Tova by Paulo Airaudo (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★★☆

My quest for some of the best basque cheesecakes in Southern China has taken me north of the border this afternoon. After a healthy stint of game time at Coastal City Shopping Mall (海岸城購物中心), I took a leisurely walk over to Shenzhen Bay MixC (深圳灣萬象城) for a sweet treat I have been looking forward to for a while.

My destination was Tova, an upscale Spanish restaurant and dining concept by celebrated Chef Paulo Airaudo who’s also behind two Michelin starred Restaurant NOI in Hong Kong.

It was around 5pm so the main dining room was still in prep mode.

It was a little warm this afternoon but I was more than happy to sit outside at the bar area.

Basque cheesecake (¥58) — Nice, wobbly custardy texture similar to the one I had at EN Coffee last week.

I love that melt-in-the-mouth sensation, the kind that makes every bite pure joy. Compared with most Basque cheesecakes I’ve tried here, where the flavors can be a little subtle, this one tasted rich and satisfying without being overly cheesy. Definitely the best I’ve had in Shenzhen so far.

And there's that hugely underrated strawberry sauce to go with the cheesecake.

I still have another couple of hours to kill before my train ride. Fortunately, I am at one of the most spacious shopping complex in Shenzhen where there’s no shortage of interesting shops to explore.

Food Rating: 7.1/10 (Based on the Basque cheesecake)

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop CB134, Zone C Shenzhen Bay MixC, 3213 Keyuan South Road, Nanshan, Guangzhou, China

深圳市南山区粤海街道海珠社区科苑南路3213号深圳湾万象城C区CB134号铺

Closest Metro Station: Houhai (后海)

Tel: +86 19925390859

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/ce/7KgM

T-yoogee PAFC Mall 平安金融中心店 (Shenzhen, CHINA) ★★★★☆

My relaxing afternoon in Shenzhen is about to draw to a close but I still have one last destination to visit before my trip back home.

Last night, while searching for an afternoon tea spot in Futian, I came across T-yoogee, a newly opened European restaurant/Spanish tapas bar at PAFC Mall (平安金融中心), specializing in tea (more like coffee), brunch, grill, and more. Raving reviews have been flooding in from social media, especially Dianping (大众点评), so I thought it was worth the stop.

I arrived at T-yoogee slightly after 5pm and found the place buzzing. Judging from people flashing their cameras and taking selfies of their snacks, I guessed that they were mostly KOLs enjoying a new restaurant opening.

Black sesame oatmilk (黑芝麻燕麥奶) (¥28) — I had absolutely zero interest in any of the fruit teas on the menu so I went with this one. It was very milky with subtly rich black sesame flavors. A comforting hot drink perfect on a chilly afternoon in Shenzhen.

Carabinero prawn and ham (紅魔蝦火腿小吃) (¥39) — Thin slices of Spanish ham and a Carabinero prawn tail resting on a bed of savory mayo and butter brioche. This wasn't bad for the price, but I thought they could do much better. First and foremost, the mayo could have been infused with something from the sea to elevate the prawn — perhaps prawn bisque or sea urchin. That would have really been a nice finishing touch.

Salmon roes mini-toast (魚籽迷你吐司) (¥58) — This is more of a butter brioche topped with a layer of lightly flavored black truffle mayo and salmon roes.

I was expecting a bit of an "explosion" from the roes but that didn’t really materialize.

I like the relaxing vibe of this place. It’s very nice for both solo and group diners to chill out. I just wish there were places like this in Hong Kong so I won’t have to travel so far just for the vibe.  

Food Rating: 5.7/10

Price: ¥¥¥

Address: Shop NLG05B, Level LG PAFC, 5033 Yitian Road, Futian, Shenzhen, China

深圳市福田区福田街道福安社区益田路5033号平安金融中心NLG05B 号铺

Closest Metro Station: Shopping Park (購物公園)

Tel: +86 (755) 8656-6066

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 9:30pm daily

Map: https://j.map.baidu.com/15/oSYk

POCHI-ITO パスタ酒場 ポキイト (Fukuoka, JAPAN) ★★☆☆☆

We were down to our last meal of the trip and decided to return to the trendy One Fukuoka Building in search of one final adventure.

We headed straight to the B1F level, where iiTo TENJIN — a stylish food hall offering everything from gourmet salads to meats and bistro dishes is located. After checking out a few restaurants and bars, we finally set our sights on having supper at POCHI-ITO (パスタ酒場 ポキイト), a pasta and tapas bar focused on Itoshima vegetables and seasonal ingredients.

Tortilla (¥759) – The Spanish omelette was very authentic and very fluffy. Just the way I like it. Solid start!

But the wheels started falling off from here...

Pasta with pomodoro and Itoshima vegetables (¥1,199) – The seasoning was a little on the light side, which was fine as the pasta was nicely al dente. Definitely the most decent of the three pastas we ordered.

Pasta with lemon cream sauce, salmon, and green onion (¥1,529) – The sauce was a little lemony and zesty, and the dish came without the savory notes to balance it out. Didn’t finish this one.

Napolitan (¥1,309) – A bit heavy-handed with the seasoning. For me, a little salty without the usual sweetness from a Japanese-style Napolitan. And this is supposed to be the easiest pasta to make. 

Well, we didn’t want to have more Japanese food on our final night in Fukuoka and it obviously backfired!

Food Rating: 4.4/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: B1F One Fukuoka Building, 1-11 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka, 810-0001 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Tenjin

Tel: +81 (0)92-401-6060

Website: https://www.pochi-ito.com/

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

Sazae お料理 サザエ (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

We had a pretty eventful day exploring some of the main attractions in Kyoto. Like we always do, we wrapped things up just before dinner time to avoid the crowd so by 6:30pm, we found ourselves at HEP FIVE in Osaka already. Someone was especially happy to be back in Osaka as he's already eyeing some game time after dinner!

Tonight's dinner venue was Sazae (お料理 サザエ), a modern izakaya with a diverse, jack-of-all-trades menu that spans from sushi and sashimi to pasta and even Spanish paella.

The two-story izakaya boasts an open kitchen and counter tables on the ground floor.

We took the elevator up to the second floor where a more comfortable dining space awaits. The ordering here was done via a QRCode so that was easy for us Hongkongers to navigate.

Sable fish with Saikyo miso (1,080 yen) – Mom wanted something simple tonight and this was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Crab cream croquette (480 yen) – One of the highlights of the night. These croquettes were filled with a rich, creamy crab mixture and mashed potatoes, paired beautifully with a shrimp bisque sauce. They were so good, I ended up ordering two just to make sure everyone got a hand on it.

Sea urchin carbonara (1,280 yen) – Always a crowd-pleaser when you have creamy sea urchin and pasta together. The pasta itself was decent, though the sauce tasted more like egg yolk than uni, which was a bit of a letdown.

Sushi platter (1,680 yen) – Some sushi for Jelloman. A shame that some of the sashimi like scallop were already sold out.

Paella-style clay pot rice (1,680 yen) – This came when everyone was already done. Despite its appearance, it didn’t taste much like a traditional Spanish paella. Aside from the yellow rice and seafood, it lacked the characteristic flavors we were expecting from a typical paella.

I didn't have the energy to snap photos of everything we ordered tonight. But I could tell you this, there were a lot of hits and misses (croquette was a hit and the rice definitely a miss). Service was also just borderline OK but I guess it's partially the language barrier. None of the servers here really speak any English but hey, this place is not meant for tourists anyways! 

Food Rating: 5.6/10

Price: ￥￥

Address: 4-29 Komatsubaracho, Kita-ku, Osaka, 530-0018, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Umeda / Higashi-Umeda

Tel: +81 (0)6 6766-4620

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 1:00am (Sun - Thu), 11:30am - 2:00am (Fri - Sat)

 

Two Soon Cafe (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

It’s been two weeks since I last checked in on mom so I decided to give her a ping on Friday to see what she’s been up to during my time in Taiwan. Not surprisingly, she’s been busy with her favorite soap opera from China. To get her out of the house, I thought I should date her for lunch on Saturday.

I was looking for a place near her and the striving restaurant scene there certainly didn’t disappoint. Two Soon Cafe was the first restaurant I spotted on my research thanks to its elegant exterior.

It’s apparently a cafe and restaurant in the afternoon and bar at night.

The dessert menu was certainly an interesting one but I would leave it for another day.

Vodka rigatoni with crab meat ($138) – It took more than 30 minutes to arrive (I wonder why as we were one of the only three tables there). I thought this would remind me of the spicy vodka rigatoni I had at Carbone a while ago but it didn't close. The rigatoni here was noticeably overcooked and to make matters worse, the tomato-based sauce mixed with vodka had nearly dried up.

Food Rating: 4.2/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 324 Sai Yeung Choi Street North, Prince Edward, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Prince Edward

Tel: +852 6591-6201

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 10:00pm (Tue - Sun)

Enye エニェ (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Hidden in the quaint business area of Sakaisujihonmachi (堺筋本町), Enye (エニェ) is a modern Spanish restaurant serving up tapas-style food, arroz, plancha-grilled meat and more. The cozy little restaurant by owner-chef Hirotomo Sunada has been a Michelin starred restaurant since 2022.

I got a glimpse at the counter tables with a small lounge beautifully furnished by antique furniture. But with little nugget joining us today…..

It would be better that we had the comfort of dining in a private room, behind closed doors.

Some Spanish finger food to kick off the prix fixe menu, first with a “Christmas tree” crafted using Idiazabal cheese, a pressed cheese made from sheep milk.

Quail thigh confit Provence style on a bed of ratatouille (Vegetables provencal). A little bit of French here.

A trio of oysters cooked in a flavorful onion sauce. Thought the sauce tasted a bit like champagne sauce the French cuisine.

My favorite from the four, sole and Jyoshu white leek served on a crispy flatbread with a tangy anchovy sauce and fresh chives. Lovely.

Our first starter was a thick beef broth simmered with seasonal vegetables. There were

vegetables like cabbage, carrot and broccoli, with the flavors enhanced by some chopped ham. The broth was obviously rich yet not too savory (or salty), which we all thought was perfect to be served on a cold winter day like this.

At this point, some homemade bread was presented to us along with some extra virgin vinegar.

Next, we had some lightly cooked squid cubes served and sheets of spinach served in an intensely rich spinach foam. This was the first dish that I truly saw the contemporary touch of the chef. 

I love the texture profile of the dish. The squid were nice and crunchy, forming an impressive match with the spinach.

Our meat dish was Japanese Wagyu steak paired with mashed cabbage cake.

I thought the steak fairly delicious though it came with some tendons. (We probably didn’t need to knife though as most of us managed to finish it with two bites).

Our last savory dish was Spanish baked rice with monkfish and clams. 

I expected this to be packed with flavors the traditional way but sadly, that wasn’t the case.

Dessert was cold Kogyoku apple soup with honey ice-cream on top.

The tart sweetness and juiciness of the Kogyoku apple meshed brilliantly with the honey ice-cream. 

Always have time for a nice cup of tea.

Food Rating: 6.4/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 1-6-3 Azuchimachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 541-0052 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Sakaisujihonmachi

Tel: +81 (0)50 3503-1420

Website: http://www.enye.jp/

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

Uno Mas Spanish Restaurant & Tapas Bar at Centara Grand (Bangkok, THAILAND) ★★★★☆

After a pretty eventful morning that included a breakfast buffet and some exercise (Jelloman and little nugget went swimming while I hit the gym), we were all set to go out for lunch. Since we will be spending much of the day near Siam Paragon and CentralWorld, I had to make sure that our lunch also took place in the proximity.

With little one joining our trip, it would be impossible to dine at some of these renowned rooftop restaurants due to age restrictions so I am picking a place with a skyscraping view for today’s lunch instead. This way, at least we could get some photos of Bangkok’s skyline from up high.

Perched on the 54th floor of Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre just a floor down from the iconic Red Sky Rooftop Bar, Uno Mas is a Spanish restaurant and tapas bar serving Spanish and Mediterranean classics with a panoramic view of the city.

Tortilla Española (฿270) – The first dish to arrive was the Spanish potato omelette, a classic from the Spanish cuisine. The crust made with an egg omelette was doing a fine job holding the creamy and slightly runny centre of sliced potatoes and onion in the middle. Not bad.

Iberico ham croquettes (฿270) – Crispy on the outside and soft, creamy inside.

Mushroom croquettes (฿270) – A vegetarian version of the previous croquette made with mushroom here. Didn't get to try it myself.

Uno Mas bravas potatoes (฿210) – One of the restaurant's signature dish and my favorite tapas of all time. They have slightly different interpretation/recipe of this in different parts of Spain. This one was a very nice one with soft and crispy texture, complemented well by the spicy tomato sauce inside the tube and sour cream on top.

Deep-fried calamari (฿450) – The calamari was slightly less "meaty" than I was hoping for but the squid ink aioli did make this a little more palatable. 

Pan-seared scallops (฿900) – Mom loves having scallops so I ordered this specially for her. The scallops were perfectly seared to a golden brown color and I thought the mashed peas and crispy chorizo powder did well to add contrasting textures and flavors to the mix.

Grilled octopus (฿890) – The octopus was missing some nice smokiness from the grill and I thought the paprika mousseline and powder did very little to elevate the flavors of the dish.

Seafood “Mariscos” (฿1,800) – The seafood paella took almost 45 minutes to arrive and by the time it finally showed up in front of us, I was almost ready for dessert. 

The rice was cooked with a seafood-based broth (presumably infused with saffron), along with  capsicum and tomato, but our attention was more on the generous portion of seafood including scallops, prawns, squid, mussels, and clams.

Churros al Nuestro Estilo (฿210) – Some freshly fried churros with what I thought was nutella sauce. A very nice way to end this meal.

A very nice way to end this meal. Just love the smell of cinnamon.

This was a delightful lunch with a scenic cityscape view of Central Bangkok in the backdrop. As anticipated in “The Land of Smiles”, service was impeccable led by our server Poppy who took great care of us throughout the meal. However, one shocking aspect of the dining experience today was the restaurant's emptiness, despite the exceptional view, top-notch service, and quality of food. This lack of patrons may be a reflection of the ongoing struggle of the tourism industry to return to pre-pandemic levels.

Food Rating: 6.1/10

Price: ฿฿฿฿

Address: 54/F Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre, 999/99 Rama I Road, Pathumwan, Bangkok, Thailand

Closest BTS Station: Siam / Chit Lom

Tel: +66 (0) 2100-6255

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 11:00pm daily