Writings by Johannes Pong
In October 2012, I went on a palate-enriching "Amazing Race" food-sourcing trip around Japan with Head Sushi Chef Kazutoshi Endo of Zuma Hong Kong. Endo's been kneading raw fish onto vinegared rice as Head Sushi Chef for Zuma London. When Heston Blumenthal wants sushi, he calls Endo up. That means he gets face in Japan. Not bad ...
After a day at the Yamasa Soy Sauce Factory in Narita and their brewery in Chōshi, Chiba, we went back to Yamasa Shoyu's Tokyo office for a meeting with their president, Mr. Hamaguchi. He’s a very soft-spoken and cultured man, even after endless pourings of beer and sake. And he took us to Ishii, a restaurant ...
In October 2012, I went on a palate-enriching "Amazing Race" food-sourcing trip around Japan with Head Sushi Chef Kazutoshi Endo of Zuma Hong Kong. Endo's been kneading raw fish onto vinegared rice as Head Sushi Chef for Zuma London. When Heston Blumenthal wants sushi, he calls Endo up. That means he gets face in Japan. Not bad ...
Continued from "A Day at Yamasa Shoyu" Early next morning, despite being hideously hungover yet again, we’re thrilled to go to where the three of us have never been before: Fukui Prefecture. It’s a smooth train ride with a yummy yakitori bento that only Shinkansen can provide. I should sleep, but am swept up with giddy nostalgia ...
An edited version of a column I wrote two years ago, after the undersea megathrust earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tōhoku, northeastern Japan. I don’t know if any of the more astute of you readers ever identified my uncanny knowledge of all things Japanese, but the reason that I’ve cultivated enough cool to become a ...
First on the itinerary bright and early at 7am after a Roppongi night out was the ultra high tech and immaculate factories of Yamasa Shoyu in Narita, newly built in 2011. It's a very auspicious start to the day as Endo — despite being Japanese — is 10 minutes late, and I, a whopping 15 freaking minutes... for ...