Den Tokyo

A conversation with Zaiyu san a night before gave me some light bulb moments💡 . I asked a simple question about whether he has changed his sequence of the courses which appeared different from before. He gave me such a great answer. He said it is determined by the ingredients and the flow of the customers, so every time it is different. There are a lot of regulars but also new customers at Den, they can be of different ages, some drink and some don’t. It has been 16 years since Den opened, and it is important to 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠.

And suddenly I have this revelation. Not only do they change ingredients by seasonality and by day, they change the food based on each individual. You may see different dishes for each guest on the same day, come at different timing and sequence.

That must be crazy hectic for a kitchen. Even if you want to embrace this practice, you need to have the knowledge of ingredients, the skills to improvise and execute , the organization inside the kitchen and with FOH, but Den nails it.

This was my 35th times to Den, despite coming less frequently than before, every time it was a blast. Because they keep changing, I always felt so excited and never bored. The miso marinated Foie Gras Monaka was still a hit, this time with Satsumaimo 🍠 and iburigakko (smoked pickled radish); the fragrant fresh 🥜 tofu, smokey 🍆 with uni & ikura, tDFC 🐔with fermented 🌶, aged 松鯛 🐟with nori sauce, the kinmedai owan with wintermelon and awesome dashi. Zaiyu San’s beef is still so incredibly delicious, misuji (oyster blade) marinated in dashi for a week, served with 鶴紫tsurumurasaki and rocket piment.

The rice with 8 kinds of 🍄 from Mt Fuji was out of the world! These mushrooms were confit in soy bean oil then butter sautéed at the end before added to the dashi cooked rice. Sooooooooooo good. Our dessert came with an adorable “My Heart” grape in the shape of 💜. So cute. My meal was so spectacular and I learnt so many new things.

Only your family will put all these efforts to make everything the best for you. That’s why eating at Den always feel like home. What Den is doing for their customers is truly the ultimate form of hospitality. Less

Den is always great to go to. The food is funny, delicious and well executed. The “easy to draw man” salad is one of the best you can get with its different textures and tastes created by treating each ingredient different. The DKF with a seasonal filling is succulent and delicious.
For me the highlight besides the classics was the エボダイ（疣鯛）/Butterfish, Ebodai. The fillet was grilled and the head deep fried so one could eat it almost as a fish chip. Excellent, deep flavor and wonderful texture. The two types of rice are comfort food at its highest level.
This and one of the best hospitality you will find in Japan which make you always instantly at home, makes each meal a special one. It has been too long, I will return much sooner. Less

Rice, kabocha bushi, caviar
白米、かぼちゃぶし、キャビア

白米にキャビア、そして周りには枕崎の鰹節屋さんとコラボレートして作ったという南瓜の節。

鰹節のような燻香の中に凝縮された甘味が感じられる。

スモークしたカンズリのオイルが添えられているので、香りが共鳴して増幅される。

こちらも、日本の食文化を外部の視点で深く掘り下げるトーマスならではの発想で、大いに刺激的。 Less

.
神宮前の「傳 (DEN)」

A warm and welcoming restaurant serving Japanese cuisine with a sense of creativity.
もはや海外の方から聞くことの方が多かったお店。
Puchiにもようやく会えました🐶

2枚目: フォワグラ最中 Foie gras monaka
3枚目: デンタッキー Dentucky
4枚目: 豚フィレ ほうれん草と牡蠣のソース
　　　Pork fillet with spinach and oyster sauce
5枚目: 季節のサラダ Seasonal Salad
6枚目: 筍と蛤のお椀
　　　Bowl of bamboo shoots and clams
7枚目: 蛍烏賊の炊き込みご飯
　　　Rice cooked with firefly squid

楽しかったです！ありがとうございます！
そして今年もAsia’s 50 Best Restaurants 受賞おめでとうございます🎊

#傳 #神宮前グルメ #外苑前グルメ #日本料理 #シェフ #チワワ #食べログシルバー #サイン本 #ご馳走様でした #Den #JapaneseCuisine #ChefsHat #chihuahua #japaneserestaurant #jingumae #gaienmae #tabelog #asias50best #exploreage Less

DENtucky Fried Chicken, an iconic dish of this restaurant ranked No.3 in Asia with two Michelin stars

傳タッキーフライドチキン

「傳」のアイコン的一品。今回の中身は、黒豆、松の実、クコの実、高麗人参。

2021年1月

Den (Jingumae, Tokyo)
神宮前「傳」

#den #tokyoeats #tokyorestaurant #dentucky #dentuckyfriedchicken #傳 #東京グルメ #渋谷区グルメ #東京割烹 #東京日本料理 #傳タッキー
#michelin #tabelog #ミシュラン #食べログ #worlds50best #asias50best #アジアのベストレストラン50 #世界のベストレストラン50 #opinionatedaboutdining
#美味しいもの好きな人と繋がりたい #旅好きな人と繋がりたい #食べるの好きな人と繋がりたい Less

(SWIPE FOR MORE PICS) All the happy moments during the collaboration lunch of @ristorantelido84 x Den @zaiyuhasegawa . Food was so great, in fact, exceeding all my expectation.
_
The company, super!!!! It was like 新年会New Year Gathering in Japan, with an Italian theme. Besides seeing @zaiyuhasegawa san and team Den, there were Italian cuisine chefs @luca.fantin @hidehito_hirayama Of @alterego.tokyo , @susumu0shimizu Of @restaurant_anis , great friends from around the world, my ex-crush @theskinnybib 😜, nice couples @eiseisaito & @yuchupetitechu and @tokyofoodfile & @hanabidreaming , @ronomnom And @melindajoe, @haradaiz , super foodie @yasu.aota , Even @hiroyasu_kawate San had a cameo! So nice to see them again .
_
And I was so excited to finally meet @paolo_vizzari !!! We had been talking on IG and FB for awhile and it was so wonderful to meet him in person! The nicest soul
_
#tokyo #littlemeg_tokyo #littlemeg_den #littlemeg_lido84 #littlemeg_denxlido84 #lido84 #傳 #theartofplating #gastroart #gastronogram @gastroart @theartofplating @gastronogram #food #foodstagram #foodies #foodpics #lefooding @lefooding #instafood #instagramers #gourmet #amazing #iphonesia #photooftheday #bestoftheday #igdaily #worlds50best #asias50best #best #friends Less

Video 1 & Pic 2-3: イカ、燻製した鰻バター、 菊芋の「 マヨネーズ」
Cuttlefish, Smoked Eel Butter, Jerusalem Artichoke “Mayonnaise”.
_
Pic 4 : 春キャベツ 、 山椒のペーストと山椒の実、生の唐墨
Spring Cabbage, Sansho Paste and Sansho Seeds, Raw Karasumi (Bottarga)
_
Video 5 & Pic 6-7: リゾート、黒にんにく、ベリー
Risotto, Black Fermented Garlic, Berries
_
Pic 8-9: スモークサーディンの唐揚げ 、はちみつ、サラダ Smoked and Fried Freshwater Sardines, Honey, Salad
_
Pic 10: 和栗、ウィスキーキャラメル、抹茶パウダー
Japanese Chestnut, Whisky Caramel, Matcha Powder
_
@[instagram] #LiDen84 (Lido 84 X Den), Tokyo (1.13.2020)
_
The rest of the dishes in this collaboration was nothing short of spectacular. In particular two dishes I have already put it into my short list of #littlemeg_best2020 ! First was the cuttlefish dish you saw in the video. As @paolo_vizzari explained to explain to me, the cuttlefish was cleaned whole, applied with sugar and salt for 15 mins and then washed, dried under a fan in the fridge for 12 hours and cut into like sticky rice size. It was shaped almost like a shari, then glazed with smoked eel butter and covered with an emulsion of Jerusalem artichoke. The texture was simply mind blowing, it really reminded us of sushi rice (see cross section pic in pic 3). The emulsion too, so so delicious. Seriously next level creation!
_
The risotto and sardine dish, I had both 3 times already, and team Lido 84 managed to them even better than before. So impressed.
_
The dessert also goes straight into my best 2020 dessert short list. Zaiyu san gave some of the Japanese chestnut paste leftover from making “栗きんとん kuri kinton” (common dessert for new year) for osechi, and they made this super delicious chestnut paste dusted with matcha powder, the bottom was a sauce of caramelised milk with whisky, sooooooo delicious, like an イタリアン栗きんとん Italian Kuri Kinton. Best collaboration of east and west. Genius! Less

(SWIPE TO SEE MORE PICS) : Final Cacio e Pepe “En Vessie”. Perfectly al dente, with just the right amount of peppery pecorino sauce coating each rigatoni. So good. The recipe does not change but the texture did vary in different location. Because when something so simple with so few ingredients, every detail - water, temperature, etc counts.
_
Many people asked me why use the pig’s bladder to cook the pasta? The last picture is the answer #LiDen84 #Lido84xDen #littlemeg_best2019 #bestforever
_
#tokyo #littlemeg_tokyo #littlemeg_den #littlemeg_lido84 #littlemeg_denxlido84 #lido84 #傳 #theartofplating #gastroart #gastronogram @gastroart @theartofplating @gastronogram #food #foodstagram #foodies #foodpics #lefooding @lefooding #instafood #instagramers #gourmet #amazing #iphonesia #photooftheday #bestoftheday #igdaily #worlds50best #asias50best #cacioepepe Less

The most important meal for me on New Year day today is to have Den’s osechi! This has been my tradition now ever since I had my first osechi by Team Den. The contents are about the same as these items have specific symbolic meanings so they are not supposed to be omitted or changed drastically. You can see the item list in the last pic and most of the explanations are in my old posts (#littlemeg_osechi2018 , #littlemeg_osechi2019 ) This year a new item to replace the pork was the cooked beef cheek. All the tendons, sweet and savory sauce, so delicious.
_
Osechi is a very important food item in Japan during new year, and it can get very expensive. You can see some in basement supermarket at department stores that cost 35000 -50000 yen even they are not from any famous restaurants. In Tokyo and Kyoto, some premium restaurants can charge up to 200K yen for an osechi 😱 .
_
Zaiyu san always keeps their osechi very reasonably priced around 36000 (only increased by very little, relative to the surge in ingredient cost in Japan) without compromising on quality. It is his same philosophy for his restaurant. He only adjusted the price very little over years, because he wanted it to be affordable for more people who want to come to Den. Danny of Chairman also has the same belief, and why Chairman is still not crazily expensive despite using the highest quality ingredients and located at central with outrageous rent.
_
I remember Chef Riccardo @ristorantelido84 of Lido 84 who is Zaiyu san’s good friend also said the same thing. His tasting menu is only 90 euros, consider the fine dining menu, service, setting and restaurant close to the river side, it is almost ridiculous and too cheap. But he said he wants more young people to be able to try his food, even for fine dining it is something attainable for them. I always have so much respect to them. Ultimately, if more people can enjoy their food and feel satisfied, they find it the best reward, much more than money. Less