Bangkok - La Dotta Pasta Bar & Store

Dear Fork, 

Glad to see you on such a festive season. It was a late Christmas dinner, but just perfect for some delicious pasta! La Dotta - a traditional Italian restaurant located in the heart of Thong Lo. It offers fresh daily made pasta with hearty sauce. It hosts a mini-sized display of their appetizing fresh pasta by the entrance, from bucatini, linguine, garganelli to tortelloni etc.

Walking in to this small cozy restaurant, decorated with blue and yellowish beige (just like the color of the pasta :D), marble counter top with an open kitchen for us to take in the art of making delicious dishes. There is a shelf holding La Dotta owned products of their pasta sauce and what not. Upstairs, located a more family styled sitting tables and a bar, giving its loud and fun vibe.

Speaking of the bar, I got to try these (not-so)basic cocktails and they were both great! La Dotta Martini - Bombay Sapphire Gin, Carpano Bianco, Strawberry, Cherry Tomato (340฿). Easy to drink. I only wish the glass was bigger. LOL

G & T & TEA...what! Yes, Gin & Tonic with premium selection of tea you can choose from, Rooisbos Cream Orange/Soft Peach/Morgentau Green Tea, Wild Cherries. I opted for the soft peach (320฿). Very refreshing. 

La Dotta Martini

Gin & Tonic & Soft Peach Tea

Started off with Truffle, sage & ricotta cheese deep fried balls (190฿). They took cheese balls to a whole nother level! These were wonderful, crispy on the outside, fully stuffed with warm truffle, sage and ricotta cheese. Went perfectly well with the aioli. 

Truffle, sage, ricotta cheese balls.

Here comes my favorite dish of the night, Tortelloni 4 Formaggi or 4 cheese (360฿). Same shape as tortellini but filled with artisanal Italian 24-months aged cheeses, Parmigiano-Reggiano fondue. The dish looked so simple but the taste was pure heaven, filled with warm melt-in-my-mouth cheese. Not too creamy. The kind of dish that gives you that "umm" sound effect after the first bite. 

Tortelloni 4 Formaggi

Another dish that's highly recommended, Tagliatelle Bolognese (590฿) - 24-hour slow cooked Wagyu beef shoulder with Parmigiano-Reggiano. Flavorful dish with tender meat. Love the texture of their fresh pasta. One thing I really enjoyed about their menu, in the back, they have this glossary of their pasta in the back, using a basic 2D illustration. 

There is no complete meal without desserts, right? I went for the Sicilian Ice Cream (220฿). You get to choose 2scoops of lemon, pistachio or vanilla, served in a waffle cup. I went for lemon and pistachio and they were both delightful. First time having Sicilian ice cream, and I fell in love! Must try!

Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Happy Holidays!

Love,
Spoon.

La Dotta
Address: 161/6 Soi Thonglor 9 Sukhumvit 55 North Klongtan, Wattana, Bangkok, Thailand
Tel: 02-392-8688
Business Hours: Mon - Sun 11.00AM - 11.00PM
Parking: Lunch - off-street parking or at Eight Thonglor. Dinner - Valet parking.
Price: ฿฿฿฿

 

Bangkok - Tokyo XXX

Dear Fork,

4 dipping sauces for your meat

Where can we find good meat in Bangkok? Oh so many. Bangkok has always been in the picture for its food scene. The vibrant diversity has so many things to offer, and I'm so glad to be here. Japanese, Korean, Indian, Mediterranean, you name it, we've got it all. Since the craving for the meat is (always) so high....so, BBQ it is!

Well, today I made it to this hidden gem called Tokyo XXX in Nihonmachi community mall in Sukhumvit 26. Located right next to the Japanese bakery, hiding behind its small wooden sliding door. Be sure to bend over while walking in, mind your head, it's real low! LOL. Due to their limited space, they only have 4 tables, so be sure to make the reservation ahead, especially for the dinner time. 

Selected Premium set TOKYOXXX

You are then welcomed with the same ole' Japanese vibe. The table is set with four kinds of dipping sauces, soy sauce with wasabi, 2 kinds of sweet Japanese sauce, salt oil. The Japanese waiter then put the fine-grained salt on our grill, good with the grilled meat. 

The waiter recommended to get the Selected Premium TOKYOXXX set. At great value, it comes with variety of quality A5 Wagyu beef from Ichibo, Tougarashi, Rump, Nakabara, Harami (beef intestine), Marucho and assorted veggies. My goodness, I'm getting hungry again. XD The combination was amazing. I loved the Harami, been loving it and will always love it. The marinade is great, not too sweet or overpowering.

Oh, the beef tongue was also delicious! It served with lemon sauce.

Beef Tongue

Tenkaichi Karubi

Here comes the climax of my meal. LOOK AT THAT MEAT!!!!!!!!!! Must try, Tenkaichi Karubi (Chuck Rib), fatty meat that melts in your mouth, UHMAZING!!! Beautiful marbled meat topped with gold flake. Be sure to take care of your meat, don't overcook or burn it! This kind of meat, people usually slightly cook it for 3-5 secs on each side. Nomm.

Order some assorted kimchi on the side, and they were really good too! 

I would give this restaurant 5/5! What do you think? 

TOKYOXXX - Nihonmachi Mall
Address: 115 Sukhumvit 26 Khwaeng Khlong Tan, Khet Khlong Toei, Bangkok, 10110
Business Hours: Everyday 5PM - 1AM
Tel: 082-337-0141
Price: ฿฿฿฿
Parking: YES
 

 

San Francisco: Kusakabe

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.

Zuke Chutoro, melt in your mouth. 

Hirame - Konbu cured Halibut.

Bonito

• 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. 

Suppon Umami Soup with Domyo-ji Manjyu.

• 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.

Shimaaji - Stripe jack

Ayu 

Copper River King Salmon

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.

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.

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

Bafun uni (Hokkaido uni)

Fresh corn and white miso ice cream parfait.

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

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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