My Top 10 Meals of 2015!

It's almost the end of the year so time to reflect on the top 10 meals that I've had in Hong Kong and wherever that I've traveled to this year! Hope everyone has a great start to a brand new year in 2016 and here's to more delicious meals to come!

Tate Dining Room & Bar (Hong Kong)

I've been here twice this year and as one of my favorite restaurants in HK, the 1* Tate Dining Room & Bar never fails to impress where the chef Vicky Lau is best known for her edible stories of French-Asian cuisine and was crowned Veuve Clicquot's Asia's Best Female Chef 2015! The restaurant's intimate and romantic setting is perfect for any type of celebration and I think it offers a really good value for money in terms of the quality and creativity of the food that you get with its gorgeous presentation and surprisingly combination of ingredients. 

59 Elgin Street, Central
Tel: 2555 2172
http://www.tate.com.hk/

Amber (Hong Kong)

Ranked No. 38 on S. Pellegrino's "World's 50 Best Restaurants", the 2* Amber is the only restaurant in Hong Kong to be included on the prestigious list! Located in the Landmark Mandarin Oriental with culinary director Richard Ekkebus at the helm, the restaurant serves French classics with modern twists that takes advantage of Hong Kong's unique position at a global crossroads. The restaurant's signature Hokkaido Sea Urchin is to die for and the Weekend Wine Lunch with 6 courses of food and wine pairing is a fabulous way to spend the weekend for sure!

7/F, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental
15 Queen's Road East, Central
Tel: 2132 0066
http://www.amberhongkong.com/

Greater China Club 大公館 (Hong Kong)

A high end private dining club located in the remote neighborhood of Lai Chi Kok, Greater China Club will guarantee to stimulate your 5 senses with food, wine, art and music! The good news is that the restaurant is open to the public as well which serves traditional Cantonese cuisine by the former executive chef at the 3* The Eight in Macau and exquisitely-made dim sum by an ex-chef from the 3* Lung King Heen. Don't miss the Roast Suckling Pig with perfectly crispy skin and succulent meat which was stuffed with flavorful glutinous rice!

10/F, D2 Place
9 Cheung Yee Street, Lai Chi Kok
Tel: 2743 8055
http://www.greaterchinaclub.com/

Empire City Huaiyang 大都淮揚  (Hong Kong)


With its beautiful "ready for camera" dishes, Empire City Huaiyang is the place to take your family, friends, visitors and business guests if you want to dazzle them with traditional Chinese cuisine that is presented in a modern way! Not only did the food look good, they were also very well-executed with exquisite flavors from its dim sum to the main attraction here - Peking duck.

8/F Convention Plaza Shopping Arcade
1 Harbour Road, Wan Chai
Tel: 2628 0218
http://www.empirecityhuaiyang.com/

Yan Toh Heen 欣圖軒 (Hong Kong)

The 2* Yan Toh Heen in the InterContinental Hotel is probably one of the best places to eat dim sum in HK with beautiful views of the Victoria Harbor and food to match. From the decadent jade utensils to delicate dim sum, the experience was impressive from start to finish including dessert!


Lower Level, InterContinental Hong Kong
18 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: 2313 2323
https://hongkong-ic.intercontinental.com/dining/yan_toh_heen.php

Disfrutar (Barcelona, Spain)

Moving outside of HK, I was definitely blown away by Disfrutar - a restaurant that was started by 3 former chefs from the legendary El Bulli which focuses on molecular gastronomy. I've had molecular gastronomy before but these guys just took it up to a whole new level and I was super impressed with the creativity and execution of the food here - a must-try in Barcelona!

Calle Villarroel, 163
Barcelona 08036
Tel: +34 93 348 68 96
http://en.disfrutarbarcelona.com/

Lasarte (Barcelona, Spain)

Aside from its stiff environment, the 2* Lasarte Restaurant by Martin Berasategui who holds the most amount of Michelin stars in Spain offers impeccable food and service and not to be missed in Barcelona by foodies who wants a taste of Berasategui's gastronomy vision using the best ingredients offered by nature!

Mallorca, 259
Barcelona 08008
Tel: +34 93 445 32 42
https://www.restaurantlasarte.com/en/home-1/

L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges (Lyon, France)

Lyon is the food capital of France and what better place to try traditional Lyonnaise cuisine at its best than at the 3* L'Auberge du Pont de Collonges by Paul Bocuse - a legendary figure and culinary god in Lyon. His flagship restaurant on the banks of Saone has held the coveted 3 Michelin stars since 1965 and serves a traditional menu that hasn't changed in decades so while you may not find the most innovative dishes here, you will be able to experience and appreciate the techniques that made this a 3* to begin with! 

40 Quai de la Plage
69660 Collonges au Mont d'Or
Tel: +04 72 42 90 90
http://www.bocuse.fr/

Sushi-ya (Tokyo, Japan)

Sushi-ya is a cozy 8-seater sushi restaurant run by 28 year-old Takao Ishiyama who has apprenticed at Saito and Kanesaka before opening his own shop last year. The tsumami here was more impressive than its sushi while the value for money is absolutely high with the level and quality of sushi that you get. Watching the chef make the sushi was a performance in itself as his movements are big yet graceful - almost like a conductor at a symphony!

6-3-17 Ginza Chuo Tokyo
東京都 中央区 銀座 6-3-17 悠玄ビル 1F
Tel: +81-3-3571-7900

Saison (San Francisco, US)

Even though the value for money is low due to Saison being the 2nd most expensive restaurant in the US, I think this meal should still be included even it didn't meet the life-changing experience expected for the price. I was still impressed with the meticulous and elaborate efforts in the cooking and prepping of local ingredients as well as the boldness in the choice of ingredients!

178 Townsend St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
Tel: +415 828 7990
http://saisonsf.com/

Well that's it - my top 10 meals in 2015! It was really hard to narrow down to 10 which doesn't really include any cafes, patisseries or desserts that I may not have done a full write-up on the blog so follow me on FB or IG @supertastermel for the latest updates!

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