Peter Verey

Amaru has always had a distinctive style . Native and foraged ingredients, light sauces, sustainable , expert level cuisson . It is really the only fine dining venue that I feel compelled to visit when in Melbourne .

some of the highlight components were

- bunya nut tofu , perfect texture and the nut flavour was pronounced .

- Mud Crab with zucchini chawanmushi was the dish of the night , layers of zucchini studded the dish, particularly taken with the chawanmushi and the zucchini ponzu

- The cooking of both the WA Marron and the Jurassic quail was faultless

-The final dessert with a koji and Davidson plum ice cream and rainforest cherries was utterly brilliant and definitely my front runner for dessert of the year .

Menu below

Heirloom Melons / Bunya Nut / Sunrise Lime

Mud Crab / Heirloom Squash / Basil

Western Australian Marron / Seaweed / Bitter Lettuce / Clams

Quail / Quince / Pumpkin Seed Miso

Dry Aged Pork / Muntries / Warrigal Green Kimchi / Fermented Pear

Bees Wax / Camel Milk / Green Tomato / Queen Garnet Plum

Rainforest Cherry / Koji / Davidson Plum /saltbush Less

My favourite restaurant in Melbourne , faultless pasta with terrific texture and amazing emulsions. Always number #1 place to revisit when back in Melbourne .

Rigatoni with nettle sauce , red pepper sauce and pistachios . The texture of the rigatoni was firm yet pillow like , the duality of the sauces combined beautifully.

Risotto with herb oil and super tender mussels and abalone .

Mafaldine with sher Wagyu shank and pickled chilli sauce .

Before the pasta the ubiquitous Australian kingfish crudo , this timed paired with Geraldton wax oil , grapes and caviar . Less

Have always been happy to avoid sushi in NYC on previous visits as it has always been the most expensive global sushi market . But since I have recently been diagnosed with a sushi addiction , a sushi meal became inevitable .

A very enjoyable experience at the hands of Shion @69leonardst , the neta is extremely pure , limited use of soy or any other flavours and the fish is left to shine. The Shari is intensely polished and has a near sake like quality , which also adds to the naked cleanliness of the bite .

Highlights were the tasting of two types of Murasaki uni - sweet from Hokkaido and briny from Kumamoto .
Superb Kegani crab with aged Japanese vinegar
And my favourite nigiri was the seared Kamatoro - absolutely melting .

Chef Shion was also so impressed with my Japanese fish knowledge that he asked whether I worked in the seafood industry so thanks to @jtfoodcation for the maritime education !!

Kuwe and tsubugai sashimi
Grilled Mehikari with green onion
Murasaki uni tasting - hokkkaido and Kumamoto
Grilled scallop from iwate with shimishi pepper
Kegani crab from Hokkaido with aged vinegar
Amadai with daikon radish

Yazu (young Yellowtail )
Sawara ( Spanish mackerel )
Kamasu ( barracuda )
Chutoro
Otoro
Yari ika ( spear squid )
Seared Kamatoro
Aji - horse mackerel
Anago
Toro and onion handroll

Tamago Less

Have a bit of travel coming up the next little bit so think this was the last sushi meal for about 2 months 😢.
Fun night with chef Osamu explaining the process and thinking about the nigiri he curates , alternating textures and temperature, he tries to give a unique omakase experience .

Loved the contrast of otoro from both the belly and the cheek , and the Nodoguro barely touched with flame to wake up the oil on the skin is always a pleasure .

Full menu below

Scallop and shrimp with caviar
Ark shell clam sashimi
Charcoal grilled Hamachi
Abalone cutlet
Seared Snapper
Snow crab and tofu in dashi
Nigiri sequence -
Cheek Otoro
Belly Otoro
Marinated akami
Iwashi
Uni
Nodoguro
Kuruma ebi
Anago
Toro handroll
Shizuoka Melon Less

Extremely stripped back minimalist Scandinavian cooking which nails the brief as it doesn’t leave you wanting at all .

Maine lobster is amplified by roast lobster butter , a white beet custard and a foam of salted white asparagus .

Live Cape cod scallop is draped over Japanese turnip with a broth of roasted onion and black currant leaf bringing the Unami .

Grilled Norwegian langoustine tail is paired with langoustine shell and red gooseberry sauce , leans sweet but stays in the pocket .

Favorite dish was a puck of Hake with beluga caviar , a vivid Swedish dark beer and dill was greedily mopped up with some barley rolls .

Dry aged quail in a pure broth of truffle and summer onion.

Very fresh milk sorbet, with grass fed cream and meadowsweet was a soothing finale before some terrific petit fours. Less

French food in the hands of Japanese chefs is one of my fav fine dining genres , however this leant a little more bistro than I anticipated.
Fact is there was nothing wrong with the meal whatsoever just a case of my expectations not being correct .

A grilled Spanish carabinero prawn was full of flavour and the sourdough bread helped greatly in mopping up the juices .

3 fine specimens of white asparagus were paired with a white miso espuma , a satisfying if not exciting dish .

Cuttlefish tartare were bound and formed into balls and deep fried with kataifi pastry . Perhaps this dish was a nod to HK street food. I must confess I prefer the local HK cuttlefish paste balls but did enjoy this dish regardless .

Last course was a solid puck of braised monkfish with a ragu of barley , chorizo , green olive and fish broth. This was perfect Provençal comfort food . Less

Came to Shanghai but had outstanding Cantonese food @102house_shanghai .

Originating from Foshan, the restaurant opened in Shanghai in 2021 and has allready obtained Michelin ⭐️ ⭐️ and a 40th ranking in Asia’s 50 best .

The only option is a seasonal set menu which last night ran to 21 dishes over 12 courses .

While most dishes were familiar to me and I have seen them on menus in HK or Macau , the quality of the execution was eye opening. In particular all the stir fry dishes were judged to the optimum level , with proteins and vegetables supremely tender , juicy and flavourful.

Photos attached represent some of my favourite courses .

Deep fried caul fat surrounded a jumble of oysters and mushrooms , the rough texture of the caul far wrapping gave terrific texture .

Pigeon and scallop was a stir fry combo that I haven’t encountered, the pigeon was juicy and slippery , the scallop supple and sweet .

Wok fried shrimp was served with Chinese onion and sweet peas , clean and fresh .

The Lobster with shrimp roe was one of the best examples of lobster cooking I have ever had , the meat just seperated from the shell and was juicy yet cooked thru .

Crispy chicken was deep fried but also deeply smoked for a great contrast .

Sweet and sour pork is the signature dish , the pork is pork belly and is crisp as glass, the fruit changes seasonally while it was pineapple on this occasion , other variations feature peach, ginger and strawberry.

A coral grouper was cooked with mild shrimp paste , ginger and tofu skin , fun dish to get messy with .

The final savoury course was were rice noodles in fish broth and geoduck , milky and cleansing .

Full menu in comments .. Less

A fun yakitori spot in Chinatown , Kono uses Amish chickens which are grown to up to 3kg resulting in large thighs and good amounts of fat , the chef here can break a chicken down into 52 unique skewers for yakitori. Seasoning is generally quite judicious and cooking is a little lighter than experienced in Osaka .

Favs were the chicken tail skewer which was vastly different to the previous fried tail “nuggets” and the soft kneebone where you bite through the cartilage but the surrounding flesh is ridiculously juicy .

Torigara with sudaichi and matsutake
Tofu and pumpkin custard with shiso and yuzu and oscetra caviar
Bonjiri/ fried chicken tail
Monaka with chicken liver pate and summer truffles

Bonjiri - chicken tail
Chicken heart
Kashiwa - inner chicken thigh
Soft kneebone
Manganji peppers
Harami - chicken belly
Chicken oyster wrapped in skin
Grilled fig with white miso
Kushikatsu with apple compote
Chicken thigh and duck breast Tsukune
Chicken wing
Chicken shoulder
Udon with fortified chicken broth
Black sugar creme brûlée Less

When you go to Shanghai and while having lunch you find out that the chef from said restaurant will be in Macau next week 🤦‍♂️. ( Go check out the 4 hand dinner at Imperial Court April 26-28 )

But no regrets as was a delicious lunch @meetthebund.2019 .

Specialising in Fujian cuisine , loved the clarity of flavour in all the dishes .

Small Fujian surf clams were flavour packed with a chilli vinegar dressing , could happily slurp up dozens.

Chilled tofu skin with Celtuce was a super refreshing starter .

Angus beef was cooked with dry spices and mixed with a tangle of chilli threads and dried tangerine peel . Sweet and spicy ..

Miniature grouper was served 2 ways , first in a porridge that was so velvety , it really gave New England chowder vibes and was delicious .
Secondly the grouper was briefly scalded with hot oil and served atop a bed of seaweed , quality ingredient led cooking .

Finally a “mystery “ green veg stir fried with red pepper and garlic , great fragrance and the vegetable was perfectly set . Less

I last had @elzer.olivier ‘s food at his previous restaurant concept Seasons ( now with a branch in Taiwan ) in 2015 . Fair to say that @lenvolhk is a completely different style of dining and the execution is first class .

Razor clams and caviar kick off the meal , a very pleasant mouthful and I particularly enjoyed the pressed caviar cream that serves as the base of the dish and really lengthens the flavours on the palate .

The signature dish is Hokkaido Uni with Sicilian gamberoni and crispy fennel , it is a worthy signature, if I had to have a quibble it is simply the power of the chive garnish , the allium essence does interfere a little with the other delicate flavours.

A morel and veal tarte tatin is next paired with a limousin veal sweetbread and yellow wine sauce . This is exactly as delicious as it reads on the menu and anytime I see sweetbread as an option I am beyond excited .

Sea bass is coated with a tomato sauce blended with Tel Aviv spice mix , a burrata sauce , eggplant puree and confit garlic . Very familiar Mediterranean flavours delivered with aplomb .

A duo of Australian F9 Wagyu oyster blade is the last savoury course , one half is charcoal grilled with a vadouvan sauce , but I particularly enjoyed the braised section with potato purée .

The cheese course supplement is a must , I chose all the strongest funkiest cheeses , and the Munster finished with a plum vinegar rind is a must order .

Pre dessert was a unique hibiscus and grapefruit combination.

Before a classic Sicilian Pistachio soufflé with La Gauloise liqueur ice cream , faultless . Less