Restaurant Noi (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

A couple weeks ago, Michelin announced its annual list of starred restaurants for Hong Kong and Macau, and there were a few clear winners there including Cristal Room by Anne-Sophie Pic, which I had the pleasure of visiting before Chinese New Year. But I thought the biggest winner this year has to be Restaurant Noi who further cemented its place as an elite force in the city's fine dining scene by capturing its second star in just its second year of existence. Not too shabby huh?

Since I have never been to Noi personally, I decided to pick up my phone and make a reservation. Finding a partner-in-crime was easy. As Jelloman hasn't done much fine dining of late, she was all too happy to push little nugget aside and join me on a date.

I have requested two seats at the counter table thinking we would be joined by others; but to my pleasant surprise, we got the entire table all to ourselves. 

The man behind Noi ("us" in Italian) is celebrated Argentinian chef Paulo Airaudo best known for his Michelin-starred restaurant Amelia in Basque Country of Spain, which also has its Hong Kong outpost at Harbour City. At age 18, he left his hometown chasing a dream and ended up working all over the world, from Mexico and Peru to Europe where he worked at some of the most prestigious kitchens like Arzak in San Sebastián, The Fat Duck in London and Magnolia in Italy. Noi, his Asian flagship, serves a brand of contemporary Italian cuisine which is highly ingredient-driven. As some would say, if you enjoy eating seafood, this is the place to be!

I like the way that they cut the chase and go straight to the first cold starter after showing us the ingredients from our tasting menu.

Teardrop peas, black abalone – The tasting menu was kicked off by a few cold starters with the first one featuring grilled teardrop peas and firefly squids, served in a black abalone consommé. The peas provided a burst of refreshing flavors to start off the meal but there was a tad too much saltiness in the consommé for me.

Sicilian tuna, "Kaviari" Kristal caviar – The tried-and-true combination of toro-grade tuna tartare, dashi jelly (made with tomato, shiso and kombu) and Kristal caviar worked beautifully together. 

It’s my first experience with tuna from Sicily Italy and I thought based on the incredibly velvety texture, I won’t have noticed the difference between this and the top graded toro from Japan. The wasabi cream hidden in the middle did a great job adding some extra kick to the mix.

Norwegian scallop, champagne, walnuts – There were some really nice smoky flavors from the scallop.

The champagne sauce, I thought was pretty intense, but it meshed well with the walnut oil and hint of lemon for a well-rounded finish.

Shima aji, blood clams, turnip – Following two dishes with strong flavors, we were due for something refreshing and soothing to the palate.

This was exactly what the doctor ordered. Slices of shima aji were matched with Japanese turnip, blood clams and Okinawan sea grapes, finished off elegantly by the freshness of tomato water essence.

Hokkaido red uni, king crab, Iberico pork consommé – The chawanmushi topped with red uni from Hokkaido, king crab meat and herbs, was completed by a good pour of black pork consommé. This reminded me a little of the chawanmushi I had at Logy a few months ago. A very similar type of consommé with some herby and grassy notes which I wasn’t a very big fan of.

Bread – Just when they were serving up the lobster dish, our server brought along their homemade brioche which was really pillowy and fluffy. The bread was accompanied by a sea salt butter which was very light, and extra virgin olive oil from Florence. Of course, I preferred dipping the brioche into the flavorful sauce from the lobster dish. That was a very good match.

Scottish blue lobster, Hokkaido pumpkin, Nduja calabrese – The dish that I’ve been secretly looking forward to. I have seen it from different sources in the social media including the press release from the Michelin guys so I took it as a hint that it’s a signature dish.

With the Hokkaido pumpkin purée and beurre blanc in the backdrop, the grilled Scottish blu lobster looked as if it was sitting firmly on top of a sunny side up egg.

The blu lobster was impeccably executed with a nice, springy texture. The pumpkin and beurre blanc added some creamy texture to the lobster and Japanese puff rice brought some lovely crunch to the dish. A very enjoyable seafood dish.

Japanese wagyu, asparagus, beetroot – The A5 wagyu was well-marbled, perhaps a little too well-marbled for me as I always wanted more meat to chew on and this slice of fillet quickly melt in my mouth. I did enjoy the company of Italian green asparagus, pearl onions and beetroot purée.

Pasta alla chitarra, gambero di mazara, vin Jaune – The al dente pasta was beautifully done with small chunks of raw red prawns on top. A slightly cheesy vin jaune sauce delivered the final finishing touch.

Our palate cleanser was shiso ice-cream with sea salt, olive oil and vinegar. The savory-sweet flavor along with some fruity acidity really helped to get our palates ready.

The Flan, Hokkaido sweet potato – The first dessert was a light and delicate flan made with sweet potato from Hokkaido and caramel ganache. 

"Kaviari" Oscietra caviar, XO Rum gelato and mole – It was followed by the second dessert, a scoop of homemade rum gelato served with the Mexican mole sauce. The housemade mole sauce added with grilled banana to tone down the spicy notes, was meshing well with the rum and saltiness of the caviar. A well-balanced dessert with very complex flavors.

Some petite fours, including a fresh strawberry and melon dusted with mint powder, both served on ice.

Lemon pie.

A "Star War" themed Whiskey gum.

It was a memorable two-hour journey from start to finish. I like the way that you were set up at the counter table. Watching the chefs go to work, smelling the fragrance from the open kitchen (mostly from the charcoal grill) and having the privacy/space for the two of us, it was almost like private dining. Some of the dishes were innovative and for a seafood lover like me, the seafood-laden menu was quite a treat. Dessert provided a few more highlights and instagrammable moments for us. Needless to say, we will be happy to come back to Noi anytime.

Food Rating: 7.9/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 5/F, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong

Tel: +852 3196-8768

Opening Hours: 6:00pm - 11:00pm (Mon - Sun), 12:00pm - 3:00pm (Sat - Sun)

De nuit (Taipei, TAIWAN) ★★★★☆

De nuit ("By Night" in French) is the venue of my second serious dining experience on this brief 36-hour get-away trip to Taipei. I honestly don’t know much about the contemporary French restaurant other than that it has been awarded a Michelin star for three straight years since 2021.

Located on buzzy Xinyi Road, De nuit is decorated with a moody interior of grey and blue color. On top of their 6-course tasting menu were optional pairing with wine (NT$1,500) or non-alcoholic drinks (NT$1,000). I didn’t want to stuff myself too much knowing that there will be another big meal coming up tonight so I gladly declined the pairing option.  

First up were a trio of nibbles to kick off the meal. The theme here was "an ode to the Forest” and my server quickly poured in some liquid nitrogen for some stunning visual effects.

    

I first started with a crispy wafer, check that two crispy wafers made with Jerusalem artichoke with creamy artichoke purée, sherry vinegar and coffee powder sandwiched in between. This came with very interesting flavors and textures.

It was followed by a beer battered vension ball with a centre of vension confi and pink pepper, sprinkled with porcini powder on top.

But my favorite nibble was the final one, a tartlet made with snow crab meat, sea urchin and cauliflower purée, finished off brilliantly with a bit of lobster consommé. This was very tasty and I thought the size was definitely more than just a single bite (which was certainly a good thing).

Now that they have gotten my attention by setting the bar a bit higher than what I have expected, let's see if they could deliver......

Salmon, ricotta cheese, citrus – A very busy dish center around slices of fresh salmon which has been marinated with sea salt for seven hours. There were a lot of herbs (like parsley and chai), fruits (orange, grapefruit, passion fruit sauce) and vegetables (tomato, candied turnip) in play with different degrees of sweetness and acidity; and the mix of flavors combined well with the contrasting textures to create quite a satisfying mouthfeel. A very refreshing dish that really helped to fire up my appetite (fire up my senses too with the colorful presentation!).

Artichoke, Comté, hazelnut – The dumplings topped with Comté cheese, came filled with artichoke purée and smoked bacon in the middle, and was matched with a flavorful sauce made from beef reduction and hazelnut oil. Since artichoke and hazelnut were two of the main ingredients here, it was only fitting that the garnish was also made with an artichoke chip and hazelnut.

This was certainly not bad but if artichoke was the star here, it didn't really stand out.

Milk fish, fennel, chorizo – We quickly moved onto our fish course and today's market fish was local milk fish (虱目魚), charcoal grilled and served with asparagus leaves, chorizo, fennel, garlic purée and pearl onions. I love the nice finishing touch delivered by the umami-rich sauce made from lobster coral and turnip. That tasted a bit like a lighter version of our Chinese oyster sauce (蠔油). 

Lumina lamb, bell pepper, aubergine – The succulent Lumina lamb from New Zealand, was pan-fried and paired with delicate eggplant purée.

The sauce made with reduction from the lamb, olive and bell pepper helped to balance the gaminess of the lamb.

Persimmon, pumpkin, Oolong tea – The first of the two desserts and one of my many favorite dishes this afternoon. I love persimmon in a French dessert and this is as well-designed and executed as it gets. Underneath the thin sheets made with pumpkin were persimmon jam, compote, and herbs.

I really enjoyed the fine details of this dessert. The tiny little oolong tea jelly on the corner of the pumpkin sheet delivered some lovely fragrance to the mix and the liquid nitrogen persimmon ice-cream added a refreshing touch. Impressive~!

Chestnut, truffle, caramel – The second dessert was a crispy tube filled with chestnut purée, truffle ice-cream, caramel sauce and ice-cream.

This reminded me a bit of the iconic dessert from now defunct Cuisine[s] Michel Troisgros in Tokyo featuring meringue tubes with walnut ice-cream and hazelnut cream.

Another cup of tea for me, a sign that I'm really chilling out and having a relaxing time.

Mignardises were buckwheat mochi and grapefruit tart; both were very delicate. 

Last but not least, a cucumber champagne bon bon to wrap up this sensational meal. 

De nuit was my final booking for this trip and I was truly blessed to have it as part of my itinerary. The icing on the cake was the special visit from Chef Kei Koo (古俊基), a home-grown talent from Hong Kong who honed his skills at Amber and Ecriture. I was really impressed with his passion for cooking and his inspiration was simply phenomenal. I am already thinking about the potential timeline for a return visit.

Food Rating: 7.7/10

Price: $$$

Address: No.175, Section 4, Xinyi Road, Da'an District, Taipei, Taiwan

Closest Metro Station: Xinyi Anhe

Tel: +886 2-2700-1958

Website: www.denuit.com.tw

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 3:00pm (Fri - Sat), 6:00pm - 10:30pm (Tue - Sat)

Gastronomie Joël Robuchon Ebisu (Tokyo, JAPAN) ★★★★★

I could have waited until the last few days on the trip to have this meal. But forget about the wait, it's Christmas. It's never too early to celebrate Christmas so let's kick off this journey in Tokyo with a bang.

We got a little tangled up at the hotel this morning. Part of the reasons was the extra time we spent on dressing ourselves up, and sharing a single bathroom certainly didn't help.

Château Joël Robuchon has become synonymous with haute cuisine in Tokyo over the years. It was the first number I called when I got our flight tickets back in November. Although they were fully booked on 23, 24 and 25 Dec, I was able to find ourselves the last table on 22 Dec.

Once we checked ourselves in at the reception, the staff here took over our coats and escorted us to the second floor where a culinary journey at three-Michelin starred Gastronomie Joël Robuchon awaits.

We were first started with a small basket of mini-bread. This included a black truffle brioche, charcoal milk bun and pumpkin bread.

Le Cigare – While we were munching on our mini-bread, our amuse bouche was ready to be served. The beautifully decorated cigarette was a crispy biscuit rolled into the shape of a cigarette with fillings of cream cheese and black truffle ashes. I was amazed with the chefs' attention to details which included the tiny condiments on top of the cigarette in the form of cauliflower and Japanese vegetables emulsion.

Le Caviar Impérial – Just when everybody was still in a state of uncontrolled excitement (excited to be in the luxurious dining room of Gastronomie Joël Robuchon and excited about the amuse), our server unexpectedly arrived with our first starter. And talk about wasting no time to make a strong impression. It's the longstanding signature dish from Joël Robuchon.

The small tower of Sologne imperial caviar and crab meat, topped elegantly with gold foil, was served up on a layer of crustacean jelly and light cauliflower cream.

When even mom tried to bring her phone out for a photo, you knew something was special. And this would always be a very special dish in many people's heart. A perfect match of flavors and textures with a harmonious balance. 

L’Oursin – Next up was beautifully cooked sea scallop topped with sea urchin both from Hokkaido. The dish was finished off strongly with melt-in-mouth cheese gnocchi, sautéed baby spinach, squid-ink tuile and a buttery spinach cappuccino. 

Some of us were totally blown away.

Le Homard – Roasted lobster on a saffron flavored fennel mousse perfumed with Pastis was paired with pearl onions, broccolini and green peas. Another very impressive showing from the talented kitchen.

Le Filet de Bœuf – Our main dish was pan-seared wagyu beef served medium rare with fresh black truffle and a touch of pepper.

The succulent beef fillet was complemented brilliantly by a mixed herb salad and mushroom “cake” with French mushrooms and crunchy celery root.

Of course, it won't be complete without Robuchon's killer mash.

La Boule de Neige – Dessert provided another highlight and instagrammable moment for everyone. The sugar ball filled with white cream cheese and strawberry sorbet, was accompanied by fresh strawberries, nuts and a refreshing strawberry coulis.

We cracked the "snowball" open with our spoon and started mixing all the ingredients together. It was nice to have a fruity dessert like this instead of something heavy like chocolate or a soufflé.

The excitement never seemed to end and as soon as the mignardises cart pulled over in front of us, everybody's eyes were glowing with anticipation. This was like a giant treasure box full of goodies.

I had a couple of festive mignardises along with my favorite praline chocolate, vanilla macaron and strawberry marshmallow.

And a nice cup of warm tea to wash them down.

To say that this was a very very good meal would be a huge understatement. The culinary experience provided by the team here was meticulously crafted, taking French fine-dining to an extraordinary level. Every detail, from the impeccable service to the distinctive ambience, was carefully considered to create a harmonious and memorable dining experience. The food itself was exceptional, with exquisite flavors and presentation that showcased the artistry and skill possessed by the chefs. We will sure remember this one for a long long time.

Food Rating: 9/10

Price: ￥￥￥￥￥

Address: Yebisu Garden Place, 1-13-1 Mita, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-0062, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Ebisu

Tel: +81 3-5424-1338

Website: www.robuchon.jp/en/shop-list/joelrobuchon

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 3:00pm (Sat - Sun), 5:30pm - 10:00pm (Mon - Sun)