The best dishes I had in 2024

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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 culinary trips my friends undertook. I told everyone that I was staying in town to support Hong Kong's economy, and I hope my chef and restauranteur friends appreciated that...

As I have done each year since 2018, I have compiled a list of dishes I've enjoyed during the year which were the most emotional experiences for me. There have been no shortage of delicious dishes over hundreds of meals, and making a concise list of the best of them remains a difficult task. So here they are in chronological order:

Sweet and sour pig tails (菠蘿咕嚕豬尾), from The Chairman (大班樓) in Hong Kong - as someone who loves pig tails and who also enjoys a good sweet and sour pork this combination proved insanely delicious. The light and airy batter was especially bewitching.

27 Michelin star chef x 7-Eleven

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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, junk food, and maybe breakfast for the next morning. This time around Foursheets noticed a big poster in the window of our local 7-Eleven with the face of Olivier Elzer in a prominent position, along with smaller pictures of a bunch of products.

Apparently Olivier - who opened Seasons by olivier e. at the W Taipei last year, has created a series of ready-to-eat meals exclusively with 7-Eleven Taiwan. Olivier is being introduced as a "27 Michelin star chef", and now you can get a taste of his "star rated cuisine (星級饗宴)" at an estimated 7,000 outlets on the island.

Girlie drinks in a girlie izakaya

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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 our first night off, we didn't have any idea of where to eat. Foursheets asked to go to an izakaya (居酒屋), and after doing brief research online, I decided we should try a place literally just across the river from our apartment. In fact, I could hypothetically hit it with a Stinger from my living room window if I could get one...

As my research was very brief, I thought Tokyo Skewer (東京串燒。酒場) would just be some old school izakaya since the words I remembered were "old mansion (老宅)". The key words I missed were actually "hipster (文青)"... And while we entered through the door of Tokyo Skewer, we were actually led to seats inside the connecting space next door at Old Town West (老城西。酒食製作所), with a feminine, farmhouse charm.

We were seated at the bar lined with potted plants and flowers, and watched the two mixologists work their magic all night. The drinks here were pretty elaborate, which took us completely by surprise. Since the house rules impose a minimum spend with the added condition that customers must order at least one drink, we started with an alcohol order...

Rose in lychee garden - as Foursheets exclaimed... "IT DOESN'T GET MORE GIRLIE THAN THIS!" With Glendalough Wild Rose Irish Gin as the base together with lime juice, garnished with both canned lychees and dried rosebuds... and finally finished with a blooming red rose plus baby's breath on the stem of the martini glass.

Closing out the cycle

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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 travel schedules and force majeur made it impossible to get at least 5 of the boys together for a scheduled meal. Seeing that we were reaching the end of 2024, I reached out to the boys for one last try to host a dinner. Much to my surprise, EVERYONE raised their hands and we ended up with a full house tonight!

Since I had to cancel the original dinner scheduled at Andō earlier this year, I figured it was only right that I host the dinner there. Most of the boys have, in fact, never been to the restaurant, so it was a good opportunity to introduce them to Goldfinger. I asked for a custom menu to match the lineup of reds I was bringing, and worked out the opening/decanting schedule to Carlito Gorgor to try to catch the optimum windows of the wines.

Roasted piquillos, onion, sardines, caviar tart - this was nice, and the sardine didn't feel too heavy with the combination.

3-star Chave

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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 Jean-Louis Chave. I was very, very excited to hear the news, and I would get periodic updates on the progress from both Hairy Legs and Victor over the following months.

I was a little surprised that I had some difficulty in finding friends to share my table for this event. After all, this dinner at Caprice featured a tailored menu which Saffron Bae and Victor had worked on with Jean-Louis, with each course specifically paired with a specific vintage. We would also be tasting an older vintage of Cuvée Cathelin - a bottling I have had the privilege of tasting several occasions, and whose price has skyrocketed in the last few years. Finally, we would finish with the domaine's Vin de Paille - a wine I have neither seen nor tasted in person, and which I have only seen on offer once the last 2 decades or so.

Thankfully I found a couple of friends looking for a taste of Cathelin, so the four of us sat down pretty much as soon as the restaurant opened tonight. I also got a chance to catch up with Jean-Louis before dinner started.

It's very rare that I choose not to have anything from the bread basket when I'm here, but knowing how much food was coming our way - and considering how I'd been stuffing my face for the last week - I decided to forgo those little delicious buttery lumps.

Mushroom tart - on top of a little Parmesan sablé.

Tokyo 2024 day 8: airline food again

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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 finally got to have it before I left Japan.

Tokyo 2024 day 7: a date with Puchi Jr.

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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 cuisine via his collaborations with Gaggan and Goh-san from as far back as his Bangkok pop-up in 2017, but I just never managed to get myself a seat in Tokyo.

I usually hate to beg chefs who aren't already friends for seats at their restaurants, but this time around I figured I needed to check DEN off my list, so I finally messaged Zaiyu-san and asked for help. He was, of course, very gracious and asked the team to help make the arrangements for me.

We were running late due to stupidity on my part, and I ran from our taxi into the building like a headless chicken. I knew that the restaurant is on the first floor and I could see that there is a restaurant, but the glass panel on the door reads Le Gaulois... So WHERE THE HELL IS THIS PLACE?!

After seeing two very confused people outside their door, Noriko-san came out and asked whether we were looking for their restaurant. It's been a few years since I last saw her, and I was relieved to see a familiar face. She explained that Le Gaulois used to be Zaiyu-san and Emi-san's favorite restaurant, and when they moved DEN into the space, they kept the decor of the restaurant - including the door.

We were seated at the big tree trunk table facing the open kitchen. This facilitated some interaction between us and the kitchen, but I would soon find that, thanks to a combination of my short stature, my protruding o-toro, and the beveled edge of the table, I was often stretching to reach the dishes and found myself eating in an uncomfortable position. Oh well... time to put some work in and shrink the o-toro!

DEN monaka (傳最中) - I've had this signature dish quite a few times over the years, and know that some of the ingredients vary with the seasons.

Tokyo 2024 day 7: cats and the noodle, part 2

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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 has been doing 3-D latte art for quite a while, and we paid them a visit back in December 2018. Foursheets decided that she wanted to go back for more. Six years after our first visit, the place has garned more internet fame, and we saw more customers even on a weekday morning.

I gave them a picture of our CC Dogcow and asked for 2-D art. I thought Sadaharu did a pretty good job, and so did many friends who saw it.

Tokyo 2024 day 6: Champagne and sushi again

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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 Keyakizaka-dori (けやき坂通り) have always been pretty, and since Foursheets keeps reminding me that we don't take enough photos together, this would seem to be a good time to do it. We started with the lights on the podium level, but the gusts of wind were so strong and so cold that we had to run for safety. It got a little better when we moved to Keyakizaka, but by then the damage had already been done.

There were lots of people at the Christmas Market, but seeing that we had a nice dinner coming up, there didn't seem to be any point in lining up for food or drink here. Maybe next time I can plan things a little better...

The walk from Roppongi Hills to Ark Hills seemed extra long on this windy night, and we felt as if we had landed in another world and about to be greeted by Elsa and Anna any minute. After arriving at our destination, we definitely needed to defrost a little with the indoor heating while waiting for the second seating at Sushi Saito (鮨さいとう). Thankfully we weren't stuck outside very long.

Tonight was my fifth visit here, and while I sometimes wish I would have to chance to visit other high-end sushiyas to try out the craft of other masters, I quickly realized that this was most definitely a "first world problem". How does ANYONE get tired of dining at a place like Sushi Saito?! Besides, it would only be Foursheets' second chance to sit in front of Saito-san...

Female Japanese snow crab (香箱蟹) - so, so happy to have this while it was in season. The tomalley (蟹味噌), ovaries (内子), and eggs (外子) have been well-mixed with crab meat simmered in sake for this presentation.

Tokyo 2024 day 6: cats and the noodle

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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 could check out that neighborhood. I have, in fact, never been to Tokyo Dome myself or Korakuen (後楽園), so that was kinda new for me.

Handmade egg dog (手作りたまごドッグ) - seeing that I still haven't gotten myself an egg sando after 5 days, I decided to order this up. Interesting to see that they've put ketchup on the bread. Loved it.

Tokyo 2024 day 5: drunken onion, episode 10

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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 still needed to be here, sitting at the bar, surrounded by all the fridges and the sake inside. I need to feel that vibe, that feeling of familiarity. As I don't know exactly Master would decide to retire, I need to be here as many times as I can before I'm no longer able to come.

Bijofu Junmai Daiginjo Yumebakari (美丈夫 純米大吟醸 夢許), 2024, from isshobin - the nose was nice and fragrant, with a touch of sweet fermented rice lees, and a faint nose of banana, along with perhaps some muscat grapes. Pretty nice and elegant.

Tokyo 2024 day 5: the god of tempura

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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 (小野二郎) is referred to as "the god of sushi", and that visit 10 years ago left a lasting impression on me. When it came time to look for a place for tempura on this trip, I thought it would be nice to go for a return visit, especially since Foursheets wasn't there with me the first time around.

While seats at the restaurant can be booked via TableCheck - which is the only way first time customers are able to book - counter seats can only booked for the 5 p.m. seating. Well... if I'm coming back, I definitely want to be at the counter watching Saotome-san at work. Which was why we are having an early dinner tonight.

There was a good mix of locals and tourists at our seating, but once again we were seated closest to the entrance - just like my first visit. Oh well...

Our starter included some very creamy tofu with miso and marinated greens.

There was also a cube of conger eel jelly (穴子の煮凝り).

Tiger prawn (車海老), first piece - taken with salt, which highlighted the sweetness of the prawn.

Tiger prawn (車海老), second piece - this might be pure coincidence, but the batter on this one was thicker than the first one. Taken with the ten-tsuyu (天つゆ).

Prawn's head (海老兜) - took one with salt and the other with ten-tsuyu.

Japanese sillago (鱚) - nice and big. First bite was taken "as is" for the flavor, then with salt, and finally with plenty of ten-tsuyu-soaked grated radish.

Squid (烏賊), first piece - taken with salt.

Squid (烏賊), second piece - loved how thick this was, yet still tender enough. Also taken with salt.

Soup (吸い物) - a nice, clear dashi with a piece of prawn dumpling (海老真丈) and some very fine tofu skin (湯葉).

Ginkgo nuts (銀杏) - OF COURSE this would be the seasonable vegetable.

Sea urchin green shiso winding (雲丹大葉巻き) - 10 years ago this was the place that changed my mind about having sea urchin cooked, and this looked as beautiful as ever.

I've come to appreciate the art of frying perilla leaves with sea urchin inside. Very tasty.

Adductor muscles roll (はしら磯辺巻き) - the winter seasonal fish was fish cum, which was deep-fried as a ball with some truffle. I had listed it as part of my dietary restrictions when making the reservation, and upon arrival I had clarified with them that while I am not allergic to it, it's not something I like to eat. So I was served these as substitute, and that was just fine by me.

At this point the boss paused and completely changed the oil.

Big-eyed flathead (女鯒) - I only seem to see this at certain tempura restaurants in Tokyo.

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This time around, I was prepared and had my phone ready when Saotome-san came to serve up the main event.

Conger eel (穴子), tail - taken with salt. The batter was nice and crispy, and as the Japanese would say, サクサク.

Conger eel (穴子), front - taken with ten-tsuyu.

One can choose two vegetables from a selection of four, and this time around I picked just two not did not add a third one...

Shiitake mushroom (椎茸)

Sweet potato (薩摩芋) - gotta get this when I have the chance.

Tencha (天茶)

Pickles (漬物)

Black beans and jelly (丹波の黒豆とゼリ－) - I've always loved the beans they serve for dessert, and tonight these were tasty, too.

Seeing that we would have drinking sessions after dinner, I just took one go (合) of Kaiun Junmai Ginjo (開運 純米吟醸).

I was happy to have returned to watch the master work once again. We should have gone up to the museum to take a look before dinner started, so I'll remember that for next time.

Tokyo 2024 day 5: nigiri for lunch

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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. booking at Sushitokoro Yamato (鮨処 やまと) this morning. It's one of his newer discoveries and he was so impressed with this place that he insisted that I go try it.

I have never had the pleasure of dining at Nihonbashi Kakigaracho Sugita (日本橋蠣殻町 すぎた), so knowing that Yasui Yamato (安井大和) spent 5 years there and, when he chose to open up his own shop, received the blessing of Sugita-san, kinda felt like I was getting the consolation prize. And of course I have full confidence that we would enjoy our meal given the high praise that Geruhage heaped on the chef.

The restaurant, like so many others in Japan, is on the street level in a nondescript building. One can barely guess that this is the door to a restaurant by looking at the wood-and-glass door before the place official opens, because that's when someone comes out and hangs up the noren (暖簾) bearing the name of the establishment.

Tokyo 2024 day 4: Bonneau and birdie

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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 Californian wines and is, apparently, happy to let us bring more than 1 or 2 bottles to dinner. For someone who normally stays away from yakitori joints due to her disinterest in tasteless chickens and a dislike of innards, Foursheets is having her second yakitori dinner in just 3 days. We did tell the restaurant that she wishes to avoid innards, so they offered her substitute skewers.

The Moe Course (燃コース) includes 7 skewers, a warm dish, a cold dish, a carb dish, plus dessert for a pretty reasonable price.

Oden (おでん) - with tofu, egg, maitake (舞茸), and spinach.

Tokyo 2024 day 4: Instagram-famous tonkatsu

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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 I'm taking the opportunity on this trip to meet up with them. While I had originally thought about going back to a curry shop I visited a few years ago, or even checking out a biryani restaurant I had heard about, I eventually left the choice up to the locals.

I was pleasantly surprised that my friend suggested lunch at Tonkatsu Marushichi (とんかつ 丸七), as it was kinda on my "hit list" for Tokyo. The place is "Instagram-famous" thanks to its very thick cuts of tonkatsu (とんかつ), and I always wondered whether the pork cutlet actually tasted good.

Since no bookings could be made for this popular chain of restaurants, I suggested that we visit the Fukagawa Fudo (深川不動) branch as they have 14 seats at the counter, versus 8 seats at the nearby honten or 6 seats at the Ginza branch. This would increase our chance of getting seated early and, hopefully, in the first round.

Foursheets and I arrived 15 minutes before the official opening time of 11 a.m. and there were 4 other tourists with their suitcases at the front of the line. I guess that fits with their Instagram fame. We were relieved that we would be seated in the first round, and I got to spend some time chatting with my alumni friends while we waited for the doors to open. Meanwhile, a long line started to develop while we waited.

I was surprised that the restaurant only opened up and seated us around 11:30 a.m., which was 30 minutes late and quite unusual for Japan. As we had pre-ordered everything while waiting in line, the cooks inside simply waited until they had fried all the pork cutlets for everyone in the first round, then served us within a couple of minutes after being seated. Well, I would have preferred to wait for my food while sitting down inside and not stand outside for an extra half hour...

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BABY, THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR! OF COURSE I chose the thickest cut, as did the other 2 guys. Foursheets, though, took the "half portion" of the same cut of pork, so she "only" had 180 grams instead of 300 grams of pork.

Tokyo 2024 day 3: Isojiman, Mon Amour

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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 Master on every single subsequent visit to Tokyo. Nine visits over the space of 14 years may not sound like much, but my relationship with this place is longer and more meaningful than with any other hospitality establishment in all of Japan.

On my first visit back there last year after a 3-year absence due to the pandemic, Master mentioned that he was thinking to close up shop and retire this year, as he would be turning 70. That was, of course, not good news for long-time fans like myself, and I resolved to come back to see him before the place becomes history.  

Master organizes around a dozen or so vertical tastings each year of sakes from breweries he is friendly with, drawing on his extensive cellar to showcase a single bottling in a way that few others could accomplish. Usually the president or the toji (杜氏) of the brewery would also be present. I had thought about joining one of these events in the past, but for various reasons I chose not to pull the trigger. Until now.

Today I joined about 20 others for a tasting of Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo Nakatori 35 Adagio (磯自慢 純米大吟醸 中取り 35 アダージョ), covering 16 vintages beginning from the very first in 2009 to the 2024 vintage that has literally just been released. As if these weren't enough, Master has thrown in an additional two bottles to make it even more interesting.

Photo credit: Kinoshita Takayoshi

After shelling out a big wad of cash to Master just outside the door, I walked into one of the function room at Hotel Metropolitan Edmont to find 3 tables set up and a wall of sake. Since it's free seating, I hurriedly put my bag down and saved seats for Geruhage and V as well. As luck would have it, we were seated at the same table as brewery president Teraoka Yohji (寺岡洋司).

Tokyo 2024 day 3: Instagram-famous tongue

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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 found thanks to it being "Instagram famous", and when I saw a video of their ox tongue stuffed with spring onions I knew I wanted to come and try it. As V also needed a big lunch before joining me for this afternoon's festivities, I figured he should come along with us.

Even though we were the first to be seated today, I wanted to make sure that we got the signature ox tongue, so I pre-booked the most expensive set menu. It looked like a lot of beef to take down, especially for lunch, but I figured what the hay...

Korean salad (チョレギサラダ)

Kimchi (キムチの盛り合わせ)

Yukhoe (ユッケ) - this was pretty good with all the diced spring onions.

Tokyo 2024 day 2: Takasaka chicken

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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 Kyotamba (焼とり 京丹波), and I managed to rope in V for our little soirée. I'm really happy that he looked well and hasn't slowed down much, and even looks chic in his new accessory. 

Takasaka chicken (高坂鶏) is one of the famous breeds used in yakitori, and it's rare to find a restaurant like this where everything is done using this particular breed, as often a restaurant will use it for a few skewers only. We were pretty excited to try this place for the first time.

We were presented with a menu in English for the Chef's selected course:

A plate of assorted Takasaka chicken sasimi aged for 5 days (高坂鶏の刺身) - this included a slice each of thigh (もも), kelp seasoned breast (ささみ昆布締め), and fatty liver (白肝) along with some gelée. The abundance of perilla flowers added wonderful fragrance to mask any potential pungent flavors.

Tokyo 2024 day 2: pizza day

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After a night of insomnia, I really needed some coffee this morning. I had planned to hit a few Instagram-famous places on this trip, and it starts with a kissaten (喫茶店) famous for its crème caramel (プリン). Hekkerun (ヘッケルン) opened more than 50 years ago, and the place certainly looks like it's been around for a while... even from the outside.

Unfortunately while I was rearranging our itinerary and moved this visit from another day to this morning, I had forgotten to check which days of the week this place actually opens... and they're closed on Saturdays. So I've come all this way for nothing! Well, we still needed coffee, and ended up at a Caffé Veloce nearby.

I took a classic "Morning Set" that is common in cafés in Japan, with a cup of coffee and a ham and cheese toast. This did the job of getting some caffeine in me so I could get through the rest of the day.

Tokyo 2024 day 1: airline food

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I'm taking my first overseas trip after the end of my self-imposed travel ban, and our first destination is Tokyo. As we were flying JAL today, we got access to the Qantas Lounge at the Hong Kong International Airport and checked it out for the first time. I had done a quick search online as we headed to the airport, and there was something I was really looking forward to.

Unfortunately, the bar only serves up char siu rice (叉燒飯) and other main dishes after 4 p.m., so we were visiting just a tad early for this.

But wait! There's a dim sum cart being pushed around in the lounge! I've never seen that, even in the Cathay Pacific Lounge! I was pretty excited about this, and learned that they offer 2 options daily - one savory and one sweet.

Shenzhen with MO day 2: elevation 388

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After a much-needed and restorative massage at The Spa at the Mandarin Oriental, the team took us on a tour of the Mandarin Oriental Shenzhen to show off some of the facilities and fantastic views. This included taking us up to the rooftop helipad at a height of 388 meters, where we got a 360° view of the city as the sun was setting.

As night fell, we settled into our seats at the counter facing the open kitchen of OPUS 388 for dinner. Chef Alessio Durante is relatively new to Shenzhen, having recently joined from Alain Ducasse at The Morpheus in Macau. I would imagine he's still learning the peculiarities of this market, although the menu that had been prepared had a few interesting things that piqued my interest.

Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut, dégorgée le 22 Janvier 2024 - a little mineral and flint on the nose, and good acidity on the palate.

The dinner started by having our napkins sprayed with a perfume that was meant to smell of bread...

Then came some grissini along with other breads.

A coral from the sea - the amuses bouches were presented on a ceramic coral stand, which certainly made an impression...