Top Dishes of 2012

Each year, I do a blog anniversary post listing my top 5 meals of the previous 365 days. I wanted to create a post highlighting the individual dishes that made me smile and kept me coming back for more. I haven’t really ranked anything, nor created a limit for the number that can be shown…

Christmas 2012

Dining date: 12/25/12 Christmas is perhaps the oldest family tradition I know of (well, maybe Chinese New Year). It’s a very similar setup to Thanksgiving, but we’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember. Lunch is at my aunt’s with my mother’s side of the extended family, while dinner is with my…

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Kohaku (Tokyo, Japan)

Kohaku 3-4 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0825 Dining date: 11/15/12 Kohaku is the younger sibling restaurant to three-star kaiseki restaurant Ishikawa. Chef Koji Koizumi worked under Ishikawa for years, becoming his right-hand man. When Ishikawa decided to move his restaurant, it was time for Koizumi to take over the old space to create something of his…

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Kaika (Tokyo, Japan)

Kaika Kojun Building 4F 6-8-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061 Dining date: 11/13/12 Teppanyaki is a style of Japanese cuisine centered around an iron griddle, where chefs prepare a number of courses right in front of the diner. It’s not exactly a style steeped in tradition (it began in the 20th century), often incorporating a number…