Last time i had a kaiseki dinner, i promised to myself that i won't have it "any time soon". "Not any time soon" was exactly two years. I don't even know if you can have a dinner in Kanamean Nishitomiya if you don't stay at the ryokan. The ryokan has only 9 rooms and the chef (Kanamean san ?) is also the owner(together with his wife).The location of Kanamean Nishitomiya is 5 minutes away from Nishiki market- perfect for the style of cooking where seasonal,fresh products are fundamental.
Staying in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Kyoto was a very special experience. Let's say,hoteliers who are willing to learn how to host a guest in their hotel should stay in a high end ryokan for at least one night. The experience was "special" from the moment my taxi stopped at the door of Kanamean Nishitomiya, until the owners couple waved me goodbye.
Harutaka (1*,Kawabata Building 3F, 8-5-8 Ginza, tel. 03 3573 1144 )- the last sushiya from the sushi from Tokyo series this year. And my favorite so far. Harutaka Takahashi ( left) comes from Sukiyabashi Jiro "school", so you can see many similarities with Sukiyabashi Jiro Roppongi(and, i would guess with the original branch too). The rice was almost identical - each grain was very firm and separate.So different from another legendary sushi master Hachiro Mizutani , whose rice was much less al dente. The fish at Harutaka couldn't have been fresher or higher quality.Many people i spoke to ( Tokyo chefs or waiters), named Harutaka sushiya as their favorite. The chefs can't be wrong, no?
I missed my plane back to Europe, so instead of waiting at Narita for the evening flight i went back to Tokyo and had lunch at Sukiyabashi Jiro in Roppongi Hills. (The one Michelin English speaking sister restaurant of the three Michelin Sukiyabashi Jiro in Ginza. The sushi chef is Jiro's son Takashi ).
Update 2011. The restaurant is closed.
Before this trip to Tokyo,I agreed with those who were sceptical about other than Japanese food in Japan. Well, after my dinner at 3 Michelin stars L'Osier, i don't share this opinion anymore.Imagine what happens when the excellence of French gastronomy collide with Japanese perfectionism. It is a big bang of flavors and pleasures of eating.I still think of the divine foie gras raviolis with white truffles or suckling pig with polenta. And i could have licked the plate of scallops with polenta and white truffles...
If you love Japanese culture, you must have seen or heard of an eighties movie called "Tampopo", Japanese comedy about love, life and ramen. The movie starts with a younger truck driver Gun (Ken Watanabe) reading a book about ramen to an older truck driver Goro (Tsutomu Yamazaki). The younger truck driver imagines himself in the story and asks the noodles' master, who studied noodles for 40 years, if soup or noodles should be eaten first. The noodles "sensei" answers :
"First observe the whole bowl. Savor the aromas. Jewels of fat glittering on the surface. Shinachiku roots shining. Seaweed slowly sinking. Spring onions floating. Concentrate on the pork slices. They play a key role but stay modestly hidden. First caress the surface with the chopsticks tips. To express affection. Then poke the pork. Caress it with the chopsticks tips. Gently pick it up and and dip it in the soup on the right of the bowl. What is important here is to apologize to the pork by saying “See you soon” "
I find it hard to believe myself but i've been three times in Nobu over a stay of two weeks in Tokyo.Why go to an international chain when Tokyo has so many exciting local places to offer? Well, the first time i went there was out of plain curiousity. I was interested to know how Nobu compares to other Nobus I've been (NY, Miami,LA,London,Milan,Hong Kong and Paris (before it closed)) and was not really intending to return.
Whether it is a cheap restaurant or a fine and famous place, sushi in Tokyo will be better than in Europe most of the times. At least the fish will be fresher and more various. How the fish is cut is another issue. I don’t think that thick pieces of fish are typical only to cheap places, I heard that famous chefs do that too, but I hate when the slices of fish are so thick,you feel as if you a chewing a whole fish in your mouth!
Mamoru Sugiyama san showing some special sake...
During this trip to Tokyo i started with Sushi Mizutani, then Sushi Kanesaka and ended up at Sushiko Honten (6-3-8 Ginza, tel. 03 3571 1968 ) . Ironically, my favorite of all the three was the latter, the sushi place that has only one Michelin star, the least from all the three.
What made me love this place? First- the warm welcoming, the chef Mamoru Sugiyama san is genuinely trying to make the time at his restaurant (again, only 11 places) as pleasant as possible. Eating out at fine sushi places doesn't need to be like going to a temple, isn't it?
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