There are few ailments in the world that a block of Valrhona cannot cure.

Just up the road from me. Passed it a million times but only just checked out the inside. Every flavour of chocolate imaginable.

Just thought I'd share these with you

I was lucky enough to not put the contents of these cartons anywhere near my face or mouth. They were simply on display, rather proudly, in a place called "Ice Cream City" in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.

Crab Flavour Ice Cream

I can aaaaalmoooosstttt see this one working. Crab has quite sweet flesh and is often paired with heavy cream to make salads, mousses and stuff. Not sure I'd want to chug down a whole tub of crab-infused frozen cream, but in minute doses this might not be entirely disgusting, which is more than I can say for...

Squid Ice Cream

There must be something about seafood and ice cream that makes lightbulbs flash wildly in the brains of the Japanese.

Abalone Ice Cream

Presumably attempting to capitalise on the massive popularity of squid ice cream, this company goes one better and does Abalone flavour. Abalone has a much more robust, meaty taste than the above two seafood items. It's a small step away from hotdog ice cream or beef stroganoff sorbet, both of which I think I'd rather eat than Abalone ice cream.

Silk Ice Cream

Now you've really lost me. As those of you who regularly chow down on sheets of silk will undoubtedly know, silk doesn't actually have a flavour. I have no idea what this ice cream would taste like, besides of course cream. I like how the most appetising visual they can come up with for "silk" on the lid is the sails of a sailboat. That's right, you too can now enjoy the delicious taste of sail, whenever you want.

Nattou Ice Cream

Obviously made as a joke and only to be eaten as a bet. This may be the world's worst food item. Here's a very old blog entry where I describe what nattou is. Now imagine that, but mixed up with cream, frozen and stuck in a cone for it to drip nattou stink all over your fingers as you gingerly lick at it, grimacing and praying for death. Who would eat this. They must be killed with fire.

Garlic Ice Cream

It does have a cool design though. Since I'm obviously a materialistic, form over function apple-loving fanboy I would probably eat this.

Charcoal Ice Cream

Just think, no more 2nd degree burns from licking those hot embers after the barbecue! What the hell. Behold everyone, the ice cream manufacturer's equivalent of the long tail, in photo form.

But...

That last point was a serious one though, folks. For anyone who reads marketing / brand building books, serving the long tail is one way to be successful in these days of incumbent "superbrands" (e.g. Haagen Dazs) who you have no hope of usurping.

I'm sitting here laughing at the companies making these ice creams, and probably you are too, but their strategy of selling to niche markets is most likely paying off an order of magnitude more than if they tried to enter the market with a "newer, better tasting vanilla!" flavour. Something to think about, that.

No, really

Seriously

That's fermented stinky soy bean. Seriously.

Officially the best Singaporean food in toyko.

Unbelievable. There is a Singaporean place about 2 mins walk from my apartment and I never knew! They lose marks on their CKT for only one measly prawn and putting shimeji mushrooms in it :(

Dinner at home. The secret is in getting the best baguette you can buy. This one was from monsieur Robuchon.

Just spent a few days in HK to get something to eat. Here's what happened.

I love Hong Kong food, but once you get bored of amazing street food and dim sum, it's difficult to know where to take yourself next. Where to get something above and beyond the hearty, fun local fare that - whilst delicious - does somewhat bribe you into loving it with its oil, spicyness and strong flavours (and in some cases, liberal usage of MSG).

There is of course an impressive array of first class hotels serving well-executed food with amazing views (which I am partial to, and had a decent dinner at the Peninsula) but this is also the kind of food that is typical of any big hotel in any big metropolitan city. Indeed one of the new, fashionable places to eat and be seen at in HK is Nobu in the Intercontinental, a restaurant that has sister branches all over the world, including Tokyo.

I'm thankful then, that before I came to HK I watched Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" Hong Kong episode and saw a place called Bo Innovation - where chef Alvin Leung serves up creative interpretations of Chinese dishes using asian ingredients combined with french technique and aspects of molecular gastronomy.

Instantly I knew that I would have to eat there. His restaurant is not landlocked with a fancy hotel, and is even somewhat hidden away down a quiet street in Wanchai, and accessible only by a private elevator. I went with very high expectations and was not disappointed.

In a way I'm glad that I got to experience it like this before his talent inevitably propels the Bo Innovation experience to various locations around the globe and his magical xiao long bao and truffled cheung fun become as ubiquitous as Nobu's black cod.

I was also lucky enough to sit at the chef's table and could therefore watch the preparation as well as chat directly with Leung, who flits effortlessly between being the smiling, funny proprietor standing with a glass of wine talking with customers at the chef's table, to being the head of the kitchen ordering his staff around (who all have chinese chess piece characters embroidered on their whites...) and meticulously plating up dishes for the pass.

I had the chef's menu, meaning a lot of small dishes and no choosing - exactly the way I like things. I opted for a wine-pairing too (totaling some 6 varieties), since it was my last night in HK. I staggered home a very happy man.

Larger version here: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3120/2914996624_365617a82b_b.jpg

1000 year old Egg

No pic because I shoved it in my mouth too quickly.

I felt apprehensive about the Amuse because I'm not a huge fan of preserved eggs. Chef expected this and explained that the lemon "snow" (like a sorbet) on top is there to neutralise the strong ammonia taste and he was absolutely right. As an Amuse it worked brilliantly, the zesty, sour snow wakes you up and you also get a hit of rich, melting egg flavour which leaves your palate buzzing for the next course.

Oyster 2

RIGHT: Fresh oyster topped with a ginger and spring onion sorbet - classic Chinese flavours presented in a modern way.

LEFT: A "taste of the sea" - oyster tofu topped with seaweed. If the primary goal was to make the customer think of the sea it was definitely achieved, the smell of the seaweed was quite strong. Delicious, but I remember thinking it would have been nice to be able to taste the tofu sans seaweed.

Caviar

Again, no pic because as soon as this arrived I shoved it into my gaping maw in one swift movement.

This was a crispy taro ball topped with a warm slice of soft quails egg, with a spoon of caviar on top. Chef noted that it was the most expensive item on the chef's menu and thus "if you drop it, you don't get another one" :) The crispy taro with the buttery caviar was just incredible. I could eat these like popcorn at a movie. If I was a billionaire.

Toro

A piece of high-grade otoro tuna topped with some of Leung's signature dried foie gras (he oven-dries foie gras for 10 days leaving tiny grains of intense foie gras flavour) and freeze-dried raspberry. Presented with some very sharp tweezers with which to eat it with, I assume because it might slip out of the grip of chopsticks quite easily. The foie gras reconstitutes in your mouth and is just amazing with the fatty tuna.

Scallop

Nothing outrageously creative, but it's difficult to fault such a perfectly-seared scallop. The sauce was made with a kind of Chinese liquor.

Xiao Long Bao

Deconstruction of the classic soup-filled dumpling. An impossibly thin skin surrounds a ball of dumplingly soup. Bursts the moment it hits your tongue. One of the most creative presentations on the menu and I watched with a grin as other diners put this in their mouths and instantly smiled from ear to ear, taking care not to open their mouths and dribble soup all over their faces.

Halibut

A tender piece of halibut with a crispy piece of toffee on the side. Halibut is quite a sweet-tasting fish so this worked surprisingly well.

Crab 2

Crab roe souffle topped with aged Chinese black vinegar. I think Leung could take this one step further and make crab cupcakes - the texture is almost there and it might be more fun as a little cupcake you pop in your mouth. My only complaint about this was that it is slightly difficult to eat - you are given a spoon, but the sides of the oven-fresh ramekin are so hot that you can't hold it in place whilst you spoon out the good stuff and the dish is so small that it moves around easily with your spoon. It came partnered with a deliciously crisp starfruit and crab salad.

Pork

Layers of pork that had been slow-cooked for 24 hours, topped with a soft egg yolk that bursts when you poke it. Rich, smoky and sweet - a fine example of pork art.

Beef

Possibly my favourite dish of the meal. Two buttery pieces of wagyu hiding an absolute treasure underneath - truffled cheung fun. Inspired, delicious and I wanted a second plate.

Starch

Fried rice. Except I'm not sure it was fried at all, but the presence of tiny fish eggs that pop on your tongue give the impression of crispness, so in fact in terms of mouthfeel it's even more crispy and fried-feeling than actual fried rice. Again, I couldn't help but smile at the creativity, marvel at the flavour, and pay the chef yet another compliment...

Pre Dessert

You take a hit of red bean powder:

and gulp down a sparkling sesame smoothie (the size of a shot glass - the pic makes it seem huge)

...and end up creating a very familiar Chinese dessert flavour in your mouth. Magic.

Dessert

The sesame dumpling in the middle was filled with melted chocolate instead of the traditional red bean. Impossible to dislike. The meal was rounded off with a kind of deconstructed apple crumble:

Which was like a custardy, appley gooey center surrounded by crumble. Down in one. Delicious and warming, but I think I would have liked to end the meal with something more Hong Kong-ish, or at least in the knowledge that one of the ingredients is local. Perhaps Leung could try doing a crumble with an asian fruit like durian...

All in all though, I was massively impressed.

Alvin Leung is doing a great thing here - he's helping put HK on a more contemporary culinary map. I'm sure his imminent superstardom is going to inspire more local chefs too. He's on the Michelin shortlist and has had inspectors visit - the results come out in December and I wish him and his crew the best of luck with getting a star. However, star or no star, Bo Innovation is absolutely going to be the first place I book when I go back to Hong Kong next time.

More HK pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yongfook/sets/72157607760275167/

Deceptively simple. Blanched in seasoned water and served with oyster sauce to dot around a bit. Fantastically delicious.

With the most amazing, smoky-tasting charred caramelisation on the outside. A contender for the best example of this dish I've ever had.

After a bit of a hiatus, I'm back in the kitchen. Recipe here: http://www.opensourcefood.com/people/yongfook/recipes/cherry-tomato-soup

It's actually pretty damn yum. And freshly grilled.

Pork soup with lots of daikon, carrot and gobo. One of those Japanese basics that I may never grow tired of.

costs a little more than regular delivery pizza, but worth every penny

nom nom nom

http://www.opensourcefood.com

A video I made for http://www.opensourcefood.com about how to make gyoza (small, crimped dumplings that you steam and fry).