Noma Tokyo

What does a restaurant that has the world’s highest accolades do to push the envelope? Move to Tokyo and apply their cuisine with Japanese ingredients of course! It’s crazy to think that someone at the top of their game would go and do something of this ambition. But Rene Redzepi is no ordinary chef. Noma moved 70 of their team to do a roughly two month stint to take over the Mandarin’s French restaurant for a while.
If you’ve been to Noma, you know it is one of the most unique experiences in the world. As someone who’s been fortunate to go a few times Im always amazed by Chef Redzepi’s wonderment of the world. The application of ingredients in the Scandinavian landscape to create a new cuisine, that even locals are challenged by. They took that ethos and somehow managed to apply it with all Japanese ingredients. The result is simply a mind blowing symbiosis of Noma’s vision while honoring Japanese ingredients and tradition.
When there expectations involved in something, it’s hard to be surprised. Think of a movie that you loved. Now think of one that has a sequel that was better than it. It’s fairly rare. The sequel has to be better than the first to equal it, simply because there are expectations going in. Noma certainly did that in spades. The combination of working with local ingredients, staff, and the logistics of the hotel (think moving food from the L3 Basement to the 37^th floor while sharing with room service and other service elements) are challenges that they’ve folded into their own experience. I can only let the menu and pictures do the review justice as the flavors are even new to me. Bravo team Noma!
Shimaiebi with flavors of Nagano forest
Citrus and long pepper
Shaved monkfish liver
Koika cuttlefish «soba»
Fresh water clam and wild kiwi
Tofu, just steamed with wild walnuts
Scallop dried for two days beech nuts and kelp
Hokkari pumpkin, cherry wood oil, and salted cherry blossoms
Garlic flower
Roots and starches with ginger
Wild duck and matsubusa berries
Yeast and turnip cooked in shiitake
Rice
Sweet potato simmered in raw sugar all day
Wild cinnamon and fermented mushroom