Peter Verey

Do not possess enough superlatives for this one . A 33 year old chef is creating absolute magic here , cannot fault the execution, the concept of dishes, the vibe , the service , all exemplary . There is a reason that Yamazaki is booked solid for the next 12 months .
(So joining @jtfoodcation may be the best way to secure the experience)
Would donate an organ to come back ….

Clean and sweet start with Hamaguri clam broth, and sweet early season Bamboo. A super simple dish but had great harmony .

Steamed Mochi rice , tempura of smelt and lily bulb with caviar . The caviar serves as the salt for the tempura . Balanced !

Shirako is chargrilled and is a pontoon in the midst of white miso broth with sweet daikon, and romanesco .

The best Eel of my life followed , charred brilliantly, mild in flavour , with spring vegetables in white miso paste

Kinmedai was indeed splendid , grilled aggressively on the coals , the end result was stupefying, shattering skin and mi cuit flesh . Paired with cabbage in chicken dashi .

Snow crab was bursting with oceanic sweetness, the sauce made from crab roe and sake . Stunning .

The body of the crab was turned into a croquette with Kuruma ebi , the prawn also turned into the sauce .

Duck was perfectly cooked and paired with a European style black garlic sauce , light but powerful.

Rice course was a highlight and despite the group being full, we pretty much all had seconds . Served with Mountain wasabi blossoms which received a good burst of wok Hei , herring roe and the perfect egg yolk .

Dessert was another case of ingenuity , chestnut skin is ground then infused in milk before being reduced and turned into the creamiest of gelato. The flesh is mashed and turned into brûlée . Less

French restaurants that specialise in game meat are pretty rare in France so it’s great that @lature_restaurant has made a name for themselves here . Very concise and interesting cooking , some fun ingredients.

I don’t usually mention amuse bouche as they have become a little generic in the world of fine dining (uni,caviar, tartlets, crudo etc ..) but this was a different take which was appreciated .

Deer blood macaron sets the scene for the meal , a venison boudin noir with the blood also used for the macaron pastry . Nice balance of sweetness , great start .
Ayu and potato croquette is a crowd pleaser .
Pumpkin mousse with shrimp and vanilla consommé , looks and feels like chawanmushi but subtle differences in texture and flavour .
Finally a nourishing Venison bone broth with venison leg meat , matsutake , sudaichi zest ,chawanmushi .

Scallop , wild mushroom and bacon fricasee , aged sweet potato custard is the first of the larger courses, an excellent Alsatian fricasee and loved the sweet potato custard .

Badger , wild boar , venison and foie gras pate en croute . Textbook pate en croute with an interesting ingredient! But the key to making this stand out was simply temperature , pate en croute is often served with a slight fridge chill , this was room temp and the texture was soft and yielding .

Bonito , with zucchini , tomato and perilla sauce and tomato and dill water . Have had versions of this dish at every Kaiseki so far , can’t go wrong with Bonito tataki .

Ayu fish pie , a forcemeat of Ayu and scallop has encased the ayu fillets, the pastry is terrific .

Great quality Ezo Venison with bordelaise sauce , eggplant and potato crisp . Well executed classic

Pear and chestnut Mont Blanc on meringue base . The meringue adds a different texture to the Mont Blanc . Less

Boss Tanaka describes himself as a Meat Sommelier , after a life time in the trade he has built an empire , 18 restaurants in Japan with new ventures soon to open in Singapore and Dubai ( perhaps HK too ) .
Despite this he spends 6 nights a week , cooking for a counter of 9 guests at his flag ship restaurant . Work ethic is clearly insane .

For Nikuyatanaka Ginza , he buys an entire cow roughly every 2 weeks , he is looking for female cattle only , virgin and 45-51 months in age . This is roughly twice the age that Wagyu cattle are generally slaughtered . This results in a soft and tender flavour and slightly less fat .

The menu runs for 13 courses , 9 of which feature the beef .

47 month female Kobe beef - the first bite , tender and marbled , almost tastes like Maguro .

Beef and turbot roll- one of his signatures , clean and umami laden
Confit Botan shrimp with caviar - beautifully cooked shrimp
Kobe rump tataki - charcoal flavour comes thru , once again the meat and its juices is transcending

Fugu shirako with black truffle - shirako and truffle 👌

Beef tongue roast - this tongue was cooked in front of us for an around an hour , with various charcoal cooking methods . It was so light and flavourful

Shabu Shabu with oboro kelp - a little too subtle for me and found the kelp too strong

Ramen with beef consommé - great broth

Kobe beef tenderloin - I rarely order tenderloin but this was terrific , its temperature and texture was tender yet somehow reminiscent of raw squid , the skin approached Peking duck level of crisp and a light smoke ring had also formed despite minimal cooking . This was art . Less

Despite 2 Michelin stars and a high Tabelog rating I was somehow unprepared for how good Myoujyako would be .
An effortlessly minimalist space which does well to hone in on the concept of purity that transcends the menu. Water is a big feature with 2 courses relying purely on sea water as the flavour agent . Zero dashi is used .
We start off with the essence of Myoujyaku , sweet potato boiled in water and salt. The potato is firm yet very tender and the water has taken on a lot of its sweetness.
Gently cooked pike eel is paired with chrysanthemum petals , beautiful and satisfying .
Sashimi course is outstanding , octopus whose skin has been meticulously removed rendering it into a stunning albino colour . The protein has been very lightly cooked but still feels raw, it’s cut in a way to relax the tissues and give a satisfying melting bite , it tastes like raw lobster, an absolutely masterful dish.
Accompanied by two textures of sea bream , also excellent but it’s hard not to be fixated on the Octopus.
Today’s soup is sea water with whelk , clam and winter melon . The additional ingredients reign in the salinity .
Beautifully grilled Amberjack is served with perilla and green onion , love the piquancy of the relish .
Haven’t been a big fan of Turtle in the past but this may start to convert me , texture and flavour reminded me of fish maw and was set with a ginkgo nut cream which also elevated another ingredient that I am not that fond of .
The signature dish is the ayu hand roll , first the head and bones are placed on a super thin egg white crepe , the ayu is then grilled and placed onto the crepe hissing as it releases its steam, you then wrap up the crepe like an envelope . Awesome !
A palate cleanser of sorts follows , multiple marinated chilled fruit ( grapes, fig, peach,persimmon,Asian pear, walnut ) .
Fried dish is again a creative success , edamame paste encasing Bottarga , vegetal and salty .

Continued in comments .. Less

A glimpse of Kyoto Kaiseki in Tokyo . Miyasaka is Michelin starred and Tablelog silver , the food is understated, well curated and overall satisfying .

Highlight was the rice course , the rice was “niebana” freshly cooked, so over the course of 10 minutes it transformed from al dente to “perfect” to a little over as it rested in the claypot , the differences in flavour were also pronounced as time went on .

Each broth or dashi served thru the meal were also excellent .

Boiled soft cod roe and Bean curd skin With Wild vegetables in White miso soup

Tuna and Flounder with Homemade kelp soy sauce

Steamed crab dumplings with rice cake in clear soup

Steamed SHOGOIN radish and “Tajimaguro” beef shabushabu style

Niebana steamed rice, Pickled vegetables, Dried young sardines,
Tuna and fried Red bream with lemon soy sauce

TSUBAKI-MOCHI Less

Lovely Kaiseki lunch yesterday at Tagetsu . Highly rated on Tabelog (4.12) I was nonetheless surprised to be the only foreigner in attendance . Cooking was very clean and precise , there were few standout dishes but every dish was perfectly enjoyable and it added up to a very satisfying meal .

My favourite dish of the meal was certainly the tempura of fig with whipped tofu . The tempura batter was thin and shatteringly crisp , it essentially created a mock pastry layer coating the fig which was ripe but still holding its shape beautifully, the tofu gave a nice respite of texture and from sweetness .

Edamame mochi with corn puree and yuzu peel was the first course , each flavour quite distinct, the yuzu gave a great fragrance.

Mushroom and snapper dashi was also served with a hint of citrus which really elevated the broth.

Wood fired bonito tataki , with perilla sprouts and egg yolk shoyu . Bonito is one of my favourite fish and appears to be in season right now based on my last few meals …no complaints !

Tai ( sea bream) sashimi with uni and okra - lovely sashimi course .

Grilled butterfish with cucumber , myoga and green onion . Fish a little overcooked to my liking , another straight forward dish.

Hassun - tilefish sashimi, shishito pepper stuffed with shrimp paste and sesame
sauce , jellied eggplant , Anago nigiri . The hassun course had one main highlight , the peppers stuffed with shrimp paste and sesame sauce were highly addictive .

Pumpkin and duck mousse , wild mushroom sauce - this dish screamed of autumn despite the sweltering heat outside . Terrific

Grilled conger eel, eel skin with cucumber and sesame. The cold eel skin salad was very refreshing .

Sendai beef round with Japanese pepper sauce and matsutake . Loved the Japanese pepper so floral .

Deep fried Spanish mackerel rice with lotus root , carrot . Rice dish finale was excellent , the fish flaked in larger pieces than usual to match the also larger size of the lotus root . Have since enjoyed 2 of the 5 onigiri that I took home post meal .

Maple and hazelnut monaka
Peach compote with wine jelly and kudzu starch noodles. Always happy with peach desserts . Less

Kicking off a week long food odyssey in Tokyo , most of the week will be piloted by @jtfoodcation , but for the next day or so I had the opportunity to add to the itinerary.
Beginning with @restauranthommage , open for 23 years and holder of 2 Michelin stars , it is one of the leaders of modern French - Japanese dining .

The menu weaves around both French and Japanese characteristics, and is absolutely rock solid with nary a false note and plenty of crescendos .

Oyster - Hokkaido oyster is served very cold , blanketed by champagne jelly , a smooth oyster cream and a punchy oyster sorbet .

Vichyssoise- 2 cold soups ( leek and potato ) interplay with a tower of Sturgeon rillette , beetroot tartare and caviar . Each layer of flavour is pronounced yet together they are a symphony .

Sea urchin/Foie gras/ Yuba
Tohu cream/ Yellow tail tart - despite a previous wave of amuse bouche ( not pictured ) , the third course brings us snacks , straight forward flavours and textures but all interesting and certainly enjoyed the unusual placement of this in the menu .

ShirakawaAmadai- Crispy scaled tilefish is faultless and married with turnips , rice and a light cream sauce .
Abalone- is served with a liver sauce which is lightened with lemon juice and white wine , the abalone is absurdly tender .

Roasted beef from Miyagi- not sure I have ever had Wagyu beef roasted in the oven as opposed to grilled , it’s a familiar roast beef flavour accentuated with a great chicken jus .

Rice puff flavored ice cream
Chocolate sorbet - 2 ice cream desserts , the rice is intensely savoury, the chocolate punctuated with chilli powder and paprika sauce
Jerusalem artichoke- a lovely light finish , Candied Sunchoke with a Sudaichi chiboust and a lemon syrup . Less

6 days in Tokyo has somehow led to 6 sushi omakase bookings , started off last night with what surely will be the most unique of the 6 in terms of style . Sushi sho masa and its owner Masakatsu Oka is devoted on staying true to his mentor Sushi Sho founder Keiji Nakazawa , one of the most influential sushi chefs in the world today . Nakazawa left Japan in 2016 and opened a restaurant in Hawaii , apparently after 7 years he decided he didn’t think much of Island life and just opened his latest venture in New York a few months ago.
Back in Tokyo , there are around a dozen Sushi Sho disciples who carry on his tradition with his blessing .
While I am far from an expert , it appears the sushi sho style leans very traditional Edomae , with a focus on aging as well as a variety of at times strong garnishes .

Generosity is also a Sushi Sho trademark and chef Oka has taken it to the next level here , offering a 54 piece sushi onslaught ( it hovers anywhere between 40 and 60 on a nightly basis ) . It is an astonishing amount of food but I can honestly say that it was only the last few bites where palate fatigue kicked in .

Favourite pieces were Aji with red miso, milky Hokkaido oyster, best Aori Ika I have ever had , Ankimo , Fresh ikura only marinated for 90 seconds and the signature “Mille feuille” of Otoro which was a pale as good prosciutto , sliced very thinly and layered with 4 dabs of wasabi which cut thru the fat incredibly.
Service takes just shy of 3 hours but time does fly , English speakers are well catered for , with the Chef speaking sneaky good English and his assistant is a young chef from Macau who was very excited to see a Macau phone number on his upcoming booking list !

Seems I managed to snag 48 photos out of the 54 and the whole menu or my attempt at it is listed in the comments below, with a couple of ingredients which I clearly misheard . Less

Somehow 6 months have flown by since my last Neighbourhood visit , so popping in for a quick bite before boarding an evening flight was the very least I could do . This visit just cemented that I have to return ASAP.

Sizzling and tender baby squid with a trinity of garlic , herbs and chilli pepper , all balanced and evoking strong Mediterranean vibes .

One of the better tartares that I have had ( and I essentially love them all ) , beef and Sicilian red shrimp is combined , the shrimp both chopped and left in pieces is a delightful sweet note , the herbaceous sauce which lies somewhere between an oil and a pesto is a great accompaniment. Absolute harmony

Revisited with an old fav , a hockey puck of black sausage , a perfect fried egg and a scattering of mushrooms .

Finally a Sichuan accented pigeon with terrific figs , very satisfying. Less

There is always something new to discover at Five foot road .
Like an intriguing Wok fried abalone with wheat (pasta?) that seemed to me to be essentially identical to fregola , paired with a sauce of minced pork and a variety of peppers . The chewiness of the fregola was extremely satisfying .

Cubed Australian Wagyu and porcini in mushroom sauce is a dish I have had a few times , the beef was terrifically juicy on this occasion.

Speaking of juicy the pan fried pork and water chestnut were certainly that , good robust flavour as well.

Chilled noodles were served with pickled chilli sauce , some Sichuan pepper, celery and shredded chicken . This would be a great summer lunch dish .

The final discovery was a glutinous rice and pork belly dish that is a traditional Sichuan CnY dish and can be served as the rice course or as dessert . The rice and pork were mixed with red bean, brown sugar and pistachios and was a very moorish finale.

Great meal as always and great to meet @alena.cym who has recently joined the FFR team ! Less