Seems like the San Pellegrino list has been leaked…

El Celler de Can Roca toppling Noma off World’s 50 Best No 1 spot … (courtesy of El Pais in Spain )

The Entire World’s 50 Best Restaurants List 2013

1. El Celler de Can Roca, Girona, España
2. Noma Copenhague, Dinamarca
3. Osteria Francescana Modena, Italia
4. Mugaritz San Sebastián, España
5. Eleven Madison Park Nueva York, EE UU
6. D.O.M. São Paulo, Brasil
7. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, Londres, Gran Bretaña
8. Arzak San Sebastián, España
9. Steirereck Viena, Austria
10. Vendôme Bergisch Gladbach, Alemania
11. Per Se Nueva York, EE UU
12. Frantzén/Lindeberg Estocolomo, Suecia
13. The Ledbury Londres, Gran Bretaña
14. Astrid y Gastón Lima, Perú
15. Alinea Chicago, EE UU
16. L’Arpège París, Francia
17. Pujol México DF, México
18. Le Chateaubriand París, Francia
19. Le Bernardin Nueva York, EE UU
20. Narisawa Tokio, Japón
21. Attica Melbourne, Australia
22. Nihonryori RyuGin Tokio, Japón
23. L’Astrance París, Francia
24. L’Atelier Saint-Germain de Joël Robuchon París, Francia
25. Hof Van Cleve Kruishoutem, Bélgica
26. Quique Dacosta Dénia, España
27. Le Calandre Rubano, Italia
28. Mirazur Menton, Francia
29. Daniel Nueva York, EE UU
30. Aqua Wolfsburg, Alemania
31. Biko México DF, México
32. Nahm Bangkok, Tailandia
33. The Fat Duck Bray, Gran Bretaña
34. Fäviken Järpen, Suecia
35. Oud Sluis Sluis, Bélgica
36. Amber Hong Kong, China
37. Vila Joya Albufeira, Portugal
38. Restaurant Andre Singapur
39. 8 1/2 Otto E Mezzo Bombana Hong Kong, China
40. Combal.Zero Rivoli, Italia
41. Piazza Duomo Alba, Italia
42. Schloss Schauenstein Fürstenau, Suiza
43. Mr & Mrs Bund Shanghai, China
44. Asador Etxebarri Atxondo, España
45. Geranium Copenhagen, Dinamarca
46. Mani São Paulo, Brasil
47. The French Laundry Yountville, EE UU
48. Quay Sydney, Australia
49. Septime París, Francia
50. Central Lima, Perú

As a member of the Voting Academy of World’s 50 Best Restaurant Awards, we were given the amazing opportunity to attend the glamorous event at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, attended by chefs, restauranteurs, industy professionals, media from all across Asia and some even from other parts of the world.

Amongst non-awardee chefs we spotted at ‘the red carpet’ were Enoko Axta of Azurmendi*** , who is opening something really exciting near Phuket and Yukimura***

Here’s the complete list:

S.Pelligrino Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants for 2013
1. Narisawa (Tokyo)
2. Nihonryori Ryugin (Tokyo)
3. Nahm (Bangkok)
4. Amber (Hong Kong)
5. Restaurant Andre (Singapore)
6. 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana (Hong Kong)
7. Mr & Mrs Bund (Shanghai)
8. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet (Shanghai)
9. Iggy’s (Singapore)
10. Gaggan (Bangkok)
11. Waku Ghin (Singapore)
12. Caprice (Hong Kong)
13. Lung King Heen (Hong Kong)
14. Les Amis (Singapore)
15. Bo Innovation (Hong Kong)
16. Quintessence (Tokyo)
17. Dum Pukht (New Delhi)
18. The Chairman (Hong Kong)
19. Eat Me (Bangkok)2
20. Wasabi by Morimoto (Mumbai)
21. Hajime Restaurant (Osaka, Japan)
22. Jaan (Singapore)
23. L’atelier De Joel Robuchon (Hong Kong)
24. L’atelier De Joel Robuchon (Singapore)
25. Hubin Road (Hangzhou, China)
26. Bukhara (New Delhi)
27. Sushi Mizutani (Tokyo)
28. Indigo (Mumbai)
29. Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin (Bangkok)
30.Varq (New Delhi)
31. Aronia de Takazawa (Tokyo)
32. Shinji by Kanesaka (Singapore)
33. Kahala (Osaka, Japan)
34. Franck Bistro (Shanghai)
35. Osteria Mozza (Singapore)
36. Bo.Lan (Bangkok)
37, Robuchon au Dôme (Macau, China)
38. Nihonbashi (Colombo, Sri Lanka)3
39. Sushi Saito (Tokyo)
40. Fu1015 (Shanghai)
41. Indian Accent (New Delhi)
42. Ishikawa (Tokyo)
43.Gunther’s (Singapore)
44. Karavalli (Bangalore, India)
45. Jade on 36 (Shanghai)
46. Yardbird (Hong Kong)
47. Don’s (Hanoi, Vietnam)4
8. Fook Lam Moon (Hong Kong)
49. Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck (Singapore)
50. Mozaic (Bali, Indonesia)

Photos to follow but here’s a quick 10 thoughts :

1) No list is perfect, exhaustive, or fair. But by and large, this debut ‘went according to script’ and , we say, acceptable to the majority. Definitely the ‘best’ list there is for Asian Restaurants at this moment.
2) Proud 5  restaurants from our native THAILAND made it to the list… 5 in 50… thats quite an achievement. Although, gotta admit Éat Me’ in Silom is by far the biggest shock of the night.
3) Doesn’t matter who, just glad Japanese restaurants dominated the list. It HAS TO! Takazawa, Ishikawa, Quintessence, Hajime , Kahala making the list , getting recognition, also a triumph in itself. Miles ahead of (most) restaurants elsewhere in Asia.
4) Glad to see so many sushi places made the top 50.. SUSHI, if u don’t already know, is a craft and a cuisine in its own right. No lesser than French , molecular or avant garde cuisine.
5) SHINJI higher than Mizutani, Saito? Shinji in Singapore made the list but the main Kanesaka in Tokyo didn’t ? Not Crazy if you understand how the voting works and the composition of voters, but really some things gotta change… it’s almost a joke!
6) No restaurants from Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Philipines. (In fact, excluding No.50 Mozaic in Bali, almost none from Indonesia too! ) Can’t be.
7) When it came down to final 2, hated it when Narisawa won Ryugin. Japanese cuisine triumphs French by Japanese everytime!
8) By no means racial profiling, but the Chinese restaurants making the list give it away the composition of çaucasians’ voting on the list… if there’s 1 type of cuisine this list can NOT be judged on, i’d say Chinese Food.
9) Great idea having Best Female Chef and Best Pastry Chef … but need more competition. No disrespect, but can’t think of other names than BO of Bo Lan and Janice Wong of 2AM. (Actually there are many, just need to ‘look deeper’ .. HINT : Japan!)
10) Heard America’s BEST 50 coming up next.. and whichever continent later on, hope it doesn’t take away from the MAIN EVENT in London… Sounds like the World Cup , the Euros, the Coppa Americas!

Pedigree : 1 michelin star. (2 stars in 2011) Harutaka is very well known as chef’s favorite sushi ( Ryugin’s Seiji Yamamoto and even fellow sushi-master 3-star Yoshitake-san) , possibly because this sushi-ya opens till late in time for chef’s supper after work! The chef here is  also a former right-hand man of Jiro Ono of the fames Sukiyabashi Jiro , following the footsteps of the likes of Mizutani.

Highlights : Highly capable, almost flawless nigiri sushi — as you’d have expected! The rice is a little  ‘bland’  –something that we didn’t mind at the time of eating but on hindsight, that’s possibly a reason we are NOT craving it as much as the likes of Sawada, Jiro. Didn’t like the Tsumami appetizers, especially the over-cooked grilled/boiled fish items. Skills definitely lacking in that department.

The ‘best’ item for us came right at the end …. the KANPYO maki –strong, tightly-rolled for ultimate texture! Possibly, the best KANPYO we’ve eaten in recent memory! And the Tamago-Yaki (egg omelet) … might be worth the visit alone!!

In the end, it all comes down to this : Harutaka serves similar style (courses) , quite similar taste and , crucially, similar price to the Jiros/Sawadas/Mizutanis  of Ginza.. ie. top-tier sushi. But it most definitely does not belong ‘in that level’ yet. So, the question is .. why Harutaka?

See, there are many other sushi-yas that we do not rank alongside our favorites (see Sfreelife’s World Best 25 Restaurant list) but we DO return consistently … just for a change of atmosphere and sometimes seeking  a ‘different’ style of sushi. UMI, for example, for the variety (30 or so courses of possibly every fishes available in Tsukiji) ; Yoshitake , for its heavenly appetizer courses and the most friendly sushi-chef around  etc etc…. But Harutaka is  ‘too similar’  but “NOT AS GOOD” . You get the idea…

In a nutshell : Best supporting actor.

Michelin Rating : 1 star (2 star in 2011)

Sfreelife Rating : 1.5 star

Easily-missed , no visible sign building

Jiro-esque Kuruma Ebi

TO-DIE-FOR Tamago-Yaki

AWESOME Kanpyo (wasabi) maki

Filed under: Country - Japan, Cuisine - Japanese, Michelin 1 Star ]]> http://sfreelife.com/2013/02/25/harutaka-chefs-choice-sushi-by-ex-jiro-chef-tokyo/feed/ 0 Harutaka29 sfreelife Harutaka01 Harutaka02 Harutaka03 Harutaka04 Harutaka05 Harutaka06 Harutaka07 Harutaka08 Harutaka09 Harutaka10 Harutaka11 Harutaka12 Harutaka13 Harutaka14 Harutaka15 Harutaka16 Harutaka17 Harutaka18 Harutaka19 Harutaka20 Harutaka21 Harutaka23 Harutaka24 Harutaka25 Harutaka26 Harutaka27 Harutaka29 Harutaka30 http://sfreelife.com/2013/02/23/rokurinsha-infamous-tsukemen-tokyo-station/ http://sfreelife.com/2013/02/23/rokurinsha-infamous-tsukemen-tokyo-station/#comments Sat, 23 Feb 2013 16:56:15 +0000 sfreelife http://sfreelife.com/?p=4103 Read more]]> Rokurinsha

(** Note that the original write-up was back in 2011 shortly after the store opened. In our latest visit in December 2012, there was much shorter queue at lunchtime and even ‘straight-in’ at breakfast. Part of the reason is because a couple more branches have popped up, most notably at the new Tokyo Skytree where the queue seems to have ‘relocated’ there!)

Pedigree : There’s FAMOUS RAMEN .. and then there’s the INFAMOUS Rokurinsha.

A student of the Tsukemen (Ramen the dipping way, similar to ‘Zaru Soba’ ) pioneer Kazuo Yamagishi of the popular TAISHOKEN chain , originally in Ikebukoro. Ryosei Mita’s tsukemen however bears almost no resemblance whatsoever with the original recipe.

Opened in OSAKI (don’t ask where that is..) back in 2005, Rokurinsha rapidly topped all ramen rankings under the sun including tabelog, ramendb ++ .. resulting in one of the longest queue ever formed consistently , mind you, in a city where an hour’s wait for a bowl of noodle is considered common.

Here’s the legend : Possibly the first ever ramen shop , or any shop for that matter, having to CLOSE DOWN because of the traffic disturbance its long queue was causing to the local community!

Original Location

So in 2011, Rokurinsha moved from the most obscure location to literally the most central location of Tokyo — UNDER TOKYO STATION. Called ‘TOKYO RAMEN STREET’ in the ICHIBANGAI zone of the Tokyo Station Basement, here was the collection of the best (most popular) ramen in Tokyo .. all under one roof!

Queues , needless to say, regathered deja vu all over again. To be fair, most of the shops here also draw a substantial queue at peak hours but even in our wildest imagination, we were stunned in disbelief because we thought we had the best ‘strategy’ ever to beat the queue … willing to eat at 7.30AM !

Here’s the result ….

No, no freebies inside!

Do note that this photo doesn’t completely tell the whole story as it does extend beyond the walls for another 20 persons or so.

This is what awaited us after an hour or so of queueing….

This was actually the BREAKFAST version of the original taste. We were told that it was ‘lighter’ and a little more ‘sour / refreshing’ ….

So was it all worth it? Without a single doubt – the best tsukemen we’ve ever eaten. It was special and at the same time perfect in every way …

First the noodle… it’s bloody THICK which makes much sense as it enters the mouth… it retains more of the soup dip as well as offering the al-dente texture more overwhelmingly

The Dip was incredibly tasty … We couldn’t tell what was inside as after 13hours of boiling, nothing really bears any resemblence to anything. But we are sure it contains the usual pork, fish, vegetables … and lots of non-pungent spices. This soup was so thick that it was almost gravy-like.

Toppings were faultless too … different all tender chunks of Char-siew (pork) and menma (bamboo shoot) ….

After finishing the noodles, we were ushered to another ‘secret’ element of this Tsukemen … The Clear Broth. This was mixed into the remaining dip to ‘re-create’ a dashi-light soup to cleanse the palate. What a perfect ending!

Fast forward a few months, we returned to try the lunchtime ORIGINAL VERSION. And yes, it was even  tastier, thicker, and more umami-bursting. But given a choice, we did prefer the Breakfast version .. Maybe, even the best tasting  food can be ‘too tasty’

Oh, as for the queue during peak hours… just forget it! (Oh yes, we did a few times in subsequent visits … popping in to try other choices next door)

This is during peak period — the queue is too long ie. longer than the circumference of the outer-walls that it has to be staggered into ‘sections’ over-bearing onto other stores next door ( staggered to create an ‘opening’ so that customers can enter next door!) and even against the walls of Tokyo Station. In total, we counted 7 ‘stubs’ of queue which we approximated to total over 2.5 hours …. now, that’s just … (** choose your own adjective)

Disneyland-like ’1 Hour from Here’ Sign

Run out of places to queue…

Other photos :

Take-home might be a better idea

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Pedigree : 2 Michelin Stars run by the son of THE LEGEND – Jiro Ono. By now, the man needs no introduction .. just grab the dvd of ‘Jiro Dreams of Sushi’ !

Location : Within the landmark ROPPONGI HILLS complex (side building). In the vicinity are michelin-loaded restaurants like Reikasai** (Chinese), Mikawa (branch) and now-defunct Takeyabu Soba ( http://sfreelife.com/2011/03/17/takeyabu-tokyo/ )

Setting : Incredibly, the roppongi branch is constructed as an EXACT mirro-image of the ginza branch. Why mirror-image? Because daddy is left-handed while his son is right-handed!

In a nutshell : SIMILAR but DIFFERENT. Good alternative if you can’t get to the Main Branch.  In our opinion, it’s just not the same without the legend’s presence. Sushi doesn’t ‘hit’ you like the dad’s ; rice is slightly blander. For the sake of argument, we’d say it’s 80-90% of the original Ginza shop.

A few bonus points for this branch :

1) They do serve TSUMAMI (sashimi appetizers) .. a favorite for most ‘non-Japanese’ sushi lovers.

2) The sushi isn’t served at the lightning speed as Ginza branch (ie. our ‘Usain Bolt’ moment was in 2011 when we were served 20 pieces at Ginza within 19 minutes ! ) , allowing you to enjoy ‘jiro-ish’ sushi at ‘human’s level’ . We might be the weirdo here, but funnily enough, we do prefer the Fast & Furious version!

3) There’s slightly more varieties to the course here. We were served OBORO-Maki (sweet ground prawn) and HIMOKYU (fringe of Akagai clam with Cucumber and sweet sauce)  Maki .. not sure if this is available at Ginza but we were always served Tekka and Kanpyo there.

3) English is spoken by the sous-chef so if hospitality/service is essential , go to this Roppongi branch.

4) Most importantly, they do take , in fact very pleasingly invite, foreigners’ reservation here.

Frustratingly, we noticed the chef’s mood-swings throughout the meal, repeatedly cursing his subordinates (our understanding of Japanese doesn’t help in this case) — a fact even the Michelin Guide was quick to point out. So, does that mean it happens without fail? We don’t know.. because we are (most probably) NOT returning.

Michelin Rating : 2 stars

Sfreelife Rating : 2 Stars (1 star if we factor in the annoying grumbling by the chef)

Location : Kagurazaka , near Shinjuku.

Pedigree :

Chef Hideki Ishikawa is amongst many great things, one of the most successful restauranteurs , with at least 7 michelin stars to his name (Ishikawa***, Kohaku**, Ren** ) and counting, and a master to numerous superstar chefs who had gone on to establish kaiseki restaurants at the highest level. KOHAKU is however not ‘by’ Ishikawa although it is ‘owned’ by him. Adhering to Japanese master-disciple traditions, chef Ishikawa retains his brightest student by opening , as an investor, supporter and adviser, the dream restaurant for them while keeping it ‘in the family’. Chef Koji Koizumi is one such ‘cream of the crop’ being Ishikawa’s right-hand man for many years.

Kohaku is however DIFFERENT , almost completely, to Ishikawa. This is unapologetic-ally FUSION kaiseki using highlight ingredients like truffles and foie gras. The cooking , while employing the ‘seasonal’ nature of Kaiseki ingredients, could thus be summarized as such : using ‘unorthodox’ cooking styles on ‘traditional’ ingredients + using ‘traditional’ cooking style on ‘unorthodox’ ingredients.

Highlights:

A few dishes stood out but none really had a deep impact on us. The famous Truffle Porridge was deserving of its ‘signature’ label although we’d expected ‘more’ from a true signature dish at a 2-star restaurant. In essence, Kohaku is defined by the progression and combination of its highly-varied ingredients not by its individual dishes. It’s enjoyable, tasty and refreshing. But for each of its individual dishes, we’d all agree that given a choice, the ‘traditional’ cooking style still makes more sense. Nevertheless, Kohaku could make a very interesting ‘break’ for whose who has had a traditional Kaiseki and wants something ‘different’ for the next meal.

In a Nutshell : Enjoyable top-class Fusion Kaiseki, pleasing especially for western palates. Just don’t make the mistake of passing up on Ishikawa for it!

Michelin rating : 2 stars

Sfreelife rating : 1.5 Star

UNI in Yuba (bean curd sheets) and Sudachi (citrus) Jelly

Ayu Sweetfish smoked with Bamboo Leaf

Steamed Rice topping with Matsutake Mushroom

HAMO Dumplings with Taro stems

Sea Perch with PLUM jelly

Charcoal-grilled Butter Fish with Shiro-Miso Tofu and strong Truffle Sauce

Corn Mousse , Momo Peach and Water Shield with Yuzu Sauce

Prawn, Eggplant , Fushimi Pepper and Water Melon

Unagi Rice

Pickled Vegetables ( funnily enough, this was one of our favorite ‘dish’ , if we could call it that! )

SIGNATURE : TRUFFLE PORRIDGE

Peach Sherbet with Rum Mousse and Mango

KOHAKU (white tiger) is the name of the pet of Ishikawa’s favorite painter whose works adorn the walls throughout the restaurant

Where to start?

The best restaurant in tokyo … the constant chart-topper in Tabelog… the master of numerous 3-star chefs…. the chef who rejected michelin…. introduction-only … months-long waiting list even for regular diners… the ‘original’ character which the ubiquitous OISHINBO manga comic was based on, sparking the gourmet culture in Japan … +++

The reputation of KyoAji certainly precedes it… literally ‘Taste of Kyoto’ , but it’s hard to find a restaurant that’s as highly and widely-regarded amongst local gourmands in Japan, let alone Tokyo. Chef Kenichiro Nishi was featured on the popular NHK “The Professional” television series which profiles the ultimate artisan in each profession in Japan. Jiro Ono of Sukiyabashi Jiro was chosen for the sushi category.

DVD of this program :

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%97%E3%83%AD%E3%83%95%E3%82%A7%E3%83%83%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%8A%E3%83%AB-%E4%BB%95%E4%BA%8B%E3%81%AE%E6%B5%81%E5%84%80-%E7%AC%ACVI%E6%9C%9F-%E5%81%A5%E4%B8%80%E9%83%8E%E3%81%AE%E4%BB%95%E4%BA%8B-%E4%BA%BA%E9%96%93%E3%80%81%E6%AD%BB%E3%81%AC%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A7%E5%8B%89%E5%BC%B7/dp/B00326NFY2/ref=pd_bxgy_d_img_y

First of all, is it ‘really’ the best in Tokyo? Maybe …

Notwithstanding the ambiguity of the concept of ‘best restaurant’, Japanese Kaiseki is even harder to unequivocally declare a restaurant as ‘the best’. Unless you’ve eaten every menu at every restaurant in contention, it would be unfair to say a restaurant is ‘better’ than another…. The best you can really gauge is a certain season’s menu of one is better than the other … And because Kaiseki means cooking with the best of each season, the result of comparing the very best restaurants could be different depending on the product ‘given’ on the day.

Our first ever meal at Kyoaji was during the ‘less popular’ month of Kaiseki – AUGUST. It was during the hottest month in 2012 and the main products were still HAMO and AYU. And no, we are definitely not the biggest fans of both Hamo and Ayu. But here’s the stunner … Kyoaji MADE US LOVE and CRAVE for  Hamo and Ayu – a feat previously-considered impossible! And it’s not just Hamo and Ayu .. it was SALMON (again, given a choice we have never ordered Salmon as a main in Japanese restaurants) and KUZUKIRI , a dessert so traditional and ‘ordinary’ that we would give it a pass in most regular meals. WE LOVED THEM ALL at Kyo-Aji.

Kyo-Aji ‘converted’ us into Hamo-Ayu-Salmon-Kudzukiri believers!!

There were some dishes that we didn’t like.. or shall we say, didn’t ‘get’ what the chef was trying to achieve as surely the ‘taste’ wasn’t perfect others. The appetizers were like ‘huh?’ … just like that? After El-bulli , this was possibly the restaurant we’ve wanted to visit the most anywhere in the world.. and the appetizers almost made us ‘cry in disappointment’!  Fortunately, the dishes followed would define our ‘education’ and ‘journey’ into Japanese Kaiseki.

( Sequel : We returned to Kyo-Aji in December and the result was also one of ‘mixed’ feelings. Many great dishes, many we didn’t quite get. We also visited MORIKAWA  , another introduction-only, hi-end kaiseki that refused not only Michelin but any kind of rating (they even prohibited Tabelog to publish their telephone number!) … A former sous-chef of Kyoaji, the meal was equally, if not at times better, than at Kyoaji. Review coming soon… )

At long last… we arrived at the most revered restaurant in Tokyo.

KYO-AJI .. The Tokyo Institution of Kaiseki

‘Hassun’ – Appetizers of ‘ Deep-fried Jago’ ; ‘Ume-boshi sushi’ ; ‘Shiraou (silver fish) Tempura with Crispy TAI skin”

Cool fresh UNI in brine with slimy-texture IMO

HOT Lily Stem with Ginger Juice (a ‘fixture’ item on Autumn/Winter menu)

HAMO 2-ways : Grilled & Blanched with Ume Plum Sauce and Shoyu

The ‘Godfather’ – Nishi-san in action

THE BEST HAMO EVER – Amazing semi-raw , sous-vide-like, texture

Seasonal FIG (ichichiku) with Shiro-Miso

Cold dashi-jelly of HAMO-no-KIMO (liver of Pike Conger) .. the alternating hot and cold dishes were effectively invigorating

Hokkaido Sweet Corn (tomorokochi) Tempura .. If this wasn’t cooked over the counter, we would have suspected that it was dipped in syrup!! Miraculously sweet, amazing texture of tempura.

Tai & Kochi Sashimi- regular sliced and blanched with skin. Needless to say, the combination of the best product with perfect technique provides the best shiromi (white fish) we’ve eaten!

AMAZING COURSE – HAMO Soup .. Not a fan of Hamo, and to be served twice could have been disastrous! Instead, this dish ‘converted’ us into Hamo lover! Coated with corn-starch, the soft and fluffy texture was a game-changer!
Dashi was the best we’ve ever tasted.

Again, not usually a fan of Ayu , which is usually grilled and eaten head-to-tail for its crispy, variable texture.
Kyo-Aji’s Ayu is served very differently … we were taught to remove the bones and the tail using just chopsticks.. leaving only the fattest and softest middle portion of Ayu to be enjoyed. A Revelation!

Next up.. the infamous SAKE HARASU GOHAN (Grilled Salmon Belly with rice)

‘Wanmono’ – Tofu Shinjo, Baby TAKO octopus ball and Kabocha Pumpkin … the least impressive course of the meal.

We’ve heard so much about this Salmon Rice , a perennial item on the menu.. and even with our highest expectation, the actual taste of this ordinary-looking dish almost ‘sent us to heaven’! Perfectly grilled, strong salty taste perfectly matched with the most aromatic, perfectly-textured rice. To further illustrate how delicious this dish was, one of our tasters actually had , in total, 4 portions, of this rice dish!

Another traditional ‘ordinary-looking’ course.. Kuzukiri.
Noodle-like strips of Kudzu starch dipped in Kuromizu (brown sugar syrup)
By now you get the idea, without a doubt, the best kuzukiri we’ve eaten anywhere .. The kuromizu was a stunner! The aroma of the sugar used was so alluring that we could have gulped down the syrup instead of just dipping in it!

The Magic all happens ‘in-your-face’ at this open kitchen!

Finally, is Kyoaji the first name we would recommend readers to visit ( assuming that reservation is possible) ? Most certainly … NOT.

And here’s the reality …. The true judgement and appreciation of Kyoaji can only be made after dining and having references from most other Kaiseki places.. Like with most age-old legendary restaurants, where recipes have been passed down for generations, you often find some dishes that is truly out of this world while some not so much to your liking. In our case, this meal was NOT the most delicious meal we’ve had in Tokyo. However, to finally taste  the best versions of so many products all in one meal was enough to convince us that Chef Nishi-san is surely deserving of the ‘best of the best’ in Japan’s culinary world. We immediately booked for the return in December!

Date of visit : APRIL 2012

Location : at the heart of GINZA

Pedigree:

By Chef Toru OKUDA of 3-star KOJYU.

Ginza Okuda has one of the ‘oddest ‘concept for Michelin restaurants…

It’s not technically a branch of Kojyu.. but it has the same concept, serves ‘similar’ dishes that claims to ‘strive  to better’ its predecessor which , oh by the way, is cooked by the same chef and just recently moved to the upper floor of the same building where Ginza Okuda is located.

In other words, the ‘original’ Kojyu has moved to where the ‘new Kojyu’ is …both serve similar dishes (we were told Chef Okuda would personally cook during lunch at Okuda and during dinner at Kojyu) .. but KOJYU  retains its 3 stars while Okuda has 2.

Highlight :

Highly-capable cooking, as you would expect from a ‘perennial’ 3-star chef. Aided by one of our favorite seasons that’s blessed with takenoko (bamboo shoot) and shellfish such as ‘tairagai’ (pen shells) , ‘kobashira’ (clam adductors), Hamaguri … our meal at Okuda was highly satisfying. Every dish was ‘good to excellent’ although there wasn’t a single ‘to die for’ dish …. the incredibly-sweet hamaguri soup did come close nevertheless.

After our previous meal at Kojyu (at its previous location) and now at Okuda, we ‘began to understand’ the reason it’s almost guaranteed 3-stars every single year. Chef Toru Okuda serves popular , easily-liked produce (especially to westerners and non-Japanese palate) … think Toro sashimi, salad of shellfish, grilled Matsuzaka Beef, strawberry desserts. There was no ‘challenging’ ingredients , at least we weren’t served in our 3 meals thus far at both restaurants, like innards or sperms or marination/pickled items. However, to say it’s catered to western palate would be an insult and inaccurate — chef Okuda, along with Chef Yamamoto of Ryugin and Chef Hiroyuki Kanda of Kanda, all 3-star chefs in their own rights, is afterall a disciple of the highly-revered Cha-Kaiseki Masterchef Hirohisa Koyama of AOYAGI in Tokushima.

In a Nutshell : What-you-see-is-what-you-get Kaiseki

You’re always guaranteed a great meal at Okuda/Kojyu … Great kaiseki atmosphere and hospitality in the most central location… A good ‘introduction’ for first-timers (wow.. what a start!) … Could be ‘slightly boring’ for kaiseki-veterans.

Michelin Rating : 2 Stars (because the name isn’t Kojyu?)

Sfreelife Rating : 2 stars , albeit for different reasons. (IMO, not at the ‘pinnacle’ level of Matsukawa, Kyoaji , Morikawa etc )

Easily identifiable building next to big-name fashion labels

Ginza Okuda by ‘Kojyu’

’14 Kinds of Spring Vegetables Salad’ + Tairagai and Takenoko (bamboo shoots)

.. with Kyoto Mountain Vegetables and refreshing YUZU-Shoyu dressing

Giant Hamaguri Clam (wrapped in NORI) soup .. Incredibly sweet while retaining the ‘seawater’ scent of the clam.

Aori-Ika from Tokushima, Madai and Chutoro from Nagasaki

YAKIMONO (Grill Course) – Grilled Takenoko , Fukinoto & HIDA beef

+  KINKI Terayaki

Wanmono – Gammo-Doki (fried tofu dumpling) with spring greens (Fuki, Takenoko)

Umami-blast of Spongy Kobashira Rice

ANMITSU : Strawberry Milk Ice Cream with fresh strawberry , Hoji-Cha Jelly and Kuromitsu syrup

Pedigree : 3 Michelin Stars ever since the Tokyo red-guide was introduced.

Verdict : Exquisite , true-3star Kaiseki. Kanda’s cooking, offers simpler, yet more refined, cooking than its 3-stars counterparts (Ryugin, Kojyu) , whose chefs coincidentally come from the same master at the infamous Aoyagi Restaurant in Tokushima. Retaining the pure taste of its ingredients, Kanda’s cooking is so incredibly simple that almost every dish is cooked/finished over the minimalist counter.  Forget about heavy saucing .. even the sashimi is served WITHOUT soy sauce. Konbu was served instead, allowing more contact (texture) with the flesh of the fish while still offering the ‘saltiness’ that the shoyu would otherwise provide.

Highlight : Many dishes stood out. The sashimi was genuinely ‘refreshing’ … The sweetcorn-edamame shinjo was by itself worth the visit…. The hamaguri shabu-shabu is paired with a ‘surprise’ form of kelp which ‘changes color’ as it comes into contact with the konbu-dashi. (see video!).

However, the best dish of the night, possible in the trip that included over 30 michelin stars, was the KARAGE (deep-fried) Wagyu Beef. It’s not often we are served beef deep-fried instead of being grilled… but the texture that the frying achieved complements miraculously with the melt-in-your-mouth beef – ‘crispy on the outside, soft & juicy on the inside’ ….

The Sakura-Ebi + Edamame Rice was another stunner!

Sfreelife Rating : 3 stars

KAJIKI – Blue Marlin .. Kimura’s Signature Catch

Sushi Kimura **

Tabelog : http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1317/A131708/13026584/dtlphotolst/1/smp0/D-normal/2/

Location : Outside city center. FUTAKO-TAMAGAWA , a relatively new fashionable residential area of the affluent.

Pedigree : Debut in the 2013 Michelin Tokyo guide with 2 stars. Considering that the sushi category has been relatively ‘untouchable’ with the likes of Jiro, Mizutani, Saito and constant 2-stars like Sawada (huh??) … there hasn’t been a new-entrant to the 2/3 star category since Araki (2011) and Yoshitake (2012) moved to Ginza from their previous locations and shot instantly to 3-star status. In recent years, the only movements in the Michelin guide has been ‘downgrades’ of several big-names like Sushi Kyubey, Sushiko-Honten, Sushi Ohno etc… Appearing literally ‘out-of-nowhere’ in the town of Tamagawa and getting 2-stars gave us enough reason to travel 40 minutes to this small sushi-ya.

Background : A third-generation sushi chef, Kimura is a strong opponent of ‘Ginza Sushi scene’ which he claims to be catered to the ‘drinking rich executives on corporate accounts’. Diners at Sushi Kimura, he claims, either travels all the way to Tamagawa to taste his sushi or resides in the affluent district nearby. It’s worth nothing the price of less than 13,000 Yen per person is astoundingly cheap for 2-star michelin sushi. Our bill for 3 diners was ‘equivalent’ ,as the chef was quick to point out , to a single meal at Sukiyabashi Jiro!

Highlight : Almost immediately after seated, we were served the signature ZUKE (marinated) sashimi. The texture was incredible …slightly murky and spongy (the way we like our ZUKE)  but the taste a little ‘lighter’ than our liking. We were most excited when we were told that this was no ordinary piece of fish but of the rare BLUE MARLIN from Hawaii ( KAJIKI ). This is the first time we’ve tasted marinated Blue Marlin , and certainly a first for a michelin-rated sushi-ya.

One of the attraction of Sushi Kimura is thus the way the chef sources his seafood not only from Tsukiji but from directly from supplies from various parts of Japan.

Recommendation: Unfortunately, this first serving of Blue Marlin marinated sashimi ,that got us to the edge of our seats, proved to be the last ‘excitement’. Make no mistake, this is a highly-capable, michelin-deserving sushi restaurant… and possibly the ‘best value’ for top-class sushi in Tokyo. How the chef could make a profit while charging less than a third of his Ginza counterparts is beyond us. But in our humble opinion, 2 stars seem a little generous and we wouldn’t be surprised if it drops to 1 in the future. The fact is, it would not stand out if placed amongst the Ginza Elites ..

Our biggest jibe is the size of the sushi… we’re not sure if the chef adjusted the pieces to ‘suit’ our ‘grown-mens’ mouths ( many chefs do resort to this level of meticulousness) as we were the only diners at the time, but they were certainly too big and disrupt the MOST ESSENTIAL ELEMENT of sushi : BALANCE. To make matters worse, the rice here is quite hard and heavy, exacerbating the large-size problem as the nigiri needs to be chewed-on and remains in our mouths longer than we would have liked.

In a nutshell : good variety of fish  ; superb value for michelin-level sushi

Michelin Rating : 2 stars (2013)

Sfreelife Rating : 1 Star

That being said, if you happen to be near the town of Tamagawa (how we love this small little town!!) do not hesitate to visit Sushi Kimura.

Counter of 8-10 Seats

Wide variety of fish and shellfish

SIGNATURE : KAJIKI Zuke (marinated Blue Marlin)

Dashi-Tamago presented as appetizer

‘Spare-rib’ of BURI .. excellent grilling technique and aroma!

‘Mesu’ (Female) Zuwai-Kani (Kyoto Winter Crab) Appetizer

Fugu-Shirako (Sperm of blowfish) Soup

Kajiki Blue Marlin Sushi