tokyo food file

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới

It's the Lunar New Year and the robai are in bloom.

 

Because of the time I spent in Vietnam (a couple of decades back now), this is a blossom I can only associate with the Tet celebrations – especially in Hue, where the city was full of stalls selling these beautiful fragrant hoa mai blossoms.

In English they're called wintersweet or Japanese allspice. In Japan, the name is robai – literally "wax" ume. And the flowers do have definite resemblance to ume, especially when their buds are just about to burst open. Unlike ume, though, they are significantly toxic.

 

 

Needless to say, I can never think of Vietnam without immediately craving the complex flavors and fragrances that make the cuisine so special.

Tokyo is not overly endowed with good Vietnamese food. Which makes it all the more worth while riding the Keihin-Tohoku Line down to Kamata, on the southernmost fringe of of the city. Destination: My-Le. 

It was summer when I wrote it up for my Japan Times column. It's just as good at this time of year – though the walk to and from the station is a lot chillier.

Here's a map link… 

 

And for all those now celebrating the start of the holidays in the Middle Kingdom: Xin Nian Kuai Le 新年快乐, Gong Hei Fat Choy 恭喜发财 or Xing Ni Ju Yi 新年如意 !

going deep in Asakusa in search of Thai street food

You will find Montee, the excellent little Thai restaurant introduced in my Japan Times column today, in the little-known, hard-to-find underground arcade known as Asakusa Chikagai. It's a low-res, grainy, hand-held sort of place — just like this video I shot coming out of the subway station. You'll spot Montee on the left (at about 1'20"): check out the delivery bike.

Asakusa chikagai from tokyo food file on Vimeo.

 

In case you missed the bike and its sign, here it is again...

...and in close-up.

And, if you want another reason for exploring this gritty slice of retro Tokyo life, Asakusa Chikagai is also the site of a super little Vietnamese retaurant, Bistro Authentique, which I dropped into a JT column this time last year.

enter the year of the Dragon, Vietnamese style

A new lunar year has begun, and that's something worth celebrating. As I wrote in my Japan Times column this time three years ago, China and its vast diaspora may make the most noise, but it's no less of a big deal in Vietnam.

To mark the arrival of Tet, here are a few more pics from dinner at The Majestic on Kotto-dori. It's not necessarily the best Vietnamese restaurant in town, but its recreation of the old colonial style of Saigon rings some welcome bells of nostalgia for me. Here are a few more images...

The goi cuon are freshly rolled to order and laid out with care.

Ditto the mixed appetizer plate. And what else to wash it down with than Bababa (333 beer)?

Our favourite of all are the cha gio, crisp, stubby deep-fried spring rolls served in quaint bamboo baskets.

Besides the two main dining areas, there are also cheerful little private booths. 

Hidden away in the basement of the Ohara building, the Majestic looks quite grand from the outside. It's actually very laidback, and the Vietnamese aunties in the ktichen are nothing but down to earth.

Chuc mung nam moi — Happy New Tet.

The Majestic has its own web site now (the one given in my column is no longer extant).

Cristiano's — the mural magic

There's one other factor that gives Cristiano's in Tomigaya its distinctive atmosphere: the gorgeous wall paintings. You can't miss the red and black cockerel by the front door...

...or the port barcos rabelos that indicate the way to the rest room...

...or the grove of olive trees that entwine themselves all the way into and around the smallest room...

They're all the work of Keeda Oikawa, an artist who lives close by Cristiano's. Apparently she was given a key and a free hand, and she let herself into the restaurant in the wee hours to work her mural magic during the night.

  

These days Keeda is best known for her live painting performances, and is in frequent demand not just in Tokyo but around Japan and also abroad. Here's a (shaky hand-held) clip of her in action at a Fair Trade fashion show last year...

 

Her distinctive artwork can also be seen adorning the walls of Vi-sand, a bright little specialist cafe/diner in Shimo-Kitazawa that specializes in banh-mi and, in the evening, light Vietnamese snacks (as introduced in my Japan Times column last Friday).

Vi-sand originally opened in February, not long before seismic events brought the city to a grinding halt. To relaunch the business, the owners asked Keeda to decorate the walls in her trademark style — and to also do to a small live painting session at the beginning of last month.

Nice place, fun event, great art!

murals, bacalhau and bababa beer

Another teaser for my Tokyo Food File column, up tomorrow in the Japan Times.

 

Update (Friday): My column is now up on the JT site, here... and here...

And I've posted more images of Keeda's beautiful artwork here...