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Tokyo 2024 day 2: Takasaka chicken
I haven't seen Geruhage since my little detour to Kyoto earlier this year, and a lot has happened since then. We met up for dinner tonight at Yakitori Kyotanba (焼とり 京丹波), and I managed to rope in V for...
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Tokyo 2024 day 3: Instagram-famous tongue
In preparation for a heavy drinking session this afternoon, I have very wisely scheduled a very big lunch to make sure my stomach is full and can handle all the alcohol. 29 Terrace (29テラス) is a place I...
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Tokyo 2024 day 3: Isojiman, Mon Amour
The main reason for taking this trip to Tokyo was to see an old friend. My first visit to Tamanegiya (酒たまねぎや) came in the summer of 2010, and ever since that fateful night, I have made sure to visit...
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Tokyo 2024 day 4: Instagram-famous tonkatsu
Over the years, the core group of alumni from my high school in Tokyo living in Hong Kong has gradually shrunk, as friends move back home to be with family. A few guys have relocated back to Tokyo, and...
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Tokyo 2024 day 4: Bonneau and birdie
It's been more than a year and a half, and I'm back together with my Tokyo gang for another round of wines. This time around H-man booked us a private room at YAKITORI燃, which specializes in...
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Tokyo 2024 day 5: nigiri for lunch
Everything on our schedule is shifted a little early today, and we needed a quick and early lunch to fit into that schedule. It was fortuitous, then, that Geruhage very kindly offered me his 11 a.m....
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Tokyo 2024 day 5: the god of tempura
On a trip to Tokyo 10 years ago, one of the places we visited was Mikawa Zezankyo (みかわ 是山居). Saotome Tetsuya (早乙女哲哉) is sometimes referred to as "the god of tempura" in the same manner that Ono Jiro...
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Tokyo 2024 day 5: drunken onion, episode 10
Two days after the epic Isojiman Adagio tasting, I'm back at Tamanegiya (酒たまねぎや) to see Master. It's my obligatory visit when I come to Tokyo, and although I had already seen Master on this trip, I...
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Tokyo 2024 day 6: cats and the noodle
I needed coffee and breakfast this morning, and there happens to be a branch of Komeda's Coffee (コメダ珈琲店) not too far from our hotel, so we strolled over in the other direction towards Tokyo Dome so we...
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Tokyo 2024 day 6: Champagne and sushi again
We're meeting up with Geruhage for dinner in Roppongi, so I thought Foursheets and I could get there a little early and take in the Christmas lights at Roppongi Hills. The tree lights along...
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Tokyo 2024 day 7: cats and the noodle, part 2
We got ourselves up a little earlier this morning to grab our morning coffee, but rather than being lazy and go somewhere in our neighborhood, we returned to one of our favorite cafés in Tokyo. Reissue...
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Tokyo 2024 day 7: a date with Puchi Jr.
For a number of reasons - some of which I have shared with a handful of friends - I have never found myself sitting down for a meal at DEN (傳). I have had tastes of Chef Hasegawa Zaiyu (長谷川在佑)'s...
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Tokyo 2024 day 8: airline food again
We had a morning flight to catch this morning so we didn't have time for a proper breakfast. Instead Foursheets bought me a tamago sando (たまごサンド) from Family Mart. This was absolutely perfect and I...
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3-star Chave
This is a dinner I waited more than 10 months for. Not long after the epic dinner with Domaine Trimbach and Weingut Egon Müller, Hairy Legs told me that they were arranging a dinner with Domaine...
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Closing out the cycle
There hasn't been an official MNSC dinner in over 11 months. I had tried to close out our current cycle - which began in the middle of 2022 - unsuccessfully several times earlier in the year. But busy...
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Girlie drinks in a girlie izakaya
We are back in Taiwan to spend the holiday season with the Parental Units, but have alternating days off when we are on our own. I had planned exactly zero meals out for this trip, so as tonight was...
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The best dishes I had in 2024
2024 was a strange year for me. While the borders had been fully-open since late 2022, I went on a self-imposed travel ban for 6 months in the middle of this year, thereby missing out on a few amazing...
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27 Michelin star chef x 7-Eleven
Pretty much the first thing I do after I get back to my apartment in New Taipei, after dropping off my luggage, is head to the 7-Eleven downstairs to pickup some supplies. This would usually be drinks,...
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The most delicious wines I tasted in 2024
I've been doing a annual "best of" list of dishes since 2016, and a few years ago someone asked whether I would also do one for the wines I tasted during the year. I didn't do anything about it then,...
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The saffron club
The new MNSC cycle actually started at the end of last year, but I had to skip Pineapple's customary Christmas dinner so I could be with the Parental Units. While it definitely was a bummer to have...
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A few splendid sticks
It's been around 3 months since we were last at Foursheets' favorite restaurant, so she was really looking forward to another visit. This time around we were joined by My Favorite Birdbrain Cousin and...
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Lunchtime peanuts
After MONTHS of delay during which plans were changed multiple times, the Peanut Gang finally got our act together and met up for a meal. This was our first lunch gathering, and after many attempts to...
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The 68-month wait
I had hoped, nay, dreamed of this happening for YEARS. The day finally came. It was 68 months ago that I last sat down at Yue Hing (裕興) and had my last sandwich prepared by Dan (福哥). At the time Dan...
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A catty lunch
A mere 45 minutes or so after I finished devouring my breakfast sandwich, I sat down for lunch at Trattoria Felino for the very first time. Well... I booked our table days before I decided to go out...
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More girlie drinks in Taipei
We're back in Taiwan again to spend more time with the Parental Units, and after running around shopping for ingredients and some cooking prep, Foursheets needed a place to unwind and meet up with...
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