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B's detour day 1: that spicy kick
B was very disappointed when I delivered the news last year that Sichuan Moon (川江月) had closed. She had been looking forward to visiting André Chiang's restaurant ever since it opened, but the pandemic...
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B's detour day 2: three years late
It's B's second and last night in Macau, so this is when I choose to bring out the big guns for her. At the beginning of the pandemic, we were all foolishly hopeful that it would be over soon, so we...
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B's detour day 3: Macanese family-style
One of the main items when I convinced B to make a detour to come visit me was a visit to Macau. While Hong Kong has always been a great destination, I've always felt that fine dining in Macau is a...
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B's detour day 3: the awakening
One of the regrets this week is that I was unable to bring my friend to dine at Sichuan Moon (川江月), the restaurant which featured Sichuanese cuisine as imagined by chef André Chiang (江政承). It was...
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B's detour day 4: birthday menagerie
One of the places I really wanted to take my friend on her trip was The 8 (8餐廳), since it's one of my favorite restaurants when it comes to Cantonese food. We have not been able to get some dim sum for...
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B's detour day 4: death by jasmine
While I'm generally a creature of habit, I do occasionally try out new restaurants where I've received positive feedback from friends. This time around in Macau, I was determined to check out Imperial...
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B's detour day 5: truffle all the way
It's all Hairy Legs' fault. While he was in Macau 4 days ago for the Michelin Guide ceremony, he stopped by Robuchon au Dôme for a meal, and Chef Julien Tongourien made him Oncle Joël's signature black...
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50 Best and then some day 1: back to the sikdang
After being back in Hong Kong for less than 3 days, I'm on the road again. This year's festivities for Asia's 50 Best Restaurants are being held in Seoul, and I've decided to come back to Korea for the...
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50 Best and then some day 2: basement Hanwoo
I haven't seen my friend Jay Essu for a while. In fact, the last time I was with her 10 years ago we had hit Dominique Ansel Bakery together and waited in line for cronuts. My time in NYC back in 2019...
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50 Best and then some day 2: stingy with the kimchi
When I was planning my itinerary in Seoul, one of the restaurants whose name kept coming up was Kwonsooksoo (권숙수). I'm definitely focusing on Korean cuisine while I'm in town, and this seemed to be a...
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50 Best and then some day 3: collaborative stuffing
I decided to sleep in this morning. Haokofu and I decided to take a long walk after dinner last night along Apgujeong-ro before returning to our hotels, and that was a lot of walking. So... I was still...
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Earth Hour 2024
My 16th Earth Hour finds me in Seoul, as I had come up a couple of days earlier before the festivities that will take place next week. After a very long lunch today I had retired to my hotel room, and...
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50 Best and then some day 4: the temple of Hanwooooo
I'm spending the whole day with the Man in White T-shirt. He wanted to grab a coffee before we headed off to lunch together. After cleaning up, I headed his way via the subway. This was when I...
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50 Best and then some day 4: I'll Remember You
After our very big lunch, the Man in White T-shirt decided to accompany me on my hunt for cute clothing for our CCDogcow. I had seen a few recommendations for Café Bite Me, and their online shop had a...
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50 Best and then some day 5: delicious tripe
I really messed up my itinerary today. Besides all the eating I had planned for this trip, I really wanted to do some sightseeing around Seoul. Having explored a couple of palaces within city limits on...
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50 Best and then some day 5: handsome chef, beautiful cuisine
This was one of my most-anticipated meals for the trip. I had heard pretty positive feedback about the cuisine at Eatanic Garden, although I hadn't done too much homework to know what to expect. I did...
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50 Best and then some day 6: piggy feast
At an event a few days ago, Mikacina introduced me to the owner behind Geumdwaeji Sikdang (금돼지식당), the famous "Gold Pig". The place is apparently very famous, and came highly recommended by my friends...
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Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2024
After a few years' absence, I'm back catching up with chef friends at the awards ceremony for Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, sponsored by S.Pellegrino and Aqua Panna. This year Seoul plays host to the...
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50 Best and then some day 7: Gaijin kaiseki
I woke up stupidly early this morning for my flight out of Seoul, as I finally bid farewell to my tropical hotel room at Shilla Stay Samsung. The saving grace was that the bus to the airport picked up...
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50 Best and then some day 8: shopping for wifey
Since I went to bed this morning at around 4 am, naturally I decided to sleep in. I had bought some pudding (プリン) desserts from Family Mart yesterday, so it was time to see what they taste like....
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