For years, I’ve been captivated by Japan and its food, art and history. Two weeks ago I finally brought life to that dream and, along with my wife, Amy, spent eight days letting Japanese culture surround me. The experience was marvelous.
On our first night we dined at the refined, eight-seat restaurant (a Kappo) Nishiazabu Sushi Ichi owned by chef Yoichi Sato. Over the years, I’ve worked with some great cooks — men and women who moved carefully, deliberately and smoothly even during the busiest of times. After two hours in Sato’s company, I realized there is a much higher level of a cook’s movement. He never wasted a motion and his knife work, his cleanliness, his submission to pristine ingredients was mesmerizing.
Perhaps my most memorable bite of food in Japan was a petite bite of Sato’s Spanish Mackerel, delivered that day from a fisherman, smoked over hay a minute before it was served, offered with soy sauce Sato brewed, and topped with a few grains of sea salt and a dab of wasabi that he grated just for that bite. Sublime doesn’t come close to describing that singular experience, and that was our first meal in Japan.
However, a visit to Japan is so much more than a great meal. If one doesn’t appreciate the precision, the process to great food, you’re only understanding a small part of the culture.
While dining at Rokojuan we were served beautiful, delicate dollops of agar-agar infused with fresh flowers. Picking these up with chopsticks was challenging and rewarding.
A Kyoto breakfast
At Hotel Tou Nishinotoin in Kyoto we were offered a choice of Western-style breakfast or traditional Japanese meal. Naturally, we chose Japanese. Rice porridge was served with a variety of pickled vegetables, shaved ginger, Miso broth, soft tofu made in-house and grilled fish. We were invited to add rice to a small bowl, top with the vegetables and miso broth and enjoy. We did, and I’d never enjoyed tofu until that moment.
Our final meal was coffee from Nanufuku Coffee Shop in Gion. When it was time to head to the train station, I went outside to hail a taxi in the light rain. Even though we’d spent maybe $10 on two cups of her coffee, the proprietor couldn’t bear watching me stand in the rain without an umbrella, so she grabbed one of her own and covered me with it. I told her I was fine and was not made of sugar, which gave her a laugh. Nevertheless, she stayed put until the taxi came.
As Amy and I scooted into the car, she bowed repeatedly and thanked us with “arigato ozaimus,” which means thank you very much. In that moment I realized my standard of hospitality was wildly exceeded for a mere $10.
“City Juice” is a colloquial term for a glass of tap water served at a diner. John Malik is a restaurant coach and hospitality consultant. He can be reached at chefjohnmalik@gmail.com.
AloJapan.com