La traviata

I've been at the opera performance yesterday... Its a re-premiere of Verdi's La traviata and this season, the Danish Opera presented La traviata in a staging full of charm, compare to what I've seen last season at the same place.



Well... first of all I need to say that La traviata has everything - a love story filed with scandals! And it is quite straightforward for a my first written opera "review" :-)



I’ll make it short.

Anne Margrethe Dahl was brilliant as Violetta. Delivering arias with clarity and moving across the stage smoothly and perfectly. Niels Jørgen Riis as Alfredo has some technical problems and harsh tones (I guess this is part of his vocal vocabulary). Anders Larsson as Giorgio Germont was bit unusual and not very appalling in the 2nd act, but excellent in the 3rd act.


Christina, laughing... but not for long :p This is a couple of minutes before Violeta start singing Addio Del Passato in the 3rd act. An aria of exquisite sadness… almost surreal...



The opera is with great costumes, magnificent ballroom scenes, and beautiful people from Paris. Not to mention, it has the most important ingredient; a tragically broken-heart lover, and a classic female heroine – a sinner hooker with a heart of gold.



In short, something-for-everybody… highly recommended.

Copenhagen, Operaen, Store Scene
Period: 03. Oct. - 15. Jan. 2009

What is Kaiseki?

Well... it dates back to the 16th century and during the centuries it has evolved, changed it's meaning, practice... Today, Kaiseki is considered an art form; and that's what it is! In my book, it is an synergy between food, flavors, textures, colors, presentation...

I've visit quite a few Michelin star restaurants, gourmet eateries and cutting-edge cafes all over the world, but this is on different level... almost an transcendental experience.

The restaurants it self is a actually a Kaiseki temple deployed on 4 floors (the 6th to 9th floors of the Yasuyo Building) and our table was on the 8th floor.

This is my first time ever I had Kaiseki dinner, so I'll take this as a reference point.


Our table

The dinner consists of a sequence of courses, in this particular case in 20 different courses. Courses are grouped based on preparation techniques like pickled, raw, grilled, fried... In short, it is like an... opera. Each dish is a component, same as prelude, aria, recitative, arioso in the opera and whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

This is what we had:


Right: Sakizuke (an appetizer similar to the French amuse-gueule) matsutake (pine mushrooms), crown daisy, steamed scallops, yam, iwanashi (pigaea asiatica), ikura (salmon roe)
Bottom: Shinogi (a rice dish) steamed rice, mukago (propagule), green laver


Up: Yakimono (broiled seasonal fish) grilled barracuda "shuto-yaki" (with bonita's shiokara), green pepper, hajikami (ginger)
Left: Futamono (a "lidded dish") steamed muraenesox cinereus, matsutake (pine mushrooms), integlifolia, citrus sudachi
Right: Su-zakana (a small dish used to clean the palate, such as vegetables in vinegar) crab, grilled shiitake, edible chrysanthemum, spinach


Same as above from different perspective.


Up: Hassun (the second course, which sets the seasonal theme) grilled wild duck with Japanese pepper, boiled ayu (sweetfish), chestnuts, ginkgo, prawn


Upper right: Takiawase (vegetables served with meat, fish or tofu; the ingredients are simmered separately) brassica rapa, eggplant, anago (congridae), carrot, string beans


Upper right: Ko no mono (seasonal pickled vegetables) cucumber, Japanese radish, pickles with perilla frutescens
Bottom and upper-left: Tome-wan (a miso-based or vegetable soup served with rice) miso soup with pholiota nameko, tofu, welsh onion (bottom), rice with furikake perilla frutescens flavor (upper-left)


Mizumono (a seasonal dessert) fruits and green tea


Higashi (Japanese dry confectionery)


Matcha (powdered green tea) and Higashi (Japanese dry confectionery)


At the end, me and Rickard ready for a tea ceremony :p

And that's all!

What's The Verdict?
This is definitely a must for gourmet fans!

Rating: 9.1 (out of 10.0)

Kyo Kaiseki KAKIDEN
Yasuyo Bldg. 6th - 9th floors,
3-37-11, Shinjuku,
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Colza, arguably the best Teppanyaki restaurant I have ever had

Day 6, my last dinner in Tokyo this time around :-/
My next hop had me back to Osaka. I've already had a one-off experience today at Sushi Mizutani (see other post), so I've been... well a bit reluctant with my expectations. Nevertheless, after a while, my early reluctance had turned to excitement!

Rie told me this place is considered as one of the better Teppanyaki restaurants in Tokyo. I'm definitely a fortunate guy; this was the 2nd trip in my life to Japan, and I've already checked out a handful topnotch restaurants in Tokyo :-D

In addition, this was my chance to sample Matsuzaka beef (there are rumors that it is even more delicious than Kobe beef). Anyway, this is relatively big place with a few rooms, the service is very friendly and the atmosphere is quite casual. I guess the Teppanyaki grilling table looks familiar to most of you. There are a couple of fixed menus with a few options to add or chose from. There were already couple of other guest on the table so the grill was hot and the cooking began immediately.


A quite hardworking chef who actually is fluent in English :)


The chef baking shiitake (mushrooms) and grating potatoes


The chef preparing the grated potatoes with butter
Shiitake (right)
Kidney bean (bottom)


Scallops


Abalone


The biggest lobster in the house, on my request :-D


Seems to be shrimps... but not for sure - ask Rickard for more info :)


Something...


Top: garlic chips
Up-right: kidney bean and shiitake
Bottom-right: grilled grated potatoes
Bottom-left: Miyazaki beef (filet)

The Outcome
I've sampled Miyazaki beef and it's absolute beef heaven. Only thing comparable or more tender is Kobe beef (see other post). Everything we had was delicious and... simply incredible. As it turned out, this was one of the best Teppanyaki restaurant I have ever had! Not only our chef took a great care to create a unique flavor for every dish; it's also a great fun being there. It cost us about 160€ per person, including beer and sake.

Rating: 9.2 (out of 10.0)

Just like Sushi Mizutani and Kyubey, eating here has shaken and change my perception of food. Actually, I've already plan my next trip to Japan!

PS. I'll try to add some interesting video soon as I can.

Colza
Ginza Nogakudo bldg, B1
6-5-15, Ginza, Chuo-ku
Tokyo, 104-0061

Local Cuisine in Japan

It was very surprising to learn about Osaka people's obsession with food. They even have a special term for it "Kuidaore" literally meaning: to eat oneself bankrupt.

I've seen that Osaka has an abundant supply and variety of delicious ingredients, both from land and sea. I guess it is very difficult to resist such a temptation, but I also believe that this cannot happen (concentration of food) unless there are customers with interest to spend freely on fine food…


Sea bream sashimi with a perilla and shred radish.


Up-left corner: Rice with grated yam
Right : Udon (noodle) with grated yam : right
Bottom left corner : Inari-sushi (sweet deep-fried tofu pouch stuffed with sushi rice)


Sushi combo (top): sea bream, tuna, young yellowtail, squid, ark shell, salmon (from the left)
Spring rolls with shrimps and salad (bottom)


Sashimi combo (big plate)
Left : bonito
Bottom : soft roe of an anglerfish
Right : squid
Up : mackerel
Egg roles (top)


Fugu guys in aquarium I


Fugu guys in aquarium II


Crème brulée (black sesame seed flavor) - Absolutely adorable!


Sushi lunch plate (from up right corner to counterclockwise)
Salad bowl
Sushi roll
Ginger pickles
Sea bream sashimi with a slice of lime
Hijiki (seaweed) and pumpkin
Rib (middle)
Cooked yellowtail (on the spoon)


Special thanks to Emi for helping me out with the ingredients.

What I adore most in Japanese kitchen, is the natural flavors of the ingredients, and fact that each dish is prepared to charm the eye and the tongue.


Good sake is a must for full food to enjoyment so I've discover some high quality sake brewed in nearby area of Nada :-)

In a nutshell food in Kansai-area (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, etc.) is simply marvelous!

You can eat on tight budget or you can splash thousands of yens. Quite different from Europe, top price is guarantee that you will get the best!

Kyubey, Edo style sushi in one of the most famous Japan's sushi restaurants...

My second dinner in Tokyo is one of the greatest experience of my life. Once again, thanks to Rie, we got a dinner reservation at Kyubey, one of Japan's most famous sushi restaurants. The Tokyo Michelin Guide 2008 awarded Kyubey one star.

Kyubey is located near Shimbashi Station in Tokyo, bit away of the main Ginza avenue, and quite difficult to spot. This is ca. 70 years old restaurant!



In Tokyo, restaurant expansion over the years goes upwards and around. Now it has 5 stories and 3 annexes. We end up exactly in annex B1F, seated at the sushi counters with about 6 other customers and and two sushi chefs. Everyone was quite friendly to us, especially the chefs. This is quite different experience from the formal and uptight atmosphere in Sushi Mizutani (see other post).



Interior is minimalistic and perfect, and the wooden counter is so beautiful, that I start joke about where to install one in my kitchen.



We went with "omakase" course that is the chef's choice.

It starts with seaweed salad with spring onion dressed with vinegar, suzuki salad, and so on. Like all topnotch sushi places, one should not use any soy dipping; the chefs decide whatever sauce you need. Couple of things I've never tried before, like fried fish bone; it taste like a chips, daikon and shiso; very refreshing and cleansing feeling, grilled otoro nigiri; fatty, melting and just f.....g delicious!


The Uni (sea urchin) gunkanmaki were just fabulous.



After a while we were asked if we had enough... Of course me and Rickard were far from done! We had two more rounds of otoro nigiri (see the picture). I think the chefs were pleased from our enthusiasm and decided to pull out the big gun: grilled otoro nigiri! I honestly couldn't make a difference between Kobe beef and that otoro. It was incredible!





Obviously Kyubey is used to experiment and have introduced new stuff. Rickard told me this guys have invented gunkanmaki sushi... For example they used a bit tempered rice, but it had just right temperature and vinegariness.



Eating dinner in Kyubey and lunch in Sushi Mizutani, back-to-back, prompting the inevitable comparisons. Both are truly spectacular and different. For example Sushi Mizutani is more conservative and one can feel many different flavors in same moment, where in Kyubey, different flavor pop up each time I chewed sushi piece. There is a big difference in rice also. By my opinion, in Kyubey I've been kind of... not aware about the rice... it is just a supporting ingredient, texture if you like. In Sushi Mizutani, rice is a backbone.

Rating: 9.8 (out of 10.0)

It cost us about 150€ per person, including beer and sake, and I'll be back. I promise!

Kyubey
7-6, Ginza 8-chome, Chuo-ku
Tokyo

Sushi Mizutani - Is the best sushi in the world?!

Continuing with my Japan trotting, on Day 6, thanks to Rie, I got reservations at lunch time for Sushi Mizutani. The Tokyo Michelin Guide 2008 awarded Sushi Mizutani three stars.

A tiny restaurant, can accommodate only 10 people seated around the counter, and sushi master Mizutani him self in the middle.

The atmosphere in the restaurant is quite formal and we’ve been asked not to wear any perfumes… Some trivia, sushi master Mizutani worked previously at Sukibayashi Jiro, the other three Michelin stars sushi restaurant in Tokyo. This for sure makes him one of the best sushi chefs in Japan.

I would never be able to locate this humble restaurant in Ginza, on a small street, in the basement level.





We were genially greeted by the master Mizutani and as first arriving customers, we were allowed to take few pictures.



Of course, we order “omakase” the chef’s choice. The order had move from non-fatty to fatty sushi or sashimi and than finish up with an omelet and a maki roll, unleashing my five senses. Some of the sushi pieces we had:

• Karei (Japanese flounder, flat fish): first time I've ever had. It has semi-transparent meat, very delicate sweetens, subtle scent, refreshing feeling.
• Kawahagi (File fish, skinpeeler): first time I've ever had. Served with the liver on top. Isn't fishy and it has a light flavor. Intense sweetness from the soft liver.
• Uni (Sea urchin): Gunkanmaki. This yellowish delicacy, the moment I've placed it in my mouth, the rich sweetness has filled my senses. Buttery after taste.
• Aoyagi (Japanese orange clam): Concentrate umami and texture. Each time I chewed the soft meat, more flavor is released.
• Maguro (Bluefin Tuna): Sweet and acidic. Perfect.
• Chutoro (Bit-fatty belly from Bluefin Tuna): Just perfect, melting in my mouth.
• Otoro (Fatty upper belly from Bluefin Tuna): Melt-in-my-mouth texture, major umami factor, absolutely ridiculous. I never tasted anything like this in my life!

In a nutshell, it cost us about 110€ per person, including green tea. This is one of absolute best sushi experience for me, in a comparison for everything I've had before, inside or outside of Japan, save aside sushi Kyubey (see other post).

Rating: 9.8 (out of 10.0)

Next time I'm around, I'll go back.

Sushi Mizutani
Ginza Seiwa Silver Bldg. B1F
8-2-10 Ginza, Chuo-ku
Tokyo

The Infamouse Kobe Beef

My next hop had me staying 1 night in Kobe, the Beef Capital. My hotel was close to the "Shin-Kobe" station where I've arrived by Shinkansen (Bullet Train). Emi already made reservation at "Grill de Kobe", where the highest grades (A5 and A4) of Kobe beef is available. Beef are grilled over a charcoal flame and I guess this is the best way to experience Kobe beef.

By the way, I guess everyone heard the stories of the luxury lives of the Kobe cows: the massage, the beer...







The restaurant is not very big, but it has a cozy and warm atmosphere and the smell was absolutely... well inviting. I've got an English menu because the number of foreigners living in Kobe is substantial; nevertheless I still had a big question mark above my head how and what to order. After an extensive consultation with Emi, I've made a conscious decision :-D



I had a Kobe beef plate (from the upper left) eggplant pomodoro, okra, potato and corns, pickles of yam, radish, paprika, (middle) Kobe beef stake (special filet) with watercress and garlic chips. As I looked for wine matches, I was playing with the idea of a beef with an Bordeaux, but finally I went for the Barolo. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had Chateau Margaux on the wine list.
　
And my conclusion is: nothing tastes like it! The way it melts in your mouth, juiciness and moist is unbelievable. The wine earthiness, some spicy tar, fresh tannins with a long finish and the elegant texture worked perfectly and sent me into ecstasy.



For about about 120€ per person, including wine, it is definitely place worth visiting! I hope next time I'll have a chance to taste Matsuzaka, as there are rumors that it is even more delicious than Kobe beef!

Rating: 9.0 (out of 10.0)

Grille de Kobe
Taishin Sunset Bldg. 5F,
2-5-1 Kita Nagasa-dori,
Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi
Hyogo 650-0012