The "you can only get good Chinese food in China" mentality is irrational, narrow-minded, and shows limited understanding of the cuisine. Often ingredients used in Chinese cuisine are imported from Japan or other parts of Asia before being processed/prepared/dried and packaged for sale in China. Many of these products are then re-exported for use in Chinese restaurants and for sale in Chinese markets throughout Asia and the rest of the world. So, in many cases the ingredients used in Chinese restaurants in Tokyo and other places are identical to those used in Hong Kong.

Now he's in Singapore flipping burgers. What a waste of talent.

Let me give you the counter-argument. I don't (willingly) eat sushi outside of Japan. Can you find good sushi outside of Japan? Yes, but (a) it's hard to find, (b) inconsistent, and (c) much more expensive than the equivalent quality in Japan. So why bother setting myself up for disappointment at some highly-rated place in, say, New York, paying through the nose, for something that, at best, equals what you can find in Japan?

The same goes for Chinese food in Japan. I happen to love Chef Ken Kenichi's mabodofu, as a number of contributors to this forum can attest. Is it tasty? Absolutely. Is it "Chinese" food? I guess you could say. Is it something you'd find in China? Yes, but not in the same way. And lastly, can you find better in China? Yes, there is no question. And, would I go out of my way to seek it as a visitor to Japan? Absolutely not.

This is all true, but fails to account for obvious reasons why one might want to eat Chinese food, Sushi, or other foods in foreign countries. Often, one does not have the ability at any given moment to travel the world to eat a particular type of food. Even if one resides in or frequently travels to Hong Kong or Tokyo, one might want to eat Chinese food or sushi with a particular person who does not. One might also want to eat a favorite food while abroad for an extended period of time.

While the best Sushi in the world can only be found in Tokyo, in cities like New York fish and other ingredients can be flown in easily enough if they cannot be sourced more locally. The result as you say is usually sushi that is at best adequate by Tokyo standards, and of course the price is much higher. Nevertheless, for those who cannot easily make it to Tokyo, or for Japanese expatriates living in New York, this is still appealing.

Chinese food is a bit less specialized than sushi (the type of sushi discussed here is specific to Tokyo), and the ingredients are much easier to obtain in foreign countries, especially in Japan or other parts of Asia. In Japan, I would contend that Chinese food can be produced with greater success than good sushi can be in New York. The best Chinese food in Japan is obviously not as good as the best Chinese food in China, but is still probably better than >90% of Chinese food in China. Of course the cost of high-end Chinese food in Japan is very high, but again for many people it can be appealing.

As you appear to have HK as one of your locations, and obviously spend a lot of time in Japan, it is understandable that eating the local foods where you are would make more sense. Others might not travel to China frequently or at all, which may be the case for the OP. For an American traveling to Japan who has no immediate plans to travel to China, it could absolutely make sense to have a Chinese meal in Tokyo, as it's still pretty damn good and in any event far better than what is available in the US.

Let me counter your counter-argument. Is the best steakhouse in the U.S.? Probably? Is the best Italian restaurant in Italy? Yes. Can you get some incredible steak outside of the U.S.? Can you get some incredible Italian outside of Italy? Yes. Yes. Do you only eat American food when you're in America? Would eat the same cuisine 3 meals a day for a week no matter where you were? No. No. I wouldn't eat Japanese at every meal when I'm in Japan anymore than I would eat only American food if I'm in the U.S.

Bottom line for me, there are a lot of really outstanding restaurants for all kinds of cuisines in Japan. I would never consider ruling them out just because I'm in Japan. Number one in the world maybe not, but world class...definitely. Maybe no place else in the world is there such a smorgasbord of really great choices. On top of that the creativity, ambiance, variety of decor and the incredible service is fantastic. For me the thing I love about eating in Japan is the choice and the variety.

As for sushi outside of Japan, I tend to agree. Before sushi (and Japanese food in general) became so trendy, the situation was much better. There were a few places like Takezushi in NY and Kamehachi in Chicago that were really good (better than Japan for some varieties of fish and shellfish) and the price was about a quarter of what you would pay in Tokyo. Now with Korean chefs and California rolls, there's a lot more chaff and it's a lot harder to get a decent meal.

I agree, I eat all kinds of food wherever I travel. I also see no difference between having Chinese food in Tokyo and having a French or Italian meal in Tokyo. All will usually not be as good as what is available in the country of origin, and often more expensive, but who cares? If it's an enjoyable meal and a good way to add some variety to one's life, that's good enough for me.

When I travel I may have a list of a few restaurants I want to try, but mostly I make impulse decisions based on what I feel like eating at the moment.

Just getting back to the OP. Here's the checklist I would make if I were visiting Japan as a tourist not necessarily in order.

1. Power breakfast
2. Kaiseki
3. A couple of contemporary Japanese restaurants
4. Tonkatsu
5. Soba
6. Nice French
7. Ramen
8. Nice Italian
9. Sushi
10. Chinese
11. Yakitori
12. Japanese breakfast

That was pretty much my list with a few exceptions.

The Yakitori. Which I added during this thread.

The Chinese - and the Italian. Wouldn't mind good Chinese food (we have awful Chinese restaurants where we live and haven't had decent Chinese food since we were in Los Angeles a couple of years ago). As for Italian - maybe. I'm a better than decent Italian cook. Moreover - the room service menu at the hotel had some excellent pasta dishes when we were there (one with uni - outrageously good ). We may do room service once or twice if we're tired at night. So I'll see - do a bit more reading. The one thing I'm not going to do again is try spaghetti with a mayo based sauce. Did that on the first trip - and once is enough .

Will definitely have Japanese breakfast (breakfast is included in our room rate - and Japanese breakfast is one of the options). What's a "power breakfast"? Robyn

OK, now you have me painted into a corner. I have to agree with this post 100%.

As for the subsequent posts about putting up with sub-par versions of whatever, I disagree with the posters advocating that. I would rather dine on the plethora of very good options produced locally than eat bad Mole in Tokyo. Over to you on that one Pickles mi amigo.

Not exactly.

http://www.weekendnotes.com.au/and-m...rd-restaurant/

I tend to agree - but am reserving judgment. I know that in light of the economic downturn - Chef Menard and a lot of his fellow chefs - including those still in Atlanta - have tried to "roll with the punches" in terms of producing more "affordable food". For example - Chef Linton Hopkins (Beard best chef in the SE United States) is more famous for the limited number of burgers he turns out at his casual restaurant than he is for the excellent food at his "fine dining restaurant" (wandering "foodies" will go out of their way - actually leave the airport - to get the burger - but avoid the fine dining restaurant). And then there is Chef Richard Blais - who pretty much failed doing molecular gastronomy (which is a tough sell in cities like Atlanta and Miami) - but then succeeded with his "Flip Burger Boutique".

Of course - this is not only something that is going on in Atlanta. It's at least a national phenomenon (perhaps an international one). Meals that are less fussy - served in more casual surroundings. I don't mind the trend (although I'm not a burger fan) - but fear it is crowding out older notions of "fine dining". Robyn

Who said anything about sub-par.

Orchid Room at the Okura.

Well I read what you wrote as exactly that actually. To advocate eating something here that is not what it could be if one ate it elsewhere is in my opinion tolerating sub-par versions. Where other cuisines have been adopted and adapted as have French and Italian in Japan to produced stellar and new dishes no rational argument can be made that they are seeking to mimic the original. Rather they are a domestically produced version based on the original. Those foods that seek to be what is produced elsewhere often fail miserably in the attempt. Of course many levels of palate exist. This is why supermarket wine sells so very well :-)

Hope your question doesn't get lost here. Although steak isn't my personal favorite - I know that "Japanese steakhouses" are an important class of Japanese restaurants. And I'm sure there must be some excellent ones in Tokyo. Robyn

So what... you're only going to eat Italian at Enoteca Pinchiorri and swear off all other Italian food as sub-par... and can we further assume that any Pinot shy of Romanee-Conti (which BTW you can buy in a Japanese super-market) is sub-par?