The 50 Best Restaurants in the World...

[Alter]

Originally Posted by Fade to Black

the quality of Japanese food depends solely on the quality of the ingredients more than the skill of the chef. The latter is still taken into account to a certain degree of course, but the former takes priority. I think that's why it doesn't quite reach the level of the other two.

Case in point, I was out for dinner the other night in Kobe and we ordered a tomato dish. It was, simply, a sliced tomato on a plate. No salt, no dressing, no garnish, nothing.

It was the best tomato I have ever eaten.

 

[Dragon]

From my point of view, you ate great sliced tomato in Japan, not Japanese food.

 

[Alter]

Originally Posted by Dragon

From my point of view, you ate great sliced tomato in Japan, not Japanese food.

OK but how about the chicken sashimi?

 

[Dragon]

Originally Posted by Alter

OK but how about the chicken sashimi?

Depending on how it was prepared and presented, it could be just a fresh slice of raw chicken served in Japan, and not necessarily Japanese food.

 

[Fade to Black]

i had chicken sashimi at this place in azabu juban that specializes in everything chicken and it was fuckin great. cant wait to go back and order a whole damn plate of chicken sashimi

 

[Alter]

Originally Posted by Fade to Black

i had chicken sashimi at this place in azabu juban that specializes in everything chicken and it was fuckin great. cant wait to go back and order a whole damn plate of chicken sashimi

Yes, but the question is...is it Japanese food?

 

[Fade to Black]

oh the way it was prepared was definitely japanese...i dont remember the details but there was some seasoning

and i would say if the tomato had some sea salt sprinkled on it, thats japanese too. theyre good at minimalist cuisine. gotta love those huge tomatoes the size of a watermelon.

 

[Toiletduck]

I guess the thing about Japanese ingredients (the grown stuff) is that they are top quality - their fruits especially!

Bloody expensive though.

 

[Dragon]

The one thing (very important) thing I forgot to add about Japanese food is that it`s all based on minimalism. Just like the architecture, gardens, etc. everything is based on minimalism. I think this is often mis-interpreted, and many people think that all that is involved is slicing some sort of fresh ingredient (fish, tomato, or whatever).

For example, in French food you ADD ingredients and techniques one by one to create the final product (butters + creams + stock + salt + etc. + etc. + etc. = final product). All the the MANY ingredients added together make for a complex taste and marriage. On the other hand, Japanese chefs calculate the other way around by subtracting (final product - etc. - etc. - etc. - oils - whatever = final product).

Much of the popular Japanese food served in the U.S. is not based on minimalism, so many do not think of it as the real thing. The mayonnaise based sauces, etc. are not necessary so should be subtracted, but the restaurants in the U.S. ADD those ingredients to create a final product that is easier to understand to their customers.

 

[Fade to Black]

yep, much like the way popular chinese food in the US isn't really based in chinese roots either, they add the American sensationalist touch to it to jazz it up

 

[SoCal2NYC]

Originally Posted by Fade to Black

yep, much like the way popular chinese food in the US isn't really based in chinese roots either, they add the American sensationalist touch to it to jazz it up

So are you telling me that P.F. Chang's and Panda Express are not legit!?!?

 

[Fade to Black]

you're starting to get on my nerves.

 

[ChicagoRon]

Originally Posted by SoCal2NYC

So are you telling me that P.F. Chang's and Panda Express are not legit!?!?
I thought the way to tell if your Chinese restaurant is authentic is if they call it "Governer Tso's" or "General Tso's". That said...I have a certain fondness for "Cauc"-asian food....kind of the same way I enjoy California pizza even though it's not really pizza.

 

[whacked]

^ Agreed, even as I grew up in Asia myself. I like Pei Wei (a PF Chang subsidiary) and Firebowl Cafe (a local chain in TX). PFChang and Panda Express are crap though.

 

[Fade to Black]

Kung pao chicken is real though...California Pizza Kitchen's kung pao spaghetti is good.