Mott 32, Central, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

In the lead up to our 2015 trip to Hong Kong, I happened to be walking through the local supermarket when I noticed the latest issue of Gourmet Traveller fortuitously featured an article about new restaurants in Hong Kong. The informative article featured a number of restaurants we had heard of and were considering booking tables for, with one in particular catching our eye. Named Mott 32 after the location of New York's first Chinese convenience store, the restaurant's eye popping interior design and the promise of unusual and luxe Dim Sum was enough to convince us to reserve a table for our visit, and it served as our last meal in Hong Kong before catching our flight back home to Australia.

Butao Ramen, Central, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

When making our initial plans for our 2015 Hong Kong trip, our dining options were significantly more fanciful and upmarket, including an ambitious plan to dine at no less than three separate restaurants with 3 Michelin Stars. The serious decline of the Australian dollar over the year really put a damper on those plans, and we realigned our meals to better reflect the changed economic situation. Thankfully, Hong Kong has many excellent restaurants at the more affordable end of the spectrum and we refocused our energies on trying many of the city's best bowls of Tonkotsu Ramen. Having tried Ichiran in 2013 (and revisited it as part of this trip) as well as the equally excellent Kamitora Ramen, Alissa and I decided to visit Butao - the noodle shop often credited as having started Hong Kong's Ramen Craze.

Lung King Heen (Weekday Dim Sum Lunch), IFC, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

During our honeymoon, Alissa and I had the great pleasure of dining at Caprice, the then 3 Michelin Starred restaurant located in the Four Season Hotel in Hong Kong. Almost two years on, our dinner at Caprice remains one of the best meals of our lives, with the excellent standard of cooking equalled by some of the finest service we have ever experienced in a fine dining restaurant. With such fond memories of our meal at the Four Seasons, Alissa and I had often wondered about Lung King Heen - the hotel's 3 Michelin Starred Chinese restaurant - especially since it was the place where Mak Kwai Pui worked as a Dim Sum Chef before going on to open Tim Ho Wan. Particularly keen to try the restaurant's Dim Sum selection, Alissa and I made a lunch reservation at the first Cantonese restaurant to ever be awarded the top star rating.

Chicken Hof & Soju (AKA Lee Family Chicken), Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

Who doesn't love Fried Chicken? It's such a simple dish in a lot of ways, but there is something immensely satisfying about well breaded and fried poultry, with a crispy exterior encasing perfectly juicy meat inside. For many people growing up in most places with a strong American influence on their fast food, the Colonel's Southern-style secret recipe would have been their first taste of Fried Chicken but in the hipster-driven shift away from fast food conglomerates, smaller restaurants serving more idiosyncratic takes on Fried Chicken have come to the fore. Although the ascendency of independent American-style food establishments has seen many a 'craft' take on the Southern Fried style, it is Korean Fried Chicken that I find particularly interesting given the Asian influences on the Fried Chicken format. Having tried versions of Korean Fried Chicken in Australia, Alissa and I were keen to visit a specialist while in Hong Kong, and we decided to check out Chicken Hof & Soju (AKA Lee Family Chicken), a restaurant credited as having started Hong Kong's love for this other KFC.

Oddies Foodies, Wan Chai, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

Along with Dim Sum, Wanton Noodles and Roast Goose, the Egg Waffle must rank amongst Hong Kong's most iconic must-try dishes. Shaped as rounded bubbles rather than the gridded waffle shape more common in the west, Alissa and I ran out of time to try them during our last Hong Kong trip in 2013, and as such Alissa wanted to ensure a dessert of Egg Waffles was added to our dining itinerary this time around. Scouring blogs and Instagram feeds, Alissa came upon Oddies Foodies, a Wan Chai hole in the wall serving a particularly food porny take on the Egg Waffle.  Little more than 500m away from our ramen dinner at Kamitora, we decided to pop into Oddies afterwards for dessert.

Kamitora Ramen, Wan Chai, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

During our last trip to Hong Kong in 2013, Alissa and I had the great pleasure of dining at Ichiran Ramen. A branch of a well regarded Japanese chain, their Tonkotsu Ramen was the most refined we had ever tried, and it remains our benchmark for the Hakata-style. The only problem with Ichiran is that a bowl of porky goodness comes at a price - you have to earn your bowl by queuing up outside the restaurant for quite a significant amount of time, only to then have to wait in another line inside the building! During our 2013 trip, the wait was made acceptable due to the mild December weather, however we were greeted with uncomfortable humidity during our recent return visit, making the wait not very fun at all. Given Hong Kong's well known addiction to Ramen, Alissa and I were keen to try a few of the city's other Ramen joints of repute to see if we could find a bowl as good as Ichiran without the queues. We decided to check out two places - Butao Ramen (the shop often credited as started Hong Kong's Ramen Craze) and the lesser known Kamitora Ramen in Wan Chai.

Little Bao, Central, Hong Kong (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

Although a long time favourite order at Dim Sum restaurants and as a snack throughout Asia, the humble steamed bun or Bao has reached even greater heights of ubiquity in the post-Momofuku culinary world. The Momofuku Pork Bun must be one of the most heavily copied and replicated dishes of modern times, with entire restaurants and menus almost obsessively based around variations on the steamed bun theme, such as Wonderbao in Melbourne. Given its almost viral spread and continuing influence over a decade since the opening of Noodle Bar, it begs the question - have we reached Peak Bao? Not yet, if Little Bao in Hong Kong is anything to go by.

Nahm, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

To say that Alissa and I are fans of David Thompson would be an understatement. Earlier this year, Alissa, my parents and I cooked a Banquet Menu from Thompson's Thai Food Cookbook (as well as Grilled Pork Skewers and Mango Sticky Rice from Thai Street Food) and it was one of the best Thai meals we've had the pleasure of eating. I thoroughly recommend both books as essential reading for Thai Food enthusiasts; Thompson's encyclopedic knowledge of Thai cuisine results in recipes that are at once familiar and yet unusual as they revive recipes and versions of recipes from centuries ago.

Gaggan, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

"Oh shit... Gaggan is #1!"

Such began my panic in March for a meal that was at that stage 6 months into the future. Having originally planned for a holiday to Japan with stopovers in Bangkok and Hong Kong, only to have our Bangkok time extended (and Japan leg cancelled) on the strength of Nahm and Gaggan's ascendency to the upper echelons of the restaurant world, a table at Gaggan was one of the highest priorities of our trip. I'm pretty organised when it comes to reservations, and had already planned a rough schedule for our holiday when the news broke that Gaggan - the Progressive Indian restaurant in Bangkok of all places - had beaten such luminaries as last year's winner Nahm and perennial favourite Narisawa to be voted Asia's Best Restaurant (later coming in at #10 on the World list). Having had some experience with how tough this kind of reservation can be once a restaurant gets this level of good press - booking a table at Attica when it came #21 in the world was hard enough - I immediately got onto Gaggan's website reservation system and made a booking. Thankfully, it was a fairly painless process and Alissa and I managed to secure a table for our visit in September.

Err Rustic Thai, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

When planning for our trip to Bangkok and Hong Kong, Bo.Lan was one of the restaurants high on our list of places to check out. Unfortunately, the poor Aussie Dollar vs Hong Kong's pegged currency meant our time in Hong Kong was set to be much more expensive than we had initially planned, so cuts had to be made to our initially more extravagant plans for both countries. Bo.Lan was one of the restaurants that was unfortunately cut, however we were alerted to the existence of Err - a new 'urban rustic' Thai restaurant from chefs Bo and Dylan of Bo.Lan. Excited by the chance of trying their food (albeit in a more casual setting), Alissa an I quickly added it as a last minute addition to our itinerary.

Le Du, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

Although long highly regarded for its national cuisine, its only been in the last few years that Bangkok's fine dining scene has come into its own in terms of international recognition. With both Nahm and Gaggan having topped Asia's 50 Best Restaurants lists in 2014 and 2015 respectively and reservations made at both, Alissa and I were interested to try one of the more up and coming restaurants as well. Having seen Chef Ton in David Thompson's Thai Street Food series and receiving some solid recommendations for his restaurant, we decided to try Le Du,  a restaurant serving thoroughly modern food that builds on ideas and flavours from Thailand's rich culinary tradition.

Krua Apsorn, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

In researching places to eat in Bangkok, Krua Apsorn was a restaurant repeatedly recommended, including multiple shout outs by David Thompson himself. Something of a Bangkok institution frequented by foodies in the know, Krua Apsorn have a few branches in the city, however the original branch on Samsen Road near Samsen Soi 9 is considered the branch to visit. Although the restaurant does apparently take reservations, their website is in Thai and I wasn't sure if sending them an email in English would be understood, so we decided to chance it and get to the restaurant for their opening. Just as well we did - almost every table was already booked, and waiting outside in the hot weather would not have been very fun at all.

Mango Tango @ Siam Square Soi 3, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

After our meal at Thip Samai, Alissa and I wandered down the street in search of one of her all-time favourite desserts - Mango Sticky Rice. Eating this classic Thai dessert at a street food stall was a fun experience, and it was a well made example of the dish. While doing research on Bangkok's best Mango Sticky Rice stalls and stops, I stumbled upon a post by friend of the blog WenY, recommending a very deluxe take featuring Mango Ice Cream and Mango Pudding from a small chain called Mango Tango. Given the heat and humidity of Bangkok's climate the ice cream sounded like a winning addition, and with a Mango Tango outlet just across the road from Siam Centre, it was very conveniently located for a cooling afternoon snack.

Som Tum Nua @ Siam Centre, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

In Australia, we tend to think of food courts as being greatly inferior to 'real' restaurants. This is not an unfair point of view given that every shopping centre food court seems to feature the same selection of generic brands selling the same unexciting chain store products, there is a certain low quality homogeneity to Australian shopping centre food. This presumption does not follow in many Asian countries, with the food courts in Bangkok's shopping malls featuring a plethora of genuinely excellent places to eat. Having decided to ease our way into Bangkok with a stroll through the main shopping malls of Siam Square and Siam Centre, Alissa and I popped into Som Tum Nua for lunch after hearing good things about the quality of their namesake dish - Som Tum, better known in the English speaking world as Papaya Salad.

Thip Samai, Bangkok, Thailand (Alissa and Don Eat Asia)

After a wonderful five week honeymoon eating our way through Asia in 2013, Alissa and I were excited to head off for the continuing adventures of Alissa and Don Eat Asia in 2015. What started as a Japan trip with stopovers in Bangkok and Hong Kong ended up focusing on our stopovers to the point that we decided to drop Japan altogether - especially with the considerable rise of Bangkok restaurants like Nahm and Gaggan making a convincing case for Thailand as a truly great candidate for destination dining. With the risk of flight delays and missing our reservations meaning Gaggan and Nahm would have to wait until later in the week, Alissa and I headed out for our first meal in Bangkok at Thip Samai - a restaurant said by many to serve the best Pad Thai in Bangkok.

Tim Ho Wan, Orchard Rd, Singapore (Alissa and Don Eat Asia Day 31, Part 1)

You know the disappointment you feel when a sequel to a movie just does not live up to the original? Dining at Tim Ho Wan in Singapore was a very similar experience. 

Having thoroughly enjoyed the very cheap meal at the Michelin starred outlet in Sham Shui Po we just had to have those delicious pork buns again. As we missed out going to the IFC outlet in Hong Kong, Singapore was our last chance of having that heavenly dish one last time before returning to Perth. With this in mind, Godma, Uncle Vince, Alissa and I headed out to the Orchard Road store for just before opening on Christmas Day to try and beat the long queues that had become such a fixture at these Singapore branches that they even had to stop taking takeaway orders to meet demand. 

Such is the Singaporean love of queueing that there was already a snaking queue of patient diners by the time we arrived.

Being organised, the staff gave us the order form to fill out as we waited. We didn't have to wait long however -thankfully many of those ahead of us were waiting for latecomers, and we were ushered ahead to be part of the first service. 

Godma and Uncle Vince had the congee, however as I did not try it I cannot comment.

The first dish I did try was the siu mei. These looked larger than what I remembered from Tim Ho Wan, and unfortunately served as the first sign that things here were not 100% faithful to the Hong Kong store. Where the siu mei in Hong Kong had been mixed together so well that it almost felt like it had become one meat, these more closely resembled Crystal Jade's, right down to the mushroom inside and the fact it didn't hold perfectly together. It was okay, but I've had far better. Definitely not Michelin level. 

Next up came the dish we came for - their famous Char Siu Bao. This thankfully was much more faithful to the Hong Kong original, though I felt it was perhaps a bit too saucy when compared to what we had at Sham Shui Po. Still, close enough that I was happy to get to eat these again. 

The chicken feet again did not compare. Where the chilli kick permeated the meat in Hong Kong, the Singapore version was much more ordinary. I've had better in Singapore and Perth. 

Thankfully, the har gao held up to the standard set in Hong Kong. These were as juicy and tasty as I remembered them.

The Teochew-style dumplings were again faithful replicas of the excellent originals in Hong Kong. Godma had been a bit disappointed that by some of the first few dishes and is not a fan of these normally, but had to admit that these were very nice. 

Even though it was a signature dish, we had not had the fried carrot cake in Hong Kong. Here marketed as one of their 'Four Heavenly Kings (along with the Char Siu Bao and pig's liver chee cheong fun), the fried carrot cake was of an excellent standard with a nice crispy outer layer and a lovely soft texture in the middle. 

The absolute worst dish by a long shot was the Lo Mai Gai. It wasn't just a lesser version of the Sham Shui Po dish - it was so bad it bore little resemblance. 

Where I praised the Hong Kong version for not being too sticky, the Lo Mai Gai here was overly wet and did not taste very nice at all. We didn't even finish it.

The pig's liver chee cheong fun redeemed the store somewhat, being a very faithful representation of the delicious dish we had in Hong Kong. 

Likewise, if they'd stuffed up the jelly it would have been almost laughable. Thankfully the Osmanthus Jelly here was just as refreshing as we remembered it.

The Verdict: Very Good

It wasn't a Phantom Menace or Matrix sequel level disaster, but it wasn't a worthy sequel either. Much of the hype in Singapore seems to be based on Tim Ho Wan's Michelin star rating, and Singaporeans seem to be gobbling up the marketing without realising that none of the branches in Singapore have Michelin stars, and even then only two of the branches Hong Kong have that distinction. Plus, Tim Ho Wan's claim to fame is that its the cheapest Michelin starred restaurant in the world, and as the bill was at least 50% more than what we paid at the Michelin starred Sham Shui Po I couldn't help but feel a bit ripped off. Still, there are some items that reflect Tim Ho Wan's reputation for excellence, and I was happy to have had those buns one more time. I would probably come back for those again, however Tim Ho Wan in Singapore is not worth queuing up more than 15 minutes for...

...like these people were doing...

Ippudo SG, River Valley, Singapore (Alissa and Don Eat Asia Day 30, Part 2)

Alissa was not well, so my ramen eating trip to Ippudo ended up being a solo venture. My initial plan was to go to the store on Orchard Rd, however as I wanted to visit La Maison du Whisky at Robertson Quay, I decided to visit the River Valley branch of this famous ramen chain. Found in 1985 and specialising in Hakata-style ramen, Ippudo (sometimes called Hakata Ippudo) branches can be found in Japan, Singapore, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan and China.

Being Christmas Eve, I wasn't sure if Ippudo was going to be insanely full, or have a quieter than usual trade. Thankfully, it was clear upon my arrival that getting a table was not going to be difficult. 

Being by myself, the bar seating section suited me just fine and gave me a good view of the room and the kitchen.

As I perused the menu, the waitress brought out a salt and pepper mill, plus an extra mill just for sesame seeds!

Though ramen was my main reason for being here, there was another dish that had caught my eye - the pork buns, made in a similar manner to those of David Chang's Momofuku Noodle Bar. If you've read some of my other posts you'll know I love a good pork bun, so I just had to try Ippudo's version as an entree. 

The Ippudo version differs from the David Chang version as instead of the pickled cucumber, spring onions, hoisin and chilli sauce the pork belly is accompanied by lettuce and Japanese mayonnaise. The bread was softer than I was expecting, and the pork belly was flavoursome and unctuous.The photo may make it look like its a bit light on the lettuce, but in actual fact its quite a balanced affair - you'll get none of that lettuce falling everywhere problem that plagues burgers. They were a lot bigger than I was expecting, and though one would probably have sufficed my greed was happy that I had ordered two. I've never had the Momofuku pork buns, but these definitely satisfied my pork bun cravings for the time being. 

Ippudo do a few different tonkotsu-based ramens, and I decided to go with their Akamaru Shin-Aji. Described as a 'refined, modern-style ramen', the broth was based on their original tonkotsu broth with the addition of 'special blended miso paste and fragrant garlic oil', and came presented in a striking half white/half black presentation. 

Stirring it up to get the garlic oil mixed in, I quickly regretted going with the Akamaru Shin-Aji. It was overpoweringly garlicky which distracted from how good the noodles and the pork were. I usually love a good over-the-top quantity of garlic in my food, but this was just too much; it lead to a less than balanced dish. It might not be fair to compare this to Ichiran as the Ichiran broth is probably closer to Ippudo's original broth, but the fact its advertised as 'refined' made me think about how truly refined Ichiran's is. By that measure this definitely pales in comparison - a more accurate descriptor would be 'strong', 'powerful' or 'knockout'.  

The Verdict: Very Good

I really want to give Ippudo another try, as I have a feeling that the original tonkotsu broth will be a lot more balanced, and the pork buns were very delicious. The ramen I ate wasn't bad per se, but at current I have to say that the Akamaru Shin-Aji was simply not to my taste as it was a very unbalanced dish. I can see such great potential here - excellent Hakata-style noodles and very nice chashu -but for me its just not as good as the incredible, refined style served at Ichiran. 

Chim Quay Bit Tet, Hanoi, Vietnam (Alissa and Don Eat Asia Day 29, Part 3)

'Chim quay!' I kept saying, amused by the words even though I did not (and still do not) know how its meant be pronounced. Along with pho, bun cha and Cha Ca La Vong, chim quay was high on my list of things to try while in Hanoi. A dish of roast pigeon, I was excited because its a meat that is not common on Australian menus, and since this was Vietnam it was going to be really cheap too.

On our first night in Hanoi, Alissa and I went out searching for a chim quay place that was conveniently located hear the hotel. We unfortunately walked into the wrong building, tried a less than stellar version of the dish and then upon walking out found the actual place I was looking for; absolutely bustling with locals and tourists alike. We tried to go back to the correct restaurant a second time but found that they do not open for lunch, so given it was our last night in Hanoi this was really our last chance to try chim quay.

Thankfully, it was a case of third time lucky, and we were able to get seats (read: small stools) almost immediately at Chim Quay Bit Tet. Unlike the specialist one dish restaurants, the menu here was fairly extensive, and we ended up ordering three dishes to share.

It was great to finally get to eat this famous chim quay, and it did not disappoint. The pigeon had been expertly seasoned and cooked perfectly - especially important given that badly cooked pigeon can be very dry. It tasted quite a lot like a less fatty, drier version of the roast duck you can get at Chinese barbecue restaurants. As fans of Chinese roast duck, the chim quay was a hit.

Another unusual and 'exotic' meat, the deep fried frogs' legs marked Alissa's first time eating amphibian meat. She liked how it was like a more tender, sweeter version of chicken. This was almost more impressive than the chim quay; the sweet, juicy meat and the spicy, crunchy batter coating combined with the sweet and sour chilli dipping sauce were finger licking good.

Far less exotic but no less delicious was the beef stir fried noodles, which was basically hor fun. Again, this was fantastic cooking with the noodles having that 'breath of the wok' char flavour and a good, balanced ratio of sauce, noodles, vegies and meat.

As with Bun Cha Dac Kim and Pho Gia Truyen, eating at Chim Quay Bit Tet comes with a hygiene warning - and this time one of us actually did get sick. On every table is a chilli sauce container with a large plastic soup spoon in it. One look at the way the chilli sauce had dried and caked onto the spoon was enough to convince me that it would not be a good idea to use this sauce. Alissa on the other hand is a bit less cautious than I am, and spooned some of the sauce onto her plate to eat with the chim quay. The next day in Singapore, Alissa was definitely not well and the chilli sauce was the only different (and obviously suss) thing she'd eaten the day before that I had not partaken in. So if you do choose to eat at Chim Quay Bit Tet, avoid taking the chilli sauce. You've been warned!

The Verdict: Excellent
Food poisoning aside, Chim Quay Bit Tet's food really impressed me and left me a bit regretful that we had only eaten there once. It made me a bit sad that it would likely be years before I got to eat chim quay and deep fried frogs' legs again as a return trip is not on the immediate horizon. For those who have a considerable amount of time in Hanoi, this is definitely a restaurant worthy of multiple visits - though please go easy on that chilli sauce.

Metropole Le Club Chocolate Buffet, Hanoi, Vietnam (Alissa and Don Eat Asia Day 29, Part 2)

Given a choice between a kilo of raspberries and a kilo of chocolate, I'll always choose raspberries. Not that I don't like chocolate, but I just don't have the chocoholics desire to eat copious amounts of the stuff. Sure, chocolate can be truly great, but I'm much more of a fan of fruity desserts as they don't tend to overwhelm with richness the way that chocolate can.

That being said, when I heard that the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi did a daily chocolate buffet afternoon tea I knew Alissa and I had to go. A favourite of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (to the extent they named one of their restaurants after her), the 100+ year old Metropole's French colonial architecture is immediately charming.

Having arrived a little before the 3pm opening of the buffet in the hotel's luxurious Le Club Bar, we could basically choose to sit anywhere we wanted. The decision was an easy one however, as the sun room located at the rear was easily the nicest area of the bar - easily as pretty as the Tiffin Room in the Raffles.

The spread on offer was simply incredible - you could not criticise the chocolate buffet for having a limited amount of options.

There were 8 'chocolate bonbons' alone...

...plus chocolate truffles, various chocolate cakes, mousse and macarons...

... chocolate ice creams, chocolate fondue and even a chocolate crepe station!

Plus, just in case you had too much chocolate, they had fresh fruits, fruit juice and a lovely selection of afternoon tea sandwiches.

Being a savoury fan, I went with the sandwiches first. Where the sandwiches at the Raffles really disappointed me in their plainness, the same could not be said about these. In particular the ham and cheese sandwich was incredibly addictive, featuring a Jarlsberg-like swiss cheese and very good quality ham. Once again, the sandwiches here proved to me that Vietnamese are truly the masters of the sandwich, with the eggplant and zucchini vegetarian banh mi also being very nice.

Unsurprisingly, Alissa went straight into the chocolate. Having eaten some amazing chocolate in high end restaurants and gourmet chocolateries, we had high expectations and these chocolates did not disappoint - this was very well made chocolate that was neither overly rich or wanting for flavour. The various chocolate bonbons were all delicious,with my favourites being white chocolate and passionfruit, white chocolate and ginger, and milk chocolate and green tea.

Needless to say, we went back for more to try as many of the different options as we could.

Accompanied by some lovely tea.

Alissa and I finished up on our favourite desserts. In my case, it was a bowl of their chocolate ice cream (with some more of those amazing ham and cheese sandwiches).

As someone who has been an ice cream enthusiast all my life and an ice cream maker since I was 10, I was very impressed with both their milk and white chocolate ice creams - the perfect way for me to finish the meal.

Being the pancake fiend that she is Alissa had to finish on the crepe, and she was very happy with the white chocolate crepe she ordered - nice and thin with a good texture and creamy white chocolate filling.

The Verdict: Exceptional
It takes a lot for me to be impressed by chocolate desserts, but the Metropole's chocolate buffet was a phenomenal success that thoroughly blew the very limited and unexciting offerings at the Raffles Tiffin Room out of the water. And at roughly $35 AUD a head, this was a fraction of the Raffle's steep asking price. This is a Hanoi must do.