Melissa F

Started the year in Tokyo with the epic collaboration between Chef Tomoya Kawada of @sazenka and @andrechiang_sg of Sichuan Moon at @wynn.palace! Since Sichuan Moon is undergoing renovations at the moment, Chef Andre will go on a culinary tour around Asia in the first half of 2024 to explore “New Era Chinese Cuisine” in each city. The first stop was Tokyo at 3* Sazenka - a restaurant based on the concept of Wakon-Kansai 和魂漢才 (Japanese spirit with Chinese talent) and a truly unique marriage of Japanese and Chinese cuisine.

First part of our menu:

茶禪華開胃菜三味
(杏仁越光•柚子黄金皮蛋•荔技肉圓）
“Sazenka” 3 Tastes of Starter
(“Koshi-hikari” Rice Almond Soup, Golden Century Egg with Yuzu, Sichuan “Lychee” Flavored Meat Ball)

牛肉焦餅
Numby Beef Pie

麻辣鐘水餃
“Ma La” Lobster “Zhong Dumpling”

煙香鴿子
Smoky Squab

雲白肉片
Traditional Sichuan Cuisine “Sazenka” Style

紅檸檬海蜇皮
Red Lemon Jellyfish

黑白松露雞豆花
Truffle with Traditional Chicken Mousse and Consommé

香辣雞翅
“Xiang La” Chicken Wing

To be continued…
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Sazenka x Sichuan Moon
Tokyo, Japan
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Where Hong Kong meets Tokyo - Italian style with the collaboration of @antimo_maria_merone of @estro.hk and @luca.fantin of @bulgarilucafantintokyo! Centered around seafood, the menu was a symphony of Italian flavors with exclusive dishes created for the event along with Luca’s signature dishes - including my favorite sea urchin pasta and milk dessert!

The menu:

APERITIVO

AORIKA | CAULIFLOWER, BLACK TRUFFLE
by @bulgarilucafantintokyo

LANGOUSTINE | OLIVE OIL, SABAYON, LEMON
by @estro.hk

SPAGHETTI | SEA URCHIN, TOMATO
by @bulgarilucafantintokyo

GNOCCHETTI | HONEY PEAS, SALTED FISH
by @estro.hk

AMADAI | HAMAGURI SHELL, PESCATORE SAUCE
by @bulgarilucafantintokyo

LATTE | IN DIFFERENT TEXTURES
by @bulgarilucafantintokyo

CIOCCOLATO
by @estro.hk

SWEET ENDING
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Estro x Bulgari Il Ristorante Luca Fantin
Central, Hong Kong
#supermelHK #supermelCentral Less

What a hearty meal at The Laksa Club - a pop-up extension of @auor.hkg serving authentic Southeast Asian cuisine by Singaporean chef @edwardvoon74! We all agreed that he’s serving some of the best SE Asian dishes in town with highlights including the fermented shrimp paste chicken wings, spicy cuttlefish with morning glory, black pepper crab, Hainanese chicken rice, and laksa with carabinero prawn! Only available in the 3 private rooms at the restaurant with a minimum of 4 people at HK$888 pp and 2 day’s advance notice.

The menu:

- Salted egg fish skin
- Five-spice pork roll with chestnut and bean-curd skin
- Fermented shrimp paste chicken wings
- Cuttlefish, morning glory
- Malabar black pepper crab
- Sambal pomfret in banana leaf
- Hainanese chicken rice
- Carabinero prawn, laksa noodle
- Coconut, gula Melaka, pandan
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Auor
Wan Chai, Hong Kong
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A night of @champagne_rsrv pairing with Japanese kappo cuisine at @hkwaen! 🥂

The menu:

- Starter -
Snow Queen Crab Sea Urchin Vinegar Jelly
RSRV Cuvee 4.5 Brut NV

- Sashimi -
Premium Seasonal Sashimi (4 kinds)
RSRV Cuvee 4.5 Brut NV

- Soup -
Chrysanthemum Kabu Chicken Prawn Seaweed

- Stewed -
South Africa Abalone, Crab Miso
RSRV Blanc De Blanc MILLÉSIME 2015

- Grilled -
Taro Persimmon Oyster Cheese White Sauce
RSRV Blanc De Blanc MILLESIME 2015

- Meat -
Kagoshima A4 Sukivaki Mash Potato
RSRV Blanc De Noir MILLÉSIME 2014

- Rice -
Snow Crab Claypot Rice Miso Soup
RSRV Lalou MILLÉSIME 2008

- Dessert -
Honey Chips Red Bean Yokan Seasonal Fruit
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Wa-En Kappo
Central, Hong Kong
#supermelHK #supermelCentral Less

Always a joy to be back at one of my favorite restaurants @monorestaurant to try its latest menu! The flavors and cooking by @rchaneton are consistently spot-on and fantastic. As the restaurant approaches 4 years, I look forward to seeing its evolution towards embracing the chef’s Italian roots and local influences while maintaining its South American flair.

Our menu:

Mashua Tartlette
Pickled Mashua with nasturtium emulsion & smoked ancho chilli gel

Confit Carabinero
White corn & blue spirulina

Snow Pea Salad
Tremella mushroom, kiwi & avocado leaf

Homemade Sourdough
Cacao nibs & Spanish Arbequina olive oil from Eva Aguilera

Imperial Langoustine
Expressions of Ecuadorian cacao

‘Monkbread’
Charcoal-grilled Brittany monkfish & Correze veal sweetbread

Challans Duck Breast
Treviso salad, sofrito & barbacoa sauce with cuck-innard rice

Duck Foie Gras Taco
Coriander tortilla & plantain mole

Saffron Sorbet
Hazelnut crumble & Frangelico Sabayon

Taiwanese Cacao Chocolate Textures
Fermented black bean mille-feuille & soy sauce caramel

Alfajor
Argentinian dulce de leche & coconut

Chocolate Truffle
MONO-made Pinatuna cacao dark chocolate & caramelized peanut
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1*, MONO
Central, Hong Kong
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Another new opening I’ve been excited about is @leela.hkg by @chef_manav_tuli (formerly of Chaat at Rosewood)! The modern Indian restaurant offers a culinary journey throughout India’s most influential empires with a unique and playful approach. Notable creations include the Lucknowi Tokri Chaat, Chakundar Oxtail Gosht, Pork Pandi Curry, Flambéed Smoked Butter Chicken, Bone Marrow Briyani and Almond Kulfi!

Our menu:

- STARTERS -
LUCKNOWI TOKRI CHAAT
CHICKEN BAIDA ROTI
AMRITSARI PRAWNS BHAJIA

- TANDOOR & GRILLS -
BLACK PEPPER CHICKEN TIKKA BADAMI FRENCH GUINEA FOWL
TANDOORI BEEF CHOP
PESHWARI NAAN
UNI BUTTER ROGHANI NAAN

- CURRIES & BIRYANI -
CHAKUNDAR OX TAIL GOSHT
SMOKED BUTTER CHICKEN
PORK PANDI CURRY
BONE MARROW BIRYANI
HYDERABAD DAL
TADKA LILY BULB AND SNOW PEAS
PUMPKIN DAHI KADDU
KUMAONI RAITA
GARLIC NAAN

- DESSERT -
ALMOND KULFI
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Leela
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
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The tasting menu at @cristalroombyasp:

- Hokkaido Uni
fermented black beans and Nikka coffey whisky
Chanteclerc apple jelly and nasturtium coulis

- Le Berlingot ASP ©
pasta filled with 24 months aged Comté
Roscoff oignons consommé, Tuber Melanosporum truffle and pink pepper

- Blue Lobster from Brittany
cooked over embers
coral beurre blanc infused with douglas fir and rosemary, carrot voile

- Pigeon from Bresse
marinated with osmanthus and lightlv smoked tonka beans chestnut tartlet, persimmon, confit legs and mustard seed

- St Marcellin Cheese
iced mochi with smoked Madagascar vanilla and Tuber Melanosporum truffle

- Le Millefeuille Blanc
Tahitian vanilla and jasmine jelly
Voatsiperifery pepper cloud
_

The hottest new opening in Hong Kong has got to be @cristalroombyasp - a French fine dining restaurant by renowned female chef @annesophiepic in collaboration with luxury crystal manufacturer @baccarat! The chef holds 10 Michelin stars across the world and is the only female chef in France who has 3 stars at the moment. Located on the 45th floor at Landmark, her new restaurant not only oozes elegance with its mesmerizing crystal displays but also boasts panoramic views of Victoria Harbour. Both lunch and dinner menus are available where diners can try the chef’s modern French cuisine including iconic signatures such as the Le Berlingot pasta and Millefeuille Blanc dessert!
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Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic
Central, Hong Kong
#supermelHK #supermelCentral Less

Last meal in Bangkok this time was at @baantepabkk which has just been newly promoted to 2 Michelin Stars! The chef @tamchudaree had previously worked at @bluehillfarm in New York and continued the farm-to-table concept at her current restaurant - located at a vast compound which used to be her family home. The current 9-course tasting menu takes guests on a culinary journey around Thailand with highlights such as the crab 3 ways, black squid ink noodles and Khao Mok beef with rice!

Our menu:

HEART OF THAILAND: NAM PRIK
South: Crispy Rice Bread, Local Mackerel, Budu Relish, Torch Ginger Flower
North: Noom Chili Rellsh Taco, Fermented Mushrooms, Pork Crackling
E-Sarn: Free Range Chicken, Fermented Fish Relish, Egg Yolk

FROM THE SEA
7 Days Aged Giant Trevally Fish, Murex Conch, Fresh Coconut, Royal Oscietra Caviar

CRAB CRAB CRAB
Soft Shell Crab, Crab Chawanmushl, Yellow Curry, Nampoo

BLACK SQUID INK ‘DONG DANG’ NOODLES
Black Squid Ink Sauce with Lemongrass

ANATOMY OF A RIVER PRAWN
Grilled River Prawn, Smoked Prawn Fat, Burnt Leek, Black Garlic, Prawn Head, Garden Nam Jim Seafood

GREY POMFRET CURRY
Grey Pomfret Fish, Senna Siamea Curry (Gaeng Kee Lek)

TOMATOES OF THAILAND
100% Powered by Plants, Tomatoes, Gooseberry, Macadamia

CHARCOAL GRILLED SLIPPER LOBSTER
Southern Curry, Prawn Fat, Roti

KHAO MOK BEEF
Spiced Baked Rice, Ribeye Beef, Tom Zap Soup

SOUR MANGO, CARAMEL FISH SAUCE

BURNT BANANA LEAF, TARO, PINK GUAVA
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2*, Baan Tepa
Bangkok, Thailand
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A brilliant meal at @restaurant.potong by @chef.pam in Bangkok! The progressive Thai-Chinese cuisine was well-executed and one of the highlights was definitely the palm tree series where 5 little bites each represented a different part from palm juice to palm seed, palm meat, palm apple and palm sugar. Desserts wise, the chrysanthemum with cacao nibs was easily the favorite!

Our tasting menu:

- Kombucha of the day
- Potong’s charcuteries & collaboration wine
- Kitchen bite / potato’s shell / taiwanese chicken mousse / thai basil
- DEAR | phang district orange / wild chrysanthemum honey / salted plum leaf
- BORN | palm-meat bun / cashew nut pate
- IN LOVE | marinated palm seed / shaoxing wine / cilantro oil
- DETAILS | palm “jao” / 5-spices / chewguk
- MEMORIES | toddy palm sugar lollipop
- GRATEFUL | ‘baan raj” palm juice / burnt bamboo
- ALIVE | “surat thani” oyster / black squid / black pearl
- REINCARNATED | grated shrimp yolk / yin-yang egg noodle / morel / caviar
- BEAUTIFUL | blue crab / mud crab roe emulsion / black pepper jam / crab butter bread / crab broth
- SACRED | chinese date / carrot tuile
- PROUD | pomfret fish rillette
- HUMBLE | skeleton / dehydrated herbs / lapsang souchong
- FAVORITE | dry aged surat thani white pomfret / kapi / tamarind
- LAYERS OF FLAVORS | inside-out pomelo
- HISTORY | chrysanthemum / cacao nibs
- LEGACY | the remake of thai-chinese street desserts
- THANK YOU | fortune
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1*, Potong
Bangkok, Thailand
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The Concrete Jungle Food menu at @samrubsamrubthai:

SNACK
Bambara ground nut with salt and white pepper

STARTER
Deep fried rice field crab with garlic and grilled crab roll in the shell served with asian citrus

Deep fried great white sheatfish stuffed with shrimp paste and turmeric

Grilled spotted knifefish and sea snail dumpling in bamboo served with pickled phak naam (lasia spinosa)

SAMRUB - MAIN COURSE
Laab of tiger prawn with yellow eggplant and mint, served with fried shrimps

Hot and sour soup of wild boar with madan (sour cucumber)

Smoked chili relish with pricklv ash-tree berry with smoked crab meat, served with boiled vegetables and grilled fire spiny fish (eel) and bee larvae

Jungle curry of oyster blade beef with manila tamarind, cumin leaves and hot basil

Grilled braised baby chicken with fish sauce served with fresh chili and lime sauce

DESSERT
Young rice pudding and sago noodle with caramelized banana and Thai local coconut curd cake

Congratulations on the 1 Michelin Star!
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1*, Samrub Samrub Thai
Bangkok, Thailand
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