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Traveling to Japan and eating will always become a big thing for many people, after all, there are too many Japanese food!
Many people are familiar with Japanese sushi, ramen, barbecue, pots, seafood, special snacks, etc., and we have recommended a lot, basically some introductions from Japanese locals, some summaries from Internet celebrities, or some lists from Japanese officials.
In addition to these, today we will change our perspective and follow the "Ambassador of Japanese Food" - Chef Torii Toyo to eat food. From the perspective of a chef, let's interpret Japanese restaurants and let's eat together in a cultured way!
Presentations
The development of Japanese catering has always been an important landmark for the development of Asian catering, known for its attention to detail and quality, which is talked about by consumers and has become the object of learning from peers in various countries.
Japan's craftsmanship is well known, the level of basic education is high, the variety of products and ingredients is diverse, and the overall level of food and beverage development is high. The number of Michelin-starred restaurants is also the highest in the world.
However, the Chinese people only know a very limited number of good Japanese restaurants, most of which are non-professionals, such as chefs who use non-professional angles to introduce and recommend Japanese restaurants, or only use price to judge good or bad. This is a comprehensive understanding of Japanese catering for us catering people, and it is more unfavorable and one-sided to learn from and reference.
Therefore, Gollum Mommy planned this column to observe and experience the restaurant from the perspective of a chef. It's a conversation between chef to chef and master to master. I invited Toyo toyo to interpret Japanese restaurants from the perspective of a chef in Japan.
Introduction by the Japanese ambassador
Chef Toyo Toyo, born in Fukuoka, has more than 20 years of experience in Japanese food, has worked in Shanghai, China for 8 years, and has a good reputation as a chef and manager of Japanese food stores.
Coming from an orthodox Japanese background, he knows the Japanese food market in China very well and serves as a director of the Japanese Culinary Academy of China. For his outstanding contributions to the Japanese food industry, he was awarded the title of "Goodwill Ambassador for Japanese Food Popularization" by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.
Today, let's eat two together!
Zhang Wujie of the Japanese material industry showed his skills
Foodies just want to fly to a good meal right away
Fukunojo • Narayacho Ao
Restaurant features: creative cuisine, cost-effective, star-picking expectations
Introduction by the chef
Chef Hideyuki Kaneda - called "Zhang Wuji of the Japanese food industry", his popularity in China is not high, but he can be said to be the most gorgeous one in the Japanese chef's apprenticeship background, the first in Japan, the first in Asia, the world's first restaurant have successively accepted him as an apprentice, experienced the blessing of many masters in the chef's world, and he has also become a young chef who has attracted much attention in the industry.
Mr. Hideyuki Kaneda studied French cuisine at Yoshida Maiko at the Kitano Hotel in Fukuoka and Kobe, and then traveled the world to taste food. He worked for 7 years at Gaggan Indian Restaurant, which won the number one in Asia, and for 5 years at Long yin in Tokyo, the world's best Japanese food store, and then returned to his hometown of Fukuoka to start a big show.
If it weren't for the lack of a diploma from the Coban Chef School, I would have had the opportunity to continue my studies in Danish noma molecular cuisine, the world's number one.
The diversity of his learning background makes his production style combine the innovative fusion of Japanese cuisine and French cuisine, creating creative Japanese cuisine with French cuisine, and the chef's unique vision of ingredients and its unique aesthetic make the dishes born under his hands unexpectedly wonderful.
From his cuisine, you can feel the most wonderful part is the chef's various cooking techniques display, Japanese food mixing and matching, exquisite dessert handicraft and tableware matching ingenious thoughts, a meal only feel that the chef is a master of eclectic and profound internal strength. However, the name of the restaurant contains a low profile and introverted by the chef. Qing, in Japanese, means youth, immature humility.
After experiencing so many "first" restaurant studies, Mr. Kaneda summed up the most important thing is the ingredients, and he goes out to find good ingredients whenever he has time. See the materials and create the cooking.
Most of the restaurants use local ingredients from Fukuoka and Kyushu to cook, and you can feel the rich taste of Kyushu's local ingredients from each dish.
Dishes recommended
▍ Black ball
The restaurant's signature dish, the size of a black ping-pong ball, is the size of a black ball, and you can feel the deliciousness of the steaming pork shank meat, truffles and foie gras filling. The ingredients of the French meal are wrapped in a restrained Japanese dim sum, and people can't help but praise this mix-and-match delicious taste.
▍ Pear
The most commendable thing about this dessert is the exquisite craftsmanship, handmade from delicate candies to almost mess with the pear, and the crushed sugar coating is mixed with a pear-flavored milkshake, and the fresh sweetness makes it the perfect dessert after a meal.
▍ Jelly
This dessert is a complete work of art, the mirror is made into a dessert tray, the cutting angle of the glass bowl and the mirror tray produce light and shadow interaction, feel a three-dimensional dining pleasure.
Comments from the Japanese Ambassador
He is not only familiar with Japanese and French cuisine, but also an expert in all cooking techniques. I myself was deeply touched that it is a shop that should not be underestimated and must be recommended.
Restaurant overview
Located in Fukuoka, the "food capital seen by the Japanese", the restaurant is a renovation of an old private house from the 1970s, and the restaurant only serves 8 guests at a time, and watching the chef in front of you cook directly is also a highlight of the restaurant. The dishes are innovative enough, with the plating design, seasoning pairings, and every dish is remarkable, and the recommended sake and wine pairings are perfect for accompanying meals.
The chef's course is currently served at 15-16 items, costing 15,000 yen per person and 7,000 yen for drinks and beverages, making it very cost-effective. If you're in Tokyo, even if you pay twice as much, it's worth the trip.
▎Indicative price: RMB 1450
▎Opening hours: Open at 17:45, start at 18:00, end varies
▎ Phone: +81 92-272-2400
▎Address: 4-11-3, Narayacho, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture
▎ Access: A 5-minute walk from "Nakasu Kawabata Station" and a 7-minute walk from "Kufucho Station"
After experiencing the superb cooking skills of "Zhang Wujie of the Japanese Food Industry", we rushed to the north-central part of Honshu, Japan, to Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture. What kind of taste bud surprises will we encounter here?
In a classical town known as "Little Kyoto"
Taste the complex and simple "miracle delicacy"
Kanazawa City • Higashiyama and present
Restaurant features: Hokuriku flavor, small number of multi-product, creative and orthodox fusion
Chef Tomokazu Imai, born in 1981 at a sushi restaurant in Kanazawa, was probably destined to be a chef. He, young and humorous, was unwavering.
After graduating from high school, his father arranged for him to start a career as a chef in the kitchen of the "Hanasa Nori", a hot spring inn. After spending four years learning the basics of Japanese cuisine, he went to a sushi restaurant in Kanazawa. In addition, through frequent dining outing experience, I have accumulated more culinary experience. However, at the age of 25, he quit his job as a chef because he had different views on the work with the head chef of the restaurant.
After some time, Mr. Imai decided that he had no choice but to cook. As a result, he entered kanazawa's "a.k.a" restaurant and trained at "Edoji Edema" in Kyoto.
The hard work of traveling back and forth between Kanazawa and Kyoto every day inspired Mr. Imai to establish Japanese cooking techniques and the spirit of making full use of ingredients. At the age of 27, he was already the head chef of two quality restaurants, "A.k.a" and "Season". Slowly, he made it clear that his next goal was independence.
Mr. Imai, the owner of "The Sound of Firewood in Satoyama," said Mr. Yamamoto.
As a Japanese restaurant in the hotel, Mr. Imai initially refused because he thought the hotel's signboard might hinder him from doing something. However, when he accepted the invitation again, he heard that it was an idea of an open kitchen and a bar counter, and decided to accept the job.
Because for Mr. Imai, "Sounds, smells, food, I want customers to see and hear these things and enjoy them, I want to see their reactions with my own eyes." As a result, "Higashiyama kazuma" within "東山のオーベルジュ 薪の音金澤" was born in March 2018.
Although the proportion of each plate is relatively small, the most exciting thing is that the overall set menu consists of 16 dishes.
It may seem complicated, but it has a simple and clear taste that highlights the main ingredients of the dish – this is the biggest highlight of chef Tomoyuki Imai and cooking.
In order not to have the problem of "there is no result in this period" or "it is inevitable that you can only eat here", you will use more local ingredients when cooking. And while clarifying the staple ingredients of each dish, the approach is unique.
For example, sashimi uses a variety of flavorings, not dipped in soy sauce. Or matsutake mushrooms are neither boiled nor steamed in earthen bottles. "Cooking with the most suitable ingredients without preconceptions" is Chef Imai's approach. At first glance, it is a complex dish, but it is actually the most effective dish to set off the ingredients.
In addition, the combination of ingredients is also one of its characteristics, even if the ingredients that do not usually feel well matched, in mr. Imai's hands, it is possible to create a surprisingly high degree of completion of the combination, so that the delicious food complements each other.
Focusing on seafood, vegetables, and condiments (specialties) from Kanazawa, we make dishes that can only be eaten in Kanazawa. Tableware also makes extensive use of crafts from the Hokuriku region, such as Kūtanyaki and Wajima Tu. In addition, the pairing of Japanese sake is also made of the more expensive Japanese sake from Ishikawa Prefecture.
▍ Water lotus root
This local water lotus root in Kanazawa has undergone three cooking processes of frying, roasting and steaming, which fully brings out the aroma and sweetness of the lotus root.
▍Cooking without soup
Surprisingly, the ingredients in the bowl are grilled, unscaled sea bream and grilled matsutake mushrooms, so you can enjoy its aroma and flavor. When the time is right, you can feel the change in aroma by adding the broth to taste.
▍ Sashimi
This dish is a lightly smoked mackerel using wheat straw and cherry blossom flakes. One piece of fish fillet is filled with chrysanthemum petals dipped in tosa vinegar, and the other is wrapped in turnip slices.
Chef Imai's idea for cooking this dish is to make different flavors with the same ingredients, and you can taste the layering of the two flavors of juicy mackerel and refreshing mackerel.
Cooking at the bar, i.e. in front of guests, is great. According to the time of the guest's meal, prepare and cook at the corresponding speed, and provide the prepared dishes at the right time, which is quite considerate.
In terms of dishes, rather than which dish is the most recommended, it is better to say that the overall set menu idea design is a coherent story, and it is a dish that will not be boring at the end. And the combination of ingredients that I have never eaten so far is very complete.
In China, it is difficult to improve the use of the same menu to produce a completely consistent set menu. After all, Kanazawa's level of ingredients is quite high in Japan.
Mr. Imai, the chef, is studying dishes every day, going to the beach, going to the fields, and observing the producers in the Japanese sake cellar to maximize the use of the best ingredients.
So, tasting his cuisine made me feel the vitality of Kanazawa, and I enjoyed Kanazawa's food from the bottom of my heart. Kanazawa's gastronomic charm can only be experienced in this restaurant.
The restaurant is located on Higashi-chaya Street in Higashiyama, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, and is known as the "Preservation Area for Important Traditional Buildings." The exterior is also converted from an old old house, and not only the food, but also the architecture and decoration, you can feel the authentic Japanese style. The ambient light is slightly dim but it sets off the quiet atmosphere, and it is also one of its selling points to enjoy a quiet meal in this spacious and comfortable restaurant.
The restaurant serves meals for only two groups of customers a day. Because different ingredients in different seasons determine different dishes and change on a monthly basis, there is uncertainty in terms of prices. But! Very good value for money! You can even shock guests from Tokyo! For example, dinner is divided into three price points, and the minimum is only 7800 yen! It's a very, very exciting price!
▎Indicative price: RMB 985
▎Business hours: 11:30-L.O13:00, 18:00-L.O21:00
▎ Phone: +81 76-252-5125
▎Address: 15-14 Higashiyama 1-chome, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture
▎ Access: From Hokuriku Shinkansen "Kanazawa" Station, or Hokuriku Railway Asanogawa Line "Hokutetsu Kanazawa" Station, about 25 minutes on foot
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As a lover of food, can't you wait to eat a delicious meal of "Zhang Wujie of the Japanese Food Industry"? Are you particularly curious about the unique cuisine that is complex and simple, which sounds so contradictory, and what is the taste?
Please collect it first, and go next time!
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*Some of the pictures in this article are from the Internet, only for sharing purposes, invasion and deletion.
The next is set.
To be continued...