[HK: Central] Sushi Saito

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tempted by my foodie friend’s instagram, I finally got to try Sushi Saito last summer. Sushi Saito is a world renowned Sushi restaurant from Tokyo, where they used to have 3 Michelin stars. until they stopped accepting bookings, just like Jiro’s, and is now only bookable via special connections. Chef Takashi Saito has two overseas branches, one here in Hong Kong under the same name; Sushi Saito and another one in Kuala Lumpur called Taka. their style of sushi is Edo-mae, and according to my Japanese friend, each sushi master have their sort of “signature style,” where Saito’s most significant one is their al-dente sour rice.

the one in Hong Kong has 2 Michelin stars and although it can be booked without connections, it is still very, I mean very very difficult to book. my foodie friend knew the chef so you can say that I booked through connections, but even him, he books his spot several months in advance usually. because dinner is even more difficult to book (and I am cheap anyways), I booked for lunch. it costs 1680HKD for their sushi lunch and a hefty 3600HKD for their kaiseki dinner. of course, it’s all omakase, and one price. the time slots are fixed hence try not to arrive late. additionally, what makes it so expensive is probably also because the ingredients are handpicked by Chef Saito and flown in daily. freshness guaranteed. Continue reading “[HK: Central] Sushi Saito”

[Bangkok: Silom] Som Tam Jay So

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I’ve heard so much about how amazing food in Bangkok is. no doubt as Thai food makes it to my top 3 favourite types of cuisine. but to be very honest with you, I was a teeny weeny bit disappointed. because really, not all food are good. even those that are popular. I was expecting a majority of the food to be good because I hadn’t had much bad Thai food before.

For this trip, I’ve done a weeks worth of research mainly with Thailand’s most popular food youtuber– Mark Wiens. I used to watch his videos back when I was in Sophomore year of university. his videos are creepily addictive, but after a while after I noticed that he enjoys all food and heard that he has really low standards on food, (finds everything delicious) I kind of stopped. but interesting enough, there aren’t much food blogs/vlogs around in English that reports as well as he does. so for my first ever trip to Bangkok, I decided to try out some of the restaurants he recommended highly of.

so here’s one of the ones that I loved. I’ll also of course tell you which are the restaurants that are completely over rated. at the next post! (depends on how much you really need it!) Continue reading “[Bangkok: Silom] Som Tam Jay So”

[Seoul: Dongdaemun] Spicy Chicken Feet

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oh glorious dakbal/chicken feet. I know I give off the vibe that I do not eat anything “disgusting.” truth is, i have an “ajae ibmat or 아재 입맛” (which stands for an older man like an ajosshi/uncle) tastebud. I love all food which appeal usually in particular to older men. example: sundae/blood sausage, gopchang/intestine, yukhoe/raw beef… and chicken feet of course. I never understood how some younger Koreans don’t like these food, because to me, they are the food which I REALLY crave for when I am away.

and a little funfact on dakbal: there are really two ways to eat chicken feet in Korea. one’s like this one, where they cook the chicken feet for you and put it on a grill or a steamed pot; another is the great soup dakbal which is usually in a thick spicy soup. I can’t really say which I like better as they both taste really good and as spicy.

Continue reading “[Seoul: Dongdaemun] Spicy Chicken Feet”

[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Ida Seoul

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although I now live in Hong Kong, I still keep up to the up and coming restaurants in Seoul. 뭐랄까.. it’s always been my hobby looking at amazing restaurants and I’ve always been very open to try new things. so this trip back, I made it clear that I want to make the most of it by visiting all these restaurants that I’ve been drooling on my computer for so long. truth it, it’s impossible to go to all.  but for a great after exam celebratory brunch with my best friend, this quaint little restaurant in Ikseon-dong was it! (and because it was really good, I am so excited to share my findings with you!) not to mention my current obsession with the Scandinavian style small plates obsession I currently have (for people in HK I recommend Okra! blog post for that soon..!!!)

I was intrigued by this new restaurant mainly because it is somehow opened by a restaurant owner whom owns another successful (and beautiful) restaurant around the corner and how the ingredients are so colourful and attractive in the pictures I saw online. also one of the chefs an adoptee whom’s not afraid of expressing his own version of modified Korean food which makes everything a whole lot more interesting.

NOTE: this place do not sell authentic Korean food, but instead a creative twist (the style here might come across odd for people whom are not as adventurous) on Korean ingredients therefore if you are looking for the traditional and local Korean experience, I recommend you to read my other food posts as I have a lot of them! 

Continue reading “[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Ida Seoul”

[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Beautiful Hanok Cafes in Seoul

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while I was in Seoul last autumn, I finally got to go to this new hipster-ish area near Bukchon Hanok Village; Ikseon-dong. unlike Bukchon, this place isn’t situated on the hill but all the homes here, like Bukchon are the only few areas in Seoul where people actually still live in Hanoks. while I have an obsession with Hanoks, I also love Hanok cafes because they seem to be Hanoks at its best.

I guess I was always very fascinated with these Korean traditional buildings because they are sturdy although built without nails, look absolutely phenomenal, normally have a 마루 (Maru; a flat elevated deck) in their yard where people can chill at and great great heating systems; the 온돌 (Ondol).

Continue reading “[Seoul: Ikseon-dong] Beautiful Hanok Cafes in Seoul”

[London] Lyle’s

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as soon as I reached London, I headed straight to Lyle’s. haven’t heard of it? well, Lyle’s a restaurant that focuses a lot on the natural essence of each ingredient which made it one of the 50 world’s best restaurant. and I couldn’t WAIT to try it. and so I did! and here’s my review about it. mainly because I really liked it (of course!).

Continue reading “[London] Lyle’s”

[HK: Sheungwan] Frantzen’s Kitchen

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Frantzen’s Kitchen is probably the only one true Swedish restaurant in HK and it is also opened by Michelin 3 star chef Mr.Bjorn Frantzen who’s restaurant Frantzen is the first Swedish restaurant to get 3 michelin stars. funfact: they just got the 3 stars this year! (the restaurant in Sweden that is.) I was very excited as I actually came here on my birthday and it’s actually my second time having Nordic fine dining, the first being at Taipei’s MUME. and also because of the recent modern cuisine taking the world by storm, especially when NOMA in Denmark was ranked as the best restaurant in the world. have you tried Nordic fine dining yet? Continue reading “[HK: Sheungwan] Frantzen’s Kitchen”

[Tokyo] Marukin Ramen

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hello all! hope you guys love ramen just like I do. in Japan, ramen is deemed to be a man’s food and me liking it made my friends call me a.. ramen-girl because it’s so odd to have a girl as a ramen fan. I used to eat ramen so often that I could eat it everyday! well, because it’s cheap and it’s just so slurpingly good!

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while many people thinks that Ichiran and Ippudo’s the best, the thing that foreigners don’t know is that.. there is a ramen for everyone, and I highly urge everyone to try out different ramens to find their perfect fit! Continue reading “[Tokyo] Marukin Ramen”

[HK: Wan Chai] Classified — best place for brunch.

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nothing’s better for an expat working in hectic HK other than Saturday brunches. I just felt like brunch is the only time where I can slow down at this very fast-paced city. there are quite a number of places offering brunch in HK but they are normally over-crowded, not brunch-like and over-priced. but classified, a chic european styled chain here, is really my style. Continue reading “[HK: Wan Chai] Classified — best place for brunch.”

[Seoul: Bukchon] Layered – Cake Cafe

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so right before leaving Korea, I went to one of the most amazing (and hip) cafe I’ve ever been to. unlike many other cafes’ that’s only pretty and ONLY instagram worthy, this place is a little different because not only is it great for instagram, it has one of the most delectable cakes in Seoul — baked FRESH. Continue reading “[Seoul: Bukchon] Layered – Cake Cafe”