is there a way to tell a chef that you didn't like his food?

© Joselito Briones

norie and i are visiting irma in jakarta - part of norie's birthday celebration, i guess.  eager to show us the city, irma invited us to dine at skye restaurant atop one of the tallest buildings in the city.  

the view was great and all, but i thought the food was heavy-handed (tom kha soup was heavily coconut cream, the galangal flavor was totally defeated, the seafood in it barely noticeable - as if the chef was totally aware of it, he added bits of dry seaweed to remind the diner that it really was meant to be a seafood dish, which only muddied the flavor;  the braised pork, which is meant to be a house specialty, was waaaay too sweet and the caramelization crossed (and went way past) the line to burnt bitterness; and although the flavors in the crispy pork belly was good, the pork rind wasn't crispy at all. (we were told that pork dishes are hard to come by in this city for religious reasons, so we thought we should have them when they're available)

i would have been content to ignore it all, of course, the view and the company having been more than enough to enjoy the evening - except, well, when it was all over, on the way down from the restaurant, in the lift that clearly displayed a poster photo of the restaurant's chef, irma noticed his striking resemblance to one of the lift passengers. "you look like that guy," she said to the passenger, pointing at the chef's poster-photo. "that's me," he answered, smiling. chit chat ensued, and then the inevitable happened:  he asked us if we enjoyed the food.

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free outdoor dining space at IFC

Photo:  Joselito Briones

one of hong kong's well-kept secret:  free outdoor dining space at IFC.  unobstructed view of kowloon island.  clean space under tree shade.  it's open to the public, bring your own lunch (i usually buy from city super). use the lift near city super, and go to rooftop of the podium (P4).  the rooftop is actually a small park so you can just hang around, or take photos.


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better be worth it now

floren emailed me these photos he took with his phone earlier today. first one's with the always fab and beautiful faye. am not even sure that's how she spells her name. maybe without e. i don't know. it feels like it should be with an e if only because she has cheekbones sharper than dunaway's.

second one's of me having breakfast. at 5pm, same table. 2 photos a few minutes apart. i know that glass of wine looks very wrong in a breakfast setting. i swear i only had one. not that there's anything wrong with having more. for breakfast i mean. if that's what you're into. woke up very late. i was supposed to be there at 2pm, but then i know that when floren says 2pm it means 3pm earliest. and anyway i wasn't expecting to eat there. i had a couple of snack bars before going. last time we had a mini party there we had to wait so long. i was already very hungry and cranky by the time we started eating. this time i was prepared. i was only going there to chat and catch up with them. that there was food was a plus. it was a bit disappointing that not all of the usual crowd wasn't there. but the ones who were there were fun. especially faye. she was there with her boyfriend simon of course, and their new spoodle (sounds yummy, no? like home-spun noodles) which is a two-tone bastard mixed breed of a poodle and something else. really cute. and looks really expensive. name's charlie. chuckie sounds right. kept fighting for attention against monty. the resident spoiled puppy. purebred poodle. yep. looks just as expensive. no wonder i can't hang out more often with these people (poodle and spoodle owners). they're just so damn rich i can't afford their lifestyle. i'd like to say i hate them but i can't really. they're nice people. okay i hate them. there. hahahaahah. ok not really.  sometimes they feed me really good food. excellent food. oh. speaking of expensive and good. chris told me that on one of their few celebrations this week (his and floren's birthdays are a few days apart), they popped a bottle of 1982 chateau latour pauillac. (that was the part where your jaw was supposed to drop and think to yourself, WTF?).  yes sir. that's HK$10,000-15,000 a bottle bordeaux. naturally i asked if it was worth it (when what i really wanted to ask was why i wasn't invited to THAT party). he said it was really really good but not that much better than other good wines he's had at, say, 5% of the price.  so i said, "well, the only way you can make it really worth its price tag is to tell as many people as possible that you've had it". so here we go.

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(eta: currency)

food stuff

© Wil

I've almost forgotten this, but since Wil is the only one who comments on my videos, i had to go check his videos too, no? done by Wil from another trip (early last year), this time in some posh restaurant in Chamonix.


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Fischers Baslow Hall

© Joselito Briones

Today's lunch was at Fischers Baslow Hall, a one-star Michelin rated restaurant in Derbyshire.

© Joselito Briones

Photo above is the reception area where guests can have drinks while waiting for the table.

© Joselito Briones

And this photo above, in the main dining area, shows (clockwise from left) Chris A., Ann, Ronnie, Chris O., Wil, Marco, Jerome, Michael, Gau, Mati and my pork dish.

Next: Bakewell and Harthill.


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gherkin lunch video

© Joselito Briones

video version, just gotta show marco and mati too.

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