Bali, Indonesia
A very nice dual-level property located across the street from Bali's Kuta Beach, and right next door to the incredible Hard Rock Beach Club resort hotel. The lower level is a Hard Rock Live! venue with live music nightly. I was lucky enough to be here for the festivities of their 7th anniversary, which culminated in a great live show and a menu roll-back with the cheapest prices I've ever paid for food at a HRC! Unfortunately, they didn't yet have a pin to mark the occasion, which was a really blaring oversight. The bar here has a really cool giant guitar overhead, with the "hands of God" (modeled from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel) painted on the dome above, ready to start rockin'! Excellent service.

Bali, Indonesia
Absolutely amazing in every way you can imagine. I have a page devoted to this resort that will be up soon!

Bangkok, Thailand
This Hard Rock was a very pleasant diversion from the crowded streets of Bangkok. The location is a bit out of the way, but conveniently located near some of the newer shopping districts in the eastern part of the city. Typical of Asia, the service is exceptional with a young staff speaking very good English. The interior is fairly standard for a Hard Rock (this is a good thing!), but a Tuk-Tuk (Bangkok 3-wheel taxi) is embedded in the exterior for local flavor.

Fukuoka, Japan
A long 6-1/2 hour ride from Tokyo via the Shinkansen Bullet Train may seem a bit "out of the way" for a Hard Rock location, but the journey was well worth it (if a bit confusing, because the official HRC site didn't have the address listed, even though the cafe had been open for almost a year!). Located at Hawk's Town (at the Fukuoka Hawks Dome Baseball Field) this is a great addition for HRC Japan, and features a nice presentation of memorabilia... of which a good chunk seems to run parallel to the Tokyo HRC. The staff was amazingly friendly, like all the people I met in Fukuoka, surpassing Japan's already high standards. The atmosphere was a bit subdued, but still fun, and should be a crucial stop for any Hard Rocker visiting Japan that doesn't mind a long trip south.

Kobe, Japan
CLOSED! Like Yokohama, the HRC here loses a few points for being in a mall location, but is still a great part of Kobe's night life. Because it is located in the fun Harbor Land complex, you have a full pallet of things to see and do after dinner (and easy access from the New Otani Hotel if you've had one too many Hard Rock Hurricanes!). If you are in the Osaka area, it's well worth a visit, just not quite the exotic location it could be given the historic influences Kobe has to offer.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
On a ten-hour layover in KL, I took a quick trip into the city to see Petronas Towers (the tallest building in the world) and, of course, the Hard Rock Kuala Lumpur! Located in the "Golden Triangle" section of the city, this property is actually on the outskirts of the triangle, with quite a hike to any other action in the area. The staff is friendly, but seemed easily distracted, so the service is not quite as good as other Hard Rocks in Asia. They are said to have live music here, but not on the Friday night I was visiting. The Veggie Burgers here are really, really good (no stupid sprouts, and a bun that didn't fall apart!). There was not a lot of unique merchandise here when I visited (no city guitar pin!?!) which is kind of a bummer.

Nagoya, Japan
Hearing that this is the "Castle of Rock," I was preparing myself for a completely unique HRC experience... "Was it really a castle?" "Would there be cool castle-type merchandise?" "Would it be in some exotic castle-type location?" Unfortunately, the answers are "no," "no," and "no." There is hardly anything special about the restaurant architecture or the location at all. You can't even see Nagoya Castle from anywhere near the property! If you are intent on visiting as many Hard Rocks as possible, it's worth a stop, but unless you're in the Osaka area, it probably doesn't deserve a special trip. If you do go, you will be treated to a hard-working and friendly staff, excellent service, and a good merch shop.

Osaka Universal, Japan
After 2-1/2 hours on the speedy Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo to Osaka, I met up with Kimono-san at the new Hard Rock Cafe Osaka Universal Studios (quite a mouthful!). It's a rather impressive dual-level property directly opposite the main entrance to the park. Though smaller in size, I do like it better than the HRC Universal in California, as it seems to have a bit more personality. Excellent service, a nice merch shop, and a groovy theme park right out the front door makes this second Osaka location worthwhile.

Osaka, Japan
Of all the Hard Rocks, I had to work hardest to get to the HRC Osaka (including an expensive ride on the Shinkansen Bullet Train from Tokyo!). I had no clue where the restaurant was located (this was before hardrock.com), and ended up walking the entire length of the biggest underground mall I'd ever seen! I was about to give up, but found it right at the mall exit in front of Osaka Stadium (hence this is "The Stadium of Rock"). The effort was worth it, however, as the restaurant was fantastic. The BEST service, excellent food, great atmosphere, and a very nice layout make this a favorite. UPDATE: I just returned from Osaka to find that Osaka Stadium is GONE! Probably being rebuilt in their bid for the 2008 Olympics.

Osaka, Japan 2
After a great lunch at the Universal cafe, it was off to the new cafe in downtown Osaka. It has been a very long time since I had been to the first cafe here, so I can't really say if this new one is a huge improvement over the original. I can say that it's a great addition to the chain. Kimono-san tells me that the building used to be a bank. And, sure enough, you can see in the back of the cafe where the bank vault used to be. As an homage to its origins, they've put some bars at the "vault bar" entrance, which is a clever touch. As usual for Japanese cafes, the service is perfect (particularly in the merch shop which was very helpful) and the staff works very hard to make sure you have the best possible visit.

Seoul, Korea
The front of the Hard Rock Seoul has the Hard Rock Cafe motto "Love All, Serve All" emblazoned in big letters above the door... but it turns out this is a crock of $#!&. First of all, they do not open weekdays for lunch... you can only eat there from 5pm until 10:30pm... a pitiful 5-1/2 hour window. Second of all, the cafe seems to regularly close down for "special functions." When I got there (right at 5pm) I was told that there was a special function at 7pm until closing. Lucky I got there in time to have an early dinner, right? WRONG! They didn't want to open the kitchen for just two hours. This is a load of crap. As part of the Hard Rock franchise, you should have regular hours so fans can plan a visit... if you want private parties, build a room for it. So, while the cafe seems nice and the staff friendly, not being able to have dinner makes this my most disappointing Hard Rock visit ever.

Singapore
Conveniently located off of the massive Orchard Road shopping strip, the Hard Rock Singapore is a very nice dual-level property, with two bars and a stage. The lower bar is really tacky... shaped like a plastic yellow piano(!) that kind of throws off the "look" of the place, but there is a lot of memorabilia throughout, and the upper bar area is very nicely appointed. The staff is really helpful and friendly (a far better resource for sightseeing Singapore than the book I brought!) and the live music was top-notch.

Tokyo: Roppongi, Japan
Yes, that's King Kong hanging off the side of the building! Home of a really good pizza, I was lucky enough to visit the Tokyo Hard Rock on a business trip. After eating there for the third time in a week, I finally determined it to be the friendliest, best service I've ever received from a restaurant. The staff goes out of their way to make you feel right at home, even when you are half a world away! The music choices are skewed to Japanese favorites (Hall & Oates, Kiss, and Mr. Big are practically worshipped!), but overall it is one of my best Hard Rock experiences. If you're ever in the Roppongi District, I give this property my highest recommendation. UPDATE: Japan (and other countries) used to have different menus than here in the States, but now they are all the same. There's still BBQ pizza as an appetizer but, sadly, many of the custom dishes are gone.

Tokyo: Uyeno-Eki, Japan
The Hard Rock Uyeno-Eki is located in the JR Eki (Japan Rail train station) building of Ueno. It is easily one of the smallest HRC properties I have ever seen, with very limited seating... I just ate at the bar so I could avoid the line for a table. Like all cafes in Japan, the service is impeccable, which cannot be easy given the cramped quarters that the staff has to operate in. The merch shop, while also quite small, seems huge when compared to the size of the actual restaurant. The atmosphere is a bit subdued, which is the norm for Japanese properties, but you can tell the staff is having a good time and working hard to keep the energy level up. While not quite on the same level as the first Tokyo property in Roppongi, Uyeno-Eki is well worth a visit... especially given how easy the rail and subway lines make it to navigate through Tokyo. I suggest having dinner in Roppongi, then heading over to Uyeno-Eki for dessert (since they don't have veggie burgers here).

Yokohama, Japan
The Port of Rock is, sadly, in a mall location buried in the middle of Queen's Square next to the sprawling Landmark Tower complex (the tallest building in Japan). HOWEVER, at the time I visited, the energy here was the best of all the Japan restaurants making the quick 30 minute trip from Tokyo well worth the time! The staff (as in most Japanese restaurants) yells out a friendly greeting whenever somebody enters the restaurant, BUT it's the kitchen staff (practically screaming from the back of the restaurant!) that made this custom seem really special while I was there! The fun atmosphere is contagious, and I can't imagine anybody visiting this location and not having a great time. Too bad they don't have a more unique property to showcase such a cool and devoted staff.