https://www.scmp.com/rss/311551/feed Melinda Joe is a food journalist based in Tokyo, Japan. She writes the Kanpai Culture column for The Japan Times, and her work has appeared in publications such as Condé Nast Traveler, Nikkei Asia, Eating Well, Newsweek, CNN, Departures and WSJ Asia among others. A certified sake and wine specialist, she has been a panel chair for the sake division at London’s International Wine Challenge since 2015. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Melinda Joe Melinda Joe Soft jazz mingles with the clink of Clase Azul highballs as diners settle in, surrounded by Hiroshi Sugimoto’s atmospheric seascapes from his renowned “Time Exposed” photographic series. This isn’t a trendy cocktail bar or an upscale art salon – it’s Udatsu Sushi, Hong Kong’s newest and least conventional omakase restaurant. In the historic FWD House 1881 in Tsim Sha Tsui, Udatsu Sushi is the first international outpost of Hisashi Udatsu, whose eponymous Tokyo restaurant has held a coveted... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3277870/udatsu-sushi-just-opened-hong-kong-committed-innovation-tokyo-mother-ship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3277870/udatsu-sushi-just-opened-hong-kong-committed-innovation-tokyo-mother-ship?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Sep 2024 04:45:08 +0000 Sake, once the dominant alcoholic drink in Japan, is fighting to keep up with the times. In 2019, shipments in Japan were less than 30 per cent of their mid-1970s peak. Faced with competition and labour shortages, sake breweries are seeking out new, creative ways to thrive. For some, the key to success lies in collaboration. Five years ago, Yasutaka Daimon, the sixth-generation head of Daimon Shuzo in Osaka prefecture, began contemplating the next steps for his business. Although Daimon – one of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3173224/sake-breweries-facing-slow-death-fight-back-cocktails-food?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3173224/sake-breweries-facing-slow-death-fight-back-cocktails-food?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Apr 2022 23:15:15 +0000 Before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, international tourism to Japan was surging. According to government statistics, the number of travellers to the country increased more than 250 per cent from 2012, reaching a record high of 31.9 million visitors in 2019. Tokyo’s restaurants had anticipated a massive wave of tourists for the 2020 Olympics, but those hopes were dashed in March 2020, when Japan closed its borders and postponed the Games until 2021. With the coronavirus pandemic showing no... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3141766/tokyo-olympics-spectator-ban-hits-restaurants-already-battling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3141766/tokyo-olympics-spectator-ban-hits-restaurants-already-battling?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jul 2021 21:15:14 +0000 The way to our hearts is first and foremost through our stomachs. But it doesn’t hurt to be easy on the eyes as well. Young, gifted, and suave, these star chefs are blessed with a winning combination of talent and charisma that will make you swoon and keep you coming back for more. Jock Zonfrillo, Orana Thanks @myffyrigby & @goodfoodau for the chat on the truth bench. Link in my profile. #Repost @goodfoodau ・・・ @rest_orana_ chef Jock @zonfrillo on kicking heroin, homelessness and Madonna's... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/travel-food/article/2149723/who-are-asias-most-talented-and-stylish-chefs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/travel-food/article/2149723/who-are-asias-most-talented-and-stylish-chefs?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Jun 2018 08:00:00 +0000 A few years ago, many people would have had trouble identifying Slovenia on a map. Recently, however, this tiny corner of former Yugoslavia has captured the attention of the world. Most of the world will have started paying more attention to this country courtesy of Melania Trump, but foodies have been keeping an eye on it for a while. In January, chef Ana Ros, of the restaurant Hisa Franko, in the rural town of Kobarid, was named The World’s Best Female Chef, shining the spotlight on the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/2100585/slovenias-cuisine-set-rival-worlds-best?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/2100585/slovenias-cuisine-set-rival-worlds-best?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jul 2017 02:00:30 +0000 In addition to its stellar cuisine, Slovenia is home to an astonishing range of natural wines – including rare age-worthy whites beloved by connoisseurs. “The terroir, landscape and people are so unique,” says Postrivoro’s Enrico Vignoli. “The wines express an identity strongly influenced by the area’s complex history.” Winemaking in Slovenia predates Roman times and can be traced back to Celtic and Illyrian tribes, who began cultivating grapes in the fourth and fifth centuries BC. Wine older... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/travel-food/article/2103132/slovenias-winemakers-produce-stunning-whites-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/travel-food/article/2103132/slovenias-winemakers-produce-stunning-whites-and?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jul 2017 01:45:00 +0000 Indoor agriculture is on the rise all over the world – particularly in Asia, where concerns over food safety and pesticide use in recent years have fuelled a boom in so-called plant factories. Spread, Japan’s largest vertical farm, produces more than 20,000 heads of lettuce a day in its 3000-square-metre facility outside of Kyoto. The vegetables are cultivated hydroponically – without soil, in beds of constantly circulating nutrient solution – under LED lights in a sterile, climate-controlled... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/travel-food/article/2094791/future-farming-japan-goes-vertical-and-moves-indoors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/travel-food/article/2094791/future-farming-japan-goes-vertical-and-moves-indoors?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 May 2017 07:00:15 +0000 In a tiny room inside the Mebiol Research and Development Center, a little over an hour outside of Tokyo, baby Cos lettuce leaves are growing in a tray under magenta-coloured lights. On another shelf, a miniature garden of microgreens is blooming across the surface of a salad dish. The seedlings have been cultivated without soil – atop a thin, transparent polymer film. “Can you see the roots?” asks Hiroshi Yoshioka, Mebiol’s vice-president, lifting the edge of the plant-covered film to reveal a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/2094426/farming-without-soil-new-japanese-tech-makes-growing-fruit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/2094426/farming-without-soil-new-japanese-tech-makes-growing-fruit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 May 2017 03:00:00 +0000 On a chilly evening in late September, Ana Roš emerged from the dining room carrying a tray of tortellini filled with sheep’s cheese, and her cheeks flushed and eyes misty. While she is unfazed by the day-to-day pressure of running Hiša Franko, Slovenia’s most famous restaurant, a brief but heartfelt exchange with a diner had moved her to tears: after months saving up for the journey, the guest had travelled from a small town in Britain specifically to meet Roš and try her food. “When she told... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/travel-food/article/2077023/meet-worlds-best-female-chef-ana-ros-hisa-franko?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/travel-food/article/2077023/meet-worlds-best-female-chef-ana-ros-hisa-franko?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Mar 2017 04:00:30 +0000 During a sweltering summer’s day in the Japanese capital, an edible sculpture constructed of rougetinted chocolate kisses spiralled towards the ceiling of a gallery opposite the Tokyo Tower. Floating next to the chocolate centrepiece were two pairs of giant red lips mounted on Plexiglass and composed of thousands of spherical red bonbons. Guests were encouraged to approach the artwork and pluck the candies from the clear canvas with their mouths. Over the course of an hour, the pieces morphed... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/article/1694196/taste-art?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/article/1694196/taste-art?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2015 14:45:15 +0000 Fulmar, skerpikjøt and garnatálg are probably not part of your culinary vocabulary yet, but these dishes are creating a buzz in the world of gastronomy, and it all started in a lush green archipelago thousands of kilometres away. Viewed from above, the Faroe Islands look like a cluster of massive, uncut emeralds, set in lapis and wrapped in cotton gauze. On capriciously stormy days in late summer, the murky sky suddenly erupts into colour, aglow with shimmering rainbows that surround the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/article/1654588/chefs-faroe-islands-come-tempting-recipes-using-traditional?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/article/1654588/chefs-faroe-islands-come-tempting-recipes-using-traditional?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2014 14:00:45 +0000 Paul Pairet's memory of truffle foraging in Dordogne, France, sounds like a plangent piano solo. It smells of damp moss and tastes of bread dipped in butter laced with soy sauce, cigar smoke and earthy truffles. Pairet's signature "Truffle Burnt Soup Bread" - a dish he's been serving since his days at Shanghai's Jade on 36 - is a distillation of his French cultural heritage, lonely walks through the woods, and all of his years as a chef. At Ultraviolet in Shanghai, he serves this taste memory... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/1393915/chefs-are-offering-diners-multisensory-experience?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/leisure/article/1393915/chefs-are-offering-diners-multisensory-experience?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jan 2014 14:15:45 +0000