Eat, Drink, Sleep @Tokyo, Now in Nagasaki

Yoshimaru, Yaesuguchi, Tokyo station, Tokyo(由丸, 八重洲, 東京), Japan.

The Ramyen with pork born soup, Hakata style.
The Ramyen is one of the soul fast food for Japanese. If you know nothing about this food, you should not ask about this noodle. Each Japanese has each favourite style or noodle bar of this dish, combination among the soup, flavour, topping and noodle. The soup will be make from soy source, chicken, Katsuo, Niboshi(dried small fish), sea seed and pork etc. The noodle have vary with the thickness and texture.



I prefer the Hakata or Nagahama style. Normally, they will serve the noodle in pork bone soup, with Kikurage(Cloud ear, one kind of mushroom), Negi(flavour vegetable) and Charcheu(roast pork). The soup is the white and thick,  The noodle is thin and straight.
Please order the food to the staff in the shop.
They also serve Japanese fast foods like the bistro style.

Simpson's in Strand, London, UK

年末年始の休暇でロンドンに滞在し、話の種にとここへやってきた。
結論から言うと街中のfish and chips の店の方がよっぽどましなサービスをしている。ただ、味は イギリスらしい。しっかりとした赤身の肉の塊が出てくる。この肉を食べる為に行く価値はある。どんな肉が好きか、我が身を振り返って、予約を入れた。
Savoyの一角を占めていることを忘れてしまったような、 Savoy自体が忘れてしまっているかどうかは泊まっていない為なんとも言えないが、素晴らしいサーブを見せてくれる。これから行く方は、内装調度やカトラリーの怪しい光に騙されてはいけない。
夏の休暇に訪れたアイラ島の牡蠣とは大違い、磯の香りもどこかへとび、魚の内臓臭い、中もドロッと変わり果てた生牡蠣がスターターとなった。ロンドンの交通系カードでもかじった方が害もなさそうである。ハロッズのオイスターバーでも似たようなものだったから、パリや連合王国の田舎の方がロンドンよりはるかに素晴らしいのだ。テムズ川は河口から遠かったのだ。
メインは当然ローストビーフとした。Roast rib of the Scotish beafという名前で呼ばれている。 日本人は害も益もなく、うるさくないと、適当に扱われているようで、どこを見ても、茶色くなった肉片をあてがわれている。

肉だけではないが、生々しい方が好みで、 ジョージアでもミディアムレアとレアの中間というのが好きなのだ。「レアの方が好みで、 よく焼けてクリスピーになったのを添えてほしい」と注文を出したところ、料理人はウェルダンに近いところを得意げに切り始める。「違う、もっと赤いところだ」と私。一抱えもあるお盆に1キロほどの塊が いくつも載っているのだからどこかにはあるだろう。

日本のホテルで出てくるような和牛とうたってあるものは口の中でとろけるような食感で、これはこれで美味しいが、スコットランドの厳しい気候で草を食んで大きくなった牛は美味い。

かくして3回違うとかえていただいて、割と好みの部位となった、牛肉の細やかな繊維の歯触りとその隙間から肉汁の溢れる美味しいものであった。脂の少ない、しかし、肉肉しい逸品である。

ケントのスパークリングで乾杯しそのまま続けた。nyetimberのロゼなどとあわせてみたい。

最高峰はジェントルメンズ クラブ と言われるロンドンの食事状。高級ホテルの コンシェルジュに聞いてみるのが一番だ。話のタネとしては面白いひと時であった。

二度目は無いだろう。

Simpson's in the strand, London, UK

Sasaki, Kagurazaka(ささ木 神楽坂), Kappo, Japanese, Tokyo, Japan

The restaurant is located in the Kagurazaka, but a little bit far from the main street. The Itamae is 30s, he come in to the Japanese food maister on his middle teenage. His dishes make us feeling the Kyoto taste on the basis and totally real traditional Japanese courses. His dishes are made from foods coming from Japan-wide and seasonal.
This restaurant has three essence of the important point inrestaurant; course, porcelain and beverage.
The soup stock at this restaurant is very nice balance of Katsuo and Kombu.
The signature dish for me is Otsukuri mixed Sashimi decoration. All fishes are very various, fresh but suitably aged. The fish has the timing for eating on the each one, depends on the spices, seasons and cooking methods. The ageing, like the aged beef but not so long, is important on the cooking. The ageing term will be an half day to two days, shorter than meats. The tuna, one of the famous foods in Japanese dishes, must be aged for Sashimi. If you are served very fresh tuna as Sashimi, you feel it very raw and not tasty. The Kobujime(昆布締め), one kind of Sashimi that pickled with Kombu, is very lovely I can feel the flavour of Kombu.
Broiled, steamed, braised etc. all dishes are very beautiful and nice taste. In winter season, they serve the Nabe(鍋, pot) broiled canard, several kind of fish.
The Utsuwa(器 うつわ)is very important part of Japanese food. All kind of catrary has the meaning and rule. Utsuwa make us feeling the season, comfortable and smell. There are four seasons in Japan, but Japanese have twenty four period(節 setu) in one year. The plum blossoms springs in the early spring middle of February. The Itame use the Utsuwas painted plum blossom.
When you go to Japan on summer, Japanese restaurant serve Sashimi on the glass dish, with beautiful cutting. The weather of Japan in summer is wet and hot, but you will feel cool by your sight.
Itame usually uses Wan(Japan lackered wood bowl and lid, see Sakuragawa) for soup. The Wanmono is usually served in bowl and lid. When you open the lid, the steam with nice smell will come to you, the smell will be the soupstock, citrons(like Yuzu) and other fabric.




The dishes are very nice marriage with the alcohol beverage. The alcohol beverage they serve has very various from Japanese rice Sakes to French wines. Sakes are collected from the Japan wide, selected from the famous to local. I usually order the Itame's recommendation, he choose for my courses. The wine selections are coordinated by the wine experts.
The interior of  this restaurant is traditional Japanese style, white wood counter and white based interior. There is counter for 7 persons and you will look at how your courses are cooked and decorated. The Itamae will talk with you about your courses.
The restaurant is very popular for the gourmet in Kagurazaka. I recommend you to make the reservation for your dinner.

Reservation: +81-3-3260-8484

Le Sherry Butt, Bar, La Marais, Paris

The bar is  located near the Saint Paul metro Station in Paris. There are Place de Vouge, Marais and Bastille etc, very famous sightseeing spots around the bar. The bar stands as other bistro or boutique in Paris, once I passed through in front of the bar. When you go into the door, the low light and wood interior is very comfortable.

The barman knows the service on the counter and has the skill for the very basic cocktail. In addition, he may try the new frontier like mixology or some other idea from cooking like Japanese or patissier.
 At first, I ordered one glass of Gimlet as the first time I visit. He has shaken as the modern recipe and with lemon and lime peal to add the flavour into the drink. He also decorated the glass like knife curved lemon peal like Itamae, Japanese chef. The taste and feeling on my tongue is one of the best gimlet on my experience. The cocktail was well shaken, to get chilled, changed like milk white creamy. And he added the citrous flavour into that.  I like very dry but beautiful balance gimlet among sweet, bitter and sour as the Barman at Bar Kakinuma, Japan usually makes. The Paris taste shown me the new European idea of cocktail.


 The flavour and taste is really mixology idea cocktail. But the bartender skill is perfect in the basic of cocktailogy and knowledge in all around of  liquid.
 They also serve a lot of whisky but I have no chance to try that. I will return there.

http://www.sherrybuttparis.com/

Sakuragawa, Kiyamachi, Kyoto (木屋町 櫻川 日本料理 京都), Japan

This restaurant was located in the very beautiful area in Kyoto, near the Kamo Gawa river. It was a little bit warm day in February, like the spring day I had very beautiful sunshine. After passing the Spring coming day, Japanese call Rissyun(立春), several days were warm and another several days were cold like winter.

Once I went into the restaurant, I found the drawn-arc counter around the kitchen space. The Itamae and two staffs were cooking and serving to the custamer. There were several fire area back of the kitchen and I was invited to the seat in front of the very large cutting board. The Itamae, we call the chef of Japanese food, cooked and decolated the courses with eregance.
The Japanese full course has name on each course and has meaning. The first is Sakitsuke(先付), like the starter or amuse busche. After that, the courses will start along Wanmono(椀物), Mukoutuke(向付), Yakimono(焼物), Nimono(煮物), Gohann(ご飯), Kanmi(甘味). There are several style they call the different names, but the course flow are almost same.
I like the taste basic and direction of this restaurant, light salt but it was for the Kanto people, the Kombu flaved dashi and vegitables coming from not only Kyoto.
The menu was start with the starter, boiled petasites with Japanese dashi soupstock. The dashi was thicken with Katakuriko. The dashi, the most important base of Japanese dishes, was so lovely I can smell the tangle(Kombu) and Katsuo, the soupstock in my home was based the flying fish on this season. I can realise the basic and origin of the course taste in the first starter.

After this warm starter, the forteen course are along to the desert. Each course was wonderful. On this article, I would like to introduce my favourite courses from the 15. The Wanmono, the Japanese soup, was the Shirauo, Shinjo and Nanohana, with dashi soup. They served that in the beautiful and modern Japan wan, designed the plam flower and tree.
The yakimono, broiled fish was Nodoguro. It was juicy with oil and very nice smell of the fish. This was the first time, I was able to enjoy what the Nodoguro was.

The Asparagus salad was served as the Hashiyasume. The dressed source was made from the onion but the flavor is the real Japanese style.
I found the Kutani porserin was very beautiful for the Kyoto style Japanese food. I am usually using the porserin from Arita or Imari at my home. The red was different, the Kutani red has the shadow in the red colour. And the blue, yellow, green and brown is very beautiful with the Sashimi of Maguro, white colour fishes and shellfishes.
 In fact, I would not like to write so much on this article. The restaurant does not only serve you the dishes but show and make you know what is the Japanese foods and culture as their style. If you are interested in this restaurant, Please call and make the reservation for your seat. They will entertain you.
The staff said the canal "Takase Gawa" in front of the Kappo will have very beautiful scine on the cherry brosum season. There are a lot of Sakura trees on the canal side. I hope I can come here again on April.