Walked past this modern Chinese-inspired restaurant Ichirin #東京チャイニーズ一凛 (〒104-0045 Tokyo, Chuo City, Tsukiji, 1 Chome−5−8) this evening and got an early table. If I see a woman cooking in a kitchen I’ll likely want to try the food: I project into it a hope that the cooks are adult and intelligent, and from that, imagine the food will be nuanced and thoughtful. Hey, you gotta make random choices somehow, that’s my way of straw-picking. Chef Haruo Daigo is Japanese but very focused on the cooking of mainland China, so menu is rather inspired by Chinese dishes and ingredients but through a Japanese approach. Had what I’d call the “chopstick challenge” menu, each dish a challenge to eat without making a dick of yourself. Eating silken tofu and minced beef with chopsticks was the high point.
Sashimi of buri #yellowtail with onion in black Chinese black malt vinegar;
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Poached #Takasakadori chicken (from #Hyōgoprefecture) with chicken liver, in house-made chilli oil with sesame seeds, peanuts and cashews;
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Japanese flying squid #surumeika, with square beans from Okinawa, yellow and white leeks, stir fried with squid liver.
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Ox liver with leek, in a sauce of puréed leek, cucumber, banana and apple, then stir fried.
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Taiwanese #tomyo #peasprouts, with #jinhuaham.
Minced beef with soft tofu in chilli sauce, with rice from #Hokkaido
Almond milk jelly with a caramel flavoured with an almost homeopathic measure of amaretti liquor, almost not there, magic.
