Ryota-san's Special Menu

It's a no-brainer when our friend C asked us whether we would like to get together at Ryota Kappou Modern, a restaurant that he frequented, let alone he offered to arrange everything, booking out the private room and sorting out the menu with chef-owner Ryota Kanesawa prior to our meal in early August. 

Longest Spell

This is perhaps one of the longest spells between our visits to Caprice for as far as we could remember, with the last one came right after Chinese New Year almost 6 months ago. Not that we haven’t tried, but it’s almost impossible to book unless you plan way ahead. Anyway, we were glad that they managed to squeeze us a table for a “quick and simple" lunch on weekend afternoon in July. 

Unagi Part 2: Uza x Tatler Dining Kitchen

I have enjoyed quite a few pop-up dinners at the lovely Tatler Dining Kitchen lately, and I got to say the latest installment was the one I anticipated the most with our friend A taking over for a 2-week engagement with his new dining concept Uza and a tasting menu combining Unagi (freshwater eel) and Izakaya (Japanese pub) cuisines (hence the name)

Unagi Part 1: Sumiya on Gough

Mid-summer is customarily the time to eat Unagi, or freshwater eel, thanks to the tradition of “Doyo no Ushi no Hi” day which falls in late July this year, so the other day we made a quick stop at Sumiya on Gough Street to enjoy a bowl of Unagi-don at this restaurant specialized in this classic Japanese dish. 

The New "In" Place

ODDS seems to be a rather odd name for a Japanese restaurant, but turned out that's the only thing that seems out of place about this new venue in Central, opened only a few weeks ago. 

Dinner with Some Help

We got Chef Jayson’s help to arrange for us the room that can fit 12 of us in his restaurant Man Ho – otherwise it would have been almost impossible with the ever-growing popularity of the place especially ever since their first Michelin star gained this year. He also helped us with the menu – with my only requests being their signature char siu and also one other dish that I wanted an encore. All up to him for the rest. 

Somewhere New

"This is so unlike the Jockey Club" was the comments everyone had when we ate at their new venue called Pinnacle, which opened only a couple of weeks ago. At its onset, the place looked more like a trendy nightclub when we were escorted up the elevators and through the bouncers (I mean the Maitre'd counter) at the door to our table.  

Old School Canteen

I am sure not too many people have fond memories of food at their school canteen growing up – of course unless you happened to go to a culinary school or something – but for some random reasons the canteen of my old school has now turned into a sought-after private kitchen, which serves something slightly more elaborate than simple packed lunches and has a waiting list of over 3 months, and one could book only if you happened to be an alumni or know someone who is. 

Shane x Tatler

For those who have tried Chef Shane Osborn’s food over the years (or at least watched him cooking in the reality TV show The Final Table a few years ago), it’s hard not to immediately fall in love with his consistent, straight-forward but creative cooking. We were at one of his pop-up dinners at Tatler Dining Kitchen early last month, a warm-up event of sort before his third restaurant opens (in September, I think), and once again, enjoyed his food tremendously.