Grand Maison Lowe (Takamatsu, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

It’s my first-ever trip to Shikoku (四國), an island known for its untouched nature, temple pilgrimage, and so much more. Our first destination on the island was Takamatsu (高松市), the lively capital city of Kagawa Prefecture (香川縣) on the north side. Known as the gateway to Shikoku, Takamatsu is widely celebrated for its modern arts, traditional culture, and culinary heritage. I think we’ll really love it there especially since our stay will be less than 24 hours.

After checking into our hotel, we took a quick 5-minute walk to the Marugame-cho Green complex, where the recently opened Pokémon Center quietly awaits. That immediately kicked off my quest to check out a number of places I have pinned on my private map. The first stop on my itinerary was Grand Maison Lowe, a long-established pastry shop founded in 1978.

Step inside and you get that antique-style interior vibe (thus the name 'Grand Maison'). Grand Maison Lowe offers a lovely mix of European-style traditional baked goods, cakes, and carefully curated gift boxes.

What I didn’t realize, though, was that besides the European pastries on display, they also reserve a corner for something extra: doughnuts. 🍩🍩

And they’re not just any doughnuts. These are nama-donut style, the kind that have taken Asia by storm in recent years (though apparently not Hong Kong… at least not yet).

Double cream (330 yen) — Little one was pretty hungry after the long flight, so instead of going straight to the Pokémon Center, he hung around with me long enough to enjoy his own doughnut. 

According to him, this wasn't bad.

Salted caramel (360 yen) — The salted caramel custard was definitely nice and runny, but the dough itself didn’t quite live up to expectations for a proper nama donut. The dough tasted a little strange at first, and even worse, it was too soft and not nearly pillowy enough.

Luckily, we came here first, with my next stop as Truffle Donut, so at least the bar wasn't set too high (with Truffle Donut touted as one of the best in the business).

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 7-16 Marugamemachi, Takamatsu, Kagawa, 760-0029, Japan

Closest Train Station: Kawaramachi

Tel: +81 (0)87-811-7557

Website: https://lowe.co.jp/gurame/

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 8:00am daily

Charmi Shenzhen Bay MixC 深圳灣萬象城店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★★☆

We’re back in Shenzhen’s Nanshan district for a couple of hours of pickleball this morning. It was a ton of fun. I was surprised the kids held their own for much of the game.

After the game, we took a cab to Shenzhen Bay MixC (深圳灣萬象城) looking for a light meal. There were enough dining options at the luxurious mall to feed us for a month, but Jelloman explicitly pointed out that she wanted something light at Charmi so without hesitation, we headed straight for Pink Street (粉紅大街), a trendy avenue full of shopping and dining options inside the mall.

Once everyone got settled, it was time to check out the bakery goods available today. And there were some new creations we hadn’t seen on our last visit. 

It was stuff like this brioche with Italian meatballs and fish-fragrant eggplant (意式肉丸魚香茄子包) that kept us coming back for more.

Mugwort red bean sea salt roll (艾草紅豆海鹽卷) (¥18) — A local twist on the Japanese butter and red bean baguette we grew to love during our Japan trips. These weren’t bad, but for them to really work, the brioche needs to be a little firmer —something that can actually stand up to a thick slab of butter and red bean paste. And this one failed in that regard.

Truffle mushroom chicken confit egg danish (松露蘑菇雞油封蛋丹麥) (¥28) — Much better than sea salt roll I thought.

Inside the flaky crust, there were diced chicken and mushroom, all drizzled with a delicate cream sauce and finished off nicely with a subtle hint of truffle. The shaved Parmesan and confit egg topping didn’t really distribute enough to make a big flavor impact, but overall it was a solid danish.

We’re planning to have hotpot dinner in a few hours, so not surprisingly, the daddies all got a memo from top management (the wives!) advising us not to have too much food here. Of course, we’re all well-trained to follow orders from top management.

Food Rating: 6.4/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop B1-40, Pink Street, Shenzhen Bay MixC, 3213 Keyuan South Road, Nanshan district, Guangzhou, China

深圳市南山区深圳湾万象城B区粉红大街B1层B1-40号铺

Closest Metro Station: Houhai (后海)

Tel: +86 18028704994

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 10:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/06/05nM

Tempura Tenon 天婦羅天御 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

After weeks of hard work, our team has finally reached a critical milestone. To celebrate this special moment and reward myself for the countless hours of overtime I’ve put in recently, I have booked a seat at Tempura Tenon for a little self-celebration tonight.

Tempura Tenon (天婦羅天御) is a restaurant that has been on my radar screen forever. Located on the 11th floor of L’Hart in Causeway bay just behind Sogo, the tempura specialist is helmed by head Chef Kai Wing, formerly of Japanese restaurant Iwanami.

After arriving right on time at the counter-only Tempura Tenon, I was escorted to my seat. I quickly settled in quickly, but before I could even fully relax, my stomach was called upon for some early work.

The first dish tonight was chawanmushi with sakura shrimps. I thought the top layer of green was a touch of wasabi but no.

The condiments tonight included some seaweed salt, curry salt, lemon and the usual tentsuyu.

Tiger prawn from Kagoshima (鹿兒島花竹蝦) — My dinner officially kicked off the best way with a nice and springy shrimp tempura. 👍🏻

Shrimp head — Crispy, flaky, and just perfect.

Splendid Alfonsino (金目鯛) — The splendid alfonsino from Shizuoka Prefecture (靜岡縣) came with some nice, crispy scales. Not bad.

Yellow and white corn 🌽 — The yellow and white corn from Hokkaido were tied together neatly. I almost couldn’t taste the batter here; it's that thin.

Sea urchin with shiso leaf — Lovely combination of sea urchin and shiso leaf where the uni and shiso leaf were wrapped in a thin, perfectly crispy batter like a bouquet. The shiso leaf flavor was pretty strong but not surprisingly, it worked incredibly well with the briny richness of the runny uni.

Horse mackerel (池魚) — I was curious how buttery, rich horse mackerel would fare with the thin batter, but this was actually more tasty than the splendid alfonsino tonight. (As a fan of kinmadai, I couldn’t believe I said that!)

There was a short break in the action when my server came over to present me with a small bowl of chilled corn soup.

Clam (大蜆) — The size of the clam caught me a little off guard.

I love the slightly chewy texture around the edges, and the burst of freshness was a welcome moment. Just a bit of lemon juice already made it incredibly delicious. This, along with the sea urchin and tiger prawn, are the top three items so far — in no particular order.

Hairy crab yuba roll — The hairy crab meat (sadly, no roes) worked well with the crispy tube made with yuba but the hint of black truffle never stood out. Instead, it was the acidity from the black vinegar taking center stage.

New potato (新薯) — I finally got the chance to use my curry salt and it was quite an interesting match. If I heard it right, the new potatoes from Nagasaki Prefecture (長崎縣) have been slow-fried for an hour!

The eight-course omakase menu has quietly reached its end, but I was invited to order more add-on items. Why not?

As Chef Kai Wing pointed out, Tempura Tenon is far from an old-school Japanese tempura restaurant. In fact, there are localized ingredients (mantis shrimp, cured fish roe, octopus just to name a few) that simply aren't available in more conventional tempura joints.

Mantis shrimp ($75) — Springy with a nice crunch. A very different experience than the tiger prawn. Love it~

Maitake ($35) — Maitake is one of my favorites in any tempura meal thanks to its incredible texture. But this one was just OK, as I thought they trimmed it way too much.

As usual, the meal was finished with a small tendon (天丼) and pickles.

And then a red miso soup with a strong hint of ginger.

Dessert was melon to wrap it up. That was the most food I had in more than a month.

It was an incredible experience just sitting at the counter table watching Chef Kai Wing work. He’s animated and interactive with his customers, adding a level of cozy and intimate touch to the meal. I will definitely bring my tempura-loving son for my next visit.

Food Rating: 7.3/10

Price: $$$

Address: 11/F, L ‘Hart, 487-489 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Causeway Bay

Tel: +852 6085-0243

Website: https://www.instagram.com/tempura_tenon/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 7:00pm - 10:30pm (Thu - Tue)

Caterking Dim Sum Cafe Wanchai 豪隍點心茶居 灣仔店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I was thinking Lang’s Café (瀾之茶居) was still there so we could grab some dim sum after our meeting in Wanchai. But the signage outside said otherwise.

It turns out the place is now called Caterking Dim Sum Café (豪隍點心茶居). The good news is, it's still a dim sum spot. According to their menu, this Wanchai branch is the fifth one in town.

As the name “Dim Sum Café” suggests, the dim sum is made fresh onsite, so we quickly fired away ordering a few items to share between the two of us.

Jumbo Har Gow (豪隍蝦餃皇) ($31) — One of the biggest steamed shrimp dumplings I’ve seen in town. They don’t call them “jumbo” for nothing.

Despite the size being almost identical to the one at Tao Tao Ju (陶陶居), the flavor just didn’t measure up. 

Jumbo Siu Mai (蝦仁燒賣皇) ($29) — Pretty decent especially with the shrimp topping.

Pan-fried radish cake (香煎蘿蔔糕) ($27) — The texture wasn’t bad, but there really should be more mushrooms, dried shrimp, and cured meat.

Tender and smooth shrimp rice roll (爽滑鮮蝦腸) ($38) — I thought this was one of the better dishes of the afternoon. The steamed rice roll was very tender exactly as it should be. I love their English translation of “Tender and smooth shrimp rice roll” too, but it should be smooth and tender to match the Chinese.

Squid and diced chicken rice with shiitake mushroom (章魚雞粒冬菇飯) ($48) — We needed a bit of rice to get us through the afternoon.

Well, I thought the portions were great today. If you value quantity over quality, this is definitely a good place to go in Wanchai.

Food Rating: 5.2/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop A & B, G/F, Yanville, 8 Tai Yuen Street, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Wanchai

Tel: +852 6659-6181

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 9:30pm daily

Azabuya 麻布屋 COCO Park (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

It was a good sign to see little nugget back on his feet this week. Man, the last two weeks after his surgery had been a nightmare for him and everyone concerned. I’m sure his wounds hurt like hell. His facial expression said it all.

So this Shenzhen trip was long overdue. He told me he felt like he hadn’t been here in ages. The fact was, it had only been less than three weeks.

After a long stroll through One Avenue (卓悦中心), we were ready to head back to COCO Park to wrap up our trip. Just before a quick supper, little nugget spotted Azabuya (麻布屋), a Japanese café that also doubles as an ice-cream parlour. His eyes immediately lit up when he saw the ice-cream bar.

Weeks ago, he was holding my hand very lightly, telling me how painful he’d been in the hospital after the surgery. Today, he was holding my hand firmly, asking me to get him a scoop of ice cream. I immediately said no, telling him he shouldn’t get just one scoop. He needs three. 🤣🤣

I have to admit, Shenzhen is a lousy place to look for a truly nice scoop of gelato. The cookie-and-cream wasn’t bad, but the lychee and peach ones both had too much sharp sweetness and acidity. It definitely served the purpose — thirst-quenching on a hot summer day but it didn’t wow me with the creamy texture I expected.

No complaints from this fella, though… obviously.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop 107, Level 1 COCO Park, 268 Fuhua Road 3rd, Futian, Shenzhen, China

深圳市福田区福华三路268号星河COCO Park 北区一楼L1-107

Closest Metro Station: Shopping Park (購物公園)

Tel: +86 18948785655

Opening Hours: 10:00am - 10:00pm (Sun - Thu), 10:00am - 10:30pm (Fri - Sat)

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/1e/QvNk

Lonely Sukiyaki One Avenue 孤獨的壽喜燒 卓悦中心店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

These days, Shenzhen boasts a rapidly growing Japanese culinary scene, featuring everything from affordable all-you-can-eat hotspots to upscale sushi bars and high-end teppanyaki joints. Considering how obsessed we are with hotpots, there is always an escalating demand for shabu shabu restaurants and sukiyaki counters, both self and chef-serviced. Not surprisingly, one-person-one-pot shabu shabu and sukiyaki are getting more popular by the minutes. And over here in Shenzhen, shabu shabu sets are reasonably priced too, ranging from $70 to $90 a set.

This afternoon, we stumbled upon another new addition to Shenzhen’s hotpot scene — Lonely Sukiyaki (孤獨的壽喜燒) who originated from Shanghai.

Located in One Avenue (卓悦中心), Lonely Sukiyaki offers only three set menus: a pork shabu shabu set for $58, and beef sets priced at $78 or $98, depending on the portion. The one-person-one-pot setup is the obvious highlight reel here, designed to cater to both solo diners and groups.

There are three broth options to choose from: an original sukiyaki broth, a tomato-based broth, and a spicy option that we didn’t bother checking out. Once we placed our order via the QR code, it didn’t take long before our server brought over our broth with the vegetables (cabbage, mushrooms, and carrots) already all in.

The star of the meal, the Australian wagyu beef fillets came in a separate plate.

Tender and well-marbled, they were pretty mouthwatering though I only wish there were a few more slices.

As with the bowl of steamed rice, you can refill the vegetables freely as long as you’re still in the mood for more.

Overall, this was a pretty decent meal, especially considering the value-for-money price. The sukiyaki broth was lighter than what you’d typically find in Japan, and I wasn’t surprised at all, given how minimal the seasoning tends to be north of the border.

All in all, I enjoyed the experience and wouldn’t mind coming back for more.

Food Rating: 5.6/10

Price: ¥¥

Address:  Shop B1111, Level B1F One Avenue, Fuhua Road, Futian, Guangzhou, China

深圳市福田区福华路卓悦中心商场B1层 B1111号铺

Closest Metro Station: Gangxia (岗厦)

Tel: +86 19866154116

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 9:00pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/5b/5ivM