SYOGA A house, next to natural park

The star of the menu is the bounty of the Hokuriku region. Seafood is delivered from the chef’s native Ishikawa Prefecture; seafood from every part of Ishikawa express the shifting seasons: Noto abalone, Nanao egg cockles, Chirihama oysters, and Kanaiwa male snow crab. As he cooks on an earthen charcoal brazier, the chef holds forth on their particular qualities and the passion of the fishermen with whom he does business. The restaurant name derives from the historic Higashi Chaya district of Kanazawa. From behind the counter, the chef waxes eloquent on the charms of his birthplace.

The chef spent years fine-tuning his skills in a Japanese restaurant in Hozenji Yokocho. While treasuring the lessons he learned there, he now blazes his own culinary trail. Mindful of how knife technique can affect the flavour of sashimi, he practises daily and his grounded approach to cooking is reassuring to watch. Bringing together everything he has learned over his career, he expresses it in cuisine of the ‘here and now’. Rather than just copy his mentor, the chef treads his own path in the gastronomic world.

Freshness is number one with the chef of Pierre, so he focuses on ingredients grown and raised in Japan. The menu only lists the ingredients, encouraging guests to give their imaginations free rein. Japanese seasonings such as mustard and chilli peppers mixed with yuzu zest lend a distinctive accent. French cooking techniques are married with Japanese ingredients, which are then prepared with a light touch. Spellbinding views from the spacious dining room high in a tall building add to the ambience.

Weave Kansai food culture and Chinese tradition together and you get Kamigatachuka. Ingredients from the Kinki region are prepared using Chinese and Japanese techniques; continuing the theme, items are served on Chinese and Japanese plates and bowls. Vegetarian cuisine, dubbed ‘Naniwa’ (‘vegetable garden’), brings to mind the Kawachi Plain’s fame as a vegetable-producing region. The fare is the self-expression of a chef who was born in Osaka and grew up in a family that ran a Chinese restaurant.

The menus are focused on words associated with the traditional calendar; ingredients are plotted on a map of Japan to show which items come from where. The proprietor and his cooks begin by introducing the ingredients then work as a team to prepare the meal, presenting freshly cooked aromas and flavours. Strict attention is paid to temperature and texture. The choice of serving vessels and presenting food on paper or leaf garnishes convey hallowed customs in Japanese cuisine. The flavours of the season are savoured with the calendar never far from your mind.

The tempura fried by the chef as his heart dictates comes out refined. To bring the flavour of carefully selected ingredients, the main oil of choice is Taihaku sesame oil. The coating is infused with bubbles, giving it a light texture. In a distinctive presentation style, seafood and vegetables that work well together are served in alternating pairs. The final dish is the guest’s choice of tendon, tempura over rice; tencha, tendon steeped in roasted green tea; or tenmusu, onigiri filled with shrimp tempura. The chef does not neglect training the next generation, either, entrusting understudie

Over half a century since he opened his restaurant, Yoshifumi Mori remains vigorously engaged in food preparation. His passion seems unquenchable: with rice flour and salt, he created a seasoning that melts away like snow. He makes wine and even grows rice. Scouring every region of Japan, the chef seeks out unknown ingredients and introduces them to the world. All this has led to Mori being honoured by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Like a steel plate polished until gleaming, he continues to sharpen his culinary sensibilities.