Kadowaki **, Tokyo
*SFREELIFE SIGNATURE* Kadowaki , Azubu-Juban Japanese Kaiseki with a twist. Back in 2008, Kadowaki shot to world-wide fame with the arrival of Michelin Guide in Tokyo, albeit with a totally different reason : Toshiya Kadowaki, owner of Azabu Kadowaki, turned down the chance to appear in Michelin’s Tokyo guide. He can serve only 21 covers … Read more
Ryugin** , Tokyo (2nd visit, 2010)
Nihonryori Ryugin by Seiji Yamamoto 2 Star Michelin San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurant : #48 in 2010 , #20 in 2011. Restaurant Magazine : “The menu at Nihonryori RyuGin is built around the seasons and chef Seiji Yamamoto takes great care to retain the integrity of traditional Japanese ingredients and cooking methods while pushing … Read more
Honmura-An (Soba) , Tokyo
Famous SOBA restaurant, hailed from the Big Apple. An atypical success story where the original shop, run by Japanese, actually opens first in New York before it was relocated back to Tokyo! Start the meal with simple but mouth-watering starters like the ITAWASA (fish-cake), Konyaku-Jelly in Ponzu and YUBA-sashimi (tofu-skin). However, the highlight has to … Read more
Tsukiji Yamamoto (FUGU) **, Tokyo
Long-standing, famous FUGU-senmon (fugu specialist) restaurant near Tsukiji Market. 2 Star Michelin ever since the guide was printed – losing only to recently-crowned 3 star USUKIFUGU YAMADAYA. As with most michelin-rated FUGU place, Yamamoto serves a Fugu-Kaiseki or a blowfish- course conprising of every imaginable part of the highly-prized, seasonal puffer fish. The best ones … Read more
Fukamachi* (Tempura), Tokyo
1 Michelin Star Tempura in Ginza (Kyobashi) , Tokyo Consistently superlative quality of tempura shrines through the whole meal. Yes, there are several more high-profile (2 and even 3 stars) michelin-rated Tempura in Tokyo but unless you are one tempura-connoisseur , most of us would not find Fukamachi inferior by any means. The location is … Read more
Ishikawa *** , Tokyo
3 star michelin KAISEKI , in Kagurazaka (Shijuku-ku) Top-class food, with several excellent dishes (not all). All-in-all , we thought 3 stars were a (just a little) stretched, but that’s only because we certainly would not rate it on the same level as (our all-time favorite nevertheless 2-stars ) KIKUNOI but certainly beat out fellow … Read more
Sushi Mizutani ***, Tokyo
One of 4 3-stars Michelin Sushi in Tokyo, and alongside Sukiyabashi Jiro, Mizutani was the first to get the 3 stars ever since the inaugural guide was published. A protege of JIRO , it is reported that Mizutani obtained all the fish from exactly the same source as his ex-boss. On this rare occasion, we … Read more
