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Tokyo 'world's best place to eat'


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Not interested in posh Micehlin star places myself, would much rather have some fine b-kyu stuff. But anyway, here goes.

 

Quote:
Tokyo has leaped ahead of Paris as the city with the most Michelin three-star restaurants, confirming its status as the "world capital of gastronomy".

 

Tokyo now has 11 three-star restaurants compared with 10 for Paris, according to the latest edition of the Michelin guide to Tokyo.

 

The Japanese capital also has more of the coveted stars in total than Paris - 261 shared by 197 restaurants.

 

New York, by comparison, has four three-star restaurants.

 

After controversy over earlier Tokyo guides that used non-Japanese inspectors, Michelin said it used only Japanese inspectors for the latest edition.

 

Japanese restaurateurs and food critics had been sceptical that non-Japanese could adequately judge the country's cuisine.

 

The first Michelin guide to Tokyo came out in 2007.

 

"Tokyo remains by far the world capital of gastronomy and also has the most three-star restaurants," said Michelin guide director Jean-Luc Naret.

 

Tokyo's sheer size helps explain why it has so many Michelin stars. Tokyo is much bigger than Paris and has 160,000 restaurants compared with about 40,000 in Paris.

 

Two-thirds of the Michelin-starred restaurants in Tokyo serve Japanese cuisine, while the others serve a variety of foods including French, Spanish, Chinese and Italian.

 

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was reading another article aout tht. London aparetnly only as one 3-star, etc. etc.

 

Tokyo, for a city that has 400,000 eateries, there are some real top notch places guranteed.

 

Don't go by the Michelin rating myself, as that is almost a surefire license for the restaurant to go pompous on guests and snob up the clientele. Not my scene.

 

I prefer the food to be so good, I feel compelled to return, recommending to friends as appropriate.

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At least in Tokyo you won't have to tip. God knows what the going rate must be in Michelin places.

 

It would be cool if they had a couple of killer yakitori or yakiniku places in there, but I bet they don't.

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Quote:
Not all Japanese chefs initially welcomed the idea of foreign food critics passing comment on dishes of which they knew relatively little.

"Who are they to judge my food and decide whether we are worthy of one, two or three stars? Or no stars at all?" said Toshiya Kadowaki, owner of Azabu Kadowaki, in Tokyo's Azabu-Juban district, who turned down the opportunity to feature in the inaugural 2008 Tokyo edition – which sold 300,000 copies.


Quite right, especially if the judges are used to frogs legs rather than fish eggs.
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And here's the London list.

 

Only one 3-star, and thats Gordon Bastard Ramsay

 

Quote:
Three stars: Gordon Ramsay.

 

Two stars: Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester, Hibiscus, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Le Gavroche, Marcus Wareing, Pied a Terre, The Capital and The Square.

 

There are 34 one star restaurants, split according to cuisine:

 

British: Richard Corrigan at Lindsay House, Rhodes 24, Rhodes W1 and St John.

 

French: Aubergine, Chez Bruce, Club Gascon, Foliage, Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's, Maze, L'Autre Pied, Petrus, Roussillon, Sketch Lecture Room and Library, The Ledbury, Tom Aikens, La Trompette.

 

Modern European: Helene Darroze at The Connaught, Arbutus, One Lombard Street, The Glasshouse, The Greenhouse and Wild Honey.

 

Italian: Assaggi, Locanda Locatelli, Murano, Ristorante Semplice, River Cafe, Zafferano.

 

Indian: Amaya, Benares, Quilon, Rasoi Vineet Bhatia, Tamarind.

 

Chinese: Hakkasan, Yauatcha and Kai.

 

Thai: Nahm.

 

Japanese: Nobu, Nobu Berkeley, Umu.

 

Previous changes: In 2008 Michelin awarded one star to Hibiscus, La Trompette, Rhodes W1, Quilon and Wild Honey, whereas Marylebone's Orrery lost its star. The 2007 Michelin guide awarded one star to the following London restaurants: Benares, La Noisette, Arbutus, Atelier de Joel Robuchon. The only other change was Petrus which went from one star to two.

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and through meticulous research, here are the Tokyo 3-stars

 

Esaki, Classic Japanese (New)

Ishikawa, Classic Japanese

Joel Robuchon, French

Kanda, Japanese

Koju, Japanese

L’Osier, French

Quintessence, French

Sushi Mizutani, Sushi

Sukiyabashi Jiro Honten, Sushi

Sushi Saito, Sushi (New)

Yukimura, Classic Japanese (New)

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Originally Posted By: thursday
Nobu Matsushisha does fusion. I hate fusion.

Hold on, let me correct that. Food cannot be hated. I dislike very much the fusion concept and style of food served.


I love the fusion concept myself. It can produce some truly unique dishes.
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A good pie is all one needs to be happy? lol

 

Can't quite undertand why you would get 'pissed off' though. Some people, like myself, enjoy trying new creations by talented chefs. It's not about just having food to satisfy hunger. It's about having unique expeiences and trying new tastes. When coupled with excellent and knowlegeble service you can go away with gastronomic experience you remember for years to come.

If that's not what you're after or you're not into food enough to appreciate it then don't go.

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Not pissed off paying 20 quid or something absurd for the following?

 

20080824-212547-iso320-f2.8-1-30sec-6.2m

 

I understand your point about fine foods and no, it's not all about pies lol

 

However there is a limit and fairly often at expensive places people get indecently robbed and pillaged by places offering food that is wayyyyyyy way way too expensive and basically... rubbish. It's more about being their and appearing a snob than the actual food.

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Let's face it the English aren't exactly well known for being very experimental with food are they? wink

 

and yes some places are absurdly expensive for the quality of the 'experience'. You just don't go back to those.

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fusion chefs just piss me off. I don't frequent them. They are selling their push against the envelope and have their magazine friends marvel at it blah blah blah, when basically, it's just a mixture of tastes tarted up. PRETENDERS.

 

But they have their clientele, good luck to them and their sheep.

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Originally Posted By: pie-eater
Perhaps I will start up a restaurant aimed at suckers clientele such as yourself and make obsene profits from their snobbery.

razz


It's not like I get that much opportunity anymore up in Hokkaido....
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Originally Posted By: thursday
wash your mouth out. There are some fantastic eating places on Hokkaido.


There certainly are but for true fine dining experiences near Kutchan there's not a huge range to choose from.
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What are talking about? I love Japanese food??? And I'm about as far left as you can get!! biggrin

Not like you rich Chinese scum who think all other people on the planet are beneath you! razz

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