Tag - fine-dining

 
 

FINE DINING

When chef Yoshihiro Kitagawa returned to his hometown of Matsusaka to open Shibousai Kitagawa in 2015, he chose a tranquil location on the rural fringe of the city.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Dec 22, 2024
Shibousai Kitagawa: Creative Chinese in the home of Matsusaka wagyu
Alongside the superlative array of vegetable appetizers, a focal point at Shibousai Kitagawa is the revered local Matsusaka wagyu.
Koichi Katsumata is the first chef to receive a Michelin star in Japan for an 'assiette dessert' (dessert course) restaurant
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 8, 2024
Welcome to Yama, Japan’s first Michelin-starred dessert restaurant
“We don’t just serve food — we serve memories, stories and a sense of place,” says chef Koichi Katsumata.
Despite a range of backgrounds and culinary traditions, food served as the ultimate lingua franca for chefs touring Nagano Prefecture.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Dec 1, 2024
Putting mountainous Nagano on a plate
Nagano’s natural bounty became the star attraction as chefs from Europe, Southeast Asia and Oceania showed off their chops with local ingredients.
British-born Daniel Calvert earned his third Michelin star last month — a stunning achievement considering his restaurant, Sezanne, has only been open for just over three years.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 24, 2024
Tokyo’s newest three-star chef wants ‘harmony across every detail’
Daniel Calvert has managed to reach the pinnacle of the culinary world just three years after opening fine French dining restaurant Sezanne.
Originally from Hiroshima, chef Kenichi Nishi moved to Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, to have better access to the top-flight seafood of Sasue Maeda.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Nov 17, 2024
Chisou Nishi Kenichi: Modern French with unrivaled Shizuoka seafood
When a chef relocates to be within walking distance of his favorite fishmonger, you know the fish must be truly special.
Rene Redzepi unveils his future for Noma as well as the MAD Symposium, an event 'to create a lasting generational foundation and structure that ensures that we stay creative and impactful for a lifetime.'
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 1, 2024
After Kyoto residency, Rene Redzepi says 'Noma will exist as a pop-up'
"You go there to feel something but then you can’t feel it again — it’s gone," Redzepi says. "I’m excited for the restaurant to operate like that.”
The dining room at Ca'enne is as authentically rustic as the ingredients — all from Nagano Prefecture's Yatsugatake region — that chef Noriyuki Usui cooks with.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Oct 20, 2024
Ca’enne: Into the Yatsugatake mountains for Nagano’s freshest produce
For a restaurant that only uses ingredients from a landlocked region, there is a surprising amount of excellent fish on chef Noriyuki Usui’s menu.
The earth tones and suave furnishings of Sezanne's dining room come courtesy of Hong Kong designer Andre Fu.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 17, 2024
Michelin stars awarded to 170 Tokyo restaurants
A glimmering constellation of coveted accolades lights the way for foodies and fine diners in the Japanese capital.
For one night in Tokyo last month, Daniel Calvert (left) and Quique Dacosta brought their wildly different culinary styles together into a remarkable service.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Oct 6, 2024
A meeting of Michelin minds at Tokyo's Sezanne
Daniel Calvert says no to most requests for pop-ups at two-Michelin-starred Sezanne — except when the chance to work with three-starred Quique Dacosta came up.
Through trial and error, Tashi Gyamtso and his team meticulously selected a variety of herbs and vegetables best suited to Yufuin’s unique altitude, climate and soil conditions — and which now form the backbone of Jimgu's menu.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Sep 22, 2024
Jimgu: A farm-driven restaurant of outstanding local variety
Three years before chef Tashi Gyamtso served his first meal at Jimgu, he arrived in Oita Prefecture to build the farm that stocks his kitchen today.
The beauty of 'kaiseki' (Japanese haute cuisine), chef Shinichiro Takagi says, is that it represents the best elements of Japan's culinary traditional all working in tandem.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Aug 18, 2024
Shinichiro Takagi sees a way forward for fine dining in Japan
The two-Michelin-starred chef sees two ways forward for fine dining in Japan: fostering domestic talent and adapting to international diners.
Chef Hironori Fujii moved his restaurant, Oryouri Fujii, to the Iwase district of Toyama City in 2019, finding the ideal setting in its historic surroundings.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Aug 4, 2024
Oryouri Fujii: High-end Japanese cuisine in a picture-perfect Toyama setting
Chef Hironori Fujii will serve according to the seasons: ‘ayu’ (sweetfish) and ‘nodoguro’ (blackthroat perch) in summer; snow crab and yellowtail in winter.
Founder and owner Kazunori Otowa (left) in the kitchen of his eponymous restaurant together with his two sons, head chef Hajime Otowa (center) and restaurant manager Sou Otowa.
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Jun 22, 2024
Kazunori Otowa: Tochigi’s patriarch of French fine dining
Superb cuisine, family values and deep regional roots have elevated Restaurant Otowa to its lofty position.
The pandemic forced Rene Redzepi and Noma to adjust their 2023 pop-up from autumn to spring. Later this year, the restaurant will be returning to Kyoto to execute its preferred fall menu.
LIFE / Food & Drink
Mar 6, 2024
Rene Redzepi is bringing Noma back to Kyoto this fall
One of the world's best chefs just can't seem to stay away from Japan's ancient capital.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 23, 2023
Japan tastes success at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony
The evening in Singapore marked the first full, in-person night of awards since the pandemic began.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 14, 2023
Noma Kyoto’s eclectic beverage lineup leaves no stone unturned
As with the food menu, the beverage program at Noma Kyoto is the fruit of long, deep and, by all accounts, highly enjoyable consideration by Noma’s head sommelier, Ava Mees List.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 12, 2023
At Noma Kyoto, chef Rene Redzepi plants ‘seeds’ for the future
The world's best chef is experimenting with the next phase of fine dining at his Kyoto pop-up.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Jan 10, 2023
Noma, rated the world’s best restaurant, is closing its doors
Is the end of Rene Redzepi's acclaimed restaurant the canary in fine dining's coal mine?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Destination Restaurants
Dec 4, 2022
At Akai, tranquil dining without distractions
Minutes from the sacred island of Miyajima, chef Kenji Akai's cuisine showcases its own divine simplicity.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 18, 2022
Michelin awards 200 Tokyo restaurants a total 263 stars for 2023
Between Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto, nearly 400 restaurants in Japan proved worthy of at least one illustrious Michelin star.

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Yasuyuki Yoshida stirs a brew in a fermentation tank at his brewery in Hakusan.
The quake that shook Noto's sake brewing tradition