Go East!

It was starting to feel neglected...	Dominic Armato

It appears 2012 at Skillet Doux will be starting with a bang!

I'm working, and it's going to be a busy trip. But the last time I flew home from Asia, I never would have imagined it would take me five years to get back, so you'd better believe I'm going to make the most of every spare moment I can find.

Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Tokyo... anybody have intel to share?

Comments

[Token Omnivore]

Dude, I'm totally jealous. It's been too long since I've been out there.

Sorry I don't have any intel to share. The way I found great sushi in Tokyo was either:
- Get taken there by my Japanese colleagues
- Walk in the rain by myself until I got hungry. Walk into a restaurant. Eat at the bar, using only the Japanese I've learned in US sushi restaurants. Have a great meal, and wind up speaking with regulars and the chef that had worked in the US for a while. Their English was a whole lot better than my Japanese :-)

If you've got time in Hong Kong (a morning or an afternoon), it's worth it to head to the temple on the airport island. We didn't eat with the monks, but the visit to the temple was cool. Dogs running around without fear for their lives :-) And the peacefulness of the place was a great contrast from the bustle of Hong Kong.

I assume if you've already been to Asia that you've already experienced an asian buffet. If not and you go to one this time, it helps to wear padded clothing to block the sharp elbows of the old folks heading to the food. Damn, I love the mosh pit of a good asian buffet.

[Allison]

What would you like to eat in Tokyo? I can ask my Umaimono group - we discuss almost anything about food. Almost everyone, whether Japanese or international, has lived in Tokyo (including me, but a long time ago) & quite a few people currently do. Also some people live/have lived in Hong Kong, I believe. I can also ask other people I know in/from Tokyo, but there are so many options ... beyond a short list of the "best" restaurants, what would be your priorities?

[Skillet Doux]

Allison... Anything special, high end to low end. Four hour kaiseki dinner, killer bowl of ramen, street cart making amazing takoyaki... anything.

It's very kind of you, but there's no need to go doing my research for me. I'm in the collecting info stage, and then I'll make a list and get to as many as I can. I just figured I'd see if anybody had one of those, "Oh, you *have* to go here!" kind of places in their quiver.

[Anon Man]

I thought I posted this earlier: but, I fully expect you to hunt down some good noodles in China and write about how awesome they were.

[Allison]

No problem - I'll just post the question & see what turns up. This group seems to have no shortage of ideas & they're pretty well versed in the region. More data can't hurt!