cooking Archives - Page 3 of 3

Ryan – a trendy soba restaurant in Shibuya

Posted 01/01/2017 by Michiyo Nakamoto

Shibuya, with its blaring signs, constant traffic clamor and frenetic crowds is not usually the first neighborhood I think of when looking for a place to have a satisfying meal in a pleasant environment. But recently, I have had good reason to head there not once, but twice, for both lunch and dinner – the improbably named Ryan. Situated on a side street just off Miyamasuzaka, an avenue which winds its way uphill from Shibuya station towards Aoyama, Ryan is… Read more »

Chojuan – Eating Soba Noodles in Style

Posted 11/01/2016 by Michiyo Nakamoto

Soba noodles, which are made of buckwheat, have been a favorite fast-food meal of busy Tokyoites ever since the early days of the bustling capital, in the 17th and 18th centuries, when it was still known as Edo. Today, time-pressed diners in Tokyo can still duck into one of many soba stands found all over the city, slurp their noodles at the counter and be gone within minutes. But those who prefer to eat their soba in a more relaxed… Read more »

Ginza Honokawa

Posted 09/13/2016 by Michiyo Nakamoto

Just a few blocks behind Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel is a cluster of eateries by the train tracks and highway in a thoroughfare known, fittingly, as Korido-gai, or Corridor Road. The pizza, seafood, grilled chicken and countless other joints crammed together along Korido-gai are mostly cheap and cheerful watering holes where salarymen take refuge after a day’s work. One notable exception is Honokawa, a Japanese restaurant with its roots in Osaka serving Kansai-style Japanese cuisine, which is generally lighter and more subtle in… Read more »

Shirosaka – a Japanese restaurant with a difference

Posted 07/06/2016 by Michiyo Nakamoto

Ever since the world woke up to the delights of Japanese cuisine, many western chefs have begun incorporating Japanese ingredients and ways of preparing food into their own cooking. It is no longer surprising to find wasabi, dashi (bonito stock) or yuzu (tangy citrus) in dishes served by creative French or Scandinavian chefs or to find sushi-like offerings on the menus of decidedly western food establishments. The affection has been mutual, with more Japanese chefs, particularly those who have worked… Read more »

Akasaka Toda

Posted 06/25/2016 by Michiyo Nakamoto

The first thing that strikes you on descending the staircase to Akasaka Toda, tucked down a vibrant sidestreet in the entertainment and business district of Akasaka, is a feeling of comfort. The soft lamp light and the understated entrance live up to the restaurant’s simple but well appointed premises, spread over a series of koshitsu, or private rooms, with tables seating from 4 people up to larger groups of 10 or more. Shigenao Toda is a low-key chef and now restaurateur… Read more »

A Taste of Fukui in Aoyama – Bouyourou

Posted 06/21/2016 by Michiyo Nakamoto

Fukui prefecture, on Japan’s west-central coast , is one of those places that conjures up images of rough oceans, rugged cliffs and punishing winter weather. Sandwiched between its more famous neighbors – to the south, Kyoto prefecture, and to the north, Ishikawa prefecture – Fukui seems to have little going for it, except for the bounty of its moderately long coastline, which stretches 400 kilometers along the Sea of Japan. The waters off the coast of Fukui are rich in… Read more »

Eclectic Japanese cuisine at Kafuka

Posted 05/01/2016 by Michiyo Nakamoto

It is unusual for japonica to write twice about the same restaurant but Kafuka deserves a follow-up. We recently managed to secure seats there at short notice, and were rewarded with an eclectic meal that was both impressive and entertaining. Chef Ito, who greeted us with a friendly smile and a warm “konbanwa,” or “good evening,” served a tasting menu of creative dishes and comfort food that was a steal at Y6,000. From where we sat at the counter, we were… Read more »

Fruit-Flavored Soy Sauce

Posted 03/07/2016 by Michiyo Nakamoto

Shoyu, or soy sauce, is an essential seasoning in Japanese cuisine that has found a place on tables around the world together with popular Japanese dishes, ranging from sushi and tempura to teppanyaki. But even with the growing eclecticism of contemporary cooking, which has encouraged creative chefs from San Francisco to Stockholm to experiment with Japanese ingredients such as wasabi (Japanese horseradish) and yuzu (Japanese citron), it is still rare to find shoyu or shoyu-based seasonings in western-style meals. Toshihiko… Read more »

Kodaiji Wakuden

Posted 01/05/2016 by Michiyo Nakamoto

It takes some nerve to start a restaurant business in Kyoto, particularly if you are an outsider. As home to Japan’s imperial court and nobility for over 1,200 years, Kyoto is also the birthplace of Kyo-kaiseki, an elaborate, multi-course meal widely considered the pinnacle of Japanese haute cuisine. What’s more, the people of Kyoto who see themselves as the ultimate arbiters of culinary sophistication, are notoriously dismissive of those who hail from anywhere else. So, it must have been a… Read more »

Kyoaji – a Taste of Kyoto Kaiseki in Central Tokyo

Posted 12/21/2015 by Michiyo Nakamoto

It is regularly voted the best Japanese restaurant in Tokyo. The proprietor is a legendary chef, who inspires adulation among his loyal fans. As one of an exclusive community of “ichigen-san okotowari” (or “introduction required”) restaurants, foodies, both foreign and Japanese, agonize over how to secure a seat there. But there is nothing grand about Kyoaji, even though it is arguably one of Tokyo’s most highly regarded kaiseki restaurants and, undeniably, one of the most difficult to get into. In… Read more »

Cooking with Elizabeth Ando

Posted 03/16/2015 by Michiyo Nakamoto

The problem was, the egg mixture just wasn’t cooperating. I was standing in Elizabeth Ando’s highly organized and functional kitchen, a square frying pan in one hand and long cooking chopsticks in the other, trying to make tamagoyaki, or Japanese rolled egg omelet. It is, at first sight, a fairly simple-looking omelet, sometimes with flecks of aonori (dried green seaweed) mixed in with the egg and sometimes with nori (dried seaweed) sandwiched in between the layers of egg, which is… Read more »

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