Hakata Senpachi, Amsterdam

This Japanese yakitori restaurant is still a reasonably undiscovered little gem in Amsterdam. Located in a residential area, it is virtual invisible for passersby since it totally blends into the dark brown brick apartment blocks. The decor somehow has this seventies dark saloon-like aura. But when the very friendly staff starts serving their amazing yakitori dishes -involving every part of the chicken, from the innards to the delicious skin- you quickly forget about the gloomy decor. It can be quite busy with groups of Japanese business people but i guess in this case that's a good thing. My favorites are the grilled chicken skin skewers and the grilled chicken wings!

Hakata Senpachi, Wielingenstraat 16H, Amsterdam, +31 (0)20-6625823.

Hutong restaurant, Hong Kong

This Aqua chain restaurant has some spectacular views of the famous Hong Kong skyline and serves some of the most amazing (Northern) Chinese dishes. The obscure decor is equally stunning and cleverly done, so the emphasis is on the food and the views. Some of the dishes we had were 'Drunken crab', razor clams with ginger and spring onions and two of their signature dishes, 'Red Lantern' crispy soft shell crab with Sechuan red pepper and crispy, boneless duck, which both were outstanding! .

Jean-Georges, New York

On our last day in New York, we decided to have dinner at Jean-Georges. One of the first cookbooks I bought was one from this French chef. I don't remember the title of his book but what I do remember was the fact that he was one of the first "fusion" chefs in the fine dining scene worldwide. The food we had that night was very sophisticated without being too pretentious and the presentation of the dishes was quite simple. All dishes were bursting of flavor and very well executed but my favorite of the night was his signature dish of scallops with caramelized cauliflower and a caper and raisin sauce (above). The combination of flavors was amazing!

www.jean-georges.com