The final round for the 7th Washoku World Challenge Competition was held in Tokyo on February 20 and 21, which saw WANG Wei Ping of China, and chef at SUN with AQUA JAPANESE DINING SUNTORY, as the winner.
The two-day event brought together five chefs from Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris, Donostia-San Sebastian, and New York come together to compete and show their skills create dishes based on the competition’s main theme of “Umami” and this year’s theme of “Texture and Mouthfeel.”
The judges said: “This 7th edition demonstrates that the finalists’ technical level keeps improving every year. Creating Japanese dishes that incorporate the characteristics and unique ideas of other countries’ culinary cultures, while respecting the fundamentals of Japanese cuisine built on the concept of umami, expands the potential of Japanese cuisine. The creations of each one of the finalists embodied this notion.”
Middle Contender: WANG Wei Ping, 1st Place Winner
WANG Wei Ping’s Dish
On the first day, the chefs used the same ingredients to create a “nimonowan.” On the second day, they forged their own original dishes using five or more ingredients which they arranged on a Japanese “hangetsubon” tray.
When reacting to his victory, Wang Wei Ping said: “I thank the owner and other members of my restaurant. After returning to Shanghai, I would like to continue conveying the excellence of Japanese cuisine, which is both healthy and tasty.”
Finalists
Hong Kong
First Place: WANG Wei Ping (China, SUN with AQUA JAPANESE DINING SUNTORY)
USA
Second Place: Yael PEET (USA, Fury’s) *The restaurant will be open this summer.
Singapore
Third Place: Loh Man HONG (Singapore, FAT COW)
Paris
Wojciech POPOW (Poland, Beaverbrook)
Judges
– Head Judge: Mr. Yoshihiro MURATA
(Chairman of Japanese Culinary Academy, Owner and chef of Kikunoi, Japanese Cuisine Goodwill ambassador)
– Deputy Head Judge: Mr. Masahiro NAKATA
(Director of Taiwa Gakuen Education Inc. President of Kyoto Culinary Art College)
– Judge: Mr. Hideaki MATSUO
(Owner of Japanese Cuisine KASHIWAYA, Japanese Cuisine Goodwill ambassador)
– Special Judge: Yoshio KOJIMA
(Comedian)
RELATED ENTRIES
-
The online sake shop KURAND is now selling TIGER & BARNABY SPARKLING, a special sparkling sake made in collaboration with the TIGER & BUNNY 2 anime series.
TIGER & BARNABY SPARKLING is a sparkling sake that will surprise customers with its delicate bubbles and light flavor. The label features an outline of the city of Sternbild, the setting of TIGER & BUNNY, and each bottle will be delivered in a decorated box. This is perfect for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations! Those who purchase TIGER & BARNABY SPARKLING will receive a TIGER & BARNABY Champagne Stopper as a gift. The bubbliness of this sake is sure to impress, so kick back and relax with friends and family this holiday season with a few glasses of this limited-edition goodness. Information
TIGER & BARNABY SPARKLING
Order Period: November 4 – November 17 at 16:59
*Orders will be delivered by Christmas
Second Order Period: November 17 at 17:00~
*Orders will be delivered during or after January 2023
(Bottles available for Christmas are only available in limited quantities. Those ordering bottles for a January 2023 delivery should be aware that items are only available to order while supplies last.)Price: ¥8,600 (Tax Included)
Details: https://kurand.jp/collections/tigerandbunny -
Shiragiku Sake Brewery will release a special sake made exclusively to mix with soda water on October 1, 2022. The beverage will be available in Okayama Prefecture. The company’s interest in creating a new sake culture led them to develop &Soda, a delicious sake made to be mixed with soda. This may be helpful for those who don’t know much about sake, or who may feel intimidated by the many different types. Being able to mix it with soda will make sake drinking feel more casual.
Sake Made Exclusively for Mixing with Soda Water, ‘&Soda’
“Many people may like to mix sake with soda water or drink it on the rocks. By doing this, however, a nice sake may lose its flavor, and the drinker might be wasting a nice sake for the sake of a more easy-drinking beverage. &Soda was made exclusively to be mixed. Using Asahi Rice, a specialty in Okayama Prefecture, and water from the brewery, we’ve created a sake that has the proper aroma and sweetness. These characteristics will come through even after being mixed! The alcohol content has been increased to 18 percent, and the package will make the product easy to find and understand,” a statement from the brewery reads. For more information on how to enjoy &Soda, please see the special website below! Information
Sake Made Exclusively for Mixing with Soda Water, ‘&Soda’
Release Date: October 1, 2022
Official Site: http://www.andsoda.jp/
-
Japan’s largest sake event, TOKYO SAKE FESTIVAL 2022, will run from October 4 until October 6 at the Shinjuku Sumitomo Building’s Triangle Square. The event’s aim is to make sake more mainstream around the world, with the first festival taking place in 2020. Tokyo Sake Festival blends sake with entertainment, showing off the very best of Japanese culture to those who may be new to craft sake. For the third year, former NMB48 member Yui Takano will serve as ambassador. Takano is known for leaving her idol career to manage the sake specialty store Yui Sake Shop. Tokyo Sake Festival 2022 is bringing together forty carefully selected sake breweries from around Japan, including Inoue Seikichi, winner of the Champion Sake award at IWC 2022. Tonoike Sake Brewery, winner of Kura Master 2022’s President’s Award, will also be in attendance. The full lineup can be found on the official website. Popular influencers and artists from Raphael to BOYS AND MEN and Ukon Takafuji will take the stage during the event, so be sure to swing by if you’re a fan of Japanese spirits!
Information
TOKYO SAKE FESTIVAL 2022
Dates:
October 4: Part 1 13:30-16:30 / Part 2 18:00-21:00
October 5: Part 1 13:30-16:30 / Part 2 18:00-21:00
October 6: 16:00-19:00
Venue: Shinjuku Sumitomo Building Triangle Square
(2-6-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo)Buy Tickets/Details: https://tokyosakefestival.bitfan.id/
-
On July 18, the upscale teppanyaki and yakiniku restaurant Honten Yamashina opened a new location in Ginza! The hybrid restaurant has taken over the entire top floor of GINZA PLACE, which is directly connected to Ginza Station. Overlooking the Ginza 4-chome intersection, it’s a gorgeous place to enjoy some authentic Japanese cuisine.
Honten Yamashina mainly uses fully-matured Omi beef, the highest grade available among Shiga Prefecture’s top-tier beef, from Okazaki Farm. The cows are allowed to fatten for a considerable amount of time and live stress-free lives for over 40 months. Less than 1% of all Wagyu cattle are shipped after 24 months of age, and this delectable meat is characterized by its sharp taste and fattiness. Luxurious Wagyu and Sea Urchin Sushi
Early Summer Plate to Enjoy with Seasonal Flowers
Selected Extra-thick Beef Tongue Steak Made with Refined Attention to Detail
Grilled Spiny Lobster Made on a Charcoal Grill
The Playful Yamashina Wagyu Slider
Melt-in-your-mouth Sweet Amala Tomato (Vegetable of the Day)
Hand-selected Omi Beef Steak
Truffle Omurice
Japanese-style TeppanyakiGuests can enjoy authentic Japanese teppanyaki cuisine with a modern twist. While sitting at the contour, visitors will enjoy a live performance by Taku Osada, a teppanyaki chef with over 20 years of experience. The wide variety of meat can be enjoyed in a number of different ways, whether it be raw, grilled, stewed, or properly cooked. From tongue and rump to filet and sirloin, you won’t leave hungry. Visitors can also enjoy seafood and seasonal Japanese vegetables along with their meat, and the flowers and leaves that adorn each plate will change depending on the time of year. In addition to rare teppanyaki dishes like skirt steak and 3cm-thick beef tongue, Honten Yamashina also offers some playful dishes such as sliders. As the temperature differs on different parts of the steel cooking plate, each item can be cooked to a temperature that maximizes its specific flavor. Honten Yamashina also has a massive cellar housin over 1,000 bottles of wine and hard-to-find spirits. Japanese-style Yakiniku For those looking for a more private experience, guests can enjoy yakiniku in a completely separate room. Each private room has a grill that will cook meat to the perfect temperature, and only at Honten Yamashina can you enjoy fully-matured Omi beef. The signature cutlet sandwich is made with chateaubriand cooked at a low temperature and deep-fried in a thin batter, then served on crispy bread with a soft, fluffy interior. Teppanyaki and yakiniku are typically thought of as meat-based dishes, but the restaurant can accommodate vegetarian guests if contacted in advance. When Japan opens up to tourism, will you be visiting this incredible restaurant in the heart of Tokyo? Information
Honten Yamashina
Address: GINZA PLACE 11F (5-8-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo)
Hours: 17:00-23:00
Closed SundaysOfficial Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honten_yamashina/
-
Aiming to create a new kind of drinking culture, Aika in Gunma Prefecture has started preorders for SAKE COLA, a new cola liquor, on the crowdfunding site Makuake. People love cola for its strong carbonation, sweetness, and distinctive spicy flavor. SAKE COLA has a complex, multi-layered aroma and refreshing sweetness offering a unique taste that no one has tasted before.
In creating SAKE COLA, the company attempted to keep the authentic sweetness of sake. To this end, they decided to work with Rokkasen, a long-established sake brewery in Yamagata. Rokkasen’s authentic rice-based shochu Goujoppari is brewed in the cold like sake and distilled like a ginjo sake. It has a beautiful citrus aroma and tastes similar in sweetness despite having zero sugar. Using Goujoppari as a base, malted rice is used to produce a mild, natural sweetness, and the spices added to the drink meld with the citrus scent to create a flavor defying imagination. The flavor and aroma of SAKE COLA spread in the mouth, with the spices and herbs lingering on the tongue. The spices were mixed by Hayashi Oki, who studied in Alsace, France before working as a pastry chef at one of Tokyo’s top patisseries. Mace, the key spice, is characterized by its sweet and somewhat pungent aroma. It’s used to recreate the caramelized taste that is found in most cola. Along with that, tonka beans, containing the natural sweeteners Vanillin and Coumarin, were blended into the mix to create a soft, lingering flavor. Customers are sure to enjoy it from the first sip to the last. SAKE COLA can be enjoyed at any time. It’s perfect for enjoying as an aperitif, and it can also be enjoyed with a meal, like beer or wine. Like whiskey, it can also be enjoyed while relaxing after a meal. At Christmas time, it can be added to warm red wine or served as an affogato with ice cream and a splash of liqueur. How would you like to try this unique creation? Information
The Japanese Craft Sake Cola
Preorder: https://www.makuake.com/project/sakecola/Details: https://xtrend.nikkei.com/atcl/contents/18/00619/00009/
-
Last year, Hatsukame Sake Brewery, a staple in Shizuoka Prefecture, released a collaborative special edition sake featuring Papa Hiroshi from the anime series Chibi Maruko-chan. The collab makes sense, as the anime series takes place in Shizuoka Prefecture. Bottles sold out incredibly fast, so it’s no wonder that the brewery has now opened orders for the 2022 batch! The special products will be available on June 4, just in time for Father’s Day. Customers can choose from the Junmai Ginjo or Junmai Daiginjo varieties. Junmai Ginjo Papa Hiroshi Vintage 2022
Junmai Daiginjo Papa Hiroshi Vintage 2022 The Junmai Ginjo Papa Hiroshi Vintage 2022 was made with water, rice, and yeast from Shizuoka, where the series takes place. With a refreshing aroma and a gentle sweetness derived from the Homarefuji rice, the flavor is sure to arouse your palate! The original label featured on the bottle shows Papa Hiroshi enjoying local sake with tuna sashimi from Shizuoka with Mt. Fuji in the background. All bottles will come with a paper box featuring a similar design. The turtle on the label is the symbol of Hatsukame Brewing! It’s recommended that customers drink their sake with local tuna–it’s the perfect combination. The Daiginjo variety is made from rare Aiyama rice, known as the ‘Diamond of Sake Rice.’ Polished and carefully prepared by hand, the aroma of the sake is reminiscent of tropical fruits. The final product has a rich sweetness. Last year’s label showed Papa Hiroshi in a Kimono watching the first sunrise over Mt. Fuji. Be sure to grab a bottle to experience the taste of Shizuoka! Only 223 bottles will be available, so be quick! ©さくらプロダクション/日本アニメーション ©Hatsukame Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. ©Nexus Co., Ltd. Information
Junmai Daiginjo Papa Hiroshi Vintage 2022
Now available to order
Release Date: June 4, 2022 *After the release date, orders will be shipped within 3 weeks from the order date.
Where to Buy: Saketsunagi Online Shop https://saketsunagi.base.shop