origamicrane

some suggestions to keep you occupied for a week. Vietnamese. Bambou , Charlotte Street Thai. Mango tree, Grosvenor Place. Italian. Mimmo D'ishcia, Grosvenor Place Chinese. Hakkasan / Yauatcha, Soho Japanese. Sushi Hiro, Ealing Korean. Arrirang, Poland Street Fusion Asia de Cuba, Covent Garden but if you really that bored just pick up a copy of time out food guide and randomly pick a restaurant ? nothing like a little surprise and adventure to keep apathy at bay.

actually has anyone else here been to a kura? If they have post the names and address here we can start a directory of sake breweries and review page?

hi all the nice man called Jonathon Read replied to me and gave me a wonderful suggestion which was to vist a japanese sake brewery (kura) and try the freshly made sake. Well i been to Champagne for the champagne so this sounds like a brilliant idea he even sent me alist of breweries to try and visit read below thanks again Jonathon. ------------------------------------------------- I think Osaka area will be your best bet for visiting a kura. One of the most respected in the area is that of Aki-shika ("Autumn Deer") located in the Nose area of the Osake prefecture. Akishika Distillery, Inc. 1007 Kuragaki Nose-cho Toyono-gun 0727-37-0013 Some other Kura in the area are as follows: Kotobuki Distillery, Inc. 0726-96-0003 3-26-12 Tonda Takathuki-shi Nakao Distillery, Inc. 0726-22-2205 6-34 Kamiizumi-cho Ibaraki-shi Takashima Distillery, Inc. 0726-32-2226 2-8-3 Sawaraginisi Ibaraki-shi Manryou Distillery, Inc. 0726-53-7488 5-3-29 Torikaihonmachi Settu-shi Gosyun, Inc. 0727-51-2023 1-2-2 Ayaha Ikeda-shi Yoshida Distillery, Inc. 0727-51-5063 17-10 Sakaehonmachi Ikeda-shi Thujibayashi Distillery, Ltd. 0725-55-0024 55 Wada-cho Izumi-shi Terada Distillery, Ltd. 0724-22-0601 22-30 Mathunami-cho Kishiwada-shi Isaka Distillery Co. 0724-79-0074 117 Inaba-cho Kishiwada-shi Terada Distillery Co. 0724-46-1680 808-13 Nagoe Aza-sunago Kaiduka-shi Kitasyouji Distilleryten, Ltd. 0724-68-0850 3173 Hineno Izumisano-shi Yoshimoto Distillery, Ltd. 0724-52-1665 1602 Ogaito Kumatori-cho Sennan-gun Tahara Distillery, Ltd. 0724-65-0066 904 Kasyouji Tajiri-cho Sennan-gun Naniwa Distillery, Ltd. 0724-72-0032 3-13-6 Ozaki-cho Hannan-shi Saijo.Co 0721-55-1101 12-18 Nagano-cho Kawachinagano-shi Hujimoto Distillery Co 0729-55-0018 2-1-10 Hujiidera Hujiidera-shi Okina Distillery, Inc. 0729-56-0003 3-6-5 Karusato Habikino-shi Choryu Distilleryu, Inc. 0729-23-6071 1-1-29 Yasunaka-cho Yao-shi Daimon Distillery, Inc. 072-893-2181 3-12-1 Moriminami Katano-shi Yamano Distillery, Inc. 072-891-1046 7-11-2 Kisabe Katano-shi Shigemura Masaathu 072-858-1401 3-4-5 Hotani Hirakata-shi If you can contact them a head of time they may well be able to get an English speaker for you... though many of them probably speak fine English to begin with. Another thought is to go to a top sake bar in Osaka and (once you have enjoyed some of their higher end products) ask them if they can recommend and or even arrange for a visit to a local Kura. Many of them have very close contacts with the top local breweries. In Osaka, you might check out the Ji-zake Tengoku Shoya (literally translated to be something like "regional sake paradise"). It is a pretty cool sake bar located in a "seedy" shopping arcade. They have over 100 selections and an unusually large selection of aged sake (koshu). Ji-zake Tengoku Shoya Meigaza Building Abeno Ginza-dori 1F 1-7-47 Abenosuji, Abeno-ku Osaka 545-0052 Tel: 06-633-1474 Fax: 06-633-1498

hi there does anyone know if there is a japanese equivalent of cordon bleu cookery school? I know there is a sushi academy in america somewhere. but i would one day (when i can afford it) like to learn how to make sushi properly and other japanese food naturally :) also do they accept non japanese speaking students?

I think you will find illegal immigrants all through the low skilled and manual labour industry. You find illegal labourers picking the fruit and veg in the fields, butchering the meat, moving crates at the markets, carrying the cargo at ports, doing the deliveries, cooking in the kitchens, cleaning the toilets, stacking shelves in the cash and carries. If they did away with all illegal labourers i think prices would rise in general for most consumer goods and services. Just an additional thought about the exploiting ones own people (i'm not supporting either side just making an observation) even if these illegal immigrant earnt less then the UK minimum wage they are still probably earning 10 times more then they could back in their home country and one weeks wage here will feed their family for a month.

hmmm.. this is a touchy subject for me.. but they say knowledge isn't good or bad just depends what you do with it. So here goes in no particular order. Ok illegal Chinese immigrant dispose of their passports so they can't be identified by the authorities. This makes it very very difficult for them to deport them if they don't know where to deport them to. If the illegal immigrant refuses to co operate by identifying themselves they can't get deported. Oh yeah they could end up in jail but many of them back in china are living in poverty as such jail isn't a major detterent. Ok let have some background on these illegal immigrants. They come from poor areas of China they pay extortionate amounts of money to gangs and face life threatening danger to be smuggled into the country ( the dover tragedy with the 50 dead immigrant in a container) When they get here they have to repay their debt to the gangs and send money home to their families and all the time they still face being exploited as they have no legal status and speak no english (look at the 20 dead cocklers in morcambe bay). Even if they do find a job here they are isolated with no family or friends and faced with the endless boredom of working in a restaurant many fall into heavy gambling and borrowing from lone sharks being charged 10% interest a week!!! If they borrow more then £2000 they will never be able to repay the interest. It used to be, over a decade ago that a few illegal immigrant would work in the uk for 5 years and save enough money to return to China and retire on that money. Naturally these stories spread to other villages and the promise of money to the poor is a very big carrot, compare the American gold rush. China won't accept these illegal imigrants back if the UK authorites can't prove they are from China, why you may ask? Well China population is already too big and these illegal immigrant are sending valuable foreign currency back into China so there is no benefit for China to make the deportation process easy for the UK. In fact the more of them that are in the UK the more money that will get into China. Ok the Chinese restaurants in the UK have little option but to hire these illegal immigrant due to finances. Skilled legal chinese chefs are rare and their wages would be double of that of an illegal immigrant. And yes having a cheap labour force reduces the cost to the consumer. Although whether the quality is better is questionable as most of them are unskilled. As to exploiting ones own? yes i suppose it is in one light but in another sense if these people aren't working they will get involved in more criminal activities and these people are begging to be employed. Yes this illegal labour permeates the entire catering trade not just chinese restaurants. The illegal labour trade has become too established now and the only thng that could stop them trying to get into uk is if it isn't financial worth it anymore.

hi all well can't remeber where i read it but it said that if you can get hold of yuzu miso to use that instead of white miso as the citurs flavour is even better with black codn hmmmm guess i could just squeeze some lemon juice into the white miso marinade... i just want something that tastes better then nobu's black cod can be made at home and doesn't cost £26 for it

hi there anyone out there got a full recipe for black cod and miso? as the nobu cook book conveniently misses out the proportions required boo!! booo!! Also anyone know of a fishmonger within London that sell the fish? and the yuzo miso? (can you make yuzo miso yourself? light miso and squeeze in the yuzo juice? ) come to think of it is yuzo available in london too? I know its also called sablefish but most fishmongers look at me blankly when i ask for it or offer me normal cod Wonder if i should make a trip to Billingsgate??? anyway sure whoever answer this question will get respect from the rest of the forum.

hi all i tried to get a booking for yauatcha yesterday lunch naturally they were fully booked but failing that i went to try the upstair tea room that didn't need a reservation. As no one written a review of the tea room thought i might add my 2 pence. Ok design wise i would say its hakkasan lite :) quite nice although the black and white colour scheme the spot lights and the neon hippy takeaway boxs reminded me of the perfume shop Sephora! any way most alan yau places do have a wow minimal design so very pretty. They playing the same buddha bar esque soundtrack as in hakkasan but luckily not at the same volume anyway on to the teas they serve about 20 varieties of tea mostly oriental brew although they had about 6 inidan types mostly darjeelings. The tea are split by type and regions. Although they don;t seem to have the ginseng tea that i like from hakkasan? I had a pot of taipei green tea and a pot of "water angel" think its spelt tsui xian in english i forget. I watched them like a hawk to make sure they prepared it properly which is to pour hot water on the tea leaves and then throw away the first pot of water. Tea arrived and took a sip of the green tea, not bad, the water taste liked it has definately been filterd or are they making it out of mineral water? the second water angel was ok but as i'm a fan of green tea i preferred that one. The cake counter looks pretty and again i get the Sephora feeling, like i'm looking at bottles of perfume. They serve about 8 different types of cake all look fake for some reason think it might be the way they glaze them. I ordered a chocolate dome chinois this was a coffee sponge base topped with mascapone covered in a syrupy chocolate coating, and topped with a piece of nut brittle. Now if you ever tried chinese cakes you will realise that thay are usually a poor imitation of a french pattiserie. Chinese cake are always was too sweet and creamy and taste like they been processed rather then made, it was no difference here. ?I didn't like the cake would have preferred a cheescake from patisserie valerie. But having said that the tea room could turn into a surprise hit as if i had to choose between the tea room and a starbucks the tea room would win hands down. A pot of tea cost about £3.00 which is about the same price as a starbuck frappaccino. They just need to introduce some proper cakes and i will be a permenat fixture in there ciao

hi everyone thanks for the help actually someone mailed me privately and put me onto a sake expert :) awaiting their response with bated breath :) anyway just to continue this thread a little longer i was wondering can you buy good sake at any off license in japan?? or do you have to go to a specialist shop?? as if you do, how about some names and addresses of recommended stores in tokyo?? : sake hmmmmm...... domo

thanks Hiroyuki well the one i tried before was this one JUNMAI-SHU, HOKUSETSU SAKE CO., SADO, NIIGATA from niigata as you said :) well the description in the menu was "Crisp, dry and light body. Delicate acidity and pleasant astringency" so guess i go for this type of sake. any leads will be greatly appreciated. by the way i tried shochu, how you meant to drink it?? as neat it very strong. The waiter in the japanese restaurant said you mix it with cold oolong tea or plum??

Hi there was wondering if there is a sake expert out there? My friend is going to Japan and I asked him to bring back a couple of bottles of good sake, i would like some recommendations. I'm a real beginner to sake and most of the time i'm drinking ozeki ( i know but its the only sake they serve in japnese restaurant in the UK!! ) I find ozeki far too sickly sweet but beggers can't be choosers. But i did try Hokusetsu sake in Nobu and i really liked it but it was like £15 for a tiny little bottle!! I would appreciate it if someone could recommend a few sakes and give the name and approximate price in japan and if you got a picture of the bottle even better I'm willing to spend £50-75 (10,000-15,000) Yen for the most expensive bottle and buy another two cheaper bottles. would that be a reasonable budget? Also does tokyo airport have a duty free section? would it be cheaper to buy sake in there?? any help would be appreciated

well here my suggestions for a whole week of cheap and tasty eats the following are all places you can get a very tasty and filling meal for under £10 without compromising on quality. I been to all of them and they come with my person guarantee for good quality/price ratio English Monday have a spot of earl grey tea, club sandwich and a cheescake at Patisserie Valerie in Soho. Evening go for fish and chips, Fryers Delight off holborn is good. Indian Tuesday lunch go to Kerala off Oxford Circus for a cheap and tasty Cheemin biryani. Evening try the UK national dish of chicken tikka masala and keema naan and kulfi head to Whitechapel's New Tayyab or Gifto's in Southall. Oriental Wednesday go to Tay Do in Hackney which is a very cheap and tasty vietnamese cafe you be bursting at the seams if you manaage to eat £10 worth of food. go for the special spring rolls, green papaya salad, chao tom, mixed pork rice. In the evening go to ASSA off Tottenham court road which is a lovely little korean cafe especially try the seafood pancake the stone pot rice and a hot pot . pancakes?? Thursday head up to Hampstead and grab yourself the best crepe in London from the little crepe stand there. In the evening go to My Old Dutch in holborn for a monster crepe/ pancakes. European Friday lunch go to Belgo belgium place with a lot of beer in Covent Garden and take advantatage of their £6 lunch special. Evening my favourite pizza chain Strada there one in covent garden too the parma pizza is yummy. Middle eastern Saturday lunch go to Maroush in Oxford Street and try the tasty falafel and chicken taouk sandwiches(wraps) and grab a freshly squeezed melon juice. Evening head to Hafez in Bayswater and grab a salad oliveh with fresh bread and a kebab and butter rice. Chinese Sunday go for chinese have dim sum in Chinatown, Royal dragon and Golden dragon are good. Evening go to the infamous Wong Kei to have some duck rice and get abused by their legendary service before legging it out o the country ;) alternative/spare japanese day Lunch at Misato in chinatown go for the katsu curry with a mount fuji load of rice evening Ryo in Brewer Street go for the gomoku ramen set big bowl of noodles and a bowl of fried rice for £8. Think i might try this myself one week, pretty sure you could actually have change from £280 for the week.

think i will have to make a beeline to sushi say for the wasabi ice cream haven't had that since i was in hong kong 4 years ago. akiko Nope haven't been to tsunami probably because its south of the river hehe the question is, is it worth me driving pass sushi hiro to get to it? tarka there a shopping centre in ealing broadway and quite a lot of restaurants in the area. Theres another two jap restaurants there one is called MOMO and the other i forget they both serve other food and not just sushi. Yeah Monday is generally a bad day for all things seafood unless you live by the coast.

yeah sushi hiro is pretty much the best on the quality/price ratio. btw there is a japanese fishmonger just a mile from sushi hiro called ATARI-YA 7 STATION PARADE NOEL ROAD WEST ACTON they got another branch in north finchely, they supply nobu with their sashimi if you ever feel like making your own sushi go there although i swear that the fish in sushi hiro is still better!! *i don't understand!*

hi cafe japan is excellent too as they do other japanese dished including the very yummy black cod and miso at half the price of nobu!! and soft shell crab roles. The atmosphere in cafe japan is more buzzy. Its not japanese homecooking but its still very good. Only thing is a friend told me that they have changed management recently so not sure if the quality has changed. But if its just sushi you want i have yet to go anyhere in the uk that is better sushi hiro. For instance i really rate the following restaurants for overall quality matsuri - really fun and tasty japanese teppanyaki place but expensive. cafe japan - very reasonable high quality food with a family run kind of feel. noto - a little hit and miss but when its a hit its really amazing and reasonable price nobu - :) hehehe reserved for when i get my annual bonus!! chiso - this place is really good and does have some home cooking but expensive yumi - excellent service very authentic with kimono clad waitresses but expensive for what you get. but sushi hiro basically is miles ahead in the sushi department. In fact the last two visits i was at sushi hiro i thought the standard had fallen slightly (might have been the younger chef making the sushi) but even then it was still cheaper then any of the others on my list above. The only problem with sushi hiro might be that it is too authentic japanese it really lacks atmosphere but then maybe that just focus your attention to the food? akiko you mentions sushi say do really good ice cream? what flavour do they have?? as i'm looking for a place that serve wasabi ice cream!! :D

hi the best places for sushi in london is sushi hiro opposite ealing common tube station and its very reasonable for london. Just walk in and you will see nothing but japanese business men probably using their expense account wisely but some things you have to know, its closed on monday (a good thing) they only take booking up to 5 people as the place is tiny, they only accept cash (bad thing)and last orders is at 8.30pm??!! alternatively cafe japan in golders green is pretty good too.

satay chicken SATAY CHICKEN (or any other meat) 750 g chicken MARINADE. 1/2 c cooking oil 4 T brown sugar 12 shallots 6 garlic 2 inch galagal 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp white/black peppercorn 1 tsp toasted coriander seeds ground 2 tsp toasted fennel seeds ground 2 tsp toasted cumin ground 1 tsp belacan shrimp paste 2 T water SATAY SAUCE 5 medium onions 8 cloves garlic 1/2 c chili paste (sambal ozlek) 4 stalks lemongrass 1 tsp belacan shrimp paste 2 T water candlenuts/macadamia nuts 1/4 c rice vinegar 4 T sugar 3 c coconut milk 1 c crush roast peanuts The marinade: Blitz all ingredients in a blender until smooth then marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours. skewer and grill. The sauce: Blitz all the ingredients in a blender until smooth (except the coconut milk and peanuts.) Then fry the paste in 4T cooking oil for 5 minutes or until fragrant. Then stir in the coconut milk and simmer 10 minutes. Finally add in the peanuts. Serving: serve the chicken satay with the sauce, chopped cucumber and onion chunks and pressed cold rice cakes. Keywords: Appetizer, Chicken, Intermediate, Marinade, Dinner, Grill, Southeast Asian ( RG1364 )

satay chicken SATAY CHICKEN (or any other meat) 750 g chicken MARINADE. 1/2 c cooking oil 4 T brown sugar 12 shallots 6 garlic 2 inch galagal 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp white/black peppercorn 1 tsp toasted coriander seeds ground 2 tsp toasted fennel seeds ground 2 tsp toasted cumin ground 1 tsp belacan shrimp paste 2 T water SATAY SAUCE 5 medium onions 8 cloves garlic 1/2 c chili paste (sambal ozlek) 4 stalks lemongrass 1 tsp belacan shrimp paste 2 T water candlenuts/macadamia nuts 1/4 c rice vinegar 4 T sugar 3 c coconut milk 1 c crush roast peanuts The marinade: Blitz all ingredients in a blender until smooth then marinate the chicken for at least 4 hours. skewer and grill. The sauce: Blitz all the ingredients in a blender until smooth (except the coconut milk and peanuts.) Then fry the paste in 4T cooking oil for 5 minutes or until fragrant. Then stir in the coconut milk and simmer 10 minutes. Finally add in the peanuts. Serving: serve the chicken satay with the sauce, chopped cucumber and onion chunks and pressed cold rice cakes. Keywords: Appetizer, Chicken, Intermediate, Marinade, Dinner, Grill, Southeast Asian ( RG1364 )