I recently asked Bryan what his top five favorite restaurants in Hong Kong were. The first two rolled off his tongue in an instant. "Sushi Shikon" (I'm not surprised, considering the best dish Bryan's ever had) and ½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana.

That's why I knew he wouldn't mind when I secretly booked it for his birthday, all while he was traveling in Europe for a business trip. He would return less than a week before his birthday.

It was arguably "slightly" risky. Although Hong Kong had switched to home quarantine at that time, Bryan still had to take a Covid test everyday for 5 days after returning from Europe. God forbid, what if he tested positive? What would I do with my reservation??

Thankfully, everything went smoothly and we were able to enjoy a lovely birthday dinner at ½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana. The meal was great, as always. I won't go into detail describing each dish again, since most of these dishes have been on the menu for a long time. You can read the post about our first time here (yet another Bryan birthday meal) for details.

Enjoy this (mostly) wordless post.

½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana

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Sushi Shikon Autumn 2020

The post Bryan's Birthday at 8 1/2 Otto e Mezzo Bombana appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

This the second addendum post to the Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka series. Other posts in this series include the intro post: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, Matsugen (soba), Sushi Iwa, Ramen Honda (Tokyo Ramen Street), Ryugin, Omen (udon), Shouraian (tofu), Dotonbori in Osaka (street food), Taian (3-star Michelin), and Sushi Sho/Shou (Chef Keiji Nakazawa), Nakamura (3 star Michelin kaiseki), and Sushi Taku (2 star Michelin)

Bring bring . .  .

It was close to noon and I was in my office typing furiously away at the computer. The caller ID said it was Bryan.

It's not unusual for us to chat during this odd time when he's away on a business trip in Asia. Tokyo is exactly 12 hours apart from Boston, which means he was probably about to go to bed. It's lunchtime here, so the timing actually works out pretty well.

Bryan had just gotten back from his dinner at Sushi Yoshitake, a newly-ish minted (as of 2012) three Michelin starred sushi restaurant in Tokyo. He couldn't stop raving about it.

"I just got back from dinner. It was really good. I think you'd like it. It wasn't just sushi. They had creative preparations - like what you'd see in a high-end French restaurant - for several of the dishes. They had this abalone liver dish that was amazing. It's the best dish I've ever had in my life."

Let's pause a moment here.

Did he just say the best dish in his life?!

This is the same person who's dined at some of the finest restaurants in the world, like Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo, The French Laundry in Napa Valley, and Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas, not to mention countless other award-winning restaurants through his business trips and travels.

He couldn't stop talking about this abalone dish (and trust me, he usually doesn't talk a lot). It was like other-worldly, or what my friend Peter would call "transcendent." Perfection in so many different ways.

best dish ever . . .

"We really have to go back to Japan so I can take you there."

awwwww . . .

Anyway, enough about my conversation with Bryan. Let's learn more about this incredible meal of a lifetime.

Thankfully, Bryan brought his trusty little Sony point and shoot camera to this meal, so we will all be able to enjoy (at least with our eyes) this life-changing meal. To Bryan's surprise, two other diners had the exact same camera. Keep in mind this sushi restaurant only has seven seats total. I guess high end sushi eaters really like this camera for food photos?!

As he sat down he noticed that one of the couples sitting at the sushi bar was speaking English.

"Where are you guys from?" he asked.

"We are from Singapore."

"Cool. I'm from Boston."

"We know."

"You do?!"

"We recognize you from your wife's blog."

Bryan was floored and couldn't wait to share that on the phone with me. I still can't believe that - halfway around the world - somebody actually recognized Bryan from this little blog (hello kpbaby!). How crazy is that??! It was totally mind-blowing to me.

Sushi chef Masahiro Yoshitake is really friendly with foreigners, which is definitely not something you can say about everyone. He has a reasonable command of English and introduced every course in English. He made all sorts of conversation with the guests. For example, he told Bryan that the chef from Nahm in Thailand was coming to eat here the following week.

Let's start the meal! Please note that since I did not dine there, the descriptions for the dishes will be a bit sparser than general. Enjoy Bryan's photos!

The meal began with a braised turnip appetizer.

Next was tender octopus (left) and red snapper (right).

The "best dish", Steamed abalone with abalone liver sauce, came early in the tasting. It looks simple from the outside, but it's the beautiful flavors of the abalone liver sauce that elevate this dish beyond . . . well, any other dish in the entire world.

You start with a few pieces of steamed abalone and this verdant, creamy liver sauce. After you've enjoyed those two together, you are given some rice, which you use to sop up every last golden drop of this phenomenal, deeply flavorful, sauce.

To this day, Bryan still thinks about (and talks about!) this unforgettable dish.

Seared bonito came topped with freshly grated wasabi root in a scallion ginger soy sauce (left). Slow cooked oyster came topped with a flavorful gel.
Yoshitake uses two kinds of red vinegar in his sushi rice, which gives it a brown color. On the left is squid (ika) and on the right is golden eye snapper (kinmedai) nigiri.

Soy marinated bonito (skipjack tuna) sushi


Different levels of fatty tuna: Chutoro sushi at left (medium fatty tuna) and Otoro sushi at right (fatty tuna).

Four types of sushi - from left to right, top to bottom: sardine nigiri, barracuda maki, mackerel nigiri, and giant clam nigiri.

Uni from Hokkaido

Isn't that gorgeous?

Uni from Hokkaido, cooked shrimp nigiri, Sea eel (anago) nigiri, and finally for dessert, tamago (sweet egg omelet), which Bryan said had a very creamy texture, almost like a cake.

The meal ended with a simple, clean miso soup.

There's not too much else to say about this restaurant except that it's excellent and you should go if you have a chance. One thing Bryan really enjoyed about Yoshitake was how he doesn't just serve straight up plain sushi. For a few of the dishes, he incorporated interesting gels and phenomenal sauces (ahem, abalone liver anyone?).

Typically it's pretty hard to get a reservation here, but since Bryan was a solo diner, he was able to nab the seventh seat without much advance notice (maybe a week?).  He made the reservation through the hotel concierge. Similar to many restaurants of this caliber, he had to fax to them a credit card number to guarantee his reservation.

Yoshitake is really friendly and can speak quite a bit of English. As I've said before, so much of the omakase experience is your interactions with the sushi chef. Many sushi chefs in Japan hardly speak a word of English, and will only take reservations in Japanese. Even if the food is amazing, you miss out on half the value of an omakase if you can't talk to the chef at all about the food you are eating.

At Yoshitake, you don't sacrifice the food or the experience.

I do hope to be able to visit some day. [update! I was able to go! Here's the post about my meal!]

If you can't make it to Japan, there's a second location in Hong Kong, renamed Sushi Shikon, which just recently got three Michelin stars.

Sushi Yoshitake (link to Japanese language site)

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The post Sushi Yoshitake (Tokyo, Michelin 3 Stars) - best dish I've ever had appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

We have a foodie friend who travels 330 days of the year for business. He travels well, eats ridiculously well, and has exacting standards for food and wine. He’s our go-to source for restaurant recommendations in Paris. About a year ago he sent us his personal list of favorite places in Paris, complete with his own little “soundbites” summarizing the essence of each place. We’ve been slowly working our way through the list.

Many of these top restaurants are very, very difficult to book, especially last minute. Due to the fluidity of Bryan’s business travel schedule, we often can’t predict super far in advance when we will be in Paris. 

Epicure, a 3-Michelin star restaurant in Le Bristol Hotel in Paris, is one such restaurants. Chef Eric Frechon has been head chef since 1999 (!) and the restaurant has maintained its Michelin star since 2009, not an easy feat.

It’s one of our friend’s top 3 restaurants in Paris, and it’s really hard to book. However, Bryan was able to grab a lunch reservation for the day AFTER my birthday. Hee hee, I ended up having two birthday meals in Paris this year. 🥰

The Tasting Menu at Epicure Le Bristol

We began with some amuses bouches, including a delightful pea foie gras veloute, compte cheese tart, and a delicate crisp.

The bread is often one of my favorite “courses” at a French restaurant, and here was no exception. We had two types of bread: a small focaccia plus we shared an entire loaf of their house baked sourdough (SO. GOOD.).

The fantastic French butter together with their fresh baked bread was hard to resist, especially at the beginning of the meal when we were still pretty hungry!

After almost filling up on bread (haha, only half kidding), our actual tasting lunch began.

A luxurious start: uni + caviar

We began with delicate “scrambled eggs” topped with a fluffy whipped cream of uni (sea urchin) and seaweed butter, interspersed with croutons. It came with a fancy spoon shaped perfectly for scooping out every last goodness from the uni-shaped bowl, which we certainly wanted to do because it was so insanely good.

We were first introduced to the decadent butter dominant (yet oh-so-luxuriously creamy) French style whipped” potatoes at Joel Robuchon. Epicure’s version of what they call “potato mousseline” adds a level of luxury, with a beautiful layer of caviar from Sologne on top, smoked haddock inside, a slightly tart dressing.

which we ate by dipping in a buckwheat crisp (not unlike the Japanese snack Pocky) but filled with cream inside!

Seafood + Pasta

It was like a well-timed orchestra. Two plates arrived topped with a dome-shaped glass lid. In synchrony, two servers lifted our glass lids at the same time revealing the next course. We each had a langoustine tail, lightly cooked with lemon-thyme and served with an onion-mango condiment and a refreshing, foamy broth of the langoustine claws together with yuzu and coriander.

The “candele” is the French term for their huge tubular macaroni “pasta”, filled with artichoke and duck foie gras, black truffle, a lovely black truffle sauce (“jus”), and topped with mature Parmesan cheese. The final three stuffed candele are torched. The texture of the pasta was delectably chewy, and the artichoke foie gras filling was lovely.

The restaurant's own website only calls out this one dish, stating it's an "unforgettable dish that people travel to Paris to experience."

The next course was a sous vide Scottish salmon dusted with a fine layer of tandoori powder, fennel and cucumber, and flavored with a rice vinegar and a mint oil. The texture was out of this world. It was so soft, so tender, to the point where it seemed nearly raw yet was still so soft and edible. One of my favorite courses.

Epicure Paris: Signature Dish

One of the restaurant’s signature dishes is the Bresse Farm hen poached in a bladder. Those who specifically order it as a stand-alone dish can enjoy watching the staff cut open the bladder, revealing the chicken (together with its signature golden feet) inside. 

In our case, since it was just part of a larger tasting menu, we likely shared our chicken with many other tables. However, they did bring out the expanded balloon-like bladder  for us to look at before they brought it back into the kitchen to prep some more.

The final dish was a piece of the bladder-poached hen breast with yellow wine, crayfish, giblets candies and button mushrooms.

We separately enjoyed the roasted chicken leg with fresh herb salad and corn in a sherry vinaigrette.

The Cheese Cart

A majestic cheese cart rolled up to our table, filled with a variety of cheese (mostly from France) that they keep in their cheese cellar. It must have had over 20 different cheeses.

We chose about 5 different ones to enjoy, and they were lovely.

Desserts

Our first dessert was refreshing light. A chocolate shell made to look like a half coconut arrived, filled with a ‘Moiito" coconut sorbet made with coconut milk infused with fresh mint, grilled coconut, and topped with lime zest. 

A deeply dark experience of “CHOCOLATE FROM EQUATOR” was next, consisting of chocolate shortbread, cocoa nib praline, hot chocolate espuma, and chicory ice cream.

Happy Birthday!

An assortment of beautiful petit fours came out at the end to round out the meal.

General Thoughts: Epicure Le Bristol Paris

What can I say? Epicure is indeed a lovely restaurant and they execute everything at an extremely high level. Highlights for me include the surprisingly refreshing pea foie gras amuse veloute at the beginning, the amazing bread + butter, uni + caviar combo (perhaps I’m a sucker for caviar), and the salmon. Though the presentation of the chicken was indeed impressive, I only found it to be OK, but still not as good as chicken in Asia. 

It’s very expensive, at 420€ a head.They use the highest end ingredients at every course, and the entire meal takes an insane amount of planning and execution. If you love French food, this place does it very, very well. Personally speaking, there are equally enjoyable experiences in Paris that come at a lower price point. However, Epicure is certainly top notch, and you can't go wrong here.

Below is a short video I made of our meal. Enjoy!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jennifer Che (@tinyurbankitchen)

Epicure Paris France
Bristol Hotel

The post Epicure - Le Bristol Paris (3 Michelin Stars) appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

Japan is one of my favorite countries in the world. I fell in love with it when I lived in Tsukuba (right outside of Tokyo) as a college student during a summer internship. Since then, I've traveled back over ten (!) times (usually tagging along on one of my husband's business trips). As a result, I've had quite a few opportunities to enjoy the fabulous food this country offers.

I've had enough friends ask my for recommendations about traveling to Japan that I thought I'd write a brief guide on my favorite places to eat, shop, and hang out. The last time I was in Japan was 2019, so this guide is only as current as that trip. Unfortunately, Japan is still not open to regular tourists yet, and I have not been able to return. I miss it so much, and I can't wait until I can return again.

Favorite Places to Eat

As for real dining - the options are endless depending on how much you want to spend.

Tsukiji Fish Market used to be THE MAIN attraction for trying fresh sushi and for watching the traditional sushi auction at either 5:30AM or 6AM (there are two shifts). The market closed in 2018 and moved to a new modern space at Toyosu, which I have not visited yet. To see our entire old-school Tsukiji Fish Market experience (for which we waited in line starting at 2AM), check out this full post.

Favorite Tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet)

Butagumi is a cute restaurant serves all sorts of different breeds on pork including tonkatsu made from the famous Iberian pig in Spain. It's a little off the beaten track, so if you're short on time, you can still enjoy excellent tonkatsu at Maisen, which has several locations around Tokyo.

Favorite Ramen

Rokurinsha has a history of having long lines out its door - which is a sure sign of a good ramen place in Japan. Visit the location at Tokyo Station on "Ramen Street" or go to the new Tokyo Sky Tree and enjoy it there. They specialize in "tsukemen", or dipping noodles. If the line at Rokurinsha is too long for your liking (it often has the longest line at Ramen Street), head over to Ramen Honda, which is still excellent. You can also go for breakfast, when the lines are only about 20 minutes long. For a lighter, yuzu-flavored ramen, try Afuri. For an authentic experience (no English menus!), check out this charming little ramen shop in Shibuya called Suzuran. 

Favorite Tempura

Tempura Kondo in Tokyo boasts 2 Michelin stars and churns out the most delicate tempura using the freshest ingredients all over Japan. Try the sweet potato (even though it costs extra). This is supposedly one of the best items on the menu, though I haven't had a chance to try it since it was not in season when I went. Another one that rivals Kondo, but at half the price, is Tempura Fukamachi, which offers a fantastic vegetable tempura option (which I loved). Mikawa Zezankyo (1 Michelin star) is also very good, though I personally prefer the other two.

Favorite Shabu

Seryna (Kobe beef) serves melt-in-your-mouth Kobe beef for shabu. Though it's extremely expensive (think over $100 USD for about 8 slices of beef!), it's by far the best shabu meat I've ever had in my life.

Favorite Steak/Teppanyaki

Ukai-tei is a beautiful and elegant 1 star Michelin restaurant with superb service and excellent steak. They offer steak from specially bred black cows from a region very near Kobe. According to Bryan, it's the best steak he's ever had in his life. The steak standwiches from Shima are also legendary. The catch is that you can only get a sandwich as a take-away after dining in the restaurant and ordering a steak. It's worth it, though, the steaks are phenomenal!

Favorite Sushi

Sushi Yoshitake (3 Michelin stars) is pricy but fantastic, and we love both the original Tokyo location and also regularly visit their Hong Kong location, called Sushi Shikon. I used to love Sushi Ya and I found the prices to be very, very reasonable during lunch. The chef at Sushi Ya, Chef Ishiyama, left and opened his own place, Sushi Ishiyama, which is also very good.

Legendary experiences include Sushi Mizutani (now closed) and the famous Sukiyabashi Jiro (very hard to get in). Sushi Saito is another, which I've never visited in Japan (only in Hong Kong, which is not the same). Back in 2013, we got our Jiro reservation by having one of Bryan's Japanese colleague contact the restaurant to make the reservation. They had to follow up by personally delivered the 20,000 yen cash deposit to the restaurant. Things have changed a lot now. The restaurant has become so exclusive the Michelin Guide removed its stars, saying it was too hard to book. Jiro Ono is 96 years old and doesn't make sushi as much as he used to.

Favorite Yakitori

We had amazing yakitori at a hard to find "hidden" spot called Nakameguo Iguchi. We've also had very good yakitori at 1-Michelin starred Birdland, which is partly famous because it is also in the basement of Ginza station right next to the legendary Sukiyabashi Jiro.

Favorite Izakaya

One of my favorite casual izakayas where I discovered my love of yuzu kosho and tried chicken sashimi for the first time is this family-run restaurant called Kago, founded by a retired Japanese baseball player.

Favorite Noodles

We haven't explored soba too much, but the handmade ones at Kaoriya, Matsugen, and Matsuya Kanda are excellent. We loved the udon at Omen, a charming noodle shop in Kyoto within walking distance of the Silver Pavilion, one of the most famous temples in Kyoto.

Favorite Kaiseki

In Tokyo, our kaiseki meal at Azabu Kadowaki was memorable for two reasons. One, I ate fugu sashimi (!) for the first time. Second, they have an amazing signature truffle rice at the end that is sooooo good. Kikunoi Akasaka, a 1-Star Michelin restaurant in Tokyo whose uber famous sister restaurant in Kyoto has three Michelin stars, is also very good.

Kyoto (birthplace of kaiseki) has many top restaurants, and we have enjoyed many incredible meals there. Nakamura, though pricey, is one of those unforgettable kaiseki meals with exquisite service, fantastic food, and an overall unique and very traditional Japanese experience.

And for something completely different: Try some of the modern, creative cuisine that's popping up all over Tokyo. Aronia de Takazawa serves extremely creative, whimsical, and beautifully (and sometimes unusually) plated food. They also have a large selection of Japanese wines, which is unusual. Ryugin is one of the most famous modern kaiseki restaurants in Tokyo. Boasting three Michelin stars, it has some really fantastic dishes (though at the end it wasn't my favorite restaurant). Tapas Molecular Bar is all out molecular gastronomy located in the top floor of the Mandarin Oriental in Tokyo. The views are breathtaking and the meal is fun, though the flavors of the dishes are only OK.

Florilege is a French restaurant helmed by a very talented Japanese chef who cares deeply about sustainability and bringing out the flavors of local ingredients. Il Ristorante Luca Fantin serves excellent Italian food in a stunning space at the top of the Bulgaria building in Omotesando.

For a Nightcap: check out Bar High Five for great cocktails. In the past they had an incredible selection of Yamazaki whiskey, and we could even get Yamazaki 30 for about $50 USD a shot, which is a steal considering that a bottle probably costs many thousands of US dollars now.

Enjoy the Seaons! It's fun to eat the seasonal ingredients too. During my 2019 trip in the fall, matsutake mushrooms and gingko nuts were in season, and I loved trying both in several different ways.

Where to Shop and Walk Around?

Ginza is the ritzy part of town lined with high end boutiques. It is great if you're shopping for high-end stuff, but it's pricey! On Sundays they close down part of the street to traffic, so it's fun to walk and shop during that time. I do like to visit Toy Park there, and we like to buy shoes in Tokyo since we have wide feet. One of our favorite stores is actually the Asics store, which sells Asic's nicer lines of dress shoes, the Pedala (with their comfy Asics soles!).

Harajuku and Omotesando (adjacent areas) are really fun too - you'll see a bit younger crowd, especially in Harajuku. One of my favorite shops in Omotesando is Kiddie Land, which has one of the best selection of Totoro stuff in Tokyo (even better than Studio Ghibli itself). 

Shibuya is not too far away, and sometimes I'll walk from Shibuya to Harajuku and then to Omotessando. Definitely check out the famous crazy crosswalk at Shibuya! Between Shibuya and Harajuku is the NHK Studio, which has a fun shop that sells all sorts of Domokun stuff (Domo is their mascot). Shibuya is where I first fell in love with the Isse Miyake Bao Bao bag (before it became crazy hot and hard to find). It was just displayed at a shop, and I was drawn to its geometric shapes. It was the first bag I bought in Tokyo.

Tokyo Station Character Street. If you like "kawaii" (cute) Japanese characters, "Character Street" in Tokyo Station is a phenomenal place to shop. There are dedicated stores to many characters, such as Hello Kitty, Domokun (NHK), Totoro, Snoopy, and many, many more.

As a food person, my favorite kitchen shopping neighborhood is Kappabashi Dori and (pre-2018), Tsukiji Fish Market (for knives!). At Kappabashi, which is the restaurant supply neighborhood in Tokyo, you can pick up tons of cool Japanese kitchenware for really low prices. Make sure to bring cash, as a lot of places don't accept credit card. I have many beautiful dishes I hand carried back to Boston (and then to Hong Kong), that I still use to this day. They are amazing because they are hardy enough for restaurants, yet still beautiful for nice meals, and ridiculously reasonably-priced. This is also the place where you can buy plastic fake display food which make fun gifts to bring back.

One stop away from Kappabashi is Akihabara. Bryan absolutely loves Akihabara for electronics. The largest electronics store (possibly in the world) called Yodabashi Camera is there. They sell everything from electronics to kitchen appliances to even luxury handbags. It's sensory overload but definitely worth seeing. We've bought many cool water bottles, iphone cases, and random useful electronics. (I even have a cute Miffy charging cable.)

Akihabara is also not too far from Asakusa, where you can sample all sorts of fun Japanese snacks on the path leading to the huge temple (freshly made sembei crackers, red bean filled cakes, fresh mochi, etc).

Speaking of snacking, don't miss roaming around the basements of the high-end department stores (called depachika), where you can gaze at (and sample!) endless amounts of incredible food. Definitely check out the basement of the department store called Isetan in Shinjuku, which houses many of the world's most famous bakeries (yes, I buy a Pierre Hermes Ispahan macaron every time!). I love the grocery store at the basement of Isetan, where I always stock up on yuzu kosho and other spices.

Even if you can't make it out to Shinjuku, there are plenty of department stores in Shibuya, Ginza, and other areas with fun basements in which to explore. I would highly recommend grabbing lunch at least once from one of these places. You can also come back to purchase exquisitely wrapped food-focused gifts to bring back home. Nobody tops the Japanese when it comes to beautifully wrapped cookies, cakes, and other snacks as gifts.

Things to Do

Cherry Blossoms

The seasons in Japan are gorgeous. If you can, go during the spring during the famous sakura cherry blossom season, usually at the beginning of April, though tit varies year to year and by location. Different trees flower at different times. We arrived "late" one year but still got to enjoy phenomenally beautiful later-season cherry blossoms at Shinjuku Gyoen, a beautifully sculptured park that is easy to access and boasts over 500 different varieties of cherry trees (so you have a better shot of at least seeing some blooms!).

Fall Foliage

Fall is yet another beautiful time. The foliage is lovely, and certain ingredients such as matsutake mushrooms and gingko nuts are in season and featured in a lot of dishes.

Imperial Palace

You need to book in advance if you want to visit the Imperial Palace. Guided tours are offered at set times, and you need to book pretty early. I'm not sure how the pandemic has affected all this. We were super lucky during our tour and we saw Empress Michiko Shōda drive by!

Disney Sea

There is only one Disney Sea in the entire world, and it is in Tokyo. An ocean-themed park, this slightly more adult oriented park is beautifully designed, still fully Disney, and really, really fun. The rides are excellent, and the seven themed ports are all really nicely designed. I was so nostalgic because the "American Waterfront" port totally reminded me of Boston! I loved the park so much, I would certainly go back again.

Visit Totoro

Miyazaki fans will love Studio Ghibli, a museum dedicated to all of Hayao Miyazaki's art. You can see what his studio looks like, gaze at numerous sketches that he's made, and enjoy many elements from his movies in this three-story museum that includes an open air rooftop garden, a cafe, and a small theater where you can watch a short film. Kids will love playing in the giant neko-bus on the top floor.

Definitely also check out Shirohige Cream Puff Factory, a super cute cafe opened by Hayao Miyazaki's sister-in law on the outskirts of Tokyo. It is the only officially licensed "Totoro Cafe" in the world.

Ghibli Park is opening November 1, 2022 in Japan! It is located east of Nagoya, about a 3-hour train ride from Tokyo. I really really want to go, and will certain try to go as soon as Japan fully opens its doors to tourists.

Hiking - Mt. Fuji? Or maybe just Mt. Takao

Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan and a very, very popular place to visit. I climbed Mount Fuji in the middle of August 1997 when I was at university, 25 years ago. Back then most people did a night hike, taking a bus up to the 5th Station around 10-11PM, and then hiking up to the summit (takes 6-7 hours) to see the sunrise. Mount Fuji is a very popular climb, and it can actually get really crowded at the summit (see photo above of the "traffic jam" that slowed us down when we reached the top.) The climb is fantastic and worth doing at least once in your life, but you definitely should be at least somewhat in shape to do it.

If you don't want to do something quite so ambitious, consider taking a half day trip to Mount Takao, a hiking spot only about 50 minutes away from Tokyo by train. This mountain takes 2-3 hours to climb and there's plenty to see on the way up. Mount Takao is considered a holy Shinto mountain, and therefore the mountain includes temples, statues, various religious relics, and mountain street vendors selling all sorts of snacks.

Hakone

Another popular day-trip from Tokyo is to Hakone, where you can see an active volcano, enjoy hot springs, and check out some pretty cool art exhibits. Definitely a fun day trip visiting an area that is very different from the crowded metropolis.

* * * * *

It is impossible for me to write a sufficient comprehensive guide to Japan. As you can see I've been there over 10 times, and every time I try to do something a little different. It's such an amazing place, no matter what, you'll find plenty of things to enjoy, and reasons to return over and over again.

Listing of all Japan-related posts

{last updated August 30, 2022}

2019 Japan Trip
Easter in Japan - Trip Report  (trip report)
Tempura Fukamachi Tokyo (tempura, 1 Michelin Star)
Disney Sea Tokyo (theme park)
Sushi Ishiyama (sushi)
Imafuku Sukiyaki Tokyo (sukiyaki, 1 Michelin Star)
Il Ristorante Luca Fantin Tokyo (Italian, 1 Michelin Star)

2018 Japan Trip
Totoro, Fall Foliage, Tofu Kaiseki (trip report)
Potsura Potsura Izakaya (izakaya, bib gourmande)
Sushi Ya with Takao Ishiyama (sushi)
Tokyo Shiba Tofuya Ukai - Tokyo Tower (tofu)
Hakone, Akihabara, and only-in-Japan Experiences Crony Tokyo (modern, 1 Michelin Star)

2017 Japan Trip
Kyubey - A follow-up visit
Tsukiji Fish Market Auction & Sushi Bun Breakfast
Shima Steak Tokyo - The Famous Steak Sandwich

2016 Japan Trip
Sushi Ya (sushi, dinner)
Afuri (ramen)
Dominique Ansel (bakery)
Bird Land (yakitori, 1 Michelin star)
Bar High Five (cocktail bar)
Matsuya Kanda (soba)

2015 Japan Trip
Hiking at Mount Takao in Japan
Florilege (French, 1 Michelin star)
Sushi Harutaka (sushi, 2 Michelin stars)
Rokurinsha (ramen breakfast)
Azabu Kadowaki (Japanese, 2 Michelin stars)
Nakameguro Iguchi yakitori (中目黒いぐち) (yakitori)
Sushi-Ya (すし家) (sushi)
Shirohige's Cream Puff Factory - Totoro Cream Puff (bakery)

2013 Japan Trip
Matsugen (soba)
Sushi Iwa (sushi, 1 Michelin star)
Ramen Honda (ramen)
Ryugin (modern kaiseki, 3 Michelin stars)
Omen (udon)
Shouraian (tofu)
Dotonburi (Osaka street food)
Taian (grill, 3 Michelin stars)
Sushi Sho (sushi)
Nakamura (traditional kaiseki, 3 Michelin stars)
Sushi Taku (sushi, 2 Michelin stars)
Sushi Yoshitake (sushi, 3 Michelin stars)

2012 Japan Trip
Sukiyabashi Jiro (sushi, 3 Michelin stars)
Sushi Sawada (sushi, 2 Michelin stars)
Sushi Aoki (sushi, 1 Michelin star)
Kikunoi Akasaka (kaiseki cuisine, 1 Michelin star)
Mikawa Zezankyo (tempura, 1 Michelin star)
Ukai-Tei (teppanyaki, Kobe beef; 1 Michelin star)
Kaoriya (soba)
Rokurinsha (ramen)
Omotesando Koffee (coffee)

2011 Japan Trip
Post Quake Japan
Kago (Kagoshima cuisine)
Daisan Harumi (sushi)
Tempura Kondo (tempura, 2 Michelin stars)
Sushi Mitani (sushi)
Inakaya (robotayaki)
Aronia de Takazawa (modern cuisine)
Sushi Mizutani (sushi, 3-Michelin stars)
Kappabashi Dori (Kitchen shopping street)
Masamoto Tsukiji (Knife shopping)

2010 Japan Trip
Part 1: Kappabashi Dori (shopping)
Part 2: Tapas Molecular Bar (modern Japanese, 1 Michelin star)
Part 3: Suzuran (ramen)
Part 4: Matcha and Azuki Breads
Part 5: Masamoto Tsukiji Knives (shopping)
Part 6: Maisen (tonkatsu)
Part 7: Snacking in Japan (snacks)
Part 8: Sushi Kanesaka (sushi, 2 Michelin stars)

2009 Japan Trip
Everything I Learned About Sushi I Learned from My Mom . . . . And Kyubei (sushi, formerly 1 Michelin star)
Seryna (Kobe beef shabu)
Sometaro (okomokiyaki)
Maisen (tomkatsu)
Kyubey (sushi, formerly 1 Michelin star)
Suzuran (ramen)

The post Updated: Jen's Japan Recommendations appeared first on Tiny Urban Kitchen.

Utter decadence.  Royal Opulence.  Over-the-top.

These are just a few words that come to mind when I think back to my experience dining at Joel Robuchon.  Up until that point, I had never felt so much like a king while dining at a restaurant.

We're lucky to even be able to dine here, actually.  Back in 1996, Joel Robuchon, one of the most acclaimed French chefs in history, felt "stifled" from cooking at the age of 51.  He closed his famous restaurant in Paris (Joel Robuchon) in 1996 while "at the top of his game."

Fortunately, after six years, he got the itch again.  He came "straight out of retirement" to open his first French restaurant in the US - Joel Robuchon, The Mansion, in Las Vegas.

This is the only three-star Michelin restaurant in all of Las Vegas. Having enjoyed two other three-star Michelin restaurants in NYC, I was curious what a three-star Michelin outside of NYC would be like.

The craziest thing you can order is the Menu Degustation (8-courses for $385 pp!!!).  I wasn't feeling so crazy, and we had a show to catch at 7pm, so we opted for the 4-course tasting for $148 pp.

The Incredible Bread Cart
Moments after we had settled into our plush, velvet seats, this gorgeous bread cart rolled up right next to our seats.

Wow.

Definitely the most amazing spread of bread options I had ever seen in my life. Typically at these nice restaurants, a waiter comes by holding a tray of various breads and allows you to choose as many as you want, which is always fun. Here, the waiter wheeled this massive cart filled with gorgeous, perfectly formed mini-baguettes, herb rolls, large crusty breads, milk bread rolls, and on and on and on. It was mind-blowingly full of options, and every single piece looked tantalizing.

I think between the two of us we almost tried every single piece of bread (heh), and they were all fantastic. If I had to pick our favorites, I think it would be the mini-wheat baguette, the basil roll, and milk bread.  But really, they were all incredibly enjoyable.

And that was only the beginning of this insanely over-the-top meal.

We started with the most amazing amuse I've ever had at any restaurant. At first I thought they gave me an entire can of caviar to eat, which would have been crazy. Instead, it was a beautiful taste of a simple crab salad topped with a layer of caviar.  Look inside!

I made sure that every tiny bit of caviar was cleaned out of that can! The dish was simple, elegant, and of course, had wonderful flavors. I'm not sure if it was creative or innovative, but just solid, good French food made with top notch ingredients.

I LOVED my first course. I still have mixed feelings about eating gold, but I can't deny that it makes the dish feel over-the-top extravagent. I loved loved loved this dish. Salmon tartare topped with caviar and a gold leaf - how can you go wrong? Flavors were delicious, but would you even expect this combination to fail? This course was super enjoyable, and I savored each bite.

Bryan got a crab salad that was recommended by the waiter. Solidly prepared, although I liked mine better. 🙂 I just might be a bit biased, seeing my love for all types of fish raw. 😉

And then it was time for the soup. Because I don't really like liver or fois gras, I opted for the black truffle mushroom soup, which had an additional "add-on" of $40 pp (ouch). After having tried some top notch white alba Italian truffles at Daniel, I was curious what I would think of black truffles (I know I don't like the black truffle oil as much as the white truffle oil).

Although the veal broth was amazingly rich and flavorful, I only though the black truffles were OK. (Isn't that so sad??) I guess it was sort of an expensive experiment, but now I know that I vastly prefer the tasting of white truffles to black truffles. Black truffles are not bad - they are earthy and musty. However, they don't have that intensely fragrant aroma that I think comes from white truffles. Oh well, the soup was still delicious.

My main entree was a sole that was excellently prepared. Nice balanced flavors, perfectly cooked fish texture, and a nice flavorful sauce. Nowhere as good as Le Bernardin, which makes the most amazing fish I've ever had anywhere in the world, but solid.

Bryan's main entree was more of an Asian-flavored fish and octopus dish. We both liked mine better, although both were pretty good.

The mashed potatoes are a signature Joel Robuchon side dish. They are amazingly smooth - I have no idea what he does to give them this incredibly velvety smooth texture.  It was delicious.

Dessert was beautifully presented. I got a layered passion fruit ice dessert that was light and refreshing. Solid, although nothing to "write home about." Similarly, Bryan got an espresso/chocolate themed dessert which was very good. Again, we were not wow-ed by either dish, but we definitely enjoyed them.  And there's just something to be said about the level of detail that goes into the presentation. Absolutely mind boggling.

And then the mignardises tray. Wow. That's all I can say. I have never seen a more impress cart of mignardises in my life! The possibilities were endless, and every small cookie or cake was delicately designed, beautifully presented. I had a hard time, but I ended up choosing the French macaron, the poppyseed "lollipop," the rum custardy thing (sorry, don't remember), the mini-cheesecake, and a silver dusted rice crispy treat. These were very well made and it was the first time I got to choose, so I highly enjoyed the procss.

Just look at that spread.  Gorgeous.

Oh, and as a final really nice touch, they gave “the lady” a box of chocolates to take away. It was beautifully packaged, and tasted divine.  Again, several pieces of chocolate dusted with gold or silver. Crazy opulent!

Concluding Thoughts?
In some ways, it's unfair to compare one restaurant's signature 8-course tasting with another restaurant's 4-course tasting. So, instead, I'll just give my general impressions. There are many aspects of the ambiance at Joel Robuchon that are more opulent than any other restaurant I have ever visited. The room is washed in various shades of purple. Purple velvet “couches” perch regally in the corners while purple ribbons hold together white linen napkins placed gingerly on delicate dishware. It seems like the entire wait staff speaks English with a French accent, and the room is adorned with more chandeliers, mirrors, and jewels than you can imagine. Over the top. Royalty. Opulent.

In a similar way, many of the spreads are there to wow you. Both the bread cart and the mignardises cart did just that - we were tickled and amazed at the same time at the vast array of choices we had. Especially when every choice looked so amazing. I've never seen anything quite as good as Joel Robuchon in these respects.

The food?
Definitely top-notch French cooking. Although I cannot complain about anything we ate, at the end of the meal, I was not nearly as wow-ed or utterly satisfied as I was after leaving both Le Bernardin and Daniel. I think part of it comes from the fact that we were rushed in finishing our meal so that we could make our show. But it's more than just that. In the end, nothing on the Joel Robuchon menu wow-ed me. I love love love caviar, and I thought those dishes were amazing. But in the back of my mind, I also thought that it wasn't THAT hard to make something taste good if you put caviar on top.

So, I'm not sure what to think. The table next to us was enjoying the Menu Degustation, and of course I couldn't help but continue sneaking peeks over there to see what they were having. I have to say, their dishes looked phenomenal, and it's quite possible that you can't enjoy Joel Robuchon's most amazing and signature dishes unless if you order the Menu Degustation.

I guess you can think of this as a limited review of a first time experience.

The Environment?
The restaurant is definitely incredible in terms of the high-class environment that it offers. As I mentioned earlier, the space is beautiful, adorned with gorgeous chandeliers, royal purple seats, and mirrors all around. Perhaps it’s a French thing, but we were a little disappointed in the slight distance of the wait staff. I think “stuffy” might be a bit harsh, but they were not as warm and friendly, which was something we really appreciated about Daniel. I might make an exception for the bread guy, who was happy to entertain our giddy excitement in trying all the breads, and even allowed me to take pictures of the cart. In general, though, Joel Robuchon is one of those places where you feel like you should speak in hushed voices, move daintily, and smile politely.

Nevertheless, it’s totally worth trying. A great way to enjoy this restaurant “on a budget” is to try the $89 tasting. You still get to enjoy the over-the-top ambiance, the awesome bread cart and the mignardises cart, not to mention the awesome amuse and the excellent food. It really is steal.

Joel Robuchon
MGM Grand
3799 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 891-7925

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