Tag: Japanese

Read More

Tohoku, Japan’s onsen (hot spring) paradise

Satonoyu4

There are few things as relaxing and pleasurable than taking a bath–Japanese style–in natural hot spring water. For those of you who have yet to experience the joys of the onsen (the Japanese term for hot springs and baths using their waters), you have no idea what you are missing. I, myself, didn’t until a few years ago. For most of my life, I’ve been a shower person. I truly didn’t see the point of and never appreciated baths. But then, for a consultancy gig I had undertaken for a hotel collections company, I spent two and half weeks visiting some of Japan’s most beautiful and unique boutique hotels and inns, several of which boasted onsens among their main selling points. 

Read More

Spot – Dessert Omakase in New York City

Spot - Chocolate Green Tea Lava

I’d been looking around for a Japanese dessert place in New York City for a while, so when a friend recommended Spot, we made plans to go almost immediately. (I found out later that the owner of Spot is Thai but the amazing desserts have a distinctively Japanese edge to them). Spot is located in St Mark’s Place, one of NYC’s fave Japanese food and drink hangout spots. St Mark’s is filled with izakayas, yakitori places, ramen restaurants and karaoke bars and the vibe is more casual and laid-back due to its proximity to NYU and East Village.

Read More

A meal at Waku Ghin in Singapore, Asia’s second best restaurant

wakugrinkingcrab1

Just a few weeks ago, the 2013 edition of The Miele Guide to Asia’s Finest Restaurants was launched. With that came the annual announcement of the year’s list of the 20 most highly ranked restaurants in the region–as determined by a popular and a juried vote. The highest-ranking debut on the 2013 list was Waku Ghin in Singapore, which debuted on the list in second place. For many of his fans, that Chef Tetsuya Wakuda’s restaurant would attain such a high rank so quickly, was perfectly understandable. Many people I’ve met have claimed that their meals at Waku Ghin have been their best in Asia.

Read More

Maguroya – House of Tuna – great sushi at low prices in Singapore

maguroya1

What do you get when a highly reputed seafood dealer decides to open his own sushi stall in a local hawker centre? Quite simply, the best quality, affordable sushi in Singapore’s CBD. Until a few months ago, Alistair Douglas, an expert in sustainable seafood who actually did his PhD in the quality, cold-chain management and traceability of farmed Southern bluefin tuna from Australia to Japan, ran one of the country’s top seafood and gourmet produce importers.

Read More

Best Cookbooks of 2012

bb-cookbook-lores

I am a cookbook junkie. I have an entire bookcase of cookbooks and food related non-fiction titles. And I have been trying to wean myself from this addiction. Unfortunately, in 2012 there were so many exciting new cookbooks introduced that I couldn’t resist. After reading about so many in my “go-to” food magazines, websites and blogs, I narrowed it down to the top six cookbooks of 2012. These were the most recommended, most blogged about, most inspiring cookbooks of 2012 – and I acquired them all. I simply couldn’t resist and I am glad I didn’t because now I am experimenting with all sorts of cuisines I love but had previously rarely made at home.

Read More

Tsujiri brings its awesome Japanese sweets to Singapore

tsujiri-parfait

In the Kyoto guide that I created back in 2009, I wrote about an über-popular dessert cafe called Tsujiri. Tsujiri, founded in 1860, is especially famous for its green tea desserts and cold drinks. The branch that I visited in Kyoto is so popular the waiting time is usually a minimum of 30-40 minutes. But now, thankfully, I neither need to fly to Japan nor queue up for a green tea parfait. Tsujiri has opened a branch in Singapore, located in the 100AM shopping centre on Tras Street.

Read More

Afuri Ramen, great chicken soup based ramen in Tokyo

A funny thing happens to you as you age. Your tastes begin to change. Preferences you once clung to and championed suddenly become less appealing. For example, for years, I was a die-hard tonkotsu ramen fan. For me, there was no better soup base for ramen than a rich, greasy, milky, ultra-umami pork bone broth. No other kind of ramen could compare. But, over the last year or so, I’ve changed my mind. Today, my preferred soup base for ramen is a chicken soup.