Hong Kong - Hana Sakazuki 花盃日本料理

It was a good night to be at Hana Sakazuki.  Even with our ferocious appetites, we couldn't exhaust the selection at the sushi counter.  The unique time in nature where seasons change (in this case spring to summer) means nature offers up the produce from both seasons.  As we move into the season of shell fish, we were therefore lucky to get a lot of fish still that was really good.

I won't go as far as to say Hana Sakazuki is my Japanese canteen but it is an awesome place to go to for the best and freshest sashimi, and at decent value.  Just make sure you're lucky enough to get a place at the counter since the chefs are a real friendly and chatty bunch.  They love sharing your drinks with you too. 

Here are highlights from the evening.

Fresh oyster from Hokkaido

Okinawan sea grapes salad

Scallop 2 ways - with crab paste and with sea urchin

"Right mouth" fish

Kinmeidai

Octopus - suction tentacle and flesh with sweet mustard miso

Chilled but not frozen shrimp - yes there is a difference

I missed the name of this semi-fatty but sweet fish.

Grilled fish roe

Yellow tail amberjack with Yuzu pepper

Deep fried Botan shrimp head

Grilled Botan shrimp

Missed the name of this one - blow torched to lend a smokiness to the fat. Ponzu reliefs the fattiness

Silver cod 

Hokkaido sea urchin

Katsuo

Akamutsu - blow torched

Grilled ox tongue

I've never been disappointed by a meal here.  They are only limited by shipments which they bring in everyday in time for dinner.  There are rarely limitations here.  Perhaps there were limitations in the immediate wake of the tragic tsunami last year, but it's more than recovered then thanks to a fervent regular crowd of customers.  Keep them coming, I say, and keep supporting Japan by eating Japanese.

2/F, Ming An Plaza Phase II

No. 8 Sunning Road

Causeway Bay

Tel: +852-2577 9799

Hong Kong - iDelicious 好知味菜館

Once in a while, you find a restaurant which resonates with your past and brings a certain familiarity that is welcome.  iDelicious reminds me of many a Chinese restaurant I've dined at on the mainland, which tries to bring you the chef's take on the food that is representative of the cuisine of popular cities like Beijing, the greater Shanghai area and of course spicy Sichuan.

The place isn't fancy, like those many mainland eateries, but was comfortable with the air-con working overtime.  The exhaust isn't the best since we came out still smelling like dinner afterwards.  But the servers were a fun and friendly bunch, egging you on to order the specials while trying to do so via a witty repartee.

We got a private room, which looked more like a store room with space for a table of 12.  No ventilation, no decor, just a large table with chairs to accommodate us all.  We sat away from the main dining area which boasted apple green walls and black and whites of old Hong Kong.

What to order:

口水花甲 Steamed clams with a Sichuanese soy/sesame sauce

Served cool, this will as the Chinese name suggests, get you salivating immediately.  Not as spicy as its true Sichuanese cousin, this still packed a punch and is an excellent starter.

酒醉鵝肝 Goose liver in Huadiao wine

This was another awesome starter.  The liver was so smooth and captured the essence of the Huadiao perfectly, with which it was easily to have quite a few pieces.  If you have a big group, you'd probably do better friendship wise, if you have 2 orders.

酒醉乳鴿 Pigeon in Huadiao wine

If for some reason you don't like liver, there is a pigeon version.  But really no match for the liver.

菜乾豬肺湯 Dried bokchoy and pig's lung soup

An old Cantonese fave, they did this one pretty perfectly.  While it may sound gross to the uninitiated, this is really a richly packed soup full of umami flavors one would not ordinarily experience.  This is the combination of sun-dried vegetables, lots of lean pork and the slightly crunchy slightly fatty slightly chewy goodness of lung.  Even if you don't eat any of the ingredients (not uncommon) I'll bet you will enjoy the soup itself.

紳士雞 Gentleman's chicken

The signature of the restaurant and a great photo opportunity.  More a novelty than anything else, I've had better roast chicken elsewhere.  Not bad but perhaps compared to other things on the menu, it may not be what I'd order on a repeat visit unless I was bringing first-timers.

Other dishes that weren't bad but not a wow:

Crispy Brisket

This was lightly battered and deep fried, to retain a tender brisket inside.  Enjoyable.

Stir fried Hangzhou Tiger Chillies with thinly sliced pork and scrambled eggs

Good with a bowl of rice and there's enough heat to keep tongues wagging, that is if you're brave enough to eat the chillies too.

大澳三寶 Deep fried vegetable trio

This was a Chinese take on yasai tempura - with long beans, eggplant and yam.  Definitely a fun way to eat your vegetables even if not the healthiest.

水煮魚 Sichuan fish pot in hot oil

The taste on this wasn't too bad, obviously milder than in Sichuan, but for some reason, the consistency was a tad thick and gooey.  The fish wasn't bad but it was actually the mung bean noodles slathered in the flavored oil that was the addictive part of things.  An "ok".

While execution wasn't perfect in every instance, the variety here made for an enjoyable experience.  A great option if you're in the vicinity.  And if you're into name dropping, the chef is apparently the apprentice of a famous chef from an established Chinese resto group in Hong Kong and has won quite a few awards.

G/F, Wang Fung Building
31A-B Chi Kiang Street
To Kwa Wan
Tel: +852-2364 1220

Singapore - Pepenero

Pepenero is the newish Italian restaurant, in the also newish food enclave that is Telok Ayer, on Stanley Street to be precise.  Shophouses which used to be in the general trading business, dried goods or provision stores are now trendy restaurants, patiserries and bars, giving the CBD in Singapore yet another option for dining out. 

The setting within is modern yet an unusual choice of olive green walls gives it a slightly electic finish, but comtemporised by large black and whites.  High ceilings provide an airy feel although the place feels that much more spartan because there is so much room overhead and there is little between the tables and the wood lined ceiling. 

Service is professionally friendly and servers are more than able to make recomendations, which is perfect since there aren't asterisks on the menu to indicate what's good.  It's not a huge menu but there is something for everyone.  The map in the menu showcasing dishes off the menu as specialties from different regions in Italy was a nice touch.

Bread Basket with Olive and Sundried Tomato Tapanades

A tennis workout prior meant I wolfed down the bread and breadsticks pretty quickly.  Bread was a nice chewy texture although a tad too airy.  Bread sticks in contrast had pepenero and were dense.  The 2 tapenades made for great alternates.  Table olive oil was decent although the balsamic was thin and too tart for my liking.


Roast Octopus with mashed potatoes, olives and tomatoes

Quite the piece de resistance.  Octopus was grilled right, with a hint of smokiness but not overly done to be chewy.  And coupled with a milky mash, given acidity from the olives, then sweetness from the cherry tomatoes, quite perfect really.

Linguini with clams, sea urchin and Bottarga

What looked like anaemia on a dish came smelling and tasting like the sea, only sweeter.  The combination of clams and sea urchin seem to work, giving the broth a sea sweetness which was quite addictive.  I lost the last spoonful and a half to our server since I was distracted and am still thinking about what could have been.  Pasta was competently al dente but it was really all about the broth.

Milk-fed lamb chops Milanese style

This was a remix of the classic Veal Milanese.  Well breaded and well deep fried.  I still prefer veal but this was definitely a very close call, especially if you're a lamb fan.  The balsamic vinegar based sauce on the bottom added a nice balance of sweet and sour, and the fresh arugula/tomatoes of the true Italian variety were very good accompaniments.


Tiramisu

After a great meal, dessert wasn't as much of a wow.  It wasn't bad at all but it paled slightly in comparison to the rest of the meal.  Perhaps we should have ordered something else.  This version of tiramisu was the dense kind that I like, but had way too much cocoa powder and got in the way of inhaling/exhaling at the table, resulting in a cocoa dusted tablecloth.  Oh well.

Surprisingly good experience overall.  As an aside, we thought we'd figure it out, but I suppose we have to go back and ask the chef why his place is named after black pepper.  It certainly wasn't because the food needed a little pick-me-up as we went along. 

14 Stanley Street
Tel: +65-62225808

Kobe - Kyukyoryuchi Cafe 旧居留地珈啡庵

One of the many things I love about visiting Japan is the coffee.  For a nation of predominant tea drinkers, they take their coffee seriously.  And Kobe is no different.  In fact, its significance historically as an international port means that it has a very credible heritage with cafes, patisseries and could pass off as any cool European city, only much cleaner.  

We went in search of the alternative to Kobe's Nishimura since we like supporting the underdog from time to time.  From what little information we could find, Kyukyoryuchi has been around since 1971 roasting beans everyday.  Its motto of “being better, not bigger” certainly resonates with me, so off we went, in search of it, literally, since we were not well equipped with a good map and google maps was just not doing its thing.

The silver lining to getting lost is appreciating the city and its architecture, a thing that's easy to do when you're not trying to rush for a meeting.  

Stained glass inside a mall

An old temple right in the old settlement area

Old buildings in old European colors and style

Turns out that the building Kyukyoryuchi Cafe is in is a pretty new commercial building with swanky shops.  But tucked away in the basement, it manages to retain its old world charm with old wooden furniture, and very dim yellow lighting that French cafes from days gone by boast.

My Brazilian

I order a Brazilian at the recommendation of our smiley server and like any good Japanese cafe, it is served in fine porcelain (don't think this was bone china) with a little muglet of cream on the side.  A well balanced cuppa with just the right amount of acidity and has a smooth, almost sweet finish.

French Toast

But the biggest surprise was the French toast.  This is easily the best French toast I've ever had in my life.  The use of a Danish-like bread that was fluffy yet dense (almost scientifically at odds with each other) was a wonder in itself.  The egg coat was gorgeous with a light glaze and strawberries with icing was exactly what they were - icing on the cake (bread).  It's been 3 weeks and I still think of it and when I will get another chance to eat it.

Kobe city has a really good vibe to it and 6 hours just didn't cut it.  Will definitely have to make plans to visit and stay in the city next time.

Kobe Chuo-ku Akashi-cho 31-1 
TESTA Kobe 
Kyukyoryuchi Building, B1F
Tel: +81-78-3311070

Kobe - Arima Onsen Hotel Kinzan 欽山

It was ominous the day we arrived.  The freak typhoon that would claim 4 lives in Japan this spring was upon us.  Ok, great.  No Mount Rokko, no sightseeing.  I was thinking - this was the divine intervention forcing me to relax.  Stuck in a ryokan, there is nothing to do except soak in the onsen, eat like an emperor, watch the rain pelt down on the bamboo garden. Very Zen....

Bento Lunch

All this internalizing while I eat my humble bento box lunch.  I was expecting a plastic boxed lunch to go.  I was happy to be wrong.  Promising start already.

Fresh brew of green tea and sweets of red bean jello and soda crackers

As we settle into our room, and discovering the unexpected joy of wi-fi in a ryokan (albeit an unsteady signal), tea is served.  This is the life.  Fresh cuppa with Japanese traditional sweets of a red bean jello and soda crackers (Tansan Senbei) made with water from the region that is high is carbon dioxide.  It's probably more accurate to refer to them as wafers given their texture.  Quite addictive, they now add a variety of flavor offerings, including ginger, sesame and seaweed.  It's also become more international with brands like Kobe's Fugetsudo offering chocolate, strawberry and vanilla also.  All this while the aroma of tea leaves seethe over the heat of tea lights, giving off a scent that's pleasantly soothing and not at all intrusive.

Source of the Carbonated Water

The Arima onsen town isn't big and you can just about cover the essentials in a matter of the better part of a day.  But like all onsen towns, and Arima is the oldest of them all, they are pretty in a traditional Japanese sort of way and it's great to soak in the relaxed atmosphere of old businesses still plying the trade in the same shop their families have been in for generations, from making soda wafers to making pickles or other foodie goodies.

Temple in Arima onsen town

Of course, if you like temples, every town has at least one significant one where you can clap your hands and say a prayer or catch a sip of holy water, all for good luck.

View of hotel's bamboo and koi garden

But mostly, we like the sanctuary of the ryokan and of course soaking in its onsen (hot spring) where clear and "rust" colored waters have their respective healing properties.  It's just relaxing to soak before a big meal.  Might be psychological or I'm just plain greedy but I swear that a 10 minute soak does wonders in opening up the appetite.

Dining in a ryokan is almost always Kaiseki style, a traditionally multi-course dinner in Japan, and designed to balance the body's various nutritional needs.  The Kaiseki way of dining is likely originally from Kyoto, since that is the old capital.  Kinzan's solitary Michelin star does not let it down and the food is impeccable and extremely low in oil and salt, allowing the natural flavors of the fresh local produce to come through.

Starters

And of course, presentation is plain pretty.

Agedashi bamboo in a shrimp and sea cucumber broth

And innovative combinations so simple yet so flavorful.  This dish of a lightly battered Agedashi bamboo (seasonal) in a shrimp and sea cucumber broth is naturally sweet that I could not help but lick the bowl clean.  Good thing we dine in the privacy of our own room.

Assorted Pickles with rice

Even the pickles are of the highest quality with a focus on preserving taste rather than just killing the vegetable with an overdose of salt.

Since we were staying 2 nights, we chose a different menu for the second night.  And since we were in the Kobe area, it would be wrong to leave without having the city's world renowned beef.

Sliced Kobe beef for Sukiyaki

So we were treated to a Kaiseki meal focusing on beef sukiyaki the second night.  And this has to be one of the best beef experiences my entire life.  So marbled, so soft, so tender, yet so full of beefy flavor.  The way beef was meant to be eaten.

The biggest difference between a resort and a ryokan is the latter's focus on meals and the set times at which meals must be served.  One cannot just show up and eat.  There is a preparation process which entails precise time keeping.  So there is a set time for tea, dinner and of course breakfast.

A full-on traditional Japanese breakfast

But if this is what you can get to tuck into every morning, the regimen isn't so bad.  So if you can endure disciplined relaxation with perfect Japanese hospitality, check into a ryokan and your tired body may be forever grateful.

1302-4 Arima-cho, Kita-ku, Kobe, 

Hyogo 651-1401

Japan

Tel: +81-78-904-0701

Hong Kong - Bridges Okinawa Robata Dining

Friday night and no reservations.  That’s a darn tough thing in Hong Kong, especially in Causeway Bay.  So we thought we hit the jackpot when we arrived at Bridges and were told there was availability after having been turned away at 2 other places already.  It was a bonus when we saw that they were part of the En group which boasts Rakuen, our favorite Okinawan place in Hong Kong.  

Bridges’ advantage is space.  There is actually lots of it by Hong Kong standards.  Seats are comfortable and tables big enough.  There are also tatami lined rooms if you feel like doing the Japanese living room thing but I prefer to keep my shoes on when dining out, unless I’m in flip flops. You can also have a decent conversation without having to battle neighboring diners and the regular shouts of “irrashaimase”!  Unfortunately, space seemed to be the only thing which saved the day at Bridges.  

If the kitchen at Rakuen was a 10, Bridges was a 5.  Food wasn’t bad but it certainly was mediocre, at best.   Perhaps the 2 more competent dishes of the night:

Grilled Ox Tongue with Miso and Sichuan Pepper

The grilled ox tongue with Miso and Sichuan pepper was pretty good.  Tongue was tender and miso was the sweet kind and good with Sake.  Takes a little savouring before you can actually taste the Sichuan pepper though.

Clam, Sea Urchin and Jewel Leaf Tempura

This was decent although we wished they had used better produce though since they weren’t necessarily the freshest.

Okinawan classics were only passable.  

Okinawa Home Made Peanut Tofu

The peanut tofu wasn’t as fragrant as Rakuen's and a little too chewy.

Stir fried Bittergourd with Okinawa Pork

This was tasteless and disappointing especially if like me, you've been spoilt by Rakuen and Yakichi, also in the same En Group.

Stone grilled rolled Wagyu with spring onions

The biggest rip off of the evening was so-labeled grilled rolled Wagyu with spring onions on a hot stone.  Overly salted and not a good cut but priced for a cut that is meant to be 10 times better.  Never again.

Minced Toro Handroll

My minced Toro handroll was tasteless (if that’s even possible).  A real waste really.  

Baumkuchen with Black Sugar Ice cream

The supposedly house dessert of Baumkuchen (german for tree cake) tasted more like tree bark.  Our server insisted on taking a bite after we left it and insinuated we didn’t know what real Baumkuchen tasted like.  Oh well.. I’m gonna go to Kobe to be educated since my education at Ginza queuing a long time for the famous one is nothing to count for. 

Enough said.  

6/F, Cubus, 1 Hoi Ping Road, Causeway Bay

Tel: +852-3428 2131