sg_foodie's Profile
Restaurant tips for Hokkaido in summer?
Furano milk is pretty damn delicious and I also second the lavender soft ice cream.
Bistro Le Chemin has good bistro food using mostly local ingredients. I had some excellent Furano pork there a couple years ago.
Japanese Chef at Michelin-rated French Restaurant in Tokyo -- Which one to choose?
I've been to both Koji Shimomura and Quintessence. I really loved Quintessence, but there's no way that you are going to be able to get a reservation this late. Koji Shimomura is also excellent, but slightly more traditional than Quintessence. I was there in Feb 2010, not sure why he lost his stars.
I must echo Blacken's high praise for Aronia De Takazawa...I've been there twice and those meals rank #1 and #2 on my all-time list. Just outstanding creativity and execution, plus great service from Akiko-san.
Vietnam Recommendations -- need help in multiple cities
Yeah, I really enjoyed my meal there. Dishes were pretty traditional but very well-prepared, and ingredients were super fresh.
Vietnam Recommendations -- need help in multiple cities
Not sure if you're still there, but I was recently in Ho Chi Minh and had an excellent meal at Cuc Gach (http://en.cucgachquan.com/)
Tian Tian Hai Nan Ji Fan 天天海南雞飯 – My Favorite Hai Nan Chicken Rice in Singapore
For me, the best part of Tian Tian's offering is actually their condiments, esp the chili, which is miles better than the usual watery type of chili served with chicken rice.
Chengdu China - do you have any restaurant recommendations???... PLEASE
I've heard absolutely rave reviews of a place called Yu Jia Chufang ("Yu's Family Kitchen") in Chengdu. Check out some of the his handiwork here: http://www.spreadmybutter.com/yus-family-kitchen/
Laut - World's First Michelin-starred Malay restaurant
i haven't been there personally, but my friends who have tried it were quite disappointed with the food...they felt the execution was quite poor. has anyone else been there yet?
Singapore - Best Mexican in Town?
I found the food at Spruce too clean/healthy...I guess I'm too used to greasy tacos from living in California!
Laut - World's First Michelin-starred Malay restaurant
haha if they use the same inspectors in singapore, then we may have several michelin starred hawkers!
but seriously, it makes a joke out of the michelin guide. how on earth is the french or american inspector in NYC going to credibly rate a cuisine that he's probably only sampled a couple of times in his life..michelin should preserve what's left of their credibility and not rate cuisines outside of their domain of knowledge.
1st Time Singapore Visitors
There are also a bunch of good Chinese restaurants for dim sum. My personal favorite is Imperial Treasure (the branches at Great World City, Takashimaya and Paragon are all pretty good).
Singapore - Nicolas le restaurant
Interesting, thanks for the tip. One of my most memorable Italian meals was at Ristorante Aso, would love to find something similar in Singapore. Are you in contact with any of the other Singapore-based chowhounds? Perhaps we can organize a chowmeet at Alba.
Singapore - Nicolas le restaurant
Yes I am actually based in Singapore. But I've been having my most memorable meals in Japan these last couple of years, hence the posts on the Japan board.
Singapore - Nicolas le restaurant
Has anyone been to Nicolas le restaurant (www.restaurantnicolas.com) ?
High-end Tempura in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka
I just had lunch at the honten (in Kayabacho) last sunday and it turns out Mikawa-san has shifted to his newest branch called Mikawa Zezankyo. Has anyone been there yet? The photos the waitress was showing me made it seem like the new branch is mostly tatami rooms instead of counter seating.
Aronia de Takazawa
I just ate there again last friday, another amazing meal. I had the 24k menu and the wine pairing chosen by Chef Takazawa came up to another 12k (mostly with Japanese wines as their list is at least half Japanese...quite an impressive variety).
Enjoy!
Hiroo Restaurant Recommendations and Log
Les Vinum is a great little sumiyaki place with a very good and interesting wine list: http://www.les-vinum.com/english.htm
Have to assume it is me, definitely missing something
I meant that Aronia de Takazawa would not be classified as kaiseki in my eyes, whereas Ryugin would.
Have to assume it is me, definitely missing something
I'm not sure that I would call Aronia de Takazawa modern kaiseki as it doesn't really follow the structure of kaiseki unlike Ryugin for example. I'd characterize his style as somewhat closer to modern French. Still an outstanding restaurant though, I had the finest meal of my life there.
Tempura restaurants in Tokyo
Kondo is excellent, especially for his vegetables. Really outstanding tempura. I think the chain you're referring to in Roppongi Hills is actually a branch of Mikawa. I haven't been to that one, but the honten was pretty damn good as well. I'd say Mikawa's seafood was probably about the same level as Kondo (more variety than Kondo iirc), but Kondo-san's vegetable tempuras set him apart.
Best Trattorias and Osterias in Milan
I'll be in Milan with some not so food-obsessed friends and have been tasked with planning meals. Given the preferences of my company, Michelin-rated restaurants are probably out of the picture. Any advice on good reasonably-priced trattorias/osterias in Milan worth checking out?
San Sebastian on a Monday
It seems like most of the haute cuisine type restaurants in/around San Sebastian like Akelarre, Arzak, Mugaritz etc are closed on Mondays. Any recommendations as to where to eat on a Monday? I'd be especially interested in traditional Basque cuisine for lunch and will probably do tapas for dinner. Which actually leads me to another question, are the tapas places in the Parte Vieja open on Monday nights?
Yamada Chikara
Are there any other similar restaurants doing kaiseki with molecular techniques other than YC and Ryugin? I was extremely impressed with Aronia de Takazawa earlier this year, but I'd say Takazawa-san's cuisine is closer to the French part of the spectrum.
Aronia de Takazawa
No idea about lunch, I had dinner there. That was the price range when I was there in Feb this year.
As for getting a reservation, like prasantrin says, can't hurt to try!
Aronia de Takazawa
I haven't had any trouble contacting them at their cleek.co.jp email. Was trying to eat there again in Feb but Akiko said they might be on vacation unfortunately. The last time I went was seriously the best meal of my life.
Yamada Chikara
Is it this one: http://gaishoku.blogspot.com/2008/09/star-is-born-yamada-chikara.html?
That's what originally got me interested in checking it out (I'll be in Tokyo in Feb). Let us know how your meal there goes!
Mainland China's Top Overall Restaurants
I've never been, but this place in Chengdu called Yu Jia Chu Fang looks unreal: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99917119. Anyone been?
