Originally published at Express.co.uk
As important as the job is, one still has to eat – and experience has taught me that this is a city rich in culinary delights.
On a recent trip, however, after numerous delicious Japanese meals and one indifferent Chinese one, I confessed to a longing for French food.
I recalled from the Eighties that the Japanese were the first Asians to experiment with cuisine that was not their own, and not surprisingly they did it very well.
There followed something of a culinary heyday, with Michelin-starred European chefs such as Joel Robuchon and Alain Chapel opening branches of their famous French restaurants in Japan.
Fortunately my host was not only an excellent businessman but a connoisseur of foreign food, having studied in the US and travelled the world in one of his former jobs.
So when he took me to a jewel of a restaurant called Le Sixième Sens, hidden behind a wine bar, and chose the menu for a four-course dinner, I knew I was in for a serious treat.
The star of the show was roasted sea bass, coated in pumpkin-seed paste and served on cod-flavoured polenta. This was followed by roasted duck breast with a Japanese leek crust, surrounded by bulgur wheat. Both were splendid but, as a “dessertaholic”, I couldn’t wait for pudding.
I was not disappointed: beautifully displayed thin crèpes filled with chocolate and chestnut, served with persimmon chutney, proved to be a ticket to Franco-Japanese foodie heaven.
Fusion cuisine usually means Japanese food with a French influence, but this was more like French cuisine with a Japanese sparkle. My nuclear colleagues and I decided to call it fission food.