Wineshark Nice Hotel Experience - Bettei Senjyuan (Tanigawa Onsen)

This ryokan is located in Minakami, Tone Districut of Gunma Prefecture, underneath the great Mt. Tanigawa. Being part of the famous Relais & Chateaux group which features some of the most gorgeous hotels in the world, the ryokan had in fact won the 2016 World Luxury Hotel Award in the Luxury Hideaway Resort category.

After parking our car we walked through a grand entrance, greeted by the staff in the traditional Japanese fashion. While seated at the lobby for registration, we couldn't stop gaping at the beautiful garden outside, looking out from the full-height windows, and also seeing the majestic Mt. Tanigawa in the distance.

When it was ready and the staff showed us to the room, we again were struck by the amazing design of the ryokan. The Curved Corridor, extending from the lobby all the way to the guest rooms, had an extremely high ceiling (8m), with a glass wall on one side allowing the full view of the garden, and even on the walls there were a lot of fine details.  

The wall was made from local Gunma clay containing straw, fibers and chips of iron oxide, with beautiful calligraphy of sketches and characters, depicting the four seasons in space and time, designed by the famous Nobuko Kawahara. 

At regular intervals there were also some recesses designed to resemble the tokonoma, with the garden showing on the backdrop just like the painting. A smart way to make use of the environment and highlighted the attention to the details. 

Our room was the Special Room 108, hakunage, meaning surreal in Japanese. It was the most secluded and best room of the ryokan, and was featured in a lot of local magazines and design books. The wooden sliding door made me stop to admire the craftsmanship before going in. 

The room was really huge, with the two main rooms of 12.5 and 8 mats respectively. There was also a smaller tearoom where it got a copper pot sitting on a stove for heating water, and adjacent there was a cabinet displaying a number of tea-cups of great crafts. 

In addition, there were a pantry, two toilets, a make-up room, a bath/sauna room and an outdoor hotspring bath. It was my first experience of having our own sauna in the room. 

The outdoor hotspring bath was constructed with stones. The size of the bath was one of the largest I ever experienced as well, easily able to accommodate 5-6 people. The bath was looking out to the Tanigawa River.

Outside the room is the private garden, basically surrounding the whole room, with one side overlooking the river flowing, and looking up we can see the majestic mountains. There is also a pavilion which we can sit and enjoy the fresh air outside. There are lots of greens, highly comforting and soothing, and I can imagine if we come in winter with the snow outside the view would be breathtaking.

Before dinner we decided to take a bath. Honestly I have been to quite a number of onsen but the water of Tanigawa Onsen is one I truly recommend, especially for those who like to have a silky skin. When I finished I can feel my skin much more supple and smooth. Before I always think those wordings were just exaggeration or marketing, but personally I did experience it this time. Amazing power of the spring water.

Going to the restaurant for dinner, once again we witnessed the wonders of the ryokan. The sliding door of the restaurant was a piece of art, made by artisans from Niigata using cypress, cedar and zelkova. The corridor features a lot of bamboos with candles inside, and on the walls are all calligraphy. We were then led to our private room, which has a different style, reminiscent of a western cottage instead, with stone walls and wooden tables. The dining room also has full-length windows looking to the river outside.

The lady serving us came from Taiwan, who likes Japanese culture so after graduating from university, she decided to come to Japan to work. And thanks to her we also can communicate in Mandarin to better understand the dishes and ingredients, helping us to better appreciate all the wonderful food we were having, even though the ryokan had prepared us a English menu.

The appetizer has a salad of water shield, watermelon radish, pea, yellow tomato, with Kuruma shrimp and abalone. All the vegetable came from the nearby area and were extremely fresh, and the seafood are also wonderful. At the same time there is corn soup and deep-fried artichoke, which are creamy and sweet for the former, and crispy for the latter. To further freshen up there is the yolk vinegar which is quite interesting in taste, as well as a vinegar jelly having a good bite on texture.

Next is the soup, with sea urchin on top of a bean soymilk tofu, and the soup prepared using Japanese wild ginger and wasabi. The tofu was soft and silky, and the delicate flavors did not mask or affect the taste of the sea urchin. The soup is also full of flavors.

The sashimi has three different types of fish. One is the rainbow trout Ginhikari, the premium type of fish of the area that you would only see in the best restaurants. The other two were Amberjack and Splendid Alfonsino which are great in taste and texture.

Then came the seasonal dishes, including Fried Sweetfish Marinated with Vinegar Sauce and Burdock Root, Grilled Char with Japanese Pepper Bud, Hawasabi-sushi Wrapped in Oak Leaf, Boiled Giant Elephant Ear with Sesame, Broad Bean Dumpling and Pickled Ginger. Featuring the seasonal fish and vegetable, this highlights the belief of the chef to bring the best available, in-season ingredients to the cuisine.

Next is the Kaga-area Cucumber, Eggplant, and Crab with Arrowroot Starch and Needle-shaped Ginger. Another delicate dish, this offers a healthy portion of seasonal vegetable, complemented with crab meat.

The chef then brought us two pieces of Gunma Beef Sushi. The quality of the beef was good, not those crazily fat which I don't like, and because it was torched so the extra oiliness also got drained off. When I asked why we had this extra dish the staff told me the sushi would only be prepared by the chef for the premium guests. How honorable I immediately felt!

The main dish was Joshu-beef Roasted with Sansyo-Japanese Pepper, served on a hot stone to keep the beef warm and also for cooking. On the side there is Potato, Cabbage, Maitake Mushroom and Asparagus. The stone allowed us to grill the beef to the level that we prefer, and also keep the beef at the right temperature. Even though it was not overly fatty, for me it is still a bit too much. But in terms of the flavor intensity it was certainly very good.

Wrapping up it was the traditional Rice but the variety of the rice was special, using the Minatsukiyo type which is famous. The local vegetable soup and pickles are also tasty and I easily finished two bowls of rice in no time.

On dessert it was Yogurt Ice and Fruit. There is a nice tartness of the yogurt ice that helped to cleanse the palate, with the fruit finishing our enjoyable evening.

Returning to the room we found that the ryokan had prepared some midnight snacks for us so we could eat them later. I thought that was a nice and touching service. The futon was also being set up already.

Waking up early in the morning we went to the public bath to take a look. It was quiet, nice but the size of the bath might be a bit small. But considering there is only 18 rooms in total, and each having onsen bath, there are in fact less people would go to a public bath.

Returning to the restaurant for breakfast, it again demonstrated the wide range of food, from the more typical pickled vegetables, the toasted seaweed, to the sweetfish and steamed pork strips, all of them were tasty and of the right portion size. Not getting us super full nor very hungry.

With only 18 rooms in total, the ryokan was reasonably priced, with the room and meal costing us $6,800 for two. It is definitely one of my recommended ryokans in Gunma. A great feat but I wasn't surprised after personally experiencing everything.

My overall score is 8.3 out of 10.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Carbone

This Italian restaurant is located in LKF, inside the LKF Tower. With the decoration being one of New York brassiere of the mid-20th century, there is a bar where one can enjoy a nice drink before the meal. On the night the restaurant was pretty busy. Ordering a bottle of still water, the staff told us that the water was charged per person but would be refilled which was a good arrangement.

For appetizers we ordered a Octopus Pizzaiolo, which got large three pieces of octopus, cooked perfectly that retained the bite but not overly rubbery. There were also plenty of roasted bell pepper which was sweet and tasty, with some fingerling potato as well. A nice start for the meal indeed.

The other appetizer we ordered was Baked Clams, comprising of three types of baked clams, one stuffed with oreganata, one with uni and pesto sauce, and the last one with chili and cheese. The  portion was generous with 12 clams in total. For me I like the chili and cheese one the most, as they got a kick on the taste to highlight also the freshness and brine notes of the clams. Overall another nice dish too.

Then we had the Lobster Ravioli, which was recommended by the staff. It certainly delivered my expectation being one of the signatures of the restaurant. The sauce was creamy with a nice acidity from the Vermouth, and the herbs also giving the color and fragrance to the sauce. The ravioli is homemade, with the right portion of fillings and the lobster was simply phenomenal. Full of flavors, got the perfect texture on the bite, this is my favorite on the night for sure.

For the main course we ordered Scallop Livornese, with five big pieces of scallop seared nicely, with the inside medium-cooked to give a beautiful texture. And the scallops were also fresh, good in quality, as evidenced by the great authentic taste. There were also tomato, olive and green onion accompanying to give also the color contrast and additional flavors.

The other main course we had was Double Lamb Chops. I had to admit I should look at the menu carefully next time because when it was served we were all amazed by the portion size. It was simply huge with four large pieces, and even dividing among us it was still too much. The Tasmanian lamb was soft and cooked to medium per request, paired well with a mint and olive oil sauce. My only critics was that the lamb was a bit too fatty so the layer of fat was quite difficult for the health-conscious public now to handle. It also got minimal seasoning so for some it might be a bit light on taste.

Wrapping up the dinner we also had a slice of Tiramisu. In fact by then I was so full that I couldn't eat much, but from the bite the cake was fairly good with a moist inside, different layers clearly visible and the cocoa coating of the right sweetness too.

Overall the service was good, with the staff all friendly and attentive. Having a Virgin Mojito as well, the total bill on the night was $2,290 which was a bit expensive. And the environment for many might also be called 'noisy'. But if you like the sort of environment and some good food, Carbone would still be a good choice for an Italian meal.

My overall rating was 68/100.

Nutritionist Recipe - 39. Pan-Fried Shredded Potato and Turnip and Fish Floss

Ingredients (for 4):

• Potato - 2
• Turnip - 1
• Celery - 1 stem
• Fish floss - 6 tbsp.
• Garlic - 4 cloves
• White pepper powder - 1/3 tsp
• Soy sauce - 4 tsp
• Oyster sauce - 4 tsp
• Black pepper finely - 3 tsp
• Oil - 1 tsp

Procedures:

1. Peel the potato and wash, then cut into thin strips and soak in water.

2. Peel the turnip and wash, then cut into thin strips.

3. Remove the old stem of the celery, wash and then cut finely.

4. Peel the garlic and cut into slices.

5. Mix the fish floss with the celery, then season with white pepper powder and celery.

6. Heat the pan and then add 1/2 tsp of oil, pan-fry the fish floss until golden, then take out to cool down

7. Cut the fish floss into thin strips.

8. Heat the pan and then add 1/2 tsp of oil, pan-fry the garlic.

9. Add the shredded potato and turnip.

10. Season with soy sauce, oyster sauce and black pepper finely, and continue to cook until the potato and turnip are both softened.

11. Add the shredded fish floss and mix well before serving.

Nutritionist Recipe - 38. Crispy Shrimp Toast

Ingredients (for 4):

• Shrimp - 10
• Baguette - 1
• Honey - 2 tsp
• Crab roe - 4 tsp
• Small dried shrimp - 24 pieces
• Garlic salt - 3 tsp
• White pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Procedures:

1. Clean the shrimp, remove the shell and intestine.

2. Chop using the other end of the chopper until mashed, then season with white pepper powder and garlic salt.

3. Cut the baguette into pieces.

4. Spread the shrimp paste onto the baguette.

5 Pre-heat the oven to 200 degree Celsius, then bake the baguette for 4 minutes.

6. Take out and wipe a layer of honey on top, before putting back into the oven to continue to bake for another 3 minutes.

7. Put on a rack to cool it down, then spread some crab roe and dried small shrimp on top before serving.

Wineshark HK Restaurant Review - Tai Woo Seafood Restaurant

This is a traditional Chinese restaurant that I remembered my family used to frequently visit when I was still a kid. When it first started it brought a new wave of modern Cantonese style cuisine, focusing on seafood and more high-end dim-sum, successfully opening a new market then.

Now many years later, they continued to command good royalty for many customers, as evidenced by how quickly the restaurant was occupied on the night. I came around 6:15pm, very early for dinner in HK standard, but already there were a few tables. And by 7:30pm essentially 85% of the restaurant was full, which was a good turn-out for a normal weekday evening.

We ordered a three-course set which included Sesame Chicken Baked in Salt, Baked Red Crab with Ginger and Spring Onion, as well as Steamed Fish. The chicken was decent but not particularly impressive, with plenty of sesame on the skin of the chicken. The skin was crunchy but the meat was a bit rough in texture.

The red crab was also just so-so, being of quite reasonable size but I think the supposedly rich ginger and spring onion taste was a bit lacking. If I want to sample the delicate taste of the crab meat I probably would go for a steamed crab. So this dish for me could not deliver that more intense flavors one would expect.

The fish was in my opinion the worst of the three. It got a bit of muddy taste and while we did not assume we would have a premium wild fish because of the price tag, the overall quality was still disappointing in view that this is a seafood restaurant and this would be their most basic dish. The meat texture was rough, and even the soy sauce did not give the right enhancement to the overall taste as it should be.

There was also a Deep Fried Egg Roll with Honey Sauce included as dessert. The egg roll was crumbly on texture, and reasonably good in taste.

And the restaurant also provided a Red Bean Soup for free. It was not overly sweet but could only be rated as acceptable.

Service overall was fair, with the staff attending us to replace the plates when we were eating the crab. And because I didn't drink the red wine included in the set they also offered to swap for a jar of orange juice for us.

The bill was $920 for the above as well as two bowls of rice, and in my opinion not cheap, especially considering the quality.

My overall rating is 55/100.