When it comes to premium yakitori, nowhere does it better than grillmaster supreme Yoshiteru Ikegawa’s brilliant Torishiki. Nowhere is harder to reserve, either. Which is why it was such good news when Torioka, his new offshoot, opened last autumn.
Not only is the location more central — in the heart of Roppongi Hills, no less — Torioka is also more stylish, more accessible and, for the time being at any rate, much easier to book…
Here's the link to the article online: jtim.es/RlQ030ncouf
Men Chirashi is bright and welcoming, but it’s also — for the moment, at least — a noodle joint by and for the locals and insiders.
…The udon at Men Chirashi is the real deal. You can watch it being made in front of your eyes: “Freshly rolled; freshly cut; freshly cooked” is the manifesto here. The rest of the menu hews to the same excellent template.
… Leave it to the crew at Men Chirashi to get inventive. Kamatama (hot noodles with a raw egg yolk) is now a standard. But kamatama-yama, the same with grated maru-imo yam on the side, is a slithery, slimy step into the unknown.
Adding bacon and Parmesan in place of the yam, they stray into Italian territory: Carbonara udon anyone? But where they really go to town is their deluxe (¥1,500) version made with Beurre Bordier, a wickedly rich, high-end French butter…
The idea is to offer dashimaki tamago, omelet wrapped in hot dog buns. To get an idea of how good it’s going to be, you can already order the omelet — but only at dinner. That’s when Men Chirashi morphs from noodle shop to mellow izakaya (tavern) mode offering a good menu of small plates, both hot and cold, and enough drinks to encourage you to linger all evening.
More in The Japan Times on Sunday here: http://jtim.es/b9Qr30ncou1
Best wishes to one and all, in the Year of the Boar.
Seeing out the old year in Tokyo with a few glances back, to the side, and ahead to 2019: my year-end column in The Japan Times.
Good eating and good health to one and all in the Year of the Boar.
The sands of time are rapidly running out on 2018. But before the Year of the Boar comes trotting into view, there’s still a chance to pause, look back and appreciate some of the highlights and new arrivals from the past 12 months — and to wish all Japan Times readers good eating and good health in 2019.
Japan will see a new Emperor installed next April. But for many people it already felt like the end of an era when the venerable Tsukiji fish market was finally shuttered this autumn and its operations transferred to nearby Toyosu. Despite a few glitches — and an entire day deprived of fresh fish for the city’s sushi chefs — the move went smoothly, in the face of grave misgivings about logistics and lingering environmental pollution at the new site.
Meanwhile, several major new developments have mushroomed above the already crowded city skyline. In gastronomic terms, none are bigger than Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, now home to the capital’s outpost of Nanzenji Hyotei, one of Kyoto’s most esteemed temples of kaiseki (traditional multicourse cuisine); Sushi Namba, whose original location in Asagaya remains one of the hottest tickets in town; refined soba noodles at Sobagami; and the plush new digs of Nihonryori RyuGin.
In nearby Ginza, Hiroyuki Sato (formerly at Sushi Tokami) opened the stunning Hakkoku to considerable acclaim in February. Five months later, another up-and-coming sushi artisan, Takao Ishiyama (formerly at Sushi Ya), launched his own self-named counter, Sushi Ishiyama. Meanwhile, on the west side of town, the Nakameguro area saw the arrival in June of the intimate 10-seat Sushi Tsubomi, helmed by Sushi Saito alumnus Makoto Maruyama.
Looking at other genres, the new Katsukami in Ginza is serving premium tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlets) that already rank among the finest in the city. In Daikanyama, Simplicité lives up to its name, both in its spare, uncluttered decor and chef Kaoru Aihara’s stylish modern French cuisine. And over in nether Asakusa, Noboru Arai already boasts two Michelin stars for his superb (and too often overlooked) Hommage; now he has a casual, bistro-style second restaurant, Noura, to complement it.
There has been plenty of import action, too. Hong Kong’s much lauded dim sum emporium Tim Ho Wan landed in Hibiya to massive media coverage. Even eight months later, its cha siu bao and other signature dishes are still generating some of the longest lines in the city. Another well trumpeted clone, Barcelona seafood specialist Xiringuito Escribà, made its bow in the new Shibuya Stream building, though sadly its trademark paellas fail to live up to the fanfare.
A growing number of Japanese chefs are making moves abroad. Sushi Saito now has a branch in Hong Kong. Florilege opened a Taipei spin-off, Logy, in October, and Den is set to follow suit in Taiwan next year. Meanwhile yakitori master Yoshiteru Ikegawa is counting down the weeks till the grill is fired up in Torishiki’s first overseas branch, in New York City.
And, finally, one to look forward to: Milan-based chef Yoji Tokuyoshi (ex-Osteria Francescana) is opening a branch of his self-named Michelin-starred restaurant in Tokyo’s Jinbocho area. To be called AlterEgo, it will feature a take on his cucina contaminata — Italian cuisine filtered through his Japanese sensibility — and is due to open Feb. 4. Bring on 2019!
The year in guides: Michelin and Eatrip
The 2019 Michelin Guide Tokyo was another bumper edition, bestowing 230 restaurants with stars and a further 254 with Bib Gourmand mentions. Among the highlights: L’Osier finally regained its three-star status; a third ramen shop won a star; and an onigiri (rice ball) specialist got a Bib Gourmand. Although the print version is only published in Japanese, the full list in English can be read online at https://bit.ly/2SdDAeB.
For a more idiosyncratic take on the city, look no further than Yuri Nomura’s bilingual guide, “Tokyo Eatrip.” Named after her own restaurant in Harajuku and reflecting the same down-to-earth ethos, it shines a spotlight on places that are the antithesis of haute gastronomy.
Small owner-chef restaurants working with farmers around the country, long-established neighborhood eateries, independent coffee shops, and simple, wholesome noodle counters: Nomura believes it’s the personal that counts, not corporate interests — and shows that Tokyo has so much more to offer than Michelin-level fine dining.
Congratulations to chef Toshiro Minami on opening his first spin-off, a small take-out kiosk simply called Mimosa Ginza, inside the spiffy new Ginza Sony Park...
"Instead of his usual modern Shanghainese cuisine, he has developed a line of excellent dim sum take-out items, including steamed buns, spring rolls, radish pie and superb little egg tarts. He also has an interesting range of drinks, including an amazing foamy pu-erh tea. Not to be missed."
The poster behind chef Minami is by designer/artist Hiroshi Fujiwara, the man who conceived and designed the new Ginza Sony Park – and, before that, the now long-gone Park-Ing pop-up, including the reincarnated Cafe Ropé – who is apparently a big fan of the main Mimosa restaurant near Omotesando.
More in my column here, in today's Japan Times on Sunday…
And here are a couple more images taken from the Mimosa Ginza IG feed (so much better than my own photos):
Food writer and restaurant reviewer for the Japan Times contact: foodfile (at) me (dot) com
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