Roka Brunch, Aldwych – restaurant review
Brunch is perhaps my favourite meal of the week. It isn’t a big, indigestible breakfast with the prospect of needing a nap by 10.30 (although...
OKA Japanese Restaurant, Kingly Court – review
Kingly Court is tucked away between Carnaby Street and Regent Street. It’s an area famed for smart boutiques and cosy eateries and for its ‘swinging‘...
Shoryu Ramen, Soho – restaurant review
Shoryu Ramen launched in November 2012 and has already been recommended in the Michelin Guide of 2014 and 2015. It has fast become a small...
Kanada-Ya (or how I found my noodle) – restaurant review
I have wanted to visit for a while. No, this isn’t a Michelin-starred restaurant. No, one isn’t dazzled by drifts of white linen tablecloths or...
Romantic Takayama – travel review
I admit it. I am now an unashamed Japan evangelist. I had always wanted to go and as a much younger person I had a...
Hisashi Taoka of Kiku – Fish aficionado – interview
Kiku is a Japanese restaurant conveniently located near Green Park station in Mayfair, and at the top of Half Moon Street. It’s one of the...
Koichi Saura – Samurai for Sake – interview
We, at least in London, are becoming more familiar with Japan’s iconic national beverage. We are tempted to take our first sips in the increasingly...
Washoku – Japanese cuisine recognised by UNESCO – travel review
We in the West might consider that we know all about Japanese food and indeed all about Japan. It is, I guess, a consequence of...
Toshie Hiraide, Sake Samurai Japan – interview
Japan has many icons. Sumo, sushi, kimonos are among the first that spring to the non-Japanese mind …along with sake! Japanese food and sake are...
Sake in London? It’s an education – drinks review
Half a decade ago one could find Japanese Sake in London. Yes, of course one could. The ordering of such a beverage would usually elicit...
The Saké Handbook by John Gauntner – review
Saké has become more popular than ever in both restaurants and bars. One can find good quality saké by the bottle and made into cocktails,...
Dozo Japanese Restaurant, Soho – review
This is a relatively new kid on the block although Dozo in Old Brompton Road has been around for a while. This new Soho branch...
Kaiseki Yoshiyuki – Singapore – restaurant review
Ignatius Chan is unique, a quiet and gentle man who is sparked into animation when talking about food and drink. He is celebrated and respected...
The Just Bento Cookbook by Makiko Itoh – review
It’s a bento cookbook. But I know for a fact that not everyone in Europe will know exactly what bento is. Most people would have...
Ramen at YO! Sushi – restaurant review
I guess it’s a sign of the times. We want good food but money is tight so we look for something delicious, fun and warming...
The Last Concubine by Lesley Downer – review
There will be many UK readers who will remember Lesley Downer not for her books, although there have been many, but for her enlightening and...
Inamo – St James – restaurant review
Inamo is the brainchild, more accurately brain children, of owners Danny Potter and Noel Hunwick, who met when they were undergraduates at Oxford. Inamo is...
YO! Sushi, Waterloo Station, London – restaurant review
Catching a train isn’t like catching a bus. There isn’t going to be another one along in a minute. Stations are filled with folks who...
Ignatius ‘Iggy’ Chan – Singapore’s Sommelier – interview
There are few restaurants owned, run by, and named after a sommelier but Singapore’s iconic “Iggy’s” is just that. Ignatius ‘Iggy’ Chan is an immensely...
Chisou Japanese Restaurant, Knightsbridge – review
A decade ago there were few Japanese restaurants in the UK. It was partly due to the fact that we hadn’t had the close ties...