Restaurants not to be seen in
The emphasis on culinary excellence over social status defines the dining experience at restaurants like Al Muntaha and Orfali Bros., where food takes centre stage
Don’t look for me. I’m not there. And I don’t want to be seen, anyway. Move on. Get lost. Skedaddle. I’m only here for the food.
Given that professional duties require me to visit a restaurant and eat, before eventually reporting on those findings, there are no pressures on me to deliver anything other than a balanced assessment. I don’t need or particularly want a selfie with the chef, and a what-I’m-wearing-tonight bathroom picture is pointless in my profession – and at my age. I’m not in it for the aesthetics. I’m only here for the food.
I have no interest in waving down a celebrity chef, and I don’t hang around at the bar waiting, wanting, aching to be noticed. Don’t look for me. I’m not there.
I do, however, want to eat. The likes of Al Muntaha, Jun’s, TakaHisa, Trèsind Studio, BOCA and Kinoya are just a handful of restaurants I can cheerfully not be seen at, because they are all about the food. These restaurants spotlight products and give something in the way of a narrative, a peek behind the curtain of the chef and their creative process.
Of course, there are those restaurants where it is all about the ‘experience’ and the extravagance of a night on the town. Restaurants to be seen in. But I don’t want to be seen, and a good meal is surely experience enough.
I shouldn’t and I won’t point the finger (oh, but I do want to), because we all know the places – vacuous, depressive restaurants, dressed up to the nines for viral and commercial success, where no one knows or cares about the chef (least of all the operator) and the food is entirely forgettable. Restaurants in which to document and livestream your night, where no one looks up from their phones – and every phone has an attachable megawatt light bulb for the perfect selfie. You know the places, the hot heart of fomo. But don’t look for me. I’m not there.
Yoo-hoo! Hello, I’m over here. I’m in City Social, Orfali Bros. and Mika. I’m eating spicy roasted octopus at Tasca and slurping up the steaming, soupy innards of a xiao long bao at Long Teng. These are the restaurants not to be seen in, because it really doesn’t matter. I’m there for the food.