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Japan tuna fetches record price

This year it's over 2000 euros per kg!

© moonrise

High end tempura at Kondo

 

Whether it's a sushi- ya, or tempura-ya, one of the main characteristics of Japanese restaurants is  that a  chef  cooks food in front of you.Some products, like shrimps for example, are still moving moments away from cooking. There can't be any hiding or cheating. At high end tempura restaurants  food preparation show is particularly fun to watch. Only a narrow counter separates you from the kitchen.

Kondo (2*, Sakaguchi Bldg., 9F, 5-5-13 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo;tel.03-5568-0923) was my second time at a high end tempura restaurant in Tokyo and my expectations were really high because the first time i tried tempura in Tokyo was at  7 Chome Kyoboshi two years ago. 7 Chome Kyoboshi, which now has 3 Michelin stars, is  in a totally different league from any other tempura restaurant in the world.

One Michelin Star Soba

 

Soba - traditional Japanese buckwheat noodles that can be eaten cold or hot, alone or in a broth. The soba at Tajima( 1*) was delicious, but sometimes I wonder if Michelin guide makes any sense in Japan. If to be fair, all the decent restaurants in France,serving fresh,cheap and delicious French food should be Michelin strarred as well!

Sushi for Breakfast at Daiwa

 

Akagai

Eating the freshest fish possible is part of the fun when visiting  the biggest fish and seafood market in the world. Daiwa Sushi (Tsukiji Market Part6 Bldg. 5-2-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo,tel. 03-3547-6807) hides in one of the busy alleys of Tsukiji  and is definitely worth the over an hour wait- the fish is unimaginably fresh and much cheaper than at the best sushi places in the city. 

More pictures after the jump

The ultimate seafood at Sushi Saito

 

 

When you sit at  a 7 places sushi counter, you will most likely end up making conversations with your neighbours. My neighbours at  Sushi Saito ( Jidousha kaikan Bldg. F1, 1-9-15 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo,tel. 03-3589-4412 ) - a nice Japanese couple who comes to this sushi bar regularly and who also spends their summer holidays in the South of France. We spoke about sushi,fish in Japan,in France and  " why don't Europeans like their fish"  as they "overcook it and cover in sauces","so you can't even see which fish you are eating". This point of view was particularly interesting as somehow it's true.The philosophy of Japanese cuisine is the complete opposite. It is all about respecting  ingredients and instead of overcooking them, emphasising their freshness and natural texture.

Fruit shopping in Tokyo

 

It never ceases to amaze me the quality of the products  in Tokyo. Sembikiya is the oldest fruit shop in Japan selling fruits of unbelievable quality you will get nowhere in the world. The fruits at the Sembikiya shops are so expensive that usually you buy them by units and often Japanese offer these muskmelons, mangoes, apples and oranges as gifts. Muskmelons cost from around 100 to 200 euros a piece, mandarins -a little over than 2 euros each, one orange costs from 4 to 15 euros depending on the quality. No, you don't make your fresh pressed orange  juice with these!

 

 

At the legendary Sukiyabashi Jiro Ginza

 

The father and the son - Jiro Ono and Yoshikazu Ono 

Those who have ever been eating out in Tokyo might know the difference between "Sukiyabashi Jiro Ginza" (Tsukamoto Sogyo Building, B1F. 4-2-15, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo ,tel. 03-3535-3600), 3 Michelin stars  and "Sukiyabashi Jiro Roppongi" (2*). You can quite easily get a booking at the latter, while if you are gaijin, a  foreigner who doesn't speak Japanese, you have little chance of getting a reservation at Sukiyabashi Jiro Ginza. And you shouldn't even try walking in as  you will be most likely turned away.If you do want to eat sushi made by the hands of the "Japan's living national treasure", 86 year old sushi master Jiro Ono , you must speak Japanese or be accompanied by a fluent Japanese speaker. Claims of rude service and even foreigners discrimination at Sukiyabashi Jiro Ginza have been surfacing on the internet. Therefore i was a little nervous before going there ,especially that the night before i read about  Andy Hayler's  unfortunate experience.

In fact,  I was treated really nice and  it was one of my best  sushi experiences in Tokyo ever .

"Sushi and Beyond" by Michael Booth

 

"Sushi and Beyond: What the Japanese Know About Cooking" by Michael Booth is an amusing and super informative book about Japanese food and  culture. If you are passionate about Japan like me, you will really enjoy it.

 

Sushi Matsumoto, Kyoto

 

After eating in all these "alpha" sushi places in Tokyo the standards for fish and rice get pretty high.I don't want to sound snobbish- the first time i went to Japan i was so ignorant , i thought that sushis are the most basic meal to prepare, something everyone could do. When i realized that sushi making is a real know-how and it is rice with fish, not opposite, i had a whole new picture in my plate.

Anyway, Kyoto is far away from the sea and the region is not famous for sushi. Remember,the Edo-mae, sushi as the whole world knows, was born in Tokyo. Sushi Matsumoto (570-123, Gionmachi,Minamigawa,Kyoto) is the only sushi restaurant in Kyoto that has received two Michelin stars.

Just some raw fish on rice

Sushis in a random sushiya somewhere in Japan.. Nothing in common with this or this . Looking from an European point of view, the fish in "a random sushiya somewhere in Japan" was still better than anywhere in Europe.The rice was a disaster though.You get what you pay for..