This time I flew Delta to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. Haneda was used mainly for domestic flights with some Asian airliners in the past. Now Delta flies in. The trip from the airport to my favorite, business hotel in Uchisaiwaicho, was so short and easy. I am staying at Daiichi Hotel, Annex.
I had lunch with my mother whom I have not seen for over one year. It was a best time in my life.
For dinner I met up with chefs Jeremiah and Marc from NYC, who have been having fun already in Tokyo and Kyoto.
I took them to Shun no Aji Ichi in Roppongi. It is a one Michellen star restaurant. Chef Tanaka is a low- key chef but he has many fans who commute to his restaurant to savor his seasonal Omakase meal. Many of the vegetables served at the restaurant are grown by and sent to his restaurant by her Mother. How lucky he is. Chef Tanaka has an extended connections to fishermen across the country. At his restaurant you get everything best in season. We started our meal with chilled zucchini surinagashi soup with house smoked scallops; moved on to tree ripened tomato gazpacho, crisp grilled baby ayu, hamo lever and egg omelet, 3 years aged sake lee pickled celery and sake braised tokobushi.
Then, ….sweet small shrim sandwiched lotus root tempura, hamo and sweet onion shabushabu…..mackerel takikomigohan (there were tough choices for us to choose which takikomigohan to select. Other choices were the ones with uni, wagyu beef, medai fish and corn and scallop. Hamo miso soup was served in a eggplant shaped soup bowls. The dinner ended with jasmin tea jelly with home-made plum sauce.
It was a true feast. On your next trip to Tokyo…please try Shun no Aji Ichi. By the way chef Tanaka is not mixing modern techniques with traditional cuisine. His meal is based on long honed traditional techniques, use of the best seasonal ingredients and his creativity to preserve the best flavor in each prepared dishes. I will tweet the photos separately. Today I go to kappabashi with J and M to buy some kitchen equipment.