What a great find! We found this lovely izakaya just a few minutes' walk from our hotel in Shinagawa. Turns out it's a well-known popular restaurant with many locations throughout Japan! Tsukada Farm Izakaya serves jidori chicken from its own poultry farms and vegetables from a limited number of contracted farmers. The ambiance is super cozy, the prices are very reasonable, and the food is great. You order by scanning the QR code and choosing from a large variety of items. Thankfully, there are pictures (and you can also read it in English!). Fun Drinks! I decided to try the fun strawberry ..read more

Some things you only find in Japan. A few years ago we visited a hedgehog cafe in Akihabara. This trip our friend's daughter really really really wanted to visit a Shiba Inu cafe. Shiba inu is a Japanese hunting dog that has become quite popular due to social media in recent years. Mame shiba inu is a smaller breed of the same dog. Harakuju Mame Shiba Inu Cafe is located in a very, very popular neighborhood of Harajuku. It's right on Takeshita-dori (the street that is always packed with young people, often dressed in crazy outfits). You can't make reservations in advance. You can only show u ..read more

I have a friend who has been visiting us in Hong Kong regularly (from the US!) ever since we moved here in 2017. Every time he comes, there are a few favorite foods that he has to eat. One is any rendition of sweet & sour pork ribs (“咕嚕肉” or ”京都排骨“). The second is the fried chicken with pomelo at The Yuan (原汁原味）in Wan Chai. And the third is the fantastic aromatic duck seafood stew at Forbidden Duck (Causeway Bay). Ever since the pandemic ended and international travel resumed, we've seen our friend on a regular basis again, which has been great. One side effect of that is more visits to F ..read more

I love a good sandwich, but I'm extremely picky. The bread has to be crusty on the outside, but soft on the inside. The ratio of bread to fillings has to be just right, and I personally like have less meat and more veggies. I am a bit partial to pickled vegetables in general. So, for example, I love a good banh mi. Finally, ideally it's not too messy to eat, and each bite should be a balanced combination of all the ingredients inside. Bread is important (and there's really no better place to get fantastic bread than Paris). I’m also not a purist when it comes to bread because I actually love ..read more

Bryan's in Paris right now. I'm a bit bummed I can't join him this time on his business trip. So instead I'll catch up on some way overdue posts about some of my favorite Paris places. I can't believe I hadn't written up some of these posts before. Another one of our favorite places to have a traditional Parisien sandwich is at Le Petit Vendôme. This tiny little traditional French restaurant serves a full menu of classic French dishes (e.g., escargot cooked in Burgundy, French onion soup, veal kidneys, beef tartare, duck confit, etc.). However, they also make fantastic charcuterie, terrines ..read more

Many people who are in-the-know say that this private kitchen is one of the best Cantonese restaurants in Hong Kong. In Hong Kong!! That's quite a statement, considering how many top notch Cantonese restaurants are here. It's nearly impossible to get a reservation at No. 9 SBI Canteen (or Softbank Private Kitchen) if you don't know someone. The private kitchen is hidden away on an upper floor in a high rise in Central. I was kindly invited by a friend who's "in-the-know", and was able to get a peek into this other world of Hong Kong wine and dine culture. I arrived a bit early, so they let m ..read more

A ..read more

A ..read more

A ..read more

A ..read more