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Originally from Tyrol, Austria, chef Hans Neuner @hansneuner moved to the Algarve 18 years ago. At his two-Michelin-starred restaurant, Ocean @restauranteocean , he explores the local terroir with a personal touch shaped by his extensive travels around the world. The food at Ocean is impeccably executed, thoughtful, and, above all, delicious - certainly worth a special visit.In the pictures:- "Treasures of Algarve"- sardine, Imperial caviar, razor clams and cockles.- Codfish with Alentejo citrus and onions.- "Frozen bagel" with smoked tuna, caper leaves and green papaya.- One of my favourite and special wines of the night chosen by the head sommelier @iamjoaowiborg @quintadovalesanto. - Doughnut with Monchique chorizo, corn and bell peppers.- A great and bold vegan dish with carrot, cumin, XO and vegan tonburi caviar.- Salt baked sardine used for the "Treasures of Algarve" dish. - Blue lobster with XO sauce,eggplant and paprika. - "Abalone rice" with skate fish, barnacles and parsley.- Scarlet prawn, kampot pepper, kelp seawood. Thai flavours inspired, bold and delicious.- Ravioles with morels, asparagus, teardrop peas and caramelized lemon.- Cherry kakigori.- Abacaxi (pineapple) with aloe vera and sun flower seeds.- Goat cheese with clear rhubarb essence, red summac.@vilavitaparcresort

@kiokubyendo 📷 @jobjirach

VINTAGE CELLAR @vintagecellar_app and CHÂTEAU FIGEAC @chateau_figeac dinner last week in Paris, where 1976, 1998, 2009 and 2015 Château Figeac magnums were paired with a special pithiviers menu created by chef @clementleroy @restaurantlechiberta. The dinner was accompanied with stories by the estate's owner Blandine de Brier Manoncourt @blandinedebriermanoncourt and Frédéric Faye, the director and winemaker, widely regarded as one of the finest winemakers in France. Vintage Cellar, founded in 2019 by Selim Bocti @selimbocti ,a wine collector and connoisseur, is a Geneva-based company that curates high-end wine collections and rare bottles for private collectors. Known for its bespoke services and expertise in such super wine making regions as Bordeaux, Burgundy or Tuscany, Vintage Cellar fosters a community of wine enthusiasts through tastings and events while offering personalized recommendations and top-tier storage solutions to preserve the integrity of their collections.

Originally from Tokyo, soba master Katsuki Sakurai, the head chef of @yenparisfr, always wanted to live abroad. When the ready-to-wear company he was working for offered for him to move to Paris, he did not hesitate for a second.To perfect the complex art of making soba, he spent a year working alongside one of the best masters in Japan, Takahashi Kunihiro, as an apprentice in Kyushu. He then moved to Paris, where he has been the head chef at restaurant Yen for over 20 years.While the process for making soba might appear quite simple at first sight, it demands real technique and expertise. Water and buckwheat are the only ingredients used to make soba noodles; thus, their quality is essential. For his restaurant in Paris, Katsuki Sakurai imports buckwheat from Japan, before mixing it with water and cutting the soba every day.The speed at which the noodles are cut is also a crucial factor. The best soba will never be too dry, will always be perfectly al dente, and will possess the beautiful flavour of buckwheat.* The short article written by me was originally published by Pen magazine. @penmagazine @penofficial https://pen-online.com/travel/katsuki-sakurai-europes-best-soba-maker/ In the pictures:- Cold soba with sea urchin- Chutoro and sea bream sashimi- Fried mochi with bottarga- Zucchinni flower tempura (when in season)- Otoro and sea urchin temaki- Black cod- Hot soba

@ Sankaku market in Otaru, Hokkaido, one of my favourite fish markets I've been to recently....© @allnipponairways @wearekemosabe @pcoopr

11 favourite/best openings in London ???????? in 2024 (In no particular order- read more about them in the comments section.)Yellow Bittern @hugh__corcoran Kima @kima.restaurant.london Miga @miga.restaurant Lita @litamarylebone Cornus @cornusrestaurant Yuki Bar @yukibar.london Josephine Bouchon @josephinebouchon Dosa @dosalondon Row on 5 @rowon5london Fonda @fondarestaurant River Cafe Cafe @therivercafecafe

Highlights from the very newly opened @rowon5london, a brainchild of chefs @_jasonatherton and @spencermetzger, who used to be a head chef at the iconic Ritz in London (and one of my favourite temples of classic French cuisine). Once you step down the stairs on Savile Row, you find yourself in a universe by itself, experiencing a new way of fine dining. The cooking was "contemporary classic", elegant and impeccably executed, with several standout dishes that truly shone, such as: - Scallops from Orkney Island, topped with a scallop XO sauce made from the roe and skirts, complemented by ikura eggs from Yarra Valley Farm, washed in sake. - Langoustine from the Scottish west coast, served with Amela tomato jelly, salted duck egg sabayon, curry leaf, and finger lime from Batches Farm. - Five days aged turbot, steamed in sake, and brushed with brown butter and Amalfi lemon juice, paired with an Albufferra sauce made from monkfish liver and turbot bones, finished with fermented kohlrabi, razor clams, peeled Kyoto grapes, olive oil, and lovage. - Gently braised Wagyu from Kagoshima beef cheek with Bordelaise sauce, smoked bone marrow, aged soy, Shiitake mushroom and sansho pepper. Also in the pictures, "oysters and pearls", potato, crème fraîche and caviar dish, brioche, m2018 L'Usine, excellent Pinot Noir from Sta Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, warm Stilton tartelette, runny chocolate tartelette, chocolate and malt dessert.

PART 2 of the best eats in Paris lately ????????. (See Part 1 in last Thursday's post)- At the fabulously newly refurbished Maison Baccarat @baccarat with a new restaurant by Alain Ducasse @ducassebaccarat and head chef @christophe_saintagne. - Mushroom tartelette at Vantre @restaurant__vantre by chef @satriavue , one of the best overall meals this year.-John Dory from Guilvenec, celeriac,celeriac purée, "poissette" sauce at Vantre. - Normandy beef sirloin,chestnut purée, grilled pink onions, red plums, pepper sauce at Vantre. - Neither cooked nor raw scallop with rosemary butter @leprecatelan.fredericanton by @fredericanton and head chef @mehdisgard .- Gnocchi with fried sage and sage butter at @parcelles_paris. - Candied carrot with acid ginger sauce at La Reserve by @jeromebanctel .- Blue lobster with tapioca and grapefruit at the newly opened @ducassebaccarat. - Hand cut soba with sea urchin by master Katsuki Sakurai @yenparisfr. - Sushi at Yushin @restaurant_yushin ( One of the most underrated and still under the radar Japanese in Paris.) - Chirashi for lunch at Takara @takara_paris , the oldest Japanese restaurant in Paris and probably the Japanese restaurant in Paris that I've visited most over the years. Their beef dish " grilled shimofuri" is a must order. They also have an excellent old school shabu shabu and sukiyaki restaurant just across the street called Koukaï.- Excellent steak at @116_pages , izakaya style sister restaurant of the Michelin starred @restaurantpages. (Located just next to it.)- Thin and crispy New York style pizza at @rorirorirorirorirori. - Sole Meuiniere at THE fish and seafood institution Le Duc @leducparis. - Excellent saucisse purée @lesarlots. (Available for dinner only)- Visiting the legendary Jacques Genin laboratory where he still makes all his pastry by himself @jacquesgenin. - Tarte tatin with crème fraîche by Jacques Genin.

At Le Pré Catelan @leprecatelan.fredericanton , one of the best meals of the year and one of the strongest three Michelin-starred dining experiences I've had over the last few years. Located in the Bois de Boulogne, in an opulent Napoleon III style pavilion, Le Pré Catelan, under chef Frédéric Anton @fredericanton , has held three Michelin stars since 2007. Elected Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 2000 and recently named the best chef of the year 2025 by Gault Millau, Frédéric Anton is, above all, an artisan who is dedicated to sublimating and elevating ingredients, leaving a lasting gustatory impact from the very first bite. Here no long introductions or stories are needed, just delicious food that speaks for itself, classic yet modern, and more relevant than ever. The excellent ingredients shine through, prepared minimally and complemented by sauces that create a lasting impression with each bite. For me, the true test of a great restaurant is how long the flavors linger in your memory after dining, and at Le Pré Catelan, I felt a sense of culinary excellence from the first dish to the last.In the pictures...- Roasted lobster with caviar and tarragon cream- Chef Frédéric Anton and th executive chef Mehdi Sgard @mehdisgard - Neither cooked nor raw scallop with rosemary butter (absolutely amazing dish)- Marinated scallop with nuts vinegar, smoked mustard- Sea urchin, fine jelly, celery and caviar- Bouillabaisse with rouille - Crab in warm jelly dashi, fennel cream- Langoustine ravioli with foie gras sauce- Cod "brandade"- Cherry wood smoked and "confit" salmon, wasabi - Caviar with champagne sorbet- Cod cheek,sauce Bourguignonne- Comté soufflé- "Tarte tatin" with light vanilla cream- Melba

Revisiting Le Gabriel by @jeromebanctel which received its 3rd star since my last visit one yeat ago. Originally from Brittany, Chef Banctel draws inspiration from the seas and terroir of his native region, as well as from his extensive travels. With his remarkable culinary backround, Jérôme Banctel has crafted a unique style that seamlessly blends a deep respect for ingredients, traditional French cooking and modern techniques. In the picturesCandied carrot with acid ginger sauce.Trout with caviarScallop with daikon and citrus.Perfectly nacré turbot,artichoke heart, cherry blossom vinegar.Roasted red mullet, potato, bottarga, and samphire.Kiwi "à la chaux" (like the carrot). green shiso, green Chartreuse sabayon.

Dosa @dosalondon , meaning "an expert" in Korean, is the newest Korean fine dining restaurant in London, created by Seoul born American chef Akira Back @chefakiraback. Located at the Mandarin Oriental Mayfair @mo_mayfair , Dosa showcases chef Akira and executive chef Jihun Kim's @jihun_maxime celebration of their Korean roots, offering a sublime dining experience that highlights a mix of authentic Korean flavours with a touch of French techniques. My dinner at Dosa was not just a meal, it was a journey, elevated by the excellent wine pairing by Maxime Maiani @one_to_wine , a former lawyer turned sommelier extraordinaire. London still lacks a variety of great Korean restaurants, and Dosa certainly delivers. - Prawn used for Ganjang prawn kimbab- Pine Nut & Tropea Onion Donut, Spider Crab, Oscietra Caviar- Fisherman's Cold Soup, Wild Seabass, Dongchimi, Fermented- Preserved Mora Farm Honeycomb, Tomato, Broccoli, Goat Labneh, Cobnut- Ganjang prawn kimbab- Wild Turbot, Hamulating, Miyoek, Radish Namul, Makgeoli Butter, Sea Lettuce, Crispy Kelp- Grilled King Crab, Sweet Doenjang, Salsify Puré, Pumpkin, Kimchi Rainbow Chard- Wagyu Beef Bansang, Gui, Bulgogi, Yukhoe Bibimbab - Five different shades of corn.

Victor Arguinzoniz, the GREAT. And a shokunin in the truest sense. (Video taken during my latest visit 2 weeks ago.) @asadoretxebarrioficial