用雙腳走遍世界 用真心感覺周圍

Release date: November 19, 2007 TOKYO -- 

The first edition of the MICHELIN guide Tokyo has been released today.

For its venture into Asia, the MICHELIN guide offers a selection of the best hotels and restaurants in the center of Tokyo, a total of 178 establishments of which 28 hotels and 150 restaurants.

Available in English and Japanese version, the MICHELIN guide Tokyo 2008 has one particularity that sets it apart from other guides in the collection: All the restaurants in the guide have been awarded stars. The initial selection includes 8 restaurants with three stars, 25 with two stars, and 117 with one star. With 191 stars in all, Tokyo has become the world leader in gourmet dining with more "stars" than any other city. And to honor its outstanding cuisine, the unrivaled quality of the products used, the cooking techniques employed, its rich heritage and its culinary traditions, which are passed on from one generation to the next, the selection in the MICHELIN guide Tokyo 2008 is comprised exclusively of "starred" restaurants.

One starmeans a very good restaurant in its category.
Two stars mean excellent cooking, worth a detour.
Three stars mean exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.

A restaurant that receives one or more stars is not only one of the best in its country but also one of the best in the world.

In Japan, as in the 21 other countries covered by the MICHELIN guide, a consistent selection is ensured by awarding stars based on the same criteria: product quality, preparation and flavors, the chef's personality as revealed through his cuisine, value for money, and consistency over time and across the entire menu. The criteria are adapted to each type of cuisine, notably Japanese cooking styles.

In the first edition of the MICHELIN guide Tokyo, the focus is clearly on Japanese cuisine, which is being served in more than 60% of the selected restaurants. The major culinary styles are represented, including kaiseki, fugu, soba kaiseki, sushi, tempura, teppan yaki and unagi. The remaining 40% is comprised of French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese restaurants, etc.

In this first edition of a MICHELIN guide devoted to Asia, each hotel or restaurant is presented on a double-page spread. The left-hand page features pictures of the establishment, its classification and the number of stars received, while the right-hand page provides the reader with a description of the restaurant and its cuisine, a photo of the entrance and an access plan.

Thanks to a rigorous selection process that is applied independently and consistently around the world, the MICHELIN guide has become an international benchmark in gourmet dining. The selection is prepared by anonymous and experienced inspectors, Michelin employees, who pay their hotel and restaurant bills in full. This first selection was made by a team of five Japanese and European inspectors. In a city with some 160,000 restaurants, they pre-selected around 1,500 establishments and, after more than a year and a half of anonymous meals, narrowed down their selection to 150 restaurants.

The first MICHELIN guide was published in France in August 1900. Today, 108 years later, the collection comprises 21 guides covering 22 countries. In addition to 20 countries in Europe (since the addition of the first MICHELIN guide Austria in 2005), the collection also includes North America, which is covered through four guides: New York City (with the thrd edition released in early October 2007), San Francisco, Bay Area & Wine Country (a second edition released in late October), and Los Angeles and Las Vegas, whose first editions were released just a few days ago.

In Europe, the collection includes 16 guides, the most recent being the English versions of the MICHELIN guide France and the MICHELIN guide Paris, both aimed at the some 70 million people who visit France each year.

Two versions of the MICHELIN guide Tokyo 2008 are available - a standard edition and a special boxed set that includes the Saga of the MICHELIN guide, a small volume filled with anecdotes relating the history of the guide from its origins in 1900 to the present.

The MICHELIN guide Tokyo 2008 goes on sale, in France, at the beginning of February at the price of 14,50 euros. 

MICHELIN Guide Tokyo 2008: The Selection

Total number of restaurants	One star ()	Two stars ()	Three stars ()
150	117	25	8
Award		Category of comfort	Type of cuisine
Hamadaya			Japanese
Joël Robuchon			French contemporary
Kanada			Japanese
Koju			Japanese
L'Osier			French
Quintessence			French contemporary
Sukiyabashi Jiro			Japanese sushi
Sushi Mizutani			Japanese sushi
Aimée Vibert			French
Cuisine(s) Michel Troisgros			French contemporary
Daigo			Japanese
Esaki			Japanese
Fukudaya			Japanese
Hishinuma			Japanese
Ichimonji			Japanese
Ishikawa			Japanese
Kikunoi			Japanese
Kogetsu			Japanese
L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon			French contemporary
Le Mange-Tout			French contemporary
Pierre Gagnaire			French contemporary
Reikasai			Chinese
Ristorante Aso			Italian contemporary
Ryugin			Japanese contemporary
Sant Pau			Spanish contemporary
Sawada			Japanese sushi
Sushi Kanesaka			Japanese sushi
Taku			Japanese sushi
Tsukiji Uemura			Japanese
Tsukiji Yamamoto			Japanese fugu
Twenty One			French
Usukifugu Yamadaya			Japanese fugu
Wako			Japanese
Abe			Japanese
Ajiman			Japanese fugu
Aragawa			Steakhouse
Arai			Japanese
Arbace			French
Argento Aso			Italian contemporary
Aroma-Frèsca			Italian contemporary
Asagi			Japanese tempura
Au Goût du Jour Nouvelle Ere			French
Banrekiryukodo			Japanese
Beige			French contemporary
Benoit			French contemporary
Chemins			French contemporary
Chez Inno			French
Chez Matsuo			French
Chez Tomo			French contemporary
Chikuyotei			Japanese unagi
China Blue			Chinese
Chugoku Hanten Fureika			Chinese
Cogito			French
Coucagno			French contemporary
Crescent			French
Cucina Hirata			Italian
Dons de la Nature			Steakhouse
Fukamachi			Japanese tempura
Fukuju			Japanese
Gastronomie Française Tateru Yoshino			French contemporary
Ginza La Tour			French
Ginza Sushiko Honten			Japanese sushi
Hanasanshou			Japanese
Harutaka			Japanese sushi
Higuchi			Japanese
Hinokizaka			Japanese
Hiramatsu			French
Hirosaku			Japanese
Keyakizaka			Japanese teppan yaki
Kikumi			Japanese
Komuro			Japanese
Kondo			Japanese tempura
Kosetsu			Japanese soba kaiseki
Kyubey			Japanese sushi
La Bombance			Japanese contemporary
La Cave Hiramatsu			French
L'Alliance			French contemporary
L'Anneau d'Or			French
La Primula			Italian contemporary
La Table de Joël Robuchon			French contemporary
La Tour d'Argent			French
La Tourelle			French
Le Jeu de l'Assiette			French contemporary
L'Embellir			French contemporary
Les Créations de Narisawa			French contemporary
Les Enfants Gâtés			French
Le 6eme Sens			French contemporary
Les Saisons			French
Maison d'Umemoto Shang-hai			Chinese
Maison Paul Bocuse			French
Makimura			Japanese
Minoichi			Japanese
Miravile			French
Momonoki			Chinese
Monnalisa			French
Morimoto XEX			Japanese teppan yaki
Muroi			Japanese
Mutsukari			Japanese contemporary
Nadaman New Otani			Japanese
Nadaman Sazanka So			Japanese
Nakajima			Japanese
Narukami			French
Ogasawara Hakushakutei			Spanish contemporary
Ohara et Cie			French
Ohara's			French
Ohno			Japanese
Okina			Japanese soba kaiseki
Ozaki			Japanese
Piatto Suzuki			Italian
Ristorante Hamasaki			Italian contemporary
Ristorante Honda			Italian contemporary
Sakuragaoka			Japanese
Sakuragawa			Japanese
Sankame			Japanese
Sasada			Japanese
Sazanka			Japanese teppan yaki
Sekihotei			Japanese
Shigeyoshi			Japanese
Shin			Japanese sushi
Shofukuro			Japanese
Signature			French contemporary
Sugawara			Japanese
Sushi Nakamura			Japanese sushi
Sushi Ohno			Japanese sushi
Sushi Saito			Japanese sushi
Suhisho Saito			Japanese sushi
Suzuki			Japanese
Tahara			Japanese
Takeyabu			Japanese soba kaiseki
Tateru Yoshino			French contemporary
Tatsumura			Japanese
The Georgian Club			French
Tofuya Ukai			Japanese
Tomura			Japanese
Toyoda			Japanese
Uchiyama			Japanese
Ukai - Tei			Japanese teppan yaki
Umi			Japanese sushi
Uotoku			Japanese
Waketokuyama			Japanese
Yamane			Japanese fugu
Yamasaki			Japanese
Yebisu			Japanese teppan yaki
Yokota			Japanese tempura
Yonemura			Japanese contemporary
Yoneyama			Japanese
Yotaro			Japanese tempura
Yukicho			Japanese
Yukimura			Japanese
Yûta			Japanese sushi

米其林評鑑》食材「鮮」堅持 打響日本美食


去年11月，美食評鑑權威米其林指南首次發行東京版，日本美食初試啼聲便一鳴驚人，以總星數191顆遙遙領先巴黎98顆。東京躍居世界美食之都的光環背後，其實有著日本廚師對料理的堅持。

三星餐廳 東京有8家

美國新聞周刊報導，米其林東京評鑑出爐後，各方人士頗不以為然。法國人辯稱，巴黎人口只有東京的1/3，若以總星數除以人口數，巴黎的平均星數還是比東京多。再者，2007年米其林評鑑中，巴黎的最高等級三星餐廳有10家，東京有8家，以此而論巴黎也占上風。

除了法國人，日本國內也有質疑的聲音。美食評論家質疑米其林的歐美評審究竟懂不懂日本美食文化，日本師匠級的餐廳未能入選，反倒是徒弟自立門戶的餐廳得到米其林青睞，違反日本人重視的師徒輩分精神。

倒閉邊緣 食材仍要好

圖／聯合報提供

深諳日本美食之趣的人則站出來說，日本菜終於得到了世人的重視。旅居日本多年、撰文介紹日本菜廿多年的美食評論家史溫能頓（Robbie Swinnerton）說：「日本有全世界最棒的食物，我們一直都知道，現在世界其他角落的人也漸漸知道了。」

日本菜能獲米其林高評價，來自廚師的努力。2003年，奧田徹在東京銀座開了一家餐廳，一圓心中多年夢想，端上桌的皆是精心製作的菜色，例如以木炭燒烤河豚，或是新鮮雪蟹佐魚卵。沒想到生意非常慘澹，有時一天只有兩、三個客人，他和店內廚師得想辦法吃掉剩下的食材，餐廳處於倒閉邊緣。不過他的堅持終究得到回報，米其林評鑑東京版將奧田的餐廳「小十」（Koji）評為三星餐廳。

裝潢普普 壽司超美味

另一家三星餐廳「數寄屋橋次郎」（Sukiyabashi Jiro）沒有華麗裝潢，店內甚至沒洗手間，因高齡82的主廚小野次郎想的只有一件事：如何買到最好的食材。美食評論家橫川純說：「我只去過一次，但真令我瞠目結舌。他們表現出壽司的極致。」

獲選為二星餐廳的京都「菊乃井」（Kikunoi），光是高湯就有許多要求。熬湯的水取自老闆老家的井水，每周用卡車運到店裡。柴魚片是用九州近海捕獲的鰹魚製成，厚度必須為1/3公釐。昆布產自北海道，從採收到自然乾燥費時一年。菊乃井老闆村田吉弘說：「我們用最好的食材。」

倫敦泰晤士報美食評論家柯倫（Giles Coren）是日本食物的支持者，對法國菜則不屑一顧。他說：「我在日本吃過最難吃的菜，都比法國最頂級的菜好吃。」

【2008/02/06 聯合報】