麻豆影视

Lifestyle

    • One of the world's best Chinese restaurants is in Tokyo

    Chef Tomoya Kawada opened Sazenka in 2017. (Source: Maggie Hiufu Wong / CNN) Chef Tomoya Kawada opened Sazenka in 2017. (Source: Maggie Hiufu Wong / CNN)
    Share

    Inside a dimly lit dining room, chef Tomoya Kawada of Sazenka is drawing a yin-yang diagram on a notepad as he explains his dreams for the distant future.

    "World peace through food," he says.

    Such words could easily be dismissed as idealistic hyperbole. But coming from Kawada, they sound almost reassuring -- and even attainable.

    After all, this Japanese chef has achieved a feat no other restaurateur has before; he's created the world's only three-Michelin-star Chinese restaurant in a non-Chinese-speaking city. Not an easy task in the tightly guarded world of Chinese kitchens.

    Chinese techniques infused with Japanese spirit

    Set inside a former diplomat's house in a quiet upscale residential district, Sazenka's rise was swift. It was awarded two stars by the Michelin Guide in 2017 -- the same year it opened. Another star was added in 2020 and it has held on to all three in the years since.

    To highlight just how impressive it is, it's worth nothing there are only seven other other Chinese restaurants in the world with three Michelin stars, and those are in Hong Kong, Macao, Taipei and Beijing.

    The Tokyo restaurant was also named the 11th best restaurant in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Awards in 2022, the second highest ranking Chinese restaurant on the list.

    "I'm not there yet," the humble chef says of his achievements.

    "It's only been six years. I'm sure we can make even better food, provide better service and make our customers more satisfied."

    The team has multiple daily meetings as part of efforts to achieve those goals.

    "Unfortunately, I'll probably not feel satisfied with the results until I die," says Kawada. "But we're growing and we're happy. It's like climbing a mountain -- we reach one summit and something else begins. But when we look back, I still think it was fun when we were climbing."

    The restaurant's poetic name, Sazenka, is made up three words that mean tea, zen and Chinese. The restaurant's 11-course feast, excluding small bites, pairing teas and desserts, feels more like a mindful kaiseki experience than a traditional Chinese banquet. The cost? About US$450 per person.

    It begins with a bowl of somen noodles served in a mix of clear broth and tea oil in a blue-and-white porcelain stem cup, and ends with a sweet rice ball floating in a mild tea soup.

    The menu's regional Chinese dishes, from Cantonese char siu (honey-glazed roast pork) to Sichuan pepper pigeon, are infused with a uniquely Japanese touch.

    WHY CHINESE FOOD?

    For Kawada, the menu he's created for Sazenka is a childhood dream come true. His love for Chinese food took seed when he was just five years old, after his parents took him to a Chinese restaurant in Japan's Tochigi prefecture.

    "I vividly remember that moment, when I was attracted by the beauty and the deliciousness of Chinese food," he says.

    "There were dishes named bang bang chicken, mapo tofu or yun bai rou (cloudy pork slices). I was fascinated by their beauty. I could see the magnificent Chinese landscape in the food.

    "I was so impressed by it that I decided I would become a Chinese chef in the future."

    At 18 years old, he got a job inside the kitchen of Azabu Choko, a now-closed Sichuanese restaurant in Tokyo. He worked there for a decade before switching to Japanese cuisine and training under chef Seiji Yamamoto of RyuGin for five years.

    But over the years, he visited China often to see the landscapes and deepen his understanding of the cuisine.

    In 2017, he began to develop his own version of Chinese cuisine and Sazenka was born.

    "There is a Japanese phase called Wakon-Kansai (Japanese spirit and Chinese talent)," Kawada says, when asked to define his cuisine.

    "Sazenka's food is based on Sichuan cuisine with a Japanese spirit and a Chinese sensibility."

    WONTON SOUP WITH A JAPANESE TWIST

    The set-course menu is filled with showstoppers, all highlighting the chef's meticulous Chinese and Japanese cooking techniques.

    The Sichuan Pepper Pigeon is prepared in two ways -- its thighs are cooked to crispy perfection in the Cantonese style, while the breast is given the Japanese yakitori treatment -- skewered and grilled.

    The Sichuan-inspired dish of Cloudy Pork Slices features beautifully marbled pork layered with thin eggplant slices cut into the shape of feathers.

    The Jellyfish Salad is delicately sliced and plated in a small bowl carved out of a Japanese sudachi citrus.

    But out of all of Sazenka's rich and expressive dishes, Kawada chooses the humblest of them all to represent his restaurant: the pheasant soup, inspired by Hong Kong's wonton soup, featuring one floating pork dumpling in clear broth.

    "Hong Kong's premium stock is amazingly delicious. I always wondered what would happen if I tried to express the taste of Japanese stock in Chinese cuisine," says Kawada.

    To make the "simple soup," as he calls it, the pheasant's bones need to be pounded and soaked in water overnight. They're then boiled in high heat till the blood comes out and is removed. The remaining bones are then boiled down for about four hours.

    The broth will need to rest for another day before minced pheasant meat, Jinhua-cured ham, kelp, green onions, ginger, 15-year-old Shaoxing wine, salt and pepper are added to season the clear stock.

    "The moment you put it in your mouth, the taste is nothing striking but very gentle," says the chef.

    "But gradually, the deliciousness comes. The deepness of this deliciousness is a strength of Japanese cuisine. The spirit of Japanese cuisine is a dish that makes you think, 'I really enjoyed that pheasant soup' only three days later. This pheasant soup is the world of Japanese cuisine represented in one bowl."

    "It's not fusion but harmony"

    The soup is also the perfect illustration of Sazenka's Wakon-Kansai philosophy, which has nothing to do with re-creating authentic Chinese dishes in Japan.

    "I'd always thought that authentic cuisines from their original places are the best. But I think the development of a culture is only possible when it travels. So now, I think creating a cuisine, be it Sichuan or Japanese, that makes people feel comfortable is an outstanding achievement," says Kawada.

    For him, eating is more than just an activity but "a beautiful way to communicate peace."

    In his view, it all goes back to that yin-yang Taiji symbol.

    "If Japanese cuisine is black and Chinese cuisine is white, the fusion of the two will make a gray circle," he says, noting that instead, the two cuisines should co-exist like the black and white dots in the Yin-Yang diagram.

    "It isn't fusion but harmony, which is made up of two Chinese characters -- cho and wa (mix and together) -- without erasing the goodness of Japanese cuisine and Chinese cuisine in each other."

    He points to Japanese food as being a cuisine that has achieved this aim by incorporating the culinary techniques and ingredients of various cultures from all over the world.

    "I think the idea of Wakon-Kansai is wonderful. It shows how people strongly believed that Japanese and Chinese cultures should get along with each other more than 1,000 years ago, and that we should respect each other's good points."

    Though the concept of Wakon-Kansai originated in the Heian period (794-1185), he says it still applies to many relationships in the world today.

    "Cooking is about a consideration for the earth and it's also about the relationship between countries," says Kawada.

    "I hope Sazenka can be seen in this way as a symbol of world peace by getting along through food. That's the idea I have when I am approaching my cooking."

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    Why brain aging can vary dramatically between people

    Researchers are uncovering deeper insights into how the human brain ages and what factors may be tied to healthier cognitive aging, including exercising, avoiding tobacco, speaking a second language or even playing a musical instrument.

    The union representing some 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal has overwhelmingly rejected a deal with their employers association.

    A man who was critically injured in a police-involved shooting in Hamilton late Sunday afternoon has died in hospital, says the province鈥檚 police watchdog.

    Canada

    World

    Politics

    • Murray Sinclair鈥檚 family members say the late justice and senator has been laid to rest according to his wishes.

    • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced voters in Cloverdale鈥擫angley City will pick their next member of Parliament on Dec. 16.

    Health

    Sci-Tech

    Entertainment

    Business

    Lifestyle

    Sports

    Autos

    Local Spotlight

    For the second year in a row, the 鈥楪ift-a-Family鈥 campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.

    Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.

    A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.

    As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.

    A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts 鈥 not for themselves, but for those in need.

    A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.

    Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.

    A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.

    • Weather watchers were treated to an exceptionally rare display on Friday evening as rare cloud formations filled Vancouver skies.

    • For some shoppers it was Nov. 1, but for others the first hints of Christmas - saccharine treats, festive-fragranced candles and gaudily wrapped gift sets - were being noticed in stores long before the final Halloween decor had been cleared.

    • Thousands of people are expected to gather in downtown Vancouver on Monday to observe the city鈥檚 100th Remembrance Day ceremony.

    • Toronto is expected to see an economic boost to the tune of nearly $300 million thanks to Taylor Swift鈥檚 upcoming Eras Tour, which will be making a stop in Canada鈥檚 largest city for a six-show run later this month.

    • One man was transported to hospital early Monday morning after a stabbing in the northwest end of the city, Toronto police say.

    • Calgarians will be observing Remembrance Day at a number of different ceremonies across the city, including at the Hangar Flight Museum.

    • A home in the northeast Calgary community of Saddle Ridge was damaged in a fire on Sunday.

    • A pair of 105-mm howitzers bark constantly as they turn plywood tank targets into kindling kilometres away on the windswept landscape of one of Canada's largest military bases.

    • NEW THIS MORNING

      NEW THIS MORNING

      An Ottawa boy with a rare disease will be getting the chance to see Taylor Swift in concert after the winner and organizers of an auction held on his behalf gifted the tickets to him.

    • CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at Remembrance Day ceremonies in Ottawa.

    • After months of controversy surrounding a dog park in Ottawa's west end, a solution has been reached to divide the park in half.

    • The employers association at the Port of Montreal locked out nearly 1,200 longshore workers, bringing a halt to traffic at the port.

    • An elementary school in Greenfield Park on Montreal鈥檚 South Shore is closed after it was the target of an alleged arson attack.

    • Though most businesses are expected to be open on Remembrance Day, there are some establishments that will be closed to commemorate the holiday.

    • Monday is Remembrance Day, a time to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty.

    • Boasting 2,300 square metres of skating space at its new location, Edmonton's Rollers Roller Rink believes it is the largest in Canada.

    • A Cape Breton senior recalls her life in German-occupied France, and her mother鈥檚 death, during the Second World War.

    • It's been a trip to cherish for a group of Canadians visiting Belgium this week to honour the legacy of Indigenous soldiers.

    • A pillar in Canada鈥檚 history was honoured in Winnipeg Sunday afternoon, with thousands showing up to pay tribute to the life and legacy of the late Murray Sinclair.

    • Winnipeg police have identified two men involved in a stabbing incident earlier this week.

    • There will be two ceremonies taking place in Regina for Remembrance Day, hosted by the Royal Canadian Legion.

    • Regina author Valerie Crowther is celebrating the release of her book 鈥榃ar Letters: Linking Lives in the Second World War.鈥

    • It was a somber day at Mosaic Stadium as members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders officially cleaned out their stalls and closed the book on the 2024 season.

    • A man has been charged after a stabbing at an apartment building in Kitchener.

    • The Guelph Police Service is putting out a warning after two deaths in the downtown area.

    • Two new tributes to Canada鈥檚 veterans have been unveiled at the Elmira Cenotaph.

    • Saskatchewan RCMP are searching for a suspect after a man was seriously injured in a farm-related incident in Montreal Lake.

    • It was a somber day at Mosaic Stadium as members of the Saskatchewan Roughriders officially cleaned out their stalls and closed the book on the 2024 season.

    • The Regina Rams claimed the Hardy Cup after a hard fought battle against the Saskatoon Huskies 19-14 on Saturday in the first all Saskatchewan U-Sports western conference final since 2002.

    • Emergency crews responded to the scene on Road 68/Highway 2 east of Thamesford around 7 p.m.

    • On Friday, the Sarnia Police Service (SPS) received a report of an alleged abduction in the area of Kathleen Avenue and Walnut Avenue.

    • 11 AM:WATCH LIVE

      11 AM:WATCH LIVE

      The events will start at 10:15 a.m. with a parade that forms up in front of the Delta London Armories, marches east on Dundas Street and turns north onto Waterloo Street to Dufferin Avenue, the west to the Cenotaph.

    • A group of former NHL players faced off against York Regional Police officers in Newmarket Sunday afternoon to raise funds for Special Olympics programs across the province.

    • A driver is facing multiple charges after a multi-vehicle collision on Highway 400 early Sunday morning.

    • The agreed statement of facts was read to the court on Friday in the case of Alex Williams, the 24-year-old jail guard charged last fall with smuggling cannabis and tobacco into Central North Correctional Centre in Penetanguishene.

    • 11 AM:WATCH LIVE

      11 AM:WATCH LIVE

      Representatives of the Windsor Veterans Memorial Services Committee, military representatives, wreath bearers, government officials, and members of the public will attend the Cenotaph at City Hall Square for the outdoor service.

    • One person has been arrested after Chatham-Kent Police Service (CKPS) received multiple complaints about an alleged drunk driver.

    • More details have been released about a police investigation at the Ambassador Bridge that connects Windsor, Ont. and Detroit, MI.

    • Environment Canada says heavy rain and winds could cause power outages on Vancouver Island as an "intense" storm system is set to hit the B.C. coast Sunday.

    • Six deer were struck by vehicles in six different locations in a six-hour period on B.C. highways on Saturday, according to the transportation ministry.

    • The union for locked-out port workers in British Columbia says the BC Maritime Employers Association cut off talks in less than an hour Saturday, refusing to budge on a final offer that the union has so far rejected.

    • The emergency department at South Okanagan General Hospital in Oliver, B.C., will be closed for 31 hours this weekend, the second such closure in a week and the third since the start of November.

    • Police in Kamloops, B.C., are reminding parents and guardians to check their children's Halloween candy after receiving a report of a mother finding a razor blade in one of her daughter's treats.

    • More than two years after Alannah Brown and Douglas Barker were found dead north of Penticton, police are asking for help identifying a vehicle they believe was associated with the crime.

    • The Southern Alberta Recreation Association is officially announcing the Town of Taber as next year鈥檚 host for the Southern Alberta Summer Games.

    • The Lethbridge Hurricanes broke open a close game with three goals in the first two minutes of the third period as they defeated the Warriors 7-3 in a game played Friday night in Moose Jaw.

    • There might not a lot snow just yet, but many southern Albertans are still itching to get outdoors.

    • Police have arrested a 15-year-old in connection with a break-in and $50,000 in damage done to the Centennial Arena in Elliot Lake in September.

    • Mayors of the five largest cities in northern Ontario met in North Bay the last two days to discuss a range of critical issues impacting their cities and the region.

    • Residents in the Sault expressed concerns ranging from vandalism to privacy invasions during recent consultations on the city's plan to install automated speed enforcement cameras.

    N.L.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 麻豆影视. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.

    Stay Connected
    Follow 麻豆影视