Culinaria Japonica...

Japan is one place where you can easily find any type of food to your liking. At the Royal Oak Hotel in Otsu, Kyoto, there was a choice for French, Italian, Chinese and of course Japanese restaurants. And for pakZaid's 58th birthday he treated pakdokter to a dinner at the French restaurant. Later after dinner, pakAli joined us and we adjourned to the Bar where we celebrated pakZaid's auspicious day with drinks accompanied by a live jazz combo.

Pakdokter reciprocated with a dinner at the Italian Restaurant at our hotel in Tokyo. The next night pakAli entertained us at the hotel's Teppanyaki Restaurant located on the 41st floor of the Grand Pacific Hotel at Odaiba.. PakAli had wanted to try out one of the many 3-star Michelin restaurants in Tokyo but unfortunately we discovered that reservations for dinner were days in advance....

PakZaid entertained us again on the last night of their stay in Tokyo and pakdokter's son booked a Yakiniku restaurant located on the 47th floor of the Shiodome City Tower near Shimbashi which also gave a commanding view of the Tokyo Bay.

There are also many interesting small eateries everywhere in Tokyo where dining would not burn such a big hole in your pocket. Pakdokter's son who has been there for almost three years became a good guide for us and together we ventured out every night trying out different regional Japanese restaurants. ( the pictures above were at the Yakiniku Restaurant of the Shiodome City Tower and the one right of this column is a suburban teppanyaki bar in Nakano. )

In Higashi Nakano where pakdokter's son lived for the first two years, there was a good Afghan restaurant run by a young Japanese guy who had travelled widely in Afghanistan and developed a liking and skills at Afghan cooking. And judging from the almost always 'full house' in his eatery, he has indeed done very well at promoting Afghan food to the Japanese. I must admit that the Japanese appear very adventurous with food.

And a few doors away from his outlet there was a 'banana-leaf'' Indian restaurant run by a young Japanese girl. Turkish and Middle Eatern restaurants are also easily found.

The day pakdokter's family ventured out to Kamagoe, Rastam had booked the "Ninja" restaurant at Akasaka. It was quite an experience for us. One has to also book a table a few days in advance for this place. It was an adventure in itself. Upon being welcomed at the door, we had to wait for a 'ninja scout' to come and help us get into the restaurant to our table. This trip was like going through a 'thrill-ride' at the Disney park. You walk through dark narrow passage, not knowing when the floor may open into a trap....The guide however was there to lead you safely to your table...

The dinner itself was a feast of 8 courses of food, in portions small enough not to fill you up too fast. Yet every dish excelled in its tastes and presentation. The food was a tad fusion with touches of french nouvelle cuisine...

Just before dessert another Ninja came to present a series of magical tricks with cards, strings and flashes of flame out of his hand and fingers. All in all a night out at the Ninja at Akasaka was a complete entertainment in itself. No wonder the many tourists at the restaurant, just like pakdokter, were just as busy clicking their cameras all the time...

Like all things in Japan, pakdokter can testify that in whatever restaurants we dined in Japan, we have experienced great cuisine as authentic as they can be, be it Spanish, Italian, Middle Eastern or Indian etc. This must be due to the Japanese nature of being very detailed and meticulous in anything they do. And they always come out with good results...