Beautiful bites: The prettiest plates our critic cleaned in his previous 12 months of culinary indulgence

Chef Wendy Lopez served up dish after gorgeous dish for a friend's birthday dinner at Reyes Mezcaleria, but the one holding pink slivers of cured hamachi dusted with the ashes of burnt onion fanned around a plate pooled in hibiscus chili water was arguably the most fetching.

Seito Sushi Sand Lake: Pheasant

A dinner spotlighting Suntory's limited edition Yamazaki Tsukuriwake Selection at Seito Sushi Sand Lake was heavy on stellar single malt whiskys, though just as substantial was chef Ryo Yoshikawa's offering of pheasant splashed with a tare demiglace and served alongside a rillette of foie gras and a jidori egg.

Crocante Restaurant: "Kan Kan" porchetta

The gorgeous shellac on chef Yamuel Bigio's rotisseried "Kan Kan" porchetta practically begged us to tap the crackling ring of the porky round with a knife and fork and play the thing like Tito Puente on the timbales. And we did.

Friendship BBQ: Garlic grilled fish

Yes, it's known for its chuan'r, but Friendship BBQ has another ace in its sleeve — a showstopper of a dish featuring whole grilled tilapia gurgling in an iron vessel with a chili-oiled liquid textured with tofu, sprouts and mushrooms. The fish itself is topped with an infernal garlic-chili paste and sprinkled with sesame seeds. This one got my pulse racing.

Camille: Bánh xèo

I've eaten my fair share of bánh xèo, but never one like this. Chef Tung Phan reimagines the crepe-like Viet staple with chunks of Florida spiny lobster positioned on a ring of pesto fashioned from Thai basil, cilantro, culantro and roasted garlic. Shards of tuile are carefully balanced on the lobster, while a passionfruit nước chấm with bourbon barrel-aged fish sauce is spooned into the center. It's a crackling mouth-puckerer of a dish. Photogenic as hell, too.

There's plenty to like about chef Bruno Fonseca's monthly-changing tasting menu, but the charcoal banana tartlet topped with seared foie, Chantilly cream and port wine caramel he served early on during the multicourse meal was a bit of a surprise — a pleasant, sweet and meaty surprise.

Zaru: Wagyu udon

Of all the udon bowls served at Zaru, none captivated us more than the "shabu shabu"-style slurper spotlighting the zabuton cut of A5 wagyu from Kagoshima. Chef William Shen set the raw beef into the broth before a tableside torching of the luscious slivers. The result: an upmarket udon experience at its utmost.

Hunger Street Tacos: Tacos al pastor

Watching David Creech manhandle a massive, inverted pyramid of meat, then secure it onto a rickety "flame thrower" trompo on Cinco de Mayo, was a scene right out of the streets of Mexico. That the slow-roasted adobo pork served on an heirloom corn taco with jalapeño and arbol crema, onion, cilantro, lime and, of course, pineapple, was just as good as the tacos al pastor you'd taste in CDMX was really no surprise. Creech, after all, was born and raised in Mexico City.

Chef Henry Moso's presentation of glistening Peking duck is the stuff Instagram dreams are made of. After poaching the bird in a hot liquid of Chinese red vinegar and honey, Moso ages it for three or four days. Then he roasts it, poaches it in hot oil, and carves it and the duck is ready for social media glory.

Chicken or lamb, take your pick, but both of these charred tubes of brilliance grilled over open charcoal are as good a kebab you'll have in the city — spiced, succulent and licked with the flavor only glowing chunks of carbon can provide.

Juju is one of the best izakayas in the state, no doubt, but chef Lewis Lin really allows his creative side to flourish when staging his seasonal multicourse kappo dinners, and this eye-popper of a soup beguiles. It's crustaceous to its core with sweet Hanasaki crab meat in a Hanasaki shell dashi broth along with crab roe. White truffle, chive oil and egg white add a touch of flavor elegance to the soup, which is served in the critter's carapace.

Chef Huy Tin has been killing it at Seito Sushi Baldwin Park, but pastry chef Juan Bohorquez has been turning heads ever since joining the team a little more than a year ago. His double-layer cheesecake with sake-blueberry compote, passionfruit gelee and yuzu cream had us moaning and groaning like a couple of love-starved teens in the back row of a movie theater.