Sharky's

Charcuteri: bresaola, smoked pork tenderloin and coppa. A passable glass of chardonnay.

Amazing cheese plate. Goat's cheese, camembert and a morbier with fresh black truffle. Roasted cashews and cinnamon/apple compote.

The best artisanal ice cream I have had in Asia. Rum/raisin, chocolate chip and coconut.

Sharky's
117 Dhammazedi Road
(just north of the Shwe Dagon pagoda)
Yangon, Myanmar

Notes: It all started with a Monocle podcast. B and I are both avid listeners of The Menu and long before I had even considered going to Myanmar, there was a feature on Sharky's in Yangon. Why? The place is rather unique in comparison to Yangon's culinary scene's other offerings where most food is served on the street and made from local prodce and more formalized options are based on imported goods. Sharky's however produces its own charcuteri, cheese and ice creams with locally sourced inputs. Pretty spectacular given the evident lack of infrastructure, especially cold chains and the like. So of course I had to give it a shot during my time in Yangon. 

For the sake of sampling the entire portfolio of their foods made in-house, I went a bit overboard but honestly, the food was so delicious that I finished it all. The charcuteri? Good. Certainly matches the quality of many South European equivalents. The bresaola had some chew, which I really liked, while the coppa was the sort that melts-in-your mouth. The cheese? Obviously, the place specializes in dairy products that do not require too long time for production, why I was only served softer types. All were great and full fat varieties. Especially, the morbier was incredibly delicious and I was baffled by the use of fresh truffle (as much as I know those cannot be sourced in Myanmar, though!). All in all, a pretty exceptional selection where you certainly felt that it was homemade and not of the imported kind. The same goes for the ice cream. Probably the best artisanal ice cream I have tried anywhere in Asia, again due to the high quality of the cream. To me the rum/raisin was the showstopper here. I am sure I could have eaten three more scoops had they been set in front of me.

In total, I had a very pleasant evening at Sharky's. The place is not inexpensive, and for the three dishes and two glasses of wine, I paid approx. 50 USD. The wine I should say, is of the imported kind, and given the fact that Myanmar now produces wine that is more than just merely drinkable, I thought it could had been a great feature. The high price level is naturally also reflected in the clientele, as prices by far exceed what locals can afford. Nonetheless, the atmosphere at Sharky's is light and relaxed. I quickly fell into talks with the couple dining next to me and would most certainly return for a scoop or three of that delicious ice cream. Highly recommended.

Picard

2 cônes gourmands with crème brûlée flavor

Picard
Just around the corner
France

Notes:
Cannes is not really short of ice cream parlors but B and I have a particularly soft spot for French supermarket chain, Picard, specialized in high-quality frozen foods. We thus opted for their gourmand cones with crème brûlée flavour when an ice cream craving suddenly occurred - and they were delicious and even cheap at 3euro for 2. Every time I visit Picard I struggle to understand we do not have such a concept in Denmark. I never had anything bad from Picard and can personally recommend everything from their foie gras to croissants.

Misc. Beijing Eats and Drinks

Grilled skewers from street kitchen in Wangjing. 

Sichuan dry-fried green beens from street kitchen in Wangjing. 

Sautéed cabbage with peanuts from street kitchen in Wangjing.

Stir-fried beef and peppers from restaurant in Wangjing Commercial Center. 

Stir-fried beef with chiles and garlic from restaurant in Wangjing Commercial Center. 

Shabu shabu (hotpot) from Taiwanese Xiabu Xiabu in Wangjing.

Random Chinese dish picked up in Wangjing Hua Tang Mall's supermarket.

Three cup mushroom from Taiwanese Bellagio in Wangjing.

Stir-fried beef on steamed cabbage at Taiwanese Bellagio in Wangjing.

Plate of roast duck and pork at Taiwanese Bellagio in Wangjing.

Noodle soup from restaurant in UTown Mall basement in Beijing.

Set meals from fastfood chain Yoshinoya. 

Stir-fried liver/celery/chile, cucumber/celeri/chile, and beef and egg from street kitchen in Beijing. 

Beef noodle soup and sides of kelp and black fungus at restaurant in Wangjing Hua Tang Mall.

Banchan from Korean restaurant in Wangjing. 

Pajeon from Korean restaurant in Wangjing. 

Banchan from Korean restaurant Ai Jiang Shan in Lido. 

Grilled fish from Korean restaurant Ai Jiang Shan in Lido.

Fattoush salad, hummous and meat-filled pita at Dareen Coffee in San Li Tun.

Salmon Eggs Benedict at Vineyard Cafe in Yong He Gong.

Steak salad from Peter's Tex Mex in Lido.

Chocolate cake from Wish Restaurant and Lounge in Lido.

Waffle with berries and berry ice cream from Maan Coffee, Waffle and Toast in Lido.

Cappuccino, coke float, marbled brownie and apple pie from Miss Me café in Lido. 

Cappuccino and americano (Beijing's most expensive coffee!) from Fish Eye Café in San Li Tun's The Village.

Grain shake (?), americano and toast sticks (???) at Maan Coffee, Waffle and Toast in Wangjing.

Coffee and raspberry macaron at Ocean Grounds Organic Coffee in UTown.

Beer at microbrewery Great Leap Brewing (highly recommended!)

Beers by the lakeside at Stone Boat Bar in Ritan Park.

Japanese FMCG

Sushi lunch and Pepsi Black Lemon from depato Matsuzakaya in Ginza. 

Pre-dinner drinks and snacks: tonkatsu chips (tasted more like the sauce, sweet-ish) and black Sapporo

Oreos - Pina Colada flavor?

Sushi, sashimi and wakame salad dinner from Precce Premium in the basement of Tokyo Midtown. 

...Where we also picked up this Rosé de Japon to go with our meal. Not a very memorable wine but surely interesting to try. 

Late night snacking and drinking: A flat (?) ice cream cone and Häagen-Dazs crêpe glacé with Tiramisu flavor (B loved this one). The Strong Zero being a R2D mixed drink, and pretty bad-tasting as much as I remember.

Coffee break: Van Houten Cocoa and Roots Aroma Black from 7eleven + Pain aux raisins from local bakery

Another depato lunch.

Best of FritoLay: Mike popcorn, Doritos and Cheetos. B was very fond of this chips compilation.

Cod roe chips (we did not buy these, though).

Lemonade, squid and salad from 7eleven.

Lemon/squash mentos + Melon Fanta

Notes:
B and I are FMCG nerds. Whenever we go traveling be spend a great deal of time in supermarkets and seek out local products and brands. And as you know Japan is a haven in this context. We thus spent every possible occasion to try new products during our Tokyo trip. Some was good, most just interesting, but we surely did have a great deal of fun with it.

Misc. Tokyo Eats and Drinks

Ramen in Shibuya.

Pickles, karaage and biru in an Akasaka izakaya.

Yakitori of all sorts in Akasaka izakaya.

Yakitori, umeshu and biru in 400yen izakaya in Roppongi.

Octopus and fried smelt in a Shinjuku izakaya.

Tamagoyaki in a Ginza izakaya.

Late night tempura snacking in a Shinjuku izakaya.

Bento dinner in a Shinjuku izakaya. 

Omu rice in a Shibuya izakaya.

Noodle okonomiyaki in Shibuya.

Soup and salad from a lunch set in a Shibuya café.

Pasta gratin from a lunch set in a Shibuya café.

Steak salad and baked risotto from a Shibuya café.

Breakfast set with croissant with actual butter (a rarity in China) in an Omotesando bakery.

Coffee break with brownie in Rose Bakery in Dover Street Market.

B and a green tea soft serve. 

Mandatory cocktails in the New York Bar in Park Hyatt. Bland, overpriced and tacky cocktails. Who serves a negroni in a martini glass?

Japanese food road kill.