All's well that ends well

I wrapped up the year 2024 with a bang with a fine dinner at Sushi Kumogaku on the last week of December. I have been to the restaurant a few times before but this was my first time coming here for dinner - partly because the restaurant is super popular and kind of hard to book. Chef Kin and his team was making final preparation behind the counter already as we walked in and seated at far end of the L-shaped counter in the main dining room, which could seat up to 12. 

Macau Sushi Trip

Did take a bit of convincing for me to go to Macau for a quick trip just for one meal but it's a quick trip that I didn't regret making - I'm talking about the sushi dinner I had at the new Sushi Kissho at Raffles just a month ago. Sushi Kissho is the latest outpost by Chef Masaaki Miyakawa, who has a few sushi-ya under his name including the 3-star namesake restaurant in Sapporo. Handling the day-to-day cooking at Sushi Kissho were chefs Norihisa Maeda, Hironori Satake and Mitsutero Sasaki while he would make occasional trips over. 

Zest x Mizumi

There’s a sense of déjà vu when I dropped by Zest for a special lunch hosted by Chef Konishi with guest chef Hironori Maeda from Mizumi in Wynn Macau back in early June. I just came back from a week-long holiday in Kyoto and Osaka, but with this meal I felt like I was back in Japan once again. 

the mind blowing logy

Our short trip to Taiwan was about eating and drinking as much as about concert-going - well, almost. But with us focusing on Taipei alone we got time to visit a few of the best restaurants in town, places that I have always wanted to try.  

Rooftop Teppanyaki

Forty-five has quickly become the talk of the town with a few fine restaurants opening in quick succession in this complex spanning multiple floors on top of Gloucester Tower. I had a chance to visit two of their outlets in March, starting with Kaen Teppanyaki in one Monday evening.  

Tempura Kaiseki

Just as Yakitori Hirako which we visited was no ordinary Yakitori place, Tenmasa that we went the next day was no ordinary Tempura place either. 

Old Friend at a New Place

I visited Nobu Hong Kong for the first time a couple of months ago. Yes I have been to Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s restaurants quite a few times but somehow this branch right at home eluded me for so long. Anyway, happy to make amend for this when the restaurant reopened at now The Regent at almost the exact same spot in the building when it was still called The Intercontinental. 

Somewhere New

We picked Sushi Muto in Nihonbashi for lunch purely because they are one of the few sushi-ya that opened on Sundays and the location worked well for our tight itinerary (we made a reservation to go visit Shibuya Sky right after and need to be on time). And with the restaurant located in a commercial building right behind the famous Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store we managed to have a quick shopping session before we went up for our meal.

Venturing Up North

Spending the weekend in Shenzhen turned out to be quite a revelation for me. While most people travelled to our neighbor north to the border in the hunt of bargains, we went in search of some finer things with many new restaurants and hotels opening even before and during covid that easily rival those of similar caliber in town. 

First, Sushi

A decent Tabelog rating, open on Sundays and proximity to where I stayed... Sushi Kiyoshi (鮨 きよし) at Ginza's 7-chome fit the bill when I was looking for a place to eat on my first day in Tokyo during the work trip in September. Most importantly, it’s the place I managed to get a booking for the only free evening I got.

Kaoshiung Kisetsu Ryori

We quickly settled in our room at Silks Club Kaoshiung before having lunch at Ukai-tei restaurant downstairs. While Teppanyaki is their specialty, either at this restaurant or their main branch in Ginza (the Kaoshiung one is their first overseas outpost), we were served a seasonal omakase menu prepared by Chef Shimpei Hirose and his team. 

Looking Back, and Looking Ahead

It's a pure coincidence that we dined at 3 Michelin 2-starred restaurants within the same week in early October, and Arbor was one of them during that crazy eating week. 

New on the Block

We saw a series of sushi restaurant openings since COVID and that trend continues with Sushi Kanesaka being the latest entry. This Ginza-based Sushi-ya has grown into quite an empire now with multiple branches in Japan and elsewhere (some under the name Shinji by Kanesaka), and in Hong Kong, they have taken up the space that used to be Masa in CCB Tower. 

Friends Meet-up

Not planning for anything in particular, but I ended up meeting with a few friends from Hong Kong during my week in Shanghai. 

Best Tempura in Town

Took me a bit of effort to find my way to Tempura Suzuki before I realized they took up the space of the old Sushi Sase up on Ice House Street in Central – but I still ended up being the first to arrive at this new restaurant with only 8 seats in front of the kitchen counter. A few high-end tempura restaurants have opened in recent months, which is always a welcoming news. 

Springtime on the table

We had the pleasure of joining our friends P and G for a dinner at Godenya during the Easter long weekend. There’s no better place to enjoy the dinner served in traditional Kappo style with unique sake pairing by Chef Goshima Shinya. P called this his favorite season to visit the place, and I can understand why with the menu filled with seasonal sansho flowers and sansai, both known for its distinct, season-defining flavor and aroma. 

Yakitori in the hood

One evening we decided to check out a new izakaya in our neighborhood with a heavy shade of doubts. Decent dining establishments have been few and far between near our home, let alone a Japanese restaurant, but turned out the place was far better than we expected.

Unagi and Izakaya

We have long anticipated the opening of Uza, the new concept by our friend Anthony with the name a combination of Unagi and Izakaya which also described what this establishment does - a casual Japanese pub (izakaya) specializing in eel cuisine (Unagi). He first tested this at a pop-up event 2 years ago (which I enjoyed) and finally managed to open its doors after some delays (partly because of Covid) and my friends and I went to visit recently. 

Fine Dining in the Basement

The setting of Artifact may not fit the usual definition of "fine dining" - diners literally sat across an open kitchen/bar in the area amongst other food stalls inside the new Basehall 2 complex at the basement of Jardine House, but I was impressed with the dishes presented by Chef Sato Kiyoshi and his team at a dinner there recently. 

Seasonal Get-Together

Felt like we are now doing dinner at Ryota at least once every season - thank to our host C who made the effort to organize - and this time with their winter menu on deck a few weeks ago. We were the only group of diners in that evening so we had the whole place to ourselves with undivided attention from their staff front and back. Chef Ryota was not in that night but I didn't see any change in quality of their dishes in spite of his absence, which is a good thing.