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…
Tag: Japanese
Meruhenk Sandwiches
Japanese sandwiches are my go-to meal when I am on the run, even before onigiri rice balls. Meruhen is my favorite sandwich shop and if I am not near one, then some of the convenience stores like 7-11, Lawson, or Family Mart, also has great sandwiches. The sandwiches are built on crustless pain de mie (white bread)….
Japanese Eggplant
The simple step of roasting eggplants and peeling before adding to miso soup adds a rich and smoky dimension to our mornings. Japanese eggplants are thin with small seeds. When cooked the eggplant flesh becomes soft and juicy. Some Japanese eggplant can be eaten as sashimi, simply sliced and served raw with soy sauce. Growing…
Japanese Breakfast – Kuouesu
I have a six-month column on Japanese breakfast in the Japan Times. This special spot was mentioned in my first column on traditional Japanese breakfasts. Kuouesu near Hiroo offers a very unique Japanese breakfast. The kappō restaurant is only open for breakfast and dinner. It was a long walk from the station, so best to…
Yamagata Dashi
One of my go to side dishes this time of year is Yamagata Dashi, a classic kyōdo ryōri (regional dish) from where my family is from. I didn’t eat it growing up, and only came upon it once I lived in Japan. It’s the perfect dish for summer as the vegetables for Yamagata Dashi are…
Takenoko Gohan
Bamboo shoots are in season at the moment. They are also in season in the fall. But I associate the delicate flavor and aroma with spring. I was at a friend’s house on the weekend. Her mother, who is an excllent cook, had just cleaned and boiled a bamboo shoot and had brought half to…
Nanakusa Gayu 七草粥
The Japanese calendar is filled with many food rituals. While we start the year off with a big bang with お節料理 osechi ryōri, the next event is a nourishing bowl of rice porridge with seven greens, 七草粥 nanakusa gayu. Kayu is rice porridge and nanakusa refers to the seven edible greens. The daikon and turnip are also chopped up…
Noma Japan at the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo
The culinary event of the century. Chef Rene Redzepi and his team in Japan. 60,000, yes, sixty-thousand people, on the waiting list. I was lucky as I was contacted by someone in New Zealand who had a lunch reservation but could not make it. I didn’t believe that I was actually going until we checked…
An Easy Shellfish to Cook at Home – Asari
Asari, Japanese littleneck clams, are in the market now and may be some of the easiest shellfish to cook with at home. We picked these up at Tsukiji Market and put them in water to get rid of any sand and grit. It’s best to do this overnight if you can. We wash the clams…
Japanese Fast Food Breakfast
Most of my work is in the morning. If I can, I try to stop by a French boulangerie, like Gontran Cherrier in Shinjuku. My go-to coffee place near Tsukiji Market is Turret Coffee. Once in a while I find myself in a new neighborhood and finding a warm breakfast in Tokyo is surprisingly…
Gotta Get – Tomizawa’s Deep-Fried Okra
We came across these deep-fried okra at Tomizawa. The okra are deep-fried until light and crispy. Not at all oily. Surely they must be better for you than potato chips, right? Well, that is what we tell ourselves. We are seeing lots of fried vegetables sold at the markets, but most of them are…
Gotta Get – Sansai Mountain Vegetables
Today at lunch I was reminded of what a special time of year this is. This gorgeous katakuchi bowl was presented with simmered octopus, fava beans, and fuki. Fuki is the stem of a bog rhubarb. It is no relation to the rhubarb I grew up with in Minnesota. It looks like a thin celery…
August Seasonal Japanese Seafood
Katsuo tataki Katsuo sashimi topped with myoga, shiso, and garlic Katsuo as done by chef Zaiyu Hasegawa at Den Look for seafood from this list when eating out in Japan or in the supermarkets or at your fishmonger. Most of the seafood listed here you can enjoy as sushi or sashimi. At home we…
Popular Egg Dishes in Japan
The Asahi Shimbun newspaper released results of a survey of popular egg dishes in Japan. Many of these are dishes we make at home. The one big difference of living in Japan and when we lived in New York City is that we only eat raw eggs in Japan. Also, our oven in Japan has…
Food Sake Tokyo 