New Years is just around the corner which calls for a flashback of the BEST things we’ve eaten over the past year. Counting down from 13, here are my most dericious savory dishes of 2013!
13. MÉTIS Bali, Indonesia
MÉTIS is a French x Mediterranean restaurant in Bali, Indonesia offering three course lunch sets priced at Rp 120,000 or $12 USD. We started with an amazing tri-colored vegetable terrine with mesclun salad and lemon mayonnaise. Our main was a flavorful oven baked fish fricassée with mushroom and tomato velouté served with Thai jasmine rice. Lastly, we had a choice of two desserts including a pear belle hélene and chocolate mousse!
METIS Restaurant
Jalan Petitenget No.Denpasar, Bali 80361, Indonesia
p:+62 361 4737888
w: metisbali.com
12. Kimukatsu Tonkatsu Oahu, Hawaii
I had some of the rillest tonkatsu ever from Kimukatsu Tonkatsu in Honolulu, Hawaii frying up outrageous flavors like garlic, black pepper and CHEESE! The cheese had me turnt, sandwiched in the center of the tonkatsu and had a nice creamy texture and was a tad saltier than the original.
320 Lewers Street
Honolulu, HI 96815
p: +1.808.922.1129
w: kimukatsu.com
11. 林東芳牛肉麵 Taipei City, Taiwan
This spot serves some of the best Taiwanese beef noodle soup in Taipei City. Fairly thick slices of mad tender beef shank literally fall apart effortlessly in your mouth while submerged in a bowl of umami broth. The noodles are what got me sprung – deez noodles got good girth and the perfect elasticity. I’ve only been to a few beef noodle spots in Taipei, but 林東芳牛肉麵 definitely hit the spot.
No. 274號, Section 2, Bādé Road, Zhongshan District
Taipei City, Taiwan 104
p: +886 2 2752 2556
10. Standing Sushi Bar Shibuya Tokyo, Japan
My favorite sushi spot in Tokyo is the Standing Sushi Bar in Shibuya. It’s inexpensive, tasty, and hits the spot every time. One of the tastiest things I’ve eaten here is the Shirako, in other words cod semen. It looks and sounds like something you wouldn’t want anywhere near your mouth, but it’s hella creamy and just a tad salty #pause with a burst of umami flavor. I’m certainly no cod jizz connoisseur and this was only the second time I’ve had it so I’m sure you can find better versions of this stuff, but the Standing Sushi Bar was good enough for me.
Address: Click Here and scroll to the map!
9. Elixir Health Pot 無老鍋 (Wu Lao Guo) Taipei, Taiwan
I thought hot pot in Hong Kong was the shit, until I had a full blown foodgasm at Elixir Health Pot 無老鍋 (pronounced Wu Lao Guo in Mandarin) in Taipei. Elixir does not fux around when it comes to hot pot. We got the full meal deal starting with a duo of spicy Sichuan broth and a milky Chinese herbal Japanese Meiji ICE CREAM broth! The ice cream definitely added a whole ‘nother level of creaminess to the broth and I couldn’t get enough of it!
No. 143, Section 3, Shìmín Boulevard, Zhongshan District
Taipei City, Taiwan
p: +886.2.2731.7928
w: wulao.com.tw
8. Usami-Tei Matsubaya Osaka, Japan
Osaka has a plethora of legit udon spots! I highly recommend hitting up Usami-Tei Matsubaya! Order the Cold Udon with Tempura, Kitsune Udon or the udon noodles with strips of tofu, scallions, fish cake slices, rice and an egg. These noodles were fuggin‘ delicious and probably the best udon I’ve ever had – thick, chewy and the perfect texture.
3 Chome-8-1 Minamisenba
Chūō-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu, Japan
p: +81-6-6251-3339
7. Kaikaya Tokyo, Japan
Tucked away in the streets of Shibuya is a tiny bumpin’ little izakaya called Kaikaya. This is where I had the most amazing Shimofuri Kobe-Gyu no Nigiri-Zushi or Kobe beef nigiri sushi – This was EFFING INCREDIBLE !!! The best beef nigiri sushi I’ve ever had! It was like butter in my mouth – sooo tender and sooo creamy. The tuna tartare and tuna spareribs are also must-eats too!
２３−７ Maruyamacho
Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0044, Japan
p: 03-3770-0878
w: kaikaya.com
6. Nobu Hong Kong
I friggin’ love Nobu InterContinental in Hong Kong, mainly because of Chef Erik Idos! He’s no longer at Nobu, but when he was there, he would make the most unreal dishes for us including his version of Deviled Eggs consisting of UNI, CAVIAR, FRIED CHICKEN SKIN and just a touch of yuzu. Deezzz eggs were on a whole ‘nother level and hands down the best deviled eggs I’ve ever had. This is pretty much everything I love all in one bite. I’m obsessed with eggs, addicted to UNI, can never turn down chicken skin and the caviar was just the icing on the cake.
18 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui , Hong Kong
p: +852 2721 1211
w: intercontinental.com
5. Shima Tokyo, Japan
Shima is a dope steakhouse in Tokyo, Japan serving spit-roasted A10 Wagyu Steaks. This was easily one of the most delicious, tender, flavorful blah blah blah pieces of meat I’ve ever had the good fortune of consuming. Maaaaaaaan it’s like crack, #cantstopwontstop. I just wish we had ordered more. The French onion soup and freshly shucked oysters were bad ass too.
3-5-12 Nihombashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
p : +81.3.3271.7889
4. L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Hong Kong
I’m an egg slore, so one look at this Joël Robuchon’s Three Michelin Starred L’œuf De Poule with Oscietra caviar over a crispy poached egg and smoked salmon was a panty peeler for me. The L’œuf De Poule had an amazing crispy crust with a perfect runny egg yolk core. Make sure you order the Crispy Langoustine, Signature Hokkaido Sea Urchin Trilogy and Steak Tartare as well!
15 Queen’s Rd W, Hong Kong
p: +852.2166.9000
w: robuchon.hk
3. Nagi Shinjuku Golden Gai Tokyo, Japan
You know this ramen be mad tasty if it’s ranked #3 amongst Joël Robuchon and a whole lotta fancy restaurants. Trust me when I say Nagi has the best fuggin’ ramen EVER. Their signature ramen is made with dried sardine broth served with a perfectly cooked soft boiled egg with a gooey golden yolk, tender slices of pork char siu, sheets of dried seaweed, crunchy strands of bamboo and freshly chopped scallions. The broth was smooth and fairly viscous with a strong smoky umami flavor. Nagi’s noodles were amazing – thick, fat and chewy with more surface area to grasp more of that velvety creamy flavorful broth. SOOOOOOO friggin’ good!
G2 street, 2F Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 1-1-10
w: n-nagi.com
2. RONIN Hong Kong
There’s a whole lotta beef and eggs on this list, but those are two things I have a major hard-on for, which makes sense as to why RONIN’s Kagoshima Beef with Maitake and an Egg Yolk are second on this list! The beef was effing unreal, incredibly tender, flavorful and was like butter in my mouth #realtalk. That rich creamy egg yolk was like the cherry on top and I loved the crunchy fried garlic! Order the omakase and Chef Matt Abergel will hook you up with what’s good. Make sure you get on that UNI tip doe and try the UNI Panko and Flower Crab with UNI.
8 On Wo Lane, Sheung Wan
p: +852.2547.5263
w: roninhk.com
e: seats@roninhk.mom
1. MISONO Kobe, Japan
I can finally cross off EATING KOBE BEEF IN KOBE, JAPAN off my bucket list! I fuggin’ LOVE steak and eating one of the worlds’ finest grades of #VERYRARE beef in its place of origin was an unreal experience. The A12 Kobe Beef Sirloin Steak was the most amazing pieces of meat that have ever entered my mouth. SOOO FRIGGIN’ CREAMY. HOLY EFF. If you’re ever in the Kansai area of Japan, I highly suggest taking a detour and hitting up Kobe for some of that BEEF.
1-1-2 Shimoyamate-Dori, Chuo-Ku, Kobe, Misono Building, Floors 7 and 8
p: +81-078-331-2890
w: misono.org/en/kobe.html
