More cheese and more Japanese

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We've been meaning to catch up with Kutsuyama for a few weeks now, and we finally managed to catch each other tonight. As we didn't need a big, heavy meal... we thought we would catch up over a couple of bottles and nibble on some cheese. Roucou seemed like the perfect enue, and I really wanted another opportunity to check out the many other dishes I didn't get to try yet... especially ones with a Japanese touch.

Foie gras and poppyseed crème brûlée - I had this on my first impromptu visit after a gala dinner, and I was happy to have it again. Tough to resist a foie gras dish like this...

Manav's Hong Kong

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I have always enjoyed Chef Manav Tuli's cuisine since my first visit to Chaat, and over the years I've seen him work on a few dishes where he reinterprets Cantonese dishes with his "Indian" perspective. Tonight I was invited to return to Leela for a dinner where he put together a collection of his creations called "Flavours of Hong Kong".

I took a look at the menu for tonight, and realized that I had actually tasted some of them on my last visit 3 months ago. As they were pretty tasty, I was only too happy to try them again, along with whatever Manav has developed since then.

But first... I'm happy to that I still have the opportunity to enjoy some khakra (ખાખરા).

No MSG

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A couple of days ago mom mentioned that, on a radio program she tunes in to regularly, the host had interviewed the chef of the Golden Dragon Restaurant (金龍餐廳) in The Grand Hotel (圓山大飯店). The chef claimed on the program that they make their dim sum items fresh everyday (shouldn't all decent restaurants do this?!) and that they don't use MSG. The latter was what piqued mom's interest. As a long-time sufferer of adverse reactions to chemical additives in food, she doesn't visit Chinese restaurants often when dining out. So she wanted to see whether these guys really live up to their claim.

I made a booking for lunch, and of course Last Minute Uncles does what he does best... join us and insists he won't come unless he gets to pay. Well, he is a member at the hotel's club so he knows this place better than any of us.

It's the first time I stepped foot in this restaurant, and as I look at the dim sum section of the menu, I got a little ambitious and wanted to try as many items as possible. I did remember to order in rounds, though...

Steamed rice rolls with mixed sauce (混醬腸粉) - this is a street food staple in Hong Kong, and I've had it many, many times for breakfast. Unfortunately the sauces just tasted off... although neither Foursheets nor I could pintpoint why.

Beefy anniversary

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I'm back in Taipei for a few days as we celebrate the Parental Units' anniversary. The last time we were together for a celebratory meal, the mood was pretty different... there was a lot of trepidation about what was to come for our family. Seven weeks have passed, and while the future remains uncertain, we are more optimistic than where we were the last time out.

In a break with the past where I chose restaurants that would appeal to mom, this time around dad was the focus. A recommendation was needed for another restaurant with a sommelier capable of handling an old bottle, and A Cut was what came up. As famous as the restaurant has been over the years, I had simply overlooked this hotel steakhouse when searching for dining options in the past, and never got around to checking it out. Well, it was time to hit this steakhouse with a Michelin star.

My first impression upon entering was one of disappointment. I chose not to return to Tutto Bello tonight because I felt the dining room was too dimly lit, and that wasn't good for mom. Well... this dining room was practically like a dungeon, and we could barely read the menus even with the help of these tiny lamps on the table. I didn't evem bother taking out my 360 camera for the usual group shot. Sigh...

We decided to make it easy on ourselves and chose the set menu rather than trying to order à la carte. I took time to explain all the available options to mom, while making sure dad ordered enough beef for himself.

The bread selection was pretty decent.

Aus. wagyu beef tongues: kale • red wine sauce • piri piri • wasabi - I was pretty surprised by how thick cut the tongue came. Interesting that it came topped with a marinated kale condiment. We've got a nice dose of acidity thanks to pickled radish on the side.

No chicken in the 'hood

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It's been quite a few months since I last caught up with the Specialist, and it's been a couple of years since I last sat down with BFF and the others. I took the opportunity to take them to Neighborhood, as I happened to have booked a table, and it's somewhere they haven't been to in quite a few years.

The Kitchen Nazi is still MIA, which means once again, I get to order what I want to eat. As it is still 休漁期 where there's a moratorium on fishing in the South China Sea, we weren't likely to get any amazing seafood specials for the next 3 months. I guess that's why he's off galloping halfway around the world.

Escargot / ramps - I'm so happy to have this again. Love the classic flavor combinations of escargot with garlic, but in a different form.