Found a blooming onion in Hong Kong recently. Haven’t had one in nearly a decade. Unfortunately, a pretty poor imitation of the famous Outback Steakhouse one.
Found myself in Japan toward the end of the month. The thing about Japan is that everything is delicious - from basement izakayas, smoky yakitori joints, late night oden, lowly ramen shop, to high end omakase, I’ve rarely ever had a bad meal in Japan.
There’s something about tempura, made to order, delivered by the chef a few pieces at a time, that makes it so much better fresh. The biggest hits were actually a cluster of matsutake mushrooms, and a giant shine muscat grape filled with adzuki bean paste.
A bit of an Instagram trap, but walked by a cafe with a flowing river for a table, the food and drink being served partially submerged. Neat, but it’s a do once and never again kind of thing.
On the other hand, a place that looks like it hasn’t changed in decades, but always worth returning to, Cafe de L’Ambre. A shrine to the art of coffee making, it’s been siting in Ginza for nearly 80 years.
It looked exactly like how I remembered from my last visit - sacks of coffee strewn across the hallway, aging in place. The only change since over a decade ago is the missing haze of smoke from the chain smoking proprietor and familiar patrons. The ashtrays are still built into the center of each table, just empty now. It seems like the old master has also retired, and the next generation of baristas have taken over. Some things still stay the same, a coffee-only menu, celebrating a variety of coffee preparations from around the world, executed with a level of precision that only the Japanese can master. Well worth the visit if you’re ever in Ginza.
Cocktail bars in Tokyo are next level. All that work at Igu & Peace for a Mojito!
Of course, Bar Centifolia will take the extra up an even higher notch!
Finally, in a teaser for another writeup I’m working on, a reservation I've been looking forward to for the better part of a year!
