Ay Bee No Cee Dee

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It's been almost 5 months since our foursome got together to open a few bottles, and some time ago we had agreed that at our next gathering would feature a few bottles of the famed Clos de Beze in Chambertin. We finally got around for it tonight, and I was pretty glad to have gotten this in the bag before next week.

Wai Gor suggested that we try out Aap Ba Din (鴨巴甸公館) since he gets VIP treatment there. I don't remember ever hearing about the place, but it looks like these guys took over the space formerly occupied by Celebrity Cuisine (名人坊) in the Lan Kwai Fong Hotel. Since our organizer is a regular, I didn't have any objections to the menu proposed by the restaurant.

I arrived a few minutes late, and found these snacks already sitting on the table. The taro chips were pretty good, but for some reason I couldn't stop munching on the baked dough pockets. As Belo would remark later on, this seemed to be my favorite dish of the evening...

Veneto to Campania

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Many years ago my friend Felix suggested that I check out Il Ristorante Luca Fantin the next time I'm in Tokyo, having been impressed with the chef's cuisine. Fast forward to 2024 and... I still haven't paid Luca Fantin and his team a visit. The chef himself fully understands the reason: many of us prioritize Japanese cuisine whenever we are in Japan, and restaurants serving other cuisines just get pushed down on the long list.

So when I got an invitation for lunch today for the collaboration between Bvlgari Il Ristorante Luca Fantin and Estro, I didn't hesitate to say "Yes". I wouldn't have to give up a precious slot in Tokyo to get a taste, and I can finally see what the hubbub a few years ago was about.

The menu starts with Il mare d'inverno, which isn't a dish but a song by Loredana Berté. I guess it's an all-seafood menu today, then...

Moving sticks

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We've had a very long couple of days, packing and moving and all sorts of fun stuff. Both of us have been up since at least 6 a.m. this morning and running on adrenalin almost non-stop. So when we showed up 15 minutes late at Hidden (秀殿), Ogata-san took a look at us and wondered what the hell happened to the two of us...

We were tired but so happy to be here, especially Foursheets. She had been so excited to score 3 bookings last year in the span of about 6 weeks, and ended up not being able to make a single one. So it's been 6 months since she stepped foot in what is probably her favorite restaurant in Hong Kong.

Thirsty we were, and since I had forgotten to bring along a bottle of sake as planned, I started with a glass of Oolong tea + Kinmiya shochu (ウーロンハイ).

Club sushi

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My friends from high school have been telling me how much they enjoy going for sushi at the Hong Kong Japanese Club (香港日本人倶楽部), and when we had dinner together last week, this came up again during our conversation. I'm grateful that a booking was made for lunch today so that I could try it for the first time.

There are only 8 seats at the sushi counter at Sakura Japanese Restaurant (日本料理 さくら), so we were pretty lucky to have taken up half the space. As we are here to try their sushi, I chose the menu option with the most amount of sushi - 12 Pieces Sushi Course (にぎり寿司12貫コース). I kinda felt bad when everyone else decided to follow suit so that we all take the same option, because I knew some of the others didn't want to have so many pieces. Well... thankful that they chose to indulge me.

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Appetizer (小鉢) - well... what do we get to start with... but my favorite fish cum! No, thank you! Someone else can have my portion.

Sul volcano

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A few days ago I was browsing through SoraNews24, my go-to source for interesting eats in Japan, when I saw that Domino's is offering a pizza named the Cheese Volcano (チーズボルケーノ) in Japan. This looked like a lot of fun, as one can dip slices of pizza into a "lava" made with cheese. It's exactly the kind of fun, gimmicky stuff that I love. Unfortunately, Domino's exited Hong Kong years ago, and I didn't have plans to visit Japan in the immediate future.

Well... as I was looking out from my taxi in Taipei yesterday, I happened to pass by a Domino's and see them advertise the same vulcano pizza. This is not something I could take down on my own, so I quickly rounded up the Prince of Napa to be my partner in crime, as he's pretty close by. I'm grateful he was a good sport.