Kakigori is big in Japan with lines of up to 3 hours during the summer. Foreigners will imagine the shabby snow cones and ice slushes from the USA or the sickly sweet shaved ice from Hawaii - but - this is another level. These sweet ice towers are made from "Gourmet" ice blocks frozen with ultra fine water and maintained at precise temperatures. The ice masters are highly skilled as they endeavour to sculpt these delicate creations that would crumble like Jenga towers in the hands of amateurs. This masterpiece in Kyoto is possibly the single finest example of the art of Kakigori anywhere and ranks as one of the great sweet creations in any culture. It would be worth a trip to Kyoto only to try this mind-boggling work of culinary art.
French chef Yves Camdeborde is widely recognized as the pioneer of the neo-bistro, a concept he created in the ’90s to make haute cuisine more accessible to diners. Dubbed the chef of "bistronomy,” in 1995, he opened his Art Deco restaurant in the 17th-century Hôtel Le Relais Saint-Germain, where he expertly toes the line between bistro and neo-bistro. During lunch, the Comptoir is a simple brasserie; in the evenings, however, the 20-seat restaurant becomes a temple to Camdeborde’s philosophy of elevating classic bistro dishes. One of Paris’ toughest reservations, there is no dinner menu. Diners eat whatever inventive, abundantly fresh, elevated bistro dishes Camdeborde chooses to cook that evening. The five-course prix fixe may feature haute cuisine versions of croque monsieur, salade niçoise, steak-frites or rolled saddle of lamb with vegetable-stuffed “Basque ravioli.” Camdeborde cooks brasserie fare from noon to 6 p.m. and on weekend nights, and his five-course prix fixe feast on weekday evenings. The catch? Dinner is booked as much as six months in advance.
Chef Mitsuro Sato is dedicated to a single category of Japanese cuisine: tonkatsu (deep-fried pork cutlet). Following in his father’s footsteps, Sato is the second-generation owner of Tonkatsu Sugita, a restaurant in Kuramae with a history spanning more than four decades. Many believe Sato serves the best tonkatsu in Tokyo, because he thinly cuts fresh domestic pork loin, painstakingly prepared for each patron, and then fries it in specially imported lard from Holland that gives the dish its signature mouth-watering aroma and taste. Sato’s finely honed techniques entertain those seated at the main counter. Pork loins and fillets are shifted back and forth between two lustrous copper pots – maintained at different temperatures – until the meat turns a delightful golden brown. It is well worth the 30-minute wait in line. Served with a bed of shredded cabbage, the cutlet’s combination of crispy crust and juicy pork will make you want to savour every bite.
Two German brothers opened the Old Homestead in the heart of the meatpacking district in 1868 – making it one of the longest continually serving restaurants in the USA. The iconic restaurant is legendary for its melt-in-your-mouth prime-aged USDA Texas-size slabs of beef. Whether it is the signature sirloin, porterhouse or filet mignon, the tender steaks arrive broiled with butter, ladled with au jus and accompanied by an entire head of roasted garlic caramelized like candy. Third-generation owners Greg and Marc Sherry maintain a close relationship with many of the area’s meat packers, who allow them to select the finest cuts of beef each day. Steaks are aged at least 28 days in the restaurant’s warehouse before being served. Claim to fame: The owners say the restaurant originated the Doggy Bag because their steaks were so large people needed a vessel to take it home. For carnivorous bliss, just look for the giant cow perched out front.
The history of sourdough bread in San Francisco goes way back to the time of the California gold rush when Basque migrants started baking bread in the area using the natural yeasts and bacteria present in the air for fermentation. San Francisco’s fog, called “Lactobacillus San Francisco,” mixes with the dough and creates a natural starter to give the bread its unique tang. For an authentic taste of culinary history, head to San Francisco’s oldest sourdough producers, Boudin Bakery near Fisherman’s Wharf. Opened by a family of master bakers from France, Boudin Bakery uses the same mother dough it developed in 1849.
Pro tip: Order the soup du jour in a sourdough bowl.
This oyster ceviche at “The King of Oysters” stands alongside Chez Wong in Lima and Encebollados Gato in Quito as the finest ceviches in the world. Located in Duran, a small town outside the port city of Guayaquil in Ecuador, locals pack the small, casual restaurant for its speciality: freshly shucked mollusks cured in lime juice and spiced with ají, chopped onions, salt and cilantro. In addition to the freshly sucked oysters and black clams, managers Diego Matos and Maritza Cedeño oversee a menu of garlic shells, roasted shells, lobster, crab salad, sea bass in seafood sauce, shrimp al ajillo, seafood casserole and oysters au gratin. No wonder the locals are willing to wait up to 30 minutes to get a plate.
Since 1947, this time-worn shop has served a medium-weight pork broth with dark soy (shoyu). They have a tasty assortment of pastes, spices and oils to play around with. Eat the first part of the bowl as served, then try the condiments. This fine example of tonkotsu is located just a five-minute walk from the Kyoto train station.
Two popular noodle shops sit side by side with long lines. Okakita has shorter lines, possibly because the noodle soup is so unusual. It is essentially served with a fluffy egg omelette nestled on top. The egg adds a gorgeous new texture to the robust broth and the fat “bouncy” udon noodles. It also features a lovely citrus ponzu powder that adds a nice tang.
Butadon, or simply pork bowl, is a Japanese bowl of rice topped with sweet and savoury simmered pork. Popular in Japan, the name comes from the words buta and don, meaning “pork” and “bowl.”
The creation of the dish is credited to Mr Abe who introduced it at his restaurant, Pancho, in 1993, with the intent of encouraging Japanese diners to eat more pork. Still, in operation, his restaurant serves only this dish, in several portion sizes, along with green tea, beer, pickled daikon radish and miso soup. A simple dish but a real gem, its savoury sweet sauce and mildly fatty pork meat is the perfect topping for freshly steamed rice.
Tonkatsu and pork cutlet is extremely popular in Japan, and variations abound. Some people will say thicker cuts of pork are used for tonkatsu. Others say tonkatsu is served with Worcestershire sauce, while pork cutlet is served with demi-glace sauce. Regardless, all tonkatsu and pork cutlet offered in Japan trace their origins to Rengatei, a well-established yōshoku (Japanese-style Western food) restaurant founded as a French restaurant in 1895. In 1899, Motojiro Kida, second-generation proprietor of Rengatei, created the first pork cutlet based on the idea of Italian cotoletta, breadcrumb-coated and deep-fried veal. To create his pork cutlet, Kida cut the pork into thin slices and deep fried them in vegetable oil. When the Russo-Japanese War broke out, Rengatei’s short-staffed chefs garnished the pork cutlets with finely shredded cabbage, which was easy to prepare and paired well with the deep-fried pork. Since then, finely shredded cabbage has been a standard garnish for pork cutlet and tonkatsu. The first pork cutlets were accompanied by breads. Responding to customer demands, Kida began offering cooked rice on a plate for the convenience of diners using a knife and fork. Thus, today’s typical combination of pork cutlet and rice was also born at Rengatei. Rengatei also created other standards of Yōshoku cuisine, such as ebi-furai (fried prawns) and omu-rice (rice-stuffed omelet), loved nationwide.