Mi-APT Midori 両国

An old-school soba shop founded by a Katsushika-born chef. With ‘good food requires good ingredients’ as his credo, he scours Japan end-to-end to find the highest-quality buckwheat, vegetables and seafood. Among his à la carte offerings, he takes pride in temptations such as conger eel, either fried as tempura or simmered. Juwari soba, handmade from raw buckwheat flour, is fine and silky smooth. Everything here, from the crockery to the food to the interior, oozes old-time soba-shop charm. Amidst the old Edo ambience of Ryogoku, a food culture of deep roots and subtle traditions lives on.

‘Harmony’ and ‘circulation’ are the keywords of this dining experience. Through his partnerships with farmers, the chef returns compost to revitalise the soil. The prix fixe presentation starts with a bowl of soup. Vegetable ends are used in the soup’s creation, expressing a wish for a society that doesn’t waste food. Prepared with French techniques, the fare is simple and light. The grey of the interior creates something of a laboratory feel.

The motto on the noren, ‘After having tempura, finish with soba’, declares the personality of Sonoji. The chef learned the arts of both soba and tempura when he ran a shop in his native Shizuoka. For tempura pieces, he focuses on the bounty of Shizuoka’s Suruga Bay and traditional Edo seafood. Vegetables shipped directly from farmers accentuate each season. The soba served at the end of the meal is topped with kakiage of sakura shrimp, ‘the jewel of Suruga Bay’. The unique menu reflects each stage on the chef’s gastronomic journey.

The chef defends the traditions and skills of Edo-style sushi while showing creativity with some innovations of his own. Japanese halfbeak and horse mackerel are accented with ginger and mirin–soy reduction; simmered conger eel is served both salted and dipped in eel sauce for taste comparison. Nigiri is shaped using rice seasoned with red vinegar—a showcase of techniques cultivated over years of experience. Treading the path of the sushi chef was a dream in his teenage years. Steady devotion to craft is a lesson learned from sushi.

Tempura pieces are deep-fried in high heat to draw out moisture for a fragrant coating. Shrimp are served two pieces in succession, fried at different temperatures to contrast the texture of rare and medium. Depending on availability, you might receive two kinds of squid, each imparting a different flavour. On the wall hangs a work of calligraphy — a gift from his mentor — casting a quiet but discerning eye over the apprentices at work. It reads ‘Menkyo Kaiden’: ‘attain full mastery of the arts of our trade’. The words seem to whisper, ‘Catch up, and surpass me.’

This self-taught master of tempura was captivated by its craft of deep-frying and the pursuit of flavour. He hones his technique by attuning his senses to the batter’s consistency, the precise temperature of the oil and the crackle as it fries. Some ingredients may be cooked at lower temperatures, or steamed, drawing out or retaining moisture. Careful control of the Maillard reaction lends each piece a fragrant, golden crust. His distinctive tempura, which evolves day by day, is not to be missed.

A genre-defying cuisine paired with tea-based cocktails. While rooted in French techniques, the chef seamlessly weaves in elements of Chinese and Japanese cuisine. The duck dish, for instance, is prepared by ladling hot oil over the skin, much like Peking duck. The tradition of serving tea and sweets after a meal, known as ochauke, reflects Japanese hospitality. Chef and mixologist work in harmony, refining the distinctive world of ‘wither and decay’ or ‘kokyu’.