Had a good chuckle earlier today after reading this article in the New York Times I was linked to.

For those that don’t know, or can’t be bothered to read, the world-famous Michelin Guide, one of the things the French are most proud of, make no mistake, launched an Asian version of its guide for the first time last year. It chose Tokyo as the first city up for ‘inspection’ and came out with a stagerring amount of praise for the capital’s cuisine and its establishment, giving it more stars than both Paris and New York combined.

Which you’d think was good news for a city. But not for the Japanese it would seem, as the results were not just greeted with pleasure but also with a fair amount of discontent and disdain from some of the city’s top chefs it seems.

My favourite part as to be when chef Toshiya Kadowaki said his Nouveau Japonais dishes, which take inspiration from French cuisine, do not need a Gallic seal of approval. A lot of the disdain and refutal seems to either come from the belief that foreigners are not qualified to judge Japanese cuisine or that bragging, competition and awards go against the Japanese tendency to not stand out from the crowd, to fit in rather than stick out.

Which is all well and good, but when this comes from chefs in a coutry responsible for murdering foreign cuisine in new and unimaginable ways it’s a little funny… nah actually a lot funny.

Still que sera sera right, and whether or not they want to admit it, accept it or do whatever with it, the Japanese are responsible for some amazing cuisine and Tokyo definitely stands out as one of the major culinary centres for any self respecting foodie. It’s hardly surprising that Michelin chose to lavish that much praise on the city and its restaurants, as it is hardly surprising that some of the people reacted in the way they did.

No matter how good food can be in this city though, I still stand by my belief that some of the abberations Japan has come up with when it comes to interpreting foreign dishes is some of the most shocking stuff I’ve been unfortunate to see, smell or taste. Mentaiko spaghetti? Ughhhhh…

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written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Japan, Japanese Food, Random, society

With a week long hangover and impending first skiing trip in nearly 14 years, it’s time for a round-up of my first year in Japan. Traditions and what not, everyone’s probably bored to death with yearly round-ups already but hey it’s the season of excess so I’ll add to it, considering I managed to keep my xmas shopping consumption to pretty much zero this year.

A lot has happened in one year. I’ve changed jobs much to my surprise, I’ve visited a lot more of Tokyo and Japan than I thought I would and I’ve also managed to attain a somewhat decent ‘beginner’ level in Japanese.

So to sum it up are two lists of what I consider good and bad points about living in Tokyo and Japan.

This’ll be my last post of the year. I’ve still got a bunch of things to write up which have accumulated and which I’ll get onto in the new year - once I’ve drunk away all the money I need to live and am forced to do nothing but work and sit in front of my computer at night.

Happy new year and wishes for 2008 to everyone.

2007 in two lists, bullet points and randomness  

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written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Japan, Random

Actually I won’t be doing much of the talking. These guys will: Ramen Tokyo blog. They kindly left an answer on my post about Ramen Jiro in Hibarigaoka, my first ‘real’ ramen experience in Japan. I was so excited about finding the place that I posted in detail about it soon after discovering it near the school I used to work at.

I’ve spent most of the year raving about Jiro ramen to anyone who would hear it (or wouldn’t sometimes). It’s also earned me cool points with many of my Japanese friends, as it turns out Jiro is a bit of an institution among Tokyoites who are fans of ramen. I’ve also discussed it with students at the school in Hibarigaoka whenever I could. These discussions led me to believe there were a few Jiro branches around town, but it turns out I was still far from the truth. As the Ramen Tokyo guys pointed out in their answer to my post, there are actually about 30 odd Jiro branches spread out around Tokyo and the suburbs! I’m now still trying to figure out if that’s a blessing or a curse.

You see, Ramen Jiro is somewhat addictive and by far one of the best ramen experiences I’ve had since moving to Tokyo. I’ll spare you the details once more, but you can check my old post here and the Ramen Tokyo blog excellent page dedicated to Jiro. Considering I wrote my post and ramblings about ramen a mere month or so after landing, it’s high time I updated it, especially in light of the treasure trove of information that is the Ramen Tokyo blog.

If you’re after some ramen in Tokyo, and don’t speak or read much Japanese than the blog is your saviour. It’s currently got a pretty nice list of reviews of various ramen spots around central Tokyo and the suburbs, as well as info on ramen chains, ramen lingo and the dedicated Jiro page. The reviews are particularly useful. They’re short and to the point and include all the necessary info and handy links on how to get there, times etc… These guys are obviously serious about their ramen and it’s nice to have finally found a place on the net dedicated to the subject in English, considering the majority of good sources of information are generally in Japanese only.

Having browsed the site for most of the day I’m now dead set on indulging my ramen addiction a little more seriously than I previously have. Looks like I’m gonna need to go to the gym a little more often to counterbalance all the forthcoming ramen-y goodness.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: food, Japan, ramen, Tokyo

I’ll start my long overdue ramblings on Japanese food dishes with grilled food, which includes many of my favourite dishes. Grilled food in Japan comes in a variety of sizes, shapes and origins. Most dishes are tasty, cheap and quick - a winning combination as far as I’m concerned.

Yakitori

Probably the most common grilled dish (literally meaning grilled bird or chicken) - yakitori are skewers of grilled chicken bits which are generally available from stalls located pretty much everywhere. And if you don’t know where the nearest one is you can just follow the smell of the smoke emanating from it.

I’ve not seen many yakitori stalls in the more central areas of Tokyo, though I remember someone mentioning that in Shinjuku there is a fairly famous back street filled with yakitori and other similar stalls. Yakitori are also served in dedicated restaurants and generally available in izakayas as well, where you eat them as snacks while drinking.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: grilled food, Japanese Food, yakiniku, yakitori

Some people come to Japan for the experience. Some come to discover a different culture and experience life in what is at times a different world. And some people, like myself, come for the food. Ok I didn’t just come for the food, but it was a big incentive let’s say.

I’ve always had a thing for Asian cooking - coming from a French/Italian background it’s fair to say that food has always played a big part in my life. I don’t just love eating good food, I also love cooking. And while I’ve spent the best part of my adult life mastering various dishes and food from my own background I’ve always wanted to try my hand at Asian food. I’ve just never really had the chance or incentive to do it. I can cook a mean stir fry and a more than decent Thai curry, but that’s about it really :sad: .

So living in Japan has been an absolute blast so far when it comes to food. Not only has the cooking been great, even if my sink-sized kitchen has been interfering with my attempts, but the eating has been truly next level. Japanese goes a lot deeper than what you see in Europe - and discovering its many pleasures and aspects has been excellent.

In Tokyo eating is incredibly cheap compared to London. I was having this discussion with a friend who’s been here a few years, where I was saying how cheap eating out in Tokyo is. Which he claimed wasn’t entirely true - eating out can be as expensive as London or any major city, but fast food or just grabbing some food is definitely ridiculously cheap. And fair enough, a dinner in a nice restaurant, will probably set you back a fair bit, though from my own experience so far I’ve found that a lot of restaurants are still a little cheaper when you consider quality and service.

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written by Laurent \\ tags: Japanese Food

When I said the Japanese could give anyone a good run for their money when it came to the latest fads and trends I didn’t realise how deep some of it ran! Ella bought a bag of these marshmallows the other day, which as the name implies contain collagen to help make your cheeks and lips puffier. They are part of a new category of foods called ‘functional foods’ or nutraceuticals.

The mind really does boggle - for the price of a packet of crisps back home you can feel the effects of a bottox injection and enjoy the soft chewy feeling that has made marshmallows a favourite with kids worldwide (damn that sounded like a frigging tagline for the product :oops: ). What’s worse it turns out that some scientists have warned that eating more than a half a pack at once could be dangerous as collagen can cause allergic reactions as severe as shock. Ella was less than happy to find this out after swallowing nearly the whole packet.

On the plus side she said her lips felt much puffier the day after :lol: . Apparently these could already be in a store near you - check this article from last summer about them over at The Scotsman. I’m off to get some slimming food at the supermarket!

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written by Laurent

errm… ok then. So I’m sitting in a cafe in Shibuya, doing a bit of work while I wait for a friend in town. Nice place, pretty chilled and relaxed atmosphere, a little on the expensive side though. This is Shibuya after all. Anyways I go to the toilet, close the door and find myself confronted with a menu for… dogs :???: . On offer are little bone shaped bites as well as a healthy plate… Oookaay then. Wish I had the camera with me to immortalise the moment.

Seems the Japanese can give most people a run for their money when it comes to the latest fads and fashions - the cult of the new is taken to a whole new level in this country.

And while I’m at it. Why exactly do people seem unable to clean your table of empty drinks and plates in this country? Most places I’ve been to will continue to bring them and pile them until you leave… Ah well, I know the answer but still find myself perplexed by it.

Update - oh my days it gets better! A big TV just came on with a dog barking on it and speech bubbles saying things like ‘Pink brings out my natural highligths’ :neutral:

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written by Laurent

You’d think that having moved to Japan I would now be on a steady diet of fish - and you might be right seeing as I love fish, I love rice and I love wasabi. Which are all pretty important factors when it comes to sushi. But the thing is even though I love it, even though I only ever had access to the European version of sushi which is far inferior to its Japanese counterpart, I haven’t actually been on a complete binge yet. And I’ve been here two months.

Instead I’ve found a predilection for ramen, rice dishes and various other Japanese culinary delicacies such as gyoza (Japanese dumplings) and yakitori (bbq chicken skewers). But all is well again as I’ve started to eat sushi properly and regularly. Having found a couple of really decent (and in the case of one downright amazing) places which do a good sushi at a reasonable price. After all this is Japan - a country primarily known for its massive consumption of fish. If you go to the supermarket it’s Europe turned upside down - the fish is great and cheap as chips (see the joke there?) but the meat is quite expensive and frankly quite crap by European standards.

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written by Laurent

I think I’ve had a taste of heaven, and it tastes like Soy Ramen…

Ramen is, depending on where you look, a typical Japanese dish that originated in Japan or was imported from China a few centuries ago. Regardless, it’s now as Japanase as sushi in many ways and for many people. Since being in Japan I’ve tasted a few, but then I stumbled upon this little place next to Hibarigaoka school and discovered something much more serious…

This ramen shop is only open about 5 hours a day, and no matter what time you walk past there is alway a queue of at least ten people waiting to get in. The place itself is tiny, and probably sits about ten people max. The noodles are hand made during the day, and the ramen is out of this world. Like a lot of traditional, and good, spots in Tokyo it is devoid of the superflous service warmth you find in most Japanese stores and restaurants.

There is no paying counter, just a coin machine in the corner which you use to place your order. There is no overbearing shouts of Hirashaimasse when you come in… just good, honest and damn tasty food. The only sounds you can hear at most times are the slurps from the customers hungrily munching their bowl of ramen and the occasional ‘Do you want garlic with this?’ and ‘Thanks!’ from the cook.

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written by Laurent