 The forthcoming Japan Food & Drink Festival to be held on August 7th 2004 at Maeda Gakuen, Queens Drive Playing Fields, Queen Drive, London, W3 OHT is a must for all lovers of Japanese cuisine. Some of London’s top Japanese chefs will be on hand to demonstrate their cooking skills and a number of food stalls are offering visitors the opportunity to sample authentic dishes and Japanese drinks.
The festival certainly promises to whet the appetites of established aficionados of Japanese food and drink, as well as newcomers to the joys of Japanese cooking – all in all, the perfect introduction to London’s Japanese cuisine scene.
Fortunately, for those keen to explore further, the city boasts some of the finest Japanese restaurants, not only in Britain, but also worldwide. Despite, however, the recent proliferation of sushi and noodle bar start-ups, throughout the city, the number of establishments that serve traditional and modern Japanese food in London remains surprisingly low, albeit high in quality.
The following list of restaurants is by no means exhaustive, but rather a representative sample of Japanese food, drink and unique ambience available in London, today:
Café Japan: 626 Finchley Road, London, NW11 7RR
Chosan: 292 Upper Richmond Road, London, SW15 6TH
Cicada: 132/136 St John Street, EC1V 4JT
E&O: 14 Blenheim Crescent, London W11 1NN
Hazuki: 43 Chandos Place, London, WC2 4HS
Kiku: 17 Half Moon Street, London, W1J 7BE
Matsuri: 15 Bury Street, London, SW1Y 6AL
Miyama: 38 Clarges Street, London, W1 7PJ
Nobu: Metropolitan Hotel, 19 Old Park Lane, London W1K 1LB
Sapporo-Ichiban: 13 Catford Broadway, London, SE6 4SP
Tatsuso: 32 Broadgate Circle, Broadgate, London EC2M 2QS
Tsunami: 5/7 Voltaire Road, London, SW4 6DQ
Yoshino: 3 Piccadilly Place, London W1J ODB
Wagamama: 101A Wigmore Street, London, W1H 9AB
Zuma: 5 Raphael Street, London, SW7 1DL.
Finally, some fascinating Japanese foodie facts to impress your fellow diners:
• London’s first Japanese restaurant, Ajimur, 51 Shelton Street, WC2H 9HE was established in 1972 and is still going strong, with a loyal following of regular customers.
• Rice is considered the main dish in traditional Japanese cuisine. Meat, fish or vegetable accompaniments are classed as side dishes, which are served to enhance the flavour of the rice.
• Classic Japanese dishes are referred to according to the number of side dishes that accompany the main course of rice and soup. A typical Japanese breakfast, for instance, consisting of miso soup, rice and a pickled vegetable, such as daikon is called Ichiju-Issai, i.e. soup, rice plus one accompanying side dish. The main meal of the day is named Ichiju-Sansai, which means soup plus three side dishes.
• Chopstick etiquette insists that chopsticks are held high up the stick and definitely not in the middle or at the front third nearest the tips. When you have finished eating, you should place the chopsticks in front of you with the tips to the left. No-nos include stabbing food with your chopsticks, waving them around or using them to point at fellow guests.
• The popular Japanese dish, Tempura, (morsels of seafood or vegetable coated in crispy batter), was first introduced by the Portuguese, during the sixteenth century.
• Teppanyaki, stir-fried meat and vegetables cooked on a table-top grill is not a traditional Japanese dish, as most Japanese did not consume meat from four-legged animals until the latter part of the nineteenth century.
• Unlike London restaurateurs, their Japanese equivalents do not expect diners to leave a tip, at the end of a meal. The correct form, in Japan, is simply to say “thank you for the meal”, (“gochisosama deshita”).
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