Kaishoku Michiba (from June 2019)
Jul 2, 2022 10:04:56 GMT -5
Man Alive!, Sanji Himura, and 1 more like this
Post by okonomiyagi on Jul 2, 2022 10:04:56 GMT -5
When I went to Japan in June 2019, I made it a point to go visit at least one Iron Chef restaurant. My itinerary (and budget) would only allow me to go to one of them, so I had to choose wisely. So how did I possibly choose?
A word of note: since my visit, the restaurant rebranded itself as Ginza Rokusan-tei (the same name as Michiba's flagship restaurant elsewhere in Tokyo) in October 2021. While it is in the same location, they have not updated their English website to reflect the name change.
Anyway, let's get to what you all came here for!
When making the reservation, I specifically requested an English menu for the table. Kaishoku Michiba has three course menu options, each at different price points (¥3000, ¥4500, and ¥6000). I opted for the ¥3000 menu, while my friend chose the ¥4500.
It was convenient, but when I realized that the Japanese menus were in Michiba's famous calligraphy, I wish I had asked for one of those to keep. Oh well.
Anyway, as they say on the show...ALLEZ CUISINE!
Appetizer course. The tofu was simmered in what I can only assume was Michiba's famous Broth of Vigor (and it was as rich and delicious as it appeared on TV). They made a point of mentioning the Kaga cucumbers (bottom left) on the menu, which were grown in Michiba's hometown (the city is called Kaga and has nothing to do with the Chairman of the same name). The bamboo leaf contained the sardine nigiri, as shown below.
Yet what was probably my favorite thing on the plate was the grilled cheese (bottom right corner), made from white miso and sake lees. That thing was an absolute flavor bomb. No wonder the restaurant sells boxes of it (I think it was something like 5 pieces in a box for ¥800). Had this been my last stop in Tokyo, I'd've picked up a box, but wasn't sure how well it would've held up with all the rest of my travels that day.
Soup course. Light, but impactful flavor from the bonito broth coupled with the sweetness of the scallop dumpling and the sophisticated texture of water shield made this dish a success.
My entree course consisted of bonito sashimi (top right), followed by...
...alfonsino simmered in sweet soy sauce, known in Japanese as "kinmedai nitsuke." I don't remember being that impressed with this dish; something about the texture of the fish bothered me. But that might be because this next dish blew me away completely...
...assorted tempura with their special sweet-and-sour tomato sauce. As I told my friend afterward, the tomato sauce was my favorite thing on this plate. The tempura was surprisingly light (having become all too familiar with the overdone variety out of Americanized Japanese restaurants), but the sauce made this part of the main course absolutely legendary. I'm used to having some kind of ponzu or soy sauce to dip my tempura in, but this tomato sauce paired absolutely beautifully. Definitely going to be rethinking traditional tempura condiments after this!
Here are a couple of courses from my friend's menu: grilled sweetfish (ayu) accompanied with a grilled shishito pepper and a sauce that I was told was made from the internal organs of the ayu. This might have been the only dish we didn't finish; there was a bitterness to the ayu that didn't sit well with me (but I acknowledge that this might've paired well with a beer).
Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced my notes on this dish...but if memory serves me right, I think this was a cuttlefish dish of some description.
My friend's sashimi course came with the standard bonito as well as a couple of slices of red snapper (tai). Interestingly, they placed this in front of me at first; my friend generously allowed me to take some since, as he said, "he could come back whenever he wanted--[I'm] only here this one time."
The rice course had several options available. While this roast beef bowl added an extra ¥1000 to our total, it was far and away the best choice amongst the options. The beef was so tender, and the accompanying miso soup added a strong salty contrast to the sweetness of the soy sauce that flavored the beef. The contrast was simply exquisite.
And finally, dessert: yuzu jelly with a blueberry-yogurt topping. Not too heavy; a wonderfully refreshing way to end the meal.
Obviously, the food spoke for itself--it is obvious why Michiba enjoyed the successes he did in Kitchen Stadium. The entire meal was beautifully presented, with dishes that showed off the full range of his incredible talent for devising recipes on the fly. I only wish that we got more of a glimpse into his creative side; this seemed to me like a very "safe" traditional menu (well, safe for Michiba, anyway--which is probably wild for anyone else except possibly Morimoto).
The staff were super-accommodating of a couple of English-speaking tourists like us. I had a very special moment with some of the staff at the end of my visit where I told them that the reason I was speaking Japanese with them at all was because of what I learned from Iron Chef. The show broadened my horizons to food, encouraging me to try new ingredients as a child that others my age might've shied away from--which in turned opened my eyes to so many more cultures and flavors. I think that's a philosophy that Michiba himself would be proud to be a part of, anyway.
- I would've liked to take my girlfriend to Sakai's restaurant, but she had to work during my first week in Japan...also when I had planned to go. Plus, it seemed a bit expensive to go by myself.
- Chen's restaurants seem to be all over the place, but a so-so review from Tofugu had kinda turned me off to the idea.
- Nakamura's restaurant seemed to get middling reviews, and I never watched many of his battles either, so I couldn't exactly call myself a Nakamura fan.
- Kobe had sadly passed away three months prior to my visit, and I didn't exactly want that thought hanging over me while I was enjoying my meal.
- Having said that, with Michiba about to turn 90 in a couple of years, I thought, "He won't be around forever, either." I had also previously encountered his restaurant during a previous trip to Japan in 2016 but had come while the restaurant was closed, so I already knew where it was; this, combined with the reasonable price for the lunch menu, cemented my decision to go to Kaishoku Michiba in Ginza. Plus, a friend of mine who lived in Tokyo at the time had been before, so he already knew how to get there.
A word of note: since my visit, the restaurant rebranded itself as Ginza Rokusan-tei (the same name as Michiba's flagship restaurant elsewhere in Tokyo) in October 2021. While it is in the same location, they have not updated their English website to reflect the name change.
Anyway, let's get to what you all came here for!
When making the reservation, I specifically requested an English menu for the table. Kaishoku Michiba has three course menu options, each at different price points (¥3000, ¥4500, and ¥6000). I opted for the ¥3000 menu, while my friend chose the ¥4500.
It was convenient, but when I realized that the Japanese menus were in Michiba's famous calligraphy, I wish I had asked for one of those to keep. Oh well.
Anyway, as they say on the show...ALLEZ CUISINE!
Appetizer course. The tofu was simmered in what I can only assume was Michiba's famous Broth of Vigor (and it was as rich and delicious as it appeared on TV). They made a point of mentioning the Kaga cucumbers (bottom left) on the menu, which were grown in Michiba's hometown (the city is called Kaga and has nothing to do with the Chairman of the same name). The bamboo leaf contained the sardine nigiri, as shown below.
Yet what was probably my favorite thing on the plate was the grilled cheese (bottom right corner), made from white miso and sake lees. That thing was an absolute flavor bomb. No wonder the restaurant sells boxes of it (I think it was something like 5 pieces in a box for ¥800). Had this been my last stop in Tokyo, I'd've picked up a box, but wasn't sure how well it would've held up with all the rest of my travels that day.
Soup course. Light, but impactful flavor from the bonito broth coupled with the sweetness of the scallop dumpling and the sophisticated texture of water shield made this dish a success.
My entree course consisted of bonito sashimi (top right), followed by...
...alfonsino simmered in sweet soy sauce, known in Japanese as "kinmedai nitsuke." I don't remember being that impressed with this dish; something about the texture of the fish bothered me. But that might be because this next dish blew me away completely...
...assorted tempura with their special sweet-and-sour tomato sauce. As I told my friend afterward, the tomato sauce was my favorite thing on this plate. The tempura was surprisingly light (having become all too familiar with the overdone variety out of Americanized Japanese restaurants), but the sauce made this part of the main course absolutely legendary. I'm used to having some kind of ponzu or soy sauce to dip my tempura in, but this tomato sauce paired absolutely beautifully. Definitely going to be rethinking traditional tempura condiments after this!
Here are a couple of courses from my friend's menu: grilled sweetfish (ayu) accompanied with a grilled shishito pepper and a sauce that I was told was made from the internal organs of the ayu. This might have been the only dish we didn't finish; there was a bitterness to the ayu that didn't sit well with me (but I acknowledge that this might've paired well with a beer).
Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced my notes on this dish...but if memory serves me right, I think this was a cuttlefish dish of some description.
My friend's sashimi course came with the standard bonito as well as a couple of slices of red snapper (tai). Interestingly, they placed this in front of me at first; my friend generously allowed me to take some since, as he said, "he could come back whenever he wanted--[I'm] only here this one time."
The rice course had several options available. While this roast beef bowl added an extra ¥1000 to our total, it was far and away the best choice amongst the options. The beef was so tender, and the accompanying miso soup added a strong salty contrast to the sweetness of the soy sauce that flavored the beef. The contrast was simply exquisite.
And finally, dessert: yuzu jelly with a blueberry-yogurt topping. Not too heavy; a wonderfully refreshing way to end the meal.
Obviously, the food spoke for itself--it is obvious why Michiba enjoyed the successes he did in Kitchen Stadium. The entire meal was beautifully presented, with dishes that showed off the full range of his incredible talent for devising recipes on the fly. I only wish that we got more of a glimpse into his creative side; this seemed to me like a very "safe" traditional menu (well, safe for Michiba, anyway--which is probably wild for anyone else except possibly Morimoto).
The staff were super-accommodating of a couple of English-speaking tourists like us. I had a very special moment with some of the staff at the end of my visit where I told them that the reason I was speaking Japanese with them at all was because of what I learned from Iron Chef. The show broadened my horizons to food, encouraging me to try new ingredients as a child that others my age might've shied away from--which in turned opened my eyes to so many more cultures and flavors. I think that's a philosophy that Michiba himself would be proud to be a part of, anyway.
