Following on That Food Cray !!! new year’s traditions, we sorted through some of the best things we ate in the past year. The dessert list was released last week and here we are again with the savory list. This wasn’t easy, but here’s are the top 20 CRAYest savory dishes of 2014!
20. Bar do Mané, São Paulo
The thing that won us over in São Paulo was a big fat Italian mortadella sandwich from Bar do Mané! This beast was packed with stacks on stacks of sliced mortadella which is fried on a griddle topped with a layer of melted cheese. Watch as fresh slices of mortadella are sliced, stacked, and then thrown onto a griddle creating a crispy browned crust sandwiched between a simple white roll.
Rua da Cantareira, 306 – Centro
São Paulo – SP
01024-000, Brazil
p: +55 11 3228-2141
19. Oficina do Sabor, Olinda
About a half hour drive north of Recife, Brazil is Olinda, a historical colonial city in Brazil with some of the region’s best northeastern Brazilian food at Oficina do Sabor. Meaning “flavour workshop,” Oficina do Sabor is recognized for stewed seafood and coconut dishes called moqueca which are cooked and served in pumpkins. The pumpkin and coconut sauce was creamy and flavorful with tender pieces of perfectly cooked fish. The pumpkin itself is edible too so make sure you scrape the flesh of that sweet delicious pumpkin.
Rua Amparo, 335 – Amparo
Olinda – PE
53020-190, Brazil
p: (81) 3429-3331
w: oficinadosabor.com
18. Eggslut, Los Angeles
I’m all about that #yolklife. Eggslut has been on my “food” bucket list forever. They got everything from fried, scrambled, boiled and coddled, the menu is dedicated to all eggs everything focusing on next level comfort food. Notoriously known for the “Slut,” which is essential a coddled egg on top of a smooth potato purée, poached in a glass jar and served with toasty crostini. I couldn’t stop eating it and was honestly contemplating taking a few of these Sluts home with me.
317 S Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90013
17. Ibericus, Amsterdam
I went H.A.M. on Iberian ham in Amsterdam. Ibericus is a dope delicatessen devoted to Spanish Jamón ibérico (Iberian ham or pata negra), chorizo, cheese and wine. Initially a chain limited to Spain, Ibericus opened its first international shop in Amsterdam. Ibericus offers the finest collection of Spanish Jamón ibérico differentiated by grade, breed, feed, aging, region, and producer. The store is literally covered floor-to-ceiling ham – legs of ham hanging from the ceilings and plastered all along the walls. There’s also an incredible display of Iberian pig legs with their black hooves protruding out of the counter. Ibericus sells ibérico cut straight from the bone both to eat-in or takeaway serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, takeaway sandwiches, and groceries. This place was one of my favorite shops in Amsterdam and definitely worth checking out.
Haarlemmerstraat 93
Amsterdam, Netherlands
p: +31 20 223 6573
16. CHINO, Hong Kong
CHINO is a restaurant in Hong Kong with a menu that has a clear intersection and familiarity between Japanese and Mexican food. The foundational elements such as tacos, salsas and tostadas are evidentially inspired by Mexican fare. However, as you drill down deeper, the ingredients help further shape the dish through the usages of ingredients and preparation techniques reminiscent of Japanese food. Think tortilla soup made with chipotle dashi, shiso salsa or kewpie-slathered grilled corn. The tostadas are CRAY !!! The Chicken and Egg Tostada consists of chicken tinga, freshly guacamole, topped with a fried egg all on top of a fried corn tortilla. The scallop and uni tostada is unreal too!
1B New Praya Kennedy Town
Sai Wan, Hong Kong
15. Animal, Los Angeles
Animal, it’s exactly what it sounds like. A restaurant for animals, who love to eat other animals; a place where carnivores gather. Everything is centered around meat, a whole lot of rustic, hearty, meaty, dishes made from all types and parts of animals — ribs, legs, wings, belly, tail, head, tongue, ears, liver, marrow, brains, essentially any part of the animal. I have a soft spot for chicken liver and Animal’s was on point; incredibly creamy, smooth yet slightly sweet.
435 North Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036
United States
p: (323) 782-9225
14. Saint John, England
When one thinks of modern British cuisine, St. John’s is arguably one of the most important pillars in this movement. Chalk it up to St. John’s for being one of the important factors in pushing the boundaries of both food and drink. Set in what was once a rundown smokehouse, the stage was set as a British culinary seed was planted. Among the stand-outs was a decadent Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad which was a perfect balance of heavy, rich marrow with the light airiness of a parsley accompaniment. Not a lot to go wrong here with such a well conceived offering.
26 St. John Street
London
EC1M 4AY
13. Pollen, Singapore
Located inside Singapore’s Flower Dome at the Gardens by the Bay, Pollen is one of the most gorgeous restaurants we’ve had the pleasure of eating at. Michelin Star Chef Jason Atherton, executive chef Colin Buchan and pastry chef Monica Kate take inspiration from their surroundings creating a Mediterranean-influenced modern European menu utilizing ingredients grown in the gardens. The shaved cured foie gras with smoked passion fruit, almonds, and muscovado is a must. The foie gras was rich and creamy with crunchy bits of sweet caramelized muscovado and almonds. The passion fruit and chunks of blood orange was also a nice touch balancing out the dish.
18 Marina Gardens Dr
Singapore 018953
p: +65 6557 2797
w: www.pollen.com.sg
12. Ho Lee Fook, Hong Kong
Ho Lee Fook is a new school Chinese restaurant inspired by old school Hong Kong cha chaan tengs (tea cafes) and New York’s late-night Chinatown hangouts from the 60’s. Chef Jowett Yu takes classic Chinese favorites reiterating them into delicious innovative dishes. The roast Wagyu short ribs with jalapeno puree, green shallot kimchi and soy glaze is on a whole ‘nother level.
G/F No. 1-5 Elgin St
Central, Hong Kong
11. Root and Bone, New York City
Run by “Top Chef” contestants Chef Jeff McInnis and Chef de Cuisine Janine Booth, Root and Bone is a new restaurant in New York City focusing on Southern, rural American cooking. Some of the things you’ll find on the menu include cornbread, biscuits, fried chicken and waffles, watermelon salad, meatloaf, drunken devilled eggs and carrot cake. Everything we ordered was executed perfectly, but the fried chicken was unreal – juicy, crispy and finger lickin’ good.
200 East 3rd St.
New York, 10009
10. D.O.M, São Paulo
Recognized with Michelin Stars and ranked one of the world’s best restaurants according to S. Pellegrino, it was awarded 7th best amongst Noma in Copenhagen and New York City’s Eleven Madison Park. I had to see what D.O.M. in São Paulo was all about. Chef Alex Atala is a historian as well as a botanist and is heavily influenced by his discoveries during his trips to the Amazon. Putting ingredients to the test, you’ll find a majority of his inspiration is rooted in Brazil’s majestic rainforest. Utilizing local and indigenous ingredients, Chef Alex Atala educates his diners by highlighting these ingredients using classic cooking techniques and interesting flavor combinations. My favorite dishes were the chilled scallop with coconut milk and brazil nut and Aligot. The scallops were fresh, sweet, and tender coated in creamy coconut milk and finished with fluffy brazil nut shavings. Winning the award for best presentation, the Aligot, a combination of potato blended with butter, gruyere cheese and Minas cheese. The waiter stretches and twists the cheese using two spoons creating the perfect dollop on your place. The cheese is absolutely delicious and has a smooth creamy yet elastic texture.
Rua Barão de Capanema, 549 Jardins São Paulo
SP – Brasil
p: +55 (11) 3062 3634
9. Carbone, Hong Kong
Carbone is hands down the best Italian-American restaurant I’ve been to in awhile hailing from New York City. The menu is broken down by antipasti, zuppa e insalate, macaroni, pesci, carni, and contorni with family style portions meant for sharing. Start with the notorious table-side Caesar alla ZZ, one of the priciest caesar salads, but worth every penny. The Spicy Rigatoni Vodka is crack and worth the visit to Carbone in and of itself. So effing good!
9th Floor
33 Wyndham St
Central, Hong Kong
p: +852 2593 2593
8. Ronin, Hong Kong
Run by the same peeps as Yardbird, Ronin focuses on fish and seafood with a strong Japanese influence. If you love fish, you’ll love Ronin. Chef Matt Abergel knows how to werk his fish and experiments with a plethora of fresh fish, ingredients and techniques cooking up different menus on the daily depending on what’s fresh that day. One of his newest creations is a blue crab dish with tomato miso. The blue crab is fresh, sweet and tastes amazing with the flavorful tomato miso sauce.
8 On Wo Lane, Sheung Wan
p: +852.2547.5263
w: roninhk.com
e: seats@roninhk.mom
7. La Pointe du Grouin, Paris
La Pointe du Grouin is a restaurant in Paris serving food from the North West region of France. This spot is pretty random, but serves affordable and authentic French food. The L’œuf de la Mort literally meaning “The Egg of Death” in French, is to die for, consisting of a poached egg, truffles, and asparagus in an amazing cream sauce. This dish is crack and if I lived in Paris, I’d be eating it on the regular, hence the name of this dish.
8 Rue de Belzunce
75010 Paris
6. Da Wan, Taipei
The one restaurant you need to know about is Da Wan yakiniku. Serving some of the rillest beef ever, Da Wan has been killing the yakiniku game with perfectly marbled slabs of delicious Wagyu beef. Choose from different cuts of beef prepared and cooked to perfection. The “Shabu-shabu” Wagyu beef is unbelievable, thinly sliced, then gently seared and finished in egg yolk.
1F, No.22, 177vLn., Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd., Daan Dist.
Taipei, Taiwan
5. Miznon, Paris
Located in the heart of the Marais in Paris, Miznon is an amazing pita-centric restaurant that focuses on marrying the flavors of Israeli and French cuisine. Conceptualized by Israeli celebrity Chef Eyal Shani, Miznon takes a savvy modern approach of Israeli food fusing Tel Aviv classics with a Parisian touch. Miznon offers contemporary gourmet kosher style Tel Aviv dishes with a spin. Beef bourguignon, ratatouille with hummus, steak & eggs, banana chocolat and tarte tatin are just a few of the unreal pitas Miznon has to offer. The beef bourguignon was absolutely incredible – mad flavorful, super tender and the best pita I’ve ever had. The vegetables were also perfectly cooked adding a subtle sweetness to the pita.
22 Rue des Ecouffes
75004 Paris, France
4. Amber, Hong Kong
Amber is a two Michelin Stars restaurant, ranked 4th and 24th in S. Pellegrino Best Restaurants in Asia and in the world respectively. Trained by world-renowned French chefs such as Alain Passard and Guy Savoy, Dutch Director Chef Richard Ekkebus creates innovative yet unconventional French dishes utilizing the highest quality of seasonal ingredients from both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. One of his strengths is finding ways to perfectly marry French cooking and Asia-pacific seafood as highlighted in a number of Amber’s signature dishes. The best example of this is Amber’s infamous the Hokkaido Sea Urchin dish with lobster jelly, cauliflower puree and caviar served with crispy seaweed waffles. This dish is ridiculously delicious and always comes to mind whenever I crave sea urchin. Amber’s foie gras lollipops with a beetroot and raspberry jelly coating topped with a thin crunchy brioche disk are incredible as well and one of the best foie gras dishes I’ve ever had.
15 Queen’s Road Central
Hong Kong
p: +852 2132 0066
3. Septime, Paris
Septime, should be at the top of your Paris list. Run by Passard-trained chef Bertrand Grebaut, this one Michelin Star restaurant is rumored to be JAY Z and Beyonce’s favorite restaurant in Paris. Bertrand describes his cooking style as “naïve, spontaneous and balanced” focusing on simple seasonal ingredients and French cooking techniques. The menu changes every day with dishes that live for no more than a week. The first dish we had was amazing consisting of sweet creamy sea urchin, pickled white asparagus, a frothy watercress sauvignon and roasted macadamia nuts. This was one of my favorites and I savored each and every bite.
80 Rue de Charonne
75011 Paris
France
p: +33 1 43 67 38 29
2. Jaan, Singapore
I’m obsessed with eggs and one of the most memorable egg dishes I’ve ever had is Jaan’s 55’ Smoked Organic Egg. This 55’ Smoked Organic Egg is cooked for 55 minutes at 64 degrees, served with smoked potato, black truffle, macadamia nuts and a beurre noisette foam or hazelnut brown butter. The flavors are effing incredible and this was possibly the best egg I’ve ever eaten.
Level 70, Equinox Complex, Swissotel The Stamford
Singapore 178882
p: +65 6837 3322
w: swissotel.com
1. Tenku Ryugin, Hong Kong
Sitting pretty on the 101st floor of Hong Kong’s tallest building ICC, Tenku Ryugin is a two Michelin Star Japanese restaurant that originates from Tokyo. Ryugin focuses on creating a traditional kaiseki experience, meaning there is no al a carte menu and a set menu is chosen by the chef based on seasonality of ingredients. This meal was out of this world, but my mind was blown when were presented with this poached Gillardeau oyster wrapped with shabu-shabu Wagyu beef topped with grated celeriac jelly. The oyster was gently poached leaving it slightly rare then wrapped with a beautifully marbled slice of Wagyu beef and sweetened celeriac jelly. Seemingly challenging to eat at first, the oyster was thoughtfully cut into three pieces and assembled back together without showing any signs.
101/F, ICC, 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon
p: +852 2302 0222
