I wrote last about following in the footsteps of Bourdain. One thing I forgot to mention is that none of those places speak English or have English menus. This seems to be an ever present marker of great food in my travels. When I first arrived in Hong Kong, I stuck to the English offerings which gave me a sense of what I was going to get – and I had, frankly, a mediocre food experience. While the normal/everyday offerings [and even fast food] were above the standard, I wondered – where is all this fantastic Hong Kong food? Where is the drop your mouth, thank the food gods, happiness on a platter food?
The answer is that the places with that food are often the places with no translator, no translations, and are near something [disposal area, car mechanic, sketchily washed dishes, etc] that you wish was not near the food you are about to put in your mouth. Sometimes, it seems, you just have to get out of your comfort zone to get some good eats – either language or environment.
Illustrating the language issue – while in Japan, Shu Lan and I randomly stumbled into a restaurant. We, driven by our starvation, had accidentally gone to the wrong floor [thinking we were at the place with the English menu advertised outside]. When we sat, the menu was written in a calligraphy Japanese, and all the waiters spoke Japanese. All had assumed Shu Lan could speak it too, hence why they didn’t say anything at the door. So, unable to read a single item on the menu – Shu Lan just asked the waiter to bring us two dishes he liked. The experience was one of the best meals we had in Japan.
So, if you are in Tokyo, seek out Rinka. I would give better directions [it is in the Shinjunku district] but I seriously doubt I could find it again. Here are some photos from that experience:
