FOOD!

[xeefus]

Re: FOOD!



Is there anyone here who knows much (or enough) about the food over in japan? I'm going there with a friend (next year though) but have no clue about what kind of food I should expect really. I was hoping to get some good sushi but I guess that is way off... :P</p>

What should I try there, and what should I avoid? Going to tokyo most likely, are there any restaurants there which I should know of?</p>

Thanks.
</p>

[Real Real]

Re: FOOD!

There's no one answer to your question about which restaurants in Tokyo you should know. Tokyo is one of, if not the best, food cities in the world. You can eat at almost the highest possible level at just about any type of cuisine that you can think of. It's just a question of how much you are willing to spend. Pick a type of food (sushi, steak, french, izakaya, italian) and google food blogs.

[Nullsleep]

Re: FOOD!



Hey Xeefus, for sushi I would absolutely recommend hitting one of the small sushi places on the side streets right near Tsukiji Market. Makes for a good breakfast right after an early morning stroll through the market itself.</p>

I don't know much about the high-end restaurants in Tokyo but personally, when I'm traveling, I prefer to stumble upon little hole in the wall places and leave things up to chance. It worked for me, I had some of the best food of my life over there -- innumerable bowls of amazing ramen of all varieties, delicious grilled seafood and meat, and some things that I'm still not even sure about the identity of.
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[kira]

Re: FOOD!

[quote user="danieldy"]

[quote user="ddohnggo"]per se is excellent. the service is fantastic and the food is amazing. when we were there we ate like a 12 course meal (i don't remember the exact #) in 2.5 hours. le bernardin was slow in comparison.
[/quote]</p>

what i love the most about Per Se is how it reminds me of a pilgrimage. experiencing one of Keller's 4 hour dinner marathons somehow magically bonds people all over the world. sharing different viewpoints on dishes and the experience as a whole has always been very fun for me. </p>

personally, i found per se's service to be the real star of the night. never before have i had such attentive, unobtrusive, and entertaining service. it was almost like watching a show-- only you're part of it. memorable dishes include oysters and pearls, coffee and doughnuts, the braised short ribs, and those salmon cones they serve as an amuse bouche. interestingly, i thought the famous butter poached lobster was pretty mediocre.</p>

one more thing, ddohnggo? how in the world did u finish the tasting menu in 2.5 hours?! when i was at per se (took the chef's tasting menu and added all the supplements) took around 4 hours. i hope to hit up the french laundry sometime this fall and will opt for the vegetable tasting menu this time around. i hear it's wildly creative and makes you think of vegetables in a different light. (BTW, has anyone tried the restaurant Ubuntu in Napa Valley?) Best vegetarian restaurant ever.</p>

[/quote]</p>

I am not a vegetarian but I choose this most times when I have tasting menu. I am slightly picky, but I do really love vegetables. I find that this is where some of the most creative food exists. It is quite amazing what comes out of that restriction.</p>

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[xeefus]

Re: FOOD!



Didn't really think that Japan would have all kinds of food, but I was hoping to get something from the Japanese culture foremost.</p>

Oh well, I'll use google a while. Thanks for the answers!
</p>

[Pinoy]

Re: FOOD!

[quote user="xeefus"]

Is there anyone here who knows much (or enough) about the food over in japan? I'm going there with a friend (next year though) but have no clue about what kind of food I should expect really. I was hoping to get some good sushi but I guess that is way off... :P</p>

What should I try there, and what should I avoid? Going to tokyo most likely, are there any restaurants there which I should know of?</p>

Thanks.
</p>

[/quote]</p>

hey buddy-- japan is a goldmine for food. when i was there, i stayed at the oakwood in tokyo midtown, which is located in Roppongi. lots of good bars and clubs around there. if wine is your thing, there's this great wine bar in Roppongi called Elevage. It serves rare wine by the glass-- quite an experience. Another great wine bar is Les Vinum. It mixes tapas and wine.. very interesting. Relatively affordable as well.
</p>

For food, I'd recommend a little of everything:</p>

Sushi- try one of the small sushi joints in Tsukiji market (make sure to get there early for the freshest fish), but if you're willing to spend more, there is also sushi mizutani in Ginza. </p>

Tempura- Tempura Yoshida (if I remember correctly). This place is located in Roppongi-- its also got 1 or 2 michelin stars..i forget. excellent tempura. very light and TASTY batter (who knew tempura batter could be so tasty.. its like it had some sesame in it..)</p>

Steak- try out dons de la nature. best steak i've had in my life bar none.. It beats out Mastro's, Peter Lugers, Cut, as well as numerous high end steak houses in Japan (Aragawa and the like). Simply the most well marbled piece of meat I've ever had.</p>

Kaiseki- honestly, I haven't found a good kaiseki joint in Tokyo. People rave on and on about Ryugin. It earned 2 Michelin stars, but I was very very unimpressed with the restaurant. A few good dishes here and there, but overall very uninspiring. Save your money and just hit up Urasawa in LA :D</p>

Ramen- too many places to list. My favorite has gotta be Menya Kissou though. Google it and you'll find some information on it. Menu is in all japanese and the owners / waitresses don't speak a lick of Japanese. No worries though-- they only serve one type of Ramen. Make sure to order an egg to put into your ramen. Its the only thing that costs Y100 on the menu, but its basically a egg that's been flash boiled leaving the white hard but the yolk thick and gooey. </p>

Oh, and in addition to sushi, Tsukiji market is a haven for foodies. I stumbled across a shop that only served tamago! They had like 30 different kinds of tamago..amazing. </p>

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[theetruscan]

Re: FOOD!

[quote user="xeefus"]

Is there anyone here who knows much (or enough) about the food over in japan? I'm going there with a friend (next year though) but have no clue about what kind of food I should expect really. I was hoping to get some good sushi but I guess that is way off... :P</p>

What should I try there, and what should I avoid? Going to tokyo most likely, are there any restaurants there which I should know of?</p>

Thanks.
</p>

[/quote]
</p>

So, I would be happy to make suggestions in the following categories:</p>

Soba, Ramen, Tonkatsu, Shujin Riori (spelling), Kaiseki, Sushi, Donburi, sukiyaki, other (specify). </p>

My last trip in Tokyo I did something like 25 recommended restaurants (over 11 days, I'm hardcore, no wonder I can't wear SZ brands) , and I have plenty of friends and family living there.</p>

Tokyo has more restaurants than you can understand. There are things you need to try in every category I listed except possibly pizza and Shujin Riori. Soba shops are old-man food, so they're cheap, delicious, and super traditional (read scripty kanji or be ready for surprises). Ramen shops are the ultimate source of incredibly delicious $6 lunches. For Kaiseki dinners you can easily spend $80-500 for an elaborate meal like nothing you'll see in the west. For sushi, you can do delicious, but not very artful sushi better tasting than anything I've found in NYC at any price for about $35, or go all out at Jiro for $80-250 for something unreal. Tonkatsu is ultimate drunk food, sukiyaki is what it is here, just better.</p>

For a few quick samples of kaiseki, check out some of the pics I snapped.</p>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theetruscan/sets/72157605142539649/</p>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theetruscan/sets/72157605131761035/</p>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/theetruscan/sets/72157605131743765/

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[Chinorlz]

Re: FOOD!

Tonight is the girlfriend's birthday.... in true SZ fashion form I got her a size 0-4 adjustable womens dressform and will be taking her out to Le Reve (guy moved back out here after working at Troisgrois and the Le Cirque) then some drinks hehehe

[Avantster]

Re: FOOD!



wire, I didn't know you could get that at Pierre Herme, was this in Paris?
</p>

[quote user="Chinorlz"]Tonight is the girlfriend's birthday.... in true SZ fashion form I got her a size 0-4 adjustable womens dressform and will be taking her out to Le Reve (guy moved back out here after working at Troisgrois and the Le Cirque) then some drinks hehehe
[/quote]</p>

Sounds awesome! Hope you guys have a great time.</p>

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[xeefus]

Re: FOOD!



Wow... the answers are great, I'll hope I can go try it all. Thanks a lot danieldy and thetruscan (? hope I got your nickname right...)</p>

I'm not really sure if I'm a big fan of wine, but I can try it if it's not too expensive. I don't dislike wine but I don't drink it very often. :)</p>

I was also wondering a little about yakiniku, which is originally from Korea but is served in Japan too as I've understood it, which is served like this in sweden (at least where I live): grilled kobe beef, some kind of sauce with soy, apple cider, sesame seeds, not sure about all the ingredients though but it has got a kind of sweet-salty taste which I really like. But, I can imagine it's not close to what I'll find over in Japan right? I guess there's a little more variety there though...</p>

</p>

Thanks again
</p>

[Johnny]

Re: FOOD!



wire where is pierre herme - i'm going to paris on friday.</P>


also - anyone have anysuggestions for a good, but not 3 michelin starred or bog-standard-steake-frites-bistro dinner in paris?</P>

[Diego]

Re: FOOD!



Here's an article on steak frites that may help you Johnny:</p>

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/travel/29Choice.html?pagewanted=1 </p>

edit- V sounds delicious Daniel. </p>

[Pinoy]

Re: FOOD!

[quote user="xeefus"]

I was also wondering a little about yakiniku, which is originally from Korea but is served in Japan too as I've understood it, which is served like this in sweden (at least where I live): grilled kobe beef, some kind of sauce with soy, apple cider, sesame seeds, not sure about all the ingredients though but it has got a kind of sweet-salty taste which I really like. But, I can imagine it's not close to what I'll find over in Japan right? I guess there's a little more variety there though...
</p>

[/quote]</p>

if i'm not mistaken, yakiniku literally means grilled beef. the best places usually serve the meat raw and have you cook it over a charcoal grill. based on my experience, the meat usually has no marinade and after grilling, you may choose to dip it in one of many sauces? usually a sweet soy sauce (sake + mirin + soy sauce mixture) or something similar. also, in my previous post, i forgot to mention maisen, a famous tonkatsu joint in japan. there's one right near omotesando hills, which is a perfect break after some serious shopping : tonkatsu is basically breaded porkchop. when you go to maisen, make sure to order the special black pork (kurobuta) tonkatsu. it will blow your mind. if you're eating with someone else, have them try the katsu don (breaded pork cooked with eggs and onions over rice). Incredible.</p>

[Johnny]

Re: FOOD!

thank you

[theetruscan]

Re: FOOD!



Johnny,</p>

I would recommend both Chez Michel, a delicious fix-price style bistro. Usually has around 15-20 things on the menu a few of which push it above 30-35 euro for 3 courses. Simply amazing.</p>

And, Aux Lyonnais, another fixed price restaurant around 30 euro has some stunningly delicious food. Their style is VERY rich though. Probably among my favorite spots, but you will feel quite full. If they have the dandelion salad or the boudin noir on the menu, just get them. If you hate them, I'll cry. </p>

</p>

EDIT: Dug up links. They're links to Frommer's, which is worthless, but they have addresses and phone numbers.</p>

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/paris/D41217.html</p>

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/paris/D41158.html

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