Good Food and Views are Worth the Journey
After a of day roaming around the nearby islands, I was looking forward to a good warm meal with decent wine and a place I could kick back and relax in Takehara. Il Traghetto certainly met our needs. This is rustic Italian food interpreted by Kaoru Shinzaki, a retired corporate man who loves cooking. Shinzaki-san uses fresh, local produce and seafood and my favorite dish was a delicious risotto full of shrimp that was as Japanese as it was Italian.
Shinzaki-san decided to retire in...
This is beef, possibly at its utmost incarnation. Isshin presents the best parts of high quality Japanese cattle, from tongue to tail, in a variety of Kyoto kaiseki inspired interpretations including one that resembles the local sushi. While I had some reservations about this 2-Star Michelin restaurant, particularly as it involves eating raw beef, it was probably the best food experience I've had in recent months. Dishes were creative but were careful to highlight the natural taste and...
Fancy some great seafood? There are a few good reasons to go to Kanazawa - one being the fresh seafood from the Sea of Japan, the other two in my opinion are the Kutani porcelain and Kenrokuen Garden (see my photos). The new bullet train link to Tokyo makes a short trip to Kanazawa, known as "little Kyoto", all the more accessible. I spent two days, one night in Kanazawa a year ago (see my earlier blog and suggested itinerary) and had three good meals. Pricing ranged from a relatively...
I've been watching a documentary on Ben Shewry, chef of Melbourne's Attica, and thinking that I must return to the restaurant. Attica uses local ingredients - yes, wallaby, for one - but presents them in a totally delicious manner. While some of the dishes can be said to be experimental, I found that he didn't go overboard - not like Mugaritz (see blog) in Spain where some dishes were definitely challenging. The other reason for returning was that the entire experience was a lot of fun...
Last lunar new year, I spent ten days on Crystal Symphony with my relatives on a cruise that started in Hong Kong and ended in Singapore. Cruises are not for everyone but I think it is one of the nicest ways to go on holiday when you've got less mobile octogenarians in the group. Along the way, we stopped in Hainan Island (China), Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Since I live in Singapore, it was a convenient journey for me but familiarity with these stops meant that the cruise was not that...