After travelling to see the Jigokudani snow monkeys (see Snow Monkeys and Soba Noodles) in the Japan Alps, we returned to Yokohama to repack our bags before leaving early the next morning for Kyoto, Japan’s old imperial capital.

Planning the three days was harder than I thought. I had to drop many of the items on my wishlist, including day trips to nearby Osaka and Nara. It would also have been wonderful to spend the night at the Buddhist temple on Koyasan (a World Heritage site) and sample shojin-ryori (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine). Most of all, I wanted to return to Kobe, where I had one of the most memorable meals of my entire life, a simple but spectacular dish of Kobe beef. In the end though, rather than rushing about trying to fit in multiple locations, I decided to plan a relaxing three day stay in Kyoto. It’s easy to forget how exhausting travelling can be.

Kyoto Day 1:

Arashiyama is a renowned area of natural beauty to the west of Kyoto and popular in the autumn for viewing the changing leaf colours. Best of all, it’s just a 15 minute train journey from Kyoto station. As the ryokan check-in time wasn’t until 2pm, I thought it would be a good idea to arrive at Kyoto station, leave our bags in coin lockers and head out to see the famous symbol of Arashiyama, Togetsu-kyo, the wooden (and concrete) ‘Moon Crossing Bridge’, and wander through the bamboo forest.

I had planned a shojin-ryori lunch at Tenryu-ji Temple (?3000, ?5000 & ?7000 set lunch menus, plus a ?500 admission fee to the temple grounds), however they were fully booked when my friend called to make a booking a month in advance. I then briefly considered Nishiki and their kaiseki bento lunch box as well as Sagano for their yudofu (Kitcho, with its recently awarded three Michelin stars, offered unaffordable kaiseki at ?35-40000 /£232 – £265 (prices from a few years ago)). In the end, I decided to just turn up and see…

Arashiyama turned out to be very touristy, with teenage schoolchildren everywhere. The best part was the bamboo forest, which would have been even more magical without the rickshaws and the Japanese tour groups. I took one look at Togetsu-kyo and was most unimpressed. A simple lunch of kitsune udon, zaru soba and zaru udon saved the day. There are many restaurants lining the road where Tenryu-ji Temple is located, but somehow we managed to find one that didn’t have a single domestic or overseas tourist (Aratozuki, Tel: 075 882 9884, towards the Togetsu-kyo end). Incidentally, the addition of a creamy raw quail’s egg into the dipping sauce really made a difference!

Dinner had been booked weeks in advance at the 120 year old kaiseki restaurant Rokusei Nishimise, just a few minutes away from the hotel, so that was another reason not to splurge on lunch. Kaiseki ryori is the haute cuisine of Kyoto and if you’re visiting the city, it shouldn’t be missed. Kaiseki restaurants usually offer lunches which are a more affordable way of sampling kaiseki, perhaps in the form of a bento box or set lunch menu. Many of the luxury ryokan also offer kaiseki dinners. The formal meal follows a rigid structure, with multiple small dishes following each other in a traditional order. Fresh, seasonal ingredients are emphasised and much time is spent on each creation, hence the steep prices.

The Rokusei menu was analysed in depth and translated for me by three different sources before we settled on the Teoke Kaiseki set menu (?7350 / £49) and the Hana set menu (?8400 / £56). The ‘real’ kaiseki dinner menus were out of our price range (from?12,600 /£83.50 to ?31,500 / £210), given that we had to stick to our two week budget. Strict instructions had also been conveyed to the restaurant regarding the husband’s dietary requirements.

So it turned out that he had the better meal and better dining experience, whereas I was felled by a dish early on in the meal, of chawanmushi (egg custard) with suppon (soft shell turtle). I have to say, it was one of the most bitter and foul-tasting dishes I’ve eaten in living memory. I felt like Mr Bean when he ordered steak tartare by mistake and was literally looking for places to dump it. In the end, I swallowed half of it before conceding defeat and abandoned the rest. That one dish overshadowed the rest of the meal and I left still reeling from the shock. The husband was beaming though! However, please don’t let my description of one small dish affect a visit to Rokusei that you may be planning. Everyone I mentioned it to had heard of it, whether in Kyoto or Tokyo, and I would still highly recommend it. My favourite part was the food served in the teoke (a pail made out of cedar), which I think is how Rokusei used to deliver their bento boxes in the old days. Just don’t nod when the server asks if you can eat chawanmushi with suppon!

Kyoto Day 2:

Higashiyama (the Eastern Mountains) is said to be one of Kyoto’s most charming & well preserved areas. Although there is no getting away from the tourists and schoolchildren (the above photo is most deceptive!), I must admit I rather liked Higashiyama. We certainly spent enough time in the area, eating both lunch and dinner there. The streets Ninen-zaka and Sannei-zaka on the way up to Kiyomizudera temple are packed with restaurants and small shops selling specialist food products (Kyoto is famous for pickles, snacks (rice crackers, cream puffs & a million and one types of wagashi (Japanese sweets served with tea) and arts & crafts. I stocked up on shichimi togarashi, my favourite Japanese seven spice pepper, and also yuzu with pepper at a specialist shop, established in 1655, that only sells shichimi togarashi, called Shichimiya or Shichimi Shop (2-221 Kiyomizu). The little packets make fantastic presents as well.

Lunch had been booked at Okutan, a famous yudofu ryori restaurant with a branch near Nanzenji temple and one near Kiyomizu. We chose to go to the latter branch (Tel: 075 525 2051, at the junction where Ninenzaka meets Sanensaka). We had no idea where the restaurant was, and by coincidence stopped in front of it to check the characters of its name in the guidebook, looked up and we were there!

Yudofu is tofu simply cooked in a pot in a kombu (kelp) broth, then eaten in small bowls with hot soy sauce and chopped spring onion. It has become a Kyoto specialty because good quality tofu requires good quality water, which Kyoto happens to have. We ordered the yudofu course (?3150) and the special tofu course (?4200). The only difference was that one consisted of a very silky-smooth tofu while the other had a slightly rougher, but still incredibly smooth, texture. Preceding the yudofu courses were yam soup (as light as foam), sesame tofu with wasabi, grilled tofu with sweet miso and vegetable tempura. Okutan is all tatami mat seating and is a veritable maze of dining rooms, some private, and we were fortunate enough to be seated by the tranquil Zen garden.

After that delicious and healthy lunch, we went to visit 400 year old Tenneiji temple. The temple belongs to a friend’s family, and so we were shown around not only the spectacular gardens, which are open to the public, but also the interior, which is only open to relatives of those who are buried in the temple grounds. We relaxed over a bowl of frothy matcha and marron wagashi (chestnut sweet) and the temple owners also gave us tickets for the night opening of Kiyomizudera temple. The temple is usually closed at night, but we had just arrived for a special few weeks of night openings at various temples, to enable visitors to admire the autumn leaves in beautiful temple settings.

After a quick dinner at Kamanza on Ninenzaka (Tel: 075 531 1719) – namafu dengaku (wheat gluten grilled with miso paste), yuba set course (yuba is the skin by-product of tofu and heavenly when served fresh) and unagi don (grilled eel on a bowl of rice) – we wandered back up the hill to Kiyomizudera temple. At around 8.30pm, it wasn’t particularly crowded, and anyway the temple complex and grounds are so enormous that it was quite easy to wander around and appreciate the views without feeling claustrophobic. Another good time to visit Kiyomizudera is at 6am when it opens, to avoid the tourists.

Kyoto Day 3:

Located in eastern Kyoto, the Philosopher’s Walk is a 1.8 km leisurely stroll down a cherry tree-lined canal from Ginkaku-ji (Silver Pavilion) in the north to Nanzen-ji in the south, with various temples along the route. As our ryokan was located closer to Ginkaku-ji, we started at that end, fueling up on a couple of custard and matcha cream puffs made with brown rice (and a warm rice cracker made with shichimi togarashi). And before we started the walk, an elderly Japanese man on his bicycle approached us and gave us a lengthy description of how to find Honenji, with peaceful temple gardens that are free to enter, before apologising for his (perfect) English! Naturally we followed his directions and it was most definitely worth a short visit (there are signs if you want to go too). The Philosopher’s Walk was easily one of my favourite parts of the Kyoto trip, as it was magically tranquil (I could just imagine how unpleasant it would have been with hordes of tourists). After all, the time should be spent philosophising while strolling down the canal and admiring the scenery…

Nishiki Market is Kyoto’s famous food market, located one block north of Shijo-dori, running from Teramachi-dori on the east to Takakura-dori on the west. There are over 140 stalls selling everything from fish, tofu products to pickled vegetables and Kyoto’s chefs all shop at Nishiki, as do locals. The well-known Aritsugu knife shop is at one end of the market (a friend said that when she gets married, she wants her father’s wedding present to be a set of Aritsugu knives!). The market is covered and there is just a narrow path down the middle. Again, when we visited (Saturday around noon), it was just some locals doing their food shopping. There are also restaurants and stalls selling snacks such as okara (soymilk) doughnuts.

We ended up having lunch at Katsukura, a famous tonkatsu chain (although I didn’t know that at the time when I found it by chance near one end of Nishiki market). I ordered 70g of the Yonesawa Sangen fillet cutlet (I prefer fillet to the other option, loin) (?1280) and the husband had yuba and vegetarian croquettes. We had to make our own tonkatsu sauce (no Bulldog brand here!), by grinding roasted sesame seeds in a pestle and mortar and adding a variety of condiments – yuzu in a thinner sauce, the standard sauce and a rich, thick one. This was then poured onto the tonkatsu, which was unbelievably tender and succulent. Finely shredded cabbage could be topped up at any time, and there was a jar of pickles on the table to eat with rice. This was an excellent meal considering it was unplanned!

After lunch, we did a spot of shopping around Shijo Kawaramachi, the shopping area located along a stretch of Shijo Dori and Kawaramachi Dori. I was pleased to come across the main branch of the famous Yojiya, a cosmetics shop at the corner of Hanamikoji-dori and Shijo-dori. Founded in 1904, its best-selling product is aburatorigami or facial oil blotting paper dating from 1920, which actors and geisha traditionally used over their thick make-up. I stocked up on these as well as yuzu-flavoured lip balm.

I also developed an obsession for furoshiki or Japanese wrapping cloths and must have bought around 10 or 12 on the trip, mostly from a small chain called Raak (there is also Enveraak). Each shop sells different designs, so furoshiki fans, be warned! There are a myriad of ways in which furoshiki can be used, such as to make tissue box covers, water bottle holders and bags, and they can also be framed.

In terms of food shopping, we came across Eirakuya, an elegant shop dating back to the Edo period, selling wagashi and tsukudani or preserved vegetables and fish. The manager invited us to sit down for tea and to sample the products we were interested in, namely yuzu jam (which incidentally is sublime! Eirakuya is a perfect place to select food gifts and souvenirs. We also bought some apple-based wagashi for friends.

The day concluded with a stroll down Pontocho Alley, a traditional geisha entertainment area, and lined with tempting restaurants (for the next trip) before making our way back to Kyoto station and returning to Tokyo, tired but happy…

A few things I didn’t get to do but were on the list:

Owari-ya is one of the oldest soba-ya (soba restaurant) in Kyoto. Located near Kyoto Imperial palace, it’s recommended by Durston and also fellow foodie Simon P, who ate there recently. It is open from 11:00-18:30 and closed on Wednesdays

Toji Temple market is supposed to be the best for vintage Japanese crafts, and also offers street food. It takes place on the  21st of each month.

Fushimi Inari shrine (2 hour hiking trail) – located just outside JR Inari Station, the second station from Kyoto on the JR Nara Line. The train ride takes 5 minutes and costs ?140 from Kyoto Station.

Practical Information:

Travel -

It is expensive to travel from Tokyo to Kyoto if you buy standard tickets (?13,200 (£88) one way), but we had bought Japan Rail Passes (£191 for a 7 day pass) from the UK to cover all the other train journeys on our trip, so the travel budget was effectively taken care of. I used Hyperdia to research train times and reserved the seats after activating our Rail Passes at Narita airport. The journey takes around 2 hours 40 minutes on the Hikari shinkansen (the Nozomi is the fastest train by about 20 minutes but isn’t covered by the Rail Pass). We travelled from Shin-Yokohama, so the journey was slightly shorter.

There are different ways to reach Arashiyama from Kyoto, but for us, the quickest route was from Kyoto Station to Saga-Arashiyama on the JR Sagano (or Sanin) line. The journey takes 15 minutes and costs ?230 one way. Central Arashiyama is just a short walk away.

Hotel -

As Kyoto was added to the schedule at the last minute (six weeks is last minute for me!), I had a minor panic trying to find a hotel as most were fully booked for the two nights that I wanted. The ryokan I had my eye on were also expensive, but on the other hand, I didn’t want to stay in a business hotel. It was a relief when The Three Sisters Inn Annex informed us that they could accommodate us. Run by three sisters, it’s a five minute walk from Heian Shrine, with no meals included, plus a private bathroom (essential for us). The annex caters for non-Japanese visitors only, while the main inn has been around for 14 generations, although I only discovered all this after making the booking (see Japan Times article). Two nights cost ?36340 (£245) total for 2 people.

The Three Sisters Annex
89 Irie-cho
Okazaki
Sakyo-ku
606-8322 Kyoto
Tel: 81-(0)75-761-6333
Fax:81-(0)75-761-6335

Guidebook -

I was last in Kyoto over 20 years ago, and with hardly any recollection of it, decided to buy Diana Durston’s Old Kyoto, a guide to all the traditional artisan shops, ryokan (traditional Japanese hotels) and restaurants that are unfortunately dwindling in a fast-changing city. Although it was written in 1986, it was reprinted a few years ago and many travellers to Kyoto swear by it. I found Rokusei and Okutan through the book.

Useful links -

• Kyoto Guide – a most informative guide to Kyoto, and where I found our ryokan & transport tips

• Kyoto Foodie – regarded by many as the definitive guide to all things gastronomical in Kyoto

• Chubby Hubby’s Kyoto Guide 2009 – although all their restaurant recommendations were beyond our budget, it was still a useful guide to take with us

• Financial Times: Kyoto’s Haute Cuisine – an informative article on kaiseki cuisine

• Japan Planning – my original post on researching the Japan trip

• Snow Monkeys & Soba Noodles and Tokyo Stories – the other two posts from the Japan trip

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Background:

Sushi-Hiro is a popular destination for Japanese diners, West London locals and all sushi lovers willing to trek across London for some of the freshest sushi and sashimi. One of my Japanese friends is always reminding me that it’s her favourite in the city for sushi. So when another friend (who lives locally and has been a regular for well over a decade) suggested dinner at Sushi-Hiro, I decided not to put the journey off any longer.

When I spotted the restaurant directly over the road from Ealing Common tube station, I wasn’t even sure whether it was open. The glass front is frosted so that you can’t see in to the interior from outside, and there was no displayed menu either. There were  some great plastic replicas of the sushi displayed in the window though, as you would find outside many restaurants in Japan.

Upon entering, there was an enthusiastic Japanese welcome from the staff (the sushi chef and his assistant behind the sushi counter and a friendly waitress). Although I’d been warned, I was still quite surprised by the basic decor and small size of the restaurant. Apart from the seats around the sushi counter, all of which were reserved, there were just four small tables. It became busier at around 8pm, but at 7pm mid-week, it was rather quiet for most of the time we were eating.

Menu:

We were handed the menu, which was also printed on a single sheet attached to a clipboard and used to mark one’s order. Sushi-Hiro isn’t for vegetarians or those who aren’t fans of raw fish, and the menu lists just sushi and sashimi. There are no noodle, rice or little starter dishes either, unlike at other Japanese restaurants.  For those who are fans, it’s sushi heaven!

As a Sushi-Hiro ‘virgin’, I wanted to try one of the nigiri sushi sets before ordering à la carte (priced individually). After settling on set A superior nigiri (£18.00 for 13 pieces – tuna belly, sea bass, salmon, turbot, sea bream, eel, surf clam, scallop, sweet shrimp, spotted sardine, yellowtail, crab and salmon roe), I was told that they didn’t have it that evening. So I had to go for set B instead (£12.00 for 10 pieces – tuna, turbot, salmon, sea bass, sea bream, eel, surf clam, spotted sardine, sweet shrimp and salmon roe).  My friend always orders set C, which I think is £10.00. We also ordered the scallop sushi (£2.00), tuna roll,  salmon roll and miso soup.

I won’t describe every single piece of sushi to you, as you should go and find out for yourself! But I have to mention the scallop, which was superbly fresh and melty and probably the best I’ve had in London so far (on the left in the above photo). Everything I tried was extremely fresh.

A point to note, there are no dollops of wasabi, customarily to be found next to the gari (pickled ginger). I don’t know how offended Sushi-Hiro’s sushi chef would be if you asked for it, but I have learned from Japanese friends that sushi chefs generally don’t like it if you add extra wasabi to the soy sauce because it overwhelms the flavour of the fish. With sashimi, it’s different – a tiny blob of wasabi can be added to the fish, which is then rolled up using chopsticks and dipped into the soy sauce. I’ll be extra observant in Japan this November when eating sushi and sashimi and try to follow etiquette – eating sushi with fingers, dipping only the fish part in the soy sauce, but eating sashimi with chopsticks!

The verdict:

Definitely worth the trip to west London! The total came to less than £40 for two, including sake and tea, but not service charge. I’m looking forward to the next meal, when I’ll probably order sushi à la carte and try the sashimi as well. There are no frills at Sushi-Hiro, but who needs them when there is such fresh fish and seafood on offer?

Tip:

The restaurant only accepts cash. I’m not familiar with the area, so I don’t know where the nearest cash point would be. I nearly forgot until I re-read a review online and was reminded to take plenty of cash with me. And if you like sitting at the sushi counter, you should request this when making the booking. I would estimate that there are around ten seats around the counter.

10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average

All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide

Contact details:
Sushi-Hiro
1 Station Parade (directly opposite Ealing Common underground station)
Uxbridge Road
London W5 3LD
Tel: 020 8896 3175

Opening hours:
Tuesday to Saturday 11:00 – 13:30, 16:30 to 21:00

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Background:

After missing Japanese restaurant Tsuru’s sake tasting because of a cold, I was instead invited for a complimentary dinner. Accompanying me was my little brother, who makes a good dining companion because he doesn’t dine out as much as I do and therefore his judgement of what he eats is often clearer than mine. Tsuru prides itself on using ethically sourced ingredients such as line caught yellowfin tuna and free range chicken, as well as its famous eight hour curry – more on that later.

First impressions:

The restaurant is small in terms of actual floor space, but because of its design – floor to ceiling window, incredibly high ceiling and open kitchen – it appears much more spacious. Incidentally, the simple but beautiful wooden high tables and stools, which I couldn’t stop admiring, were designed and created by one of the three owners. You can choose to sit at the long counter against the window, facing outside, or at one of the small tables. It wasn’t a particularly busy evening, being mid-week, but I liked the laid-back atmosphere. Manager Sandy looked after us very well, although I think I would be right in saying that he would have treated us the same had we been paying customers.

Menu:

There are effectively two menus, one for lunch and one for dinner. The lunch menu (you can see this online) is aimed at the nearby office workers and so offers various sushi and katsu curry bento boxes for eating in or takeaway. The dinner menu is quite simple, with a variety of ’small plates’ including the classics gyoza, agedashi tofu, chicken kara-age and nasu dengaku (aubergine with miso), sushi and sashimi platters (there is also a vegetarian option) and four types of katsu curry (chicken, pork, vegetable and scallop).

What we ordered:

• free-range chicken yakitori (£2.95) – I adore all kushiyaki (anything grilled on skewers), so had to order the yakitori. I don’t usually have chicken when I eat out, but knowing that it was free-range set my mind at rest. Three generous-sized skewers arrived, with spring onion placed in between the succulent pieces of chicken

• seared scallops, tiger prawns and asparagus in garlic butter (£5.45) – this wasn’t something I’ve seen before on a standard Japanese menu, but Sandy recommended it. Thanks to him, we were subjected to a lovely ’small plate’ made with very fresh ingredients. Again, simply prepared but delicious to eat!

• sashimi moriawase (£12.95) – there is just the one sashimi platter option. The salmon and tuna were thick cut (perhaps just a tad too thick), but very fresh. I’m never keen on raw mackerel, as it’s just too fishy, but I did love the white fish, which I couldn’t identify, although I’ve had it before

• premium sushi moriawase platter - selection of nigiri and maki sushi (£12.95) – there is just one sushi platter option, apart from the vegetarian one. This was a good selection of sushi, but as we were sharing, we had to ‘make deals’ in order to divide them up as equitably as possible eg the unagi or the tuna, the tamago or the octopus etc. I particularly enjoyed the prawn and avocado maki roll

• tonkatsu curry (£7.45) – by the time this arrived, we were struggling. However, Tsuru’s curry is made with sixteen ingredients and slowly cooked for eight hours (in stark contrast to the curry sauce blocks that many people turn to, which doesn’t take long at all to cook), so cried out to be sampled. The tonkatsu, which I’ve made many times at home over the years, was nicely deep fried. I couldn’t make my mind up about the curry though. It was well flavoured, I thought, but a little runnier than expected. Perhaps I’m just used to a thicker, more substantial and hearty texture. At any rate, we still managed to eat more than two thirds of it!

The verdict:

Overall, we had a most enjoyable dinner at Tsuru, although we ate far too much as usual – a couple of small plates and either sushi/sashimi or curry would have sufficed under ‘normal’ eating conditions. I also liked the fact that despite a small dinner menu, there were enough options for vegetarians (good news for the husband). I only hope that when they open their next branch, it will be closer to my office in Soho, as I’d like to eat at Tsuru more regularly…

10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average

All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide

Contact details:
Tsuru
4 Canvey Street
London SE1 9AN
Tel: 020 7928 2228
www.tsuru-sushi.co.uk

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Background:

This review of Japanese restaurant Tomoe is based on two visits, a dinner in December and lunch a couple of weeks ago. Diners have raved about it on Chowhound, where I first read about it last year. Unfortunately I only have photos from lunch, as I didn’t have my camera with me on the first visit (a long story!).

Tomoe is spread over two floors, ground and basement. I usually don’t like eating in basements, although the sushi bar is located downstairs and I always like to watch the sushi chef at work. For dinner, however, my Japanese friend and I sat on the ground floor. The interior is simply decorated, while the service is a little frantic when it’s busy, but friendly and helpful enough.

Menu:

The standard menu is quite ordinary, consisting of the usual fare you would expect to find in most Japanese restaurants in London – sushi, sashimi, donburi, tempura, several meat and seafood dishes, a few types of noodles and so on. The more interesting and unusual dishes are to be found on the ’specials’ menu, which is irritatingly only in Japanese.

With much relief, I let my Japanese friend order dinner, as she had only eaten there recently (and just attended a Japanese Embassy function catered by Tomoe) and wanted me to try a couple of favourites from the specials menu. Apart from the specials that we ordered, there were other dishes I liked the sound of, including pumpkin croquette, yellowtail carpaccio and chicken and yuzu grilled with salt. In retrospect, practically the entire specials menu was rather special indeed, and I hope that Tomoe realises that non-Japanese customers would very much appreciate having access to these dishes. And enjoy them too!

What we ordered:

• iburi shime saba – marinated mackerel (slightly seared on the outside) with grated daikon on top (£6.90) – if you like mackerel, you’ll probably like this. The daikon helps to cut out the slightly strong fishy flavour. Incidentally, this is quite a large portion and more than enough for two to share with other dishes

• sea bream and avocado millefeuille (£6.90) - this wasn’t as beautifully presented as it sounds. It was also a little rich as far as I remember, but lovely in small quantities

• uni (sea urchin), unagi (grilled eel), hotate (scallop), chu toro (medium fatty tuna) and salmon sushi, ordered à la carte (£1.70 to £3.90 each). If you don’t get a chance to order from the specials menu, then stick to sushi and sashimi at Tomoe, as it is really very fresh. Charmaine from tasty treats! always recommends the hotate, and I have to agree with her

When I returned to Tomoe for lunch a couple of weeks ago with Lizzie from Hollow Legs, we sat at the sushi counter. Absolutely ravenous with hunger, we greedily ordered the deluxe sushi set for £16.90. This included the hotate and unagi. The sushi was incredibly fresh as I remembered, but we were left feeling hungry and disatisfied. I don’t mind paying for good quality sushi, but for £16.90, I thought another 4 or 5 pieces would have made us felt we’d had the deluxe rather than the standard sushi set.

The verdict:

Out of the two meals, I found dinner far more satisfying. I left feeling I’d actually eaten a very good meal, whereas the lunch of eleven pieces of sushi simply left me wanting more food. But I’ll most probably return to Tomoe, when I’ve tried a few other Japanese places on my list, including Sushi Hiro (read review), Sakana-tei, Atari-ya and Satuma.

10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average

All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide

Contact details:
Tomoe
62 Marylebone Lane
London W1U 2PB
Tel: 020 7486 2004

Opening hours:
Lunch 12:00 – 15:00 Tue to Sat
Dinner 18:00 – 22:00 Mon to Sat (£15 minimum spend in the evenings)
Closed Sunday

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Maki sushi or sushi rolls can be a fun and creative way to eat healthily, as you can make plenty with children (not the cutting part!) or with friends, and fill them with anything you like. There are a million and one recipes for these online, but here’s how I made them, based on instructions on the back of the sushi rice and nori packets and on memory from having made them with Japanese friends in the past.

First you need to have the basics to hand. It’s all about being organised and having everything ready, so that you can start assembling. I only made three rolls with the ingredients below, but after making them and tidying and washing up, I realised I should have made far more, and saved them for dinner. Which is why having friends or family over to make them and then eat them together is recommended. Otherwise it’s a lot of work for just three rolls!

Basics:

• bamboo sushi mat
• wooden rice spatula
• large bowl
• sharp knife
• something to fan the rice with
• nori (seaweed sheets)
• gari (pickled sushi ginger)
• wasabi (I use the powdered version)
• soy sauce

Sushi rice ingredients:

• 250g sushi rice
• 2 tbsp Japanese rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Filling ingredients: (basically, use anything you like!)

• 1 hot smoked salmon fillet
• 4 spring onions
• half a bag of spinach

What to do, step by step:

1. Boil the rice using either a saucepan or rice cooker. According to the instruction, use 330ml water to cook 250g rice, but to judge the amount of water, I always stick my little finger upright in the saucepan, touching the base. With the rice in the water, it should come up to the second knuckle (of course we won’t all have the same length fingers, but this is how I was taught!). Bring to the boil with the lid off, then turn the heat all the way down and simmer for another 10 minutes with the lid on. Then turn the heat off, but leave to stand for another 15-20 minutes, keeping the lid on. Don’t be tempted to lift the lid to check on the rice!

2. Mix the sushi rice ingredients together in a small cup, stirring until the sugar and salt have dissolved completely

3. While the rice is cooking, prepare the filling ingredients. As I had no sashimi-grade fresh fish to hand (some salmon or tuna would have been lovely), I chose hot smoked salmon which I flaked roughly, barely wilted spinach (this needs about a minute in a shallow pan with some water) and finely chopped spring onions. Another nice ingredient is toasted sesame seeds (add seeds to hot, dry frying pan and stir until brown and popping)

4. Transfer rice to a large bowl, and using the wooden rice spatula, fold in the sushi rice ingredients, so that the grains are evenly coated. Continue folding until the rice cools down (it helps to fan it as well during this process, which is why extra pairs of hands are useful). When it is sticky and warm, then you’re ready to start rolling

5. Place a sheet of nori on the sushi mat and spread a layer of rice evenly over it, leaving a small section uncovered at either end. Try to get the right proportion of rice to filling, otherwise you’ll find yourself eating a lot of rice and not much filling (as I found out). Also remember not to overfill the roll

6. Starting with the edge closest to you, roll up gently but firmly into a tight roll, pulling the edge of the mat back as you go, so it does not roll into the sushi. When you reach the uncovered end, wet with a bit of water to seal, then finish rolling. This rolling part takes some practice to get right

7. Cut roll into pieces with a sharp, moistened knife. Don’t cut the roll until you’re ready to serve, otherwise the rice will become dry

8. Serve with gari on the side and a little dipping dish of soy sauce with wasabi. Eat with your fingers like the Japanese do!

Please let me know if you have any useful tips or favourite fillings for making sushi rolls! I’ll be making these regularly from now on, so any suggestions are more than welcome.

Meanwhile, 8 Useful Japanese Ingredients may be a useful post to read.

See more Japanese recipes on World Foodie Guide

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Japanese family-run restaurant Sushi-Say in Willesden Green is one of those restaurants that people always seem to be talking about. Given the explosion in the number of small Japanese family-run restaurants in London over the last decade, it’s hard to keep trying new ones. I tend to go to the same few – Yoisho, Jinkichi, Asakusa, while my Japanese stepmother-in-law likes the set lunch at Mitsukoshi. But as Sushi-Say regularly tops lists of recommended eateries, I thought I’d give it a try for my brother’s birthday lunch.

Located just a few doors down from Willesden Green tube station, it’s easy to find. It’s apparently had a make-over and looks simple but modern, with a sleek sushi counter, and about 10 or so small tables in the main section. Screened off towards the back is a sunken table with tatami seating (for 6-8 people, I’d say).

Policy on children?

Before I move onto the food, I have to say I don’t understand Sushi-Say’s policy with regards to children. Having read on-line that a couple were turned away because they had two children, I was still a little surprised when making a reservation over the phone to be asked whether there would be any children. I’ve never been asked this question before by any restaurant. And yet when we arrived, there was a child seated at the noisiest table in the entire restaurant. So does Sushi-Say welcome children or not? I’m afraid I didn’t ask the owner. But if you’re planning to take children, do check when making a reservation.

We were given three menus, the set lunch menu, a ’specials’ menu and the main one. There was so much information to digest that it took some time, and it didn’t help that we were asked about four times within ten minutes by different waitresses whether we were ready to order. Overall though, the service was very good, and more importantly, friendly.

What I ordered:

As it was snowing hard outside and we were freezing cold, just eating sushi and sashimi did not appeal. We started with small dishes of kabocha no nitsuke – traditionally cooked oriental pumpkin (£4.50), agedashi tofu (£5.00), followed by nigiri toku – 8 fish/shellfish, 1 omelette and half tuna roll (£17.00). Then we each ordered a donburi (like a one dish meal consisting of a large bowl of rice with a topping):

• una juu – grilled eel with kabayaki sauce on rice (£15.00) – special menu
• yasai tendon – deep fried vegetables seasoned with special sauce on rice, which came with a small side dish of vegetables in broth (£10.40) – set lunch menu
• tori teri don – grilled chicken and vegetables with teriyaki sauce on rice (£10.50) – main menu

The sushi was extremely fresh (prepared by the sushi chef who owns the restaurant with his wife). As always, I struggled a little to flip each piece upside down to dip into the soy sauce. My una juu was delicious, with the sauce having completely soaked into the rice (perfect!), and I’ve had plenty in my lifetime to be able to judge a good one. It was so large that I couldn’t finish the rice.

But I have to say (and my companions heartily agree), that the highlight of the lunch was most definitely the home-made ice cream. In fact my brother, who lives in south London, thought that it was worth returning just for the ice cream and a cup of tea. The choice of flavours were vanilla, coffee, ginger, red bean, sesame, green tea, wasabi, cocoa, coconut, banana and chestnut. Most restaurants only offer a few, so this was a special list indeed. 1 scoop cost £2, 2 scoops £3.80, 3 scoops £5.50, 4 scoops £7.20 and 5 scoops £8.90.

As we were completely unable to reach consensus over which flavours to order to share, we each went our separate ways: green tea & red bean, ginger & sesame and wasabi & chestnut. My order of preference was red bean, green tea, wasabi, ginger, sesame and chestnut (the last two were too thick and gooey). Wasabi was the most interesting, giving my nostrils a lightly refreshing zing with each spoonful.

There were no Japanese customers, apart from one woman at the noisy table. I’m not sure if this means anything, but the restaurants I usually go to are packed with Japanese locals. Perhaps the Sunday lunch crowd attracts a different type of customer. It doesn’t mean the food isn’t recommended though. Lunch without alcohol came to £84 with service, for three people.

The verdict?

It was very good, and I have no complaints. I suppose I was just expecting more, because of the rave reviews it has had. As I now have about ten other Japanese restaurants on my wishlist to visit, it will be a good while before I return to Sushi-Say…

10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average

All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide

Contact Details:
Sushi-Say
33b Walm Lane
London NW2 5SH
Tel: 020 8459 2971 / 7512

Open Tue – Sun 18.30 to 22.00pm
Tue – Fri 12.00 to 14.00
Sat – Sun 13.00 to 15.00
Closed Monday

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide

Exactly ten years after my two visits to Nobu London in 1997, the year it opened and was awarded its Michelin star, I thought I’d return to see if the food was as I remembered it, and review it for World Foodie Guide. I read recently that it was voted 17th best restaurant in the world by Restaurant magazine this year (it’s been featured in this list for the last few years). In 1999, I ate at Nobu Next Door in New York with two Japanese friends from Tokyo, and we thought the food was sensational. So it was with high expectations that I ventured back to Nobu London, with a friend who has never been before.

The welcome was genuinely friendly and I have no complaints at all about our waitress, although I’m sure she would have liked us to have ordered more of the peripheral items (alcohol, dessert, more Fiji water at £5.50 a bottle!). The restaurant was spacious, open and airy, and we had a great table by the windows.

The menu was somewhat confusing though, with far too many items. There were countless special appetizers from £7.00 to £17.00, new style sashimi (which is lightly seared sashimi) and many salads. Then there were about 28 special dishes, including the legendary and much-copied black cod with miso (£25.50), rock shrimp tempura and softshell crab harumaki. Wagyu beef is priced at £17.50 per 50 g. Additionally, there is a huge sushi and sashimi selection on offer, as well as tempura to be ordered individually (a reasonable £1.25 -£6.00 for 2 pieces). Very confused diners with money to spend could simply opt for the Omakase menus (chef’s choice), £70 and £90 for dinner, and £50 and £60 for lunch.

What we ordered:

We ordered the following, which was far too much food for the two of us. The Peruvian influence showed in all the dishes, making them slightly too strong for our liking, almost overpowering the delicate natural taste of the seafood. The only dish recommended by our waitress turned out to be a real disappointment – Nobu’s ’signature dish’ of yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno (£13.75). It’s hard to describe why, but the sauce just did not complement the fish. Up next was the new style sashimi – whitefish (£12.00), which was much better. I’ve not had seared sashimi before, so it was interesting.

The grilled asparagus with red chilli shiso salsa (£9.50) was quite nice, and I did like the accompanying salsa. The asparagus ends, as opposed to the tips, were a little tough to eat though! Next came the snow crab with creamy spicy sauce (£15.50). My friend said she could barely taste the sweetness of the crab, which was true. The sauce was far too rich and literally drowned the crab, if that’s possible.

I really liked the next course, braised pork belly with spicy miso and ginger salsa (£10.50), a hot dish, beautifully presented and tasty. I could have eaten all six pieces myself. By the time the sushi rolls arrived, we were struggling and I had to finish the last four on my own. These were not that great. The eel and cucumber cut roll (£6.50) was alright, but I’ve had much better at Jinkichi (where it was also cheaper). Similarly, I’ve had a far more delicious soft shell crab roll (£9.00) at Roka.

Too full to attempt dessert, we settled the bill at a whopping (in my opinion) £95.00, without alcohol. The ‘optional’ service charge, a steep 15%, was included. We did ask for the ‘voluntary donation’ of £1 to a homeless charity to be removed from the bill, on principle’s sake.

The verdict?

My friend concluded that she preferred Roka (no Michelin star) over Nobu, and I have to say I agree with her. Perhaps ten years ago, Nobu was truly good as the cuisine was still cutting edge, but there are now many competitors serving much better food. However, I know Nobu will still be popular with people with money to spend. The night after eating at Nobu, I visited Alan Yau’s latest venture, Japanese Sake no Hana, which was infinitely superior. I’ve now satisfied my curiosity about Nobu and will be saving my money to eat elsewhere – Roka, Sake no Hana and Jinkichi, here I come again!

10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average

All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide

Contact Details:
Nobu London
The Metropolitan Hotel
19 Old Park Lane
London W1K 1LB
Tel: 020 7447 4747
www.noburestaurants.com

Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide