L’Evo

Gastronomy tourism is a big part of why tourists are coming to Japan. L’Evo is an example of a restaurant featuring hyper-local ingredients and worth a journey. Chef Eiji Taniguchi’s restaurant is in the mountains of Toyama in the village of Toga in the remote Nanto district. The menu features local seafood and game with…

est

Contemporary French cuisine made in Japan is always fascinating as I love to see how the chef incorporates local ingredients. The menu at est at the Four Seasons Tokyo at Otemachi includes a map of Japan referencing where produce, meat, milk, cheese, honey, and more come from. Even the tableware artisans are included on the…

Grand Hyatt Tokyo – Shunbou

Shunbou is the Japanese restaurant at the Grand Hyatt in Roppongi. The Grand Hyatt has several Japanese restaurants including Roku Roku for sushi and Keyakizaka for teppanyaki. Shunbou features seasonal kaiseki dishes as well as comfort food like curry udon. It is kid-friendly and a great option in the Roppongi area. Entering the restaurant seasonal…

SFO Peruvian Cooking Classes with Chef Nico Vera

We recently had the pleasure of hosting chef Nico in our Food Sake Tokyo cooking classes. After he returned to San Francisco, a Peruvian friend of ours, Janice Espa, took a cooking class with him. We are pleased to share this with you. The following post is by guest blogger Janice Espa of San Francisco….

Chef Narisawa’s Kitchen Car – One of Japan

Starting January 7 and running through March 8 adjacent to the Diner’s Club Ice Rink in Roppongi, chef Yoshihiro Narisawa is serving cuisine from his first Kitchen Car. I much prefer the name the Japanese have given to food trucks, kitchen cars. If you are at all familiar with chef Narisawa’s gorgeous and spacious kitchen at…

Ivan Ramen

Dreams can come true. In the cold winter months, perhaps the most satisfying dish to be had in Japan is ramen. With almost 9,000 ramen shops in Tokyo, it is not hard to find one, but rare is the one where the noodles are handmade from scratch and where the chef is a graduate of…

Chef Q&A with Ivan Orkin of Ivan Ramen

Ivan Orkin is the talented chef-owner of Ivan Ramen and the recently opened Ivan Ramen Plus. A Culinary Institute of America graduate who has worked with the best including Andre Soltner of Lutece and Bobby Flay. Ivan has been very busy with the opening of his second ramen shop as well as working on what…

Ginza Harutaka 銀座青空

Chef Harutaka developed his skills with 12 years at Sukiyabashi Jiro. This sushi restaurant is popular with top chefs in the city. Sit at the counter and watch the young, talented and soft-spoken chef as he handles the seasonal seafood with care and deft. Part of the delight in dining here is taking in the…

Chef Seiji Yamamoto of Nihonryori Ryugin 日本料理龍吟の山本征治

Avant-gardist Seiji Yamamoto of Nihonryori Ryugin once silk-screened bar codes onto plates with squid ink. His latest shocker: He’s embracing Japanese classics, as in his rice steamed with shamo (chicken). Ryugin Minato-ku, Roppongi 7-17-24, Side Roppongi Bldg, 1st Floor 03-3423-8006 http://www.nihonryori-ryugin.com/ (English) Food & Wine 2010 Tokyo Go List Here’s a piece I wrote on chef Yamamoto for The Japan Times.