Moonrise - Dubai
A chef’s personal take on growing up and living in Dubai, viewed through a fine-dining lens. Great fun with tasty dishes in an intimate setting
Orfali Bros - Dubai
Middle Eastern bistro fare, incorporating other foreign cuisines. Enjoyable, with good service, but missing true standout dishes
Manao - Dubai
A tour de force of creative Thai-inspired dishes that are bursting with flavors. Not authentic by any means, but imbued with a contagious exuberance, it made for an extremely fun and tasty meal
Atelier Crenn - San Francisco
Californian-French cuisine with lots of seafood, and several dishes bursting with flavors. The menu changed completely since our visit two months ago
T’ang Court - Hong Kong
Elevated takes on Cantonese and Hong Kongese dishes that fall somewhat short of its three Michelin stars
Amber - Hong Kong
Beautifully presented French cuisine with some amazing courses and some less than stellar ones, and barely anything in-between
Mingles - Seoul
An elevated version of Korean cuisine with some outstanding dishes and great service
Evett - Seoul
Non-traditional takes on Korean ingredients by a Western chef yields interesting, but unfortunately not always enjoyable results
Blanc - Paris
Modern French cuisine that is quite creative - no “standard” dishes here. Not everything worked 100%, but overall still a lovely experience
Le Coquillage - Saint-Méloir-des-Ondes
An impressive variety of seafood dishes, often featuring ingredients from the local bay and the restaurant’s farm. Unfortunately, the flavor intensity was dialed way down for most of our dinner
Sushi Yoshinaga - Paris
Sushi adapted for French palates was both delicious and an educational experience
Ever - Chicago
Modern American cuisine served in an interior designer’s dream of a fine-dining restaurant. A few exceptional dishes don’t hurt
Oriole - Chicago
Modern American cuisine in a industrial setting with great service. Enjoyable, but missing true standout dishes
Alinea - Chicago
A restaurant that is going for an “experience” rather than a mere dinner. Foodwise, though, this was a far cry from its heydays, and nowhere near its current three stars
Californios - San Francisco
Mexican fine-dining cuisine with local ingredients. Enjoyable, but missing true show-stopper dishes, and a bit repetitive in parts
Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester - London
Three-starred French cuisine where the same ingredient is prepared many different ways in a single dish. Intriguing, but the results are good rather than great
Moor Hall - Aughton
Local produce is everywhere at this restaurant north of Liverpool, and the best dishes shine the spotlight on single ingredients. Others balance lots of different components - still tasty, but feeling less product-driven
Atelier Crenn - San Francisco
Seafood-heavy Californian-French cuisine with nicely balanced flavors and a few stellar dishes
Odette - Singapore
French cuisine with Asian influences that give it a “sense of place”. A very enjoyable meal with a couple of truly outstanding dishes
Meta - Singapore
Korean fine-dining cuisine is the name of the game here, maybe a bit more rustic than it’s three-star competition, but bursting with flavors