``Tokarin'' at Hotel Okura Tokyo is a long-established Chinese restaurant that everyone knows. The executive chef, Mr. Chen Long-cheng, was recently awarded the Medal with Yellow Ribbon. A special dinner was held the other day to commemorate the occasion.
Mr. Chen, who turned 19 this year, started working in the kitchen at the age of 27, and was so successful that he was appointed head chef on the island of Guam at the age of 46. At the age of XNUMX, he became the executive chef of Hotel Okura Tokyo, where he remains today. He is, so to speak, a leading figure in this world. The celebratory dinner featured the utmost luxury in ingredients.
Mr. Longcheng Chen is the executive chef of Toukarin at Hotel Okura Tokyo.
A wonderful collaboration between rare ingredients and the best chefs
First, they celebrated with "Louis Roederer Collection 244."
The ``Special Assorted Appetizer'' had a rather Japanese feel, with spring clams and zenmai, fatty tuna and roe, and foie gras.
However, from the next soup onwards, it's full-throttle authentic Chinese food. ``Masamune Buddha Jumping'' is said to be so delicious that even monks will jump over the fence to try it. In short, it is an extremely luxurious soup made with the highest quality dried foods such as shark fin, sea cucumber, abalone, scallops, and shiitake mushrooms, as well as stock from cordyceps sinensis, goji berries, and Kinka ham.It is a very time-consuming and time-consuming process that will test your reconstitution skills. That's it.
``Masamune Buddha Jumping'' is a soup made from high-class foods and medicinal herbs.
The taste was slightly medicinal, but it was like the finest consommé, and it was so wonderful that it permeated every cell of my body.
The next dish is also something that is rarely seen in Japan: roasted suckling pig. If you go to Hong Kong, you can eat it, although it costs about 30,000 yen per head. This time, they ordered a piglet from Spain. Wrap it in thin rice cake, sweet noodle sauce, and white onion, and eat just the piglet's skin. It's a suckling pig version of Peking duck. The pork's fatty skin is really fragrant and delicious.
Only the crispy skin of "roasted suckling pig" is eaten.
``Stewed abalone'' is really soft and the dried ingredients are wonderfully rehydrated.
The next dish, ``Stewed Abalone,'' is made by rehydrating ultra-high-quality dried abalone and simmering it in oyster sauce and Kinka ham stock. The abalone is so tender that you can easily insert a knife into it, and it has a rich, deep flavor. The side dishes of spinach and bok choy will freshen up your palate.
Looks like they're going to eat all the seafood this time. The next dish is ``Kinki Crystal Tailoring,'' which is made with gelatin-rich kinki meat brought from Hokkaido and braised in abalone and Kinka ham stock. The fish flesh is plump and chewy, and the soup stock from the abalone and Kinka ham tastes elegant.
``Kinki's Crystal Tailoring'' is Hokkaido's kinki steamed in dashi stock.
The last part of the main event was ``boiled live spiny lobster'' (pictured at the beginning), but it was accompanied by a performance in which Shaoxing wine was poured over the spiny lobster that was first placed in a glass bowl, causing it to flop around wildly. If you go to a slightly more upscale Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong, they'll do the same thing with tiger prawns. Ise lobsters soaked in the sweetness of Shaoxing wine are first parboiled and then steamed. It is cut into pieces and eaten with a sauce made from garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, green onions, and bean sauce. The sauce had a nice flavor.
``Crab meat and sea urchin fried rice'' has a wonderful crab filling.
On the left is Shiratama Dango with custard cream.
By the way, as for the paired beverages, the white wine is America's "Chateau Saint Michel Indian Wales", the red wine is Australia's "Giant Steps Yarra Valley", and the brewed Shaoxing wine is "Yuewangtai 2002 Unprocessed Sake". ” and they were all very wonderful.
Mr. Chen was greeted by saying, ``I want to continue working hard with an inquisitive spirit.'' The menu is different from the one introduced here, but the ``Chen Longcheng Medal with Red Ribbon Commemoration Menu'' is being held until March 31st. You should be able to fully appreciate the sharpness of Mr. Chen's arms. The price is ¥19500.
Toshizumi Ishibashi
Former editor-in-chief of ``Claire Traveler'' and ``Claire.'' He is currently a freelance editor and writer, working as a contributing editor in the Premium Japan editorial department.
Lounge
Premium Salon
Editorial Department & PJ Friends Blog
Premium Salon
