Aikawa 愛川 - Old school unaju in Tokyo, Japan I read about this place from Tokyo's Timeout magazine. And after walking off our lunch we decided to check out the place before dinner, a slight trek from the metro. Whilst we wait for our food we have some edamame and senbei i.e. fried eel bones to snack on. Whilst we've had plenty of edamame, senbei is really a for us. Quite addictively crunchy but it gets quite salty after a while, which makes it perfect with beer. senbei (fried eel bone) the glossy box

Aikawa 愛川 - Old school unaju in Tokyo, Japan

I read about this place from Tokyo's Timeout magazine. And after walking off our lunch we decided to check out the place before dinner, a slight trek from the metro. 

Whilst we wait for our food we have some edamame and senbei i.e. fried eel bones to snack on. Whilst we've had plenty of edamame, senbei is really a for us. Quite addictively crunchy but it gets quite salty after a while, which makes it perfect with beer. 

senbei (fried eel bone) 

the glossy box

After a 15 minute wait our glossy box arrives, with a eel liver soup to go with the unaju. The unagi is grilled longer here - katayaki style - so the meat is firmer, and crispier, not very sweet which I enjoyed.  The fillets are very large and meaty, and this was only their medium! What if we ordered the largest? The rice beneath is plump and very delicious too.

 

Medium large eel 

Aikawa does serve up an eel quite different from that you would normally have, which is steamed and then grilled making the meat rather soft. The unagi here is not meltingly soft, and has a slight chew and crispiness on the more grilled bits, which I quite enjoyed.

Overall, if you're looking for eel prepared in a different manner, this is a good place to check out ;-). 

Food: ♥♥♥ 1/2 

Service: ♥♥♥

Price: ¥4,200 for the unaju box, katayaki style (extra grilling, to make the fillets more firm)

Aikiwa

1-17-22 Takadanobaba Shinjuku Tokyo
Tel: +81-3-3200-3717

うに虎喰 - Tsukiji Itadori Unitora Kurau, Tokyo, Japan 

Our first breakfast in Tokyo was na sea urchin specialty store to satisfy our sea urchin cravings... we went to this place by the Tsukiji market and avoided the queues at the popular sushi joints as we were going to get top sushi later.

catch of the day

Tim's Kitchen

Admittedly this is a very belated post, a visit made last October, but a post nonetheless! Happy New Year everybody - the holiday period was definitely enjoyable for me, being a glutton and all....hope all of yours was too!

Braised pomelo skin with shrimp roes ($80/pc)

Really good - not to get into the whole cooking process but the soaking of the skin to remove its bitterness alone takes around 3 days... since this is something I wouldn't bother doing, this is one dish I like ordering. The shrimp roes were fragrant too and seasoning was just right. 

Chilled marinated goose meat roll ($54)

Not a big fan of beancurd skin but I liked the filling - different textures and flavours made for a delicious bite.

Choice of 2 BBQ meat: BBQ pork and roasted crispy baby pork belly ($118)

BBQ pork (char siu) was mediocre at best, lacking both sweet and salty flavours, charred bits and wasn't quite tender enough; but that clear five-layered roasted pork belly was as glorious as last time.

Double-boiled winter melon soup with shrimps, yunnan ham, crab meat, fungus ($550/7 servings)

In line with the end-of-summer heat, we pre-ordered this bad boy to share. Luscious winter melon meat with fresh seafood and quality ham... lovely!

 

Deboned Eight Treasure Duck ($500)

This was fall-off-the-bone tender, one can easily cut through the meat with a spoon. Well-seasoned and something worth ordering in advance for.

Barley, chesnuts, green beans, lotus seeds, gingko nuts, egg yolk and various offal including liver.

From a previous visit: 

Two barbeque selection ($118) - BBQ pork and roasted baby pork belly

Oven-baked chicken with preserved vegetables wrapped in lotus leaf ($450)

This chicken was one of the better Chinese-style chicken dishes I've had. Very tender chicken with basically no fat between the skin and meat, and full-on flavours coming from the bird itself and saltiness from the preserved vegetables. I'll be ordering this again.

 

Tim's Kitchen deserves its popularity. I have yet to try the taro puff with sliced duck and the fried glutinous rice,  and will definitely be back for those!

Food: ♥♥♥♥1/2

Service: ♥♥♥

Price: About HK$300-400

 

Tim's Kitchen

G/F & 1/F, 84-90 Bonham Strand,

Sheung Wan 

Hong Kong

T: +852 2543 5919 (bookings highly recommended, many dishes require at least a day's notice) 

Kishoku

I think I just might have found my new favorite sushi heaven. I won't waste your time by giving you a full-on intro on Kishoku, but if you are interested in a little background information, just read this article. We came just before last order and sat at the sushi counter. Our sushi chef came and introduced the menu and recommended we try the deluxe sushi platter... This was what we had come for and so we happily went along.

lunch menu

Fancy Thai - Mango Tree

When a Hong Kong person thinks of Thai food, Kowloon City aka "Thai town" of Hong Kong often springs to mind. No doubt, there is an abundance of cheap and cheerful Thai eateries there although standards have dropped since I was young - my school was nearby and visits to the Thai restaurants in the 'hood as well as Kung Wo Soybean Factory was a must-do every week... Now that I am based on Hong Kong island, trips to Kowloon City is rare and when I do go it's often for the veal goulash cakes, or "牛肉餅" in Muslim Food followed by a bowl of smooth tofu fa at Kung Wo. (If you haven't been already, what are you waiting for?!!)

Anyhow, I do often make trips to Elements - it being easily accessible and all; and one of my favourite restaurants there is Mango Tree. It's first branch in Hong Kong is in the Cubus building in Causeway Bay, but this place has a slightly longer menu and a floor to ceiling windows giving you a wonderful view of Hong Kong.... This place is definitely pricier than the many Thai restaurants around Wanchai, Causeway Bay and Kowloon City but on my couple of visits here the dishes were executed well and tasty. 

chicken and beef satays with peanut sauce and pickles (($98 ea)

August Restaurant Week HK - Messina il Ristorante

Before the month comes to an end I just wanted to write about a memorable lunch, at Messina il Ristorante. A few friends and I were due to catch up and what better way than do it over good food? Ahead of restaurant week I booked us in for a Saturday lunch as we would all have to trek over from HK side...

We arrived the Harbourside, not knowing it was actually a residential area and hence given the weekend lots of families going in and out. Good thing the restaurants here by K.O. Dining Group have their own lift lobby.

restaurant week menu

August Restaurant Week HK - La Parole

Taking a break from playing catch-up on writing about my foodventures in the past year... I just wanted to write about a few recent places I visited during Restaurant Week this month. 

First up - a dinner at La Parole 

Menu

For those who aren't familiar, a select few restaurants in Hong Kong participated in Restaurant Week whereby they design a menu for a given price/category; and customers book in advance (through diningcity) to try out the specially designed menu.... La Parole was one such restaurant; and dinner was priced at $428 for four courses.

Southern Food - Red Rooster NYC

My first meal off the plane was at Red Rooster Harlem, opened by celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, the Ethiopian-born Swedish chef that was crowned Top Chef Master in Season 2 (2010). For those who don't know me, I am (openly) obsessed with anything Top Chef and Iron Chef (only the US series please!) :)

Naturally, I had high hopes....and this was my first time trying Southern food. We were led downstairs upon arrival (make reservations weeks in advance if you want to go on a weekend!), and their decor reminds one of a speakeasy. With their red leather sofas and all. 

"Cornbread" with tomato jam and honey butter

The Steakhouse Winebar + Grill 

@ Intercontinental Hotel

 

Yardbird

Yardbird @ Sheungwan

Yardbird has fans. A lot of fans. And despite the long queues (no reservations taken), one waits, and wait they should - the food here is fab. Below is a collection of photos over several visits, with a few comments here and there.

Menu, specials on board

Nanhai No. 1 - Contemporary Chinese eats

 Apologies for not having updated in a long time, but studies took over a lot of my time and I've been finding it hard to find time to update!
Hope everyone has a great 2012 filled with amazing food =) 

Nanhai No. 1 @ Isquare

Marinated jellyfish

 Quite thickly cut compared to other versions I've had. 

Marinated cucumbers

 Marinades for both starters were very well balanced. 

Double boiled soup

Contents from the soup - chicken feat, pork, gizzard and conch etc.

Braised soya chicken

 Very tender chicken in a balanced soy stew sauce. No complaints and perfect with plain rice. 

Stir-fried shrimps with jade melon, mushrooms and carrot.

Seasonal veg with shimeiji mushrooms

Mushrooms had a lovely 'wok hei' (smokiness from the heat of the wok) to it. Looks simple but so delicious.

Flash-fried garoupa fillets

Fried rice and seafood in lobster soup

One of the better versions I've had. The waiter puts the hot fried rice into the soup in front of us for a bit of theatre, and then after serving the rice retained a crispy-stickiness to it. Yum, and better than Cuisine Cuisine's.

Food: ♥♥♥♥
Service: ♥♥♥ 1/2 
Price: $300-400pp

Nanhai No.1

30/F, Isquare, 

63 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2487 3688

Sushi Fuku-suke

Fuku suke @ Causeway Bay

It has been almost two months since i've had sushi (last visit was at Tenzen, which had decent but not particularly memorable quality fish, may post about it later) thanks to exams taking over my life for the past several months. how i crave this stuff! Note to self: must have decent sushi at least once a fortnight =) 

So on a friday afternoon i dragged my raw fish-loving brother to causeway bay to visit fuku suke in hopes of ordering their famous assorted sashimi rice bowl...

some appetizers

Man Wah Chinese Restaurant - featuring Da Dong

Man Wah Chinese Restaurant @ 

Mandarin Oriental HK

For a week, Da Dong was at Mandarin Oriental's Chinese restaurant, and if you don't already know, Da Dong is famed for their lean roasted ducks.... 

Liberty Exchange

Liberty Exchange @ Central

Liberty Exchange's bar is packed every night. Promising drinks, food and great location why not? Tonight was a family reunification and heres what we had: 

Isola

Isola @ IFC 

Isola is always full.... given the harbour view and the fact that its in IFC, there's no doubt why it shouldn't be. I finally got the chance to try out Isola but was quite underwhelmed with our dinner.

 

Macau - Aurora

Aurora @ Altira Hotel

on our last half-day at Macau, we weren't able to get a table at Robuchon (seriously, book one month ahead if you want to go during CNY) so we resorted to Aurora, which recently gained a michelin star...

W52

Date of visit: 23rd December 2010 

W52 @ Central 

lunch menu

not a lot of choices, menu could be more 'fun' if you will, but then again if each one is well-executed, who am i to complain?? 

bread basket

very generous selection, I particularly enjoyed the grissini and the (sun-dried?) tomato-flavoured rolls (orange ones). The balsamic and olive oil that were poured for us were also great...the thick and luscious sweet vinegar - i loved! 

dip

this came with the bread basket, and we noticed that each table received different dips. I suspect this was their take on a baba ganoush, but the eggplant was hardly seasoned the whole dip was almost tasteless.... 

plate of antipasti

this was my first plate from the antipasti buffet, which included some seared tuna, grilled eggplant and squash, sauteed wild mushrooms, salad greens and a cucumber salad that was pre-dressed. Surprisingly, all the items were good, taste and quality wise. I happily polished a second plate of goodies from the buffet. 

"Hand-made taglierini with cauliflower ragout, anchovies and pecorino" 

This dish tasted incredibly light and healthy, not really what I'd like if I were ordering pasta but this was M's choice. Home-made pasta does not necessarily mean it is better than dried varieties, and I actually don't see anything wrong with using dried pastas, unless its a filled-pasta like ravioli. Having said that, I equally don't mind hand-made varieties so long as they retain a bite to them, or is 'al dente'. W52's did not disappoint in this matter, and I would happily return to try out their other pasta selections.... 

This particular dish was studded with cauliflower and the anchovies and pecorino were too subtle, which resulted in the above-mentioned too-light-a-flavour.

"Roast stuffed turkey with almonds and pomegranate"

This was a turkey roulade served with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. It was only two days till Christmas so I'm guessing this was put on the menu in light of the holidays. I love turkey and for some unknown reason this protein is harder to find in Hong Kong than, say in the US, so I went for it. 

This roll of turkey was half-white and half-dark meat, and rolled together with the roasted skin as the wrap. On top were some pomegranate seeds which didn't make much sense for me though I didn't mind them as a bit of textural difference. The meat was seasoned, so it was very flavourful and most importantly, moist. Now only if the skin was crispy....

The cranberry was studded with whole cranberries, and was very sour/tart which was quite nice together with the turkey if you like that sort of combination.

From clockwise, starting with top left corner: tiramisu, pear tart, profiterole, choux, blueberry cheesecake, two raspberry mille-feuilles, chocolate tort, bread pudding and a creme brulee in the centre.

All desserts are laid out next to the anti pasti buffet table, and the spread looked appetizing enough, so M and I decided we'd try out most of the choices - I think we had everything except for a strawberry panna cotta and fruits? 

Anyway, most of their desserts were surprisingly acceptable. I particularly liked the tiramisu, choux pastry and bread pudding. The chocolate torte was hardly chocolatey enough and was quite dry... Others, like the creme brulee and profiteroles were enjoyable enough.  

Our lovely meal ended with a cup of coffee for me, which wasn't bad. W52 serves pretty good antipasti for a lunch buffet style, and upon a recent re-visit to Bistecca (which had deteriorated a lot in quality and disappointing to say the least) I can definitely say I'd much rather come back here. 

Food: ♥♥♥♥ (antipasti and dessert), ♥♥♥ 1/2 (main)

Service: ♥♥♥

Price: $$$-$$$$

W52

G/F-3/F, 52 Wyndham St, Central

Tel: +852 6788 5252

FINDS Scandinavian Cuisine

Finds @ LKF Hotel

This is a compilation of several visits, and I was initially going to just post it as a pictorial, but decided to write a little something, for FINDS is being relocated to the Luxe Manor in TST very soon!

Bread Basket – Reasonably good baguette, the other, which was a homemade brown bread sweetened with raisins had a really weird burnt taste which none of my friends appreciated. 

Salmon Skewers($38/1) – Considering the size of these skewers, $38 is definitely not cheap, but they were grilled so well – the brown marks gave for a crispy texture from the Maillard reaction. The orange sauce is a thousand island sauce, and the other (yellow-green) is a lemon-something sauce which none of us were fans of. 7.5/10

Zucchini Skewers ($28/2) were not bad on my first visit, but on the second the skin was bitter – this often happens when the skin is not scrubbed well enough before grilling, or if the zucchini was bruised/bad. The sauces were pesto and salsa for this one. 6/10

Salmon and Shrimp Balls ($88) is from their ‘Scapas’ menu – it doesn’t have a very attractive name, but I can assure you these are a must-order especially if you just want nibbles! The ‘balls’ were essentially minced shrimp and salmon paste coated in a very thin bread-crumb layer and deep fried. The ingredients were very fresh, and the outside was crunchy. I liked them plain, but there’s a thousand island sauce accompanying them which was also tasty. 9/10

Cross-section of the salmon/shrimp balls

Smoked Salmon Salad ($98) was a generous portion (they have an even larger one as ‘main’ for almost double the price but we were here to taste!), and the smoked salmon is house-smoked, very different from the gravlax (semi-translucent smoked salmon) I usually come across. I think it should be called ‘crumbled salmon’ to be less confusing, as it was fully cooked. Anyway, the mix of greens (mesclun, purple cabbage) were fresh, and the creamy dressing (a Swedish mustard-dill sauce) was tasty, and they didn’t over-dress the greens in any way. 8/10

Asparagus and morels risotto ($168) is the only vegetarian dish on the menu, and arrives as a stunning plate of food. The menu description mentions a ‘truffle-poached egg’, but ours (on two occasions) was just a simple poached egg without any taste or scent of truffles – it was perfectly poached and definitely even better when broken on top of the rice. Surrounding the risotto and poached egg are white and green asparagus with some pan-fried wild morels in a light shallot confit vinaigrette with pink peppercorns. Peppercorns would’ve been better if they were ground rather than whole or half pieces, but peppercorns aside, the whole dish was really tasty although incredibly filling! No sides and no appetizer or dessert needed if you want to finish this one! The risotto was cooked to a soft –to-al dente texture, so a bit less time on the stove would’ve been better for me, but then again my dining partner thought it was the right texture. One of the better risottos I’ve had, the rice was seasoned very well and there was a hint of butter which didn’t over-whelm the dish either – would recommend this! 8/10

Blackened Sea Bass ($218) was another main I ordered. It is cooked by pan-frying it in really hot oil to achieve a crispy (black) skin, and the other side is more gently pan-fried till it is done. On the plate was a cauliflower puree and some roasted fava beans and cauliflower. The sea bass fillet was very well cooked, and was moist and soft, reminding me of a rosemary grilled sea bass I had at Dot Cod… The seasoning on this fish could have been more balanced as the skin had parts that were really salty and other parts which were quite bland. Also, the plate could have used more sauce (‘Vierge’) as I couldn’t really identify the taste of it and my sea bass needed some seasoning! 6.5/10

Dessert Trio ($98) – was disappointing for me. On the plate was their DAIM parfait brownie, a small square of Baileys cheesecake and a slice of a lemon tart with a red berry sauce. The Baileys cheesecake had a strong taste of Baileys, definitely true to the name, but I thought the texture of the cheesecake was way too dense and could be slightly lighter and creamier. The lemon tart with stewed rhubarb had a soggy base, but base aside, eaten with the berry sauce on the side gave a nice tart and sweet flavour. The DAIM parfait was a tiny piece of brownie-like cookie with some mousse, caramel, chocolate and a nougat which definitely tasted like a DAIM candy but could’ve improved in terms of appearance and textures – the mousse was almost liquid and the cookie didn’t taste chewy/soft or crunchy/hard….weird for me. Nonetheless I also think this dessert trio platter was a worsened version than say, ordering one dessert which would’ve been served as a whole dessert therefore could’ve taste more ‘fresh’. 5/10

Earl Grey Martini from the Molecular Mixology drinks menu...

Food: ♥♥♥

Service: ♥♥♥

Price: $$$-$$$$

Finds

2/F, LKF Tower, 33 Wyndham Street, 

Central, Hong Kong

Tel: +852 2522 9318