2269AZAVU

The Japanese love of small spaces is deeply connected with the spirit of the tea ceremony and its cultural background. The counter, affording just the right distance between guests and Chef Toshiya Kadowaki, seats just six. The private room, whose low ceiling suggests a tearoom, is so intimate that guests can feel each other’s breathing. The menu features dishes where ingredients in season come together to create fleeting sensations that linger in the memory forever. Truffle rice, enriching the meal in both aroma and flavour, is a case in point.

A cypress counter in a room with adze-hewn ceilings and clay walls – an austere décor by which the proprietor sets the tone. ‘Simple fare’, says the menu, whose offerings avoid shows of splendour in favour of honest presentation. Sense of season flows entirely from the taste and aroma of the food. Sashimi wrapped in kombu, for example, or wanmono prepared with clear soup. Results are all the more impressive for the effort paid where few will notice. Natural flavours to calm the soul.

The long table bears a close resemblance to the dining tables of European nobility. Dinner is served table d’hôte: guests gather around a single large table, sharing the joy of good food and conversation. Reading the mood of the era, Chef Hiroyasu Kawate serves up delicious food and eco-consciousness, actively incorporating plant-based ingredients. The choice of vegetarian dishes as main meals is a new twist. Whether vegetarian or vegan, the fare blazes a fresh trail in vegetable cuisine.

This restaurant has been in business since the days of the Edo shogunate. Kanejiro Kanemoto is its fifth-generation proprietor, committed to a life of craftsmanship. Guided by the belief that eel is ‘a delicacy for the people,’ he has worked to share its appeal. With practiced craftsmanship, he patiently steams the eel to drip out excess fat then grills it without seasoning in the shirayaki style, or dips it in sauce and broils it to create beguilingly aromatic kabayaki. The dipping sauce has evolved over the generations, with the proportions of soy sauce and mirin shifting according to changi

Service consists of many dishes in small quantities, hence the name. Creativity abounds, inspired by ingredients and preparation methods from numerous countries. Steamed spicy beef rather than chicken, chicken-wings stuffed with foie gras, and Peking duck wrapped in kadaif pastry show off Series’ talent for arrangement. To accentuate the variety of culinary styles, pairings range widely as well. Pair wine, sake or a cocktail with your meal.

This restaurant is temporarily closed and plans to relocate around the end of July. The prix fixe menu is joyously imaginative and well balanced. An impressive range of beef cuts are served, each with its own method of preparation for most delicious effect. Seared rump locks in the flavour, slow-grilled tail is fragrant. Chateaubriand is reimagined as a cutlet sandwich; sirloin, served shabu-shabu style, is shorn of unnecessary fat; fillet is grilled over charcoal to a rosy red.

A fixture of Higashiazabu for a quarter of a century, Chugoku Hanten Fureika is an evangelist for the traditional cuisine of China, with the focus on Shanghai and Cantonese cuisine. The menu dazzles the eye with over 100 à la carte items, including roasted Jinhua pork fillet, grouper steamed whole and soup of shàngtāng premium soup stock. The wide selection includes cuisine from every region of China, all prepared with seasonal ingredients. Sharing single items as a group is a special pleasure of Chinese cuisine.