Review: Insects in the Backyard

12 January 2019

When I was doing research for this trip, one Bangkok restaurant really caught my eye — Insects in the Backyard. I love the concept of eating insects, and I do whenever I get the chance. But a restaurant devoted to it? That I could not pass up. So I was looking forward to this dinner after a very busy afternoon in the humidity.

Insects in the Backyard is a bit of a hike from central Bangkok, located in the much-hyped Chang Chui Creative Park — where you can enjoy various distractions, from other foods to modern art, before you head in for your insect dinner. Took awhile to get there thanks to traffic, but I arrived and slowly made my way through the busy entertainment area and found the restaurant. Was seated and I enjoyed some wine as I agreed to do the tasting menu.

I was a bit early, so the restaurant wasn’t too busy yet. But as the evening went along, you can see that the insects were a novelty not just to tourists, but a large number of locals too — perhaps millennial Bangkok residents who live in the malls during all their free time. And soon my dinner began with a snack — nachos!

As you can see, not just any nachos, but we have some excellent crickets here too. It is actually an assortment of 3 different crickets, working quite well and seemingly in perfect place for this dish. Nice start for sure. Then not long after, the second dish — scallop.

Well, the attention obviously is on the bamboo caterpillars, which added a nice flavour and texture addition to the surprisingly good scallop. Frankly this may have been of better quality — and cooked better — than at Michelin-starred Tate Dining Room in Hong Kong 2 nights ago. Usually not a fan of sunchokes, but it added just the right extra to an already excellent dish. Impressive! And again, not long after, we have the third dish.

It’s actually a nice raviolo filled with crab and water beetle in a turmeric sauce. Really tasty, though for the first time I really wish they did more with the insect element as it was almost all crab. But excellent flavours again, with or without the insects.

One of the things that’s surprising me tonight is the quality of the cooking, even without the insects. If you think it’s a gimmick, you’ll be surprised to find some of the best cooking you’ll see in South-East Asia. But the insects add something really special, which is why I’m really enjoying this evening. Next up is the seabass.

The fish was a little overcooked, but worked well flavour-wise, especially with the queen ants on top. The corn mixture was tasty, but the real wonderful addition are the ant eggs in beurre blanc. I always loved these things and it’s so hard to get back in North America, so this was a real treat, even with a slightly overcooked fish. Really excellent night!

I enjoyed more wine as more diners arrived, and once in awhile you hear young ladies squirming and laughing…I guess this is expected! Then sadly, the last savoury dish is presented, the risotto.

First of all, the risotto is cooked well, better than 95% of restaurants around the world that do fine dining I must say. Lovely texture and flavours, accentuated by local herbs and very-welcomed parmegiano. Of course you cannot ignore the delicious wingless long-horned grasshoppers, which were delicious and worked far better than you imagine. A lovely dish once more!

I was quite sad the tasting had come to an end, as I was having a lot of fun and really enjoying this kitchen’s output. Again, the level of cooking is excellent, making last night’s crazy expensive Eat Me dinner looking quite amateurish. This is definitely worth the trek out here. And finally, we have the dessert…

A delicious silkworm ice cream with mini-crêpes Suzette. Nothing too out of the ordinary despite the name, you probably won’t even realise it if no one told you what was in it. And the crêpes were done very well. A tasty close to an excellent dinner.

I was almost tempted to try some of the other items on their ala carte menu but I was getting full and I was also rather knackered from a very long afternoon, and being so far from the centre, needing to fight traffic back in on a Saturday night, I decided to close up.

I thanked the friendly and efficient staff and headed out rather happy. It certainly fuelled me for a long wait for my Grab and the longer ride through traffic back to the centre that took about an hour. But honestly it was very much worth it, and at final assessment it was my favourite meal in Bangkok and one of the best for the entire trip.

Highly recommended, you’ll love the cooking and location — the insects is just a plus!

Insects in the Backyard
Chang Chui Market
460/8 Sirindorn, Bang Phlat
Bangkok, Thailand

* I had a nice late snack at Soul Food Mahanakorn late in the evening as I was a bit restless. Good cocktails, friendly folks, and some (so-so) sausages and (excellent) fermented ribs. I gotta be careful about these late-night snacks!

Review: Thai Niyom

12 January 2019

Finally got the sleep I needed, and I felt human when I woke up a few hours later. It’s amazing what a bed and not having to fly the next day does for your head, and I was ready to go soon after sunrise.

I had an extremely busy morning, exploring a few places I missed during my trip 15 years ago. I didn’t properly explore the Royal Cemetery adjacent to Wat Ratchabophit last time, so I did that this early morning. Then I headed south of the river and explored the well-maintained Protestant Cemetery, which is a treasure trove for those who love history.

I was of course by now soaked in sweat in the heat and humidity, and thanks to Grab working quite well hitting these destinations not served well by public transportation, I survived. Headed back to change shirts and headed out to lunch by SkyTrain. Definitely doing something more local than last night’s ease-in at Eat Me.

I had read about Thai Niyom from a few places, and was surprised to find it on the Bib Gourmand list. I arrived early and they were still empty this Saturday morning. The place is busiest for lunch during the week as it’s surrounded by office buildings, so I wasn’t too surprised to hear several items I had wanted to try had run out. They offered an idea and I went for it, and ordered an item of my own.

I slowly sipped a local beer and then the first item arrived, the grilled pork neck. They had run out of a few other starters and they offered this instead.

Is there ever a bad version of this dish? One of the best things you eat in Thailand, lovely rich meat with that tinge of sweetness and char. Just perfect. And as I was slowly enjoying it, my other item arrives — the one I really wanted…

Minced pork rib with a lot of spice. They asked me three times before they brought it out if I could handle it, and I said yes. I barely survived.

It’s reminiscent of that excellent mince dish at Kiln in London I had a few months ago, but far, far more intense. And far, far spicier. In fact, within a minute my shirt was soaked, my face was red, I needed a second beer. But I needed to acclimatise to the spice, and this was the way I’ve done it in the past — going full on. Unfortunately that was a bit harder of a task as I had burned the roof of my mouth from some dodgy dimsum at Hong Kong Airport the day before, so it was even more intense. My shirt was far more soaked now than during my cemetery hike…

But it was excellent, and once you get over the crazy hotness and get used to it, it is a wonderful flavourful dish. The crunchiness of the cartilage brought a nice texture juxtaposition to the soft mince, with the green peppercorns playing a mischievous role on the side. All with a bit of rice, and you have an excellent lunch…and you’ll probably lose weight from all your sweat.

Oh, it’s good to be back in Thailand. I finished the two dishes and was now nice and full, thanks to that second beer — which is promptly coming back out as spice sweat. I thanked the staff and actually cooled off when I stepped outside and the hot, humid air met my burning mouth. It all actually works, folks. Spicy enough to make you hallucinate, then you sweat it out, and then you slowly acclimatise to not just the crazy spiciness, but also the weather. It’s true — I didn’t ruin another shirt for the rest of this trip.

But still, it’s time to seek some AC, so back to the hotel but to grab some lovely fresh juice and delicious coffee en route…

Thai Niyom [ไทยนิยม]
888/28-29 Mahatun Plaza, Phloen Chit Road
Bangkok, Thailand

Review: Eat Me

11 January 2019

I originally planned to get some dimsum this morning, but the timing didn’t work so I just rested a little in the morning before heading right back to Hong Kong airport. Mistake, as I ended up having some dismal dimsum at the airport before my flight to Bangkok. At least last night’s dinner at Tate Dining Room was pretty good, which kept me going until I arrived in Thailand.

Ah, humidity and heat…not been back here for nearly 15 years, but already I was happy to be here — despite the draining and debilitating conditions. And the crazy traffic jams…took me nearly 2 hours to get to my hotel. Too late to do much except to head right out to dinner.

I had planned tonight to be a ease-in to the trip, also conscious of any flight delays and traffic, so the destination was nothing adventurous. I was told Eat Me had some good cooking with solid local ingredients, so I went for safety this first night. Plus, I had planned to have a few drinks at a well-regarded cocktail bar called Vesper that is just a few steps away, so it all worked out logistically.

I made it to Eat Me before soaking my shirt totally through, so that’s one little victory. A dark place with a boistrous clientele, I hid in the corner to have my solitary dinner. Nice cocktail to start, with a tinge of spicy, and I relaxed. It’s good to be back after so many years…

Now before you @ me for eating “foreign” food here, I’m tired. I knew I was gonna be tired flying from DC to London to Hong Kong to here — and with my propensity to get some type of food bug in Hong Kong; I’ve had food poisoning maybe 10 times in my life, and a third of them involved Hong Kong…despite only having been there 4 times in my life…

And the last thing I need was to shock myself so early in a 2+ week trip with all the heat and humidity that usually wreaks havoc on my system. And no, I am NOT a fan of street food culture. Not because I don’t like street food, but the heat and humidity kills me to a point I no longer have any interest in anything that’s not freezing cold. So alas, this I thought was a good mental compromise for evening number 1.

And from this first dish it’s a good compromise. Clams, the broth being extremely aromatic and intense. Lovely stuff, as I slowly enjoy local bivalves and appreciate the fact I’m back in this area again — though trying to drown out the awful convo I hear from the adjacent table of MBA students. I would have wished the clams would have some variety as the menu indicated, but it was good enough. Let’s see if this continues.

Nope. This “white salmon” dish, or whatever the poor translation of the local fish is, was pretty awful compared to the opener. It’s bland and overcooked. After the intensity of the last dish, this underseasoned mess was terrible. Sigh… I didn’t even finish this. I am tired, and I need to get a proper night of sleep before I can eat normally again.

I had a last cocktail and waited for my dessert, again trying to drown out the awful conversation from the next table. The dessert saved the night…

Spicy chocolate ice cream. Just perfect. Works fantastic in this environment. I can’t wait to hit the really spicy stuff tomorrow once I rest up. I settled up and headed out, not too thrilled with this night though it started and ended well. It’s overpriced for Bangkok for sure, a clear tourist trap for those who cannot handle real Thai food. And the clientele? sigh… More fool me, but to be honest it did its job for me this particular evening.

It’s a good ease-into-it place if you got time in Bangkok, but after this dinner as I walked to Vesper for a few cocktails, I had some regrets wasting a night here instead of eating real local food. But I am zonked out, and I only managed a pair of drinks at Vesper, which is a really nice cocktail bar, before I had to flee for the SkyTrain back to my hotel…

Eat Me
Soi Phiphat 2
Bangkok, Thailand

Review: Tate Dining Room & Bar

10 January 2019

A new year, a new set of travels…but honestly I am growing extremely tired of travelling. I’ll probably hang up my travelling shoes very soon, but I need to explore South-East Asia before that. With that in mind, I planned this January trek to hopefully mitigate my biggest enemy in the region — heat. My problem with hot (and humid) weather has prevented me from actively exploring this region in the past, so I have to make the most of this small window.

My first stop was London, but that’s just an extremely long layover that requires no further comment than “poor and overpriced” to be honest. Next stop, another quick one, is Hong Kong. Overnight at a place I’m not too fond of only came about because I wanted to try one of the city’s best restaurants, Tate Dining Room & Bar.

Chef Vicky Lau is well-known all over the world for her fusion of French and Chinese cuisines. Although I’m not fond of such fusions, I was intrigued by what I’ve read, so I decided to have a go. Plus, Hong Kong in January is the last time I’ll experience tolerable weather for a fortnight, so…

I arrived at the 1-Michelin restaurant at an okay time; I had made the booking late in case my flight was delayed. With menus presented, I ordered a cocktail and was soon presented with the concoction.

Quite interesting, as they incorporate local ingredients. I also happily agreed to the full tasting and pairing. A sourdough with seaweed butter is presented to whet my appetite.

After I finished my cocktail a nice chablis is poured — a refreshing replacement (at my request) for the bubbly on the pairing list. I’ll be very honest. I never liked champagne, I find them honestly actually rather repulsive for my taste buds, and over the years with tasting menus it’s actually grown far worse, so I was happy with this switch. First up, the “ode to chinese yam” opens tonight’s account…

Honestly this plate was too busy for an opener. There’s so much going on here aside from the yam, from smoked eel to the caviar. It looks like an eye-candy plate honestly, not surprising knowing Chef Lau’s background in graphics and advertising — but also especially for the bling-loving local audience. The cream was actually also overwhelming, and it really didn’t do the yam justice — especially for a palate that has just endured 2 red-eye flights.

Then we have the “ode to abalone” for the second small dish, again going for the visuals with the pike roe. For me, this didn’t work that well as abalone for me is always better with some texture, and this was sliced too thin. This is where the fusion went too far west, likely from the European “abalone-is-always-too-chewy” school that many food critics from Europe (I shan’t name names) love to moan and whinge with abalone. Too bad, could have been excellent. My eyes were dry and not focusing well, and was not humoured by the slices of celtuse that I thought were also abalone…oops…

Anyway, two so-so starting items. My post-flights-condition isn’t helping this evening along, but even on a good day I’m not sure I would have been too impressed by those two dishes that sounded so much better on paper. Anyway, at this point they bring a nice brioche with fermented tofu butter.

This worked better than it sounds on paper. Then a nice tipple from Loire is poured for the “ode to kumquat” dish.

Worked okay, as kumquat is not something you get too often outside of Asia. I generally like it, though it likely would have fought the sweetness of the scallop if it had any. The scallop tasted good, but wasn’t anything special. I’ve become way too spoiled with scallops in the past year, especially those Faroese ones, so I may have become too judgemental on them. But again, this dish isn’t really standing out. Good, but nothing special.

At this point it was a slower-than-ordinary-tasting-menu evening, but that’s expected. I told my efficient server to feel free to move at the kitchen’s preferred pace (hint: don’t wait for the clock), so let’s hope things move along a little. Then when the sommelier presented something from Corsica I smiled and instinctively reached down to my ankle, flashing back to my accident last year in Ajacciu…

Dish four is the “ode to olive” and finally we have a stand-out dish. I’m glad they elaborated on the generic (for East Asia, at least) alfonsino to explain it is kinmedai in Japanese (golden-eye snapper, or to be exact, splendid alfonsiono). Though the fish was a bit overcooked, me having had my fill of excellently-cooked kinmedai in Japan over the years, it worked splendidly (sorry for the pun) with the olive sauce. Olive is not a common ingredient in this part of the world, and many actually dislike when it is intense, so I’m happy to see Chef Lau push the boundaries here as the rather strong sauce was definitely a winner.

Goodness, I actually praised a sauce? 2019 is starting strangely indeed. Then a nice burgundy is poured, a surprisingly generous portion for wine-tax-heavy Hong Kong, and we have the “ode to crustacean” dish.

This is one time I question the kitchen’s use of pasta. They used tagiolini, but I so wish they used something flat like tagliatelle as the intense crustacean sauce needed more surface area to really maximise the excellent sauce. Together with the dried prawns, this dish has the intensity that I like, but the entire time I was thinking how much better this would have been with a different pasta. As someone who spends so much time in Italy, you really do consider extremely important which of the wide range of pasta is used with any dish. Oh well… But the sauce is fabulous.

So far it’s been an interesting night. The pace has picked up a little, which is good. Then with a treat from the Languedoc, probably my favourite French region, we have the “ode to pigeon from France” dish.

I think this is the best dish of the night, just topped the kinmedai in olive dish (partly due to the slightly overcooked fish). The meat is cooked absolutely perfectly, rolled in tofu skin, a fusion that worked superbly. Lovely flavours all around, helped on by the jus, though in squab-happy Hong Kong you cannot imagine a poorly cooked pigeon. Excellent dish.

But if anything blew the doors open was the broth that came on the side that was to be consumed after the dish. Oh my goodness it may have approached ambrosia in its intensity juxtaposed by sheer drinkability. I think my reaction was pretty clear, as my server brought back the pot and gave me a second helping of this amazing pigeon broth. So delicious… What a wonderful way to end the savouries!

I smiled as things moved to the excellent side with that final savoury item. A pre-dessert is presented, and it’s a beautiful version of a local classic.

Crysanthemum tofu soup. If you’re not familiar with tofu desserts, they can be quite good — if the base is not too sweet. And this did its job very well, helping the transition from savoury to sweet. Quite good. Then a semi-sweet wine from the Rhône is poured as we move into the “ode to red fruit” dessert.

Well, it didn’t really work for me. Somehow this evening the raspberry sorbet and chocolate mousse didn’t mesh right, fighting each other alongside the “crispy” yoghurt meringue. You want peace at the end of a night, this one wanted my taste buds to fight again — reminding me of the first dish. Maybe I am too tired tonight, who knows…

Then as things drifted to an end, I asked for a scotch to go with the last “ode to festive” set of treats, of which had a bee theme…

As you remove each layer, and chuckle at the sound of bees swarming, you get more treats — and some Nerudaism at the bottom whither the buzzing audio was eminating.

A good set of treats, all with a honey theme of course. With some coffee and scotch, it closed out just fine, just fine. As almost the last patron in the house, I thanked the staff and settled up the rather hefty bill (Hong Kong…) and headed out into the comfortable night. I had to remind myself this is the last “comfortable” night stroll I’ll have for a fortnight…

It’s generally a good evening, a few misses but some real strong items. Some of the earlier items were on the weak side, but it picked up and we rode through the night with several really delicious dishes in a row. A few fusion mishaps, but some interesting successes too. I can see why this place is so well liked, especially locally, as it does a good job in retaining local flavours in a French atmosphere.

In some ways, a rather good representation of a modern Hong Kong haute cuisine.

Anyway, I was too tired to hit one of the cocktail bars in the Central area, and with yet another flight tomorrow I decided to call it a day in this not-so-fragrant harbour.

Tate Dining Room & Bar
210 Hollywood Rd, Sheung Wan
Hong Kong

Review: Ivy Inn

23 December 2018

I took a quick trip out of town just before Christmas, deciding to run down to Charlottesville overnight. I had a few places I wanted to visit, and I also wanted to grab a case of wine en route from Barboursville Winery. Traffic on the Sunday before Christmas was worse than I imagined, not helped by back-ups at exits near shopping malls. But once I cleared I-95 things were smooth sailing. A few stops later, including a quick stop at the fabulous Barbeque Exchange in Gordonsville, I got to C-town.

I had a few things to do there, as well as enjoy the excellent BBQ for lunch, so it was a busy afternoon. Eventually I had a chance to relax, as my dinner at the Ivy Inn was quite late — since I made the booking so late as this was essentially an unplanned last-minute trip.

I got to the Ivy Inn and immediately I started to regret this. At least 5 servers walked past me, ignoring me, as I waited at the host station. After a few minutes, one finally asked “have you been helped” and I dead-panned, “NO”… And they seemed annoyed to have to seat me. Sigh…you got a combination of holiday impatience and many of the students have left this college town (meaning many of the servers). This may be a bad sign…

I was seated upstairs and I relaxed. I ordered a negroni to get going, and it took awhile for it to arrive. A bit on the sweet side. And a very, very sad looking amuse that would symbolise the rest of the evening…

Sigh, that had to get me through a bit of waiting as the food certainly took awhile. Eventually it arrived, as well as a lukewarm glass of white…

A dozen oysters from Tangier Island in the Chesapeake. Usually Virginia oysters are good, but these are ridiculously bland. If you close your eyes you may not know they’re oysters, that’s how bad they were. Were they frozen? And with the now rather warm wine, this is not a good start at all…

The service, although friendly, was certainly not efficient. And things are slooooow… I had another glass of the same wine, hoping they had chilled it more…no they didn’t. So I switched to yet another when my main course arrived, the Rag Mountain brook trout.

Ugh…this was pretty bad. The flesh was ridiculously overcooked to a point it was like mush. And the tail was bone-inclusive, which is pretty weird. And of course, the body, which was de-boned, had bones everywhere. That’s all forgivable if the flesh was edible! MUSH!

I had enough. I asked for the bill and told my server about this. They took it off the bill to my protest, but they said it was policy. I guess this happens a lot? Not a good sign at all.

They comped me a dessert, but I took a few small bites and just left. Clearly eveyone else in this building right now is aching to leave themselves.

Sigh…not a great night at all…

Ivy Inn
2244 Old Ivy Road
Charlottesville, Virginia

* At least I managed to have a nice morning hike at Monticello…and hope it didn’t mean something negative. Last time I started a day with a morning hike at a presidential estate just happened to be Mount Vernon on Election Day 2016…and we all know what happened…

I’ve Had Better Tempura in North America… (Review: Ten-Masa)

11 December 2018

I headed out to dinner this evening very melancholic. Today was completely non-productive, throw in a so-so lunch at Oryori Tsuji and it makes for a sad final full day here in Tokyo. I was tired too, and getting too grumpy.

Tonight’s dinner was at Ten-Masa, which is a bit of a hike to Naka-Meguro thanks to the headachy train changes whichever way I chose to go. I decided to get there via Roppongi, which was stupid as it’s the worst interchange…oh well… I got to Ten-Masa on-time and they provided me with an English menu also. A bit of sake, and we got going pretty soon. The final dinner…

This place is a tempura specialty place that has morphed into a kaiseki style restaurant, and somehow earned a Michelin star. I didn’t even notice that when I booked this place, as I thought the Michelin was for the tempura place of the same name (and not this place). In any case, it starts with kitchen items and the first up is a seafood dish.

A nice combination of hotate (scallop) and ikura, a very Hokkaido-ish dish, all with jelly and lots of nice veggies from mountain yams to mushrooms. A pretty good start. A bit more sake and we have the soup dish.

Lovely broth here, and the crab is good — but I am SO GLAD this is the last bit of crab I’ll have to eat for months. I can go for a long time without crab at this stage… Plus the vegetables, especially mushrooms, were top notch. And excellent dashi once again, it’s good to be back in Tokyo…

Things were moving at a good pace, which is surprising as this was a large counter with a big table, and it’s full, and everyone is off-synch. Next up is the sashimi dish…

One of the rare times I’ll say meh to a sashimi dish. The hirame (fluke) was so-so, the saba (mackerel) boring, and the marinated meguro (tuna) also boring. Sigh…perhaps they should stick to tempura? In any case, I saw them put together the larger dish and was very happy to see it in front of me. Quite an interesting selection here…

Well, it was perhaps more visual than anything. There were some misses, like the ankimo (monkfish liver) which was very weak and the roast beef, which was pretty mediocre. However, some of it was excellent, like the karasumi (bottarga) and the shiokara (salted squid innards) — all condusive to more drinking, which I certainly did. Not bad, but perhaps it was more of a visual treat, like the so-so oyster and roe bowl and the uni and jelly bowl. But it did its job.

Now we get the reason why this set-up may not work, as every other diner is out of synch in a busy night. Chef didn’t seem ready to deal with things, and the large tables were taking up most of his time. Very poor kitchen management here, which should not be the case with a Michelin-starred restaurant. If I thought it was bad in places like Gion Kida in Kyoto and at Nishitenma Nakamura in Osaka, this was far, far worse…

In fact, there was a truly annoying 45-minute gap of nothing before the tempura series began. Ridiculous… And I obliged the long wait by NOT drinking, so they can’t cash in on their failings… I did a bit of a visual protest by just eating my grated daikon, and I think it registered… Eventually it began…

And I waited this long for this? A very poor ebi (shrimp) was presented, one of the worst pieces of shrimp tempura I’ve had — and that’s counting horrible stuff in the US. This was piss poor, I was beyond shocked…

Then the head, which was far better, but still pretty poor. How can you claim a Michelin star as a tempura-centric place and FUCK UP THE SHRIMP? Sigh…another sign that the Michelin guide is a total joke, even in Japan… Then I think they noticed I was losing my patience, so the next few pieces came out relatively quickly.

You have the haze (goby fish), not bad, much better than the shrimp disaster. Then lotus root…

Poorly done, the batter didn’t work here and it was sorely undercooked as the root took awhile to chew through as it was basically raw inside. That chewing took a bit longer than I thought…sigh… Then megochi (bigeye flathead)…

Good piece, he seems to be doing thin fish very well, but anything more solid is a mess. Then things slow down a little again and we have shiitake…

These are breaded with some ebi, and it was pretty good — though burning hot. Finally something that impressed me. Then kisu (whiting).

Again, the flat whitefish he does very well. Then we have leeks…

Meh, nothing special, again should have either cooked it tad longer or sliced something thinner. The texture was messed up compared to the breading. Then finally the uni…

Well, it didn’t work. I’ll leave it at that. It did not work. Not at all. Oh, what a lame tempura segment, I’ve had better in the US — and that’s a hell of an indictment on this place…

Frankly I just wanted to get out of here, so angry this could be my last dinner in Japan and it being so rubbish. Then we have an a sesame tofu and abalone dish.

Meh, poorly done. The sesame tofu was helped on by the sauce, but the awabi was utterly overcooked and lost all its flavour. Just piss poor stuff here… I just wanted to get the fuck out of here, but I know I need to finish this. They had asked which rice ending dish I wanted and I went with the tenchazuke (with broth)…

Nothing special, again it’s something I can get almost anywhere. I added more broth and finished it as soon as I could. Then the dessert…

One of the better items, pear and persimmon. But I’m done. I settled up quickly and just wanted to get out of here. What a shitty night to end this trip. Terrible kitchen management, and some piss poor items — including the ebi tempura. How can you fuck that up? Sigh…

This night just felt like Michelin was giving me the middle finger as I leave Japan.

Sigh…I’m done. I headed back to my hotel utterly frustrated. I can’t believe my final night is gonna end so shitty. Perhaps it’s for the best…the desire to return is far less with this crap experience. Oh well. Time to go…

Ten-Masa [天雅]
B1F, 3-16-13 Kamimeguro, Meguro-ku
Tokyo, Japan

* At least I had a wonderful nitecap at my “local” eating chicken skewers and drinking seaweed shochu until way past midnight…

** And, as tradition dictates, the next day my final meal in Japan is always at Zen in the basement floor adjacent to my hotel, and a nicely grilled mackereltok. At least the memory of my last meal will be good, especially compared to that cluster the night before…

Review: Oryori Tsuji

11 December 2018

I woke up this morning melancholic, as it is my final full day in Tokyo and Japan. With my future travel plans very uncertain, I just hope this isn’t my final full day in Japan forever, but that bleak thought stayed with me all day.

As it was the last full day, I had to get some last-minute stuff done. Lucky I have the memory of that wonderful dinner last night at Ichi — my “happy place” — to keep me fuelled for this busy final day…

Did a few things in the morning before I headed to lunch at Oryori Tsuji, a well-regarded kaiseki shop in Azabu-juban that has earned a Michelin star. I made it there and was seated at the counter. I relaxed with a drink and played around with one of the fluffiest hand towels I’ve ever seen…lol.

Soon the food started, first up was chawanmushi…

Oh this was excellent, perhaps the best chawanmushi of the trip. Lovely fish here, working so well with the delicate egg. Egg-celent! Sorry, that was uncalled for…perhaps due to the rather long wait for the next dish, which was an unpleasant surprise…

A nice soup dish here with crab and daikon. Lovely broth, and the daikon was excellent. I’ve just had about enough crab that I won’t touch the stuff for months after I get home, but it was good. Then after another long-ish pause, which is odd for a lunch course, we have the sashimi set…

Well, was it worth the wait? The main sashimi was mixed, from some so-so grilled sawara (Spanish mackerel) to good fugu to some fabulous meguro (tuna). The liver dish was quite good, but the pickle dish was a miss. The tuna was worth the wait but beyond that…

I am guessing this place runs on a slower pace, a huge contrast to how quickly I finished yesterday’s lunch at Totoya Uoshin. The next item is the grilled fish, and today it is tachiuo (scabbard fish).

I love this fish, and this was an excellent piece. I enjoyed this, but we’re now into our second hour — very slow for a lunch. I may have to alter my afternoon schedule because of this pace… Next up is a large selection of treats…

Some very delicious stuff here, the sardine with roe being the best alongside the karasumi (bottarga) and assorted vegetables. The namako (sea cucumber) wasn’t as good as usual. But overall quite a nice selection for sure, especially for lunch. I relaxed and suddenly remembered they were essentially doing the dinner course here, which is why things are moving slowly. Ah…oops. Next up, soba.

I’m not a soba fan, as those who follow my Japan travels know. I generally do not like noodles unless they are Mediterranean, and I have a hatred for ramen, so this is probably lost on me. But generally not bad. Then next up, daikon.

The irony of this daikon is that it’s one of the best I’ve had all trip, about even as good as the one at Rikichi in Kyoto. Lovely and clean, beautiful texture. I guess it had a good trip from Kyoto! Then next up is another of my favourite items, buri (wild yellowtail).

Meh, truly meh, what happened? It’s got no flavour. Perhaps the odd cooking of it caused it, but it really had none of the rich goodness buri usually has. What a letdown… Then next up is another dish that should be fabulous…

Well, it could have been… The starchy broth was fantastic, as was the burdock. However, the main ingredient, the wagyu tongue, was too rendered frankly, and it’s lost most of its flavour and unique texture. You may as well have some inferior meat instead. It all went into the starchy broth perhaps, but too bad as it was a missed opportunity. Sigh…

I was getting full, ad things were taking too long. I know I can’t make it out to Odaiba today now, damn… So as I waited to tried to figure out what else I can get done in my limited mid-afternoon as the final rice dish appeared.

Nothing too special, the rice had something in it I couldn’t quite tell…is that cod roe? But it was so-so, nothing special. But it did signify the lunch was near an end. Apparently they had made more rice, and they asked if I wanted to take it with me, so I did.

Then we have a 2-part dessert, first off a delicious sweet rice cake…

Then some fruits with a jelly sauce. Very nice. I always like to end with some fresh fruits. I thanked the staff, got my takeaway, and headed out the door. This was a pretty good lunch, with some highlights, but it took way too long (perhaps my fault for asking for the full dinner course) and scuppered my afternoon plans. Too many mediocre dishes tho, so can’t really recommend this place.

I headed out, realising I have way less time than I thought, so just decided to do some shopping nearby instead before I headed back to my hotel to pack up…

Oryori Tsuji [御料理 辻]
B1F, 3-3-9 Higashi-azabu, Minato-ku
Tokyo, Japan

Review #6: Ichi

10 December 2018

What I thought was gonna be a very busy afternoon heading to the south part of Tokyo didn’t happen, nor did the trek out to Odaiba. A few unexpected messages showed up right after lunch at Totoya Uoshin, and that had to be dealt with first. A curveball. So after sorting part of that mess out, with what little free time I had left I went to do some shopping.

I headed back to my hotel mid-afternoon to continue to deal with this headache of a curveball, but at least it was sorted out — for the time being. Good, as I was headed to dinner at my “happy place” in Tokyo, one of my favourite restaurants in the world, Ichi.

This eatery in Roppongi I’ve totally fallen in love with it. Chef Yuichi Tanaka is one of the best kaiseki chefs in Tokyo, but keeps flying under the radar for his humble approach to food. With the hospitality led by Takayo Noguchi, probably the friendliest server on the planet, this is truly my happy place. Last time I was here it was beyond spectacular…

I was happy to say hi to everyone and returned to my now-usual counter seat. So comfortable…and that zen-ish music that keeps repeating in a Frippian loop… I’m back… I relaxed as the first of a many sake is brought out for me this evening…

I was pleasantly surprised as they were getting busy very early tonight, with most of their table area full. I always tell people this place is so unheralded but deserves so much more attention, I’m glad they’re getting it. They retained their Michelin star, but I really think they deserve a second one. But after that Koryu disaster in Osaka, who knows how insane (or corrupt) the local Michelin assessment team is…

In any case, the dinner began with what’s a common winter dish — winter parsley from Chef Tanaka’s parents’ garden…

I’ve become addicted to these things, they are so good. Because of how they freeze and thaw, they are extremely tender and delicious with bonito flakes. Just delicious. Next up, a tofu dish…

The tofu is actually made with addition of shirako! Delicious and creamy, and all topped by a nice jelly made of bonito and vinegar. Excellent. I relaxed and had more sake as we move to the next dish, which is always the interesting large plate from Chef Tanaka…

There’s so much on this plate it’s hard to describe. You have an amazing monkfish aspic, together with its liver (ankimo) that is just spectacular… Then you have a selection of veggies from eggplant to sweet potato to arrowhead root. Even a persimmon and sake lees roll with home-made cream cheese. And a beautiful smoked kasube (stingray) wing that is just fantastic…

Had a rare conversation with Chef Tanaka about the smoking of the ray wing, I think I caught most of it. Then we have the sashimi dish…

Lovely selection once again. The saba (mackerel) with mustard was excellent, the kuromutsu (black gnomefish) was delicious, the kinmedai (goldeneye snapper) quite good, the fugu quite nice, and the aori-ika (big-fin squid) fabulous. Fresh and lovely stuff! Loving this dinner as usual!

The place is now booming, I’ve never seen this place so busy before. That’s excellent, though everyone is now working flat out. With more sake, next up was some grilled sawara (Spanish mackerel).

A few versions of this all trip, and this was the best. Chef Tanaka chose not to use miso like some of the other excellent versions, and this one was the most true. You get the essence of the rich fish so nicely in this clean method. Awesome. Then we have a shirako-filled roll…

This harumaki (spring roll) is excellent, fried to perfection, filled with delicious shirako and even some apple and shiso leaves. Delicious, will make you think twice about that dodgy egg roll you eat for lunch… Next up they start setting up the shabu set, and I know what’s coming.

One of chef’s specialties is kue (longtooth grouper) shabu, and I reckon we have it again…

The fish is just lovely, quickly cooked in the lovely soup…

Eventually after all the wonderful kue is consumed, we get to enjoy the broth…mmm… At this point I know we’re approaching the end, and that’s a bit sad as I’m loving this evening again. But I also know what’s coming.

Those of you who have read my earlier reviews of Ichi knows that I’m always raving about Chef Tanaka’s burnt rice. He does it perfectly, so it’s crunchy and delicious and full of flavour — without ruining the rice. The burnt parts work as a wonderful extra treat. And for today’s rice? Nodoguro!

Yep, the black-throat perch, my favourite fish in the world. So good…just look at this rice…

So tasty, I kept eating until the entire bowl was done, 3 happy helpings… So good, I can keep eating it.

That oily nodoguro infused itself into the rice to create this amazing flavour…oh my… So happy!

With a bit more booze, we then have the dessert…

A delicious almond milk jelly with pear sauce, alongside some persimmons. Excellent, the kind of dessert I like. Such a lovely end to a wonderful dinner. This evening once again re-affirms why Ichi is one of my favourite restaurants in the entire world. There’s nowhere else that I feel so good in Japan, from the comfortable and wonderful hospitality by Ms Noguchi and the fabulous and solid cooking of Chef Tanaka. So good…

Unfortunately I was in a bit of a rush as I had to get to the other side of Roppongi to meet a friend for some drinks, so I thanked them all and headed out — hoping to be able to come back again. I know if I manage to get back to Tokyo again I will for sure return to this place as a priority!

As always, heavily recommended!

Ichi [いち]
7-10-30 Roppongi, Minato-ku
Tokyo, Japan

* A good evening drinking and chatting with a friend at Cask Strength closed off what is an excellent evening…too few of these nights these days…

Review #2: Totoya Uoshin

10 December 2018

Into my third week on this trip, I am indeed tired. And I’m suddenly not sleeping well, like I’m getting hit with a second jetlag. I’m grumpy and tired, I’m actually glad to be heading home in a few days… Last night’s dinner at Sushisho Masa was excellent, but still I feel weary.

I had a few things to do in the morning before I headed to lunch, this day at one of my favourite kaiseki places — Totoya Uoshin. I’ve been here several times before (albeit reviewed only once), and I really like this shop. Solid cooking and good ingredients, not sure why it’s not more popular.

Never done lunch here before, but when I showed up they gave me my now-usual seat at the right end of the counter and I think chef recognised me. I happily chose the longer lunch course and relaxed with a sake before the opener arrived…

A nice salad and some nibbles, notably a rather kawaii baby daikon and a tasty karasumi (bottarga). Good start, though that karasumi made me drink my sake a bit faster than usual for lunch. Next up was some sashimi, which I know is always good here.

I think coming at 11.30am was a little early as they may still be getting ready. They could have started to prep the fish a little earlier as it was tad cold. The hirame (fluke) was okay, but the engawa (fin) was lovely. The kinmedai (goldeneye snapper) was good, as was the meguro (tuna). Solid, but I wish it was just a tad warmer… Then we have the soup, which is definitely warm…

A delicious broth with a tasty meatball. Again, this made me think, why were so many of the broths in Osaka and Kyoto so weak? The meatball was a treat, as was the shiitake. Nice stuff. Then next up, buri (wild yellowtail).

Oh my this is delicious. I love buri in any case, but this grilled version was spectacular. Perfect texture, none of the oily goodness is lost here. Flavour intense yet mellow, hard to describe. Awesome. I had more sake and then we have the stewed dish.

Well, today’s version is cold, which is interesting. The daikon was good, as was the tofu skin and eggplant. The dashi was excellent, but I still find it odd that it’s cold. A twist, that’s for sure. But as this was lunch, the course was coming to an end, and we have the rice set.

Or is it just rice? Yeah…it’s plain rice with pickles. A bit anti-climactic, but it is lunch and the price reflects a simple lunch. I just wish there was a little something since the rice is very moist and it really needed something more than the pickles (which works well with drier rice). Plus there wasn’t enough of the pickles, oh well… Then dessert…

Black bean pudding, quite nice. A solid lunch I’ll say. I thanked the staff and headed out the door. Not one of the better meals here, but that’s because it’s lunch. Next time (I hope there’s a next time) I’ll come back again for dinner. Always recommended.

Now to get going on a very busy afternoon…

Totoya Uoshin [とゝや 魚新]
5-1-34 Akasaka, Minato-ku
Tokyo, Japan

Review #4: Sushisho Masa

9 December 2018

I needed a chilled out afternoon, after getting back to Tokyo from Matsuyama earlier. Rushed to lunch at Ginza Katsukami, which wasn’t bad at all. Dealt with various trip-related issues as this long East Asia trip is drawing to a close now in its third week…

I broke Tokyo up into two parts, as usual, and tonight my dinner destination is one of my favourite sushi-ya in town, one that I visit nearly every trip, Sushisho Masa. I’ve had so many good nights here over the years, the last one just in March was rather memorable. I’m hoping for another wonderful evening, as this the last sushi meal for this trip — and likely the last sushi meal I’ll have for a long, long while…

I got there and they were surprised, because my hotel apparently made my booking without my full name — so they were happy to see a familiar face back (albeit at first confused because of the thick beard I now sport). I sat in the cramped counter space and as everyone was there for the 6pm seating, we got started immediately with some tako (octopus).

Hmmm, not as good as usual, very bland. Texture fine, but just tasted very boring. Then we have kawahagi (thread-sail filefish) — and then its liver wrapped around the body.

Fabulous, this is why I come to Sushisho Masa because of how they show off not just the finest cuts of the fish, but many different aspects of the same creature. Excellent. Sorry for the bad photo, I was trying to do it too quick this evening… Then next up, engawa (fin).

A nice treat, I always like this cut of a fish. Then we move into the clams, first with akagai (surf clam).

Delicious, I can’t get this in the US, this version is so tender with the way Chef Masa prepares it. Then a dual tasting of mirugai (geoduck).

Fabulous again, a very tender sashimi and then grilled. I love this contrast in texture and taste, again a key reason I keep visiting this shop. Then some ebi (shrimp)…

A touch of its roe to bring the raw shrimp out, excellent. Then we have tsubugai (whelk).

Excellent, few places do this right. It’s not too soft, not too hard, very meaty. Excellent stuff once again. Then we have some saba (mackerel) from Aomori…

Oh this is just lovely, amazing flavours here. I love mackerel to death, and this was just about perfect. so far things are fabulous once again. Then we revisit tsubugai, but it’s liver…

Excellent, I love how they bring out the innards of the fish, it’s mouth-to-tail eating ocean-style that’s for sure. Tasty treat. Then we have shirako…

It’s actually from octopus! Excellent stuff, tho a bit on the salty side…careless seasoning here. At this point I also noticed Chef Masa seems to be in a foul mood this evening, a little less chatty, a bit angry towards some of his staff. Hmmm. In any case, the rice comes out and the nigiri segment is starting. first up, a duo of sawara (Spanish mackerel).

Not one of the better pieces, pretty mild, perhaps this is one of those things I just like better grilled – like the belly, which was far better. But still missed. Odd. Then we have uni.

Excellent, lovely and creamy. Then we have some roe from the karei (flounder).

Not bad, but not as good as the one from yesterday at Shiki. Then next up, ankimo…

Oh dear this was fantastic…so good. Even better than the one from Sushi Ino the other day, amazing stuff. Would happily give up foie if I can keep eating this… Fabulous… Then we have some cod shirako.

A nice portion, pretty good. Consistent, which is something I’ve seen problems with all trip with the grilling. Next up, kodai (snapper).

Not bad, not one of my favourite fish in this family, but not bad, especially the second piece with its innards. Then kuromutsu (black gnomefish) grilled…

Delicious, don’t see this too often, so I enjoy it when I get it. Then shiro-ika (cuttlefish) and its tentacle…

Nice, the body is sashimi and the tentacle is lightly grilled. Then one of the apprentices brings out tairagai (pen-shell clam) wrapped in a nori. I’m not gonna show the photo here because 90% of the pix is of my hand. But it was again on the salty side. Whoever is back grilling things is over-seasoning things…maybe a good reason for Chef Masa to be cross all evening? Then we have sayori (halfbeak).

Okay, nothing too special, about as good as the one at Sushi Ino the other night in Matsuyama. Then we have the brain of amaebi (prawn)…

I always love this, so good… Then more crab…

I may have seen too much crab on this trip, but if it all looked like this I’ll take it. Lovely flesh, roe, innards. Just excellent. Then we have a tasting of buri (wild yellowtail).

Proper yellowtail, not like the farmed hamachi you usually get. The first piece is from the inner part of the buri, and it’s bloody good. The second piece is from the outer part, and is wrapped. Fabulous. The third is from that “bloody” part you get from the slices, grilled. Fabulous. An excellent trio for sure. Then we have a surprise…

I thought I heard them say abura bozu, which can’t be right because that’s the dreaded escolar — and this doesn’t look (nor taste) like escolar. But the Swedish apprentice said grouper, so is it hata? I cannot figure this out… But it certainly doesn’t taste like escolar…

In any case, we have another duo here, this time katsuo (bonito)…

The smoked one is quite nice, it’s the most smoked fish in Japan for sure. Then the same fish but raw. Again, a wonderful contrast in texture and flavour. Nice. Then a total surprise, akamanbo (moonfish)…

I was confused at first until I figured out it’s opah! So good, nicely grilled. Haven’t had good opah in years… One of the rare ones that I didn’t know the English nor the Japanese name — but cleared up once I heard the Hawaiʻian name! Love this stuff… Then we go back to earth with kohada (gizzard shad).

It always seems obligatory — does anyone *really* like kohada? In any case, it usually follows the tuna segment, but not here, as Chef Masa never emphasises the tuna here. Anyway, next up, which helps my sake consumption, is karasumi (bottarga).

Nice, not too mild, but not too strong. Helps with the drinking as I said. This leads into the tuna segment, first up chu-toro…

Not bad, though I don’t come here for the tuna. Next up, o-toro…

Surprised, not always you get this here, but I’m not a big fan of how it’s sliced here. Doesn’t let us get the full taste of it. Then some tzuke akami (marinated lean)…

Good piece, but again I’m not here for the tuna. Next we return to the akamanbo with a raw piece.

Nice stuff, I do miss eating opah so much… so ʻono… Then we have grilled kamasu (barracuda).

Excellent, I love this fish when it’s grilled like this. Made me remember how I was “cheated” out of it at that horrible Michelin rip-off joint Koryu in Osaka… Excellent piece. Then we have amaebi (prawn).

Not bad. We had its brain earlier, which was the treat. Then we return to katsuo (bonito) from earlier and have the belly.

Since the bonito is closely related to tuna, the belly was certainly a treat. We so seldomly get it, so good. Then my favourite fish in the world, nodoguro (black throated perch).

Seared, darn good. I love this fish, so rich and good. It’s one of those I can eat forever… Then we have the (brainless) head of the earlier prawn…

Mmm… Good stuff. Then I smell eel, so I guess we are nearing an end. Goodness this is running long too, as it was past 8.30pm. It was a little more chaotic than normal today, adding a moody chef. The eel then appears…

As usual, one with sauce and one with sea salt. Both excellent. Then they made 2 sets of maki…

I guess these are good at filling you up, but not sure why they came. In any case, I was quite full, we’ve had a lot — I mean a LOT — of food. And you can see them trying to reset for the 9pm seating at this point, but brought out a little more food. First, a surprise — nishin (herring).

I guess the Swedish apprentice, who I always enjoy chatting with, has left an influence on Chef Masa. Excellent, so rarely served, I love it. And finally, we return to nearly the beginning with kawahagi (thread-sail filefish) topped with its innards…

They were clearly running low on time, so unless we asked they didn’t give us the usual tamago — but gave us this instead…

A nice ikura bowl, a nice final item. A bit of a mad rush to get everyone settled up and out, as they had less than 10 minutes to clean up and prep for the next seating. So I obliged and headed out quickly. So nice to feel that cold air outside as it’s usually quite warm inside…especially after eating 50+ pieces of sushi…

Of all my trips here, this may have been the weakest evening. Some mediocre pieces, whoever was doing the grilling in the back was over-seasoning things, and Chef Masa wasn’t in his happiest mood, especially in chewing out some of his staff in full view (which you don’t see often in Japan). In fact, he wasn’t very pleasant at all… But even on a weak night, Sushisho Masa is one of the best sushi-ya in Tokyo and thus the world. The variety is always mind-blowing, the volume is always extremely high, the quality always excellent, and you get that amazing contrast with different pieces that makes you think about each of the creatues you consume.

I took the slow public bus back towards my hotel, a nice relaxing way to go back. I enjoyed this evening as always, and this will always be one of my favourite sushi shops in the world. Saying this after a relatively weak night tells you something.

So darn recommended…

Sushisho Masa [すし匠 まさ]
B1F, 4-1-15 Nishi-azabu, Minato-ku
Tokyo, Japan

* And again, to show how fucking ridiculous Koryu was, this whole dinner, with 50+ pieces, cost just more than HALF of that joke in Osaka…