London: Core by Clare Smyth

For whatever reason I pretend to come up with, I’ve essentially been too lazy to secure a reservation at London’s 3 Michelin Starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. So when I heard that the restaurant’s chef patron, and one of the very rare three-star female chefs, was leaving to establish her own restaurant, I thought I’d be…

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The story of Electric Avenue and the tasty burger

I’m always on the lookout for a great burger. When you think of the Food Pyramid, then a burger has got all the bases covered; mind you, the proportion of fats and meat might be a little on the excessive side 🙂 I’d been hearing a lot about a new burger joint over at Sai…

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Germany: Leipzig is home to the 2* Falco and not much else

What the heck is in Leipzig? Well, as it turns out, Leipzig is not the most exciting of German cities; possibly due to a couple of factors…  It was almost bombed out of existence during World War II, then had the misfortune to find itself part of the East German (and therefore Soviet) side of…

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Berlin: World #48 & 2* Restaurant Tim Raue

When we were planning our European vacation, it was undertaken with the knowledge that my birthday was smack bang in the middle.  It meant that I needed to select where we’d go for my birthday dinner. Last time we were in Berlin, I had a fantastic time.  So much so, I’ve often rated it as…

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1* Takumi by Daisuke Mori: New chef & name but still amazing

 Can a restaurant really ever shake off the ghosts of the past? One of my favourite meals in Hong Kong was at the (then) 2* Wagyu Takumi, helmed by renowned Japanese chef Mitsuru Konishi (see post here).  I simply loved the exquisitely executed Japanese French fusion style of cooking, and I’m not alone, it’s a…

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Amsterdam: 1* Bridges – the unexpected – the inspired

We’d always planned to have a summer holiday that was largely based around eating and driving, driving and eating; with a quick sojourn to #ArtsTown to satisfy the girl’s #documenta14 fixation. The plan was to land in Amsterdam for a few days of timezone adjustment, then commence our driving and dining tour around Germany.  What…

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Terroir Parisien: Pretty plating but a bit inconsistent

When I heard that Yannick Allèno was opening an outlet in Hong Kong, I immediately had visions of a new gastronomic paradise hitting our fair shores. With his two Parisian Fine Diners rewarded with 3 Michelin Stars each, including his showpiece; Alléno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen entrenched in the #Worlds50best restaurants (#31): How could I…

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Gordon Ramsey: Bread Street Kitchen and the Beef Wellington

I’m gonna get straight to the point, with little to no preamble. I had the Gordon Ramsey version of Beef Wellington from Bread Street Kitchen and it was amazing….. Right, back to normal programming…. One of my foodie buddies recently and somewhat sheepishly admitted that he’d never had a beef wellington before; then almost embarrassingly,…

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London: World #91 & 1* St John

I walked right past St John when I was wandering the back streets of Smithfield, such was the unassuming facade of the restaurant.  With it’s roller shutter pulled down, the pub looked just like all of the other semi industrial businesses that help make Smithfield one of the more interesting locations in London. That I…

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Tokyo: World #52* & 3* Nihonryori RyuGin

I’ve always liked the idea of Japan. I mean, ever since I took up karate as a young boy and started watching those cool samurai movies on a Saturday morning.  It was enough for me to take an interest in the (at the time) very exotic country that seemed all so alien to my limited…

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Gough’s on Gough: A study in Style over Substance?

One of my favourite streets in Hong Kong is the very cool Gough Street, home to great little nicknack & coffee shops, great little restaurants; there is just a super vibe whenever you’re cruising the strip. A strange thing happened to one of those cool little shops this year; a groovy furniture and accessories store…

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13 Stars in 13 Days: A Journey through Amsterdam and Germany

The number 13 is unlucky for many, but proved to be a happy number for the girl and I on our recent European holiday. You see, it was the total number of Michelin Stars we collected as we toured through Amsterdam and broader Germany.  Many were planned, a few were not and almost all were…

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