The Tsukiji Fish Market appears in every guide book about Tokyo. It is the largest wholesale fish market in Tokyo, and one of the largest in the world. Get up before sunrise to visit the tuna auction. We were too late for that but still had a nice impression of the huge fish market. The best time to arrive is 4:00am: First come first serve! After the wholesale market you can visit the outer market which is packed with stalls selling fresh seafood, wasabi, cutlery and other specialty items. If you don’t feel like sushi after you’ve seen all the fish, Tsukiji also offers lots of other options, including big bowls of ramen, which we desperately needed to warm up after the cold, cold market. Rene Redzepi: ‘If you have any interest in food, Tsukiji fish market is as important as visiting Egypt’s pyramids. You have to go, especially now, in its last days in its current location. Ahead of the 2020 Olympics, they’re tearing it down after 80 years and moving it to the city’s outskirts, where they’re building a new version which probably won’t have the same wonderful vibe.’ (source)
Tag Archives: Noma Japan
Noma, Japan
Yesterday was Noma’s last service in Tokyo. A reservation waiting list of 60,000 people, but we were one of the lucky ones. The happy dance we did when we found out we got ourselves a table was followed by a few months of waiting. Longing..
As Redzepi wanted to experiment with Japanese ingredients, his only option was to move his entire restaurant. He shut the doors of his restaurant in Copenhagen and took his complete crew and philosophy to Tokyo. That means leaving all the Nordic ingredients behind and sourcing local foods in Japan. They created an entirely new menu, from appetizers to dessert using things like cherry blossoms, wasabi and citrus. Ingredients that never could be local in Denmark.
11 february 2015, lunch, Noma, Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo
Entering the restaurant on the 37th floor we were welcomed by the familiar faces of the crew we saw the summer before. Once we sat down the chef himself came to welcome us back and after that it didn’t take long until the raw botan ebi (shrimp) seasoned with Nagano forest ants was staring at us from an iced plate. Our last visit learned us the ants provide a citrus flavor so we were not surprised to see them again but I must admit we did have to pull ourselves together for putting the still moving shrimp which was trying to get of the plate in our mouths. 
Who thinks Noma uses ingredients like this just to shock you is wrong. It’s the essence of what food is about and it’s surprising to notice how things like insects and living animals are not integrated in the (mainly Western) kitchen yet. When our food still has eyes or is still moving we get frightened even though slurping fresh (alive) oysters is nothing new to us. Many chefs claim to be local and sustainable nowadays, but 100% local in Copenhagen means no use of some basics as black pepper or citrus to season the food. This is where the ants come in and bring similar flavors. After reading Rene Redzepi’s diary I learned his inspiration to use ants came from Brazilian chef Alex Atala and the diary made me understand, appreciate and respect his vision and his work even more than before. I would recommend everyone interested in food and/ or creativity to read it. Just like in Copenhagen the next dishes rapidly followed to keep our focus on the food.
Citrus and long pepper:
Shaved monkfish liver:
Koika cuttlefish “soba”:
Æbleskiver stuffed with steamed mustard leaf greens and wasabi, garnished with flowers pickled in apple vinegar: 
Sea urchin tart:
Scallop, dried and blown up with beech nuts and kelp:
Hokkori pumpkin with cherry wood oil and salted cherry blossoms:
Fermented garlic:
Wild duck:
Wild cinnamon and fermented chocolate mushroom: 
My personal favorites: The citrus and long pepper dish: a variety of different Japanese citrus (suntan, Hassaku, Mikan and Iyoukan), drizzled with kombu infused wild sesame oil and garnished with Sancho and pipātsu (sliced long pepper).
The fermented black garlic origami leaf with the Nagano ants again was almost like candy, like Dutch licorice. I wanted a bag full of that.
And, with my sweet tooth and Rosio (secret crush) serving it, the fermented mushrooms in chocolate on a bed of moss was the perfect closure of the meal. 
Redzepi’s treatments on the food were totally respectful of the Japanese tradition but he took them into completely new dimensions. He is always challenging himself and his team to go beyond and even though he’s got the best restaurant in the world he’s still learning and trying to get better. The temporary restaurant in Tokyo could be seen as a step to take Noma in Copenhagen to the next level. Meanwhile, in Japan, he has been a big inspiration for local chefs and customers to go beyond the confines of Japanese tradition. This was a huge succes!
So this was it, my second visit to Noma. Even though I might have enjoyed the food on my first visit just a bit more the experience in Japan and the welcoming crew made this another memorable visit. We didn’t want to leave the dining room when the dinner was over and I feel like I’m getting addicted cause I can’t wait to go back to Copenhagen! But first things first: feeding my piggy bank again.. 
Noma, Copenhagen
Even though I don’t want to think about leaving Australia yet, my upcoming trip to Noma’s pop-up restaurant in Japan makes it a lot more bearable! Thinking about our visit to Noma Copenhagen last summer gets me extra excited for our lunch in Tokyo in three weeks.
The excitement I used to have as a kid before my birthday is equal to the excitement I have now going to visit Redzepi and his crew in Tokyo where they will seek to apply the Noma philosophy to Japanese ingredients.
But first, last summer.
The moment we stepped into the restaurant in Copenhagen, we were part of the Noma magic. Being welcomed by the entire floor staff as if we were old friends was pleasantly overwhelming. There are a lot of young, international, passionate and easy going people working there who made the atmosphere during our lunch fun and relaxed, yet they worked very effective. There was not a single flaw and still service was completely unpretentious, contrary to some fine dining places.
When you’re eating at the ‘Best Restaurant in the World’ your expectations are high and Noma surpassed everything and gave us more we could have expected. Rene Redzeppi has an approach to food that’s not merely delicious or seasonal but it’s the very essence of place.
It’s making the very best of what nature gives us. The team at Noma is constantly combining, mixing, and testing new ingredients and cooking methods. Old techniques like curing, smoking and fermenting often find their way back to the menu as well.
We were invited for a tour through the kitchen, fermentation cells, test kitchen, office and crew-area by pastry chef Rosio Sanchez. With her Mexican roots she and Rene Redzepi will soon be opening a taqueria in Copenhagen. Can’t wait for that!
In the kitchen above the restaurant there were another 30 chefs working. We watched 10 of them making the rhubarb roses we had for dessert and had a little talk with Rene himself who gave us some tips for places to go visit in Copenhagen.
It’s amazing how a restaurant like Noma which is fully booked months in advance still barely breaks even. The 45 seat restaurant employs 68 staff members which we found quite impressive. I could write pages about all the dishes we had but I won’t. I recommend everyone who sees art in this piece of craftsmanship to try and visit this restaurant, as long as it’s still here.
My top 4 of the dishes:
4: Beef tartare with pickled ants
3: Cured egg yolk, potato and elderflower
2: Pickled and smoked quail egg
1: Raspberries with double cream and rye. The staff noticed we liked it so much we got an extra can of the cream! Yum..
Total price for 2 persons including wine\juice pairing: about € 750.
Complete menu 14th August 2014:
Fresh berries and lemon thyme
Flower tart
Peas and radishes
Beef tartare and ants
Pickled and smoked quails egg
Cucumber and scallop
White cabbage and samphire
Caramelized milk and cod liver
Burnt onion and walnut
Squid and fennel
Mulberries and turbot roe
Salad root
Cured egg yolk, patato and elderflower
Turbot and nasturtium
Cream and wood sorrel
Rhubarb, creme fraiche and sorrel
Raspberries, double cream and rye
Friandises: Danish seaweed snegl and pork skin with chocolate
Unfolded 