Strong Contender

Work brought me to Seoul for a few days in January and I did find time to check out a few restaurants on my free time. I was quite looking forward to the trip because it's literally been decades since I last set foot in Korea, but then I wasn't as excited when I knew Korea is freezingly cold at this time of year. (one morning the temperature changed from -6C the previous day to -2C and they called this warm - go figure)

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.  

Teppanyaki Fun

I didn't do Teppanyaki dinner as often as I have done before but my recent dinner at Crown Super Deluxe in LKF did bring about good memories of those days when my friends and I ate at a certain famous Teppanyaki chain on a weekly basis. While Crown Super Deluxe looks more like a rich, lavish cousin of that well-known chain which popularized the concept of Teppanyaki in the US, they did keep the relaxed and fun part in making sure every customer who dropped by had a memorable experience regardless of occasion. 

Steakhouse Japanese Style

Went for a meat feast second night in a row at the exclusive Teppanyaki Issho inside the Happy Valley New Clubhouse of HKJC. I was impressed with our friend H and A being able to score a booking at this restaurant which could only seat 14, let alone getting a table for dinner during the popular Tuen Ng Festival long weekend. Lucky us. 

Heritage Breed Masterclass

"Eat less of the wrong meat" advocated Bennet Lee, founder of the Hong Kong-based Heritage Meat, when someone in our group asked a question about the global trend of putting less reliance on meat as our daily diet. We were at his shop in Repulse Bay as part of the masterclass/dinner organized by Slow Food Hong Kong. 

The Smoky Bit

There were definitely times when I crave for the good old American family meal – you know, those with the likes of barbecue ribs, potatoes and Mac n Cheese spread across the whole table - but strangely restaurants specializing in such seems to be few and far between in this part of the world. So I was somewhat excited with the news about the arrival of Smoke and Barrel (one without the trailing s) which promises to deliver true old-school American BBQ (and “best in town”) and at the time when new restaurant opening has become somewhat of a rarity. 

Back to Normal (Kinda)

We were at our friend A’s restaurant Nikushou on the first night when the "dine-out until 10pm" restriction was lifted. When everyone in town seems to be out and about eating and drinking, we were glad to score a table at this popular restaurant at the last minute - thanks to whoever bailed and freed up the spots.

Meat and More

Our craving for meat brought us back to the Yakiniku specialist Nikushou the other night. And their seasonal tasting menu offered more than just their signature dishes of beef from various cuts prepared right in front of the customers.

New Smokehouse in Town

I came to Henry at Rosewood Hong Kong with a lot of expectations when I was invited for a dinner tasting there just a few weeks ago.. A proper steakhouse was few and far between in Hong Kong, especially if I started counting out those with style but no substance. With the hotel owner eager to please and spare no expense in doing so, and with Chef Nate Green, which came with a reputation for being a grill expert from his days at Rhoda, at the helm, there's every reason to be hopeful.

Yakiniku Night

We wanted to find somewhere nice to eat in Central on a Friday evening and made a last-minute booking at Yakiniku Jumbo while heading over. The restaurant was considered one of the more exciting openings last year with its original branch in Tokyo was known to be a mecca for yakiniku cuisine – Japanese-style grilled meat, so to speak. I have tried their lunch menu previously and loved my bowl of curry beef donburi, and I always wanted to go back to check out their more elaborate dinner menu, featuring various cuts of wagyu with most of the dishes prepared on a grill at each table.

Crab Feast at a Yakiniku Place

When our friend A said we must come to his restaurant to have the Japanese snow crab before the season is over, we listened and went one evening along with our other friends J and C. His restaurant, Nikushou, might be better known for its exquisite selection of wagyu beef for Yakiniku, we always had excellent seafood dishes as well, for his connection with food suppliers meant he could always import the best directly from Japan, some rarely seen elsewhere, at least in such quality.

Birthday Meal at a Steakhouse

After a few evenings of feasting in the past weeks in the month of birthday celebration, I decided to go for something simple on the actual day, and dinner at Porterhouse in Lan Kwai Fong seems to fit that criteria. They were running a new promotional menu called so I thought this is the perfect excuse to go check it out.

Spicy Hotpot

While I thought it’s strange to spend time at a hot spring resort in the middle of summer, I have no problem eating at a hotpot restaurant in August – yes, talk about double standard. And this time in Taipei, we decided to visit one of the more popular hotpot restaurant chains for dinner.

Juicy Meat Feast

Just to prove a point that omnivore diet is still pretty much in style and being the front and center of our current food trend, the all-you-can-eat beef feast at Rhoda on a Wednesday night was filled to capacity the moment tickets went on sale a few weeks ago (gone within days after details of the event was posted, we were told). De la Valley is a new meat purveyor in town trying to bring in artisan steaks from various producers in South America directly to restaurants and retail customers so they collaborated with Chef Nate Green’s Rhoda for this special, one-night-only menu to introduce many of their meats.

Back to Nikushou

I made a return visit to Nikushou recently not long after my first just before Christmas. And this time another group of friends joined, and we again left the menu entirely to our friend Anthony who owns the place. We had a lot of seafood last time including a couple of seasonal crab dishes, but this time we focused on their out-of-this-world beef dishes.

Surf n Turf with the Meat Master

"Let's do Surf n Turf at my restaurant!", my friend A was suggesting the other day so I joined a few other friends to come to his restaurant in Causeway Bay called Nikushou for a sumptuous meal with beef and seafood, done Japanese style.

Lovely Catch-up at La Paloma

La Paloma in Sai Ying Pun is what I would categorize as a "no-brainer" restaurant - you know, one of those neighborhood hangouts that one wouldn't mind going every day with a menu you are so familiar that you memorized everything on it - whether you call this a pub, a diner, a chiringuito, an osteria, a chachaanteng or whatever depending on where you are from.

Feb-ulous Kyoto: Omi Beef Lunch

Shiga Prefecture is famous for its Omi beef (近江牛). This premium breed, named after the ancient name of Shiga, is known as the top 3 wagyu breeds in Japan along with Matsusaka beef from Mie and Kobe beef from Hyogo. So of course we wouldn't want to miss the opportunity of getting a taste of the beef while spending our time in Shiga as part of our weekend getaway.

Meat Craving Satisfied at Beefbar

Sometimes restaurant names can be deceptive, but not so much with beefbar, except the fact that it's not exactly a bar but a proper modern steakhouse on Ice House Street in Central specializes in, of course, beef. I am not a steakhouse person, often preferred to enjoy the big slab of meat at the comfort of my own home in pajamas and slippers rather than having to suit up for a formal meal outside. But I was curious to check out this place after hearing all the positive reviews since opening late last year.

The Well-oiled Burnt Ends Singapore

Burnt Ends was constantly mentioned as a hot new Singapore restaurant in recent times and came highly recommended by a few of my friends, so I went to try on my second evening in town.