Indian, Japanese, Italian, or French – no matter the cuisine, the best dishes of my gourmet journey all stand out with clear, focused, perfectly balanced flavours. As is showcased by the next 10 dishes that are part of the 100 Best Bites of my life (so far):
70 – Amalfi Feelings on the 70th Floor
🍽️ Amalfi Lemon Granite
📍 JAAN by Kirk Westaway, Singapore (SG)
🌐 Website | Instagram
🧑🏼🍳 Kirk Westaway
🗓️ 2017
Lemons are a magical ingredient in fine dining. They bring brightness and freshness to every dish, as well as an effortless harmony with everything from seafood to vegetables to desserts. And there’s no doubt: the world’s best lemons come from Italy’s Amalfi Coast.
At 2-Michelin-starred JAAN high atop the 70th floor of the Swissôtel in Singapore, the entire dining room suddenly filled with the sweetest lemon aroma as chef Kirk Westaway shaved zest over his Amalfi lemon pre-dessert. What followed was the ultimate palate cleanser: Amalfi lemon sorbet and foam layered over lemon granita and fresh lemon pieces, all finished with that freshly grated zest.
I still remember the fragrance of that moment – paired with the flavours and textures of this wonderful dish, and the glittering Singapore skyline, it was a true spectacle for all the senses!
69 – The Quiet Star of the Spectacle
🍽️ Smoke | Osetra, Sunflower, Onion, Lemon
📍 Alinea, Chicago (US)
🌐 Website | Instagram
🧑🏼🍳 Grant Achatz
🗓️ 2018
A dinner at Alinea is far more than a meal. It feels like attending a theatre production, visiting an art exhibition, and stepping into a food innovation lab all at once. Recently ranked No.1 in Robb Report’s list of “The 100 Greatest American Restaurants of the 21st Century”, Alinea‘s – and chef Grant Achatz’s – pivotal influence on the global fine dining scene is undisputed. 20 years after opening its doors, the experience remains unique and an absolute must for any food lover.
While many of Achatz’s dishes arrive with bold, exuberant presentations – think glowing liquids, fire, nitrogen vapour, or even food painted directly onto the table cloth – the dish that stayed with me most was a quiet one: a small bowl filled with a cream of caramelised onions and smoked sunflower seeds, topped with lemon oil, sunflower leaves, and a generous spoonful of Osetra caviar.
Unshowy yet beautiful, wonderfully harmonious, and a perfect example of how creativity and technical mastery can elevate exceptional ingredients.
68 – A Japanese Sensation in Berlin
🍽️ King Crab • Chanterelles • Dashi
📍 Ernst, Berlin (DE)
🧑🏼🍳 Dylan Watson-Brawn
🗓️ 2024
Japanese cuisine is one of my absolute favourites. And the best Japanese meal I’ve ever had outside of Japan? Without a doubt, it was at Michelin-starred Ernst.
Ernst was a tiny nine-seat counter restaurant in the Wedding district of Berlin, owned by chef Dylan Watson-Brawn. His omakase menu was a fascinating procession of small bites – 45 when I visited! – showcasing local produce through the lens of Japanese technique.
A dish that captured this philosophy perfectly combined king crab and locally foraged chanterelles with an exceptionally intense dashi, creating a pure umami bomb. Deep, memorable, and utterly delightful – an immediate throwback to Japan.
Watson-Brawn closed Ernst last year to focus on other projects. Berlin – and Europe – lost a truly special and unique expression of Japanese cuisine.
67 – Truffle Bomb
🍽️ Sunflower Seed Risotto with Burgundy Truffles
📍 The Catbird Seat, Nashville (US)
🌐 Website | Instagram
🧑🏼🍳 Ryan Poli
🗓️ 2018
Truffles are an exciting yet challenging ingredient. Poor-quality truffle tastes bland, and too much of it can easily overpower a delicate dish. But with the right quality and the right amount, truffles can lift a plate to new heights and add a distinctive, almost magical depth.
That’s exactly what happened with this sunflower seed risotto at The Catbird Seat in Nashville. The dish was already fascinating on its own – a masterful balance of creamy and crunchy textures, built around the unexpected use of sunflower seeds. But it was the beautiful Burgundy truffle shaved over the top that turned it into a truly memorable bite.
The Catbird Seat was just awarded a star in the first-ever Michelin Guide for the American South – as one of only three restaurants in Nashville. It operates a unique chef-incubator model, giving talented young chefs their first executive chef position for a limited time. A great culinary reason to visit the Music City!
66 – The Perfect Madeleine
🍽️ La madeleine tiède au miel • glace fromage blanc
📍 La Mèrr Brazier, Lyon (FR)
🌐 Website | Instagram
🧑🏼🍳 Mathieu Viannay
🗓️ 2017
The perfect madeleine doesn’t exi… It does! I’m a devoted admirer of the little French cake and never miss a chance to try one. And I doubt I’ll ever find a better version than the one served at the 2-Michelin-starred La Mère Brazier in Lyon.
In his signature take on the French classic, chef Mathieu Viannay uses beurre noisette, almond powder, and acacia honey to lift the madeleine to new heights. Served lukewarm, with a delicate crust and a perfectly fluffy centre, and paired with a spoonful of ice cream, this is a simple yet flawless dessert.
If you feel up for it, try baking the madeleines at home, the restaurant published the recipe a few years ago.
65 – The Most Beautiful Salad
🍽️ Courgette “Roi Soleil” • Lemon Verbena • Green Sprouts • Goat Cheese
📍 Geranium, Copenhagen (DK)
🌐 Website | Instagram
🧑🏼🍳 Rasmus Kofoed
🗓️ 2021
It’s the combination of delicate French technique, pristine seasonal produce, and warm Nordic hospitality that has made 3-Michelin-starred restaurant Geranium renowned worldwide – and led it all the way to No. 1 on the World’s 50 Best list.
Chef Tasmus Kofoed crafts his seasonal tasting menus around seafood and vegetables. Every dish bursts with creativity and is presented with an attention to detail rarely found anywhere else.
A highlight of my lunch at Geranium was a salad of courgettes, lemon verbena, and young green sprouts, finished with an intriguing vinaigrette and a subtle touch of goat cheese. Not only one of the most beautiful salads I’ve ever seen, but also incredibly refreshing and delicious.
64 – Cake Heaven
🍽️ Japanese Cheesecake • Woodruff and Chantilly
📍 Jatak, Copenhagen (DK)
🌐 Website | Instagram
👨🏼🍳 Jonathan Tam
🗓️ 2023
If you only visit one restaurant in Copenhagen, make it Jatak. Opened in 2022, this intimate 20-seat spot earned a Michelin star just weeks after opening. From the warm wooden interior and kind, casual Nordic hospitality to stellar ingredients, creative cooking, and zero-fuss presentation – for me, this is the ultimate representation of Copenhagen’s dining DNA.
Chef Jonathan Tam, trained at Noma and Relæ, blends New Nordic cuisine with flavours from his Asian heritage, creating food that feels both refined and deeply personal.
While the tasting menu impresses throughout with its focus on produce and precision, the real highlight often comes with the cake for dessert. This version – an impossibly fluffy cheesecake with subtle yet intriguing matcha notes – is simply world-class.
63 – Simplicity in Perfection
🍽️ Spaghettone • Butter • Brewer’s Yeast
📍 Lido 84, Gardone Riviera (IT)
🌐 Website | Instagram
👨🏼🍳 Riccardo Camanini
🗓️ 2024
On the sun-kissed shores of Lake Garda, Michelin-starred Ristorante Lido 84 offers one of the most creative and sublime expressions of Italian cuisine today.
Chef Riccardo Camanini masterfully blends tradition with innovation, earning admiration from around the world. One of his most iconic dishes shows simplicity in perfection: just three ingredients – exceptional pasta, fragrant Piedmont butter, and dried brewer’s yeast – coming together in a dish of astonishing depth. Salty, fruity, and intensely umami, it’s said to have prompted the great Alain Ducasse to call it “the best dish I’ve ever had.”
Add the magical setting on Lake Garda and the warm hospitality of Riccardo’s brother and restaurant manager Giancarlo, and you have a dining experience that feels truly unforgettable.
62 – Exciting Indian Flavours
🍽️ Chilled Seabass „Sev Puri“ • Nimbu chunda • Kairo chutney • pickled chillies
📍 The Bombay Canteen, Mumbai (IN)
🌐 Website | Instagram
🗓️ 2024
Mumbai has a lot on offer for adventurous food lovers. The bold spices, powerful flavours, and vibrancy of Indian cuisine meet the creativity and energy of a global metropolis.
Nowhere is this fusion more exciting than at The Bombay Canteen. Reimagining traditional recipes from across India with a modern twist – and pairing them with inventive cocktails and buzzing cosmopolitan vibes – it’s my favourite restaurant in the whole country.
The most memorable bite? Their puri: tiny, crisp flatbreads topped with sev (crunchy noodles), chutney, pickled chillies, and – quite unconventionally – lemon-cured seabass. A delicate and absolutely delicious take on an Indian street-food classic.
61 – Luxurious Mouthful
🍽️ Takoyaki
📍 Jordnær, Gentofte (DK)
🌐 Website | Instagram
👨🏼🍳 Eric Kragh Vildgaard
🗓️ 2025
Copenhagen is the city with the world’s highest density of top-tier restaurants. While most of them excel at the casual purity of New Nordic cuisine with its local ingredients and seasonal cooking, chef Eric Vildgaard bravely – and very successfully – takes a different path: At restaurant Jordnær just outside of Copenhagen he celebrates classic haute cuisine delicacy and the world’s most luxurious ingredients. Weaving them into dishes of remarkable precision and flavour, he recently was awarded 3 Michelin stars – as only the third chef ever in Denmark.
A perfect example of Vildgaard’s cooking is his delicious take on the Japanese street-food classic takoyaki. Filled with langoustine instead of octopus and crowned with generous amounts of caviar and black truffle, it’s a decadent flavour bomb – indulgence at its finest!
A Gourmet Journey 