I bring to you pictures of a yummy okonomiyaki dinner I had in Roppongi in Tokyo over the weekend. The teppanyaki masters were amazing (we had two chefs serving alternative courses for our group) and it was the first time ever that I saw a female teppanyaki chef. All I could think was "you go, girl!"
I was really heartened when, near the end of dinner, one of the partners I was sitting next to (who lives in Japan) mused that this was also the first time he had seen a female chef owning her own grill. And then he shook his head a little and said, "So imagine how much better she must be than her counterparts to have this job!" I thought that was a very enlightened comment from a white man in his early 60s, not to mention, she really was amazing - she was slightly more adroit, precise, and in control than her male counterpart, and seeing them side by side the comparison was clear.
Finally, I went to a pretty good tempura restaurant with some clients the first night that I was in Tokyo, but I couldn't take any pictures so you will just have to trust me that it was an eat-until-I-am-groaning-I-might-throw-up-this-is-way-too-much-food experience.
A tasty fresh octopus starter with Italian salad dressing:
A very fresh salmon with mushrooms and broccoli:
The fried shrimp - really delicious, but can we pause for a second to gawk at the fabulous sharpness of the camera image and the amazing quality of my camera? (Diss the exploding Samsung Galaxy Note all you want, but when they get things right, they really do it right!)
We got very juicy cuts of sirloin steak with perfectly crispy soy bean sprouts and slightly grilled sweet potatoes:
The steak in this country is phenomenal:
Preparing the okonomiyaki is akin to a work of art:
Yakisoba - really really good fried noodles!
A palate cleanser at the end a basil sorbet:
Finally what work trip would be complete without a picture of the airport (it's all I see anyway!) and some airplane lounge reviews?
For what it's worth I really like the Cathay Pacific Tokyo lounge it is incredibly serene and zen:
Those grapes in that fruit bowl?! Unbelievable - seedless and yet still the biggest juiciest and most plump (plumpest?) grapes ever.
I was really heartened when, near the end of dinner, one of the partners I was sitting next to (who lives in Japan) mused that this was also the first time he had seen a female chef owning her own grill. And then he shook his head a little and said, "So imagine how much better she must be than her counterparts to have this job!" I thought that was a very enlightened comment from a white man in his early 60s, not to mention, she really was amazing - she was slightly more adroit, precise, and in control than her male counterpart, and seeing them side by side the comparison was clear.
Finally, I went to a pretty good tempura restaurant with some clients the first night that I was in Tokyo, but I couldn't take any pictures so you will just have to trust me that it was an eat-until-I-am-groaning-I-might-throw-up-this-is-way-too-much-food experience.
A tasty fresh octopus starter with Italian salad dressing:
Those grapes in that fruit bowl?! Unbelievable - seedless and yet still the biggest juiciest and most plump (plumpest?) grapes ever.
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