The Blissful Glutton

Have you ever been to Swan Oyster Depot or Tartine? I would recommend both for lunch. Also love Delfina and Gary Danko (as said above) for the solo diner.

I was recently in HK and we went to an amazingly good Szechuan restaurant. The peppercorns were much stronger than those I have had in the States. I took a close-up: Here was the whole dish--Shan City beef.

That is what the AJC article (posted above) said.

Just looked at Yabu's website and I think we found it! Looks exactly like the place we went: http://www.yabusoba.net/

Oops. Sorry! I guess we shall never know...it was a very famous and old restaurant. Someone on my website commented that it looked like Yabu in Kanda near Akihabara.

Thanks for the report, Doc. Wish I could have been there.

I do think there is enough of a client base to support him here in Atlanta, but he needs to think small and focus. Something the size of Momofuku with an open kitchen would suit him well. He does not belong in a closed kitchen. He is at his best when he is able to cook and entertain. I know he'll bounce back--he always does. This closing has very little to do ith him and more to do with a restaurant that was already in trouble. You can view my photos from one night's tasting menu HERE if you missed out.

#31 was with the herring--a local specialty according to our waitress. Here are some more photos from #16.

Just a follow-up to one my first posts about the restaurant from Okinawa. Someone sent me the follwing (just in case you want to visit): "The name of this restaurant is "Tsuchi no Mi" meaning "Fruit of the Earth" and is written 土の実. Here is the website: www.diamond-dining.com/shop_info/tsuchinomi/top.htm"

Looks amazing, B! The plating on that lamb is just gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.

You can get it at Star Provisions.

I was happy to see Hung win. I had him pegged for a jerk at the beginning of the season, but I think he demonstrated solid skills and he wasn't as much of a "villain" as I expected him to be. His speech about his family's devotion to food really won me over--yes, I am a cheeseball. I'll support anyone with such fire for food.

Ha--thanks! I wish the Shanghai soup buns had come out better though

I never found out the name of the noodle shop--the concierge was off on vacation. Sorry!

Thanks everyone! It was a great trip. Doc: I did---some ground chili from Japan (for soba), powdered green tea and shoyu from Kyoto, some knives (of course), teas from China, and some spicy lotus root chips I found. You can see all my photos (I did not post all of them here) from Hong Kong by clicking HERE.

I was in Paris a few months ago and I simply asked the staff before taking photos. I did the same thing when I was just in Hong Kong and Tokyo. I find most places to be happy to help a food enthusiast. I always give them a card with my website on it (only when I travel--not locally) just in case they want to see the photos later. I have even had some places ask to see my photos after I took them. When I am in Atlanta, it is a different story because I review the restaurants instead of just documenting my travels. I just try to be discreet as possible and don't use my flash. I have to agree the iphone can be lovely in situations with good light. Edited to say: The one thing I am not thrilled with is folks who take photos of people in the restaurants without asking. I always ask, but rarely take pics of people because it is about the food. What do you guys think about that?

I just got back to the States after a very long flight. I can feel that jet-lag creeping up, but wanted to post some more photos from my short time in Hong Kong. After the first night, we went to to Luk Yu Teahouse for some dim-sum. A friend, who is from Hong Kong, had recommended we go there as it is one of the most famous teahouses in the city. We made the rookie mistake of going after 11 a.m. and missed out on the carts. We were stuck with the English menu and a surly waiter who seemed insistent on giving us the tourist treatment. We did manage to order a few dishes of of the very limited menu and it was good--not great. We are going to try another place before we leave and we'll hopefully find some more varieties of dumplings there. Sticky rice Singapore noodles Crispy squid Shrimp dumplings The next day was a sightseeing day and we saw some beautiful temples and other sights around the city. It is amazing how different certain parts are from the bustle of the downtown area. I convinced my family to follow me to a little dive noodle bar that Bourdain has covered on his show. The place is run by some body builders and it was awesome (and fast). My sister, Dad, and I got the beef brisket soup with noodles and my mom got the pork knuckle soup with noodles. It was great. Full-flavored broth and chewy noodles with good bite. I would definitely recommend it. Poster on the wall Brisket soup Pork knuckle soup Noodles in the pork knuckle soup Once our tour guide realized how food-crazy we all were, he decided to take us to a dried seafood market where many locals and restaurants shop. I have to admit the smell of all the dried seafood is pretty intense and overwhelming. But, it was cool to speak to the people and find out all the different uses for the many types of dried items. One thing that caught my eye were these chunks of smoked (?) pig's head. Bins of dried seafood A very large shark fin My first taste of Shanghai soup buns was here in Hong Kong some ten years ago, so I was determined to have some again. My Dad picked a Shanghai restaurant, called Ye Shanghai, in the Marco Polo Hotel in Kowloon. I don't know much about food from Shanghai, but we really enjoyed the dishes we ordered. Shanghai soup buns Crispy chicken Fried tofu with chilis and cashews On our last night, we decided to go to a Szechuan restaurant, called Yunyan Szechuan Restaurant. My only Szechuan experiences had been in Grand Sichuan in New York and a fabulous place here in Atlanta called, Tasty China. I was anxious to try it in China and the place had rave reviews. I was not disappointed at all. Spicy cabbage Fish poached in chili oil--wow. The fish had a confit-like texture and it had nice bite. Loved it against the contrast of the raw green onions. I could not stop eating it. A close-up of the peppercorns My favorite of the night: Shan City Beef--this dish was definitely ma la! My mouth was vibrating for a good 2 hours after eating it. The effect of the peppercorn is not for everybody, but I loved it. The beef was so tender and I loved the flavors. I often order a chicken version at my local spot, but beef may be working its way into the rotation. The trip was so much fun. Seeing Tokyo and Hong Kong in one go was an interesting study in contrasts and I definitely had some good food. I can't decide which place I like more because they are so beautiful in their own way. I hope to go back soon. Hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. Jennifer

I was a bit backlogged on my magaznes, but am reading it now. I like what I have read so far and was so excited to to see Sedaris as a contributor as well.

Just an update: I started my Hong Kong thread if anyone is interested. You can view it HERE. Happy eating, Jennifer

After I graduated from college, I packed my bags and headed to China for a solo trip. It was a crazy experience as a Western (and broke) woman, but I loved it. I mainly ate greasy (but good) noodles off the street and dim sum, but I vowed to return. Coming back 10 years later with a little more spending money and a better sense of the area is thrilling. Choosing restaurants in a food destination like Hong Kong can be tough so I was excited to see that Anthony Bourdain had just covered Hong Kong on his show. I decided to follow Tony's lead and hit a few of the spots the locals took him to. Tonight, we went to Under the Bridge Spicy Crab located in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong. The specialty here is their typhoon crab. The place was packed and we had a small wait, but the host was cool and served us some beer while we waited on the street and chatted with some folks visiting from Singapore. We started out with some fried squid at my sister's request. It was banging. The sauce was good, but I just ate it on its own. Our next dish was some greens in garlic and ginger. Greasy and good. We had to have something good with all the fried seafood! Clams with spicy black bean sauce. So frickin good. The heat was a gradual burn and the clams were super fresh. Next was some fried rice with pork for some contrast. Yum. One of my favorite dishes to eat at Chinese restaurants and much better than the soy-heavy version you get in most places in the States. We ordered some of the fried mantis shrimp which reminded me of langoustines. They were so sweet and the garlic was like candy--just as Bourdain said. Not much meat per order, so get one for each person. Sorry guys, but I am hungry... The main event: typhoon crab. The table was silent except for the sound of moans. Need I say more? The aftermath... Tony did not disappoint. The place was so laid back and the food was amazing. A must-try if you are ever here. Tomorrow, we do dumplings. Shanghai soup buns here I come! Stay tuned.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. The concierge who recommended the noodle spot was not here the past two days--I will do my best to find out. The menu photos were from there though. The past two days have been pretty exhausting and I have not taken many food photos--sorry! We went to Kyoto for a day trip. A nice contrast to Tokyo and I love a good train ride. We were in a rush, so we just found some random noodle spot in town. There was a 400 year old one we had planned to go to, but the line was 30 minutes deep and it started raining. My Dad had the noodles (which were green) with herring and I had the tempura with the fat white noodles--very tasty broth. That night, we were beat. My sister and I are Korean food freaks and found some little spot under an overpass near Ginza. It was very different than what I am used to in the states. We had to order our panchan separately and the meat portions were very tiny. Still a nice experience to see the Japanese version of Korean BBQ. Last night we went to Nobu for a business obligation. I would not have chosen the spot normally, but the people had organized a tasting. It was not that great since they chose some pretty safe dishes. I bet we would have eaten better if we had ordered ourselves. Gorgeous decor. Lunch yesterday was the tonkatsu spot in Tokyo station that a chef friend recommended. There was this minced pork cake in my dish that was insane! The great thing about Tokyo is you will pretty much find good food wherever you are. All hail the food floor! Sorry to be short, but we are heading to Hong Kong today in a little while for 4 days and then back to the states. I will try to post some more of my photos with commentary when I am back. In the mean time, you can check out my entire food album from Tokyo HERE. I'll post a link to my HK thread in here once I start it. Jennifer

We picked up some white chocolate and chestnut Kit Kats last night. Interesting. My favorite new find on this trip has been the spicy lotus root chips. I bought a bought-load yesterday to take home.

I think he wraps it to continue the cooking. The coating is rubbed off to reveal a roasted and sticky sweet squash. Gorgeous.

Sounds like it was prepared in a similar to the squash we had. Just AMAZING!

I was just told by the waitress that they were the heads of the shrimp that we had beforehand. They were super. Reminded me of the baby river crabs we had at the robata spot.