Merry Christmas and Happy Winter Solstice! Like every December, I am sharing my 20 best dishes and foods of 2014. Thank you!

The team of the newly opened oyster bar by Guy Savoy were nice enough to accept an order from across the street- artichoke soup and brioche with truffles ( still warm), the legendary dish by Guy Savoy, I could never say no. L’Huitrade: 13 rue Troyon, 75017, Paris

Mitsuhiro Araki is a three Michelin star sushi master from Tokyo, who has recently relocated to London. When you talk about the world’s best sushi chefs (Jiro Ono, Hachiro Mizutani, Takashi Saito to name a few), Araki would be one of them. He is especially famous for his knowledge of…

The world of gastronomy in Paris has been bustling with speculations lately about where will the former Ledoyen’s head chef Christian Le Squer go next. Three weeks ago it became apparent that it will be Le Cinq restaurant at George V hotel. Christian Le Squer is one of those uber…

I am wrapping up my Tokyo series this time with Ishikawa, 3 Michelin starred kaiseki restaurant, located behind Bishamonten temple. When kaiseki style cooking is concerned, less is usually more. Chef Hideki Ishikawa follows the traditional kaiseki rules by celebrating simplicity and seasonality. Michelin describes him as innovative, but the…

It might sound ironic, but the most expensive part of bluefin tuna, nowadays served at the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo, New York of Los Angeles, was not considered valuable at all by the general Japanese population 50 or so years ago. According to Trevor Carson, the author of “The…

What makes a good sushi restaurant great? Excellent fish and seafood? Chef’s experience, skills and obsession with consistency? Takashi Saito seems to correspond all these criteria, but it’s much more than that. Saito-san hits the perfect gustative balance in each morsel he produces, taste and texture-wise. Joel Robuchon called Sushi…

Zaiyu Hasegawa is a superstar among foreign travellers and chefs eating out in Tokyo. The reason why is simple – he and his wife Emi- san are friendly and accessible people. In the secretive city like Tokyo, where sometimes you have to be introduced or accompanied by a Japanese speaker…

Mizutani (9F, Juno Ginza Seiwa Bldg, 8-7-7 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; tel. 03-3573-5258) is undoubtedly one of the greatest sushi chefs in history. Some call his rice “mushy” or not al dente enough, but the disciple of the legendary Jiro Ono has really mastered the perfect rice. Very different than the…

Matsukawa is an introduction only kaiseki restaurant, considered by many, notably tabelog.com users, as the best in Tokyo. A friend of mine invited me there, but had last minute plan changes and I ended up going to Matsukawa alone. He warned me about two things before transferring his reservation on…