kitcho sushi.

japanese cuisine at kitcho last weekend.

our table ordered the Nt2500/person course: omakase style, by the chef’s preperation of the day.

starter of seaweed and caviar.

sashimi course.

 

sashimi combination course. the toro was melt in your mouth amazing. served with a mini kumquat for acidity.

fresh oyster. since b doesn’t eat raw oysters.. i got to have 2.. >)

seared scallop on shiso, and uni on seaweed. the scallop was a bit dry, but the uni was excellent. very fresh.

this course i wasn’t crazy about, but it was very well made.  fish wrapped around mushrooms + seafood in a seaweed broth.

this i also didn’t like. nagaimo yam and something pureed, potato like but sticky, in a thickened starchy clear broth, topped with some uni that was partially cooked because of the heat from the yam.. and saffron? but note that i’m not a fan of these flavors to begin with, so it wasn’t the preparation or cooking that was to my distaste. great presentation though!

sushi course. now this, i can appreciate. the tamago (egg) at the end was so fine + sweetened, it was like eating pound cake! yum.

soup: clams in clear broth, with “hair” seaweed.

the sashimi and sushi at kitcho were excellent.. so next time, i think i’ll ask for non-cooked items to be prepared for me only.. i can skip the two dishes in the middle… and subsitute for more uni!!

 

 

 

xx

8 1/2 otto e mezzo BOMBANA

rustic, authentic italian at the alexandria house, hong kong.

fine dining by Chef Umberto Bombana, the “king of white truffle.” really great balsamic vinegar, delicious pastas, truffle galore… just look.

the bread.. the cripsy one is my fave.

thin sliced jamon. transparent, fragrant. so good.

amuse bouche of the night. a foie gras covered with chocolate truffle. new and interesting for me, i really enjoyed it.

black truffles were featured on the  menu this visit. shaved table side when ordered: my order was truffle on egg confit.

entree: lobster taglierini. chewy, perfectly cooked pasta with light fresh lobster chunks and tomatoes.

b’s entree, from the seasonal truffle menu: roast chicken, covered in black truffles.

and… their desserts!! great presentation. lemon tarte with raspberry sorbet. tart was smooth and creamy, more on the sweet side.. i would have liked it a bit more tart in flavor.

triple chocolate dessert. chocolate cream tart, gelato and a pudding/mousse/cream pot.

happy.

 

xx

 

roast piggy.

today, a freezing, windy, slightly rainy day by the ocean, we ate a whole pig.

i didn’t understand all the details of this event at first.. but i soon found out that this was a company that you could call, to order a whole live pig. they then slaughtered and brought to our location of choice to prepare (a cafe north of danshui) and BBQ’d for us. we had the “small” pig.. which feeds over 30, and was NT16,500. theres also a large option that feeds 100. (yes, we had over 30 people)

the thought of it was a bit heavy on the heart, uneasy.. but, it was pretty delicious.

the bbq team drove down at 5am from ali mountain to setup. when we arrived to the picked spot at 1:30pm,  it was ready to eat.

this is what i saw when we arrived.. the missing pieces were already on the chopping block ready to eat. yes, they drove that grill down on their truck.. along with a chopping table (not pictured.)

piggy is flattened + bbq’d. on the side: sausage, baby leeks, corn, mushrooms.

chopped meat, and some sausage. im guessing their dry rub was mostly salt + pepper…  the bits with crispy fatty charred skin were the best.

these were so good grilled! peel the outer layers and bite into the bulb. wow.

delicious, juicy, simple grilled corn. no butter.

fresh local mushrooms with pepper.

they made their own ” little rice alcohol” for us as well.. but i think it was a bit too light. it mostly tasted like sugar water.

definitely an interesting foodie experience… we might consider hiring them again.

xx

beef noodle soup.

last week i tried “expensive” beef noodle soup.

at “niu ba ba”…which i shall loosely translate to: COW DADDY.

i’m not the biggest fan of beef noodle these days, but i can still tell a good bowl from an okay one. because b so loves his beef noodle, i still have it quite often.

this bowl is their house special. it was $300NT. they serve this bowl of beef noodle soup, with pork feet.

the soup was pretty light compared to most other beef noodle soups. the meat was good, pork feet, good.. but it was just, okay. it tasted healthy. i should have tried their spicy/heavier flavored soup base beef noodle instead. btw- they have beef noodle soups that cost up to 10,000 NT at this place. thats like paying $300US for a kobe beef burger i guess… i really don’t think that it’s worth the steep price.

anyway, i just wanted to prove that even though my posts dont seem like it, yes.. i’m eating taiwanese food.

xx

christmas tea.

christmas tea at the mandarin oriental, macau.

i visited macau for the first time last week, and stayed at the mandarin oriental. because i booked the trip late, the mandarin was the only hotel with 4 stars or above that wasn’t completely full for the holidays: because it doesn’t have a casino! it was modern and simple, clean, quiet, nice view. the mgm + wynn is right across the street for gambling, so it wasn’t too inconvenient.. plus its connected to the mall, and serves high tea. not bad, for me!

look at the display.. how fun.

the tea set was all pretty good, but what stood out were the scones.

christmas tea comes with 2 flaky scones, crispy on the outside, soft and buttery on the inside. butter, strawberry jam, honey and marmalade.

the caramel mousse cake was really good as well.

i had a pot of earl grey, as usual..

i lOve having high teas over the holidays… so much, that i took tea again, the day i left.

here is their signature mandarin oriental (asian) high tea set.

i enjoyed this set more than the christmas set. there were asian dim sum items, steamed buns…

look at the crispy portuguese egg tart.. and the shot glass of coconut milk with tapioca. YUM.

xx

nanshan shabu shabu.

nanshan shabu shabu and yakitori.

i love their shabu, because their ponzu sauce is the best. lots of green onion, sweet, sour, tart, with kumquats. it makes all the differance.

beef, plenty of veggies, choice of noodles.

noodles standing in the glass vases below. chewy, and really good cooked at the end the meal, when the broth has all the flavors of the cooked meat + veggies. after boiling, i take the noodles out and add a bit of ponzu and few ladles of soup broth in a small bowl. YUM.

this place is healthy and so good.. i could eat here a couple times a week.

for dessert they usually have 2 different types of puddings. their earl grey flan is my favorite! it’s soft and very fine, melts in your mouth. plus, i lOve bergamot.

 

addy: 台北市大安區安和路2段167號1F   No.16, Sec 2, AnHe St. Da-An District.

 

xxx