Modern Japan has never faded from change, and by doing so over the last 150 years it has become the world leader in technological innovation, design and style as they constantly seek to improve and innovate in the further excellence in their culture. Food is unmistakably in the forefront and is something that they excel at in presentation, taste and deployment. Thomas Jones returns to Ritz-Carlton Midtown to see what their latest change to their dining environment means for the Tokyo palate.

Text by Thomas Jones

The Japanese are very, very seasonal with their cuisine and embrace the changing months with glee: not for concern for the local farmer but because the best time to enjoy food is when it’s ready to be eaten. So it is that the Ritz-Carlton Midtown moved into a new season in September 2010 by opening two new dining establishments where once there stood one. Towers Grill and Azure 45, the former a classic American grill while Azure 45 is modern French Seafood, an intriguing concept that topped my agenda.

Executive Assistant Food and Beverage Manager, Radu Cernia, has this to say, “I am especially excited with the opening of Azure 45 and Towers Grill as the hotel is constantly seeking to improve the overall guest experience, and with the addition of these two new options, not only will we be providing our guests with additional choices, but we are creating two concepts that will focus on the qualities that are the hallmark of any Ritz-Carlton dining experience: exceptional service, premium meats, fish, and seasonal bounty, and an amazing setting.”

Big claims and a gauntlet worth picking up. And so it was that by accepting the Azure 45 challenge I came away more than suitably impressed by the changes. This was food as edible art pared with wines that were born to marry each plate. The only real way to do this justice in print is to focus on the courses as they arrived and to share with you the experiences of the eyes, the nose, the tongue and the gullet.

An amuse bouche of cauliflower cream wrapped in cod eggs accompanied by a Ruinart Champagne was just the ticket to get the creative juices flowing. This was followed swiftly by raw turbot topped with agar and seaweed surrounded by alternate coloured slices of pink and white daikon radish to resemble a flower. Very much a trip to the bottom of the sea and back, and in keeping with that it was paired with more life saving bubbles from a vintage Veuve Cliquot Rosé.

A pumpkin soup next—two days before Halloween no less—with slivers of nashi pear and roast pumpkin seeds that threatened sweetness but left the delivery for the syrupy Alsace Riesling, heavy on sweet pip fruit tastes, that took the taste experience right over the edge into my all time top five food wine combinations. Chef Araki and his sommelier must have been watching from the kitchen for the reaction to this act of extreme unction. From this high the next two courses were deliberately subtle on tastes. Scallop in parsley sauce with sundried tomato, standing alone on the plate under the spotlight in a solo performance followed by fried fish in bouillabaisse before moving on to the much heavier and much anticipated meat dish. There are many kinds of beef in Japan and, contrary to popular international opinion, it is not all wagyu and it doesn’t all come from Kobe. This is a country full of perfectionists and they all share the knowledge of how to make perfect produce. Served upon my plate alongside a strong French Burgundy were two strips of barely-cooked Noto Beef direct from northern Honshu. No marbling, no fat, just a lean, mean piece of steak in a three wine sauce that would have beaten Kobe hands down in a street fight.

Feeling the strain it was good to move to the cheese course knowing that the end was not too far away, but there was still the hurdle of high protein curd to ingest and a sweet, sweet wine to wash it down with. Sure enough a Sauternes with raisins and cheeses before dessert. What a bitter sweet relief it was to get to the finish line. No chocolate, no cake, no pudding, no crème brulee, just a light and airy citrus presentation with a solitary scoop of vanilla. It made the last sip of wine seem like discovering the password into heaven.

Chef Kiyonari Araki works like a DJ at a summer dance party. He takes you up, he takes you down, he moves you from side to side and then, just when you need to go back up to the heights of oral satisfaction, he spins the dishes back to a crescendo of pure Azure 45 pleasure. Tokyo is a lucky city.

Azure 45
Ritz-Carlton Midtown
Tokyo Midtown, 9-7-1
Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel: +81 3 3423 8000
www.ritzcarlton.com

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