Tag - cuisine

 
 

CUISINE

Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KANPAI CULTURE
Jun 10, 2014
Meet the Willy Wonka of extraordinary cocktails
Contrary to expectation, the Blue Cheese Martini at the Akasaka branch of Code Name Mixology is a subtle concoction. The cocktail is clear, served in a delicate crystal glass, with three olives on the side. The cheese aroma hovers faintly on the nose, but the first sip is mildly sweet and fruity. The...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Jun 10, 2014
What's: Fine Matsusaka beef in a restaurant as unusual as its name
Culinary epiphanies don't happen often, but when they do, they are food for thought. I had one recently dining on prime Japanese beef and it was an experience that, on reflection, recalled a childhood event. Not that I grew up eating wagyū — far from it; rather, the portion of seared beef reminded...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
Jun 10, 2014
Marumo Kitchen: Bowls with soul
In the DNA of almost every Japanese building there is a gene for "renewal." And so it was inevitable that Porta, the underground mall at Kyoto Station, would close earlier this year for a revamp. When it reopened it was out with the old and in with the new — and yet another Starbucks. Among the new...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / A TASTE OF HOME
Jun 3, 2014
Tokyoites needn't be sheepish about New Zealand cuisine
New Zealand is famous for its lamb, pasture-fed on the country's rolling green hills. Lamb being hard to come by in Japan, a New Zealand restaurant is a good bet if you're craving lamb chops. There are two big ones in Tokyo: Wakanui (B1F, 2-23-14 Higashi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo; 03-3568-3466; www.wakanui.jp)...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 3, 2014
Kagura: Refined traditional dining minus the airs and graces
Akasaka's restaurants are an eclectic mix. Cheek-by-jowl with the raucous pubs, ramen counters and Korean kimchee kitchens, you find inscrutable anonymous facades, many of them exclusive ryōtei (traditional restaurants) reserved for politicians and captains of industry.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
Jun 3, 2014
Patinastella: French cuisine by way of California in Shibuya
From the hubbub of central Shibuya, the walk to Patinastella takes only five minutes, but it feels like jumping several time zones. This spacious, glass-enclosed dining room could have been beamed from an affluent neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / EVERYMAN EATS
May 27, 2014
Japan says 'aloha' to Hawaiian food
I should have realized that my first trip to Cinnamon's would end in tears. Or, at least, in an uncomfortably long wait. This newly opened transplant from Kailua, Hawaii, is on the bucket list of every OL (office lady) in the Kanto area, and its location near Yokohama's waterfront guarantees heavy walk-in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
May 27, 2014
Que Rico: Bless this tasty Mexican mess
In the spirit of creating fashionable statements that promptly wither out of mode ("Orange is the new black," "Spring is the new summer"), here's one for the list: In Osaka, "Tenma is the new Fukushima." The two areas have much in common: Both fan out in warrens and lanes beneath the city's elevated...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / OSAKA RESTAURANTS
May 27, 2014
Shiogensui: Ramen worth its salt
The shinkansen isn't the only thing connecting Okayama to Osaka these days. You can add shio (salt) ramen to that list. I had my first bowl of Shiogensui ramen in Soja, Okayama Prefecture. It's also where I had my second bowl, on another occasion, before I finally made my way to the source, the original...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / JAPANESE KITCHEN
May 20, 2014
Why not add a little booze?
Mirin is a staple of Japanese kitchens, yet few people know what it actually is.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 20, 2014
La Bonne Table: French cuisine between informal and upscale
This spring brought more than cherry blossoms to Nihonbashi. It also saw the wraps removed from the two new Coredo Muromachi Buildings. Both have multiple floors of restaurants, bars and food stores. The pick of the lot is without a doubt La Bonne Table.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / TOKYO FOOD FILE
May 20, 2014
Nihonbashi Dashi Bar Hanare: Take stock of the best broth
Next January, the eyes of the gastronomic world will be fixed on Nihonbashi as Denmark's Noma restaurant, recently voted top again in the World 50 Best list, opens for an extended pop-up inside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. No need to wait that long to discover this rapidly reviving neighborhood, though:...
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 15, 2014
Michelin-starred chef fears loss of tradition
At his three-star Michelin restaurant in Tokyo, Yoshihiro Murata serves elaborate 12-course meals of delicate Japanese food. But his real passion is to make sure simple, traditional food is passed on to the next generation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
May 13, 2014
Café Indépendants
You don't have to be hip to enter Café Indépendants, but it helps. Located in the basement of the old Mainichi Shimbun Kyoto bureau, Indépendants is the kind of cafe frequented by the artsy set. There is a version of this cafe in every city all over the world. In Cork, where I grew up, that cafe was...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / KYOTO RESTAURANTS
May 13, 2014
Nanaezushi: Edo-kei sushi without the sticker shock
We need to talk about sushi. First, any discussion of sushi isn't worth its wasabi without a mention of the perspicacious octogenarian Jiro Ono, star of the documentary "Jiro Dreams of Sushi," about his Michelin-starred restaurant in Ginza — you know, the one that Obama took Abe to, or was it the other...
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NATURE'S PANTRY
Apr 29, 2014
A natural miso and soy factory that is always full of beans
Although rice is certainly the king of Japanese food, soybeans are the queen. Small makers of miso, soy sauce and tofu dot the landscape of Japan, but blink once and you will notice that the local shops are closing up as supermarket culture takes over daily life.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 29, 2014
Shooters Sports Bar and Grill: A taste of America in Nagoya
Having first opened its doors in 1997, Shooters is the longest running and most successful international restaurant in Nagoya. But it is not only its longevity that makes this a great place to hang out: It also boasts friendly staff, a well-stocked bar and generous portions of Americana cuisine.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / CULINARY TOOLBOX
Apr 29, 2014
How to sharpen your homemade sushi skills
"Why don't you come around to the other side of the counter?" sushi chef Junichi Onuki chirped from behind the bar. He laid down the sharp yanagi-ba knife he'd been using to slice fillets of sea bream and beckoned in a gesture of welcome.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NAGOYA RESTAURANTS
Apr 29, 2014
The Corner: Great burgers at any angle
The Corner is a tiny little nook of a place that has been running since 2011 and (although this may be contested by some) serves the best burger in town. A "New York-style bar," The Corner is keen to put the gourmet into burger making, as every patty is handmade and every bun spread with a unique secret...
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 26, 2014
Chinese who chicken out over duck blood
No matter how weird or disgusting the food scandal in rural China, it'll almost certainly happen again if profitable. The latest involves a 'mom and pop' duck blood counterfeiting ring.

Longform

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