Tosca at the Ritz Carlton - where everybody knows your name

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/hotels/china/hong-kong/dining/tosca

Just about everyone of a certain age brackets should remember the TV show 'Cheers'.  It was a half hour sitcom about a bar in Boston and the catchy theme song for the show was called 'Where everybody knows your name'.  If you're not familiar with it, rekindle your memories or experience for the first time here.

Anyway, there's a memorable line in the song that goes something like 'Wouldn't you like to get away?  to a place where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came'.

That about sums up my experiences when I visit Tosca in Hong Kong's Ritz Carlton.  Granted, the Ritz Carlton's about as far away from a dive bar in Boston, but you get the drift.

I've been to Tosca many, many times now and there are a couple of things that keep drawing me back, the amazing setting, the incredible food but most of all, the impeccable service that only comes from a team that genuinely believe in what they're doing and love to provide the best service imaginable. 

Our last visit was an opportunity for the girl and I to share one last special dinner before I went traveling to the UK for work, a trip that would take me away for a couple of weeks (and lead to a series of food adventures!).  

Le Reve - Japanese ingredients and French fusion cooking

http://www.lereve.com.hk

Fusion is a term that's going out of fashion if you listen to some chefs, it's a term that's reluctantly used to describe the blending of cuisines. Others wear the term with pride, looking to purposefully blend cultures, cuisines and ingredients, constantly challenging themselves to come up with something new, something indescribable, something totally delicious.

You might not hear rising Japanese chef Ryogo Ozawa specifically use the term fusion anywhere, but the technically brilliant chef has perfected the art of blending traditional Japanese ingredients with innovative French cooking, a blending that he calls French cuisine, new style.  Having worked at three Michelin starred L'Assiette Champenoise in Reims, Chef Ozawa has created a menu that is both technically brilliant, visually stunning and most importantly, wonderful to consume.

Le Reve has only been open for a few months, but the contemporary French restaurant is the culmination of five friends' vision and dreams.  The five friends were all students in the UK, traveling the continent and consuming all of the delights that Europe has to offer, when the idea of one day opening their own restaurant.

Oh how those boys must feel now that Le Reve is open.

AnOther Place by David Myers - great food but shame about the pacing

http://anotherplace.com.hk/

In a world filled with celebrity and Michelin awarded chefs, unsurprisingly I'd never come across US based chef, David Myers.  

That was until I'd arranged to catch up with my Singaporean based food buddy James, who'd booked us in for a dinner at Adrift at Marina Bay Sands.  James had come across David Myers on his travels and assured me that I'd have a fantastic meal at Adrift.

You can't find a more glamorous spot in all of Singapore than Marina Bay Sands, and the flashy looking and well kitted out Adrift ended up being a superb meal.  Our dinner was served to us as we sat in chairs suspended by wires from the ceiling and the ultra modern dining room felt like it would be at home in swanky parts of Los Angeles.

I really enjoyed the meal, but was pretty lazy and didn't write up the visit.

But I did remember the meal fondly and when I saw that David Myers, also known as the Gypsy Chef, was opening a restaurant in Hong Kong - knew that I'd get along and check out his interestingly named AnOther Place.

Paris - Pierre Gagnaire

http://www.pierre-gagnaire.com/en#/

When I was planning my trip to Paris, I had many possible restaurants that I could have visited.  Paris is one of those destinations that every foodie dreams about, where nouveau and haute cuisine mix willingly with the most traditional of dining.  

While my trip to the French capital was centred around my trip to Guy Savoy (see post here), I was also equally excited to be visiting fellow Three Michelin star and #16 on the La Liste (the top 1,000 restaurants globally).  I was so excited about the visit, that as soon as I'd confirmed my reservation at the well known restaurant at 6 rue Balzac, just of the Champs Elysees, I made a beeline to check out the Two Michelin starred Pierre Hong Kong (see post here).

Known as an innovator, Pierre Gagnaire has been known to 'tear at the conventions of French cooking by introducing jarring juxtapositions of flavours, tastes, textures and ingredients'.  As a food blogger, I love the concept of pushing the boundaries of flavour, I love that there are chef's that are willing to test themselves and innovate and dare to dream of a different culinary landscape.

Unfortunately, dining at Pierre Gagnaire in Paris turned out to be much more of a nightmare than a dream!

Let me start by saying that like the famous French chef's predilection for juxtaposition of food, our dining experience was indeed a juxtaposition, but just not in the way that the chef intended.

Paris - Le Jules Verne

http://www.lejulesverne-paris.com/en

When I was planning my gastronomic tour of Paris, Le Jules Verne was not on top of my mind, in fact, it wasn't on my list at all.

It was the girl's desire to finally do more than walk around the Eiffel Tower, which was all we'd done on our previous visit to Paris.  While I only had a few precious nights available for dinner in arguably the centre of modern cuisine, I gladly aquiesced to SC's request, after all, le Jules Verne was an Alain Ducasse restaurant!

Oh, and I'd secretly been wanting to scale the Eiffel Tower myself - seriously, who wouldn't?

Our last trip to Paris had been in the heart of winter, and even though it was freezing cold, every time we'd visited the Eiffel Tower, it was a bustling and busy tourist location.  This visit was spring and while it was still cold by Hong Kong standards, one thing was missing on our visit.....  

The crowds.

Our visit had coincided with the tragic events in Belgium and understandably, there was a nervousness around Paris, which had manifested as a severe reduction in tourists.  It was a little weird seeing so few people at one of the world's most recognisable landmarks.

Ivy - Is it Italian or French? The French Riviera

http://ivyhongkong.com/

One of the things I still find a little strange, even after residing in Hong Kong for over twelve months, is the placement of restaurants in shopping centres. Throughout Australia, Europe and the Americas, shopping centres have designated areas for restaurants and food outlets. They're often quite fancy places with a range of restaurants from renowned chefs and up-and-coming dining establishments.  Harrods in London and KaDaWe in Berlin are great examples of major shopping outlets that have specific locations for restaurants.

Hong Kong is quite different, with restaurants dotted through out major shopping centres, often spread around shopping centres in unusual locations.  Ivy is the latest restaurant from the Gaia Group and is one of those restaurants that's tucked away on it's own in the IFC, so you stumble across it almost by accident!

It's a little known fact (well, I didn't really know!) that the French Riviera was a part of Italy until it was handed over to France in the 1800's. Which explains why the French restaurant has more in common with an Italian eatery than your traditional French bistro.

We'd initially hoped to get along to the annual Winter Carnival recently, but changed our mind pretty quickly once we'd seen the queue to gain entry, so had an evening free and no dinner plans.  We were feeling pretty lazy, so wanted to check out something close by, and the Ivy seemed like a pretty good option.  With no reservation made, we rocked up to to the restaurant and were relieved to find plenty of tables available.  

Le Dome de Cristal - opulent decedent and oh-so-French

http://www.cristal-hk.com/catalog/

It might be said that heading to the first global collaboration between renowned French Champagne house Cristal by Louis Roederer and a restaurant might be a waste for a tea-totaler like myself.  I mean, I've never been a connoisseur or consumer of champagne.  But I am a fan of exquisite French cuisine and found that the prospect of the promised unparalleled dining experience by the luxury group appealing.

It was exactly that promise and the lure of the very experienced Chef Charles-Benoit Lacour and his pursuit of perfection that finally convinced me to check out Le Dome de Cristal.  After working with legendary French Chef Guy Savoy in Paris before becoming the Chef de Cuisine at Guy Savoy in Singapore, Chef Lacour continued his journey into Asia by becoming the culinary director and head chef of Le Dome de Cristal.

I'd walked past the innocuous entrance to Le Dome de Cristal, which is located in The Galleria in Central, many, many times on my way to work, never realising how close I was to the completely opulent and luxurious restaurant that took up almost ten thousand square feet.  It wasn't until we ascended the steps to the main dining room that I was able to truly understand how spectacular Le Dome de Cristal actually was.  Award winning interior designer Steve Leung was responsible for blending the contemporary and classic design which fully utilised the massive dome ceiling that was the highlight and centrepiece of the restaurant.

The FoodMeUpScotty Top 10 of 2015 - Best Restaurants

Food Me Up Scotty 2015 Top Ten

It's hard to believe that my first year in Hong Kong is at an end.  It was exactly twelve months ago today that I hoped off the Qantas flight and stepped into my new life in Asia's most dynamic culinary city.  There are only a handful of cities around the world that truely have a reputation as being an epicentre for the culinary pursuits and Hong Kong just happens to be one of those few.  As a food blogger, that has meant that I've been like a kid in a candy store.

I've had time to reflect on my first twelve months and the amazing restaurant and dining experiences in which I've managed to partake.  While there have been well over a hundred restaurants I've checked out in my first year, there have only been a handful that I've repetitively revisited throughout the year, one of which has made my list.  

As you'd expect from a food capital, Hong Kong is home to many restaurant guides that have helped identify the standout dining establishments.  The Michelin Guide, the SCMP Top 100 Tables, the Hong Kong Tatler are all well known guides that mostly get it right but sometimes get it very wrong, with one of my favourite restaurants of all time losing it's Michelin Star.  I have to say that I'm excited to be living in a city that is part of the Michelin family, but I've also come to understand that the guide is fallible.

Twenty Six by Liberty - worth the wait

http://www.twentysix.hk/

What makes a restaurant desirable?  It's a question that many a restauranteur and chef has probably asked themselves a million times!  Long wait times to secure a table is often a measure of desirability, but is that all? Perhaps, but perhaps not!  I've entered waiting lists for many restaurants that have ended up being a let down, simply because of the elevated expectations by having to wait.  Equally, I've secured a table in restaurants with only a few hours notice, which have been incredibly desirable (luck plays a part!).

I've been lusting over Twenty Six by Liberty for a little while, ever since I came across some photos of Executive Chef Bjoern Alexander's take on modern cuisine.  The German born chef has an eye for the dramatic and his food presentation is nothing short of gastronomic visual porn. Having started his career in legendary American Chef Thomas Keller's French Laundry, before continuing onto countless two and three Michelin-starred restaurants, Chef Bjoern had created level of desirability that I'd not felt for a little while.

I will admit that my desire to check out Twenty Six by Liberty was fuelled by the fact that the place is nearly impossible to get into!  I'd tried without success to make a reservation on a Friday or Saturday night, and it wasn't until I tried to book on a Tuesday night that I managed to secure a seat.  I wasn't really sure if I felt like the ten course tasting menu mid week, but figured I could just about manage it :)

The First Floor - the best of surprises

http://www.thefirstfloor.com.hk/

We were walking home from work one evening, taking a new route for some strange reason, and happened along a pretty fancy restaurant launch.  It looked pretty inviting, with red carpet and lots of floral arrangements, but we were on a mission to get somewhere (can't even remember where now!) and made a mental note to get along and check it out.  There was one problem though, we didn't bother to find out the name of the restaurant!

It wasn't a huge problem though, we knew it was in Duddell Street and easy enough to find.  It was a Tuesday night and we felt adventurous, so wandered along Duddell Street, up the steep stairs to find our mystery restaurant.  Called 'the First Floor', we banked on the place not being too busy on a Tuesday night and rocked up without a reservation.  As luck would have it, we were welcomed with open arms and shown to a table and, not for the first time in Hong Kong, were the only people in the restaurant!

Only the First Floor is not really a restaurant, but a private club thats been set up by media group 'Lifestyle Federation'.  Part dining room, part open demonstration kitchen and 'part lounge for hire', the First Floor also has a humador for those that like a cigar after dinner.  It's plush too, really plush!  Our very comfortable seats were red velvet like seats and were placed around tables that were set for silver service.

EPURE - superb French fine dining, but wheres the Michelin Star?

http://www.epure.hk

This was the week the Hong Kong & Macau Michelin Guide was updated.  Now, this post is not about the guide itself, but did stem from some of the articles I'd read, most of which really questioned the relevance of the guide after some shock omissions and demotions.  One of the best meals I'd had in Hong Kong was from NUR (see post here), which was one of the unlucky restaurants to be demoted.  I'd also read that a little French fine diner called EPURE was widely regarded as extremely unlucky to have missed out.  

I didn't really need more of a reason to check it out.  I wanted to see for myself if EPURE was indeed Michelin Star worthy.

EPURE is located in Tsim Sha Tsui, or TST, and is one of the many restaurants in the very popular Ocean Centre at Harbour City.  This is where the massive ocean liners dock while in Hong Kong and is probably the biggest indoor shopping centre I've ever seen, you can get lost there for hours!  We had a pretty good idea of how to find EPURE, but we arrived early anyway, so we could have a wander around the shops and have a pre-dinner drink.

Without doubt, my favourite style of cuisine is French fine dining, so I was super keen to learn that Executive Chef Nicolas Boutin was at the helm of EPURE.  Having worked at Michelin three-starred Troisgros as well as a handful of two-starred restaurants around Europe, I was expecting French cuisine of the highest order.  With a philosophy of delivering a glamorous and chic dining experience  and inspired by French royalty, the layout of the EPURE dining room was certainly very plush and luxurious.

Private Dining - The Popsy Room

http://thepopsyroom.com

There is a saying, I know you've heard it before; 'Art is in the eye of the beholder'.

But what is Art?  Contemporary wisdom tells us that it's a painting on a wall, a sculpture in a park or an exhibit in a gallery.  But is that all?  Over the last few years, artists have been using a new canvas for their pursuits - the plate.  The advent of the blogger, the food photographer and Instagram have helped transform gastronomy to arguably the most popular of all art!

This was never so evident than when I recently visited a private dining room that is an art gallery by day and gastronomic gallery by night.  The Popsy Room is an art gallery in Sheung Wan, an area that is rapidly transforming into the hippest of Hong Kong areas.  So it's fitting that such a juxtaposition of contemporary art and dining art start to bleed into each other.

Rotating exhibitions through the Popsy Room every two months keeps things fresh, but it is their approach to marrying the visual arts together that's so interesting.  The dining room takes direct inspiration from each exhibition, creating a menu that's in perfect harmony to tell a compelling story.  At the time of our visit, the gallery had a tribute to Madame Helena Rubinstein's legendary life, outlining her audacity and passion for creating a beauty empire.

New Zealand Series - Bistro Gentil

http://www.bistrogentil.co.nz/

I was looking forward to heading back to New Zealand for a holiday, it had been an exciting year to date, which included changing jobs and moving to HK.  As exciting as the year had been, I really needed a break and what better way to do so than a short ski holiday. Of course when I travel anywhere nowadays, I'm always considering the food angle and looking for the very best local dining.  I was a little bit dubious that I would find something amazing while travelling to Wanaka, a town in the South Island of NZ with the total population of 5,037.  Boy was I wrong!

Checking into our cute little bed and breakfast, Wanaka Haven, we immediately asked our host, Steve, for some local recommendations and without missing a beat, Bistro Gentil was mentioned.  Never one to delay, we asked if Steve could get us in for dinner the night of our arrival.  A quick call revealed he couldn't, the place was full, which was quite a promising sign.  Asking for the next available sitting, we were able to secure a reservation a few days in.  No matter, some skiing would have us anticipating the meal even more.