March  2008

Tokyo is overwhelming. The size, brightness and non-stop activity of the city are simultaneously tiring and enthralling, especially on arrival after a 14 hour flight across the Pacific. I feel a particular “foreignness” every time I visit Tokyo that is more pervasive than in other Asian cities. The use of English is very limited and strikes a contrast with the modernity of the city.

And the “foreignness” extends to the cuisine and restaurant culture. While all Asian countries offer unfamiliar ingredients and techniques, Japanese cuisine is, to my mind, the one whose ingredients and techniques are, on the whole, the most foreign to western tastes. While sushi has become a staple restaurant outing in North America and it, and tempura, are familiar to our palates, they really only represent the tip of the iceberg. In Montreal, it is rare to be able to get any other type of Japanese food and this trip was about experiencing as many types of cuisine as Japan has to offer. Sadly, it was much too short, but our best efforts are captured here.

YAKITORI

I happened upon a recommendation for Kyosean, a yakitori restaurant a stone’s throw from our hotel near Shinjuku station, on an upper floor of the Lumiere department store. Yakitori are little skewers of chicken, vegetables and other treats grilled over charcoal. The restaurant was almost imposible to find among the labyrinth of upscale restaurants on the upper floors of the department store. With no English sign,  a quick game of mime helped to ensure we had arrived at the right place. Similar rituals would characterize our search for restaurants for the duration of our time in this immense city in which buildings are numbered according to when they were built as opposed to where they are located. Our waitress also did not speak a word of English but we managed to haltingly order a set menu featuring two yakitori plates, including quail eggs, negi (scallions), little Japanese green peppers, chicken gizzards, skin, thigh meat and other lovely bits of free range chicken.

Our monster of a meal also included appetizers of edamame beans in a sesame vinaigrette, a fried fish dumpling and pickled hoshomeji mushrooms with seaweed as well as a delightful chicken sashimi with thin sliced onions, fresh wasabi and a soya dip that was as delicate as fish, agedashi tofu with grated daikon, donburi with chicken, salmon and egg and a light, sweet cheese stuffed strawberry for dessert. All this, with a couple of beers, was only around CAD$70 for two. So much for first impressions of Tokyo as an expensive place to eat.

Kyosean
Nishi-Shinjuku 1-1-5, Shinjuku Lumine 1, 6F

SUSHI AND TSUKIJI MARKET

The beauty of jetlag is that its easy to wake up at 4am to go to Tsukiji fish market, see the catch come in, catch a bit of the tuna auction and then wander through the stalls checking out all manner of sea creatures, most of which you will have been blissfully unaware existed prior to your visit.

I had high hopes of visiting one of the temples of sushi that had been awarded three Michelin stars this past year, Sushi Mizutani or Sukiyabashi Jiro, but even with the help of a Japanese friend this was not possible. Between time zone differences, an intractable linguistic gap and finally, when a Japanese friend intervened, not enough advance notice, I was unable to wrangle myself into either joint. Getting reservations at top restaurants in Tokyo is very difficult and the language barrier makes it even harder. Best advice: start trying as soon as possible with a little help from a local, if possible.

Luckily, there are a few sushi restaurants located right beside the Tsukiji fish market with stellar reputations and access to some of the most varied and freshest seafood on the planet. Even at 7am, eating at one of the two popular restaurants requires about a one hour wait in line. Sushi Daiwa is a foodie destination and was well worth the wait for the freshest, most fantastic sushi I have ever eaten. Nothing with mayonaisse, no deep fried crap, not even an avocado in sight: this is real sushi. Perhaps fittingly, the sushi restaurant is one of the few eating establishments in Japan in which westerners may feel somewhat comfortable ordering due to our familiarity with the Japanese terms.

We start with otoro (fatty tuna belly) that melts in the mouth like foie gras while the maguro (tuna) is fresh and meaty. We continue with hamachi (yellowtail), kanpachi (amberjack) and mirugai (surf clam). Tai (a sea bream similar to a red snapper), kohada(sardine) and kobashira (baby scallops in a battleship -gunkan maki style). I am afraid that this meal may, for better or worse, have forever altered my perception of what sushi should look and taste like.

Daiwa Sushi
Tsukiji Fish Market

A few days later, we decided that a trip to Tokyo would not be complete without partaking in conveyor belt sushi. We were steered to Kakiya Sushi right across from the Harajuku train station (a weekend meeting place for outlandishly dressed schoolgirls in goth-princess gear). Kakiya has a reputation for using quality fish and has a good turnover, which is important unless you enjoy eating your raw fish after it has been at ambient temperatures on a merry-go-round for a few hours.

The sushi here looked a lot closer to what we are used to eating at home but the salmon, which was selling for about CAD$2 for two nigiri, would easily be among the best I have tasted in Montreal. There is a wide menu selection that includes a raw beef sushi (with slivered onions) and grilled toro (tuna belly). Complete with powdered green tea and a steaming hot water taps installed on the counter, you could easily eat a meal for two for CAD$50 here.

Kakiya Sushi
Jingumae 1-14-27 (directly across from Harajuku Station)

TEMPURA

With so many restaurants in Tokyo its often hard to figure out where to eat. One good way is to look for a line up, get in and try what is on offer. Walking through Shinjuku we happened along a line-up in front of a tempura restaurant in mid-afternoon. It turns out it was a branch of Tsunahachi . Tsunahachi is a legendary chain of tempura restaurants that now boasts over 30 branches around the city.

Aside from the familiar vegetable tempura, we tried a few local specialties including the anago (conger eel) brought tableside for inspection before being fried in a mixture of sesame and vegetable oil. The backbone is tied in a neat knot and fried separately. Shira Uo were little white fish and ebi kakiage a ball of shrimp, each friend to golden perfection. Natto inari age consisted of the infamous natto (fermented soybeans) stuffed in a tofu pouch fried in tempura. Definitely an acquired taste. Kobashira norimaki were baby scallops rolled in nori and fried in tempura. Aside from the traditional tsuyu sauce and grated daikon, Tsunahachi also offers cherry, yuzu and wakame infused salts and the friendly staff help guide you through the process of matching flavours with dishes.

Tsunahachi
Shinjuku 3-31-8

SOBA, UDON AND RAMEN

Kanda Yabu Soba is a Tokyo institution for two of Japan’s mainstay noodles: soba and udon. Soba are thin and rich buckwheat noodles with a nutty flavor. Udon are a thick and pasty, glossy wheat noodle. Soba were traditionally very popular in northern Japan while udon were traditionally more popular in southern Japan. These are the noodles that Japanese eat with the distinctive slurping motion and noise which westerners find fascinating.

Taking advantage of a visit of Akihabara (electric town) we scoot across a bridge for lunch at what is probably Tokyo’s most well known soba shopArriving just a few minutes after opening, we find a large line-up already forming. Inside, another pronunciation issue, means that while all the locals are celebrating the spring weather by enjoying mori soba (in which the noodles are served on a bamboo screen and dipped in a cold broth that includes scallions and wasabi) we end up with piping hot bowls of soba and udon as well as a bizarre soba sushi in which the soba were rolled with tamago and pickles in nori.

The JJ’s kama age udon is bland to our tastes with mushy noodles. My kamo nansan, featuring duck breast and scallions in a tsuyu broth fares much better but also features limp noodles. We also sample wasabi imo, grated white yam with wasabi onto which vinegar and soya is poured. This gloppy mixture was the only thing I was served in Japan that I really, really did not appreciate. My friend Yoshi has intimated that Kanda survives more on reputation than on performance and recommended trying another soba shop. Although not an expert myself, I am inclined to agree with him.

Kanda Yabu Soba
Kanda Awajicho 2-10

The other noodle that had to be tasted before we left Tokyo was ramen, a toothsome egg noodle of Chinese descent that has become a Japanese institution. Usally served in a pork or chicken broth with a number of toppings, ramen attracts its share of connoisseurs and it is on a website that I found detailed directions (you need them in Tokyo where the numbers of buildings are plopped at random in a given ward) to lead me to Suzuran, an amazing ramen restaurant across from Shibuya station.

By pointing at the picture on the sign I was able to order tsuke-men, thick golden noodles served dry, topped with buta kakuni, Kagoshima syle pork belly stewed in sochu. The noodles were dipped in a little bowl of rich broth made (as I understand it) form a combination of pork, chicken and fish and punctuated by still crisp bean sprouts. This was the most amazing thing I ate in Japan.

Suzuran
Shibuya Station East Exit
cross Meiji Dori go up Roppongi Dori and take the second right

KAISEKI

Kaiseki evolved over the years into an aesthetic dining in which meals are modeled on the four seasons and all aspects of the meal are designed to intensify the sensory experience. It consists of a number of small dishes prepared with great attention to detail down to the shape of the plate and the selection of garnishes. While it was once a strictly vegetarian meal, kaiseki incorporating fish and meat are now common.

My friend Yoshi invited us to Omino, a restaurant in the maze of Nishi-Ogikubo on the western outskirts of Tokyo. Inside a nondescript house was a beautiful blond bar fronting on the kitchen carved out of an enormous piece of wood.  What followed was an amazing ten course meal that based market produce and fresh seasonal ingredients from across the country. Vinegar greens with inoki mushrooms and fried tofu were proferred. These were followed by a dish of warm silken tofu and then by salted roe pressed into little cubes and flavored with nori and katsuoboshi (bonito flakes). An artfully prepared sashimi plate featuring sole, tai (similar to red snapper), maguro and toro cuts of bluefin tuna  and squid was next.

Grilled  sweet miso marinated fish with green bean and sweet potato was followed by steamed potato and young bamboo shoot from Kyushu and silky tofu with crisp green peas.

Steamed tai was served in a light broth with kabu (a kind of turnip) and topped awith green peas and yuzu rind. Deep fried lotus root cake stuffed with white fish, onion, shrimp and mushroom was served with a fried green pepper on side. The cake was squirted with lime juice and dip in salt and sancho (Japanese pepper) before eating. Finally, we were served a light sashimi of crab leg, octopus tentacles and surf clam in a light vinegar dip.

Omino
Nishi-Ogikubo
(I only have the address in Japanese)

ISAKAYA

The isakaya is a pub-style restaurant that serves a variety of Japanese (and sometimes Western food) in a relaxed atmosphere. We were led to Kuu, an isakaya not far from Shinjuku station specializing in robatayaki (charcoal grilled food) but without the rustic farmhouse trappings that characterize robatayaki restaurants which, in any event, would have been difficult to duplicate because Kuu is located on the 50th floor of an office tower.

For a modern restaurant Kuu comes off as a little grotty but the food was nothing to complain about. We start with a tuna tartare that incorporates a raw egg, avocado and thinly sliced onions and nori. The charcoal grilled kobe beef steak was mouth wateringly good owing, unlike “kobe” (read wagyu-cross) beef sold in Canada, to a nice fat distribution throughout the steak. Finally, an oyako donburi consisting of a rice bowl topped with sauteed chicken, mushrooms and onion into which an egg is scrambled (literally called a “parent and child” rice bowl–who says the Japanese don’t have a sense of humour) was delicious as well.

Kuu
Nishi-Shinjuku 2-6-1
Shinjuku Sumitomo Bldg. 50F

DEPACHIKA

The Japanese are the undisputed kings of the gourmet food store with the basement floors of major department stores dedicated to gourmet produce, bakeries and prepared foods the likes of which are unimaginable even to people who throw money away at Dean & DeLuca. While we visited a number of depachika near Shinjuku and Shibuya stations our favourite was in the Isetan near Shinjuku. All manner of fruits and vegetables (including a special melon retailing for about CAD$160) huge vats of salmon roe (they give out free samples), piles of fresh seafood and ultra-marbled beef are only the tip of the iceberg.

A number of prominent patissiers including Pierre Hermé, Jean-Paul Hévin and Japanese wunderkind Sadahuru Aoki have also set up shop in Isetan. A chocolate tart in the Jean-Paul Hévin sit down café makes for a fantastic break as do a couple of Aoki’s amazing éclairs featuring flavours like matcha and salt caramel.

The proximity of so many fine macaron makers also allowed us to do a definitive taste test on this little cookie that is the rage of the moment. The result: Pierre Hermé hands down makes the best macarons we have tasted. They must be eaten to be believed.

Finally, the Isetan depachika also boasts a great selection of Japanese whiskey and foreign and Japanese wines. I was able to pick up a bottle of Koshu, Japan’s original white varietal from the Toriibira vineyard of the prominent Grace winery for a song.

OGONOMIYAKI AND OTHER STREET SNACKS

The Shinto shrine in Asakusa are a must-visit and if you’re a foodie you probably want to visit Kappabashi-Dori, Tokyo’s wholesale kitchenware and restaurant supply district which is only a 15 minute walk away. In Kappabashi-Dori, I was able to buy a Global Pro chef’s knife for a quarter of what it would cost in Canada and the stores selling the plastic models of food that you see in so many restaurants are an attraction as well.  If you come to Asakusa on the weekend you will find a lot of vendors dishing out Japanese street food, including my very favourite ogonomiyaki, a kind of pancake that gets stuffed with everything from octopus and shrimp to bacon and corn and topped with katsuo, a Worcestershire like sauce and glutamate-laden Japanese mayo. These bad boys were cooked on the spot with cabbage, bacon, egg and noodles. Amazing!

FUGU, GRILLED EEL, TONKATSU, NABEMONO AND OTHER MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

Despite eating non-stop for a good four days, I can’t help but feel I didn’t even scratch the surface of what Tokyo has to offer. Part of it is no doubt due to the language barrier and the sheer confusion it entails, but mostly it just speaks to the depth of Japanese food culture. While I wanted to sample fugu, eat a crispy tonkatsu, tuck into some sumo-sized nabemono and follow the train line to the outskirts of Tokyo to go to a famous eel shop, time got the better of me. Hopefully, there will be a next time and hopefully I’ll have learned a little something so that I can make the most of the experience.