r/finedining

The dinner at Eika, Taipei has been concluded. First thing first, I would like to talk about the best aspect of the establishment, which is the ambience. Out of 5 places that I have been to in Taiwan that hold 2 stars and above, this is the place that screams high class the most. Designated waiting area with a frame of calligraphy and a wooden table designed in rather avant-garde fashion, the hallway with the dim light and the actual main dining area too. It is really pleasing to look at and feels like that you could bring someone here to impress them. Second thing that I would like to bring up is the service. It was hospitable, clean and attentive, basically something that I would not complain anything about it. Some of the staff members struggled a bit on the English explanation of the menu items, but that did not bother me at all. Considering the fact that there are places with the wait staffs that act like their guests are honored to be presented with their glorious existence, I would much rather be served by the staffs from Eika, even if they were not able to speak any kind of languages that I know. And lastly, the foods. Unfortunately, this is the part that let me down, even though quite a little bit, but certainly. First of all, the execution was really great. For instance, their Sashimi portion contains pieces of sea bass with torched skin. They aged the fish properly and applied the heat on the skin so precise to the point where it brings out the optimal amount the fat contents underneath the skin while maintaining the subtle chewiness of the raw fish, basically the best one I have ever tasted among the same items. Those kind of proper use of Japanese cooking technic could be witnessed from beginning to end. But I felt like, the whole course lacked a bit of ‘wow factor.’ There was nothing that I would have never expected or anticipated from the Japanese cuisine context. There was one item that got so close on that remark which was one of the appetizers. They froze the monk fish liver and shaved it thinly just like the typical chocolate topping on the cake on top of creme brulee’d fig. The closest thing that I experienced was the foie gras ice cream wrapped with the Peking Duck that I had at Tomono, Osaka. Frozen fatty livers actually go extremely well with the sweet fruits and its form being shaved added the extra layer on the texture and the taste itself too. I would like them to show this kind of side throughout the whole course, but unfortunately, it was not the case. I guess it is my personal preference to demand a bit of twist on the genre, so, I think the other person would give a totally different opinion about the courses.

The duration of the meal was approximately 3 hours, with 15 courses including the rice portion and 2 dessert items. Here are the dishes that have been served.

1.Sweet corn, wrapped with the fish roe and deep fried lightly. One bite dish.

2.Uni from Hokkaido wrapping around the ripe persimmon, on top of tofu skin tart. Also a one bite dish

3.Two pieces of sushi. One on the right, lobster and on the left, a sardine. Wrapped with the bamboo shoot.

4.Frozen and then shaved monk fish liver -Ankimo- on top of the fig, slightly torched on surface to bring out the caramelized surface. One of my favorites of the evening.

5.Sui mono, Shiro Amadai soup with the fish meat and black sesame tofu and the broth made out of the fish born.

6.First Sashimi portion, one of the right, Spanish mackerel pickled lightly and on the right, sea bass with torched skin -Tataki’ed-. Also one of my favorites, especially the sea bass. The sauce to be couple with the fishes was made out of aged tomatoes and yuzu, but the taste of tomatoes was quite subtle.

7.Second Sashimi portion, a mackerel, also applied with Tataki method. The sauce here is made out of white miso, vinegar and some chilli. Chilli’s spiciness was a nice kick to the whole thing and I was satisfied with the dish for the exact same reason with the dish number 6.

8.Taro imo, served with squid and kaluga caviar on top. Basically the weakest link of the evening.

9.Grape shrimp and pieces of pineapple served with the 2 different kinds of sauce. One is based on Japanese egg yolk and the other is Jus made out of beef and Japanese soy sauce. Might have been the weakest link, bu the perfect medium rare feels to the shrimp saved the dish, IMHO.

10.Abalone, lotus root and powdered ingredients that I missed the explanation. Beef bone and some kind of a fish roe, I think? Great texture on the abalone’s side, but the rest is bit pale.

11.Tempura, eel, Korean Perilla leaves and chili. Incredibly, done in perfect text book like fashion. Quite typical, but tasted really good. One of my favorites too.

12.Wood fire pigeon. This is my second time having pigeon as a main and this was far better than the first time. The first time was from the 2 star establishment in NYC that I am not going to name, but that was practically swimming in sauce almost impossible for me to appreciate the bird itself. But this one, this one was actually bringing out the ingredient marvelously. Another good one.

13.Rice portion,congee made out of flying fish and Taiwanese avocado.

14.The first dessert, water melon, fashion fruits and the basil sorbet. Served with the sauce made out of cinnamon.

15.The second dessert, pear, salted caramel and homemade milk ice cream

Visited on 15/09/26 with my partner who has several food allergies including ceoliac.

Overall an incredible experience, and probably my favourite so far (only been to 5 or so Michelin starred restaurants, mainly Europe).

The restaurant is part of a boutique hotel near the town of San Pantaleo. We were staying elsewhere and had a hire car - it was a bit of a drive to reach the restaurant with some narrow winding roads going uphill, but so worth it.

The setting is stunning at the top of the hill with a backdrop overlooking the coastline, and perfect if booking around sunset time.

Service was great, friendly and helpful - especially with my partner's food allergies and making her feel comfortable and looked after, yet not treated differently or made to feel like a burden.

One of the main aspects I loved was the flexibility with their menus and being able to pick and chose the dishes we wanted from the various menus. They have 3 different tasting menus (if I remember correctly), 1 of them being the signature dishes, 1 the seasonal, and 1 a vegetarian menu - they also have the option to do a la carte or 2 or 3 courses only.

I can't quite remember the names of the dishes, but I had chosen a few dishes from each menu, and the dishes from the signature menu were definitely the standouts. My partner ended up going for the vegetarian menu. My favourite was the lemon linguine, which was packed full of zingy but deep and rich flavours, I could have eaten 10 more plates of the same dish

Photos of dishes are a mix of mine and my partner's dishes. Highly recommend!

My anniversary is coming up, and I've been watching two very special (and very $$$) restaurants. Like most people, I was planning to choose based on the reviews.

Then my neighbor, who works in the industry, told me some owners pay to have reviews removed through certain apps or services. I didn't believe it at first. But within about a week, every review of three stars or less disappeared from one of the places I was about to book.

My neighborhood also said some chefs invite people in for a fully comped meal in exchange for a five-star review. Honestly, that's embarrassing and a total scam. Regular people save up for months to experience something special, and they're making decisions based on ratings that have been bought or scrubbed. Some restaurant owners seem more focused on controlling what guests say online than on actually improving the experience.

I'm not saying every review is fake, but I no longer take a perfect rating at face value. If you're planning a big night out, look for warning signs like a sudden jump in five-star reviews, a lack of any critical ones, or lots of vague reviews posted close together. Check multiple platforms and ask people you actually know.

Recently came back from a trip to Mexico City and thought I would post a review for Quintonil and other thoughts for places I tried. Overall, I really enjoyed Quintonil.

Description of the photos:

1. You’re sat in a small lobby area after checking in with the host. I had a seating at the kitchen counter for this dinner which had a great view of the kitchen. The head chef Jorge Vallejo was in the kitchen today mostly observing so maybe that helped with consistency of the meal.
2. Chile Relleno - The first two bites came together. The first was a chile de agua with tuna carnitas and wrapped with a scallion. Wonderful first bite.
3. Tomato Tostada - the second bite of the first pair. This is a tostada with lime pickled tomatoes, jicama kimchi, and fennel. It was OK but my least favorite bite of the meal, the tostada seemed a bit stale.
4. Mussel Tartlet - the next two dishes came as a pair. The mussel tartlet is placed on the lid of a bowl. The tartlet is mussels with a mole de mar or a seafood-based mole which added some brininess to the mole - delicious. This was also prepared with a charred onion reduction and chipotle. Tasty!
5. Fried Escamoles - The first course featuring insects, this is served in the previously mentioned bowl. This is fried escamoles, or ant larvae, in the fried ball. You dip the fried escamole ball in the tomato caldillo and guajillo chili sauce which also includes grasshoppers. The escamoles are visible in the fried ball once you take a bite. A great dish.
6. Vuelve a la Vida - Featuring ingredients from Baja - kanpachi, Pionero oyster, blue shrimp from Mar de Cortes. This is Quintonil’s take on a classic coastal Mexican seafood cocktail that’s said to be a hangover remedy. It was alright.
7.  Salad - lettuce from Tepotzotlan, sikil pak, Cuadro cheese, and celeriac bushi. Local vegetables served with a sikil pak dressing which is a Yucatan dish made from roasted pumpkin seeds, chili, and charred tomatoes. Looked great, tasted great.
8. Steelhead Trout - Baja steelhead trout with adobo de chicatana and seasonal mushrooms pickled in fig leaf. The trout was perfectly cooked and delicious. It was topped with an adobo de chicatana made from flying ants from Oaxaca. Great dish.
9. Cactus Sorbet - a nopales sorbet with some black salt, this was a very nice refreshing palette cleanser.
10. Tamale - ayocote beans from Oaxaca with a bit of wagyu chicharron, this was topped with a pair of foams - a young corn and plantain foam and a bean foam. I really liked the corn foam with this dish, would have preferred to just have that instead of the added bean foam but it was interesting to try both. Another good dish.
11. Rib Eye - rib eye with a chichilo negro mole served with charred pico de gallo and huitlacoche (corn fungus). The final main, it was a great dish. This was also served with a small sausage prepared with stinkbugs. This was the final insect ingredient of the meal.
12. Insects - Once the mains are finished, they show you the different insects that were prepared in the dishes - the ant larvae, grasshoppers, flying ants, and stinkbugs. No insects for dessert.
13. Coconut Sorbet - prepared with coconut, plankton, physalis (gooseberries), and topped with caviar. Delicious. The caviar worked well with the coconut sorbet.
14. Mexican Cornbread - cornbread with vanilla from Chichicaxtle and passion fruit. Basically, corn on corn. This was a wonderful last full dessert course.
15. Dulces - final bites of a strawberry tart, a gummy, and some chocolates. These were good but not mind blowing.

I think this was a great meal and the service team was wonderful. I also tried to the non-alcoholic pairing which was OK but not top tier. Overall, I would rank Quintonil as one of the best 2* restaurants that I’ve been fortunate enough to experience.

I think there are three Mexican restaurants in the world that have 2* or more (Californios, Quintonil, and Pujol) and I’ve visited each of them in the last couple of months. I would place Quintonil in the same tier as Califiornios in San Francisco. Quintonil is a lighter meal and less quantity of food while Califiornios focuses more on tacos for mains and is heavier and is a lot more food imo. I preferred my meal at Quintonil, but I think it’s just a matter of personal preference and these are both great restaurants. IMO, Pujol isn’t close to Quintonil and Californios.

Anyways, my other thoughts for fine-dining and related places that I tried but be sure to try normal non-fine dining food too because there's a lot of great stuff in Mexico City:

1. Pujol - like I mentioned above, I wasn’t the biggest fan. I did the taco omakase and the initial few bites were alright, but the taco part wasn’t very good. The first two were OK, but the last one was kind of bad. The dessert was bad, too. The mole dish is good and interesting. The service team was nice and I didn’t see anyone set on fire so that’s good. The space is beautiful and huge, I think this seats the largest number of people I’ve ever seen at a 2* or above level. Maybe there’s just an inevitable consistency issue because of that. The quality of the food here kind of reminds me of my experience with Alinea - the only other fine dining meal that I thought was actually bad.
2. Xuna - Thought it was very good at a great price. Creative and tasty. I think they should have a star. Will probably make a post about this meal. 
3. Pargot - solid, did the a la carte, good deal, and huge cocktails.
4. La Once Mil - very good fancy tacos
5. Expendio de Maiz - fun experience, everyone but the group next to me was a foreign tourist. Food is good.
6. Handshake Speakeasy - good cocktails
7. Form + Matter - really good cocktails, would consider it at the same tier as Handshake, and preferred the drinks I had here a bit more than Handshake. Easy reservation for now.

An incredible meal at Texture, which is one of my favourite restaurants in Copenhagen. It’s at the upper end of 1* places in this city. While on the pricier side, there’s quite a bit of caviar, foie gras, wagyu beef and high end prawns. You can see elements of French, Nordic and International influences in the food.

The æbleskive with unagi was a flavour bomb. The oyster with caviar and vin jaune had the yummiest sauce. The goat cheese course was intense and the chocolate dessert had both power and delicacy. 

It’s an intimate setting and the staff are so warm and hospitable. They’ve got a new head chef as Erin opened her own restaurant in Copenhagen and he recently moved from Toronto.

Came back for another meal at Sazenka - would say we enjoyed it just as much as the last time. There seemed to be a bit more fish throughout the course compared to the first time, and there was also matsutake mushroom in some of the dishes.

The Matsutake fragrance was really strong in the rice they made. It arguably smelt better than it tasted (and it tasted very good). Their signature dish of the pork belly with eggplant was replaced with pork belly with Matsutake mushroom as well during this season.

Some of their signature dishes they kept in from last time, like the char siu and sweet sour pork (although they did vary it from last time in preparation). And always love the mapo tofu at the end of the meal.

The service here is quite good, it’s formal but not overly stiff, and they do chat with you a bit.

Overall really like Sazenka as a restaurant and love that they will personalise the menu for repeat customers (even if you go more than once per season).

Full course:

Green Tea Somen
Abalone and Botan Ebi with Shaoxing Wine
Pacific Saury Spring Roll with Radish
Char Siu
Sweet and Sour Pork with Grape
Kabosu Citrus with Jellyfish and Chicken
Braised Abalone
Buddha Jump Soup
Longtooth Grouper with soy sauce (light grill and steam)
Matsutake Mushroom Pork Belly
Chicken Wing
Pan Fried Shark Fin with Matsutake Sauce
Matsutake Mushroom rice
Turnip
Lobster with Chilli Sauce
Sesame ice cream with fig and fig sauce
Almond Tofu (hot and cold)
Pumpkin dumpling

I had heard great things about Kenny Atkinson’s Solstice but was sadly quite disappointed. The sauces felt overpowering in most of the dishes. Our least favourite course was the fried chicken skin first course which was very heavy and oily. Overall the course felt interesting but not well balanced. It also felt like they were overcomplicating certain dishes in order to make it sound more ‘fancy’ and impressive. One nice thing was that the chef himself would come and present some of the dishes explaining the different steps in the cooking.

Mamani in Dallas is currently hosting a series of chef collabs with a few of Chef De Lellis' friends and colleagues within the industry. We've had the opportunity to go to the two they have hosted so far with the first event featuring plates from both the kitchens of Mamani and Hestia from Austin. These events are taking place at the Mamani terrace, and we've thoroughly enjoyed both. Here are a few photos we took of dishes.

Highly recommend these events as a way to hear more from the chefs and sommeliers involved in the dining experience.

For those looking to try Mamani outside of these special tasting menus, we would recommend getting the Mezcal Murder Oysters and the Dover Sole in Brown Butter (not pictured). Incredibly fortunate for our north Texas area to have this restaurant. I will say DTX has some coming into its own to cultivate Michelin star atmospheres ie being less loud and rowdy in a place where guests might be spending $500+ on a dinner for two. Feels less refined atmospherically than other starred restaurants we have had.