My apologies, this is a bit of a belated guest post/review from my sister who stayed at the Tokyo Station Hotel in Tokyo, Japan in December 2015. December 9, 2015 The Tokyo Station Hotel just celebrated their 100th birthday on November 2, 2015. At a century old, the hotel is full of life and grandeur….
The Marriott Taipei and Garden Kitchen Restaurant
The Marriott Taipei [Scroll down if you just want to read about the food!] Taipei’s newest hotel had its soft-opening in July this year and will officially open sometime this month (at least from the last I heard). The Marriott Hotel Taipei is located in Dazhi, right by the Miramar shopping center and across the…
[Updated] Review: Restaurant Toh-A 桌藏 and 山海樓 Mountain and Sea House Vintage Taiwanese Cuisine
[Update] I just had dinner at 山海樓 Mountain and Sea House again the other night and it impressed me a lot more than my first visit. Everything we ordered, from stuff we’ve had before, to new seasonal creations, were all on point. The restaurant has recently gained a lot of popularity and as such its been…
[Updatded Sep 2019] Restaurant Ephernite: Bringing Chic Neighborhood French to Taipei’s Rising Haute Cuisine Scene
Bonjour! [Updated September, 2019] It had been a long time since I returned to Ephernite. Likely 3-4 years since my last meal here. All I can say is things have only gotten better. The food from Chef Vanessa is ever more refined, creative and sophisticated. Wine list curated by Claude is ever extensive and one of…
Cuba: Traveling Back to 1950 for a New Hope With National Geographic Expeditions
Hola! I recently had the great opportunity to be a part of a National Geographic Expedition for the first time. We booked ourselves on one of the increasing number of “People to People” trips for U.S. Citizens to travel to Cuba in the wake of President Obama’s announcement to lift certain bans, including making it…
Review: Amanpulo, Philippines
Hi All, The following is a guest post by my sister, she and her husband recently visited and stayed at the Amanpulo in Palawan, Philippines. Amanpulo is their second Aman resort experience, after Amankora in Bhutan. The #1 hotel chain on my list of places to stay and check out is any of the Aman…
Review: Phulay Bay, A Ritz Carlton Reserve; How a Great Management Team Can Go A Long Way
Hello! This year for our winter family trip we opted for something closer to home that didn’t have a long minimum night stay. We chose to return to Thailand have not returned there for our vacations for over 7 years now. To switch things up, we decided to try a new spot in Thailand, having…
[Updated Nov. 2017] MUME v. RAW: Taipei’s Newest Trendsetting Restaurants Successfully Bring Haute Cuisine to Taiwan
Hi All, For most updated thoughts scroll to the bottom. [Modified] Original Post: This winter, Taipei saw the opening of two brand new restaurants serving multi-course haute cuisine. One is Mume, the other is Raw. Both have similar concepts in crafting fine dishes from local Taiwanese ingredients. Bringing the concepts of haute cuisine and…
Review: China Airlines (CI) 777-300ER Business Class: Taking Taiwanese Aviation to New Heights
Hello Everyone! As a longtime China Airlines flyer, I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of their 777-300ER fleet since the airline announced their order for 10 77W. Starting in April 2014, CI began releasing images of their interiors for the new plane and when I saw what was in store, I was simply amazed….
Food for Thought: One’s next adventure: North Korea (DPRK)? I say Yes.
I was browsing through some where to go in 2015 lists across a few different travel publications and came across one that listed North Korea. North Korea has always been in the back of my mind. While most countries, especially here in the United States, highly discourage and even make taboo of a visit to…
23 Year Road Trip, Spanning 177 Countries, a True Wanderlust Fairytale
Hi All, I came across this story and video today of a man named Gunther Holtorf, who recently completed a 23 year long road trip across 177 countries on a Mercedes Benz G Wagon he aptly named Oto. He started off with his wife, who sadly passed away a few years ago but she insisted…
Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare
Tonight I was very fortunate to have a meal at Chef Cesar Ramirez’s Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare. And it was by far the best meal I have ever had, beating out Bouley (Chef Cesar Ramirez’s origins), Jean Georges, 11 Madison Park, Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Le Bernardin and some others in other countries. This three…
TheGastronomicTraveler 