Bangkok - Lao Lao Shanghai

June 15, 2018

Dear Fork,

What a great day to reunite as a team and devour some amazing feast. Lao-Lao Shanghai, a Chinese restaurant located on the first floor of the Jas Ramintra (community mall). This place is spacious and have a VIP room with a Lazy Susan table perfectly for family dining.

The restaurant is decorated more towards a modern Chinese style with a touch of traditional Chinese art, visibly on the pots. Their beautiful pots with cloisonne enamel (Jing Tai Lan) are pure beauty. They use them as the decor as a part of the restaurant. We were really hype to try the hot pot using this Jing Tai Lan pot. It never hurts to eat from a fancy pot, don't you think so?!

The restaurant is newly opened and they are famous for their hot pot, but after trying out so many entrée dishes today, they were just as splendid. We started off with a few appetizer plates. Deep-fried Minced Tofu Lao Lao Style (THB 180), wow, to have begin the meal with this dish, I did expect a lot for other coming up dishes, because this was delicious! Who knew, 'just a fried tofu' dish could make me satisfy that much for a person who's not a fan for tofu like me. It's definitely not your typical deep fried tofu. It's flavorful with the crispiness on the skin. Served with lotus root chips, sweet soy sauce and plum sauce. Highly recommended.

What's Chinese lunch without some dim sum right? This is Lao Lao Dim Sum 14 pcs. (THB 390) It comes with 8 different types on dimsum
- Prawn shumai
- Scallop shumai
- Shiitake stuffed with prawn
- Seaweed prawn
- Teochew dumpling
- Shrimp Dumpling (Ha Gow)
- BBQ Pork Bun
- Salted egg yolk custard bun

My favorites were the seaweed shrimp dim sum and salted egg yolk custard. Useful note: you can also order them individually and they serve two pieces per order.

Look at that #saltedeggyolkporn !!! Salted Egg Yolk Custard Bun

The next dish we had was the Slow-cooked Kurobuta Belly (THB 380). This pork belly just melted in my mouth, so tender. Food with gold flake gets me all the time. LOL

A few more dishes arrived and the highlights were Sichuan Stir-fried Tofu (THB 180), Deep-fried Sea Bass with Spicy Salt and Sichuan Pepper (which we also got the shrimp version of it). They were great with rice.

AND...comes the most exciting part. HOT POT TIME!!! This is the part where we anticipated for. We opted for Premium Beef Stew Hot Pot (THB 650), which comes with Paleron beef (on left), a set of mixed vegetables. The broth itself has super tender braised beef and beef shank. The soup is very aromatic and flavorful. The dipping sauces are sweet sauce and spicy sauce.

The marbling of the beef was just perfect. We also ordered the regular thinly sliced beef to try and it was great as well. The dishes you can order on the side are something like beef tendon, stewed pork and strip loin etc. SO GOOD!

NEXT: Desserts time! My favorites were the Mini Custard Mooncake (THB 70/pc.), house-made salted egg yolk custard tasted heavenly. Black Sesame in Ginger Syrup (THB 50) is one of my favorite desserts and Lao-Lao house-made version is really good.

Black Sesame Dumpling in Ginger Syrup (THB 50)

To sum it all up, this place was such a great find, I'm glad I stumbled upon it. The flavors were all wonderful and every plates were beautifully executed. I'd recommend to go with 2 or more people so you get to try all these yummy dishes. It's always good to have a little bit of everything, right?

Love,

Spoon

Lao Lao Shanghai
Address: The Jas Ramintra - Ladplakao Rd. Bangkok, Thailand 10220
Tel: 02-116-8910
Business Hours: MON - SUN 11AM - 10PM
Parking - YES
Price - ฿฿฿

Bangkok - Le Boeuf The Steak & Fries Bistro

August 29, 2017

Dear Fork,

How have you been lately? I swear I told myself I would be on diet...but, I fail every time. LOL I was craving for steak and hmm... Le Boeuf it is!

Le Boeuf The Steak & Fries Bistro is a French restaurant located in Marriott Mayfair Executive Apartment, Lung Suan area. The restaurant is set in a glasshouse, right off the building, facing the street of Lang Suan, which makes the fine-dining ambient real romantic during dinner.

Started off with some appetizers, I got a Assiette de Chachuterie board, which comes with baguettes, parma, salami with Terrine de Foie Gras and Terrine de Campagne, topped with pickles and walnut. Plenty to share with 4-6people. Make sure to save lots of space for the meat!!

Known for the very amazing L'Entrecote Steak with their infamous 'Green' sauce. This secret green sauce was developed from the legendary, Cafe de Paris in Geneva. This concept remains which were mainly focused on serving the green sauce with one cut of meat. The sauce is so good, very flavorful, goes well with all kind of meat. It's thick but compliments the steak wonderfully. The other best part is every Entrecote order, comes with walnut salad and UNLIMITED FRENCH FRIES. Oh Em Gee, the fries came out hot and fresh. Dip them fries in that green sauce and enjoy!!!

Let's talk about their steak. We went for both the Entrecote Steak and Grilled Lamb Chops, they both were cooked to perfection as requested (medium rare). Served on a hot sizzling plate, so your steak never gets cold. They were super juicy and tender. If you fancy for a more flavorful option, the grilled lamb chops is the way to go. SO DELISH! Highly recommended - 5/5 Hope you loved it too.

Love,
Spoon

Le Boeuf Steak & Fries Bistro - Marriott Mayfair, Bangkok
Address: 60 Langsuan, Lumphini, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330
Tel. +662-672-1230 (Langsuann), +6697-235-7935 (Thonglor)
Business Hours: 11.00AM - 11.00PM
Parking: YES
PRICE: ฿฿฿฿

Bangkok - Hom Duan

August 27, 2017

Dear Fork,

It's been a while! I'm now on the other side of the globe since my last update. Back in Bangkok for good after almost a decade and yes, I'm so ready to try everything. There are so many new restos and wow, how can I keep up!? :D

Well, today let me tell you about this used-to-be a hole in the wall spot for Northern Thai food, called Hom Duan. The name of the restaurant means mint leaf which has the herbal scent to the characteristic of Northern Thai food. Located in Ekamai, just a few minutes walk from the BTS skytrain. It became so popular, they relocated to a bigger space. This place was packed for during lunch because of its good food and affordable price, but it runs like a canteen-style restaurant, so the service turned very quickly.

I managed to get pretty much all of the essential/popular Northern Thai dishes. Look at all these yummy looking dishes, so goooooood. From Gaeng Hunglay (Northern style pork curry), Nam Prik Noom (Thai green chilli dip), Nam Pad Kai (Pan-fried fermented pork with egg), Sai oua (Northern Thai sausage), and Kao Gun Jin (Pork and pork blood rice) etc.

I loved the Nam Pad Kai. It was just perfect with rice. Sour and spicy fermented pork combined with the sweet flavor of the sauce and egg makes this dish so flavorful.

First thing that comes to mind thinking of the Northern Thai food...Khao Soi Gai - Egg noodle Curry with chicken topped with deep fried egg noodle for the crispy texture. Kao soy curry tastes like yellow curry but not as thick. Squeeze in some lime and mix in the onion and you're good to go! *Slurp!

It was my first time trying the Gun Jin, and woah, this thing was delicious! It's jasmine rice mixed with lemon grass and pork blood, wrapped in banana leaf, then steamed before serving. Imagine eating fried rice, it's simply just like that! Then the fun begins, unwrap, and mix the fried garlic, dried chilli, lime and onion, and voila! #yummy

Always good to have some Sai Oua and Nam Prik Noom whenever I get the Northern food. The herbal sausage goes so well with the chilli dip. Nam Prik Noom is one of the staple Northern dishes. It serves with pork rind and cucumber to dip with.

One of the most recommended dishes here is their Kanom Jeen Nam Ngieo. This herbal soupy menu is so comforting. It has pork, pork blood with vermicelli, topped with clilantro. The soup is lightly flavored with tomato, and Nam ngiao paste, just heavenly.

This restaurant is highly recommended for those who crave for Northern Thai food. The price is very reasonable, especially for it being in one of the most expensive locations in Bangkok. I'd give it 4/5 for Hom Duan! The parking is maybe a little hard to find during peak hours but, there's Parklane community mall on the opposite side of the street, where you can park.

Hom Duan
Address: 70/2 Soi Ekkamai, Sukhumvit 63, Klong Tan Nuea, Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Business Hours: Mon - Sat 9.00am - 10.00pm
Tel. 086-347-8747

San Francisco: Kusakabe

September 25, 2015

9/24/2015

Dear Fork,

My food experience today was magnificent, yet it was a day without you. Thus, it was an incredible day that I would love to share with you. I went to KUSAKABE, a year old Japanese restaurant in San Francisco with its honor holding a one-star Michelin. The owner/chef, Mitsunori Kasukabe has years of experiences from Kyoto, Japan to Nobu New York and Miami, to Sushi Ran. With his professional creativity, he has received many awards from all over including US Sushi Technical Champion.

Nori-san doing what he does best, creating an excellent quality food for us.

A glass of champagne to start off my meal.

I went in at 5pm for the first round of omakase (Chef's choice). Kusakabe offers sushi in a Kaiseki style menu, which is a multi-course menu $95, including the interesting Omakase selections of the following:

Welcoming Tea - Konbu cha, kelp tea which which give the salty taste, to clean your palate. Interesting!
Sushi Prelude - Zuke Chutoro (lightly seared bluefin medium fatty tuna cured in soy sauce, the first delicious bite. Plus, two kinds of seasonal sushi of the day.

Sashimi - Chef's sashimi nestled in shaved ice with fresh wasabi & yuzu onion sauce. It was Tasmanian ocean trout and Hotate (scallop) today. So fresh and cold, amazing!

Tasmanian Ocean Trout and Scallop served on ice. SO FRESH!

Soup - Suppon umami soup with Domyo-ji Manjyu (rice cake). Suppon = Soft shell turtle. It was my first time having turtle..woah! I'm normally not a soup person, but this Suppon Soup was so tasty. Flavorful soup with rice cake topped with flakes and goji berry.

Hassun - Chef's assorted Les petit plats, four small bites of goodness! This course includes Young Sardine, Egg omelette, Washington oyster with French Daurenki Caviar, Toro topped with seaweed and pine nuts, and Eggplant Spring roll. My favorites were the oyster and toro... YUMMY!

Oyster + Caviar, Toro and spring rolls. DELICIOUSNESS.

One after another, I just couldn't get enough of these heavenly delicious bites! NEXT:

Warm Dish - Crispy Chi-Ayu with Italian summer truffle & bamboo charcoal miso. This plate was really interesting. The black colored bamboo charcoal miso was light yet perfectly flavored, along with sweetness and crispiness of the baby Ayu, which you can eat everything from head to tail. It served with Shishito pepper, watermelon, mini lime and the marvelous pieces of truffle.

Crispy Chi-Ayu with truffle and bamboo charcoal miso. #yum

How about some more sushi! I loved omakase so much because it's a never ending meal. I wouldn't mind doing this everyday. :p #sushilover

Sushi Chic - Three kinds of seasonal sushi of the day. Chefs at Kusakabe are so talented, every sushi were created professionally, giving such an impeccable taste.

Here comes the most exciting part, the finale, where you get to choose! Oh, let me tell you it's harder than you think...

Sushi Finale - Toro (blufin fatty tuna) or Grade A5 Miyazaki Wagyu beef... Hey, no pressure but... YOU MUST MUST MUST GET THEM BOTH! They were extremely worth getting and oh so incredible that it's hard to describe in words. It's $12 extra if you choose to get both. These two pieces were the best. The true melt-in-your-mouth feeling was brilliant.

Chef Shinsuke-san, blow-torching our A5 Wagyu. — Chef Shinsuke-san, blow-torching our A5 Wagyu.

Beautiful toro (bluefin fatty tuna), melt my heart. #meltinmymouth + #meltinmyheart

Look at this beauty! A5 Miyazaki Wagyu strip loin  beef, the best of the best. — Look at this beauty! A5 Miyazaki Wagyu strip loin beef, the best of the best.

Aside of the omakase, I had to get something a little extra AKA my favorite, to end our amazingly perfect sushi night. Bafun Uni - It is Hokkaido short spine sea urchin, soft, sweet and also melt-in-my-mouth! :D

Ended our night with an amazing dessert for my birthday with this cute Fresh corn and white miso ice cream parfait. Must try! It's Chef Shinsuke-san's recommendation. It was very refreshing. Lightly sweet corn/white miso ice cream topped with cornflakes and fruits. nom.

Thank you for a memorable night, Kusakabe. See you again very soon!

Fork, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Till next time...

Love,
Spoon

Tips:

Reservation is needed at least 1-2 week in advance (in case you are very lucky!). Weekends reservation are booked up for weeks ahead.
Dress Code: Business Casual
Use your hand to eat sushi, trust me. :)
It takes roughly about 1hr 30m - 2h 30m, so plan accordingly.
Last seating is at 8.30pm
You will love it. :D Just saying.

KUSAKABE: Opens MON-SAT 5pm-10pm | 584 Washington St. San Francisco, CA 94111

Source: http://kusakabe-sf.com

Reno: Campo

September 23, 2015

9/20/2015

Dear Fork,

You made my weekend worthwhile. I loved going food hunting with you. You always make me feel so much better. Today, we got to go to Campo together. It was my second time here. I just love the vibe and food here so much.

Campo is an Italian restaurant located near the downtown river walk, which also gives you the river view from the patio. The simple wood and cement decor gives you the hip and contemporary feel.

The glass has the word 'Milk' all over in different languages.

What attracted me the most was their dessert, but let's talk about their food first because they were also delicious! One of the most popular menu at Campo is their Kale Salad. Simple, yet amazing. It features crispy grana padano cheese, lemon-garlic vinaigrette dressing, which gave it a hint of freshness. It's topped with poached egg, beautiful! #eatyourveggies

Last time I got to try their pizza called Campo. When something is named after the restaurant, I had to try it, right?! Look how beautiful my pizza was. It has tomato (of course), mozzarella, sausage, salami and pancetta. For the love of egg, I had to add it on my pizza. #EGGCELLENT

Salumi Tasting -  $22 — Salumi Tasting - $22

Finally, I got to try their Salumi from Reno Provisions, yum! Salumi Tasting it is. It comes with six kinds of salumi.

Prosciutto di San Danielle (imported Italian ham)
Milano (red wine & garlic)
Mortadella (pistachio studded)
Coppa ( black pepper cured shoulder)
Calabrese (red wine & chile flakes)
Nduja (spicy, spreadable salami)

There is also a Grand tasting, which comes with items above plus three cheese. I was actually craving for some burrata cheese, but they did not have any on the lunch menu. So I asked if it was possible to get it and they were so nice and managed to accommodate us promptly. Thank you so much, everything was delicious! My favorite was the prosciutto, Nduja and the Mortadella.

Gelato Cookie Sandwich - chocolate chip with strawberry gelato.

Here comes the best part of the meal...dessert time! Sorry, Fork, I forgot you for a sec. Their dessert is everything. We got two items, a House Made Gelato Cookie Sandwich, AKA my favorite kind of sandwich. :P A MUST MUST MUST order dessert is the most famous Caramel Budino. It is a layered dessert in a cup of vanilla pudding, chocolate wafer crunch, topped with salted caramel and whipped cream. The different textures made this dessert a to-die-for! SO GOOD!

I can't wait to go back there again, of course with you. Thanks @camporeno, you're the best!

Love,

Spoon.

Source: camporeno.com

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