Some of my dining experiences in China

(My new dining companion in addition to Hywel, Hansen Shi, Econ/Math guy from UCLA)

Restaurants:

Mr and Mrs Bund (Shanghai) - Beautiful balcony views

Da Dong Peking Duck (Beijing) - Peking Duck Powerhouse

Bei (Beijing) - Northern Asian 

Maison Boulad (Beijing) - Daniel Boulad’s Beijing Restaurant - 3 star Chef

Salt (Beijing) - Contemporary American/Venezuelan in China

Yotsuba (Beijing) - Sushi flown in from Tokyo Daily

To come in the next 2 days 

Blu Lobster and Ristorante Sadler (2 star chef Claudio Sadler)

Josh’s Birthday at Ad Hoc.

Josh , Hywel , Sean , Greg, and yours truly.

Sean and Greg’s first time to fine dining and there is no better way to do this than to come to Ad Hoc with Memphis Style BBQ

the beef short ribs —- godliest piece of beef I’ve had in a while. Was not expecting the tenderness because the lack of visual marbling but when you bit into that slice of meat, you knew that there was probably a network of fat running through the meat, so saturated that the meat just looked like it was of one composition only. 

pork ribs —- meat slide off the bone? If ever anyone says something about the meat sliding off the bone, take that with a grain of salt before you try ad hoc’s pork ribs.

The pulled pork on toasted bread was good too , but probably the least spectacular.

What made my night was certainly the meat, but it wouldn’t have been the same without two of the vegetables that were introduced.

the first course heart of romaine salad was perfectly sauced (barely any is the way to go!) but the crunch of romaine hearts just remind me why I eat salad. the crisp bite that just brings you down to earth, reminding you that sprouted out of the ground in the early morning, dew droplets still clinging onto the leaves..

then the meat was paired with some fried broccolini. they resembled broccoli but was just too brittle after being fried and baked to be anything close to what I eat normally frozen. Sean and I kept raving about how great these fried broccolinis were.

ad hoc. i was a bit skeptical after my first fried chicken experience but after returning a second time with great company, I discovered why this place is Josh’s favorite. Great Food, Fun and encouraging atmosphere (music selection was very appropriate), and the great mecca called Yountville.

Next Stop : TFL.

After much anticipation, Hywel and I finally got to the the talk of the San Francisco, Gary Danko Restaurant.

Securing a reservation here a week beforehand for a friday night was not even a easy task, required one too many phone call maneuvers but I was able to finally get the 5:30 seating (We ended up getting in at 6 pm but being a Michelin caliber resturant, they better have saved our seat).

Inner Decor was calming. I was having a shitty day, I ended up having a shitty night after the dinner, but during the meal, I found my inner Zen. Some might argue that a good dinner should set your path right, but I beg to differ, a good meal is just a drug that keeps you up there for a while before you realize life is not filled with Michelin stars. The dim lighting didn’t deter from the overall feeling because of the loud speaking nature of the restaurant, unlike many other exclusive restaurants that require you to speak in a murmur. It was the equivalent decibel levels of say .. CPK or PFChangs, perfect to keep you up and dandy. I imagine this is where the locals take their out of town friends or just to catch up with some old buddies.

Service stood out to me because of the jolly waiters and maitre’d. Explained each dish with a zeal, even served bread with zest.

The pictures do a couple dishes justice, the caviar oysters & the Foie. Foie is Foie, but Foie paired with apples just is just that one subtle step that distinguishes Foie from Fucking Good Foie.

Another worth noting dish would be the Roasted Pork Belly. It was served with pork tenderloin which was decent but the pork belly a perfect way to play with my tongue and disappear in the next second, making me crave for more. In a common language, “melted in my tongue.” Few things I’ve eaten have been softer than that. There were parsnips that tickled my fancy, evoking thoughts of Chez Panisse (a beauty and delicacy in its own right) vegetables. Hywel quickly denied my non-sense and I agree that I was being naive comparing vegetables to Alice Waters mastery but geez, if parsnips can take up 4 lines of my post, they were some damn good parsnips.

Bottom Line: Food was excellent, exactly what I expected, but did not exceed. But I came in with such high expectations. One step lower than the Dining Room in terms of the culinary arts but I definitely would have more fun at Gary Danko. Other places, I would nitpick and be dazzled by presentation of the food. Restaurant Gary Danko just screams, eat whats on my plate, its good food, not beautiful, but you’ll understand why everyone in the Bay comes to my restaurant after your first bite.

Next Stop: Providence in LA and maybe Cyrus in Healdsburg.

I can never seem to find anything worth tumblring about, mostly out of respect for myself and others. But that is another issue.

Therefore, I’ll concentrate most of the issues on my current phase.

I am a man of phases, but I hope this fine dining chapter of my life lasts till the end.

Meet my 3 new friends, Michelin, Gayot, & Opentable.

Each brings a respectable name to the floor while occupying 15% (A realistic 15%) of my daily thoughts.

This adventure has recently gained momentum. Gary Danko next.

(Pic 1: The world acclaimed Joel Robuchon, I unfortunately was not as impressed as some other places on my journey for the whole 9 yards, such as the Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton Pic 2)