Yuzu Cupcakes with Matcha Tea Frosting – recipe
Looking for Japanese flavours in a dessert but using traditional Western techniques? This could be the recipe for you. Yuzu Cupcakes with Matcha Tea Frosting...
Umami: THE FIFTH TASTE – guidebook review
It’s a buzz-word these days: Umami. It’s a very familiar taste, flavour, sensation on the taste buds but we have only relatively recently put a...
Art Place Japan by Fram Kitagawa – review
Every three years hundreds of square miles of countryside in north western Japan are transformed into a sprawling and many-faceted art installation. More than 150...
Taruzake Sake – cedar difference – travel review
Sure, the world of sake is new and mysterious to most of us. Japan’s national beverage is made of few ingredients but there are many...
Wasabi Chocolate Truffles – recipe
This recipe is embarrassingly simple but will likely get you a heap of compliments. Anyone who enjoys a dab of wasabi with their sushi will...
Food Sake Tokyo by Yukari Sakamoto – travel guide review
Tokyo is a vibrant modern city but tradition is still evident. We might be looking for the latest technology in Akihabara or fashion and pop...
The Food and Cooking of Japan and Korea by Emi Kazuko – review
A few years ago our culinary ethnic horizons extended to a Friday night curry and perhaps the occasional Chinese dinner of sweet and sour pork....
Okinawa and Awamori – the spirit of the islands – travel review
Awamori is the celebrated spirit originating in and unique to the Ryukyu Islands (Nansei Islands in Japanese) of Okinawa. It is made from long-grain Thai...
Sake in situ – the overlooked tourist attraction in Japan – travel review
A dream came true for me recently and it was courtesy of the Japanese Ministry of Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF). That might sound unlikely when...
Roka Brunch, Aldwych – restaurant review
Brunch is perhaps my favourite meal of the week. It isn’t a big, indigestible breakfast with the prospect of needing a nap by 10.30 (although...
OKA Japanese Restaurant, Kingly Court – review
Kingly Court is tucked away between Carnaby Street and Regent Street. It’s an area famed for smart boutiques and cosy eateries and for its ‘swinging‘...
Learn Japanese with Eurotalk – travel review
Most of us might have learnt a little French or German at school, although in the 60s when I was treading the corridors of wisdom...
Shoryu Ramen, Soho – restaurant review
Shoryu Ramen launched in November 2012 and has already been recommended in the Michelin Guide of 2014 and 2015. It has fast become a small...
Kanada-Ya (or how I found my noodle) – restaurant review
I have wanted to visit for a while. No, this isn’t a Michelin-starred restaurant. No, one isn’t dazzled by drifts of white linen tablecloths or...
Romantic Takayama – travel review
I admit it. I am now an unashamed Japan evangelist. I had always wanted to go and as a much younger person I had a...
WSET Japan Tour Winter 2014 – travel review
Sake is more popular than ever outside Japan. There is a growing body of beverage professionals who are now turning their attention to Japan’s iconic...
Discover Japanese Sake with Discovery Channel – travel review
We are invited to ‘Travel with Sam to Japan and uncover the secrets of sake’. But the first questions are likely to be ‘Who is...
Hisashi Taoka of Kiku – Fish aficionado – interview
Kiku is a Japanese restaurant conveniently located near Green Park station in Mayfair, and at the top of Half Moon Street. It’s one of the...
Koichi Saura – Samurai for Sake – interview
We, at least in London, are becoming more familiar with Japan’s iconic national beverage. We are tempted to take our first sips in the increasingly...
Washoku – Japanese cuisine recognised by UNESCO – travel review
We in the West might consider that we know all about Japanese food and indeed all about Japan. It is, I guess, a consequence of...