Duvel

It's whisky with club soda. Depending on your friendly server alcohol content ranges from maybe 3% to something close to 10%. Color is a good indicator. And based on my experience a German guy who orders offal and knows a few funky Japanese words gets usually the stronger stuff 😋 It is very refreshing and has a lot less calories than beer ...

I am very fond of Izakaya-style restaurants and am always happy if my colleagues propose to go to "just a simple restaurant", which usually means it is very good (as otherwise they wouldn't suggest a "cheap" place). So, tonight we went to the Roppongi branch of Tengu ... Haram (diaphragm), Mentaiko, Tofu motsunabe (intestine stew with miso & tofu - excellent), Gyutan (tongue), Tsukune (minced chicken & cartilage), chicken livers and potatoes in thick sweet soy sauce (my favorite of the night), Hatsu (heart) and mixed pickles. Whisky highballs ad libitum, as we booked the "nomihodai" package - all you can drink for 120 min (which is surprisingly a lot 😁) ...

Why do you think I drink the whisky highball in the first place ?

As pretty much every time,I arrived very late at Haneda airport, Tokyo and even later in my hotel. Luckily, I know exactly the motsuyaki place to get a late night snack as well as a much needed refreshment: Shiodare cabbage (all you can eat). Ham-katsu, horse "yukhe", deep-fried small intestines, all accompanied by one (or was it two ?) whiskey highballs. Don't get fooled by the glass, I ordered Suntory, of course 😁

Lunch at Roppongi Hills in Tokyo; lunchset with 13 pieces plus Miso soup for about 18 USD. Picture taken after the first pieces disappeared ... 🙄

I see what you did there ...

Soooo ... as my wife and son are trying to escape the hot and sweltering Hong Kong summer (in currently equally hot and sweltering Catalunya) I am leading the life of a bachelor... This allows me of course to give in to spontaneous cravings, induced by participating in the happy hour in a local watering hole and then having 30 min with my food-depraved brain alone with me on the ferry back from work. Thus, I stopped by the supermarket, got a pound of boneless chicken thighs and made ChiMek - Korean fried chicken and beer. Chicken marinated in ginger, garlic, mirin and salt, then coated with starch/flour sprinkled with little water droplets for that KFC effect. Fried and served with Gochujang honey sauce and mustard / sesame oil / honey sauce. Oh yeah, and SoMek - soju and beer - just because of Bachelorhood 😋 (I count the days they come back)

Ahh ... that's so 1990's. You'd be surprised what Google tells you on Camel sous vide 😋

Yesterday's porchetta, thinly sliced, on fresh spelt-rye-wheat bread ...

Freshly made Brezel with chive butter and some equally delicious homemade Leberkäse ... Oh ... and one (or maybe two) Old Fashioned(s).

Suckling pig porchetta: deboned suckling pig belly, rubbed skin side with salt, garlic, rosemary, chilli and fennel. Rolled up, tied and SV for 24h @ 70oC. Then chilled, cleaned and dried in the refrigerator overnight. Deep fried for the crispiest skin you could imagine. Served thickly cut with rosemary flatbread and some of the incredible bag liquid, basted onto the flatbread ...

Yesterday was doyo-no-ushi-no-hi, or the midsummer day of the ox in Japan, on which tradionally Unagi is consumed. Last year I enjoyed a fantastic Unagi meal in Chiba, this year I had to make it myself ... Unagi don, umeboshi, edamame, tsukemono, mushroom-based miso soup. And a bottle of junmai sake. Not pictured: a tasty, yes surface-impaired chawan mushy with mentaiko, chicken and edamame & carrot. This day could be more often ...

Not if you buy the right pig ...

Single correlations are easy - you need to add complexity to be credible: More than 99.5% of all men, who regularly eat broccoli at restaurants and occasionally (1-3 / week) watch CNN news eventually die.

Did you ever fill Nutella in an ice cube mold, freeze it, drop the frozen Nutella cube into batter and deep fry it ? It's super delicious, complements any buzz from alcohol or other intoxicating substances nicely and can cause third degree burns, if you pop it in your mouth whole (don't ask ...) 😋

Please add step 1a: throw the egg ...

Comfort food from left-overs: Burger with onion marmalade, served with Bratkartoffeln ("home fries").

Yes, there are. Brunch is a big thing in HK, and especially the upscale places. I do usually go more to the family style establishments, which provide nice food plus entertainment options for toddlers and kids. These tend to be more reasonable priced, but you get most cuisines up to you desires. With my wife being catalan, we tend to go to Spanish / Catalan places. Zuma is a bit more upscale, with brunch plus alcoholic option at 690 HKD, about 80 USD. But it's worth every penny 😉

Some dried peppers ...

Finishing leftovers - in this case cooked potatoes: Korokke! With minced beef, onions & carrot ...

I am a lucky guy indeed 😉 But keep in mind: It's just a small (17h) hop over the big pond ...

Brunch at Zuma in HK, a "Japanese fusion" restaurant. By far enough Japanese to make me come back, even though the title "fusion" always puts me off a bit. The brunch deal comes with free flow of champagne, sake, several bloody Mary's and beer - exactly what you need at 11.00h on a lazy Sunday 😳 Lobby Bar Sushi Sashimi Tsukemono Soups Salads Warm stuff My loot ... Followed by the "main courses" Wagyu beef and Yuzu Teriyaki ... A quite spicy "Nasu" Bloody Mary: roasted aubergine infused vodka, clamato juicy, Gray Goose. Dessert (not that it was necessary) Stuffed and ever so slightly buzzed I went home for a looooong nap ...

Maybe more brunch than breakfast: Flight delay from Seoul to Hong Kong, so had some hours to kill. Luckily, just one shuttle bus stop away from the Terminal is an e-Mart, a large supermarket. Made my way there, was just loading my cart with unnecessary amounts of snack food when the smell of fresh pizza hit my nose. The in-store bakery just opened up and I found myself wondering how the Wagyu "crumble" and Bulgogi pizza might taste like. Next thing I know is me sitting in front of the store, cart full of things for which I don't have luggage space, eating said pizza. Not bad at all, rather sweet meat with a light spiciness, with lots of garlic (sure) and green peppers. Didn't find the Wagyu "crumble", but then again I wouldn't know what to look for anyway. Interestingly enough, the crust is covered with sweet potato purée, which - oddly - complements the soft crust very well. All in all a surprisingly pleasant breakfast. Now to find a Bulgogi Burger from Lotteria for lunch ...

It's not a no no at all, but this particular restaurant did not serve it with a yolk ...

Tonight casual dinner with the production plant guys. Very relaxed ... The place is famous in Ulsan for serving prime beef BBQ - and it did not disappoint. We (well the plant manager) opted for 1 & 2, and me for 5. He lives next to the place and plays golf with the owner of the restaurant - go figure. Needless to say, service was excellent. The setup Banchan. You pay the beef and all banchan comes for free in unlimited amounts ... Salads are free as well ... Spicy squid salad Mixed greens Sirloin! One me of the best meats I had in Korea. Rivals Wagyu ... so tender and juicy. With braised garlic, of course. And - again especially for @Smithy: Cass, World Cup edition with upside down label. The senior plant engineer explained me, that the upside down label means that the Korean team can turn every game around. Several jokes at the expense of the German team followed, which told me that (a) they trust and accept me enough to make that kind of jokes and (b) I shall not strive for answering any more of @Smithy's superfluous questions. Ridiculous amounts of Soju were mixed with the beer, as it is custom. After some time the Junior process engineer asked for "secret sauce", which turned out to be this. Tastes like nam pla. Turns out this is the basic mother liquor for making Kimchi, consisting of fermented fish, chilli and some soy beans. Works pretty well with beef ... Diaphragm - the most expensive cut. Again, a winner. Sooo flavourful ... And because I always ask for it: Yukhoe. Perfect consistency, just sweet enough with a deep sesame flavour. Made me happy... After all the meat what the Koreas call "the main course" arrived: noodles in soy bean broth. Good, but not really required anymore ... The damage done. I shall return 😋