Peter Verey

My 4th visit to @ta_vie_hk and the first one that didn’t occur in winter , loved the entree into spring flavours and I think this is my favourite menu here so far .

Dish of the night was a 20/20 stunner . Steamed abalone , Guinea fowl and Yunnan morel mushroom were combined with a consommé from the 3 ingredients. This was incredibly clean and flavourful, the broth had a delicious roasted quality but was certainly more broth than jus yet still packed a punch . The morel stuffed with Guinea fowl farce was terrific .

Prior to this the meal kicked off with a very Mediterranean preparation of Hotaru squid and padrón pepper with tabouli salad chorizo, fresh lemon zest. Nice bright start !

Japanese cockle and white asparagus, were served whole and in sauce form , nicely amplifying the flavours .

A signature dish of House-made pasta
with deep-fried Sakura shrimp from Shizuoka and Spring cabbage. Sweet and soulful .

Poached Oyster from nagasaki with soft shell made from celeriac and a Oscietra caviar butter sauce. There is no doubt this dish is prepared to highlight the RSRV Blanc de Blanc and it’s a flawless pairing .

Charcoal grilled pigeon from Bresse, France (medium rare) with leek, black truffle, horseradish, sesame oil, lemon confit, had this dish 6 weeks ago and it didn’t blow me away , but somehow this is now a highlight . The cuisson of the pigeon is terrific , the charcoal flavours well balanced by the condiments and garnishes .

Japanese white strawberry with pistachio cream pistachio sable, white meringue is a nice palate freshener and once again a great pairing with Ruinart rose .

Chocolate crêpe soufflé, with black cherry jam,
Tonka beans flavored ice cream is always a great way to finish the meal here , rich but portion size keeps you feeling comfortable. Less

Business lunch is a good introduction to Lai Ching Heen , flagship Michelin ⭐️ ⭐️ at the Regent .
I haven’t been inside this hotel since I stayed here in 2003 and it has had a very impressive makeover . Lai Ching Heen is located on the ground floor with a great view across the harbour .
High standard of Cantonese cuisine and service is a notch or two above what you usually encounter in Cantonese restaurants in HK.

Chilled South African Fresh Abalone and Jelly Fish

Tender abalone with jelly fish and a cider vinegar jelly . Good start ..

Steamed Crabmeat Dumpling with Assorted Vegetables
Steamed Lobster and Sea Urchin Dumpling with Sarcodon Aspratus Mushroom
Steamed Scallop Dumpling with Homemade XO Chili Sauce

Excellent trio of dumplings , loved the scallop with XO the most .

Double-boiled Sea Cucumber with Russula Mushroom and Conpoy in Supreme Soup- prefer sea cucumber to be soft and giving rather than crunchy but some quality conpoy really stole the show here .

Braised Fish Maw and Tofu Sachets with Seafood in Oyster Jus- this was outstanding , great texture on the fish maw , thick but balanced sauce and tofu stuffed with seafood farce , resembling a softened wonton . Delicious and memorable !

Wok-fried Kagoshima Wagyu and Assorted Mushrooms with Homemade XO Chili Sauce- have had many versions of this dish and here the larger sized cubes of Wagyu really played a significant role . This allowed more beef fat to release on the palate and the interplay of the fat with the XO really made it sing . A new standard for this dish .

Fried Rice with Diced Roasted Duck, Chicken, Crabmeat, Conpoy, Mushroom and Bamboo Shoot
Wrapped in Lotus Leaf- protein ingredients weren’t really all that discernible but not grumbling about fried rice !
Double-boiled Sweetened Dried Lungan Soup with Japanese Ginkgo Nuts and Peach Gum- still have t found a redeeming feature for ginkgo nuts ..

Baked Egg Tartlette with Gum Tragacanth Less

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

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

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

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

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

After many years of opening restaurants for Joel Robuchon in Japan and beyond , Chef Yosuke Suga opened up Sugalabo to universal acclaim . Now an invitation only restaurant , it is perhaps the most revered address for western dining in Japan .

Having eaten at many Robuchon around the world , it is clear that Suga has his own distinct style . Some nods to classics permeate the menu but foremost the cooking is confident and personal .

Despite having around 7-8 staff , Chef is extremely hands on , doing the majority of the cooking , plating and diner dish descriptions himself .
Instructions are given on how to eat each dish and our dining group was admonished several times for being unable to follow simple instructions! However it’s all in good spirit and Chef Suga had plenty of swagger and charisma .

A series of snacks culminated with a plate of 24 month Ham from Mr.Tada , a very limited producer of quality ham . The ham was thin, transparent and glided down your throat and basically melted .

Saga oysters - a generous trio were served with prized seaweed on which they feed on , a fun take .

High quality Foie Gras was paired with a potato salad , the potatoes had been aged for over a year in a snow cave . This was an old school but refined diah.

Two large discs of raw Hokkaido scallop were the drown atop a quenelle of scallop mousse which in turn was stuffed with abundant caviar . Rounding out the dish was a moat of Scallop roe beurre Blanc

Kinki from Hokkaido was unctuous, served with black truffle, daikon and a Kinki Shirako and dashi .

The Satsuma Wagyu was the dish of the night , tenderloin which amazingly had the texture of brisket , a luscious morel mushroom jus , and a light but banging Morel and Asparagus gratin.

The off - menu Japanese curry is a Sugalabo trademark , you can choose the size of your portion, and not being a Japanese curry fan , I chose the smallest option. This was a mistake as the curry sauce was redolent in individual spices and terrific .

Pre dessert was a mint sorbet , pomelo sorbet , and rice wine jelly with pomelo pieces . Great palate adjustment.

Strawberry/Rhubarb compote with Sake sorbet completed a memorable meal 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