Jichangxing Crab Roe Noodles 寄畅興·江南蟹黄面 西湖湖景店 (Hangzhou, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

We have a pretty jam-packed schedule in West Lake today so we are not going to have enough time for a proper breakfast. Instead, we will be enjoying Jichangxing's century-old crab roe noodles (寄畅興·江南蟹黄面) right besides the lake.

Crab roe noodles are a traditional specialty from Hangzhou so naturally, we had to enjoy at least one bowl during our stay."

Jichangxing and Fun Loop are both situated right by lake view making them very popular dining spots for tourists and locals alike. Jichangxing, however, does not boast any view from its window.

Crab roe noodles (蟹黃金撈麵) (¥138) – A no-brainer to start off our meal with.

This signature crab roe noodles are made with crab roes and meat from ten crabs (10只蟹一碗的蟹黄面). So eating one bowl of noodles is equivalent to having 🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀!!!

This reminded me of the crab roe noodles I had in Beijing two years ago. That one was made with the crab roes and meat from 12 crabs! Let's not talk about the cholesterol here. 

Longjing shrimp (龍井蝦仁) (¥88) – The shrimps were more on the salty side and I thought the portion could've been a little more generous for $88!

Crab roe xiaolongbao (純蟹粉小籠) (¥48) – Obviously, this is a place more touted for its noodles and not its xiaolongbao. Definitely a dish I could do without.

Once again, this just proves that with today’s food & beverage market trends, you don’t have to be in Hangzhou to enjoy top-quality crab roe noodles. There are places in Beijing and Shenzhen (actually offshoots from their Hangzhou restaurants) I've tried that offers more delicious crab roe noodles.

Food Rating: 5.7/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Xihu Tiandi, 147 Nanshan Road, Shangcheng District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China 

浙江省杭州市上城区南山路147号西湖天地

Tel: +86 13306711357

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

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/63/pRYi

Restaurant NéMo (Tokyo, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

It’s lunar new year today and I’ve planned a small celebration for everyone.

Located on the quiet side of trendy Minamiaoyama (南青山), Restaurant NéMo is a Michelin starred restaurant featuring a seafood-centric menu that showcases fresh, high-quality ingredients. Chef Kenichi Nemoto (根本 憲一) grew up in a fisherman family and is best known for his expertise in seafood dishes and deep appreciation for Japanese and French culinary techniques.

Kids are not allowed in the main dining room so the only way for little nugget to enjoy his Chinese New Year meal here was inside the private room.

Hairtail – The hairtail fillets were delicately grilled for a mere 5 seconds to preserve its tender, stringy texture. They were served on a bed of root vegetable salad featuring lotus roots, potatoes and yam, all brought together nicely by a refreshing yuzu dressing. A wonderful start to the meal. 

Some homemade bread made with flour from Hokkaido and yeast which has just come straight out of the oven so it was still piping hot.

Oyster – The oysters were matched with a homemade fish “cake”, chopped vegetables and Japanese yam, and finished off with a nice pour of lemongrass-infused clam soup.

The oysters were incredibly fresh bursting with vibrant briny flavors but I thought the broth was a little too intense with flavors from the lemongrass.

Monkfish – The seafood feast continued with monkfish wrapped by a thin sheet of crispy bacon.

This was nicely topped by an array of vegetables including cauliflower and broccoli, tied up nicely by a relatively subtle Mexican-style sauce made with chili peppers.

Abalone – We got a glimpse of our abalone before they started getting it off the shell.

This was an off-menu dish that we decided to splurge on and it was well worth the price tag. 

The charcoal-grilled abalone offered a lovely crunch and natural sweetness, beautifully complemented by an umami-rich sauce made from its liver. Brilliant!

Kinmedai – The fish course was pan-seared kinmedai prized for its tender flesh and subtle sweetness. Apparently it has been meticulously seared skin-side down allowing the delicate scales to puff and crisp up into a golden, wafer-thin layer, adding a textural contrast to the buttery meat.

It was paired with a mushroom sauce, diced vegetables and fried onion.

Kato pork – Our run of seafood dishes ended here with Kato Pork from Kuruma where the pigs are exclusively fed with apples and potatoes, imparting a distinct natural sweetness to the meat.

The superbly cooked pork came with the perfect proportion of skin, fat and flesh resulting in an exceptional texture that was both tender and satisfying.

I could definitely taste the fruity sweetness from the rich and succulent Kato pork.

Chocolate soufflé – While I am not a diehard fan of soufflés, I love having one every now and then. This was a perfectly executed chocolate soufflé filled with runny hojicha ganache.

The acidity of the yuzu ice cream did well to cut through the richness of the soufflé.

A small petite four in the form of a canelé put a remarkable finish to the meal. This has apparently been spiced with rum.

Very nice, crispy crust holding a soft centre that was soaked up in flavors from the rum (more so than the crust).

My first cup of tea in the year of the Snake. 🐍🐍

Today, we were treated to a very impressive seafood-centric meal at Restaurant NéMo. Spanning over a decade of experience working in some of Tokyo's finest kitchens including Les Créations de NARISAWA and Quintessence, Chef Kenichi Nemoto expertly combines Japanese and French culinary techniques, utilizing high-quality ingredients sourced locally. The meal was a remarkable showcase of innovation, finesse and precision at the highest level, sending us off on a high note to kick off the new year.

Food Rating: 8.2/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 6-15-4 Minamiaoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Aoyama

Tel: +81 3-5962-6085

Website: https://restaurantnemo.net/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 10:30pm (Tue - Sun)

Luke's Lobster Omotesando Cat Street (Tokyo, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

We were not planning to have our usual lobster roll at Luke's Lobster following our shopping spree at Cat Street. Yeah right!?

None of us could resist the temptation of Luke's lobster rolls.

They have these new Japan-only lobster rolls with sea urchin on the menu now. 

But no, as purists, we were just going to have their simple lobster roll (1,980 yen) as usual. I thought the bun-to-lobster ratio was again perfect. There was plenty of meat in every bite and that, along with the buttery toasted brioche shone through brilliantly.

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: BARCAビル 1/F, 5-25-4 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Omotesando

Tel: +81 3-5778-3747

Website: https://www.flavorworks.co.jp/lukes-lobster

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 8:00pm (Mon - Fri), 10:00am - 8:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Minmon Feast Art Seafood Zizao Buffet Nanshan 銘門盛宴 藝術海鮮姿造 南山店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★★☆

My friend Ben Sir and his wife are in charge of picking the dinner venue tonight. Knowing that we are in very good hands, I am just going to sit back, relax and enjoy this meal. Approaching late afternoon, we finally found out that we would be heading to Minmon Feast Art Seafood Zizao Buffet (銘門盛宴 藝術海鮮姿造) for seafood buffet. Minmon is a big F&B group with high-end restaurants all over China and this is their Shenzhen flagship right in the heart of Nanshan not too far from where we were staying.

Minmon Feast Art Seafood Zizao Buffet is hidden on the 7th floor of a commercial building. As we emerged from the elevator, I was joking with Ben Sir that it felt more like we were going to a KTV.

Yes, I got the seafood theme now.

They have a very nice VIP area as well as private rooms but the main dining hall would suit us just fine tonight.

Before we left our seats to get ourselves the first batch of seafood, we were each presented with a bowl of shark's fin soup. This had a big fish maw floating on top. 😍😍

I found a tiny section in the super-spacious food area dedicated to different kinds of meat. This included some thick-cut beef sirloin, lamb and more.

But the calling cards of Minmon has always been their seafood and we had our sights set on the seafood section already starting with the live Boston lobsters.

Each guest could only get half of a lobster per trip. So, all of us were prepared to make countless trips to the seafood station tonight.

While the live lobsters required a bit of work from the chefs before they were ready, the rest of the seafood including abalones, clams, oysters and prawns were all sitting there ready to be scooped up.

I got myself a bucket of live abalones. They were HUGE and of course, really fresh.

There were other seafood like spot prawns, mantis shrimps, squid, crab and more from different origins.

Well, none of us held back on our consumption of seafood tonight and because there was no time limit to the buffet, we didn't have to rush through the meal.

We still had time for the assortment of fresh fruits after our 2-hour battle with all the different seafood.

The drink station was one of my favorite ones featuring unlimited supply of soft drinks, beer and freshly squeezed fruit juices. I only wish I could drink more.

This cost an arm and leg for the adults (good deals for kids though) but the great selection of fresh seafood was well worth the heavy price tag. I was hoping to get another chance to come here in the summer again. Our parents are going to love it~

Food Rating: 6.1/10

Price: ¥¥¥¥

Address: 7/F Peng Runda Commercial Plaza, 3368 Houhaibin Road, Nanshan, Shenzhen, China

深圳市南山区后海滨路3368号鹏润达商业广场7楼号

Closest Metro Station: Houhai (后海)

Tel: +86 (755) 8338-8666

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:00pm - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/39/y32J

Xie San Bao Qianhai 蟹叁寶 前海店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I had the pleasure of treating myself to the delectable crab roe mixed noodles at Xie San Bao (蟹叁寶) during my last solo trip to Futian. That has obviously gotten Jelloman's attention and she wanted a piece of the action as well. So, the way we drew up our plan for this weekend was simple. Leave little nugget in the capable hands of our parents and we go for a short trip to Shenzhen with Xie San Bao as our lunch venue. Since Jelloman wanted to visit The "Light of the Bay Area Ferris Wheel (灣區之光摩天輪)" located at the east end of Shenzhen Happy Harbor all in one go, we decided to kick off our journey with a visit to Xie San Bao's Qianhai outpost (蟹叁寶 前海店) which is just a stone's throw from Bao Hua station (宝华站).

Is Xie San Bao a one-trick pony? We are about to find out...

As usual, a small cup of hot ginger tea to start things off. I'm going to leave this until the very end.

Crab roe mixed noodles (蟹黃金撈) – This was what we came for, the restaurant's signature crab roe mixed noodles.

The sauce made with crab roes and crab meat was a little more watery this time around.

Steamed rice with crab roe sauce and abalone (蟹粉鮑魚拌飯) – This was disappointing. The sauce looked very much the same as the one from the mixed noodles but it tasted nothing like it. For me, this was a little bland and the size of the two abalones surely didn't warrant ¥78 (not when the crab roe noodles with crab meat cost ¥98).

Perhaps it was a bit unfair to judge this place by two visits but for now, it appeared more like a one-trick pony to me. Other than the crab roe mixed noodles, there's really nothing on the menu that warrants a return trip.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Gate 3, 1/F Qianhai HOP World, Bao An District, Shenzhen, China 深圳市宝安区前海HOP天地1楼近3号门 (宝华路壹方城停车场出口对面)

Closest Metro Station: Bao Hua (宝华)

Tel: +86 (755) 18126290560

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/23/LpRd