Shanghai: 12 Chairs (Jan. 2013)
Author: Victor
Restaurant: 12 Chairs
Exec Chef: David Laris
Date: January 2, 2013
Notes:
I was in Shanghai for a few days to celebrate New Year’s Eve with some friends (drinking, partying, massages, and really and really good food = yay!), and I figured that I’d try a fine dining restaurant in Shanghai while I was here. The two fine dining restaurants I really wanted to try in Shanghai were 12 Chairs and Ultraviolet. I’ll try out Ultraviolet on my next trip to Shanghai!
The entire restaurant is one table with 12 chairs; it’s supposed to be an intimate dining experience where you get to know your fellow diners over the course of the meal.
Conceptually, the food is interesting, and the chef mixes together different flavors that should work. In execution, however, the dishes were kind of mediocre. The meal kind of made me appreciate how so many restaurants in NYC have great execution/cooking.
HK: Sushi Yoshitake (Jan. 2013)
March 13, 2013 Note: This restaurant is now known as Sushi Shikon.
Author: Victor
Restaurant: Sushi Yoshitake
Exec Chef: Masahiro Yoshitake
Sous Chef (and our sushi chef): Yoshiharu Kakinuma
Date: January 7, 2013
“Miyabi” Menu
Website: http://www.sushiyoshitake.com/
Notes:
Sushi Yoshitake in Tokyo is really popular among sushi enthusiasts, and it recently received its third Michelin star in the 2012 Guide. Chef Yoshitake decided to open a second restaurant and chose Hong Kong as his destination, so I figured that I’d try it while here on my break! There are a total of eight seats in this restaurant, which consists of one sushi bar. There are two sushi chefs, Chef Yoshitake and his apprentice Chef Kakinuma, and each serves up to four diners at a time.
Chef Kakinuma was our sushi chef, and Chef Yoshitake was at the other side of the bar. I should probably add that it was really helpful that Chef Kakinuma spoke fluent English.
Chef Yoshitake is preparing nigiri here. I realize it’s not the most flattering pic haha :(.
HK: Tenku RyuGin Hong Kong (Jan. 2013)
Author: Victor
Restaurant: Tenku RyuGin
Exec Chef: Seiji Yamamoto
Chef de Cuisine: Hideaki Sato
Date: January 6, 2013
Winter Gastronomy Menu
Website: http://www.ryugin.com.hk/index_e.php
Notes:
-I’m trying to hit up a few kaiseki and sushi restaurants while on my Asia trip this break, and this restaurant was one of the ones I was most looking forward to. My anticipation, it turns out, was justified.
-Nihonryori RyuGin is a famous kaiseki restaurant in Roppongi, and I really wanted to try their Hong Kong branch, which happened to be only their second restaurant!
I use the word “delicious” a lot in my descriptions of the courses. I really can’t help it. That’s what everything was: delicious. The ingredients were really fresh, the execution was perfect, and everything really was delicious. This was INCREDIBLE cooking, and I’m really glad that I’m lucky enough to be able to experience it. This meal is one of my top five meals of all time.
Three of the dishes are specialties from the Roppongi restaurant:
-Course #2: “Premium Monkfish Liver”
-Course #7: Reinvented “Nikujaga”
-Course #9: -196°C “Candy Pear” and +99°C “Pear Jam”
This is the outside of the restaurant; we were in the ICC 101 Sky Dining lobby.
Monte
Victor
tadv3
Happy Noms 