This cat marches to the beat of his own drum! It’s all I could think after I finished chatting to solicitor turned food blogger turned uber chef Mikael Jonsson. I’d just finished my multi course, sensory overloading tasting menu at Hedone and was still reflecting on what was most likely one of the best meals…
Tag: Fine Dining
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…
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…
Haku: A contender for best new restaurant
When I check out a new restaurant, normally there’s a little excitement; I mean, who doesn’t like checking out new shit! But when it’s a buddy opening that restaurant, there’s a mix of trepidation and excitement in equal parts; will it be successful? will it be good? I first came across Haku Executive Chef Agustin…
Gaddi’s: That old world charm
I’ve been trying to think about my culinary journey, more specifically, if there’s been a restaurant that I’ve visited that has the history and grandeur of Gaddi’s; Hong Kong’s most treasured fine dining destination. When we were telling our friends that we’d booked in for a dinner at Gaddi’s, the response was almost unanimously ‘oooooh,…
NYC: The 2* Atera blew my mind
As I walked from possibly the greatest meal of my life, I stopped at the exit to chat to the head chef on the night. As chance would have it, a fellow Australian and all round good bloke. There was no doubt that I’d been pinged as a blogger quite early into my meal at…
NYC: 2* Aquavit the Nordic King
A long time before Noma… Well before Nordic cuisine became the new zeitgeist, there was Aquavit. A restaurant that was opened in 1987, espousing Sweden’s 500-year-old culinary traditions; literally the only restaurant to offer modern Nordic cuisine in New York and one of the first to really hit it outside of Europe. With the region…
NYC: World #87 & 3* Per Se
Per Se is a culinary icon. Pure and simple. But boy did the Thomas Keller restaurant take a brutal blow in 2016. Plenty has been said about NY Times restaurant critic Peter Well’s review of the once ‘bullet proof’ restaurant, so I’m not going to harp on it. If you want to read it, I’m…
NYC: 1* NoMad the other Daniel Humm experience
Have I told you how much I love morel mushrooms? Probably not, I’ve only just realised how much those unusual looking little mushrooms need to be part of my culinary life. I was sitting in NoMad enjoying the most amazing morel mushroom dish and ……. Hold on, I’m getting way ahead of myself; let me…
NYC: World #58 & 2* Momofuku Ko
If you’re a foodie, then you’re probably familiar with the name David Chang. For those of you who have been living under a rock for the last decade or so, David Chang is the genius behind the Momofuku Restaurant Group. While the name Momofuku is synonymous with high end restaurants; Chef Chang’s beginnings were a…
Arcane: The tastiest of meals
What is it that stops a restaurant from achieving that all elusive Michelin Star? It’s a question that probably has no clear answer. I guess, if you could package up all the right ingredients, then everyone would have one. It was also something that I’ve long pondered about one particular restaurant. Arcane is a restaurant…
Mexico City: Biko #65 in the World
I really didn’t know what to expect for my visit to Mexico City; but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous. After all, I was heading into the great unknown, although what I did know was that my intended destination was one of the murder capitals of the world. My trepidation…
Rech: The Alain Ducasse replacement restaurant
At what point does a chef throw in the towel with a concept? Is it when dropping from two Michelin Stars to one? Or the final ignominy of losing that final Michelin Star? I never went to Spoon by Alain Ducasse when it was a Two Michelin Starred restaurant, but I did have the pleasure…
Montreal: Toqué! Canada’s #2 Restaurant
I was cut, completely disappointed. When I found out that Canada’s number 2 restaurant (then #1) was located in Montreal, a city that I’d be spending a few days visiting for work, I immediately set about making a reservation. All to no avail. It seemed that (like most places), Montreal’s top restaurant was hard to get…
Canada: Maison Boulud
It was a shock to my system, to be honest. I landed in Montreal with a temperature that was minus 17 degrees; yep, that’s right, a temperature where man cannot really survive for long. When you’re in the depths of winter, you really look for that hearty and warming meal that both keeps you warm,…
Paris: 2* L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon Paris St Germain
The original and the best? It’s what I hoped to find out when I recently made a pilgrimage to the original L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, located in the most Parisian of quarters; the 6th arrondissement. I’ve been to many of the L’Atelier’s around the globe; and there are many. It’s probably easier to list the…
Paris: Arpège #12 & 3* in the World
Is it me, or is it you? It’s a question I’ve been struggling with for a little while now. I’m fortunate enough that I get to eat at some of the finest restaurants in the world, quite regularly. Lately, I’ve been contemplating just what it means to chase down meals at the world’s top restaurants;…
1* Elystan Street: The Square 2.0?
When I sat down to reflect on, then write about my top ten list from 2015, one restaurant stood out above all others. I’d love to have said it was a Hong Kong restaurant; but despite having some amazing meals in my new home, it was a UK restaurant that had won my heart. You…
London: 2* Dinner by Heston Blumenthal #39* in the world
Here’s what my Monday looked like: Flight arrives in London at 5:30am Check into Hotel at 7:30am F45 Training Session at 9:30am Visit to Lyle’s at 12:30pm Visit to Dinner by Heston at 6:30pm If ever there was a contrast between the old culinary world and the new, this was it. Lunch was at a…
London: 1* Lyle’s #54* in the World
Here’s what my Monday looked like: Flight arrives in London at 5:30am Check into Hotel at 7:30am F45 Training Session at 9:30am Visit to Lyles at 12:30pm I was feeling particularly jet lagged as I arrived at the Shoreditch train station, so I was particularly happy to find that Lyle’s was only a few meters…
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