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tokyo food file

Tokyo

Food writer and restaurant reviewer for the Japan Times contact: foodfile (at) me (dot) com

Recent Activity

Sayonara to Le Dessin. Many thanks, Chef Masuda.

It's always sad to say goodbye to a favourite restaurant — even one that I never got to visit as often as I'd have liked. But that was always one of the things about Le Dessin that made it so special: Chef Toshiaki Masuda always followed his own muse —... Continue reading

Posted yesterday at tokyo food file

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Katsuzen: gourmet delicacy, not gourmand grub

A few more images of the excellent Katsuzen in Ginza, home to some of the most refined tonkatsu and ebi-fry in the land. Starting with the inscrutable entrance, with its noren of coarse-woven cotton... Sure you are there for the breaded/deep-fried pork cutlets or the wonderfully deluxe ebi-fry (as previewed... Continue reading

Posted 3 days ago at tokyo food file

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ebi-fry with upmarket aspirations

Sashimi-fresh kuruma-ebi tiger prawn… Green asparagus wrapped in premium ham… A flask of crisp junmai sake… Michelin-quality ebi-fry? You better believe it. All will be revealed — in my Japan Times column tomorrow. And now there it is, up online here… Continue reading

Posted 5 days ago at tokyo food file

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spring meets summer on the plate

This really is my favourite season, when spring segues into early summer, with clear skies, warm sunshine, fresh green foliage on the hillsides -- and still no humidity (or bugs) to spoil the great outdoors. It's a favourite on the plate too, the last tastes of spring overlapping with the... Continue reading

Posted 5 days ago at tokyo food file

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Lest I give the wrong idea… This smoke-house izakaya is actually on street level (not upstairs) I was just riffing on the Beatles lyric: http://bit.ly/13tTPX6

Commented May 13, 2013 on Found my way upstairs and had a smoke... at tokyo food file

Hamaguri and hotaru-ika: an edible seashore (with a message)

Yet another platter of brilliant invention. A seashore composition, with wakame seaweed, sun-dried shrimp and a jumbo hamaguri clam, all arranged on a dune of edible sand (mostly made of dried, powdered iwashi sardines)... …complete with a message in a bottle. As always at Den, things are never exactly what... Continue reading

Posted May 12, 2013 at tokyo food file

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Eric Trochon: grand bistronomie at Girandole in the Park Hyatt

It was a great pleasure to meet and chat with Chef Eric Trochon the other night. And even more so to enjoy some of the dishes that have helped to elevate him to a) MOF status — that's Meilleur Ouvrier de France, one of the highest accolades given to craftsmen,... Continue reading

Posted May 10, 2013 at tokyo food file

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Dassai Bar 23: high-end sake sipping

Here's another good reason [besides Basara] for checking out the looming great Tokyo Square Garden building in Kyobashi. The Dassai Bar 23 opened on Monday with plenty of fanfare, orchids and celebratory garlands. No common or garden izakaya this: it's got to be one of the swishest sake bars in... Continue reading

Posted May 9, 2013 at tokyo food file

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It's just a really small place I came across a while back when I was down on the coast in Enoshima. It's on the Kugenuma main street — the street that the Enoden trains go down — and it's half izakaya, half sobaya, with a small smokehouse attached. But I have no idea of the name…

Commented May 9, 2013 on Found my way upstairs and had a smoke... at tokyo food file

Found my way upstairs and had a smoke...

Three from the smokehouse: A nice plump trout, some slices of kamaboko; and cream cheese. And a bottle of Sapporo "Red Star" lager. I don't even remember the name of the place now. But that fish was good… Continue reading

Posted May 8, 2013 at tokyo food file

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ageing the beef at Oaxen Skafferi, Oslo

This side of beef was aged for a month before arriving, and has hung for a further three weeks we were told. If the flavour is anything like as beautiful as its appearance, it must taste amazing. Oaxen Skafferi is the kind of premium butcher's shop that would enhance any... Continue reading

Posted May 7, 2013 at from Bath to Barcelona… and more

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Why Bath to Barcelona?

Bath is my hometown; and Barcelona was the destination for the first trip through Europe that I documented on this blog. The countries and cities may be different now, but this remains my vehicle for images and words relating to my travels in Europe and the UK. Thanks for dropping... Continue reading

Posted May 7, 2013 at from Bath to Barcelona… and more

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tomato sukiyaki: lunch at Kyobashi Basara

Basara, the "casual" offshoot of the well-renowned old-school ryoriya Aoyagi (Tokushima and Tokyo), has spawned a new branch, on the ground floor of the massive, freshly-opened Tokyo Square Garden development in Kyobashi. As mentioned in my recent Japan Times column, Basara's specialty is its tomato sukiyaki. Even at midday, the... Continue reading

Posted May 6, 2013 at tokyo food file

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My latest column features the new Cafe 104.5, in the looming great Waterras Tower, close by Ochanomizu Station. It's much more than just a cafe though, and serves a lot more than just coffee, tea and cake. Such as the beer. They even have their own ale, produced by the... Continue reading

Posted May 3, 2013 at tokyo food file

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Congratulations!

I'll probably post some more images of the awards ceremony — and the afterparties — later on. In the meantime, though, big congratulations to Chef Yamamoto and Chef Narisawa and their teams. Continue reading

Posted May 1, 2013 at tokyo food file

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Tokyo Food File @ The Lab part 2 (Sat.)

Back at Tobacco Dock in east London for the final evening of The Lab. What a fun evening it was! Full details over on my other blog here (and now with captions added)… Continue reading

Posted Apr 29, 2013 at tokyo food file

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Tokyo Food File @ The Lab part 2 (Sat.)

Back at Tobacco Dock for the final evening of The Lab. There was far too much going on at the event to give a proper picture. But these (for me) were the highlights. Richard Bertinet introduced his approach to mixing, kneading and preparing pain au levain. Great to see quality... Continue reading

Posted Apr 29, 2013 at from Bath to Barcelona… and more

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Tokyo Food File in London @ The Lab

Off on holiday: first stop London, for The Lab, a three-day event being held at the historic Tobacco Dock in Wapping. More images over on my "on the road" alternate blog here… Continue reading

Posted Apr 28, 2013 at tokyo food file

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The Lab @ Tobacco Dock: a few images from Day 1

What a great venue: the old Tobacco Dock in Wapping is a really atmospheric location. And the entrance is suitably dramatic. Among the many events was the Noma Lab, led by Lars Williams... And the event stage, with live demonstrations. I was especially pleased to catch James Knappett of Kitchen... Continue reading

Posted Apr 27, 2013 at from Bath to Barcelona… and more

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spring hassun with azalea

Clockwise from the front: a single ama-ebi shrimp; a slice of bō-zushi of tai (young snapper) covered with tororo kombu seaweed; tatami-iwashi (sheet of tiny dried shirasu fry). Nama-uni urchin on a bed of coarse-grated daikon-oroshi, topped with a dab of fresh-grated wasabi. Hotate scallop on a bed of wakame... Continue reading

Posted Apr 25, 2013 at tokyo food file

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hugs from the deep south of Mexico: a few more images of Abrazo a la Oaxaceña

It's not hard to find Abrazo — a few strides away from the now-abandoned Odakyu Line tracks and just opposite the Village Vanguard store, just look for the cheerful paintwork and Mexican flag. And if you need any second guessing, check out the blackboard with its promise of Oaxaca cuisine...... Continue reading

Posted Apr 21, 2013 at tokyo food file

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(Day of the) Dead heads and artisan tortillas

Up tomorrow in my Japan Times column… And now it's there: Mexican moles under wraps in Shimo-Kitazawa. Continue reading

Posted Apr 18, 2013 at tokyo food file

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memories of Easter in Tokyo Midtown

Easter is way past now. But these eggs are far too good to forget in a hurry. As spotted at the Jean-Paul Hévin boutique in Tokyo Midtown (and mentioned in my recent Sweet Inspirations column in The Japan Times)… They're all chocolate, of course, down to the wonky stitched-up smile... Continue reading

Posted Apr 17, 2013 at tokyo food file

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Dabbous lunch: great stuff!

Quick, before I get back to London again, I must at least get some of the photos up from my last time there, in the late summer of '12. Starting with the red-hot hard-to-book (still is by all accounts) Dabbous, in Fitzrovia. Images first. Captions to follow… Continue reading

Posted Apr 16, 2013 at from Bath to Barcelona… and more

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wagyu uni deliciousness

I don't use the term food porn. I don't like the term food porn. But sometimes there's only one thing you can say about a photo, and the food it portrays… Chunky cuts of densely marbled wagyu beef — not shabushabu slivers but substantial slices — simply rolled up and... Continue reading

Posted Apr 14, 2013 at tokyo food file

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