake was just grilled gently and served with a little bit of salt. One needs to be very confident to restrain oneself to not add something to this. It wasn’t needed it worked by itself. The main was another variation of the fall them. A shabushabu pot. One was asked to put a roll of wagyu, finely sliced and filled with thinly sliced Matsutake, for 15 seconds into the fragrant dashi and then turn it around for another 15 seconds. Unbelievable!
As always at Hijikata, one gets to eat two variations of the rice, this time it was, of course, Matsutake and Kuri (chestnuts). Very different but equally tasty.
It is so hard to get a reservation there, you basically have to be there to make one. The lady manages using an old fashioned diary book. Every one of the regulars books when they leave. There will be never an opening. So beg your friends who have booking rights to take you there. Less
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Collaboration Herzog Jan & ODE at Ode
I am not a big fan of four hand dinner etc as most of the time the visiting chef is handicapped by the sourcing and space and the receiving chef cannot produce what he usually can do.
Sometimes it does work though and so was this one.
Gert De Mangeleer, who changed his concept totally when he got tired of cooking for 40 people three stars everyday,... More
I am not a big fan of four hand dinner etc as most of the time the visiting chef is handicapped by the sourcing and space and the receiving chef cannot produce what he usually can do.
Sometimes it does work though and so was this one.
Gert De Mangeleer, who changed his concept totally when he got tired of cooking for 40 people three stars everyday, knows how to cook. He also is bold and daring as to serve to Japanese audience mostly Japanese inspired dishes.
His first caviar (of three) dishes was a fake otoro with uni, herbs and flowers. The fake otoro was actually a minced hamachi mixed with beef fat. Interesting and very tasty. The main, also by Gert De Mangeleer, was a plate with various wagyu from Kagoshima some grilled and some raw and the charred with binchotan on the plate itself. Same, interesting and tasty.
The wine pairing contained nothing really special but considering the overall price not surprising.
Overall a very pleasant evening and judging from a lively chatter one which everybody enjoyed . Less
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Dinner at 小熊飯店 at Koguma Hanten
Matsutake and Shanghai crab dinner. Peak and very expensive Matsutake featured in the starting soup, in raw sliced form as a started and with the main course.
Start of the vending however was Shanghai crab, each person got two of them, a female one year old and one younger. Fantastic eating.
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Dinner at Hatou at Hato (波濤)
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- Gerhard Huber added a new meal Lunch at Shunji at Sushi Shunji