The Chicken Specialist

We are always on the lookout for new Japanese restaurants but this one caught my eyes in particular, promising an omakase experience with a chicken tasting menu ("Tori-kappo" is the term they used to describe the concept)

It's All About The Season

I love the sense of exclusivity when we walked into Kappo Rin at Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong for our dinner. With the dining restriction still in place, the counter-only restaurant specialized in Japanese kappou cuisine could only seat two groups at a time, so we only shared the long counter with another couple in front of the chefs working behind the open kitchen the entire evening. 

Going Back to Haku

When our friends C and M asked us for recommendations of casual fine-dining place on the Kowloon side, we told them about Haku and Chef Agustin’s creative cooking. And we were just as happy to tag along when they made a booking to eat there one weekend evening.

Casual Japanese Wine and Dine

A few weeks ago I had a good time at Kappo Ro Ann, the Japanese restaurant specializes in Kumamoto cuisine, so I thought I should also check out Sara, its sister restaurant under the same management on the other side of the harbor, and this time with a few more friends. Similar to Kappo Ro Ann, Sara focused on the ingredients and cooking from one particular region in Japan, and in this case, it’s Saga Prefecture in the northern part of Kyushu.

Kumamoto Kappo

We bemoaned the closure of Ebi no Hige last year, the restaurant specializes in ingredients and cooking from Niigata Prefecture with casual but well-executed dishes, but I was glad to know there were a few new restaurants taking on a similar concept of showcasing the cooking of a specific region in Japan (known as Kyodo Ryori 郷土料理). One of such is Kappo Ro Ann in TST, which I visited recently for an invited dinner tasting.

Beef Donburi at the Market

On my last day in Kyoto, I spent time at Nishiki Market in the morning for some grocery shopping and to replenish my kitchen cabinet. The place was crowded as usual – with more tourists than locals these days – and after getting what I needed (some vegetables, rice and a few kitchen gadgets), I had lunch at a small restaurant nearby inside a narrow alley just a couple of blocks away.

Haku's Hat Trick

I was at Haku a few weeks ago to check out the new seasonal menu introduced by Chef Agustin Balbi. I ate at the restaurant a couple of times before (Meal #1 and #2) and enjoyed Chef Agustin’s unique cooking style with well-chosen ingredients, and I was curious to see how the restaurant and the dishes have evolved 12 months on since its opening at a cozy corner inside Harbour City shopping mall.

HAKU x Gallery VASK

It’s great to see so many familiar faces gathered upon Haku after Chinese New Year for a special tasting of the collaboration menu with the visiting chef Chele Gonzalez of Manila’s Gallery VASK. I have not been to Gallery VASK before but heard good things about Chef Gonzalez’s creative cooking in Spanish style but with a Filipino twist, so I was quite eager to check out the dishes he created specifically for this 2-day-only event alongside with Chef Agustin Balbi of Haku.

Serious Kappo Dinner

Maybe it’s what I heard from others who have been, or I am just curious about this interesting combination of the chef and the concept and the venue, but Haku is one restaurant I have been wanting to visit for some time, and we worked out of the way to arrange this dinner date there in September before our long trip out.