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Daniel from Hong Kong 🇨🇦 🇯🇵 🇭🇰(@danielfromhk)'s profile avatar HD Profile

Daniel from Hong Kong 🇨🇦 🇯🇵 🇭🇰

@danielfromhk

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Travel • Eat • Repeat
Stories = favorite dishes from each meal
POSTS STORIES REELS
[Revised version 1.1 adding Soujoan whose chef, Yamada-san, trained at Miyamasou and also headed their branch at Toya Windsor Hotel] Before foraging was made world famous by Noma, there was already Tsumikusa [摘草] cuisine in Japan for over a hundred years. Tsumikusa cuisine makes use of freshly picked ingredients such as wild herbs, seasonal vegetables, mushrooms and also incorporates river fish or even game meat. Estsblished in 1895 as a lodge for visitors to Buioji temple, Miyamasou is the most famous and representative Tsumikusa ryouri restaurant in Japan. Located deep in the mountains, it takes about 1.5 hours drive from Kyoto and in addition to being a restaurant, it is also an inn with 4 rooms for those who want to spend the night. Run by the Nakahigashi family, it was the 3rd generation owner who made the restaurant well known but unfortunately he passed away in 1993. As the 4th generation owner took over, the younger brother of the 3rd generation started his own restaurant Soujiki Nakahigashi in Kyoto by @danielfromhk
Even though the name Shofukuro might not be as recognizable as others like Kitcho or Wakuden, it has arguably produced a larger number of high-quality chefs. In the 2024 Tabelog Award, 12 Washoku restaurants are awarded Gold and 3 of the chefs are from this lineage - Matsukawa, Yukimoto and Ginza Shinohara. Sakurada is also another notable disciple in this lineage but sadly, it has closed its doors in 2015. Shofukuro [招福楼] was originally founded as a teahouse in Yokaichi, Shiga during the early days of Meiji period [1868-1912]. It wasn’t until 1948 when the 3rd generation owner, Shutaro Nakamura, reopened it after the Second World War that the restaurant took its current form as a ryotei. The entrance is lined with trees, with some shaped to resemble the entrance of Ginkakuji, and inside the main compound, there are two tea houses and six rooms. In recent years, a counter restaurant with a separate entrance has also been added, with food coming from the same kitchen. Yokaichi is easily accessible by public transport from Kyoto and it takes approximately an hour by train. The honten is currently run by the 4th generation owner and the branch in Tokyo is run by the 5th generation. If there are any errors or omissions, please let me know by @danielfromhk
Things I remembered about 2023 - aside from HK, Canada and Japan, travelled to the US, UK, France and Madrid for 155 meals at Michelin Star or Tabelog Award restaurants. Most visited restaurant is still Hidden in HK but for the first time in years, it ties with Nihonryori Fuji in Shizuoka with 6 visits each in 2023 - haven’t spent much time in HK and whenever I am back, gravitated towards traditional Cantonese cuisine. Toronto has decent Chinese food but for the best steamed fish, roast goose and suckling pig, it just doesn’t compare - Hong Kong’s fine dining scene is suffering its worst downturn in years with easy booking at almost all places. Aside from a very small handful of restaurants like The Chairman, all fine dining restaurants can be booked within a week or so. Locals are busy traveling abroad but the void in consumption has not been filled by incoming tourists as arrivals still lack far behind pre-Covid in numbers. Some mainland tourists have returned but these tend to be low spending day trippers who flock to local noodle or dessert shops - on Aug 24, Japan started releasing treated radioactive water into the ocean and HK banned importation of seafood from 10 Japanese prefectures. Mind boggling that even landlocked prefectures like Tochigi has been included. Food safety concerns sent the Japanese restaurant sector into a death spiral. The Araki and Mori have both closed at the end of 2023 and more closings are rumored - HK was a city that never sleeps and then it caught Covid. People do not go out as late anymore and many places that were open past 2am never returned to the same schedule since the customer base is simply not there. Time will tell whether customers will slowly return over time but for now, HK is pretty boring and empty at night by @danielfromhk
Each year at 8:00pm on Aug 16, five mountains in Kyoto are lit up to mark the end of Obon and to send off ancestral spirits in an event called Gozan Okuribi (五山送り火). Various letters and shapes are lit up with fire and these burning shapes are easily visible from different parts of the city. In 2019, I tried to see Gozan Okuribi from Kamo River and quickly realized that distances between the mountains are too far to see more than two at a time. Turns out there are tall private buildings like this one with 360 degree unobstructed panoramic view and what a privilege to watch Gozan Okuribi from this vantage point! Starting at 8:00pm, the shapes are lit one by one 5-10 minutes apart and at around 8:30pm, all 5 shapes can be seen. Very memorable night to come up to this rooftop, take in the view and share this moment with a few friends! I can get used to this by @danielfromhk
2022 Top 10 Dishes (No. 10 in chronological order) Drunken Hairy Crab Tin Heung Lau, Hong Kong December 2022 Usually only eat hairy crabs once or twice when they are in season. Was surprised that two hairy crab dishes made it on my list this year but this was just too good. Raw female crabs are marinated in shaoxing wine for over a month and the crab soaks up all the complexity of the wine In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 by @danielfromhk
2022 Top 10 Dishes (No. 9 in chronological order) Fish Skin, Fried Shirako, Potato Salad, Neighborhood, Hong Kong December 2022 Neighborhood is one of those places I really miss when out of town. The menu changes everyday depending on what seasonal ingredients is available and David always manage to come up with new dishes that just works. Fried shirako here added creaminess and texture to the dish and the flavor reminds me of Chinese-style salt and pepper preparation In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 by @danielfromhk
2022 Top 10 Dishes (No. 8 in chronological order) Hairy Crab Sushi The Araki, Hong Kong December 2022 Always excited to see the Master experimenting with new ingredients and this time was hairy crab. Don’t recall seeing this being used here before and the result is sublime. Spot on seasoning and proportion allowing one to taste each layer separately, the meat, the miso and then all combined together. A bit of Chinese vinegar was also added to the nikiri brushed on top. All chefs are at the mercy of nature though and when I came back in January, the hairy crab is no longer as good In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 by @danielfromhk
2022 Top 10 Dishes (No. 7 in chronological order) Kinoko, Salt, Water Myoujyaku, Japan November 2022 Hirohisa Koyama (小山裕久) of Tokushima Aoyagi (徳島青柳) has trained a group of chefs who dominated the Michelin rankings in Tokyo and I have always wanted to understand the style of this lineage. Chef Nakamura trained at Aoyagi for 11 years before moving on to other restaurants and he opened Myoujyaku in April 2022. This is the first course and what a statement! Mushroom cooked in water and salt. Nothing else is added and yet the aroma and flavor is delicate and layered. When I went in early November, it was a relative easy reservation on Omakase. After gaining two Michelin stars later that month, it has become quite difficult to book In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 by @danielfromhk
2022 Top 10 Dishes (No. 6 in chronological order) Supersmash Burger Funky Chicken Food Truck, Sweden October 2022 How good can a burger be? Turns out just as good and satisfying as any other dishes if done right! Funky Chicken Food Truck in Stockholm started as a chicken over rice food truck but its signature these days are their beef burgers. Good ratio of bun, cheese, toppings and patty. Smashed and well charred patty along with the toasted buns give it a crispy layer in the middle and the texture really stood out. What a finale to a fun few days on a @the.hungries food tour and thank you @andershusa and @carnivorr for all the arrangements! In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 by @danielfromhk
2022 Top 10 Dishes (No. 5 in chronological order) Tartare of Red Deer, Red Sorrel, Birch Tree Me|Mu, Denmark September 2022 Vejle is a small town about 2.5 hours from Copenhagen with two Michelin Star restaurants. At first, I was a bit hesitant since there weren’t much online reviews but this is a hidden gem that I would highly recommend to others. Red deer tartare is mixed with woodruff oil. Sitting on top are birch tree mayo and gel with some red sorrel leaves providing acidity. Can’t think of the last time I have raw red deer but it has a light and elegant air dried beef flavor with the whole dish developing into a sweet forest floor like a young pinot. This dish was so memorable that I picked it out to be a top 10 dishes on the spot In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 by @danielfromhk
2022 Top 10 Dishes (No. 4 in chronological order) Sugar Peas, Kohlrabi Flan, Shisho, Lavender Granita Restaurant Moment July 2022 After 12 different dishes with peas this July in Denmark, I can’t help but compare which one is fresher, sweeter or juicier and this is the gold medal winner. Grown on their own farm, the quality of these peas are a cut above the others. The granita keeps the dish cold and refreshing while the peas sweetness is brought out by the use of some homemade shoyu. Yes, they make their own shoyu with buckwheat and peas at Moment. I asked what the yellow flowers were on top since they were packed with flavors and I was then led out of my seat to the garden outside to see where they were picked from. Restaurant Moment is just next level and I would urge anyone going to Denmark for food to pay a visit In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 by @danielfromhk
2022 Top 10 Dishes (No. 3 in chronological order) Caviar, Peas, Oyster Cream, Clam Broth Falsled Kro, Denmark July 2022 New Nordic cuisine, like kaiseki ryori of Japan, is highly seasonal and pea makes frequent appearance in the month of July. This pea dish is particularly memorable on how layered the flavors are. With all the ingredients in a bite, the bouillon flavor first comes out, followed by saltiness and umami of caviar, sweetness of peas and then the oyster cream. Quite amazing how the chef has managed to construct all the layers to work together and really don’t understand why this place does not have a star. Not only is it a beautiful restaurant, the inn is also a charming place to spend a night and stroll the gardens In addition to Hong Kong, visited Canada, Denmark, US, Sweden, Norway and Japan in 2022 by @danielfromhk

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