Hyotei

Hyotei

Hyoteiis a traditional kaiseki restaurant located at the entrance of Nanzen-ji Temple in Kyoto. It also boasts 3 Michelin stars. Crossing the doorstep of Hyotei is like traveling back in time. The restaurant has been owned and operated by the same family for 450 years, with the current chef-owner, Yoshihiro…

4
Sep
Japan: Kyoto
Seven Days in Japan

Seven Days in Japan

Seven Days in Japan

If you’ve ever had the good fortune to visit Japan, you’ll doubtless have been left with the same wealth of feeling I have, as I write from my home in London. The chaotic modernity of Tokyo versus the historical richness of Kyoto, to the Idyllic countryside, kind gestures of the…

20
Jul '23
Kaiseki at Kitcho

Kaiseki at Kitcho

Kaiseki at Kitcho

“Originating from the tea ceremony, kaiseki is a multi-course meal in Japan that highlights the skills of the chef and the finest seasonal ingredients. The kanji characters to write “kaiseki” (懐石) literally mean “breast-pocket stone” and are thought to have been incorporated by Sen no Rikyū , to indicate the…

29
Nov '22
Japanese Ceramics with Robert Yellin

Japanese Ceramics with Robert Yellin

Luxeat Insider · 11th ED.

Japanese Ceramics with Robert Yellin

Luxeat Insider · 11th ED.

As part of our deep dive into Japan, Luxeat has the joy of meeting with a Japanese ceramics legend to better understand the history and importance of cups, plates and bowls across the nation. Robert Yellin is an American Japanese ceramics specialist who has been living in Japan since 1984.…

26
Sep '21
Tales of a Japanese Rice Grower: Kayama San

Tales of a Japanese Rice Grower: Kayama San

Luxeat Insider · 9th ED.

Tales of a Japanese Rice Grower: Kayama San

Luxeat Insider · 9th ED.

As part of a special issue about rice, we talk with Kayama San, who comes from five generations of ancestral Japanese farmers in Northern Kyoto. Beyond continuing the family legacy, he feels a sense of mission and purpose in protecting Japanese food culture, as well as helping maintain the beautiful…

2
May '21
Legacy & Evolution: A Conversation with a Kaiseki Legend

Legacy & Evolution: A Conversation with a Kaiseki Legend

Luxeat Insider · 6th ED.

Legacy & Evolution: A Conversation with a Kaiseki Legend

Luxeat Insider · 6th ED.

Chef Kunio Tokuoka has been working in the kitchens of KITCHO, the legendary Japanese haute cuisine restaurant for close to 40 years and is now running the show. He follows in the hefty footsteps of his grandfather the founder of KITCHO Teiichi Yuki. Born in 1960, Kunio Tokuoka has brought…

25
Dec '20
Suzue

Suzue

Suzue

Suzue, 2 Michelin stars and currently number one in Kyoto on tabelog.com is a traditional kaiseki restaurant serving very minimally prepared dishes from the best seasonal ingredients. Even if I loved my past meals at Matsukawa and Ishikawa in Tokyo, I’ve always found kaiseki flavours a little too bland and…

25
Apr '16
Tempura Matsu

Tempura Matsu

Tempura Matsu

I first read about Tempura Matsu in Matt Goulding’s book “Rice Noodle Fish“, an excellent study on the Japanese food world and culture. Different than the name suggests, Tempura Matsu is not solely serving tempura, but modern kaiseki from the most incredible ingredients one might outsource in Japan. The second…

8
Apr '16
Yutaka steakhouse connection

Yutaka steakhouse connection

Yutaka steakhouse connection

What do Tokyo’s top steakhouses such as Shima, introduction only Kawamura and Ginza Hirayama have in common? Their chefs all come from Yutaka in Kyoto (1 Michelin star), now second generation steakhouse run by its founder’s son Mamoru Takada. Thus, the formula of these four über steakhouses is similar. French…

5
Apr '16
Luxeat picture of the day: at Kikunoi

Luxeat picture of the day: at Kikunoi

Luxeat picture of the day: at Kikunoi

Beautiful food at Kyoto’s Kikunoi… P.S. Longer posts will be resumed soon!

2
Oct '13
Modern kaiseki at Hoshinoya ryokan

Modern kaiseki at Hoshinoya ryokan

Modern kaiseki at Hoshinoya ryokan

Sometimes you need to travel to another side of the world to get answers to your questions. And the question I’ve been asking myself was – what had happened to Umu, my favorite Japanese restaurant in London, which has changed for the worse ever since it’s head chef, Ichiro Kubota…

6
May '13