If internet rumours can be trusted, Sukiyabashi Jiro was not the first choice for prime minister Abe and president Obama dinner (see the Grub Street article here). 2 Michelin starred tempura restaurant Kondo was, but it was fully booked and the chef refused to cancel any of his bookings that…

This might be as well the best croissant I’ve ever had. The perfect croissant is a balance of crispy, crunchy, fluffy, satisfyingly chewy and very buttery. At Blé Sucré, they’ve achieved the balance. Maybe that’s not surprising, considering that owner Fabrice le Bourdat is a celebrated pastry chef with a…

My post about the sushi restaurant in Tokyo where Barack Obama and Shinzo Abe had a dinner last night. Sukiyabashi Jiro is one of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo and, without any question, the most famous in the world thanks to the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi. According to the…

Love how Alex Croquet, the master boulanger from Wattignies (and the inspiration of Hedone’s chef Mikael Jönsson) is making this clementine tart. It seems so effortless for him. The link of the video is here Alex Croquet: :56 Rue Faidherbe, 59139 Wattignies, France; tel. +33 3 20 95 01 29

Describing food as “honest” sometimes can sound as confusing as when a chef talks about how he “respects the ingredients”. Dishes and the ingredients they are made of are not people to be respected for their honesty. Yet, this is how I would describe the cooking at Il Luogo di…

Caramelized “insalata russa” at Cracco ( 2*, Via Victor Hugo, 4, 20123 Milano, Italy; tel. +39 02 876774 ), most famous thanks to a feature in the Oscar nominated movie “I am love”. This snack, I’ve already had before, was still pretty ingenious, but I couldn’t say the same about the rest. It…

There is gelato and then there is Il Massimo del Gelato (Via Lodovico Castelvetro, 18, 20154 Milano, Italy), a small, independent gelateria, 1o minutes drive from the city center. Fresh fruit sorbets like orange, mango, passion fruit and various ice cream are excellent and turn out to be identical to…

One of my favourite Milanese dishes is risotto al salto, made by pan-frying leftover saffron risotto with a little of butter and some grated Parmigiano Reggiano. And where can you find it better than at a simple, traditional, family-owned trattoria like La Bettola di Piero (Via Orti, 17, 20122 Milano,…

I think half of this croissant with peach jam filling at Sant Ambroeus café in Milan is pure butter, the other half – pure pleasure. As for the cappuccino… Oh well, coffee is just one of the bunch of things Italians know how to do better… ( like shoes for example!)…

At Koya and Koya bar (49 and 50 Frith St, London W1D 4SG, London; tel. +44 20 7434 4463) the main focus is cold or hot udon noodles and all kinds of traditional or innovative broths that can go with them (think smoked mackerel, beef shabu-shabu or mushrooms with walnuts…