The best dishes I had in 2025

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This is the 10th edition of my "best dishes of the year", and once again I go through my meals to pick out the dishes that were the most memorable, brought me the most pleasure, or evoked the strongest emotions. Needless to say I have had many, many delicious dishes this past year - many happy moments which brought smiles to my face. These were just the ones that made me exclaim "FUCKING GOOD!", "YEAH, BABY!", "PUTAIN!"... you get the drift.

I didn't travel as much this year, and I also dined out less. Maybe that's why the list got shorter this year. But truth be told, some of these dishes were incredibly emotional for me, and were perhaps the best I've ever had.

Luncheon meat and egg sandwiches with peanut butter and condensed milk (炒蛋午餐肉奶醬多士), from Yue Hing (裕興) in Hong Kong - this is my favorite sandwich in the world, and I thought I would never have the chance to taste it again when Dan passed away in 2021. Some 68 months after I last tasted one, Elaine reopened the stall and I made 2 visits within the first week. I was so emotional I almost cried.

Venezuelans in Peru

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I've been a fan of Virgilio Martinez's and Pia Leon's for a number of years now, ever since Virgilio took up Richard Ekkebus' invitation for a collaboration at Amber. I have, sadly, never made my way to Central... having cancelled my trip to Peru three times for various reasons.

I should have been excited when MAZ opened in Tokyo, and it was the closest I could get to Virgilio's cuisine after I stopped visiting Ichu in Hong Kong. But I've had other priorities on my last few trips to Tokyo...

So I was pretty excited when MONO announced that they were doing a collaboration with MAZ. Thankfully seats were still available when I found out, and I invited a couple of friends along. Chef Santiago Fernandez who - like Ricardo - is also Venezuelan brought along greetings from Virgilio.

Miolo Cuvée Tradition Brut - this is always easy to drink, with light acidity on the palate.

The cuisine from Central and, by extension, MAZ is expressed as a journey through various altitudes or ecosystems. So it was with our menu tonight.

Sea floor

Fish maw empanada - accented with some guasacaca on top, with a sofrito inside made with fish maw. This was OK, as the fish maw didn't have much flavor and just added texture.

Latin with Spanish

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It was exactly 3 months ago that our Gang of Pfour washed down some Italian food with a few bottles of Italian wines, so we were now due for another meeting. I was surprised to learn that neither Ms. Hurricane nor Wai Gor had ever been to MONO, and it's been much too long since I last saw Ricardo - both of which definitely need rectifying.

I had a panic attack about an hour before dinner started. Foursheets is currently taking some Chinese meds, and doctor's orders are for her to avoid a whole slew of ingredients in her diet. I hurriedly messaged Ricardo, who very kindly promised to do what they can to accommodate her. And they certainly did.

Seeing how it was our friends' first visit, I suggested that they take the Journey instead of the Soul menu, as there was a course that no one should leave without trying.

Mexican infladita / corn / bafun uni / tonburi - I was here for an event last month so I've already had a taste. The purple corn infladita came topped with some summer cypress seeds (とんぶり).

Chicken.Ass.Taco.

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Chubby Hubby's in town for a few days and wanted to catch up over a meal. He had originally requested one of the toughest tables to score in town, but as I had already asked the chef for a table in 4 days' time, I had to break it to my friend that I could not fulfill his wish on this particular visit. Instead, I suggested that we should lunch at MONO, as Ricardo is doing some pretty interesting stuff. It appears that Singapore is about to have its first fine dining Latin American restaurant, so this visit could, perhaps, offer my friend a glimpse of what may be to come.

As I am about to start my suicide mission at lunch time tomorrow, I was really hoping for a light lunch. Alas, that was not to be...

Mexican blue corn inflatida, mezcal-steamed fine Cadoret oyster, shallot cream and chayote - the flavors of those French oysters were definitely pretty strong, as was the bergamot. Nice crunch from the chayote on top, and there was something in the mix that numbed my lips a little bit...

Yonomoto

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I'm not the most alert when it comes to special events at restaurants, as I often miss the email announcements that come into my various mailboxes while I'm busy at work. I've been lucky a few times in the past, but more often than not I just let these things pass me by.

I was moping around the house on New Year's Day, enjoying a lazy Sunday morning when I saw the email announcing the MONO X Toyo Eatery collaboration. I sent a message to the restaurant, fully expecting that no one would reply on a public holiday. When Hong Kong went back to work two days later, a reply did come and I managed to grab 2 seats for the event.

I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Jordy Navarra from Toyo Eatery before, although he has certainly received a lot of attention over the last few years. So I was really looking forward to seeing what he brings to the table. The good thing is that I knew this would be the kind of collaboration/four-hands that I like, where the chefs actually put their heads together to create each dish incorporating flavors from each team. The dishes are then unique to the event and not previously seen at either restaurant.

We had good seats at the counter for our meal, which allowed Ricardo and Jordy to come over from time to time during service. We also chose the wine pairing, and Mauricio was kind enough to offer me a couple of extras...

Krug Grande Cuvée, 170ème Édition, ID 221042 - more toasty on the nose than I remembered, but that's very, very classic Grande Cuvée. Pretty popcorn. Wonderful.

Oh Sherry

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A few weeks ago while I was sipping on a glass of 1929 Toro Albalá Don PX Convento Selección - a wine I absolutely love and finally had a chance to introduce to mom - the sommeliers at Caprice told me about a special dinner featuring wines from the Toro Albalá winery. Unfortunately that dinner is scheduled for tomorrow, at a time when I have a previous, unavoidable work engagement. I was pretty disappointed upon hearing the news...

The following evening, I was serendipitously served another glass of the 1929 Don PX at the end of dinner at MONO. I was lamenting about not being able to join the dinner at Caprice when Mauricio informed me that they would be hosting a lunch today. I immediately put my hand up, and I'm grateful that my name was added to the list.

Lunch today was an intimate affair, and we were sequestered away in the private room at the bank. We had a representative each from the winery as well as the local agent. The list of wines was, alas, shorter than what would be served at the Caprice dinner, but I was glad to be in attendance nonetheless.

Inflatida sea urchin - the shell of the inflatida today was made with purple corn. Topped with some tongues of sea urchin and nasturtium.

Stuffed with Hokkaido sea urchin and botan shrimp (牡丹海老), so this was rich and creamy, a little sweet as well as a little sticky from the raw shrimp. This worked well with the dry fino as the acidity and oxidative characters balanced out the stuffing.

Mom's HK Michelin tour day 5: Latin evening

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For her third dinner out, and to continue the theme for today - which is "something exotic" - I've decided to take mom to MONO for a taste of Latin America. This would not be something that mom often comes across, and I was pretty confident that many ingredients would be new to her.

I told Ricardo what I wanted for mom, and asked him to create an exotic experience for us. I had no doubt that he would deliver in spades.

Given that there were four of us tonight, we were seated at a table away from the counter. Mauricio and the team took very good care of us, making sure to bring us the special ingredients for each dish and making the introductions.

Purple corn Mexican inflatida / fresh king crab / Taiwanese organic avocado - nice flavors from the purple corn. Didn't manage to distinguish the flavors from the paracress on top...

Funky disco orgasm dinner

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It's that day of the year again, and I needed to choose a friend's restaurant for my birthday dinner. I actually haven't been back to MONO for quite a few months, so it seemed appropriate that Sankala and I pay Ricardo a long-overdue visit. He does, after all, deliver something unique in Hong Kong.

Ricardo is busy doing a special event tonight, but was kind enough to come back to the restaurant to greet me and serve up a couple of dishes before running off. Knowing that it's my birthday, he also arranged something a little special.

Venezuelan corn arepa / red crab / sweet peas - the arepa was nice and warm, filled with a mix of crab, avocado purée, and crunchy green peas. A little more acidic than expected. With some avocado leaf powder. A familiar dish that's become a nice way to start our meal.

Latin evening

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Despite what Ms. French Rocket may believe, I have been a long-time fan of Ricardo Chaneton's. I love that he cooks up dishes where humble ingredients get to shine, and my dining experiences at MONO have introduced to many ingredients which are new to me. I was a little bummed to have missed the first edition of MONO Unplugged due to a conflict, so I was pretty happy to be invited to the second round.

I figured I would run into friends tonight, but it turns out I was practically surrounded by them. Ricardo chose to seat me next to Ms. French Rocket who, upon seeing me, recounted the first time she encountered me. Naturally, it was an episode where I was being the Arrogant Prick, so she told me something along the lines of "I will always remember you". Well... I could have told her that... Everyone knows that I AM UNFORGETTABLE!

The menu tonight was meant to be different from the restaurant's usual offerings - hence the term "unplugged". It would be an education (for those of us who aren't already familiar) into the varied cuisines across the Latin American world.

Avocado and erizo infladita - this was very creamy, of course, since both ingredients of the filling inside - avocado and sea urchin - have creamy textures. A little acidity in the "guacamole".

Gone in 60 minutes

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Champagne Krug is doing their annual ingredient pairing, and this year they have chosen the onion.  After being anti-social during the pandemic, I was most surprised to receive an invitation from PR8 for the event surrounding the launch of Krug x Onion.  For all the crap I've given PR8, I gotta be thankful that he has always been very, very accommodating when it comes to these types of events.  He knows exactly who I wouldn't want to be caught dead next to, and generally makes sure that those people are never in my presence.

So it was suggested that I join this particular tour this evening, even though I would be missing the chance to visit some of my favorite chefs. I was ever so grateful that I was in the company of one of the few people in this clique who I could actually have meaningful conversations with... without wanting to choke the person or rip off his/her head.

The first of our two stops tonight was MONO. I've grown to become a big fan of Ricardo Chaneton's over the last few years, and these days an evening out at MONO is always fun... especially towards the end when the playlist changes from jazz to disco - at least when I'm in the house. I was kinda looking forward to that tonight.

We scanned the QR code in front of us to find out the menu for the evening, and I was pretty shocked to find not one, not two, but FIVE dishes listed. WTF? The format of these events used to showcase one dish per chef/restaurant, so I was expecting to get two dishes by the end of the tour and head off to Mickey D's to finish off the evening. Looks like that plan just went out the window...

Krug Grande Cuvée, 169ème édition, ID 120003 - good ripeness on the palate, with lovely toasty notes on the nose.

Of course, we actually got even more food when this avocado and lobster arepa showed up before anything else... Very creamy, very delish.

In the Realm of the Senses

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Sankala and I were having such a good time at MONO a few weeks ago that we felt the Birdiegolfs needed to join us for another round. I expected to repeat a number of dishes tonight from my last visit, which is actually OK.  They were all pretty delicious so I don't mind having the same things again so quickly.

Shellfish / recado negro / mashua - similar to what we had last time, except tonight we've also got tua tua clams and razor clams in addition to scallops. Still got that hint of smokiness from the recado negro, which also delivered a little kick at the end. I liked the acidity of this ceviche, as well as the chewy seeds.

70s disco boogie night

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Sankala had an itch she needed to scratch. Having left in the middle of our lunch to attend a work meeting on a Saturday, she felt she hadn't gotten a full taste of what Mono has to offer. We finally decided to pay Ricardo another visit after more than 4 months.

Hokkaido sea urchin / tree tomato / causa - in addition to the tamarillos, we've also got dicd potatoes from the causa delivering some grainy textures, and slightly bitter flavors.  The creamy sea urchin worked very well with the acidity of tamarillos.  Razor clams added some sweetness, and some kiwicha on top provided a little crunch.

Supporting chef friends: Stereo RC

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While Hong Kong has not officially shut down, shelter-in-place, or triggered "circuit breaker" as many other cities and countries around the world have, Hong Kongers have been practicing social distancing for the last 3 months - even dispensing with the traditional Lunar New Year greetings among family and friends.  As people stay home and reduce their frequency of dining out, and with the government mandating reduced seating capacity and other measures, restaurants have been going through tough times.  Many restaurants, including those at the fine dining end of the spectrum, have followed their peers around the world to offer takeout or delivery menus for the first time.

Ricardo Chaneton at MONO has rolled out a series of boxed sets exclusively for takeout or delivery, which is offered under the punny moniker of Stereo by MONO.  Of those, I decided to take Ricardo's recommendation and ordered the Latin America Inspired Set 1.  I figured there should be enough food for Hello Kitty, My Favorite Birdbrain Cousin, and myself.  To save the restaurant from incurring delivery costs, I offered to pickup in person,

This was a pretty nice spread, with starters, a generous main course, and dessert.

XS, S, M, and L

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A couple of months ago Virgilio Martinez pinged me to let me know that he was coming to Hong Kong with Pía León for an event with the Bromance Twins - Agustin Balbi and Ricardo Chaneton.  At the time I wasn't sure that I was going to be in Hong Kong, since it was just a couple of days before the start of the lunar new year holidays. 

This '8-hands collaboration' (imagine my eyes rolling to the back of my head as I contemplate this) became 'Raices I' - which implies there are more to come...  The collaboration was meant to showcase the common 'roots' shared by the four chefs from South America.  Thankfully I don't fly home to Taipei until tomorrow, and I was fortunate enough to have Ricardo save me two seats tonight at Mono.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I would run into friends tonight - including The Great One.  So we moved ourselves one seat down the counter so I could be seated next to her.

I was very happy to see Virgilio and Pía again, especially since I still have not managed to fly over to visit them in Peru.  And Virgilio didn't hesitate to remind me that I had promised to visit them since 3 years ago...

I was busy fidgeting with my camera as soon as I sat down, since the restaurant's lighting produced some banding.  In the middle of all this, we were offered a complimentary glass of bubbly as an aperitif:

Ulysse Collin Les Maillons - nice and ripe.

Each of the boys came to present his starter:

Duck escabeche, from Central - the duck had been lightly cured and served with an escabeche sauce, along with mash of a purple root as well as flowers such as purple borage.