Omoide Yokochō (memory lane) is an iconic warren of small narrow alleys in Tokyo. I loved this charming area and enjoyed some tasty food at several of the tiny casual eateries you will find there. My kind of area (no fuss no muss, just some basic delicious casual food and great beer!). Omoide Yokochō, Tokyo. Visited in November 2014.
Beautiful lanterns and statues. If you visit it, do so once during the day as well as once at night. Two different experiences, with the one at night standing as a real a treat for the eyes. Kaminarimon gate, Tokyo. Addr: 2 Chome-3-1 Asakusa, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0032, Japan. Visited in November 2014.
Tofuro is a chain of restaurant serving all sorts of food (soba, sushis, grilled chicken, misc Japanese bistrot food). I went to the one situated in Ginza .
I picked a bowl of hot Soba which featured perfectly thin delicate noodles. I usually prefer thick soba noodles, but this was soba of flawless technique, the noodle impossibly refined, the broth having balanced seasoning. I won’t hide the fact that this was a bit too gourmet for my taste as I am fonder of the mom and pop type of soba noodles that abound in Tokyo, but that should not detract from the observation that Tofuro’s soba was superb. 9/10
The yakitori (grilled chicken) was another showcase of the high level of cooking technique found under this roof, with meat of fine quality and flavors that can only come from an inspired kitchen of talented cooks. Miles away from the poorly executed , oftently dry and tasteless, grilled chicken that can be found at plenty of bistrots. Superb yakitori offerings with not one single flaw to be noticed. 8/10
The service was also of really high standard.
Pros: It is rare to find a ‘jack of all trades’ (they do not specialize in one type of food) that does virtually execute pretty much everything flawlessly. I am not implying that Tofuro is exceptional. What I can tell you,though, is that few restaurants can do as much …this well.
Cons: perhaps such refinement will not be the cup of tea of someone looking for rusticity
My verdict: 8/10 (Category: mid-level all-rounder isakaya/soba/yakitori in Tokyo) By reading reviews of local foodies, I realized that they tend to not like their chain restaurants that much, a recurrent trend a bit everywhere around the globe. But I could not care about feelings and perceptions. Chains or not, what matters to me is the food and how great it fared to me. Tofuro’s display was one of superb and consistent high level of technique. A place like this could easily remain in the top5 of Montreal’s finest restaurants for years and yet our top 5 is nowhere close in terms of consistency ( I ate 3 times, at Tofuro,within 1 week. Tried lunch and dinner and the technique was great and flawless on each instance).
What I think weeks later: Obviously, it would be irrational to expect a ‘jack of all trades’ to showcase the sort of homey/artisan feel that’s more appropriately the affair of a ‘specialist’ (sushiya, dedicated soba place, ramen ya, etc), but finding an all-rounder that does execute pretty much everything flawlessly, and oh, btw…at such low cost, with actually …quality produce, everything homemade, with such level of consistency, well …that is no ordinary achievement by any restaurant standards.
(Pictured: Meiji Jingū 明治神宮 ) – Tokyo is fascinating and I truly got the most out of this amazing trip. In restrospect, based on all my searches, I’d recommend Japan-Guide’s 14 days Travel itinerary for your 1st visit in Japan. It’s really well thought.
Buy a good guide like the Japan Atlas, the best of its genre if you ask me, buy a compass, look for an affordable local Japanese data phone package and use that device as your additional GPS when roaming around in Japan.
You should, at all cost, avoid putting food ahead of anything else. It would be a mistake: enjoy their landscapes, enjoy everything. Go everywhere you can and do not worry about the food: it will be generally satisfying wherever you’ll go!
All sorts of tastes and preferences abound, and I have many friends who are not attracted by Japan, but, for me, their culture and architectures, dazzling food scene and picturesque natural sceneries are life-shattering moments that I want to re-experience again and again.
Japan, to me, remains like an exciting open book with many chapters that I look forward to peruse: next time, I will not come back to Tokyo. Instead I want to cover Kyoto, its kaisekis and its surroundings. Then I want to visit Nagoya, Hiroshima, Northern Japan (Hokkaido) , the splendor of Lake Mashu , then head South (Okinawa, Nagasaki).
It’s fascinating how the best countries are those who have suffered the most: bombed, almost wiped off of the surface of earth, this land stood against all odds and rose as one of world’s most fascinating destinations.
Hail to the land of the rising sun!
Sushi Oono –
Address: 1F, Nanou Building, 7-2-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Date and time of the meal: Saturday November 22, 2014 18:00 (Dinner)
Michelin stars: 1
URL: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13024790/
Overall Food rating: (Categ: Second tier Sushi Shop in Tokyo, Mid range Sushi Shop in Tokyo) 6/10 I appreciate the traditional feel (my preference) of their craft. Just wished the curing technique would have been sophisticated enough to lift up their craft to the level found at some of their competitors. That said, Sushi Ono is not bad at all and I will definitely go there again.
Service: 8/10
Overall Dining experience: 10/10 A humble Chef, and a very enjoyable place to be. Massive respect , Chef, for feeding Non Japanese with the exact same food you would have served to Japanese! That is the way to go (things are what they are, therefore we should respect them the way they are and never try to alter them and you understood that!).
Food rating: Exceptional (10), Excellent (9), Very good (8), Good (7)
***Here are the elements that my overall rating will take into account: (1)How great the quality of the chosen rice stood against what the other sushi shops of this trip have offered (2)How harmonious or spectacularly bold the work of the seasoning of the rice is achieved while remaining complementary of its topping (3)How delicious and how perfected (temperature/precision of the knife skills/work of the textures) were the sushis compared to the other sushis of this trip (4)How far the sourcing was pushed and how far it revealed a profound understanding of the subtleties of the produce (it is one thing to have top ingredients, it is a different story to pick that precise ingredient from that specific region which on a given point in time will allow your craft to express itself at its best).
Sushi Oono was one of the two ultimate (the other one was Sawada) sushi meals of this trip. By then, the other Sushi shops that I have tried have been Sushi Mizutani, Sushi Sawada, Sushi Sho, Sushi Iwa, Sushi Aoki and Daisan Harumi. At Sushi Sho, Sushi Iwa, Sushi Aoki and Daisan Harumi, I was with a tour guide so I spent most of my time talking to the person rather than bothering about reviewing my meals but I’ll still provide my opinion about those meals. I know some people hate comparisons and indeed, comparing is always an exercise of imperfection, but such is the nature of any opinion anyways and at the end of the round, unless the matter does not interest you or you are trying to play the ‘diplomat foodie’, you still have personal preferences. And preference, like it or not, that implies comparison.
Quick recap on the sushi shops visited during this trip:
So, Sushi Mizutani was the benchmark Sushi shop of this trip, Sawada was my preferred Sushi meal (even though some aspects of the food did not float my boat, but again food appreciation is subjective/personal so consider that when you peruse my review).
Sushi Sho ages his seafood and I was curious to see how I would appreciate it…alas, my palate got to the conclusion that although some seafood are fine when you age them (tuna, for eg), most could have been more exciting in mouth without the aging method (I know, it’s supposed to be the opposite, but for my palate that theory is at its best on paper), especially for sushis. I was born and raised in a fishermen village of the Indian Ocean and I do have fond memories of people rushing to the shore to avoid missing the freshest pieces of seafood that those fishermen were so proud to have snatched from the ocean floor just moments before and I am trying to imagine myself telling to my fella fishermen ‘hey Buds…take all your time…there is no rush..anyways we’ll age your seafood instead of enjoying it in its freshest state so you may as well let it rest for a while on the boat…”’….. A long time ago, aging seafood was indispensable by necessity, but that does not mean you should age all seafood. You need to know what seafood truly shines when aging it and that is where my problem lies: not ALL seafood are at their best when aged!!! Naturally, fans of the fad of aging fish won’t like to hear this kind of opinion but as loud as they are, we’ll have to agree to disagree whenever they will cross my path.
Daisan Harumi: interesting focus on the historical and educational importance of the sushis as I had fun learning a bit more about virtually everything that was flirting with my palate. Surprisingly, the flavors were not as ‘challenging’ and ‘old fashion’ as I was anticipating (for eg, no overly strong /brutal flavors, etc). When I was in Tokyo, I thought my meal at Sushi Oono was better and I was not that impressed with my meal here, but with time, it’s Daisan Harumi that is winning my heart. Daisan Harumi is not competing with the highly refined sushis of Sawada or Mizutani, it is not even trying to challenge Sushi shops of his rank (for eg, mid range Sushi shops like Sushi Iwa and Sushi Oono), but that does not matter as it is has its unique identity, doing things the way it deems worthy of its very own standards. The freshness of some of the seafood at Daisan Harumi did, at times, brought back memories of my tender childhood growing up on the shores of the Indian Ocean (minus the full-bodied maritime flavor of seafood fished in warm waters, obviously). Therefore, a very special place for very personal reasons.
Sushi Iwa: the most refined sushis of my mid range Sushi shop experiences in Tokyo, for now, and the best of that category, during this trip, for me. Some online accounts argued that it was good but not at the level of the top tier Sushi Shops of Tokyo. Well, that is comparing apples to grapes as Sushi Iwa is a mid range Sushi shop (second tier) establishment.
–Sushi Aoki (Ginza): the tastiest and preferred sushis of my mid range Sushi shop experiences in Tokyo, for now.
The review of Sushi Oono:
Sushi Oono (one of the better rated Sushi shops of Tokyo –with a score of 4.15/5 — on the major local restaurant rating web site Tabelog http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13024790/) came as an alternative to Sukiyabaki Jiro in Ginza + Sushi Saito (impossible to book for the normal diner / by normal diner I mean any anonymous/normal person who calls a restaurant and wants to book a seat without the need of having contacts, or being a regular patron, or having the status of a poster-diner, etc), as well as Sushi Yoshitake (willing to find an availability for me but the schedules did not match).
The food ->
-Sea eel was excellent both in flavor and texture. Nicely sourced and paired well with the judicious quantity of fresh grated wasabi stem that it was flavored with. 8/10
-Sea urchin (uni) is of the tiny type (as so oftently found at most Sushi shops in Tokyo), those I was having being decent (the taste of the sea urchin, dazzling at Sawada, great at Mizutani and sublime at the other Mid level Sushi Shops I tried in Tokyo….were muted, here), no more. 6/10
-Squid – Tenderized enoughly for palatable comfort, while allowing enough chew to remind ourselves that this is squid, not a mousse (friendly reminder: be careful when you assess the texture/consistency of seafood….as tenderness or firmness does not mean the seafood is better or not…knowing how your seafood tastes/feels/smells like in its natural state will help avoiding many inaccuracies). For this level, Good 7/10
-Tuna: there was no otoro (fatty), but just akami (lean) –picture that’s on the left — and chutoro (medium-fat) tuna on the day of my visit…the lean tuna was great,but it was easy to find great akami everywhere else. Chutoro featured decent texture, the quality fine enough. 7/10
Crab – Sizable portion. This is a legit preparation that some generations of Japanese are used to (dry texture as opposed to a texture that is moist/tender), but that is definitely an acquired taste — for non-Japanese, and even to some Japanese people I know and who are passionate about their own food — which is NEVER an issue with me: to the contrary, I enjoy educating my palate to get used to that kind of things (the “acquired taste” of other cuisines). I love Japanese food, but I cannot love every single food item of Japanese cuisine (the same way I cannot love every single item of my very own cuisine), and this one of them (It’s my loss – my palate got used to the common “juicy, moist” texture of crab meat and I did not manage to educate it to enjoy different textures than those ones). I think if I grew up with this, I would be more accustomed to it. If you are genuinely interested in cooking, it is important to segregate personal preferences from what is good or bad….opinions about textures, doneness, etc…those are notions of preferences, not an accurate indication of the good or the bad. With that in mind, it would make no sense that I rate this dish. An acquired taste , that I have not acquired yet, BUT I will never cease to underline and repeat this: I will ALWAYS RESPECT a Japanese Chef who trusts non-Japanese palates by feeding his Non-Japanese diners with the exact same food he would feed his own with. ALWAYS! Massive RESPECT to Chef Ono for trusting Non Japanese palates! I will come back here, just for that (I prefer a place like this, that I may not have rated with the highest score BUT that does its things the way it should, meaning the way it has always been, to places where they stop being what / who they are, just to please the crowd…RESPECT!
Mackerel- Fish of good quality for the standing of its Sushi shop. The Chef keeping it fresh and almost unaltered , no obvious extended work of the flavor apart a subtle flavor intensity coming from the GENTLE curing of the fish. Newer generations of diners seeking excitement might call this ordinary, but Sushi is not a show, it’s fish that you either source well or not, slice well or not, season well or not, nothing less, nothing more. Was that exceptional sourcing? No. Exceptional sourcing was what I have enjoyed at Sawada. Was that good sourcing? YES. For those who are curious about the subject, this meal was just slighly superior to a Good Sushi shop in the US/ Very good Sushi shop in Canada, certainly not vastly better ( I do not understand some of the online suggestions that the mid and some of the lower range Sushi shops of Tokyo are far better than anything found outside of Japan…well, I would not systematically bet on that) 7/10
Sea snail had limited flavor, its typical natural chew kept unaltered . I prefer sea snail with more maritime flavor, but such feature depends heavily on the natural habitat of the seafood. This was still decent. 6/10
Gizzard shad – Precise with his knife skills, the fish fine in quality. I had spectacular examples of the Gizzard shad during this trip, and this was not one of those, but still….Very good for the standing of this shop (nice sourcing, timely cured) 7/10
Octopus and abalone were both served at the same time:
Octopus – Same principle as with the squid, they have tenderized it not too much so that enough of the natural chew of the octopus remains present. Not bad, tasty enough,just not as dazzling as at other places I have tried during this trip 6/10
-Cod milt was ordinary, not the best, not bad neither but I had creamier, tastier ones in Tokyo during this trip (to my Canadian fellas who might find this too exotic, not to worry…cod milt is not disgusting at all, it can be very enjoyable actually…not akin to foie gras as some have suggested…more like scrambled tofu). Again and again, Massive RESPECT to Chef Ono for trusting Non Japanese palates! 6/10
Abalone – Good, rather than excellent, timely steamed to a consistency balancing between the firm and enough tenderness for proper chew.7/10
–Plum soup egg custard: balanced flavors, the custard executed properly. Good rather than delicious / exciting (some versions of this, tried right here in Tokyo, at lesser eateries, were far more delicious) 7/10
Miso soup was of the fine sort, with balanced seasoning (not too salty) and tasting good. Having had my share of misosoups in Tokyo, most of the finer kind, you realize that food is just a question of perception, often times, as people who claim they have tried miso soups in Japan, then in Montreal, would add that those in Montreal get nowhere close to those in Japan. Well, that is wrong. A great bowl of Miso soup in Montreal is as good and taste as authentic as the good bowls I have just enjoyed here in Tokyo. Anyways, a really good bowl, this one at Sushi Oono 7/10
-Tamago (in its cake version) featured good texture but lacked the fresh eggy flavor and enjoyable sweetness (it was bland) that I prefer and that was better expressed at the other Sushi shops 6/10
PROS: his pickled vegetable items were very enjoyable (there were plenty of those in between their sushi servings). I found the pickled items to have been the strong point of this meal.
CONS:it is the same problem as everywhere else in Tokyo…..it is hard for the mid level Sushi shops to find the finer produce that a top tier Sushi Shop like Sawada or Mizutani can get.
It would be flawed to compare Sushi Oono, a 1 star Michelin and mid-range Sushi shop to top range Mizutani and Sawada, alas …even within the mid -range shops, I found my meal at Sushi Oono a bit too safe /clean / linear. If there is one thing I dislike it’s a performance that errs on the side of caution (no bold seasoning, no spectacular marination, no outstanding curing technique, etc). I appreciate that Sushi Oono is doing well enough for a mid-range sushi shop in Tokyo, but I am not particularly enamoured with such overall non risk-taking experience.That said, Massive RESPECT to Chef Ono for trusting Non Japanese palates!
(1)How great the quality of the chosen rice stood against what the other sushi shops of this trip have offered – The work of the rice at those high-end sushi shops of Tokyo is serious, but no more,meaning the sourcing is good, the rice cooking achieved with care but none of those sushi rice standing as spectacular as what some of the raves may suggest. So at Sushi Oono, there was no exception to that rule: he would flavor most of his shari with a blend of white based vinegar, one of last sushi had its rice flavored with red vinegar on this evening, the consistency more hard than soft, but pleasant in mouth. No bold seasoning of the rice. The rice is of course of good quality, but its flavor very discrete so that the fish pairs well with the rice (2)How harmonious or spectacularly bold the work of the seasoning of the rice is achieved while remaining complementary of its topping – No bold seasoning here. Nothing spectacular neither. Just good sushi rice that does not taste strong so that both the fish and the rice do combine well together (3)How delicious and how perfected (temperature/precision of the knife skills/work of the textures) were the sushis compared to the other sushis of this trip- great knife skills for a Sushi shop of its standing. Work of textures and control of temperatures were flawless during this meal, the sushi enjoyed at proper body temp (4)How far the sourcing was pushed and how far it revealed a profound understanding of the subtleties of the produce (it is one thing to have top ingredients, it is a different story to pick that precise ingredient from that specific region which on a given point in time will allow your craft to express itself at its best). Sourcing was decent, not a highlight as it was oftently the case at most Sushi shops of the 2nd tier level.
Bottom line: At Sushi Oono, I was extremely lucky on the dining experience front as the other patrons were super friendly, the Chef humble and the overall experience highly enjoyable. It is on the aspect of the food that I felt I needed to get a bit more for my money , especially in light of the reputation of the house (in the top 10 Sushi Shops of Japan, etc). Virtually everything was fine (decent quality of the tuna, decent work of the rice), but no more (no outstanding work of the flavor of the mackerel, no outstanding quality of the produce, etc) . That said, it’s not a reproach to Sushi Oono at all as in general, I found that the Sushi-shop ‘system’, in Tokyo, regulates itself by clearly allowing the 1st tier Sushi Shops to have access to fish that the second tier will have to fight really hard for. Kinda logic/expected, indeed. At the end of the count, I would still go back to Sushi Oono for that super friendly service, their incredibly amicable Chef and the fact that they trust non Japanese palates (because those — trust, superb service, etc. — are the basic things that whet one’s appetite. You can have the best food in the world, but if your service is crap, your food is useless as your bad service will kill my appetite, whereas Sushi Oono had everything to keep my appetite alive).
(Pictured: Omoide Yokocho, Shinjuku, Tokyo 思い出横丁, 新宿, 東京) This was my first trip to Tokyo . As a first trip, you do not have time to dig deep in their reality, so I scratched a bit of the surface by focusing on what are known as some of their most important edible joints.
Private clubs masquerading as restaurants
On the subject of their restaurant scene, this trip to Tokyo underscored that publicity made some of their tables (for eg,Sukiyabaki Jiro, Sushi Saito, etc) unaccessible, therefore useless to enquire about. I was born and raised to enjoy other people’s success and do consequently admire how well some of those tables are doing, but I am not a dreamer, I am not a hunter of exclusivity, I do not see the necessity of ‘feeling immortal’ by attending events / or enjoying privileges that are not available to the most, I can only care for realities that the most can enjoy. My point is that most of those restaurants are private clubs masquerading as restaurants, and people should be clearly informed about such tease. To the sensation-seeking (the sensation of eating at a place that is useless to most mortals, in this case) ppl out there, that is fine, but if, like me, you care about the normal reality that awaits the normal diner, then you are warned. It might be just another drop in the ocean, as usual, but I did my part and sent an email to the Japanese ministry of tourism suggesting that they invite restaurants (like S Jiro in Ginza) to stop advertising restaurant reservation availabilities that are essentially inexistent. If I need to dream and run after imaginary sensations, it is certainly NOT to a restaurant that I’d go.
Local foodies Vs their opinion on Michelin: some of the local foodie friends I made here explained that many locals do not really care that much about the michelin starred ventures. It’s the same old spinning wheel, found everywhere else: some can’t stand what is popular, bragged about, known to count among the finest, but I could not careless about who likes what as all tha matters to me remains the content of my plate. I went to places highly regarded by both Michelin as well as what most locals seem to like (based on the local tabelog restaurant review site as well as some help for the local foodies I made friend with ), but I have to say this: many cities known as great food destinations happened to me ‘manageable’ in a way that I could easily and quickly spot what stands out (usually a good dozen of eateries and the rest is simple generic stuff simply presented differently), but Tokyo is clearly a giant because the best places just abound, here the best bunch of the soba, there many of the finest isakayas, there several ones competing for the finest tonkatsu, hey look ..not just 5 ramenyas that stand out, but 50! One argument could be that they have more of the great stuff because it’s an exceptionally populous megapolis, but I know plenty of cities around the globe who use the demographic advantage to serve crap because they know that there will always be people eating at their restaurants no matter what . For plenty of Japanese foodies, there’s even better food to be enjoyed in Japan outside of Tokyo, but this visit of Tokyo has revealed qualities that most major gourmet cities of the globe do lack. Their obsession for the very best food, the high level of true competition, the incredible pride they manifest in their creations as well as their exceptional palate makes of this city a true champ of world class dining.
Why most of your restaurants are generally average in Canada? Yep, that’s the brutal question of one of the local foodies during one meal we were sharing during this trip. He travelled throughout Canada around 3 years ago and that is what strucked him. First, there are average restaurants everywhere and I do not really agree that most of our restaurants are that bad. That said, it is a fact that many foodies who have travelled a lot around the globe came to the conclusion that there are far superior food scenes to be found elsewhere. Which, I won’t argue with. That said, comparing Canada’s food scene to its Japanese counterpart should be understood within some of the following facts: (A)in the West, oftently (there are exceptions, of course), a talented cook goes through the process where his/her talent is recognized, then he/she disappears from the kitchen to enjoy stardom and the fruits of the marketing trail his/her now legendary fame has generated. From an entrepreneur perspective, it’s normal/expected/encouraged. The problem is that, indeed, as ..expected, lol…from the diner’s perspective, it su*&#. In contrast, from what I’ve observed all along this stay in Tokyo, their local talented Chefs seem to have taken the theme of being a proud Chef to another level: yes, they want to make money, too. But they refuse to have their reputation backed by name bearers. They cook! So right there, it’s a totally different world. (2)In the west, the perfectionist mentality that I could detect here in Tokyo would oftently pass as not worthy of the effort. Of course there’s much more: cultural parameters,the palate, the sense of surprise, etc. Talking about the palate: even though taste is a subjective matter, I was still impressed by their deep understanding of the flavors: whether the combination is simple or complex, it is oftently extremely well mastered. Oftently, in Montreal (to take the example of the city which restaurant I am the most familiar with), I stumble upon flavors that I find unachieved or simply fine but not great, and I’d still find excuses for them (lol) such as “”perhaps a lack of necessary time and/or the fact that most of the cooks are young and did not take the time to train alongside their elders (it’s the key in cooking: you learn from your elders, you master those basics, and you move on with what you think is better from what you’ve learned). But in Tokyo, even the most (not all, of course, but MOST..is what count, lol) humble eateries had cooks with a surprising great palate and terrific sense of cooking. (3)In the West, you won’t fail to find it interesting that most of the major / popular Chefs are present in their restaurants whenever a food journalist is visiting. Of course, when there’s no food journalist around, the star is spending most of his time outside of his /her restaurant. And naturally, the assistant is rarely up to the challenge and the food journalist helped buzzing up the restaurant, so hordes of diners will flock there since media coverage feeds, not talent. I said this to a local foodie with whom I was dining here in Tokyo and he replied ”if a cook is not found in his kitchen, if both his assistant and he /she would not be of the same level, no one would spend a dine on them’….draw your conclusions! lol
So, what makes their food scene so special? For me, couple of major obervations: on the higher end, it shows that their old generations of Chefs have embraced the kind of obsession for perfection which secret is only known to them. If you pick one of Mizutani San’s better pieces, it is packed with the kind of attention to details that can not only be explained by skills, but also by culture, attitude, vision. Here, obviously, the culture to sacrifice everything for the glory of their craft, the attitude of persevering at all cost, the vision that the to be above, you need to pick one way, just one, and dedicate your life to it. And indeed, the produce is among world’s finest. This is what I willing to pay for when dining out. On the lower end, it is the same thing as everywhere else: the younger generations do not oftently have the patience of their elders, but their craft still benefit from the sense of pride and efficiency that the Japanese are known for. That is actually what I do believe to be the secret of the Japanese food scene: those who cook are proud of what they do, and would therefore not desperately just throw food for the sake of just feeding, but for the joy of sharing true cooking skills and the same great food they’d themselves appreciate to be fed with.
That said, based of what I kept hearing before coming here, he are things I found untrue:
-their low level sushis are better than our average ones. UNTRUE! Low level is low level, wherever you are!
-their seafood is the best in the world. For sushis, yes, indeed, you definitely need the type of seafood found here.
For example, they do have the perfect tuna for the kind of cuisine they are doing. But the best seafood in the world
will always depend on what your palate has recorded as being the benchmark to beat. For eg, I was born and raised
in the Indian Ocean, so for my palate, the best seafood come from warmer waters. I can appreciate a stunning tuna from Japan’s waters, would highly regard its finest version as one of world’s very best, but my palate and brain will still perceive the finest fishes of the Indian Ocean or the Caribbean as superior. That is why we say that taste is subjective ;p
-there is even better than their michelin starred sushiyas: I could not try every top restaurant I wanted, but I have tried enough to observe that the michelin starred sushiyas are far superior in term of the overall refinement, precision of the cuts, selection of the produce. Whereas some of what the locals seem to favor (Daisan Harumi, Sushi Sho being two great examples) is of course godd, but the creations are not as refined. Of course, if you could not care less about such details, it naturally means nothing to you, but I go to restaurants for the sole purpose to see how far a restaurant can perfect its creations.
Why just focusing on sushis? Isn’t that cliché? nope, not at all. It all depends on your perception of cooking and things in general. When I started cooking, in my tender childhood, I already embraced the traditionalist Japanese philosophy that ‘tireless repetition is what makes perfection‘, lol. And that a lot of ‘the same thing’ should never be perceived as a chore. To the contrary, it’s an opportunity to assist your mind in focusing on what it would have otherwise missed. So, this trip was heavily focused on sushiyas (the next will focus on kaiseki meals only) . That said, I also tried other kind of food too.
Next time I visit Japan I’ll focus on their kaisekis, as well as their Iga Uenoregion for its highly praised Iga Beef. It is part of Mie Prefecture, where the Matsusaka beef comes from, a beef that many Japanese value as even better than the famous Kobe beef. My palate is ready to dive in the nuances that set those famous cuts apart from the rest. Hida beef in Takayama as well visiting Ishigaki Islands for their Ishigaki beef. So, a very ‘carne’ agenda for my future visit in Japan. I’ll also try the kaisekis of Kyoto (Kitcho, Mizai, etc). Japan is a lovely land, so I can see myself going back there oftently and touring this fabulous country.
Conclusion: For me, this was going back to my childhood memories in the Indian Ocean where I was taught to differentiate a simple cut of fish from its immediate fresh taste (sampling it right upon it’s out of the sea), to the various stages of its aging process. I had a Japanese local experienced foodie and cook who accompanied me at most of my meals (for me, it was important that someone paired some verbiage to what I was eating. Regardless of my appreciation of what I am eating, it was fun to elevate the experience to an educational dimension. Does not mean I do not have my own opinion..rest assured that I will always voice my own opinions no matter what) and he was telling me things that I was so familiar to: for eg, when you kill a fish, there’s a whole world of nuances in the taste of that fish within the minutes it’s killed, the hours, etc. Some prefers their fish at X moment of that process, others at Y moment. But knowing those differences help you better understand that it is rarely about good or bad fish, but oftently about the effect that a specific stage leaves on one’s palate. It was fantastic to see that the Japanese do care about such details when their peers, abroad, do care only about what’s trendy (it’s trendy to have chewy abalone, then that is good..Ok, now it’s trendy to tenderize it, so guess what..chewy abalone is suddenly bad — knowing a bit more about that abalone brings you a long way, and that is what did excite me with the Japanese). The foodie / cook local companion hoped that Japanese seafood would convert the seafood admirer that I am, but I think I broke his heart when I insisted — and what do you want..it’s in the nature of things — that I still found my seafood in the Indian Ocean to be superior, more flavorful, having a better taste of the sea, Rfaol! The best things are always what you grew up with, usually, so he got my point, but hey, seriously, for the sushi and the cooking they are doing, the Japanese truly have the benchmark seafood that’s needed. Rest assured: this is, along with the seafood of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranea, among world’s finest seafood. But since my palate prefer deep briny flavor that is easily elevated by char-grill cooking technique (one technique that’s of course extremely popular in the humble settings withing which I grew up), my brain keeps recording the fabulous Japanese seafood as second to the ones it flirted with in the first place. It is important to stress that none of those is better than the other: the way we kill our fish in the Indian Ocean (we’d need an entire post just for this, so I’ll just point out that the fish I was fed with in the Indian Ocean was perfect for the type of cooking found there: essentially charcoal-grill) is NOT to be compared to the care that Japanese invest in killing theirs (their technique of killing fish and the careful ensuing process is meant for proper sushi preparation, a whole different world from straightforward charcoal-grilling).
風雲児 Fuunji > ramenya > 2 Chome-14 Yoyogi Shibuya-ku, Tokyo-to
Dropped by Fuunji, a shop regarded by most local ramen connoisseurs as a top tier ramenya of Tokyo, with a near perfect score of 97/100 on the major local ramen guide ramendb (http://ramendb.supleks.jp/s/12119.html).
The rage in Tokyo, for almost a decade now, is to have both the noodle and its broth served separately (tsukemen).
You dip the noodle in the broth and you slurp. The broth is hot, the noodles are cold (I do sometimes see online complaints about the noodles being cold…but that is the way the noodles are in a tsukemen. Not a slip). I can’t see Montrealers embracing this trend as the fear of the broth cooling too quickly could discourage many, though in Tokyo you are offered hot stones to keep the broth warm. The other problem is an issue of perception: I suspect that Montrealers may find the presence of two bowls for 1 serving of ramen to be a bit too much on their table.
The tsukemen I picked featured noodles of perfecty mastered bouncy-ness, the noodles holding up just fine in the broth. It’s indeed in the complexity (depth ) of the work of the flavors (At Fuunji, a mix of chicken and small dried fish) of that broth that a shop like this one does have the edge over lesser local ramenyas. It also, naturally, takes a good palate as you won’t get to identical results simply by relying on the notion of slow cooking. That said, although this was perfectly executed ramen (I have to give that to them: there is depth, there is complexity, there is mastery, there is even a good palate because it is still tasty), the flavor was just fine…no more….not ‘licking good’ as experienced with some other ramens.
Was this ramen one of the very best I ever had? Certainly one of the better executed as far as technique goes. Do I get the raves? It’s food, therefore subjective by nature, so Yes, absolutely…nothing is bad, nothing is good, there are things you love, others you do not. Was this the most exciting ramen I ever had? Obviously, Not! Will I recommend Fuunji? Well, they do not need my recommendation…they have hundreds of diners lining up in front of their doors twice a day! But Yes, I recommend you try it as it is one of the very best ramen you’ll get to enjoy in terms of the sophistication/technique. Hopefully, you’ll find the flavor dazzling too.
Verdict: 8/10 (Category: world class ramen, top tier ramen in Tokyo). I am somehow having hard time with some of the most successful food in Tokyo. It is not about expectations based on the raves as I do not have expectations when I dine out … I just want the food to storm my palate. Take this very popular bowl of ramen: it is certainly well done and it is rare to have home-made noodles and a broth done this well in North America, BUT I can think of many bowls that have tantalized …right there in North America, whereas this bowl did not. Again, really well done, tasty for sure, just not as exciting in mouth as I would have liked. Paradoxally, YOU SHOULD NOT compare my rating of Fuunji to my ratings of ramenyas outside of Japan. In other words, a ramen-ya in the USA, Canada or Europe that I did rate higher than Fuunji …. deserves its high score in relation to what is found in the USA, Canada or Europe. Fuunji’s 8/10 would be a 16/10 — if such score was possible — , in Europe, Canada or the USA. I was not excited by Fuunji (and yet, the score of Fuunji is an 8/10, which is very high, indeed..but we are in Japan, and that is primarily an indication of how fierce the competition is here ) , but the best ramenyas outside of Japan do not even get close to a glimpse of the shadow of Fuunji in terms of the technical perfection of the ramen!
What I think a week later: My ratings have nothing to do with whether a meal was great or not, they are simply tools to convey, in the best way I can, how excited the food fared to me. Which, as ever, is of course utterly personal/subjective. So, keep that in mind when you’ll consider the rating above. I hope you got this right, though: Fuunji ramen’s, whether it excited me or not, is a world class bowl. I insist on the latter assertion because it rare to find such technically expertly conceived bowl of ramen even in Tokyo. This is a bowl that — whether you’ll enjoy it or not at the first slurp — will certainly grow on you.
Sushi Mizutani
Type of restaurant: Sushi shop
Date and time of the meal: 21-11-2014 11:30
Address: 8-7-7 Ginza | Juno Building 9F, Chuo, Tokyo Prefecture Phone:03-3573-5258
Tabelog: 4.37/5
Michelin stars: 3
Tabelog link: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13016524/
UPDATE: THIS RESTAURANT IS PERMENTLY CLOSED SINCE October 29, 2016 – THIS REVIEW IS KEPT ONLINE FOR HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION
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Picture taking is forbidden to normal diners as/per the house, therefore no pictures were taken. No note-taking neither as I did not know whether that would offend the house’s staff, so I made a mental note of my appreciation of some of the sushi pieces which assessment was determinant in my overall rating of this meal.
***Here are the elements that my overall rating will take into account: (1)How great the quality of the chosen rice stood against what the other sushi shops of this trip have offered (2)How harmonious or spectacularly bold the work of the seasoning of the rice is achieved while remaining complementary of its topping (3)How delicious and how perfected (temperature/precision of the knife skills/work of the textures) were the sushis compared to the other sushis of this trip (4)How far the sourcing was pushed and how far it revealed a profound understanding of the subtleties of the produce (it is one thing to have top ingredients, it is a different story to pick that precise ingredient from that specific region which on a given point in time will allow your craft to express itself at its best).
Mizutani-san has worked several years at the stronghold of the legendary Jiro Ono (Sukiyabaki Jiro in Ginza), then parted ways and opened his own sushiya which was awarded 3 Michelin stars several years ago. He was among the very first sushi masters, along with Jiro, to have earned 3 Michelin stars. For those who are ‘allergic’ to Michelin star rating, rest assured that even the local foodie scene holds Mizutani-san in high esteem as his shop has a high score of 4.37/5 on Tokyo’s major local food restaurant rating web site Tabelog: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13016524/ . Some of this globe’s most experienced diners argue that Mizutani is even better than Jiro but I wouldn’t know as my hotel concierge could not secure a reservation for me at the legendary Jiro, but Mizutani seemed to fit with what I was looking for: elaborately crafted classic sushi pieces by an experienced Sushi Master of Tokyo.
FOOD REPORT: As it was the case at Sawada, I did not take notes, fearing that the no photo restriction could also imply that the house would shower me again with other restrictions regarding, this time, perhaps, note-taking. I do not go to restaurants in order to fight with rules, so I took no notes of each single item but I’ll try to remember some of the key elements of this meal, the elements that weight in my overall score for the food performance .
Sea urchin – The sea urchin, of top quality as expected , bettered only by the exceptional sea urchin served at Sawada. Sawada handled their sea urchin exceptionally well to the extent that you’d think the sea urchin was snatched from the floor of the ocean and served immediately. Mizutani’s did not have an intense oceanic flavor but they were clearly of very high quality, though of the tiny kind (two types were served: bafun and murasaki sea urchin). 8/10
The common trio of tuna (lean, medium fat, fatty) ranging among the finest of this trip in Tokyo, their quality simply startling. If you ever think that good sushi tuna is just good sushi tuna, well ..NO! I am not saying this is a case of Wowness (though, I find the raves about the Otoro not exaggerated at all;p )…I am not implying that this is unparalleled— I am just insisting on the fact that the quality of the fish is really really high. Just try most of the medium and low level Sushi shops of Tokyo and you’ll better understand what I mean. 9/10
Steamed abalone showcased some world class seafood steaming technique as the texture of the flesh retained the nice natural chew of the abalone’s flesh while allowing enough tenderness for palatability, but in a way that’s technically hard to achieve consistently well because timing and exceptional know-how are as crucial as ever to get to this sort of toothsome. A benchmark steamed abalone. 10/10
Prawn (8/10) and needlefish (9/10) nigiris were tastier than the versions enjoyed at the other sushiyas,but prawn killed right in front of your eyes (done at some of the other sushiyas, but not here) always add a “special” dimension that this prawn —although admittedly of the highest quality and execution — was missing . As for the needlefish, Mizutani-san did sweeten it, on this instance (I have no clue if he always do that), which is usually not a feature I favor with seafood, but this was needlefish of superb quality. Mackerel (10/10) was superior to those I had at the other Sushi shops of this roundup, better prepared, better — though not boldly –seasoned, better handled, better cured (the timing of the curing simply perfect) than anywhere else.
Gizzard shad (10/10) is, of course, the common affair of the Sushi Chefs, a bit like crème brulée for a Pastry Chef, so that is exactly where I want to see the better Sushi Masters to distance themselves from the rest and on this meal, they did just that: salting and soaking it in vinegar is what all sushi cooks do, but the proper timing and proper know-how are grounds that are not that easy to cover. Mizutani covered those grounds, his Gizzard shad tasting better and fresher than his direct competitors of this trip, and those folks are unarguably the best sushiyas of the globe , so imagine! And yet, there was still room for a little bit more excitement (nothing that would make me change my mind about its 10/10 score, though) : bolder vinegary flavoring of that Gizzard shad would have been the ultimate blast, lol.
Squid was of stellar quality, with perfect chew , its looks glamourous (spectacular transluscence), with dazzling chewy texture. Some ppl judge a Sushi shop by the quality of the tamago. But for me, it is items like squid, mackerel, gizzard shad that count the most. A benchmark squid. 10/10. Salt water eel nigiri is one of those sushi pieces you rarely see offered in its prime, outside of Japan and here in Tokyo, there are clearly many rivers to cross between the salt water eel of the Mid-level Vs top tier Sushi as the quality of the anago at Sushi Mizutani was only slightly bettered by Sawada and yet, this was a benchmark piece of anago, its tsume sauce as delicious and carefully prepared as it gets. 10/10
Repeat sushis were the chutoro and otoro nigiris, which were as great as the earlier ones.
The fabled tamago (folded omelette cake), which at first glance looked less pretty than, say, the one I had at Sawada, but tasted far more DELICIOUS! 10/10 for the tamago.
PROS: 1.The most challenging (to handle and prepare) seafood items were better executed here than anywhere else…that is all I needed to know 2.It is amazing to see a sushiya place demonstrating utmost care in selecting even the non seafood items like eggs (the secret of his superior tamago).
CONS: (1) The sea urchin, although of top quality, paled a bit in comparison to Sawada‘s “ocean breeze” sea urchin.(2)At this level, not one single nigiri should crumble under the slightless pressure of my sushi sticks….well, it happened twice, which again is not a major problem….just not what should be experienced at such high sushi mastery. Because, YES…as you would have guessed by now, the craftmanship is of the highest level (3) Also, this is..as you might expect, dauntingly expensive…so ensure you do really care– this much — about the quality of your Sushi. I do and did not regret —and even found this to be a bargain compared to another Sushi shop, a mid level one, that did charge me as much for lesser quality sushi — but you’ll have to keep that in mind.
So,
(1)How great the quality of the chosen rice stood against what the other sushi shops of this trip have offered? At first glance, Mizutani could be accused of playing it safe as the rice seasoning is not strongly vinegared, and if you are not into details, you’ll be tricked into believing that it’s just your common good “nothing special’ sushi rice. It’s certainly not a common /nothing special sort of sushi rice as the work of the texture was generally of a high level of ‘engineering’ (the inside, impossibly soft, the outside is SEMI-soft). I wished I could tell you that we were ages ahead of the laughable crumbly pieces of sushi that sadly abound at sushiyas outside of Japan …but life always ensures to contradict you, lol: the rice of two nigiris crumbled, to my surprise, under barely no pressure from my sushi sticks. Regardless, this is a work of rice of very high level.
(2)How harmonious or spectacularly bold the work of the seasoning of the rice is achieved while remaining complementary of its topping?
No strong flavors here, but a focus on anything that most palates would interprete as deliciously rich, for eg the eggs of his tamago is richer in flavor than the eggs of the tamago that’s offered at the other elite sushiyas. His fattier piece of tuna belly had more marbling than the fattiest ones at the other elite sushiyas, the rice tastes a bit rich, not strong, etc. In general, his style allows an impression of harmony between the rice and the topping.
(3)How delicious and how perfected (temperature/precision of the knife skills/work of the textures) were the sushis compared to the other sushis of this trip? Not as ultimately spectacular in shapes and colors as I’d imagine exceptional sushi to be (Sawada was –overall — a less convincing meal for me, compared to Mizutani’s, but Sawada‘s sea urchin + trio of tuna were visually far more spectacular than at Mizutani , but certainly close-to perfect. That said, Mizutani has certainly delivered the most delicious sushis of this trip. As for the control of temperature, most of the sushis were served following the classic notion of controlling sushi temperature (for eg, rice at body temp, most of the seafood at room temp), and as it seems more and more common with his peers in Tokyo, he would sometimes leave a piece that’s thick in consistency, therefore one that takes a bit longer to reach the temp he deems proper, resting to hit room temperature (A Sushi Master does this in frontof his patrons s because he wants you to you see how concerned about proper temperature he is — just adding this because some online reports on this matter have misinterpreted that part, suggesting that it is not normal. This is Normal as some pieces take more time to reach ideal room temp and when it’s not done before your eyes, then they did it in the kitchen ).
(4)How far the sourcing was pushed and how far it revealed a profound understanding of the subtleties of the produce (it is one thing to have top ingredients, it is a different story to pick that precise ingredient from that specific region which on a given point in time will allow your craft to express itself at its best)?
He is the most experienced Sushi Master that I have visited on this trip and that showed: he knows his produce like few can pretend as he is who digged deeper in the potential of his ingredients, extracting as much as he could from them. He did that and it worked thanks to his exceptional skills and long familiarity with the fruits of his soil.
Before my meal at Mizutani, I have heard it all: better than Jiro (which,to me, is like comparing a private club to a normal restaurant catering to a normal public as places like Jiro is…like to hear this or not…nowadays effectively a private club available only to some happy few) according to many well-travelled connoisseurs, but also the total opposite (for eg, the suggestion that the work of the rice is better at plenty of the lesser Sushi shops in Tokyo —well, you may as well suggest that conveyor belt sushis are better while you’re at it, lol , — or that the standard of the food seemed to have slipped, etc). Regardless of those contradictory suggestions, I can only trade in facts I know: the “trickiest” seafood (gizzard shad, mackerel,squid), those that do require the toughest efforts and sharpest skills, happened to be challenging in the hands of all the other Sushi Chefs of Tokyo whose food I have sampled during this trip (some aging their seafood to the point that is not enjoyable/palatable anymore, so more style than substance,others were so inconsistent or playing it safe….). That is where Mizutani san stood out. The work of the rice is important, and I wished I did not have those two pieces of nigiris crumbling under barely no pressure, but the more important is that the generally mastered softness of the texture of his rice as well its subtle flavor allowed for a better interraction between the neta and the shari. For sure, do not expect miracle, this is not walking on water, this is not landing on the moon, this is not saving lives, this is sushi (generally) perfectly well crafted at the highest level possible, so ensure you sync your expectations to what can realistically be crafted. It is expensive,indeed, but it all comes down to one very simple choice to make: you either feed on tons of average sushis (that you could actually replicate at home with patience, time and practice) or eat less of those and save for sushis this great. Keep in mind that this is classic sushi , so not for you if you are looking for fanciness.
Overall food rating – 9/10 (Category: top tier Sushi shop in Tokyo, World class sushiya) in comparison to my meals, during this trip, at the other Tokyo sushiyas. The sea urchin, although of top quality, left me feeling somehow indifferent (in light of what I am expecting at this level), BUT the most important for me (which explains the well deserved overall food score of 9/10) is that Mizutani-San managed to outperform his peers in many aspects (deep understanding of the rice/seafood harmony, textures of (generally) benchmark refinement by world class sushi standards ). Deserving (in general) of its great reputation, I thought.
What do I think a week later: To the contrary of what is widely suggested online, the majority of Sushi shops in Tokyo (from the mid level Sushi to the lower end) are generally NOT that superior to a good Sushi shop in Canada or the US. They do have a wider variety of seafood but nothing much. The top tier (which is no more than acouple of Sushi shops) Sushi shops are those that truly standout with a quality of ingredients you’ll have hard time finding outside of Japan. As for the work of the rice, it is true that there is more thought/care that is invested in it, but much of the praises pertain to urban legend: everytime I hear that a Chef integrated X amount of grain of rice in his sushis…I do discretely take one of his nigiris, run to the gents room and discretely count the grains. It is never even close to the amount of grains advertised. Furthermore, although well done, the work of the rice is not as spectacular as it could be. That said, Mizutani san’s craft is hardly matched outside of Japan.
PS: Few weeks after this meal, Mizutani was demoted from 3 to 2 Michelin stars. I will keep the mention to the 3 stars as the current meal took place when Mizutani was bestowed with them.
Sushi Sawada –
Type of restaurant: Sushi shop
Date and time of the meal: 20-11-2014 12:00
Address: MC Building 3F, 5-9-19 Ginza, Chuo-ku Phone: 03-3571-4711
Tabelog: 4.28/5
Michelin stars: 2
URL: http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13001043/
Picture taking is forbidden to normal diners as/per the house , therefore no pictures were taken. No note-taking neither as I did not know whether that would offend the house’s staff, so I made a mental note of my appreciation of some of the sushi pieces which assessment was determinant in my overall rating of this meal.
***Here are the elements that my overall rating will take into account: (1)How great the quality of the chosen rice stood against what the other sushi shops of this trip have offered (2)How harmonious or spectacularly bold the work of the seasoning of the rice is achieved while remaining complementary of its topping (3)How delicious and how perfected (temperature/precision of the knife skills/work of the textures) were the sushis compared to the other sushis of this trip (4)How far the sourcing was pushed and how far it revealed a profound understanding of the subtleties of the produce (it is one thing to have top ingredients, it is a different story to pick that precise ingredient from that specific region which on a given point in time will allow your craft to express itself at its best).
Chef Sawada Koji‘ has long established his credentials as one of Tokyo elite Sushi Chefs, his Sushi shop is a top rated restaurant on Tabelog, Japan’s most important online community for local foodies. Restaurant Magazine’s web site adding, and I’ll quote: ”’those in the know rank Sawada alongside better-known three-starred joints such as Mizutani and Sukiyabashi Jiro”. I went there to enjoy the place and despite my generally less than enthusiastic report about the food, I could see why Sawada is highly regarded (It is, at this moment, one of the toughest restaurant reservations, as hard as Sukiyabaki Jiro Honten as/per my hotel concierge — the concierge was ultimately not capable to book me a seat at Jiro, but Sawada was indeed a really tough reservation ) : it offers a relaxing journey that most of the other elite Sushi shops failed to deliver during this trip, the produce was generally of exceptional mention even by the high standards of its competition. For those reasons, and only for those, this dinner was my preferred ‘sushi experience’ in Tokyo. Had the food impressed me as much, this would have been life shattering. This meal at Sawada was one of the last meals of this trip, therefore easier to compare to the earlier performances at the other sushi places.
FOOD REPORT: Quick rundown of some of the many items that were offered (I did not take note of each of them, there were too many and I was more busy enjoying my food rather than stopping all the time to reflect on them):
The highlights of this long meal (there were far more items than at the other Elite sushi shops) have been the sea urchin, which quality was easily the best of this trip (I have long familiarized myself with all sorts of sea urchin sourced from all corners of this globe and shall observe that those from Hokkaido –which Sawada San did serve of this evening — do rank among the most spectacular examples of sea urchin you’ll get to enjoy at a Sushi shop): Bafun sea urchin (less sweet than some of the finest sea urchin of California, but rich in taste, its vivid orange color so easy on the eyes, the taste divine), Murakasi (This sea urchin of mustard yellow color is one of my preferred sea urchin, its sweet taste so fresh in mouth). 10/10
Another highlight was the trio of tuna, in part because Sawada-san thought about the right way to stand out from his direct competitors: the tuna had more concentrated flavor as he has better aged his tuna. A beautiful touch was that he did slightly grill his fattiest piece of tuna, where most of the other elite sushiyas of this trip would offer it raw, allowing for the expected spectacular mouthfeel that rarely fails to come from grilled fat. 10/10
Ark shell clam (Akagai ) was beautifully sourced (Sawada-san had, in general, the best produce of this trip with some items truly exceptional), elegantly butterflied in typical upscale Sushi shop fashion. It is in the work of items like the Ark shell clam that you can really appreciate the vast difference between the finer vs lesser Sushi shops of Tokyo as the former’s extra efforts (in refining the texture) is admirable. This was almost as skilfully crafted as at the other elite sushiya of this trip,Mizutani, the only reason I am not rating it with the ultimate score has to do with the fact that the salinity of the rice stood, for me, as clashing a bit with the clam 8/10
Salt water eel (anago) tasted great, timely simmered, and its quality I found even better than at Mizutani (I won’t stop repeating it: the sourcing, here, is, in general, second to none and we are talking about this globe’s finest Sushi shops, so imagine!! ), Sawada’s preparation putting more emphasis on the natural delicate sweetness of the specimen’s flesh, keeping it simple, whereas most of the other Sushi shops did add a bit of flavor intensity (for eg, at the other Sushi shops, the Salt water eel would taste more of the tsume sauce that generally accompanies anago sushi, but at Sawada it’s the taste of the eel that stood out). As I prefer my seafood as unaltered as possible, Sawada’s approach suited me fine. However, I found, again, the white vinegar/salt portion of the sushi rice overpowering in a way that its saline intensity distracted from fully appreciating the salt water eel in its full glory. This was certainly – on its own —a great piece of anago, but it is also a piece of nigiri, which means the interaction between the rice and its topping should have been judicious. 7/10
Cuttlefish – Piece after piece, I was floored by the quality of his produce. As if he has suppliers that even the other Sushi Masters of this trip are not aware of. The quality of the cuttlefish was stellar, this time Sawada-San letting the cuttlesfish expressing itself at its best, the texture soft, the flesh retaining a nice chew. One of the best cuttlesfish nigiris of this trip. 8/10 (could have been a 10/10 had the slicing being as impressive as, say, Mizutani...there was also the vinegar taste of the rice that clashed a bit with the cuttlefish in a way that it made the cuttlefish/rice blending tasting a tad superficial for my taste, but I’ll forgive that one…it was lovely, highly enjoyable regardless of the downsides ).
Gizzard shad – Talking about exacting sushi pieces, this is another great example of just that. Gizzard shad is a demanding piece as each step of its preparation, from the curing, its slicing, having to cope with its strong natural flavor, everything should be flawless. It’s a fish that can be as rewarding as it can cruelly let you down. The thing about Gizzard shad preparation is that most won’t notice how great it is when it is well done, but one single mistep and you realize how challenging it can be to work with this fish. As with all the seafood served during this meal, the Gizzard shad at Sawada was of superb quality, but the effect of its preparation felt unimpressive to me as it tasted just a tad better than any other average Gizzard shad I have sampled in Tokyo, and certainly less spectacular than the one I had at Mizutani (At mizutani, the vinegar flavor was so fresh and spectacular that it lifted the taste of the fish to palatable triumph, here the Gizzard shad did not taste as exciting) + the slicing of such fish should be precise, but instead, a big part of the edges was almost dented! I am not saying that it is always like that at Sawada, I would not know as it’s my sole visit here, but that was the case during this meal and there’s no excuse for that at such level. 5/10
Hamaguri clam – The consistency springy as it should as/per hamaguri classic sushi prep standards, but the nitsume sauce a tad cloying and less enjoyable than at the other Sushi shops of this trip. The texture not vivid as those I had at the other shops in Tokyo (obviously a consequence of the prep method he used, which is most likely the aging of the clam). Take hamaguri clam, which in its traditional sushi preparation needs to be boiled. Then smoke it a bit, then let it rest at room temp and you’ll get to the exact same feel of my Hamaguri clam. Again, did he smoke it? age it? I did not ask as I do not want to sound / appear impolite to my Sushi Chef. I have heard about the tendency of an increasing number of Sushi Chefs to age their seafood, and they do age some of their seafood at Sawada too. Alas, for my taste, seafood’s texture and flavor is generally —-save for some sparse relevant examples such as tuna/bonito —, better expressed raw, especially for sushi. A long time ago, they were aging food because they had no choice, nowadays we find the idea attractive because we basically just love trends. Aging beef is a trend, nowadays, but it has its known limits (is meat still enjoyable upon, let us say, 80 days ++ of aging??For me as well as for many serious Master tasters, it is not) which, fortunately, most steakhouses are aware of. Aging seafood is sadly a theme that’s applied in a nonsensical fashion at most Sushi shops (around 90% of the aged seafood I tried at Sushiyas, even here in Tokyo, epitomized the problem of trends: too much style, little substance. It is one thing to know what seafood to age, it is disrespectful to the hard work of the fishermen when you age every single seafood they have proudly ‘snatched’ from the floor of the ocean for you to appreciate the mother of all food –the seafood– in its full natural glory….. ) . 5/10
Abalone was timely steamed to ideal palatable consistency (tender enough, with a nice chew), but Mizutani did better (7/10), bonito tasted great and was timely smoked although its quality was similar to what I had at the other places and honestly, it’s hardly a challenging piece (7/10), quality mackerel but which marination and seasoning failed at lifting its powerful flavor to the heights of palatable enjoyment attained at the other sushiyas (another exacting item where the genius expected at such high level needs to make a difference – Mizutani-san nailed this, alas not Sawada-san who had not just one chance, but twice, as I had a smoked as well as a raw version of this piece of fish), a 6/10 for the mackerel (I had mackerel tasting as great at lesser Sushi shops in both the marinated as well smoked versions), salmon roe (better than at the other places 8/10).
Prawn – properly boiled and avoiding the common error to overcook the prawn –yep, I easily caught couple of sushiyas making this mistake in Tokyo—, BUT not as precisely sliced as Mizutani. Regardless, the quality of the prawn was superior at Sawada. 9/10
Omelette’s based cake (Tamago) in its ‘ sponge cake’ version – The elite sushiyas of Tokyo had in common this feature that the refinement of their tamagos is simply unmatched outside of Japan. But even better, the 2nd tier sushiyas that I did visit in Tokyo barely approached the 1st tier when it comes to perfecting the texture and taste of the tamago. Excellent texture and consistency of the cake and I can see why, some ppl, judge some Sushi Chefs by the tamago (if you go all your way to perfect such an apparently simple cake, then there is nothing more to add about your obsessive sense of perfection, lol – A 9/10 for that tamago, but I’d give it a 10/10 had I not been a tad more impressed by the delicious tamago of Mizutani an (to set the records straight, Mizutani’s tasted better but Sawada’s had finer texture).
Pros: Leisurely and incredibly intimate ambience + the fabulous sourcing of the ingredients (yeah …even by the high standards of the elite Sushi shops of this trip)!
Cons: At this level, I expect the most ‘challenging’ pieces of seafood, those that rely heavily on the best curing preparation/marination/knife skills/seasoning to express themselves authoritatively. That is exactly what Mizutani-san did. That is not what I have experienced at Sawada. Furthermore, the precision in slicing seafood items like mackerel, gizzard shad, and cuttlesfish is a matter of the uttermost importance at this level.
So,
1)How great the quality of the chosen rice stood against what the other sushi shops of this trip have offered? – Shari (sushi rice) comprised of a mix of white rice vinegar, as well as the usual salt and sugar. The problem is that the ratio of the salt was misjudged as the white rice vinegar mixed with the salt did, for my taste, impart an ‘unatural’ kind of saline flavor to some of the seafood toppings, the anago nigiri being a perfect example of just that. This might sound nitpicking and most won’t play attention at such details, but restaurants of this level, charging those prices, do exist essentially for their patrons to be able to appreciate such subtleties (or else, just eat your sushi at any random entry level sushi shop). Another quibble is that the rice was ‘one-dimensional’ in its construction (firm consistency throughout, on my visit), compared to what the other Elite Sushi shops have crafted, in the sense that the other Sushi shops did generally offer an appealing (to the touch as well as on the palate) elaborate firm exterior/soft interior contrast that I did not experience during this meal at Sawada. The sourcing of the rice is uniformly exemplary at those great Sushi shops of Tokyo, Sawada’s is no exception, but I’ll stand by my observation about the seasoning of the rice and lack of complexity in the sushi rice (shari)’s construction.
(2)How harmonious or spectacularly bold the work of the seasoning of the rice is achieved while remaining complementary of its topping? See previous point #1
(3)How delicious and how perfected (temperature/precision of the knife skills/work of the textures) were the sushis compared to the other sushis of this trip?
Sawada-san can is certainly talented, or else he would not be considered as one of the best in Tokyo, and there are certainly plenty of other sushi shops in Tokyo that are doing worse . That said, Sawada-san is also considered as a world class elite Sushi Master. Consequently, I’ll compare my appreciation of his craft to those standards. And at such, solely on the back of this meal, I did not find his slicing skills to be as consistently precise/impressive as his peers, and I was left with the same impression about his work of the textures (which were at times glorious, indeed, but not always). On the bright side, he was consistent in maintaining a perfect control of the temperature of his food: during my meal there, he essentially went by the book, which means almost uniformly using body temp for the rice, room temp for the seafood topping. As for the taste, the overall was not as delicious as, say, the consistently mouth watering meal I just had at Mizutani but rest assured that everything tasted good (just not as consistently delicious as what came from the kitchen of some of his direct competitors, the mackerel –in particular—should have been the perfect opportunity to storm my palate, as the others did, but it was a non -happening during my visit).
(4)How far the sourcing was pushed and how far it revealed a profound understanding of the subtleties of the produce (it is one thing to have top ingredients, it is a different story to pick that precise ingredient from that specific region which on a given point in time will allow your craft to express itself at its best)? Even by the already exemplary standards of those elite sushi Shops of Tokyo, some of his produce was exceptional. Some of the other top sushi Masters of Tokyo can envy him for his beautiful produce. But for me, during this meal, he generally failed at extracting the most out of his exceptional produce in a way that his direct competition has managed to do, during this trip.
””The sourcing is world class, but in the end, my meal at Sawada did not manage to leave an impression in the way that Mizutani did. To the contrary of many people, I do not mind Genius cooking (which is what sushi performance of this level, price tag and world class reputation, is supposed to be – Genius, in this case, meaning an overall craftmanship that’s way above the standards that already exist and NOT some surreal /out-of-context vision of what food can’t be) to follow the course of hits and misses, but it has to, ultimately, awe me with an ‘impression of the spectacular’ that is capable to wipe all the misses and dominate the hits. That is what Mizutani-san did. Alas, Sawada-San did not walk in his steps (I was obviously not floored by Sawada’s seasoning + work of the texture of the rice as well as some of his sushis). At least the finer sushis managed to convey how ingenious, often witty, the Master can be in his prime. I just wished he would express it more consistently. Still, regardless of some of my severe observations, I fully enjoyed my time here and the journey remains one to never forget as the charisma of the Chef, coupled with a sense of place and exceptional sourcing do suffice in explaining why Sawada is often regarded as one of world’s finest Sushi shops”’. Obviously, and hopefully, my high rating of 8/10 (see the section ‘overall food performance’) is a testament to my latest assertion.
Overall food performance: 8/10 (Category: top tier Sushi shop in Tokyo, World class sushiya) in comparison to the other Sushi meals of this trip to Tokyo (for eg, I prefered my meal at Sawada to those I had at Daisan Harumi/Sushi Oono/Sushi Sho/Sushi Iwa, but the meal at Mizutani had the edge). The essential is already written above (the section in red), so I’ll just add that you SHOULD NOT start comparing my score of Sushi Sawada to — to take an example — the scores of my Sushi meals outside of Tokyo – we are in a completely different set of expectations and circumstances.
What do I think a week later: In Tokyo, the ‘sushi shop spectrum’ regulates itself….the best produce are for a handful of elite shops like Sawada,Mizutani, Jiro,Saito. The second tier shops and the rest will have to fight hard to get good seafood, rice, etc. The huge advantage of Sawada is that a journey under this roof does boot with spectacular produce. That, alone, explains why many have been impressed by Sawada.
Restaurant: Dons de la Nature
Address: 104-0061 Tokyo, Chūō, Ginza, 1 Chome−7−6, B1F
Phone:+81 3-3563-4129
Cusine: Steakhouse (serving only one type of meat: Purebred Wagyu)
Date/Time of the meal: 19-11-2014 18:00
Michelin stars: 1
URL: http://dons-nature.jp/
Overall Food rating : 6/10 Stellar sourcing of the meat and flawless cooking (as expected – it is just a steak, after all…), but even though it is not the fault of the restaurant, it would not be hard to find more flavourful meats than Wagyu at a fraction of its cost. That, ultimately, affects the food rating.
Service: 7/10
Overall Dining experience: 7/10
Food rating: Exceptional (10), Excellent (9), Very good (8), Good (7)
DLN is widely considered as a top tier steakhouse in Tokyo. Service (by the wife of the Chef) was uneven for a 1 star Michelin restaurant: over-the-board friendly with some diners, decent with others…which, I gather, is ‘normal’ in ‘general life’ as this boils down to chemistry between people..less so by the standards of a 1 star Michelin restaurant. That said, rest assured that the service is still good (you are in Japan, after all). The quality of the meat is the main reason that brought me here, and there is no denying it: the quality is, as expected, of top shelf mention. Sadly, Wagyu is overrated, which is not the fault of DLN, indeed, but DLN …as a steakhouse…needs to pair better red wine to their steak.
Dons de la Nature is widely considered as one of Tokyo’s finest steakhouses. Which means that, here, you are exempt from the laughable mis-identification of the meat, a sad recurrent feature at plenty of steakhouses around the globe. At Dons de la Nature, when they tell you they have Kobe beef, then it is the real one that comes from Kobe in Japan (and not from elsewhere), and when they say Wagyu, then it is TRUE PUREBRED Japanese beef and they will tell you from what region in Japan.
Traceability is taken seriously here. Wagyu beef is usually (usually, I wrote, not always) fed on rice straw which is essential for achieving the high level of intramuscular fat as well as whitening the marbled fat. The slaughter occurs in between 23 to 28 months.
THE FOOD:
I took no starter, fearing that the steak would be filling.
The meat available on the day of my visit was Wagyu from the Oki Islands, (there was a choice of a highly marbled sirloin, as well as tenderloin — for my taste, Sirloin features the characteristics I am looking for when eating Wagyu as it’s not lean like tenderloin, the flavor certainly more expressive compared to tenderloin).
Generally, in Tokyo, steaks are cooked on an iron griddle (teppanyaki), but here, at Dons de la Nature, they grill it over charcoal (my preferred cooking method for steak), no ordinary charcoal that is (they use the highly praised Binchōtan charcoal) , inside a kiln. From such steakhouse, there’s not much to say about the basics (as expected, they get the requested doneness right, medium-rare in this case, the seasoning, although simple — a bit of salt — is judicious, the nice crust on the outside that most steak aficionados favor nowadays is achieved beautifully , and the kitchen clearly knows how to delicately handle a meat of such extensive fat marbling ),
so what I was looking for was how far the extensive marbling could impress in flavor. Unexpectedly, the umami kick that the media and plenty of online accounts have praised continues to elude me (this was the 3rd Wagyu tasting of this trip, having tried Matsusaka a day prior, then Sanda) .Well, YES the umami dimension is definitely there (afterall the effect of the marbling has to be ultimately felt) but I get more exciting umami flavor from most 40 to 45 days perfectly dry aged corn-finished prime Black Angus cuts …that have less marbling. I also do not get the comparision to foie gras (a common comparison) that I often hear about. Do not get me wrong: this is quality red meat, that is for sure, the fat much more delicate in taste and texture in comparison to a fatty cut of Black Angus, but at the end of the count …it is just not as flavorful. I admire the quality of Wagyu beef, but for the enjoyment part ..nah,sorry…I (my palate) just do not get it. This was a 6/10, at best, for me (Grade: A5/ Breed: Japanese Black Wagyu from Oki Islands, 30 days of wet aging + 30 other days of dry aging )
The Chef’s wife has suggested to pair the steak with a glass of Camus Père & Fils Mazoyères-Chambertin Grand Cru 2001. This is a wine that scores high on paper: exceptional soil, exceptional vintage, too, as 2001 is one of the very best years of Mazoyères-Chambertin wine. But the wine I was having had barely any structure (surprising for a wine known for its complexity), the wine devoid of the mouthfeel expected from a grand cru, the finish disappointingly short. Furthermore, this glass of wine was so dry that it clashed with the flavor of the meat I was having. Dryness is a characteristic of Mazoyères-Chambertin wine, but but this was way too dry to be enjoyable. This is an instance where you need a wine with silkier tannins/rounder palate.
Pros: Wagyu is so praised outside of Japan that there are no shortage of marketing manipulations to call pretty much everything that looks like meat… Wagyu. You therefore really appreciate the moment when you get to enjoy the real thing on its very own land, which is exactly what Dons de la Nature offers.
Cons: Wine pairing to a steak is expected to be a highlight at a steakhouse. It has to.
Service: Very intimate, very very friendly. The wife of the Chef (she was the sole waitress on that evening) is very enthusiastic, perhaps more with some than others, but I am nitpicking here. It is much more informal than at most of the steakhouses that I have been to.
My verdict and conclusion: I won’t rate this house as I do not want my aversion to Wagyu to influence my opinion about Dons de la Nature. But Wagyu, you my friend….even at the same cost as my favourite Black Angus steaks, there is simply no way I could appreciate you. I respect your legendary reputation but for me, it is clear that your scarcity creates your value. Yes, you are beautiful to espy (I have rarely seen marbling of such striking beauty), but for my palate, you are not even half as flavorful as an expertly dry aged prime cut of Black Angus. And I just gave you 3 chances right here on your own lands! I even ensured to lower my expectations (I had none, to tell you the truth) and I did erase any notion of price from the equation so that the assessment’s focus is on what matters most: the flavor!!!.
What I think weeks later: That Wagyu is my all-time biggest disappointment on the aspect of food, that is life and I can deal with that. What struck me most was how the praises about its superlative flavor had absolutely nothing to do with what I have enjoyed. If the flavor of meat is going to be almost as subtle as the one of tofu….then I’ll take the tofu! Meat needs to be flavorful no matter how hard you have worked its quality.
An anonymous Montrealer's Michelin Star dinners 
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