What did you think? Tell us.

I love how Tony looks at cultures from a simple, every day life way of thinking. Osaka was perfect for that - rather than doing stereotypes, he got down to real Japanese life...

But on the other hand, sometimes you need to look deeper into the food, and a particular country's culinary paradigm. Although this is different, I love it as well - especially because as a chef it gives me fresh ideas that are new but traditional, not simply gratuitous experimentation. (I'm not into space-age dining)

In this case, the Tokyo episode was excellent, giving me some great new insights into Monk fish, which is a seriously under-rated fish in my opinion.

Tokyo is a different town from Osaka, and I have to admit, Osaka is maybe a little bit more my style... But the Tokyo show, as a study of culture, national psychology, and culinary culture, strikes me as more honest and also more entertaining than most shows trying to address Japan's often intimidating cultural traditions...

love this episode!!!! more of this kind pls.

hope he does it in china-- getting down with an emperor's banquet!!! or in thailand.

looking forward to SPAIN.

Bad news - the emperor's banquet is kinda gimicky and not that good, but I totally agree with you:

TONY! COME BACK TO CHINA!
(The Silk Road Calls to you!)

also, I have high hopes for Spain. Some of the best meals of my life were in northern Spain.

And you totally need to do a few Thailand episodes.

I loved the show last night. Anthony takes me places and shows me things I may never get to experience in my lifetime. He seems to do it in a no nonsense way that really makes me feel like I am there. I do have a question.....can anyone tell me the word he mentioned last night that in japanese means simplicity void of unecessary elements? It sounded like shiboya? Thank you.

I really enjoyed the knife maker part, I found it very poetic. You guys are good at exposing beauty without getting cheesy. I feel like a true observer , no one is trying to force feed me ideas . Please don't let the popularity intervene with the evolution of your project. I see some sings of conformity showing lately. It was still a good show.

quote:

Originally posted by ouyangwulong:
Bad news - the emperor's banquet is kinda gimicky and not that good, but I totally agree with you:

TONY! COME BACK TO CHINA!
(The Silk Road Calls to you!)

also, I have high hopes for Spain. Some of the best meals of my life were in northern Spain.

And you totally need to do a few Thailand episodes.

TOO BAD.. ABOUT THE EMPEROR!!! yest on cctv9 they were featuring Muslim restaurants in beijing-- & showed one that served the last empress a mutton banquet. Also, reading Saveur mag-- there's another restaurant( very pricey) that used to be a royal home or something-& serving some of the royal menu.

you keep going on the SILK ROAD-- i was always fascinated with it ,so I got some dvd's about it.. amazing!

that SILK ROAD SAVED CHINA FROM FOREIGN INVADERS.why it managed to stay pure & keep it's culture for 5,000 yrs--(the Persians,Alexander the Great, Then Romans wanted to get to China) outside of Genghis Khan & the Japanese in the 20 th century.Interestingly, they both invaded from the north.

As you can see I'm getting in touch with my chinese roots-- sameway, am looking forward to Spain-- as that's my other half--another fascinzting culture-- the
Romans considered it their province & gateway to North Africa, then there's the Moors when the Romans fell.

i liked this show (well, i like 'em all.....even when it's not so great, it's good)
japanese culture is puzzling to me, and beautiful at the same time.
i liked seeing all those tiny bars that "cater to the smallest of demographics", the food looked delicious and beautiful, ikebana was a very pleasant surprise, as were the haiku poems at the end of each segment before going to commercial.
who knew bourdain is a poet too!
but i don't think i could ever live in a culture as demanding of perfection as japan.
the pressure must be almost unbearable.
very good episode.....morimoto (sp?) is a much better sidekick than nugent

Moved Reply:

Although I myself am new to the forum, I've observed a few things:

1. Most of the excess / redundant threads are posted by first time posters.

2. Most of them only post once then leave.

3. Most of those posts trash the show.

So I conclude: these are people just vandalizing the forum. Hit and run postings. Although i myself started a camel-oriented thread in relation to the Saudi episode, it has occurred to me that perhaps the moderator shouldn't allow new members to start threads. That way only regular contributors can responsibly start threads.

on a more topical note:

I'm looking forward to tokyo, but also a little worried. How could it possibly top Osaka? And there seems to be a risk that Tokyo can be, like New York "hip fine dining" overkill. Bizzaro futuristic interiors, better cooking through chemistry, and mod furniture where you have to ask the waiter to point out which one is the chair.

I hope Tony will prove me wrong!

Moved Reply:

I enjoy the show, but the last episode in the southwest was depressing, and I did not like the Tokyo episode tonight. Please no more Tokyo. I am looking forward to the next episode. Thats all I have to say, and no I will not post agian. I just really did not like the past two episodes. Please do not go to Tokyo, just say no to Tokyo.

Moved Reply:

Great episode! Shows the dichotomy of both traditional Japan and modernized Tokyo. Plus, the segment on Japanese steel and the sushi bit was beautiful. Made me seriously wish i could afford to drop $500 on the tasting menu at Masa in NYC. sigh....

Moved Reply:

quote:

Originally posted by chaven:
I enjoy the show, but the last episode in the southwest was depressing, and I did not like the Tokyo episode tonight. Please no more Tokyo. I am looking forward to the next episode. Thats all I have to say, and no I will not post agian. I just really did not like the past two episodes. Please do not go to Tokyo, just say no to Tokyo.

It's just funny how there is always a new poster who comes strictly to bash 1 episode and never post again. I don't get why there are people here who have something against Tony visiting Asian countries? Personally, I love the show more when Tony leaves the United States. The episodes within the States IMO are the least interesting.

Moved Reply:

I agree. The show is infinitely more interesting when Tony leaves the US (although being a a typical egocentric New Yorker, i did enjoy the NY show- go HAGI)!!!

Moved Reply:

I think this was the best of the season so far. However that is not saying a whole lot. I long for the hard drinking days when Samir was on. Lately I think that Samantha Brown is looking more edgy than Bourdain. Although I would still rather he represent America than that snob.

Storm

Moved Reply:

Storm, you do realize how few episodes are what I would call "hard drinking"? I mean Samir only did three. In my all time favorite episode: Quebec from season one, he is actually criticized for NOT drinking enough! Is your interest in the show limited to alcohol? Aren't you worried you are missing the bigger picture?

And for hard drinking, look no further than Laos. Lao lao is some of the craziest meanest paint-stripping, tractor-powering blindness-inducing Meekong River back-water hooch I've ever had the pleasure of quaffing. (And quaff you shall, my friends! Every time you enter a Lao home!) After almost seven years, I can still taste my first Lao lao hangover!

Honestly, because I live in China, I've downloaded all the episodes from iTunes, which means I can watch them all as many times as I want, and I have been impressed by the consistency of the show. Without already knowing which shows belong to which season, it would be very difficult to separate them out.

Moved Reply:

I really liked the Tokyo show. Although I must admit I had to switch back and forth due to the fact that the Men's Gymnastic Finals were on.

However, that said, I had recorded the show, so I rewatched it later and I found it was excellent. I feel Bourdain's best work is when he is outside the U.S. Plus, you can tell he geniunely loves Asia.

Being a martial artist I really enjoyed the Kendo scene, I love the tradition and discipline of Kendo, it was beautiful to watch.

Maybe when Tony goes to Thailand, he will do a segment on Muay Thai...hint...hint. Lol.

Anyway, the Ryokan and the flower arrangement segments were an example of the discipline and minimalist beauty that I have always loved about Japanese culture. The soundtrack to the show was also intoxicating and fit perfectly with the vibe of the show.

And like someone mentioned above I liked that Tony focused on a modern Japan that still remained faithful to its traditions and history.

P.S. I am now searching for some good Soba Noodles to have for lunch today. Anything I find will be a far cry from what Chef Morimoto and Tony tried on the show.

Moved Reply:

does anyone have the name and location of the first bar they went to? the only one they have listed on the travel guide is piano bar, but i'm looking for the one with the award-winning cocktails.

Moved Reply:

I think this was really a chef's show. (Some of his shows are more traveler, some are more customer, some are more friend, some are more play)

In this show we really get inside what makes chefs tick, and it's especially meaningful to anyone who's had to do it for a living.

1. Precision & Perfection
Cooking isn't jazz. You don't improvise. Mixing a drink or glazing a steak, you do it the same way every time, hundreds of times. The goal is to have no variations. Home chefs and hobbyists will play around, discover things by accident, or guestimate with ingredients. But there's no room for that in a restaurant kitchen. Customers don't pay you to experiment, and they will let you know.

So when Tony talks about loving the focus, precision, and clarity of Japan, I see the chef in him coming out. I respect that ability, to be absorbed and focused on a single thing, even if you've done it 100 or 1000 times before.

2.Ikkebana
Although you guys might have expected Tony to be more about the macho arts, Ikkebana seems like the perfect art for a chef. After all, this is what a head chef does all day long. Plating food is strikingly similar to arranging flowers. And the principles are very similar. You must be swift, decisive, not over-labor it, and leave it looking natural, but perfect.

3. Raw Ingredients...
Spartan Japanese food itself is so appealing to chefs because it breaks food down into what we love: raw ingredients. Finished food is for the customers. What chefs mostly work with is the raw ingredients. Ask a bartender what his or her favorite drink is, and it's usually something spartan like gin & tonic or straight shots of something good. The people who make your food really love the stuff they use to make it. So when a meal, like sushi, just basically has you eat one raw ingredient at a time, it's like a dream come true.

On the whole, a great cooking episode!

Anthony - PLS start smoking again. I beg you. Otherwise we will have to dismantle the parental discretion notification before your show. The first 30 minutes were kendo, a cocktail that you couldn't even see, and gasp - flower arranging! Morimoto saved the epi. Flower arranging! And I just bought your new book. The new shows can be described as you have recently described your NY nowadays - bland, safe and touristy. Flower arranging! Start smoking, start drinking, start eating and save us all.... I miss the old, edgy, hilarious days

quote:

Originally posted by jettidog:
Anthony - PLS start smoking again. I beg you. Otherwise we will have to dismantle the parental discretion notification before your show. The first 30 minutes were kendo, a cocktail that you couldn't even see, and gasp - flower arranging! Morimoto saved the epi. Flower arranging! And I just bought your new book. The new shows can be described as you have recently described your NY nowadays - bland, safe and touristy. Flower arranging! Start smoking, start drinking, start eating and save us all.... I miss the old, edgy, hilarious days

what he hell did you think tony doing in Tokyo?! from my telly screen-- he looked positively orgasmic eating all those Japanese delights!