Skip the Online Reviews, Try These Five Restaurants Recommended by Hatsune's Alan Wong

Five star rankings, enthused reviews, and other such online mainstays mean very little to Alan Wong whenever he goes out to eat dinner. Instead, the esteemed Hatsune owner prefers to take the word of his fellow restaurateurs or – better yet – rely on his own hunches to satisfy his hunger.

“It’s really unfortunate but it’s the truth – you can go on Taobao and buy good Dianping reviews for your restaurant,” Wong says, adding that review sites in other locales around the world, in his experience, have also proven unreliable. “There are entire companies propping themselves up on social media, and then people realize it’s bullshit. So my restaurant recommendations from around the world might not have the best Trip Adviser or Dianping reviews, but they are so kick-ass that you just have to be open to trying them.”

Below, the worldly foodie tells us more about his favorite eateries around the globe.

1. Seamon, Tokyo

The vibe is less like a restaurant than a monastery at famed sushi haven. Wong recalls being wowed by the staff that, who are bald-headed, gleaming sharp knives, and dice up the ingredients with astounding skill.

“It’s very Zen. Super quiet,” says Wong of Seamon’s ambiance. “These guys are using sushi knives like tiny samurai swords, and the cuts of fish are so good. When I revamped Hatsune’s soy sauce and sushi rice in recent years, Seamon is one of the restaurants I tried to emulate. They’re that good.”

Rather than ordering à la carte, Wong implores visitors to opt for the Omakase set, which he describes as, “The chef’s selection for that day, for which they searched carefully for a particular vegetable of the day, visited the local slaughter house to get this particular cut of meat, went to the fish market to get the best of the best from their favorite vendor – they want to show off their cuisine using the menu.”

2. Alan Wong’s Honolulu/Shanghai

Don’t be confused – the eponymous owner of this famed restaurant chain is a different Alan Wong than the owner of Hatsune. This restaurant also draws on a different region’s cuisine, that of Hawaii, and is delicious and well reputed enough to be a favorite of none other than President Barack Obama.

Alan Wong of Hatsune is a big fan of both the Honolulu original and the Shanghai branch of this restaurant. He says: “Beth [Cosgrove], who heads up the Shanghai branch, does such good sauces, it’s ridiculous. She has a beef carpaccio that’s to die for, and her poke fish salad is also really good.” He also raves about the eatery’s “Da Bag,” Kalua pork dish which is “buried underground, then dug back up, a traditional Hawaiian underground barbecue dish that also has lobster and corn. They have so many goodies just in that dish alone.”

3. Wagyu Kaiseki Den, Hong Kong

“This is one of the best kept secrets in Hong Kong,” Wong says of the cozy Kyoto style eatery, known for its authentic, dry-aged wagyu beef. Wong says he’s almost wary of recommending the two-room, 20-seat eatery because “it’s so hard to get in. It could have terrible one-star reviews across social media and it’d still be packed. Local foodies know how good it is, and they aren’t relying on reviews.”

He also loves Wagyu Kaiseki Den’s “meticulous execution, like the beautiful artistic plating that changes with the seasons, and sashimi prepared in a way that’s as beautiful as it is tasty. Where Alan Wong’s in Honolulu and Shanghai is more just good yummy food, Wagyu Kaiseki Den takes much greater care with the presentation.”

4. Asperges, Hanazono

Since the age of three, Alan Wong has been avid skier, while snowboarding has been one of his favorite pastimes ever since he was 16. “I’m 41 now, so you know I’ve been doing it awhile,” he says. All this makes him an authority on the slopes of Hanazono, Japan, a locale that also houses one of his favorite eateries: Asperges, a Michelin Star restaurant located next to a more typical, bustling ski resort cafeteria. The cheaper digs next door make Asperges’ high-end features stand out all the more.

“You walk into this super high-end place, they take off your snowboard clothes and they put them on heaters for you, and give you slippers. I love it so much – a moment before you’re zipping down the mountain and through the trees, your legs burning as you come down the powder runs. You take a break and can’t even find a table at this food court, can’t even hear yourself think, and then right across the way there’s this place that’s as quiet as the snow falling on the trees outside. And it’s really high-end: white gloves, table service, and a glass of champagne as a welcome drink. It’s so good. They even shuck oysters for you, I kept thinking: “Wow I’m having oysters at a ski resort.”

Such indulgent dining, while watching the breathtaking view of the slopes through the window, was unlike any other restaurant Wong tried. “I can’t remember what we ate there, because we had so much champagne. But it’s more about the experience than the food, because the atmosphere is just so surreal for a resort restaurant.”

5. The Kitchen, Sacramento

“It’s an unbelievable concept,” Wong enthuses about the setup at this nookish California restaurant. “Imagine a teppanyaki table, with 25 people. And you have to show up at 6.30pm, after that they lock the doors. After that they give you this whole spiel: ‘We found these little Brussels sprouts in Petaluma, and this shrimp from a farmer way over on the Monterey Coast, and then flew this beef over from Japan.’”

Wong likens the staff’s spirited descriptions to a stage play, and says the experience is heightened all the more by its interactive elements.

“They want you to become friends with everyone in the restaurant. The doors are locked, so you can do whatever you want – if you haven't had enough to eat they’ll gladly serve the set menu to you again, forward or backward. You can go into the kitchen and help the chef cook. They had my brother trying to flambé something, and he has no idea how – and a massive flame shot up that nearly burned off his eyebrows.”

Despite all that ramshackle fun, Wong is quick to add that The Kitchen treats its food very seriously.

“What they do is very, very intentional. For example: They'll serve this tea at the end, with a bunch of herbs and leaves on the side that you can put together to make your own concoction. It’s a case of people that have thought out something, and want to give an experience that you might not have had before.”

In that regard, The Kitchen and the other restaurants on this list not only satisfy Wong’s appetite but also serve as an inspiration. “This is what I want to do with Hatsune – do new things all the time, keep it fresh and memorable and unique. That’s the name of the game, because you can tell the people that are doing something intentional from the people who just want to make money. That’s why I advise people to restaurants that real foodies recommend, or go out and explore and find what you like. Don’t rely on online reviews, just go and have your own experience.”

Photos: Zeus, photoshelter.com, Soffia Wardy, sabonlover.blogspot nisekoalpineaccommodation.com, hanazononiseko.com, chimecms.com, http://thekitchenrestaurant.com