Category Archives: Japan

Tempura Matsu (天ぷら松), Kyoto

Chef: Matsuno Toshio Website: Not Available Cuisine: Traditional Japanese / Washoku

Arashiyama is undeniably a magical site offering ample examples of the scenic beauty Kyoto is known for. However, unlike other areas of the city it is perhaps less frequently associated with fine dining. While, if you follow the red book religiously, you’d probably venture out there for the incredibly expensive three starred meal at Kitcho, that’s probably the only establishment on most foodie’s list. One would therefore be forgiven for not having heard of Matsuno Shunichi’s restaurant, Tempura Matsu, located a couple of kilometres down the Oi river in the neighbourhood of Matsuo Taisha since 1973, but you would certainly be missing out.

The restaurant is a well kept secret amongst the locals and is often booked out by Japanese politicians. It does however appear to have started attracting some foodies from afar. But don’t let the name deceive you. Whilst tempura certainly does make it on the menu, the cuisine here is traditional Japanese (washoku) with some surprisingly modern and creative twists. This can be easily explained by looking at the CV of the current chef, Matsuno Toshio, who took charge of his father’s restaurant a few years ago. Toshio has an impressive resume working with such icons as Alain Ducasse and Grant Achatz.

We were fortunate enough to have a private room upstairs. This allowed us (and most importantly, our two year old daughter) a bit of privacy and room to move around. Given we had travelled all the way to Japan, we opted for the most elaborate menu containing the best ingredients available at 15,000 yen per person; an absolute steal considering the feast we were about to indulge in. Many of the courses were also served on oribe ware (a style of ceramic ware with vivid colours) produced by one of Japan’s most important artist Kitaooji Rosanjin (北大路魯山人). Some of his works have been declared as national treasure by the Japanese government and are absolutely priceless fetching tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars for each piece. What an absolute honour to be able to use and admire them up close!1st Course: Corn soup, scallop, water shield and prawn in bamboo cup. The bamboo cylinder was filled with a sweet corn soup, generous portions of scallop and prawn and slithers of water shields (also known as junsai in Japan) and chilled in the ice bucket to make this a rather refreshing starter. I particularly enjoyed the transition from the sweet flavour to a more sharper finish with the junsai which had been pickled in vinegar.

2nd Course: Sweetfish (Ayu). The last ayu of the season which contained delicious roe was presented in two ways. Firstly, as a sushi and secondly, prepared using a charcoal grill, or sumibiyaki. The green sauce was made from ayu that had been preserved in salt and vinegar from last year with water pepper leaves. The sushi was exquisite and sweet but my favourite was the salt grilled ayu. The entire fish could be consumed right from the head to the tail. Crunchy, crispy, sweet and savory.

3rd Course: Prawn potato (Ebi imo), pike conger (hamo) and sea urchin (uni). The ebi imo is a unique variety of the taro potato and was served with deep fried hamo and a slither of uni, both sourced from Awajishima in the Hyogo prefecture, and chestnut chips. It was seasoned with salt from Okinawa. It was another well balanced dish with varied textures and flavours.4th Course: Matsutake Dobinmushi. A traditional but luxurious course serving the prized matsutake mushroom which was coming to the end of season. A teapot was presented to each person with a sake cup that had been sprinkled with yuzu zest and a slice of sudachi on the side.

Inside the teapot were oysters and matsutake. We were advised to first pour the broth out into the cup and drink it, before moving on to squeezing the sudachi over the matsutake and oyster before eating them. The broth was absolutely exquisite – a perfect marriage of flavours from the mountain and the sea.

5th Course: Pacific Saury Sashimi (sanma), served simply with a pinch of salt. Don’t let the simplicity of this dish fool you. This was simply the best sanma I have ever tasted and surpassed all expectations. I personally preferred my sanma grilled with salt but this sashimi just melted in your mouth like butter. The Absolutely divine.

We thought it would be a shame not to have some beverage to go with our food that was more fitting than beer so opted for the finest junmai daiginjyo called ‘gesshou’ which was a limited release and was served in a chilled bamboo flask.

6th Course: Tile Fish (Amadai) and Fatty Tuna (Ootoro) Sashimi. The pampas grass (susuki) on the bowl is a typical decoration used during the months of moon watching (tsukimi). The sashimi was served with seaweed soy sauce on the side (nori jyouyu). It was a showcase of the superior produce and ingredients Japan has to offer. The amadai or, as also locally, guji is considered to be the fish that represents Kyoto and is highly sought after for its sweetness.

We were advised to eat the fried scales of the amadai after the sashimi. This was the perfect snack to go with the sake.

7th Course: Seabass (nozoguro), slighted torched and served with wasabi and sudachi. It had an intoxicating smokiness and melted in your mouth all too quickly. The direct application of the wasabi was ingenious. It eliminated the charred smell, focused on the smokey flavour and cut right through the oiliness of the fish.

A Japanese spiny lobster (ise-ebi) was brought to our table alive again to showcase the superior quality of their ingredients. Japanese people go bonkers over these crustaceans at the height of the season. I certainly got excited as it had been a while since I had one.8th Course: Ise-ebi shabu shabu. A decadent and luxurious rich soup made from the head of the ise-ebi was presented to each of us in a bowl. The aroma from this was unbearably good and I had to hold myself from immediately picking it up with my hands to slurp it – fortunate given the bowl was scorching hot.

Each person had a portion of the ise-ebi and two thin sheets of tofu skin, otherwise known as yuba.

The sweet ise-ebi and yuba soaked up the flavour of the soup. It was unbelievably sweet and euphoric. The last time I had such an array of exquisite courses one after another was at Matsukawa over two years ago. But this was at less than a third of the price.A small grilled rice ball, or yaki onigiri was brought afterwards to soak up the rest of the soup. This was comfort food for the ultimate foodie and it was great to see that the chef was humble enough to serve such a common touch. After all, this was the equivalent of having a great bread in Europe to mop up the sauce. It was very gratefully received. There was no way I was wasting even one drop of this delicious dish.

9th Course: Pike Conger (Hamo) shabu shabu with mozuku seaweed and dipping sauce. The hamo, sourced from Numazu had been prepared using the traditional technique of honegiri which requires a skilled chef to break the hundreds of tiny bones in the fish without breaking the skin. A shabu shabu set was brought right next to the table for the chef to prepare. I thought perhaps two shau shabu was overdoing it but boy was I wrong. This was on par with the shabu shabu of the matsutake and hamo which I had at Matsukawa.

The hamo was cooked in shallow fashion in order to ensure it was not overcooked the top side to retain its soft texture. A delicate fish like hamo can easily be overcooked so this technique ensured the fish was treated with the most respect.

Mozuku is a seaweed from Okinawa which has a jelly like texture not too dissimilar to jellyfish. The final product was another winner. It was a shame we only got two pieces!10th Course: Pike Conger Dashi which was made from the remnants of the previously presented hamo and was served with gingko nuts. Nothing went to waste here and I admired the chef’s respect for his ingredients. Amazing aroma and flavour from such a simple looking soup.

11th Course: Prawn and lotus root tempura served with the option of salt and sudachi. Of all dishes I expected this one to be amazing given the restaurants name… luckily they lived up to it. The tempura was light and without oiliness. The prawn was juicy and cooked perfectly.

A second plate of tempura of Japanese whiting (kisu) and onion. The onion in particular was remarkable with its sweetness and juice.12th Course: Udon. Home made udon was served in a giant ice cube with quail egg, mountain potato and dashi. This required a couple of people to serve given its size, slipperiness and weight. It was certainly entertaining and very theatrical. The ice cube was an idea that came to the chef when he wanted to find a way for his diners to enjoy the rich dashi stock instead of wasting it. Depending on your personal taste you were advised to let the dashi sit longer in the cube to allow the melting ice to dilute the stock. It was quite remarkable as to how much the flavour changed during the ten minutes. Flavourwise I wasn’t convinced on this one. It was perhaps less flavoursome than everything else we had that evening and I found the quail egg to be slightly bland in the rich dashi. The texture of the udon was good but again nothing outstanding. It was a very fun dish however.

13th Course: Houjicha ice cream. A good ice cream which cleansed our palate. Whilst it was perhaps lacking in creativity, we were stuffed at this point and welcomed the light dessert.Our meal at Tempura Matsu was without a doubt the highlight of our trip and almost on par with my most memorable Japanese meal at Matsukawa. The quality and variety of ingredients was simply remarkable, particularly given the affordability of the meal compared to many establishments in Kyoto that would easily charge you two to three times without batting an eyelid. As we made our way out, Matsuno-san came out to thank us for our custom and bid us farewell. I will not be forgetting this meal for some time to come. It was a magical four hours that went by at a perfect pace.

Harutaka (青空), Tokyo

Leave a reply

Chef: Harutaka Takahashi Website: No website Cuisine: Edomae Sushi

Harutaka Takahashi started off his sushi apprenticeship in Hokkaido in Sapporo before training under the renown Ono Jiro at Sukiyabashi Jiro for thirteen years. After being entrusted as the third chef in command (after Jiro’s two sons Yoshikazu and Takashi), he went solo to open up his sushiya, Harutaka, in December 2006. The location he chose was Ginza and unlike many other restaurants in Japan, this restaurant was quite easy to find. I wasn’t personally sure as to what to expect from this meal. On the one hand the reviews from Japanese bloggers were consistently positive across tabelog and personal websites, and regulars often spotted dining at the restaurant were chefs with two and three stars themselves. However, on the other hand he appears to have gained and lost Michelin stars over the years. He had two stars in 2011 before subsequently disappearing from the red book, only to make his way back in 2017 with one star.

Harutaka occupies the entire third floor of the building and offers 12 counter seating and 1 private room for an additional 4 people. The restaurant is only open in the evenings and serves a standard omakase menu at approximately 30,000 yen. Unlike his mentor, his menu offers other otsumami (snacks) and comes with less attitude. Contrary to the experience I had endured the night before at Shimizu, the environment here was more relaxed. Chef Harutaka even offered an English sushi dictionary to my wife who was the only foreigner dining that evening, which was kindly received.

Harutaka is well known for his use of rice vinegar in his shari (rice) and superior quality of neta (topping). Whilst foreigners appear to have a more divided opinion on his sushi, the locals overwhelmingly rate positively the way in which he prepares his shari. There’s a slight sharpness from the vinegar, followed by a slight saltiness, finishing with the natural sweetness of the rice.

The chef quickly gave us a heads up that we would be getting a variety of otsumami before sushi, and just like that we were off.

Appetiser – Gingko (銀杏) served slightly warm and sprinkled with salt. Certainly whet our appetite.

1st course – Japanese Tiger Prawns (kurumaebi) with Japanese radish (daikon) and ponzu. The sweet tiger prawns from Kyushu were served raw in a sashimi style and married well with the daikon and slightly sharp ponzu.

2nd Course – Pacific Saury / Sanma (サンマ). Slightly grilled with salt creating a lovely contrast of the crispy skin and the soft flesh of the fish.

Sake – Yoemon – Junmai. A perfect timing for the arrival of my sake for the evening. It went down really well with my grilled fish at a modest price of only 3,000 yen per tokkuri.

3rd Course – Conger pike (Hamo) with matsutake broth. The umami from the dashi used for the broth was superb and really worked well by drawing out the flavour of the delicate conger pike. There was also a slight hint of plum and vinegar which complemented the fish.

4th Course – Sashimi of Flounder / Hirame (平目) and slightly grilled barracuda / kamasu (梭子魚). A great combination of flavours between the sweetness of the flounder which becomes very fatty during autumn contrasted with the strong flavour the lean barracuda.

5th Course – Steamed abalone / mushiawabi (蒸し鮑) scorched with soy sauce. The abalone was steamed for 3.5 hours in sake before being sliced and scorched with soy sauce. It was perfect in every way with its scent, umami and crispiness. By far and beyond the best abalone my wife has ever had.

6th Course – Skipjack / Katsuo (鰹) with ginger soy sauce. This was our favourite course of the otsumami. There was a slight smokiness to the fish from the way in which he scorched it before dressing it with the ginger soy sauce.

7th Course – Willow leaf fish / Shishamo (柳葉魚) sourced from Hokkaido. The flesh here was far more delicate and the flavours more subtle than others I have tasted before. Unlike the normal ones I’m use to at the typical izakayas, this one was completely absent of any bitter aftertaste.

We looked over to see the chef preparing for the private dining room’s next few nigiris who were far ahead of us. The quality of the tuna looked very good.

8th Course – Squid / Sumi ika (スミイカ). Our first sushi was a silky and tender ink squid. Absent of any rubbery texture, this was as good as squid goes.

9th Course – Striped Jack / Shima aji (縞鯵). An impressive sushi with an incredible sweetness and fattiness from the slightly pickled fish competing with the slightly sharp shari.

10th Course – Lean part of the Tuna / Akami (鮪赤身). The shari actually worked best here with the tuna. Attention to detail here was important and my wife’s tea was changed just before the akami was served (it is common practice to change the tea when tuna is served to cleanse your palate between the tuna courses and bring the temperature of the tea up again).

11th Course – Medium fatty tuna / Chuutoro (鮪中トロ). An absolute masterpiece of nigiri. The sweetness and fattiness of the tuna penetrated right through the sharp and salty shari. A match made in heaven with no lingering fatty aftertaste. This was probably the best chuutoro I’ve ever had.

12th Course – Fatty Tuna / ootoro (鮪大トロ). A lovely cut of tuna but personally I felt the combination of the medium fatty tuna and the shari was superior. Each to their own I guess! It did however allow us to appreciate the different textures and flavours of the whole fish.

13th Course – Gizzard shad / Kohada (小鰭). This nigiri required a labour of love in order to remove the distinct smell, leaving only a peasant oiliness and sweetness behind. The fish was sourced from Amakusa in Kumamoto prefecture. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality given the best season to fish is normally November / December, and we were a month early.

14th Course – Salmon Roe / Ikura (イクラ). An all time favourite of mine since I was a kid and this certainly didn’t disappoint. The salmon roe was slightly pickled in soy sauce to enhance the flavour. Each pearl burst with a gooey delicious salty juice.

15th Course – Japanese Pilchard / Iwashi (いわし). This nigiri was my personal favourite of the evening. The umami was incredible and it just melted in your mouth with little effort like a slice of the finest iberico ham. The slight bit of ginger underneath cut through oiliness of the fish.

16th Course – Sea urchin / Uni (雲丹). A classic nigiri which required very little interference. Sourced from Hokkaido again, this was a beautifully sweet, creamy and absent of any bitter aftertaste.

17th Course – Amberjack / Buri (鰤). Sourced from Himi at Toyama prefecture, home to one of the best amberjack in Japan. I did however find that the vinegar rice and the fish on this occasion wasn’t quite the perfect match, although the quality and preparation of the fish was second to none.

Chef Harutaka spoke very little English but was happy to answer any question I translated for my wife. Whilst he was very focused in his job, meticulously preparing each nigiri, we couldn’t help but notice that he looked like he was having fun. Perhaps it was the cheerful crowd of three sitting at the other end of the counter (they appear to have been celebrities), but he certainly did not stop smiling all evening.

18th Course – Red clam / Akagai (赤貝). Again the quality of the superior red clam could be tasted here even before you ate the nigiri. The olfactory senses were teased before the tastebuds picked up the natural sweetness of the clam as soon as it landed on our tongue. Sensational.

19th Course – Salt water eel / Anago (穴子). A lovely finale to our sushi segment which also brought a sense of disappointment that this was over all too quickly (mind you we were there for 2.5 hours). The eel was delicate in its soft texture, yet packed with enough flavour to balance well against the shari.

20th Course – Sweet egg omelette / Tamago (玉子). The omelette here was of the the finest quality one could get, utilising grey prawns (shiba ebi) and mountain potato (yamatoimo). It was very airy inside yet also had a firmness and held a lot of moisture. They say that one must have trained for over ten years before being able to serve an omelette at Sukiyabashi. You could certainly see the skill that went into making this tamago.

All in all the meal came to about 33,000 yen per person including the sake and a beer at the start which isn’t cheap yet certainly worth every yen when you consider the calibre of the food here. When I raised the question about the red book, the chef shrugged his shoulders as if he really couldn’t care too much. When you looked around the room you could see why. Every single diner here, other than us, appeared to be a regular and the chef knew each person’s likes and dislike. In an intimate environment like a proper sushi-ya, the regular custom is far more important than attracting new diners from afar. Whilst it makes getting reservations even more difficult for people living overseas like myself, I do hope this tradition does not disappear. It’s comforting to see that bond between a diner and a chef.

Isshin (いっしん), Kyoto

1 Reply

Chef: Hideichi Katagiri Website: N/A Cuisine: Beef Kaiseki

(Photos courtesy of Framed Eating)

Isshin is a small restaurant tucked away in the heart of the Gion district in Kyoto. It is operated by Chef Hideichi Katagiri and his wife, who looks after the front of house. The couple moved their restaurant to Kyoto in 2003 from the Shiga prefecture, bringing with them the region’s famous Ōmi beef. Isshin is famous amongst the locals for their dishes utilising the rarest cut of the inner shoulder blade, the misuji, which only yields about 2kg from an entire cow. The restaurant, of course, offers much more than that. Isshin offered a very good value nose-to-tail menu of Ōmi beef for 13,000 yen. I was excited to compare this against the Matsuzaka beef I had tried in Tokyo!

Isshin has a couple of policies around dining manners. Whilst the chef doesn’t mind photographs being taken, he does ask for diners not to use cameras that make a lot of noise. He also doesn’t take solo diners as they tend to finish their dishes quicker and disrupt his serving rhythm. I booked one of their two private dining rooms to ensure we could have the option of using a more powerful DSLR. It was a good option given the low lighting level throughout the restaurant. Service commenced rather smoothly. Our drinks were brought to us promptly… although it must be noted that was not consistent throughout the meal.

1st Course: Beef Sōmen (生肉そうめん) – Raw beef that had been cut very precisely to resemble the Japanese wheat flour noodle of sōmen. It was served with yam, seaweed, spring onion, horse radish, wasabi and home made tsuyu dipping sauce.

The thin beef noodle had a good amount of marbling with just the right amount of fat; not too little and not too much. The wasabi and horse radish cut through the fattiness of the beef and drew out its flavour. It had a lovely smooth texture and was a great introduction to Ōmi beef.

2nd Course: Beef Three Ways (生肉３種) – Starting with the left was a vacuum cooked Roast beef, followed by a Raw yuba (tofu skin) made with beef and Mino (a fish which is the South Korean varietal of the Japanese Drumfish), topped with salmon roe. The last item to the right were two slices of Inner Thigh prepared two ways; one as a shiozuke (in salt), and one in misozuke (in miso).

3rd Course: Beef tongue and Conger eel soup (生タンと穴子しんじょうのお椀) – The chef carefully placed the beef tongue on the conger eel so that it sat above the soup, ensuring it did not cook any more than it needed to. Sure enough, the tongue was cooked beautifully and, whilst it was slightly tougher in texture, the flavour was amazing. The conger eel and broth were subtle but present, allowing the star of the dish to shine.

4th Course: Inner shoulder blade of beef (ミスジの昆布締め) – This was exactly what I had been waiting for. The premium cut of the beef. The inner shoulder blade, the misuji, which only yields 2kg from an entire cow is hightly sought after. It was cured with kelp to draw the flavour out of the meat using its natural umami. It was served with Japanese aubergine (nama nasu) and radish, dressed with a ponzu sauce. It just melted like butter in my mouth. Wow.

5th Course: Beef tongue sashimi (タン刺し) – The beef had been marinated in soy sauce before it was served with some kelp (konbu) to enhance the flavour. This was another solid dish oozing with umami.

6th Course: Beef Tail with Dadacha-mame flan (ダダ茶豆のフランとテール肉の煮凝り) – This was tail meat that had been slow cooked over hours to soften the texture. The gelatinous feel of the sauce was extremely rich. This balanced well with the flan made from dadacha-mame. Dadacha-mame is considered to be the king of edamame’s with its earthy and sweet flavours.

7th Course: Sushi moriawase (寿司の盛り合わせ) – Starting with the right was Aburi Toro (あぶり寿司) which was essentially another beautiful slice of their superior misuji cut that had been torched to create a nice and oily sushi. In the middle however, was a rather confused Crab and Avocado roll (カニアボカド巻) with slithers of the same cut of beef. It wasn’t terrible with the creamy avocado and rich crab meat but I thought it just didn’t fit and distracted from the rest of the dish. Lastly to the left was the ‘Toro’ Beef on rice (トロ肉漬けごはん) which was a bowl of fatty beef that had been pickled over the rice to further infuse its flavour. The texture was exactly like a top grade ootoro and just melted in your mouth. I never expected to have this texture from beef. It was even softer than the finest fassone tartare I had in Piedmont.

8th Course: Asparagus and beef tongue in white miso (アスパラガスとタンの白味噌仕立て) – The lovely cut of misuji was served this time as a stew with sweet white miso. It wasn’t a terrible dish but the white miso distracted from the beautiful cut of meat which was a shame.

9th Course: Sirloin steak (牛肉ステーキ) – As expected from a restaurant specialising in beef, the penultimate course was a fine miniature sirloin steak, dressed with a soy sauce foam and horse radish, served with a side of salad. The soy sauce foam was like no other. It was light and airy, tangling around the meat and melted on your tongue. The meat of course was cooked to perfection, bordering the rarer side to medium-rare with a slight crispy exterior.

10th Course: Beef Chazuke (肉茶漬け) – The finale was a comforting ‘porridge’ or chazuke of beef served with a side of pickles. The pieces of beef was prepared rather unconventionally as a nikujaga (beef cooked in a soy, mirin, sake and brown sugar) before being added into the green tea with puffed rice, seaweed and spring onion.

11th Course: Corn crème brûlée and peach sorbet – A rather bizarre combination of flavours to finish of the meal. On their own each element was delicious and would have probably worked better as separate dishes.

Needless to say, 13,000 yen for the entire menu was an absolute bargain and a steal given the quality of the dishes that kept being brought to us. I personally found the marbling of the beef here far more agreeable than the fattier Matsuzaka beef I had up in Tokyo at Satou Steakhouse. The misuji cut was particularly impressive and unlike anything I have tried before. The downside to the meal was the service tempo which almost gradually came to a near grinding stop when the restaurant was operating at full capacity. It took nearly an hour before someone came to our room after our last course had been served. Luckily we were in no rush to go anywhere but let it be warned that you may want to avoid planning ahead for any post-dinner activities.

Matsukawa (松川), Tokyo

2 Replies

Chef: Tadayoshi Matsukawa Website: www.t-matsukawa.com Cuisine: Kaiseki

There’s a reason why Tadayoshi Matsukawa’s restaurant in Akasaka, Tokyo is considered, amongst the gourmands in the know, the best in the city, and possibly the country… but he isn’t about to let anyone come into his restaurant to find out why. As an invitation-only restaurant, getting a reservation at this 22 seater is no easy feat. The lunch sitting however does seem to be somewhat less challenging than dinner. There’s also another catch with the restaurant: it’s cash only and, given a meal here sans alcohol will knock you back at least 35,000 yen a head (or more during matsutake season as we discovered the hard way), make sure you bring a wad of cash with you.

Trained classically in traditional Japanese cuisine at the two starred Seisoka in Minato-ku, Chef Matsukawa is renowned for creating phenomenal dishes from the freshest ingredients chosen personally by him every day. He is equally well known for being very shy from any publicity, perhaps explaining why this restaurant has evaded the red Michelin book to date. After all, why would you want to attract every man and his dog when you already have a steady clientele of the well connected and aristocrats? There’s no menu per se at Matsukawa – everyone gets 10 courses of the best ingredients he has chosen that day, give or take some substitutions for any allergies.

1st Course – Japanese spiny lobster / Ise-ebi (伊勢海老): Our meal truly commenced with a feast for all senses. We could smell the ise-ebi being grilled very lightly over white coal (binchotan) before it was served on a bed of pine needles. The delicate and juicy tail meat was served with the sweet meat of the head/brain and ponzu to add some freshness. A beautifully balanced dish that was flawlessly executed. It was also the best preparation of ise-ebi I have had to date.2nd Course – Rice Steamed Abalone / Awabi no imushi (鮑の飯蒸し): Generously thick but tender and juicy abalone served over mochi-gome (glutinous rice) that had soaked up the flavours of the ocean. The chef utilised the natural flavours of the ocean to season the dish and a zest of Japanese citrus sudachi to cut through the rich meat. Another simple looking but delicious dish.3rd Course – Simmered dish of Red snow crab and matsutake / Benizuwaigani to matsutake no nimono (紅ずわい蟹と松茸の煮物): We had noticed that the chef had literally a mountain of matsutake from Saitama piled over the counter and wondered when he was going to use it – this was it. The sweet simmered crab meat was served in a clean broth with a few slithers of matsutake, topped off again with sudachi rind. I’m not the biggest fan of matsutake but I thought the marriage of the sea and mountain worked well here. It was again a very subtle dish with little salt. I imagine this could divide opinions between the salt loving Kanto people and the Kansai people of Japan.4th Course – Sea bream sashimi from Awaji-shima (淡路島の鯛の刺身): An extremely delicate dish with a variety of options to go with the sashimi. There was either salt and sudachi juice or soy with a dash of mirin. I personally preferred the salt and sudachi as I could distinctly taste the flavour of the fish better than with soy.5th Course – Thawed Squid and its liver / Surumeika no kimo no rui-be (スルメイカの肝のルイベ): A meal at Matsukawa certainly showcases some of the more rare types of Japanese dishes. Dishes that foreigners may not otherwise be exposed to. A rui-be is a typical style of dish that originated from the Ainu people of Northern Japan where they thawed food that had been preserved at -20 degrees celcius. The squid and its liver literally melted in your mouth as soon as it touched your tongue. It was not too dissimilar to foie gras in terms of texture. I wasn’t quite convinced with the flavour here but loved the texture. 6th Course – Steamed sea urchin and lotus root / Uni to renkon no hasumushi (海胆と蓮根の蓮蒸し): We moved slightly south to Ishikawa prefecture for the next dish of the hasumushi. In this dish grated lotus root was steamed and covered with a thick broth. In this instance Chef Matsukawa also added slivers of deliciously melting sea urchin to the grated and crunchy lotus roots. This was yet another delicate dish that celebrated the superior quality of the best ingredients one could get their hands on.

We could see and smell over the counter the next course… 7th Course – Sweetfish with water pepper vinegar sauce / Ko-ayu tadezu (子鮎蓼酢): The yakimono (grilled) course was sweetfish (ayu) that had been grilled over white charcoal (binchotan), served with an alkaline base sauce made from a water pepper (tade) that grows by the river where the sweetfish swims. The addition of the sauce cut down the heat of the vegetable and cut through the acidity of the fish. This was easily the best ayu fish we had on our trip, and by quite some distance. Curious to know what water pepper looks like Chef Matsukawa presented a bowl of it. 8th Course – Ōmi beef and matsutake: A slice of beef from Ōmi served with matsutake and ginnan. The meat was rather pleasant and not too fatty. Whilst this was the only meat dish of the meal, the quality of the meat more than made up for it. I wasn’t really sure whether the matsutake was necessary here other than to bump up the price of the menu. 9th Course – House Soba with grilled and shredded crispy matsutake: In comparison to the previous dish, I rather enjoyed this preparation of the matsutake. The matsutake’s crispy texture was a nice contrast to the firm noodles. The tsuyu or the sauce was well balanced and did not overpower the mushroom.For the next course the binchotan was brought to us over the counter and we were in for another treat…10th Course – Shabu shabu of conger pike and matsutake / Hamo to matsutake no shabu shabu (鱧と松茸のしゃぶしゃぶ): I was left speechless with this dish. The dashi made from the bones of the hamo (conger pike) had an amazing flavour like nothing I had ever tried before. Given the bone of the hamo are so small to the point where breaking them without piercing the skin is considered an advanced skill, I was amazed so much flavour could be drawn out of them. Unlike some of the hamo that we had tasted on our trip, I could really taste the natural flavour here due to the minimal interference in the preparation of the fish. There was also the generous slices of matsutake which was perfect to soak that deep and rich dashi. Wow. Simply, wow. 11th Course – Matsutake rice: To finish off the savory segment we were brought a bowl containing raw slices of matsutake over rice served with pickles and miso soup with matsutake. The matsutake had a slight crunch and was again very subtle in flavour with minimal intervention. It gave us some time to reflect on the meal we had just experienced (and also fear what the price tag was going to be!). This was most definitely the best kaiseki meal I have ever had the joy of eating. 12th Course – Red bean jelly / Youkan (羊羹): Even the youkan was superb! It was not sickeningly sweet and had a very silky texture to the point where it was borderline liquid. I’ve always had them quite solid and quite sweet. I didn’t know it could get this good. I certainly couldn’t go back to the other ones after this. I was ruined.Glass of green tea (matcha) to finish off.

My friend and I literally scrounged around for the last 500 yen coin as we had not anticipated our bill to come to an eye watering 87,200 yen between the two of us (including one small beer), making this the officially most expensive meal on our trip as far as food went. However, if you asked me then or now if I would return, I would say yes in a heart beat. The food here was really mind blowingly good and was on another level to anything I have previously tried in Japan. What’s more, it ridiculed the three starred kaiseki we had the day before in Kichisen on every front staring with produce, to the cooking and service. Chef Matsukawa’s eye for the perfect ingredient and produce is equally impressive as his skills in handling them. What’s more, what I really like about him was his quiet confidence in his own skills which has rewarded him with his faithful clientele. I had some hesitation writing this review because it is clear that he’s not after publicity or fame. Judging by the demeanor of some of the other diners, most of his customers are equally coming in to enjoy a delicious but low key meal. I hope it stays this way.

Fujiya 1935, Osaka

Leave a reply

Chef: Tetsuya Fujiwara Website: www.fujiya1935.com Cuisine: Innovative Spanish

A common mistake many foreign food enthusiasts make when visiting Kyoto is to sample as many three Michelin starred restaurants that all offer kaiseki menus only. After all, kaiseki is a cuisine that follows a certain formula of dishes, utilising only seasonal ingredients so visiting one three starred restaurant is more than sufficient for ones visit. My friend and I had already booked a table at Kichisen (Kaiseki), Isshin (Beef) and Seto (Chicken) and were looking for something different to try. When we exhausted looking at options in Kyoto our attention switched to Osaka where we found one restaurant that fitted that bill. What’s more, it had a bonus of three Michelin stars and was extremely affordable at 7,000 yen only for lunch.

We hopped on a train at Arashiyama and arrived in Osaka with a great sense of optimism. Despite having pre-loaded our maps on our phone, the restaurant was slightly difficult to spot as the signs were not jumping out, but then again that’s just Japan for you. After locating the entrance we had to wait outside for half an hour as we had arrived too early so we decided to read up on the chef. Chef Fujiwara came from a family of chefs and had trained in Italy and subsequently in Barcelona at L’Esguard; a one starred restaurant owned by a chef – neurosurgeon. He came back to Japan in 2003 to take over the family business and re-establish the restaurant as Fujiya 1935; the year being the formal incorporation of the family restaurant. The food at Fujiya 1935 was described as innovative with a Spanish twist so we were expecting some exciting dishes.

As the heavens started to open we managed to just make it inside and were seated in their front lounge room. It was a very calming room that could not have been more different from the busy main street the restaurant was located on.

1st Course – Mushroom soup: A cup of warm mushroom soup was served to us whilst we sat in the lounge. The concentration of mushroom flavour was remarkable with a very long aftertaste. It was soothing and delicious, but hardly anything innovative or exciting.

2nd Course – Chestnut bread with bubbles: It was a light and fluffy bread that we were advised to eat like a hamburger as it would collapse into itself. The ricotta cheese cream was almost like a purée with a good textural contrast to the bread. The flavours were very subtle but the sweetness of the chestnut was very obvious.

3rd Course – Radish Wasabi Cream: A crispy radish was served on a slab of ice with a silky wasabi cream dip. The radish was very fresh and had a good bite but again this was hardly anything earth shattering…

A box of bread was presented to us and served on a slab of warm stone to keep the bread warm. A thoughtful touch though I didn’t think it was necessary as it disappeared very quickly with the accompanying…

… two butters. The one on the left was from Takayama in the Gifu prefecture, and the one on the right was a sesame butter made with butter from Hokkaido. The sesame (goma) butter hands down was our favourite with its slight sweetness. The bread was nothing worthy of highlighting.

4th Course – Tomato Soup, soy beans, basil sauce, sea bream “Tai”: A rather bizarre combination of flavours which I personally didn’t find harmoniously working together. The quality of the sea bream sashimi from Akashi was evident but the clear tomato soup and nutty edamame just didn’t gel together. It also felt a bit busy with the shiso (beetle leaf) flower, okra flower and olives as well.

5th Course – Parent sweet fish “Ayu”, sauce of river seaweed: The confit fish was grilled and not too dissimilar to that of a grilled mackerel, but meatier. The slight bitterness from the intestine of the fish was balanced against the sweet edamame. It wasn’t a bad dish but again it was not what I would have called innovative in any way, let alone Spanish.

6th Course – Spaghettini, saury, new ginko nut, dill: The saury (sanma) sourced from Hakodate, Hokkaido was delicious despite my reservation with this dish. The marriage of spaghetti with Japanese food is a rather odd invention that I never understood (other examples include the salted roe tarako spaghetti or the stinky fermented beans natto spaghetti). The saury was beautifully cooked with a crispy skin and almost rare inside, and just melted in your mouth. Whilst the spaghettini was al dente, it felt like comfort food that lacked any inspiration.

7th Course – Free range chicken Nanatanijidori, manganji (shishito) pepper, myouga: The thigh and breast of a free range chicken sourced from Kyoto was served with a mushroom sauce, beans, shishito peppers, myouga ginger and mountain vegetables. Great execution again in the preparation of the chicken but it was similarly lacking in creativity. I’ve definitely had better chicken in many other places. The myouga ginger also didn’t belong on this dish, though I could see the chef wanted something to cut through the rich mushroom sauce.

8th Course – Warming grape, Cool grape, blueberry from Murou: The Okayama grapes were served naturally and as a sorbet with flaky and crunchy nuts. This was hands down the best course of the meal and extremely sophisticated. I was surprised at how the flavour of grape was retained in the sorbet and the blueberry brought a second flavour to avoid this becoming one dimensional. It had textures, flavours and different temperatures. Divine.

9th Course – Chestnut pudding: A box containing roasted chesnuts was brought to our table. The waiter proceed to open the box to reveal the chesnuts and the smokey aroma that reminded us of autumn. It had a soft texture with ample sweetness and smokiness in flavour. On the side was…

… a Jelly of the rum flavour, which essentially had coffee jelly, chestnut foam and a dash of rum. The combination of the sweet chesnut, bitter coffee and the rum was spot on, and who could say no to a glass of liquor to finish the meal with a choice of rhubarb, fig or a medicinal tasting herb?

So what was our verdict? We felt the trip all the way to Osaka was not worth it even at 7,200 yen making it the cheapest Three starred meal ever. The caveat here, however, was that the lunch course was half the price and size of dinner so we probably missed out on the more elaborate courses. Saying that, what we did taste was at best well executed but generally lacked inspiration or creativity. What was apparent was that the chef was far better at preparing the dessert courses than the savory ones but even the desserts were not of three or two Michelin star calibre. I think Michelin got this one wrong, and quite wrong. It was definitely not “exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey”.

Jimbo-cho Den (神保町傳), Tokyo

Leave a reply

Chef: Hasegawa Zaiyuu Website: www.jimbochoden.com Cuisine: Modern Kaiseki

(Some photos courtesy of Framed Eating)

During my culinary research for Japan I came across one particular restaurant that was creating quite a buzz across several social media and restaurant rating websites. Hell, bloggers appeared to be flocking there en mass, claiming it to be one of the most exciting restaurant in Tokyo. The restaurant was of course Jimbocho Den, opened and owned by Chef Hasegawa Zaiyu in 2007 at a mere age of 29. Since then he made the culinary headlines again for getting his second Michelin star only three years later in 2011. Unfortunately, he was to lose that second star in 2014. The loss of the star, however, does not appear to have diminished the shine on the young talented chef.

My reservation at Den looked uncertain for a while as Chef Hasegawa, who has a wide network internationally, was planning his overseas trip for the period of our arrival. Luckily we managed to catch him a couple of days before he took off.

The cuisine at Den was essentially a modern and creative adaptation of the traditional Japanese kaiseki cuisine. Chef Hasegawa utilises contemporary influences that have shaped the modern Japanese culture as inspiration for his cooking. He is notorious for being creative and inventive, using seasonal ingredients to reinvent classic dishes and flavours. His vision is to create a customer friendly restaurant focused on the happiness of his diners; an inspiration from the Japanese philosophy of omotenashi.

We began our dinner with a rather unconventional but thirst-quenching glass of the Monte Rossa Franciacorta, Prima Cuvee.

1st Course – Monaka (最中): A Monaka is a traditional Japanese sweet with two crisp wafers made from mochi (rice cake), sandwiching a red bean paste. This, however, was rather different.

It was essentially a sandwich of foie gras, guava paste and white miso which created a delicious combination of a rich, salty and sweet flavours. The guava worked ever so well against the rich foie gras. It was all gone too quickly…

2nd Course – Softshell Turtle Soup / Suppon (スッポン): A container with the shell of the softeshell turtle and its skull was served to reveal…

… the skin and meat of the softshell turtle inside. The clear soup, made from ginger and turtle meat, had a surprising depth in flavour and a very clean aftertaste. The rice cracker scattered on the soup provided a nice textural crisp. This was my first suppon and it was surprisingly pleasant.

3rd Course – Dentucky Fried Chicken (DFC): We were entertained with another thoughtful and playful dish from Chef Hasegawa. Aside from the obvious humour, the box contained other elements of a personal touch.

A personal note was placed inside each one of our boxes thanking us for our custom. Underneath the note was…

… another personal touch for each diner. I recalled at the time of making the reservation that I was asked about where each diner in my party was coming from. As I was coming from Australia I received an Australian flag and a sponge chicken!

Finally on to the food itself. A piece of chicken was nestled under all the prop. The chicken had been de-boned and stuffed like a Brazilian faijoada (beans) but using instead cashew nuts and purée. It was then cooked in a stock made of various meats (including pork) and subsequently deep fried, dried, to wipe off the excess oil, and finally quickly grilled last minute to crisp up the skin. It was a lot of effort for fried chicken… but it was worth it. It was one of the best chicken I’ve ever had.

4th Course – Yellowtail / Buri (鰤) with spicy (karami) daikon: It was a surprisingly oily piece of fish and possibly the best preparation of buri I have ever had. Buri is normally served in the colder months where they become fatter to insulate themselves from the cold water so I was surprised to come across one of this quality in September. The spicy daikon made from soy sauce and wasabi was a clever component to cut through the oily fish.

5th Course – Pacific Saury / Sanma Houbayaki: Houbayaki originated from the Gifu prefecture in the mountains. Traditionally a combination of meat, vegetable and miso paste is wrapped in magnolia leaves (houba) and then grilled.

At Den, Chef Hasegawa used Pacific Saury (Sanma) with its liver, miso paste, cous cous, ginko, roasted buckwheat. The combination of the miso and the leaves scent was particularly appetising and the fish was very representative of autumn. Sanma is my favourite grilled fish in Japanese cuisine and this one was just phenomenal. The cous cous, which replaced the rice, was a clever adaptation as it soaked up the flavours better than the rice would have.

6th Course – The ‘Garden’: This was a similar dish to Michel Bras’ famous Gargouillou. All the elements on the dish was supplied by Chef Hasegawa’s sister who is a farmer. The vegetables were prepared in various ways, some raw, grilled, fried and poached but what made this dish amazing was the sheer quality of the produce. There was rocket, red chard, nasturtium, spinach, begonia and mustard leaves as well as a carrot poached in sweet vinegar (amazu) and covered in houji-cha powder, tomato with a hint of vanilla, mountain yam (tororo imo), burdock (gobo), potato from Hokkaido, pumpkin, edible flowers, radish, turnip, peppers and gingko.

7th Course – Matsutake Soup: Made from Matsutake dashi, conger pike (hamo) with yuzu. It was good, as far as matsutake went, but again I am not the biggest fan of matsutake. I think there are mushrooms that cost a fraction of the price which taste better.

Some pickles to go with the next two courses of rice dishes served in a donburi nabe.
Two types of rice dishes were served that evening starting with…

8th Course – Ikura Donburi: The first was hands down my favourite. Salmon roe was poached in dashi over rice. I’ve never seen such a geneorous amount of ikura served over rice!

Chef Hasegawa wasted no time in mixing the ikura into the rice before serving each of us a bowl of the mixture. As I looked at him serving the last bowl for me he caught my eyes staring at the donburi and chuckled saying “don’t worry, there’s plenty more for seconds.”

I absolutely destroyed this dish and devoured the first serve in seconds. The rice had soaked up that lovely dashi stock and the the gooey juice from each salmon roe went ever so well with the rich dashi stock. I loved how the texture interchanged between the occasional chewy Japanese rice and the pop from the salmon roe, not to mention the generosity of the chef with the portion size.

Our second donburi made its appearance shortly after…

9th Course – Black wagyu cheek donburi: It was another triumph of a dish.

It was very interesting because I’d never tasted something that had such an intense flavour of premium beef without a meaty texture.

10th Course – Moss from the Garden: More humour from chef Hasegawa. This time he served the dessert course on a garden spade complete with ‘used garden gloves’. This was a tiramisu in a deconstructed fashion made of cheese mousse, green and brown teas and charcoal. I loved the humour in this interpretation of a classic dish.

We were fast approaching 11pm and one last installment was awaiting us…

11th Course – Star Comebacks: A deliciously humorous finale to end a great meal. The adapted logo of starbucks was used to express the chef’s humour in trying to get back his second Michelin star he lost in 2014. I liked the fact that he was happy to poke fun at himself. The content of the mug was what appeared to be a cappuccino at first glance but was actually pudding and sugarcane.

The dish took seven hours to cook to create a thick caramel before a layer of custard and black truffle from Australia were added. It was a very adult flavour of bitter and sweetness.

Short of 15,000 yen for a tasting menu, Jimbocho Den was definitely value for money in the fine dining scene in Tokyo. Add that to the consistently high calibre of dishes that came out from the kitchen and you can understand why Den was so popular. What personally attracted me equally was the professionalism and focus of the team in their disciplines as they effortlessly managed to make each diner feel personally welcome. This level of omotenashi was definitely not something I found readily in other establishments, even as a Japanese person. Den to me represented a new generation of Japan.

Seto (瀬戸), Kyoto

Leave a reply

Chef: Ms. Seto Website: http://gm.gnavi.co.jp/shop/0220150101/ Cuisine: Chicken

Of all the restaurants I have ever visited in Japan, and the world for this matter, I never expected a restaurant specialising in chicken to have left the most profound dining memory to date. It was a stroke of genius and luck when my friend Waswate suggested adding a one Michelin starred restaurant, Seto, on to our itinerary in Kyoto. As we had already a few three and two starred meals booked, I thought it would be good to get some diversity in the cuisine. In other words, why not? Getting the booking wasn’t too hard as all I needed to do was call the restaurant, but getting to the restaurant was a different challenge. To get to Ichihara station one needed to get to the privately operated Eizan railway line which starts from Demachiyanagi, the last northeastern stop on the main lines of Kyoto’s metropolitan area. It was a good idea to have given ourselves ample time to get there.

The walk from the station to the restaurant was a brief ten minutes without complication. As we approached the restaurant we could see someone waiting by the entrance. That person was in fact the proprietress, Seto-san, who always receives her guests at the front gate. I had booked the table in my native Japanese but as we approached I could see she was looking a little anxious. As I began conversing in Japanese she regained her composure, a sigh of relief could be heard as she explained that the only English speaking person had already been dismissed for the day and we were the only diners for that evening. The only ones? Hmmmm…

As Seto-san guided us through her cozy farmhouse things started making more sense. She in fact had only three private dining rooms available, two as part of the main building and one which was a detached stand alone dining space. To our delight she had prepared the detached room for our meal. As we made ourselves comfortable she continued giving us some background and history behind the restaurant. She had moved here over fifty years ago to be with her now deceased husband and to manage a small plot of land to rear chicken and grow vegetables. They had decided over thirty years ago to start serving the fresh produce and chicken themselves instead of selling them on. Since her husband past away she had managed the restaurant alone with the help of a small team of three.Seto-san explained that she had entertained many celebrities and politicians throughout the years but this was the first time she felt so nervous, though not in a bad way she added. She just never imagined conversing in fluent Japanese with a foreign looking (albeit half-Japanese) person. I was glad to have been able to converse in Japanese for I think my memory and experience here would not have been the same had we been served by someone else (Hint: if you do ever get the opportunity to come up, do come with a Japanese speaking person if possible).

Seto-san didn’t waste a single minute to attend to everything despite being immersed in a full conversation. She took our order for a nice cold beer and made the final preparation for the dinner. As we waited for her to come back with our beers, we took a moment to soak in everything. The glowing coal in the Irori (囲炉裏) or fireplace, the orchestrated sound of the insects gently humming away outside and the lovely old smell of the tatami and surrounding. I couldn’t believe where we were. It was so peaceful and soul cleansing.

The appetisers consisted of three dishes which were pickled perilla leaves or shiso no mi (紫蘇の葉) with chicken tail, a salad made entirely from home grown produce with tofu, and some aubergine that had been soft boiled in bonito stock (nasu no nibitashi – 茄子の煮浸し).

I couldn’t help commenting on how flavoursome the produce was. Seto-san explained that they did not need a fridge at Seto because everything they served was always picked and slaughtered that day. She explained that the reason why people had to book in advance and why only a maximum of two bookings per sitting was because they were dependent on the number of chicken they have on their farm. Talk about vertical supply chain management. This level of dedication around sourcing was new territory for me.

The choice of spice recommended to go with the first preparation of chicken were rock salt, black pepper and kuro sansho (黒山椒), which is also known as black / ripe sichuan pepper.

The first preparation of chicken involved grilling each part over coal as a sumibiyaki (炭火焼き). Seto-san began by serving unbelievably succulent grilled chicken feet followed by the breast, tenderloin, neck, kidney, liver, thigh, wing and back in this order. The kidney was crunchy and the tenderloin very juicy but the liver was in its own class.

Given the chicken had not been slaughtered till an hour before our meal, the liver was fresh and not too dissimilar to some of the best foie gras I’ve ever tasted in France; rich and creamy. This was unbelievable. Seto-san explained that they only had akadori (赤鶏) or red feathered chickens on their farm which are renown for their flavour.

As we finished up our first half of the chicken, I was still ranting on about the freshness of the produce. Seto-san’s eyes lit up and she dashed off saying she would be back immediately. She returned around five minutes later with a few funny looking prickly cucumbers. Seto-san had gone to the farm to dig them up, in the dark, just for us. We ate them, as per her recommendation, with only some salt and could not believe how delicious and juicy the cucumbers were. She kindly offered me a few to take home but alas I would have struggle to get them through Australian custom so I had to reluctantly decline her generous offer. Admittedly I did make up for it by eating quite a few…

The second half of the chicken was prepared in a hot pot as a sukiyaki. Seto-san brought over a pot containing all the typical vegetables you’d expect in a hot pot, naturally all sourced from her own farm. In the nabe you could see shiitake and enoki mushrooms, spring onion, noodles, tofu and all parts of the chicken including the skin. She then cracked us a fresh egg from her farm to each of our bowls to eat with the content of the hot pot and…

… began by serving each of us what she described as ‘an egg that’s just about to hatch’. It had an unbelievably creamy texture and flavour. Seto-san claimed the egg would have been ready the following day.

We were then left to our own devices to pick and choose what we fancied. I honestly could not tell what the star of the dish was. Whilst acknowledging that the quality of the chicken was superb, the vegetables were definitely also pulling their weight to make this the best nabe I have ever tried. Seto-san came back to serve us the remaining vegetable and meat before dashing off again to prepare the last savoury dish to complete the chicken trifecta.

The last installment was the Zosui (雑炊), otherwise known as a Japanese rice soup made with pre-cooked rice. Unlike most zosui which use the leftover soup from the nabe, this one had been made from chicken stock that had been reduced over hours of cooking. Whilst a very simple dish, the success of this dish was based on the underlying soup and suffice to say this was very special.

The fruits for dessert were nothing special although we were very full by this point and welcomed the light refreshing dish.

Our meal at Seto ended ever so abruptly as we had to catch one of the last trains back to the city and they seldom came by late at night. However, the two brief hours there that night left a far more profound impression and memory than any other fine dining experience. The meal at Seto was personable, humble and nothing like anything I’ve ever experienced. The fact that this meal cost each of us just over 8,000 yen was unbelievable, particularly given there was only one sitting that evening. As we slowly made our way to the station, all we could see in the darkness was Ms Seto by the entrance bowing. ‘Come back with your wife and baby’ she yells. You don’t have to worry about that, ‘I definitely will’ I shouted back…

Steakhouse Satou, Tokyo

1 Reply

Website: www.shop-satou.com Cuisine: Matsusaka Beef

For the true aficionados there’s no denying that Japan is the holy grail when it comes to the best quality beef in the world. Whilst premium quality beef in Japan may be better value than having it overseas (and certainly is often fresher), it is still an expensive affair, usually beyond the reach of the average person including myself. That is why Steakhouse Satou in Kichijoji should be on any beef loving carnivores itinerary. Whilst they primarily operate as a butcher through a number of other branches, the Kichijoji arm in Tokyo also has a restaurant on the on the second floor above the ground floor butcher. When we arrived there was a 50 people solid queue. Luckily they were locals, queuing up for the butcher. A good sign none the less.

What makes Satou attractive is their affordable price. There is a slight catch, but they are very transparent about it. Prior to August 2002 there were very strict criteria around the catchment area in the Mie prefecture that permitted the use of the name “Matsusaka beef” (otherwise known as Kurogewagyuu or black haired wagyuu – 黒毛和牛). Naturally, as with anything exclusive, that meant a hefty price tag. However post 2002 the catchment area expanded to include surrounding regions now commonly known as the “triple prefecture of black haired wagyuu” (三重県産国産黒毛和牛). That being said, the beef originating from the original exclusive catchment area continues to be considered superior and this is reflected in the price. You’ve probably guessed the catch by now. Satou sources their beef from the new catchment area, although they claim their quality is not inferior to the “real deal”. They focus instead on female breeds between the age of 30 to 40 months.

As with any steakhouse there was a choice of different cuts that dictated the price. As we had purposely come to Kichijoji for the best quality we could afford, we decided to opt for the more expensive dinner menu option (which is also available at lunch after popular demand from diners) and get their regular fillet steak (150g) for 5,000 yen and their high grade fillet sirloin steak (200g) for 10,000 yen. We thought it would be interesting to compare the quality of the cuts.

The restaurant itself was tiny and could only seat about 25 diners at any time including six seats at the counter (and you don’t really get a choice of the seat unless you are the first in line). A word of warning though, as the place gets packed very quickly, if you’re not early (preferably ahead of their opening hour), you may end up standing in their ridiculously steep and narrow stairway for half an hour as butchers run up and down bringing the cuts of meat to the restaurant.

We had some salad to get things going but there was nothing special about it.

As we had ordered their most expensive cut, the chef behind the counter came to present us the beautifully marbled high grade sirloin steak. It looked absolutely magnificent but I was did wonder whether this was going to be too fatty? As they say, the proof is in the ~~pudding~~ eating…

The chef began cooking some beansprouts to go as garnish for our steak. Under the brassy lid to the side were our steaks…

The chef wasted little time chopping up our fillet first. The olfactory senses were in overdrive!

I was genuinely amazed with the quality of the cheaper 5,000 yen fillet steak. The cooking was spot on and served medium-rare, just the way I like it. The balance of the intramuscular fat to the lean meat was just right, making this steak not overly fatty but mouthwatering juicy.

In comparison, you can see the marbling on the right from the high grade 10,000 sirloin steak which had a far higher intramuscular fat content. I enjoyed the first two bites but I must confess that overall I found it rather too oily and fatty. The texture in fact for me was less pleasant due to the high fat content. This is probably considered blasphemy in Japan, but my dining companion Fine Dining Explorer agreed wholeheartedly. We focused on enjoying the fillet steak before we slowly worked our way through the high grade sirloin; after all we couldn’t let it go to waste. It could simply be a matter of taste so don’t take my word as the gospel. I’d honestly advise you to try them side by side. Who knows? You may disagree. Either way, you are in for a treat!

Narisawa, Tokyo

Leave a reply

Chef: Narisawa Yoshihiro Website: www.narisawa-yoshihiro.com Cuisine: French Japanese

I’ve got a confession to make. I’ve always been embarrassed by the fact that despite my Japanese heritage I’ve not had many opportunities exploring the fine dining scene in my own country. This naturally had to change and September 2014 was my opportunity (Note that the significant delay in my write-up has been due to the arrival of my first daughter in November 2014). Over the recent years I’d managed to create a long list of restaurants I planned to visit when I returned home and that included Narisawa. I was curious about its reputation for being unorthodox in a country that was deeply rooted to its tradition.

After all, wouldn’t you be curious to find out the culmination of modern French cooking techniques with fresh seasonal Japanese produce? After receiving their second Michelin star in 2010 and successfully retaining the title of best Asian restaurant in San Pellegrino’s 50 Best Awards over the past few years there was no way I could pass this opportunity.

Yoshihiro Narisawa opened Les Creations de Narisawa (now known simply as Narisawa) back in 2003 on his return from Europe after training under the likes of big hitters like Frédy Girardet, Paul Bocuse and Joel Robuchon. The cuisine here was however difficult to label. It was decidedly modern and drew on French techniques yet was not tied down to one particular style of cuisine. What’s more, Narisawa departed from the traditional focus on agriculturally cultivated produce. Instead he favoured natural ingredients and produces from the wild forests and mountains like nuts, berries and the wild animals that fed on them.

The theme of our tasting menu reflected the season we visited, autumn. Unlike many of the restaurants we had visited on this occasion, the front of house was well versed in English which made the meal more interactive for my non-Japanese speaking companions. We left ourselves in the capable hand of the front of house and kicked off our meal with a glass of their Vilmart et Cie, Grand Cellier, Brut, Premier Cru which had been bottled specially for the restaurant.

As we sipped on our glass of bubbles our friendly waiter prepared the Bread of the Forest 2010. The bread was proved at our table. It was made using wild yeast from the Shirakami ranges, one of the most serene and beautiful UNESCO natural heritage sites of the world located between Aomori and Akita prefecture, and was gently heated over a candle. The bread mixture contained ao-yuzu (green yuzu) and ki no me (木の芽) leaves from the Japanese Prickly Ash tree, which added a citrus scent and peppery note.

The dough mixture was then transferred across to a hot stone bowl to bake. The floral arrangement surrounding the bowl represented the season.

The wait was finally over. What a way to start the meal; an amuse bouche of the Essence of the Forest and Satoyama Scenery. It consisted of a “forest floor” of soy pulp or okara (御殻), bamboo and green tea powder and soya milk yoghurt paste. It was served with the “bark” of mountain vegetables (山菜) such as deep fried burdock skin, sourced from Ishikawa prefecture, which had been brushed with a syrup. We were instructed to eat with our hands and wash it down with…

… “spring water” infused with oak and served in a cedar cup. The flavours were very clean, evoking childhood memories of hikes through moss-covered mountains in Japan. Everything worked in harmony and I felt truly depicted the essence of the Japanese forest. I particularly loved the crispy texture of the burdock root. What I found truly remarkable was that no additional seasoning had been added to this dish, nor did it need any. I could see why this dish had stayed on their menu for over five years.

Our second amuse bouche of Sumi (炭) was essentially braised onion coated in a mixture of charcoal and leek powder. It had been deep fried and served on a magnolia leaf. The sweetness of the onion was an unexpected surprise.

Our bread was finally ready after 12 minutes of baking and was served to us with chestnut tree powder. I had no particular expectation for the bread as I had assumed this was predominantly to provide theater to the meal. I was, however, mistaken. Whilst it wasn’t the best bread I’d ever eaten, it had all the hallmarks of a good bread. It was soft, fluffy and warm. What’s more, the yuzu added an inviting scent yet remained subtle on the palate.

The last installment of the amuse bouche was Okinawa. A dried sea-snake was presented in the middle of the table whilst the waiter explained the dish.

All the ingredients were sourced from Okinawa. The most important component of this dish was the broth that was made over six hours of using a bonito flake dashi, dried and smoked sea-snake and pork from Kagoshima. A slither of crunchy winter melon, taimo (a sticky Okinawa variety of taro which is normally used for dessert) and a crispy pork skin was added to complete the dish. The broth had a great depth of flavour and the textural contrast of each element worked very well. A deceivingly simple looking dish that worked very well with a glass of the 1981 Chateau Gen Brown Rice Sake, Mie, Japan.

A Moss butter made from dehydrated black olives, chlorophyll and Hokkaido butter was presented prior to the next course. It tasted how it looked – mossy! Not that it was a bad thing but certainly different to anything I’ve tried before.

The Uni Sea Urchin, amaebi, yuzu was another example of a perfectly balanced dish. The amaebi (spot prawn) and sea urchin sourced from Mikawa, Aichi prefecture, was very creamy and sweet. The katsuodashi jelly (set and infused for six hours) gave depth to the dish and the yuzu and tomato hiding underneath cut through the rich flavour, leaving only a fragrant aftertaste. I could also sense a slight peppery heat that contrasted against the cold dish. Beautiful. The dish was matched with a glass of the 2012 Chateau Lestille, Entre Deux Mers, Bordeaux.

The crustacean course of the day was the Langoustine, garden. Under the “garden”, created from a variety of greens and flowers that had been foraged early that morning, lay…

… a juicy Japanese langoustine (Akazaebi) from Suruga Bay. It had been very lightly seared and served as a warm sashimi. The creamy langoustine was cooked perfectly and the scallop jus served over the dish intensified the crustacean flavour. The only issue I had was with the portion size. I wanted more… The matching 2009 Chassagne Montrachet Les Caillerets, Bourgogne, France was a perfect match with its buttery flavour.

The next course was a Pigeon which represented the animals that fed from the forest. The pigeon was basted at a constant temperature of 57 degrees celsius to ensure a pink finish. It was accompanied with charred beetroot and wild berries also foraged from the forest. The plump pigeon was cooked perfectly with a beautiful texture. I particularly loved the reduced salumi sauce that seasoned the dish. Exquisite! The accompanying wine was a rather smoky and oaky 2001 Lynsolence, Saint-Emilion, Bordeaux. Only 20 cases had been imported into Japan. What a treat!

The Kamo nasu was truly a celebration of the native Kyoto variety of aubergine. This vibrant dish consisted of a bed of soft sautéed aubergine, topped with an aubergine purée and pickles. The shiitake mushroom provided a meaty texture whilst the sheet of acidic tomato jelly and cleverly hidden shiso leaves inside cut through the oiliness of the dish. A special dish like this required a rather special glass of a 1977 Toriivilla Imamura Koshu, Yamanashi, Japan which was not too dissimilar to that of a dry sherry. It was very dry and nutty with a hint of honey and lemon. I had never heard of this Japanese winery and was even more surprised to hear they have been around for over 150 years. I knew the Japanese made a small batch of great wines but this was the first time I had come across so many.

We had a fair share of Hamo (conger pike) on our trip and the one at Narisawa was one of the best ones. The Conger pike, white peach, string bean had a lovely sweet, sour and salty undertone driven by the creamy su-miso (white miso vinegar) and kabosu foam, a citrus related to the yuzu family. The hamo, which is traditionally prepared through the fine art of honegiri (a technique that requires years of practice to efficiently break the vast number of small bones in the fish without damaging the skin), instead had, against convention, removed painstakingly each bone, one by one, by hand. I did not envy the chef but it was definitely worth the effort! Matching the dish was a glass of Shizen no manma unfiltered and undiluted sake, Terada Hoke sake brewery, Chiba.

The next seafood course, the Rosy seabass, matsutake mushroom, was presented in a what was described as a “sustainable wrap” which was supposedly environmentally friendly (admittedly I wasn’t sure how). The waiter proceeded to cut the bag…

… and the delicious earthy smell of the matsutake mushroom immediately hit the olfactory senses. The contents had been cooked in a rich duck essence for eight minutes at 180 degrees celsius which enhanced the flavours of the fatty fish. It was served with another delicious sake of 5 years aged, unfiltered and unpasteurised junmai daiginjo, Chikurin Taoyaka, Marumoto Sake Brewery, Okayama. The aka musu (rosy seabass), known for it’s similarity in fattiness to the o-toro was beautiful cooked with a raw texture and was definitely one of the best preparations I’ve ever tasted.

For the next course a rump cut was used for the Kagoshima beef, beef essence, ichiban dashi. The ichiban dashi made from a matured konbu dashi was added to an essence of beef broth and complemented the tender lean meat, providing the umami. I particularly loved the ginnan (ginko nuts) with their nutty sweet-sour flavour that subtly reminded me of the autumn season. Accompanying the dish was a rather lovely 1994 Alain Verdet Bourgogne Hautes Côtes de Nuits, Bourgogne.

Narisawa’s take on the classic champagne cocktail of the Bellini was simply divine. White peaches were in season and the chef made sure to make the most out of them. The same house champagne served at the start was poured over slices of white peaches neatly stacked over a brioche and layer of cream

The flavour of the peach was very distinct and provided a fresh fruity note. At first sight I expected it to be a very sweet dish but, contrary to what I thought, surprisingly the dish was very light and refreshing. The matching wine was a chenin blanc, 2004 Quarts de Chaume, Domaine des Baumard.

The finale was Chocolate. It was perhaps a little disappointing given the caliber of the meal we had just experienced. The fondant, ice cream and foam incorporated the rather luxurious Domori chocolate from Italy. I found the flavour to be rather one dimensional despite the occasional bitterness of the darker chocolate contrasting against the milkier one. It was after all chocolate.

The number of mignardises presented with our coffee was staggering. Starting with a piña colada macaron, cream puff, canelé, passion fruit, cheese cake tart, warabi mochi as well as nine flavours of chocolate macarons, there was plenty more which I could sadly not fit in my stomach. What was truly remarkable was the skill that went into preparing these flawless sweet treats. By no means an easy feat.

As we looked over the kitchen we could see Chef Narisawa assessing each dish as it came to the pass. Nothing appeared to escape his focus, something that was very evident from the dishes we had just devoured over the last three hours. I could see why this place was so popular amongst those who sought after culinary excellence. Not only was the food delicious here, it was also eco-conscious and sustainable. I particularly loved the marriage of foreign techniques with ingredients typically engrained into traditional Japanese cuisine. By breaking the norms and boundaries, Narisawa was able to bring a whole new dimension to both French and Japanese cuisine. This wasn’t French or Japanese. This was “Narisawa cuisine”.

Daigo (醍醐), Tokyo

Leave a reply

Chef: Nomura Daisuke Website: www.atago-daigo.com Cuisine: Buddhist cuisine

Buddhist cuisine, better known in Japan as shyoujin-ryouri (精進料理), is a cuisine of devotion that follows the Buddhist philosophy of persistency to incorporate austere practices. Ask anyone making a culinary trip to Japan and I can guarantee you that they would have a list of restaurant dominated by sushi, kaiseki, tempura, beef and even contemporary cuisine, but Buddhist cuisine is certainly not one of them. And who can blame them when it is literally on the opposite end of the spectrum to fine dining? It therefore didn’t surprise me that there was little information available in Japanese let alone English in the public domain on our next destination, Daigo. If it wasn’t for the insistence of @Framed Eating to try this Two-Michelin starred restaurant we would have missed out on one of the highlights from our entire trip across Japan. Yes, you heard me correctly… it was unbelievably good and personally I thought they deserved the almighty three star status.

Nomura Yoshiko, who founded Daigo restaurant near Daigo-ji temple in 1950, remained as the okami (female lady of the house / supervisor) of the establishment until the restaurant relocated to a more modern location next to Seisho-ji temple at the foot of Mt. Atago in Tokyo. The current premises of the restaurant works perfectly well and you still get that genuine feeling of entering an old temple despite the modern surrounding. Daigo continues to be a family affair where Nomura Satoko oversee’s the guests arrival as the current okami, supported by her husband Nomura Masao (president) and three sons who run the restaurant that are Nomura Yusuke (restaurant manager), Nomura Tadasuke (office manager) and Nomura Daisuke (head chef).

Unlike traditional shyoujin ryori which can often be very basic and modest in portion, Daigo offers three alternative kaiseki-styled menus – the dearest being a mere 19,000 yen – with carefully selected ingredients directly from the farmers / producers and Tsukiji Vegetable Market. This concept appears to be paying dividends as they have started to attract new devotees across Japan who return during different seasons. The menu here is also designed in a way that allows you to appreciate the tanmi (淡味) or the subtlety of flavours, progressing from lighter preparations to much bolder flavours, allowing you to distinguish the essence of each main ingredient.

Word of warning though for those who are not used to Japanese customs. You will be required to take off your shoes at the entrance before you are shown to one of the eight private rooms available on the premises. All the rooms have tatami floors with a view over their own private Japanese garden. Impressively there was an almost complete absence of any noise from the neighbouring rooms given there were only a couple of shōji’s (rice paper wall) separating us.

Our reservation fell on a rather hot and humid September evening and the ice chilled apperitif or shokuzenshu (食前酒) of the Umeshu plum wine (梅酒) with a scented wet napkin to freshen up was a very welcomed gesture to our arrival.

Soon after settling in and absorbing the environment the shoji slid open and Nomura-san personally came to pour us some sake in a ceremonial wide-mouthed cup, also known as Sakazuki (盃). As expected from a Junmai Daiginjyo, it was rather delicious and left us wanting more.

As the sake was being poured, another waitress proceeded to serving us our Zensai (前菜), otherwise known as the Starter, on a beautiful lacquered tray with a pair of chopsticks that we were encouraged to take home after our meal.

As we were technically still in the fall of autumn, our first course was the chef’s interpretation of Tsukimi Dango (月見団子), a typical dumpling served for the moon-viewing festival (Tsukimi) that dates back to the Heian period, roughly a thousand years ago. Four lightly fried dumplings of Edamame, Corn, Rice and Sesame were served that were all distinctly flavoursome as well as crispy, warm and void of any excess oil. Not a bad start at all.

The dumplings came with a Kotsuke (小附), a small supplement dish called Shikisaikurouyose (色彩九郎寄せ) and Suizenjinori (水前寺海苔) served in a long ceramic case. It was essentially a herbaceious gel of dashi stock containing shiso (perilla) leaves and seaweed from Suizen-ji temple. The strong sweet and spicy flavour really drew the clean flavour of the dashi.

Next was the clear soup course or Osuimono (御吸物), an aromatic Kaburamushi (蕪蒸し), essentially a turnip that had been steamed, peeled and grated before reassembling it into a small ball and serving it in a clear soup with the young leaves of Japanese pepper, kinome (木の芽), and yuba (tofu skin). Whilst Kaburamushi is traditionally made with white fish flesh and prawn in Kyoto, this one was purely vegetarian and was far superior to any kaburamushi I’ve previously. It had a soft texture and distinct but subtle flavour of turnip.

We couldn’t resist trying at least one sake so we opted for the recommended Daiginjyo from Niigata.

The filler course to tie to the next dish, also known as an Oshinogi (お凌ぎ), was an assortment of Vegetable Sushi (野菜寿司) made from Green pepper (ピーマン) with black sesame and salt crystals, Bamboo shoot – Takenoko (筍), Shiitake mushroom (椎茸), Fermented seaweed and Cucumber – Kappamaki (河童巻). Each sushi was remarkably delicious and varied in sweetness, and seasoning to complement each ingredient. It took us by surprise as we had low expectation from this course because one would normally associate sushi with fish. Nomura-san explained this dish was replaced with a soba course in summer to suit the season.

The next dish, the Hassun (八寸) is perhaps the most poetic and constrained course in a kaiseki meal. The tray used to serve the course is always made of plain cedar, and it is traditionally the course where the master chef and the customer toast with a cup of sake. The tray typically contains two types of food representing “mountain” and “sea” that depict and celebrate the current season. The food is arranged across the tray in tiny piles to create contrasts of color, shape, texture, and seasoning. It is been generally recognised in Japan that a person with sensitivity to the changing season is one that possesses talent.

We started the Hassun with the “sea” item of Atagoshigure (愛宕時雨), where essentially hijiki (brown sea vegetable) and gluten (extracted from wheat) had been delicately seasoned with soy sauce. The texture was not too dissimilar to that of minced chicken and just melted in your mouth. I was worried about the soy sauce overpowering the flavour but that was certainly not the case here. Who needs meat when vegetarian food can be this good? Impressive.

The item representing the “mountain” was the Houzuki Yamamomo (鬼灯山桃) which was a mountain peach encased in a layer of mountain peach jelly and beautifully presented in Japanese lantern leaves (houzuki). I expected the flavours to be rather tart but instead it was bordering on sweet and perhaps my least favourite item in the course.

We continued with the Take ni kogori (茸煮凝り), which was the gelatinated mushroom cube on the right, followed by Konasu Dengaku (小茄子田楽), essentially a small but flavoursome aubergine that had been broiled in a sweet and savoury miso glaze, resting on mountain potato. We finished with the Mizutama Ohitashi (水玉草お浸し) which is a genus of the whillowherb family that had been cooked in a buckwheat soba stock and topped with crispy tempura flakes of wheat. The chef definitely knew how to draw out the flavour of each ingredient whilst respecting them as well. The cooking thus far was impressive and beyond a two-star level.

The Nimono (煮物) or simmered dish course was a Tougan agedashi (冬瓜揚げ出し) presented in a ceramic bowl covered with a lid. The fragrant aroma that wafted out was sensational and put us under a spell. The dish contained fried winter melon that was steeped in dashi stock and served with rice cake balls and mountain potato, and topped with grated ginger, spring onion and baby corn. The slight heat from the ginger, fragrance of the spring onion and the sticky texture of the rice ball – all came together with the thick dashi sauce. What a phenomenal dish!

Our Agemono (揚物), or deep fried course, was Daigo’s Shyoujin-age (精進揚げ) consisting of a variety of tempura from maitake (hen-of-the-woods mushroom), shikakui-mame (winged bean), sweet pumpkin, tofu and shallots. The tempura here was far more interesting and well balanced in texture and flavours than Raku-tei. I particularly liked the rice pop corn that was salty and packed with so much flavour.

There was a significant pause before Nomura-san came back with our next course. However, contrary to what we expected based on the copy of the menu we were given, a special course of Japanese fig or Ichijiku (無花果) was brought to us on the house. The fig had been prepared in a sakamushi style, that is steamed with sake, and served with a white miso glaze on top. It was by far the best fig dish I have ever tried with a beaitful marriage of sweet and savoury flavours and a melting texture to die for. We were left speechless as Nomura-san came back to collect our empty dishes. We must have looked like a bunch of guppies.

The Shiizakana (強肴) is traditionally served to customers after the fried dish as a relish to further enjoy with the sake of choice. On this occasion we were served a Matsutake Mizoreae (松茸霙和え), that is pine mushroom prepared with grated daikon radish, and Kaki Shishitou (柿獅子唐) which were slithers of persimon and slightly hot shishitou peppers. I’m not the biggest fan of matsutake mushrooms but this wasn’t too bad as far as it went.

Our palate cleanser, or Hashiarai (箸洗) was served in a beautiful ceramic cup that contained…

… Chikushi Konbu (竹紙昆布) which was a soup made of a luxurious konbu (kelp that has been shaved manually by hand to make it extremely thin to 0.05mm), garnished with slithers of the konbu itself and puffed rice balls. It was very soothing and aromatic again. Despite having quite a few dishes we felt energised at this point as the food had been light, aromatic and harmonious in progression.

The Gohan (御飯) or rice dish came on a lacquered tray and was our ultimate savoury dish of the evening. It contained…

… a bowl of Nameko Zousui (なめこ雑炊), basically a rice porridge dish prepared in a stock made from nameko mushroom served with gooey nameko and enoki mushrooms. As the evening was getting cooler in the Autumn evenings this was the perfect dish to warm your core temperature up. The food here was not only delicious but also thoughtful. The concentrated flavour of mushrooms was stunning and the lingering flavour in our mouths delightful. This was indeed what Japanese people call soul food.

To go with the porridge we had some condiments, Kou no mono (香の物), that included an earthy Yamagobou (山ごぼう) or mountain burdock, Sainome daikon (賽の目大根) or sliced daikon radish, and Bainiku (梅肉) which was a tart paste made from plum.

Our meal finished with a couple of sweet dishes starting with the Mizunomono (水の物) which on this occasion was an unbelievably juicy and sweet slice of melon and grapes and…

… we had a cup of the best cold red bean soup with mochi – Shiratama zenzai (白玉善哉) – I have ever had the pleasure of eating. The flavour of the red bean had been further drawn out with kurozatou or black sugar but without making it sickeningly sweet.

We came with little expectation and left speechless. Shoujin ryouri has countless limitations in its cooking methods and is intertwined with Japanese traditions, culture and arts. This was clearly demonstrated at Daigo by the sense of season in the cooking as well as the selection of crockery used for plating and presentation. In a culinary age that could be perhaps described as gluttony from the abudance of food, a cuisine following the austere discipline of Buddhism is a fresh breath of air. The only thing I didn’t agree was the star rating bestowed by Michelin. This was far superior to many Three-starred establishments we had collectively visited. If Daigo isn’t on your list then I would strongly urge you to add it.

Rakutei (楽亭), Tokyo

Leave a reply

Chef: Ishikura Shuuji Website: Not available Cuisine: Edomae Tempura

Tempura is one of the three cuisines that originated from and defined the Edo period (also known as Edo no Zanmai – 江戸の三味) when Tokyo became the capital (1603 – 1868), alongside sushi and soba. Given the importance of the cuisine, there was no way that we would be missing out on at least one good tempura experience in Tokyo where it all began centuries ago. Fortunately there are a number of 2-Michelin starred tempura restaurants in the capital. In the end we decided to opt for Rakutei (楽亭) in Akasaka, which specialised in Edomae tempura; that is utilising seafood and vegetables that were available and caught in the vicinity of Tokyo during the Edo period.

Reservation is necessary for this 11-seater restaurant. Just like the chef’s from other famous tempura restaurants like Kondo and Fukamachi, chef-owner Ishikura Shuuji trained at the famous Hilltop Hotel restaurant before going independent in 1970. There were only two options from the menu, starting with the cheapest at 11,000 yen and the most expensive being 13,000 yen. Given the difference between them was only the number of prawns you got, we opted for the cheapest one to leave room for dinner.

As soon as our orders were taken, Ishikura-san began preparing the oil and its temperature. As Ishikura-san had to adjust the temperature of the oil for each course, the meal could not commence until every diner was present as everyone’s meal was served simultaneously. A wet hand towel was brought out to everyone with me being the exception (this wasn’t rectified until half way through the meal when I had to point it out). The apprentice, and only aid behind the counter, wasted no time in preparing our appetiser of Bonito salad, or Sakizuke no katsuo nuta ae (先付の鰹ぬた和え). Unfortunately, it was rather chewy and I felt the fish was dominated by the white miso dressing.

Ishikura-san’s wife then brought out a lacquered tray for each of us. On the tray were essentially all the condiments to go with the tempura. Basically you could have your tempura with grated radish in home made tentsuyu (天つゆ), which is a tempura dip made from a specific ratio of dashi, mirin and soy sauce, or just lemon to squeeze over…

… or plain old salt. I personally preferred to just have salt for most of the courses.

There was no doubt the ingredients being used here was fresh. The prawns were still moving when Ishikura-san brought them out. Each prawn was handled with the utmost care and prepared methodically. The chef made the process look effortless but the slicing, trimming and peeling was done at speed with flawless precision that captivated all of us. He must have done this thousands of times. Each prawn was lightly slashed across the belly before being coated in the light batter.

For the cheaper menu, two Prawn Tempura’s (海老) were served in comparison to four, and in hindsight we made the right choice. The prawn had a natural sweetness and worked particularly well with just salt as it allowed you to appreciate its freshness and natural flavour. Despite this, I was not blown away from essentially what should have been the star dish of any tempura restaurant. I found the texture of the prawn a little drier than I’d like, absent of that expected juicy explosion at first bite.

We continued with some deep-fried Ginko nuts or ginnan (銀杏) which again wasn’t anything earth shattering. Hmmm, this was an ominous sign…

The meal did however pick up with a serving of the delicious and salty Prawn Head (海老の頭) and Matsutake mushroom (松茸). The prawn head was divine with its crunchy texture and depth of crustacean flavour, far superior to the body of the prawn itself. I did wonder though, why did we only get one head when we had been served two prawns? The matsutake was satisfyingly meaty and oozed of its delicious juice. This was more like it!

You could distinctly notice the change in the application of the batter and the temperature of the oil with the Garfish, also known as Kisu (鱚). There was a thicker coating of the batter and it had been fried at a much higher temperature to penetrate the thicker fillet of the fish. Lemon and salt did the perfect trick for this course. What surprised me most was the absence of oiliness despite the thick batter, leaving you with just the flavour of the fish.

One of the two stand-out dishes of the meal was undoubtedly the Long Aubergine or Naga-nasu (大長茄子) from Kumamoto prefecture. I loved the contrasting texture of the soft moist flesh against the crispy batter. The aubergine has been deep-fried to retain as much moisture as it could before it was sliced in half for plating. A ginger stem tempura was then served to clean the palate. Ishikura-san changed his oil after this course to maintain the freshness of the next few courses. Shame the same level of attention wasn’t paid to the service as we had run out of water and tea for some time and there was no sign of any impending top up.

The second star dish of the meal was the Ink Squid or Sumi-ika (スミイカ). I’d never encountered such a delicate texture with the flesh having hardly any resistance to bite. The entire piece just dissolved in my mouth effortlessly and we were all left speechless. Wow.

The Conger eel or Anago (穴子) in comparison felt slightly too oily, unrefined and tough compared to the other courses. The toughness in truth was due to the fact that it had been cooked slightly longer than it probably should have. Mind you, at least the flavour was good and its only saving grace, although admittedly it was difficult to hide our disappointment.

To finish our meal we were served a plate of Japanese Pickles or tsukemono (漬物) and given a choice of having our Kakiage (かき揚げ), essentially a concoction of various ingredients, in this case clams, being deep-fried together in a batter, prepared in a Tendon (天丼) which is on a bed of rice, or Tencha (天茶), which is in a bowl with a tiny bed of rice and tea.

I opted to have my Kakiage as a Tendon. The Kakiage was made from the muscular part of the round clam, known as Kobashira (小柱) that had been sourced from Hokkaido. Whilst the flesh was very soft and sweet, I felt there was far too much batter for the amount of the delicate clam, making it rather more doughy than i would like, albeit crunchy on the outside.

We reflected over our meal as we sipped on our red miso soup, Akadashi (赤だし) and waited for our bill. We all had mixed feelings about the meal. There were some clear winners like the sumi-ika and naga-nasu that were a world apart from any tempura we had ever tried previously but we couldn’t overlook the inconsistency in the quality of the tempura, not to mention the simple mistakes in the service such as my missing wet hand towel and tea not being topped up. For the same price we had a far better and memorable meal at Ishibashi.

Ishibashi (石ばし), Tokyo

Leave a reply

Chef: Nemoto Mitsuaki Website: www.unagi-ishibashi.com Cuisine: Unagi (eel)

It takes a tremendous amount of determination to rebuild your dream after watcing it crumble right in front of your eyes. It will however take more than the air raid of Tokyo in 1945 to stand in the way between the Nemoto family and their pursuit to perfecting the art of cooking eel. The century old family restaurant may no longer be sitting in its original location at Nakanohashi but I was impressed to see that they had managed to salvage some of their older building material including the bricks for the gate. Currently run by the third and fourth generation of Nemoto Mitsuaki and his son Kazunori, Ishibashi continues to be a contender to holding the title of the best unagi-ya (eel restaurant) in Tokyo.

Ishibashi’s eel is sourced from a designated farm in Yoshida-cho, Shizuoka prefecture. What I found particularly fascinating was that the eel was cultivated exactly to the chef’s specification, right down to the quantity and type of feed. Depending on the size and weight of the eel, the chef would decide how he would prepare it. According to Nemoto-san, it takes three years of practice to master skewering, eight years to cut and prepare the eel, and a life time to perfect the art of cooking it. That’s dedication for you! Naturally, it would have been rude to turn down the opportunity to try their elaborate menu to appreciate their various preparations of eel, so we obliged.

Our first course was a rather simple Zaru tofu (ざる豆腐) which is essentially tofu that has been strained using a basket (zaru) to remove as much water from the content of the soy beans. The remarkably silky tofu was sweet and creamy, complemented by the grated ginger, spring onion and soy sauce.

We were then presented a trio of starters (突出し) starting with Kamaboko or boiled fish cake (蒲鉾イクラのせ) served with kombu, salmon roe and grated daikon with soy sauce and wasabi on the left; a fresh slice of Salmon sashimi wrapped around sliced spring onion with caper (スライス玉葱のサーモン巻き); and some edamame (茶豆) cooked al dente.

I particularly enjoyed the Eel bone crackers (鰻骨煎餅 – unagi-kotsu senbei) which were, as the chef explained, packed with plenty of calcium with a crisp glass of beer. Crunchy, salty and packed with bags of flavour. As far as I was concerned, this was beer’s best friend and I could have had a truck load of it.

Some Oshinko / pickles (お新香) of cucumber, daikon, spring onion, aubergine and shirouri (白瓜), which is also known as summer cucumber. Great crunchy textures and not too salty. I managed to polish this plate before the next dish arrived.

The first proper eel course was a Unagi Chawanmushi (鰻茶碗蒸し), essentially a savoury egg custard dish steamed with pieces of delicious grilled eel, crab meat, mushroom, ginnan and slithers of the aromatic zest of sudachi. A harmonious dish with a beautifully silky texture and one of the better one I’ve had in a long time. I was particularly impressed as to how mush flavour the crab meat had.

Thirty minutes passed by and a rather apologetic waitress arrived with our next course. This was the moment we were waiting for! A beautiful Wajima lacquer box was presented to each of us with a soy sauce and wasabi concoction on the side. Wajima lacquer is one of the oldest lacquer craft produced in the city of Wajima in Ishikawa prefecture. Before opening the box the waitress explained that each eel was carefully handled and grilled just before serving them which was why it had taken thirty minutes. Fair enough!

The first serving of the eel was prepared as a Shirayaki (白焼), which is essentially plain broiled eel without any sauce. This method of cooking is popular amongst the purists as the lower content of fat from the cooking method allows you to truly appreciate the quality of the eel and the skill that comes with the preparation. The dish was accompanied with soy sauce and wasabi but without rice. I personally preferred this preparation and enjoy the clean taste of the eel.

We were then served some more pickles to go with the finale…

As tradition dictates, a bowl of Kimosui (肝吸い) (eel liver soup) was served to go with the next course. The clear broth had a very clean taste despite it’s association with liver. I was however rather more interested with the next course…

…. and at last, the long awaited Unajuu (うな重). This beautiful kabayaki was served on a bed of rice in another Wajima lacquer box. Unlike the shirayaki, the eel had been dipped in a sweet soy-based sauce before being broiled on the grill. Whilst I personally preferred the shirayaki, I did rather enjoy the fact that there wasn’t too much sauce to distract the flavour of the eel completely. To the chefs credit, this was cooked to perfection and it was all a matter of personal taste.

Our first meal on the trip certainly set the tone for the week ahead. What I truly admired was the passion and commitment from the Nemoto family who have continued to refine the art of preparing eel across four generations. From humble beginnings in their original premise in Nakanohashi, Ishibashi had not only evolved in their cooking style but also in the manner in which the eel is cultivated. Eel is an expensive ingredient and for 13,000 yen I think this meal was an absolute bargain. It certainly put some of the other bigger names like Nodaiwa to shame.

Dining Without Borders

All about good food and restaurants

Category Archives: Japan

Tempura Matsu (天ぷら松), Kyoto

Harutaka (青空), Tokyo

Isshin (いっしん), Kyoto

Matsukawa (松川), Tokyo

Fujiya 1935, Osaka

Jimbo-cho Den (神保町傳), Tokyo

Seto (瀬戸), Kyoto

Steakhouse Satou, Tokyo

Narisawa, Tokyo

Daigo (醍醐), Tokyo

Rakutei (楽亭), Tokyo

Ishibashi (石ばし), Tokyo