Top 2023 Eats

(savoury)

I write jetlagged, and hungry enough to raid the nearby Sainsbury’s in the biting London dark. Back, and consolidating. A cheap eats ranking is also on the cards, since most of the picks here are pretty upscale. It’s that or a croissant ranking, take your pick. Who knows. 2023 was one of many tribulations but also many good eats.

1. ‘Kaya toast’ at Restaurant Fiz, Singapore

A casual-invitation-turned-memorable-eat, a genius of nostalgia. Wafer-thin buttery toast, fermented coconut jam, atoms of caviar. Sweet, pungent, salty, in one perfect bite. It melts in your mouth and stays there long after you’re done chewing. This kaya toast was part of the starter selection in the longer set menu, which I recommend going for if you’ve already committed to something fancy!

2. Black garlic pork belly at Counter 71, London

A meal in a meal. After a tough couple of months, I treated myself to a birthday dinner here in November with my cousin, a fateful and drunken evening. Something about this pork belly shifted my soul. Maybe it was the ends as fatty and soft as it should be, maybe it was the aged black garlic draping the dish with essence of tamarind and caramel. Whatever it was, it formed a memory as rare as the cut of meat itself. Although the set menu changes seasonally, everything here is guaranteed to be a good time, drinks included, which they put a special emphasis on. Even a tipsy me couldn’t deny wines so fresh you see strands of Pediococcus stroking the bottoms of your glasses, and a blanc de blancs that was perfect with my fish.

3. Omakase at Cubé

Having been here a million and one times, this one goes without saying. ‘Just in this morning!’ they chime, almost every time I step in. My time spent having conversations and picking at ginger here are a direct correlation to my stable fondness for the whole team– it is always consistent, of the highest quality, and I love the way they tailor the sets to whatever the seasonal specials are, be it soft fatty scallop, sea urchin, or some exotic cut of fish collar from the Atlantic. I love you, Cubé.

4. Foie gras at La Cuchara de San Telmo

So, this was everything and all I needed that one trip in San Sebastian. Melting liver and a sweet fruity reduction on charred brioche. Each bite was a pulpy purse of salty fat. Heaven.

5. Uni ikura rice at Sushi Kimura

Back to Japanese for a sec. I can’t only mention one Singapore eat, and having just returned, there’s never not more this country, the motherland, has to offer. Kimura is like a serious yet candid lover; you can visit every half a year or so and she remains relentlessly artistic and consistent, always in a good mood, ready to show off her best assets. Mr Kimura himself is always smiley, and ready to explain the roots of each individual dish. The soft seasoned egg, generous bafun uni and ikura melting into a small handful of rice is one big pulsating orgasm in a bowl.