Originally Posted by
robyng
Thanks for sharing.
Tempura Mikawa and and Sushi Shin sound good.
Is Kikuchi Nishi-Azabu the same as Kikuchi at 2-17-17 Nishiazabu (that's the address in the Michelin Guide). Suspect so - but just making sure. If so - for us - that's a thumbs down because it's dinner only.
Kasumitei Matsubara isn't in Michelin and doesn't seem to have an English website. Not deal breakers for sure - but could you tell me a bit about it?
Yes, Kikuchi is the restaurant listed in the Michelin guide. You will have to go to dinner if you want to try it, which I highly recommend you do.
Kasumitei Matsubara has a website:
http://kasumitei-matsubara.com/ They are open for lunch, but you will have an entirely different experience if you go for dinner. If you do want to go for lunch, I would suggest having your hotel concierge make a reservation for you. You could request that they serve you a full dinner course at lunch time.
Originally Posted by
robyng
With regard to any yakitori restaurant - I try to avoid all restaurants where I can make any reasonable approximation of what a restaurant makes. I do grilled chicken on sticks all the time (mostly satay - but I could do a basic yakitori too if I cared to). I like restaurant things that I absolutely/positively couldn't/wouldn't make at home - even if the restaurant version of my home cooking is 10 times better than mine (and it usually isn't - I'm a pretty decent cook).
To liken Yakitori to "grilled chicken on a stick" is a gross oversimplification. The yakitori at Toriyoshi and other high-end yakitori restaurants is delicious and is perfect for when you are in the mood for a casual, authentic dinner with beer, wine, or Japanese sake. Unless you have had extensive training with a japanese yakitori chef, and somehow have access to ingredients that are not generally available in the US, there is no way that you are making anything remotely close to proper yakitori.
Originally Posted by
robyng
With regard to Sukiyabashi Jiro - especially if you're talking about the one in Ginza - well there's an old gardening saying - "wrong plant - wrong place". There's a dining corollary IMO - "wrong person - wrong restaurant". I have read enough about Jiro (saw the movie too) to know that I am absolutely the wrong person for that restaurant. For starters - I eat slowly - and get full quickly. It takes time for me to digest my food (I have some GI issues). If I were forced to get down 10-12-14 pieces of sushi quickly - I would probably have GI distress. Also - when I get kind of full (not hard when I'm faced with relatively large tasting menus in various restaurants these days) - I will only eat a part of what's on my plate. At sushi restaurants - I will leave the rice - or ask the chef if he can do sashimi instead - explaining things best I can - that it is *me* and no offense to the chef. Most chefs are pretty good about this - but considering what I've read - well this restaurant would be a disaster for me. Why ask for trouble?
At any sushi restaurant it would be extremely impolite to pick apart a piece of nigiri sushi, or to leave an item half eaten. There is however, absolutely nothing wrong with telling a chef to stop serving at any time if you have had enough, or to request sashimi instead of nigiri sushi. You can also request or decline grilled items, miso soup, tea, or alcoholic beverages. At most sushi restaurants the chef will adjust the pace of the meal according to how quickly or slowly one wants to eat. Before the meal begins, you will be asked if you have any food allergies or if there are any items you do not like, and the meal will be adjusted accordingly.
I agree that going to Sukiyabashi Jiro would probably be a disaster from what you describe. There are other sushi restaurants that will better meet your needs. Shin is an excellent restaurant, and some staff speak basic english. If you do go you will enjoy it very much, but please try not to pick apart any item or to leave anything half eaten. If you must do this, make sure to apologize and to explain that you need to stop eating or switch to something else.
Good hotel sushi restaurants can be very approachable, and often have at least some staff who speak fluent english. Roku-Roku at the Grand Hyatt is a very good restaurant that will be very accommodating of any special requests. Kanesaka located at the Palace hotel within Wadakura would also be a good choice. (You might want to have kaiseki or other types of food at Wadakura as well).
Sushi Tsu in Nishi-Azabu is a good restaurant where you will not have any problems communicating as one of the chefs is fluent in English. If you go for lunch, you can order a full omakase course that is the same as what you would have for dinner. This is also a good choice if you are looking for something a bit different than classic edomae sushi
http://www.sushitsu.jp/
Originally Posted by
robyng
And - do you think using the Michelin Guide makes any sense at all in Tokyo? On our first trip - we didn't use the Michelin Guide - because it hadn't been published in Japan yet. We pretty much relied on concierge recommendations and our poking around. So - for example - one tempura restaurant we had lunch at was Ippoh (restaurant floors of Barney's New York) - we just happened to stumble into it. We thought it was really good and loved the chef. OTOH - we are certainly not experts when it comes to tempura.
I honestly find the concept of dining in Tokyo somewhat overwhelming. Because Tokyo has about as many restaurants as my county has people
. So it's tempting to use the Michelin Guide. OTOH - it seems somewhat confining and not adventurous (I'm somewhat of a food snob and don't like going down the beaten foodie tourist path). On the third hand - we'll only be in Tokyo for 7 days - and I don't want to waste time there on mediocre meals. Robyn
I don't rely on the Michelin guide a lot in Japan, but for anyone without significant experience in Tokyo I think it is a very good resource to use. My advice would be to use the Michelin guide in combination with advice from you hotel concierge and from flyertalk. IIRC you will be staying at FS Marunouchi or The Peninusla, so you can definitely put the concierge to work to find restaurants for you beyond their standard recommendations for tourists.
Re tempura, definitely make a point of going to Mikawa in Monzen-Nakacho or Roppongi for a full omakase course (can be served at lunch time or dinner time for the same price).
Tokyo has a lot of restaurants, but you only need to find a handful of excellent ones to have an excellent experience.
I hope this information helps and wish you a great time here in Japan.
Cheers,
Mike