"The base is Cantonese cuisine, but when Sichuan cuisine is needed, we use Sichuan techniques, and when Beijing cuisine is needed, we use Beijing techniques."
The chef told me this casually. I will explain later how extraordinary it is.
When you encounter the finest Chinese cuisine, a sense of reverence arises for Chinese cuisine itself and for the chef who prepares it.
Chef Takeshi Kobayashi, who heads "KOBAYASHI", is one such chef. Needless to say, he was a chef who won Michelin stars for over a decade at the famous restaurant "Momonoki". After leaving the restaurant, his new home is the Chinese restaurant "KOBAYASHI" that bears his name.
Amazingly crisp fried rice!
The best Chinese cuisine always demonstrates the chef's insatiable passion for the ingredients.
For example, what about the "dried scallop fried rice" served in the final corner, which is well known as Kobayashi's signature dish?


The "Dried Scallop Fried Rice" is moist and fluffy. The trick is not to let the moisture evaporate too much.
The dried scallops are rehydrated in water, and the staff separates each fiber with their fingers. The white leeks are cut into 2mm cubes (!) with incredible knife (gyuto) skill. The pieces are then exposed to a breeze to remove the moisture. Oil is poured into a heated pan, and Thai rice is added (this Thai rice was actually cooked the day before, left in the refrigerator overnight, and then separated by hand, grain by grain). Beaten eggs are then added, and the rice and egg are stirred with incredible force using a ladle and a stirrer, becoming one within seven seconds, and the egg seemingly disappears!
So, this is real Chinese-style fried rice (the fried rice that we usually eat with an egg left over is a Japanese-style Chinese dish).
There is a wonderful aroma. With one bite, you can taste the sweetness of the rice and egg, while the spring onions and scallops added at the end bring a deep, almost pure flavor. You'll want to keep chewing it forever. This is one of the best fried rice you can eat in Japan.
Kobayashi-san does not shy away from such time-consuming things. He knows deep down that the quality of the food is directly linked to the utmost careful preparation. That is why his food is clean and elegant. When you eat it, you feel like you are being purified (from your dirty body, lol), although it may seem exaggerated.
Enjoy different dishes at the counter or in a private room
Let's go back to the entrance. When you go down the stairs from the entrance, you will be greeted by a stone-walled space reminiscent of a waterfall, which takes your breath away. It is clear that you are cut off from the outside world.
On this day, we were shown to a counter seat that starts at 18pm. This is the place where Kobayashi uses his limitless imagination to create the potential of Chinese cuisine. He appears in front of the customers several times, demonstrating his incredible dexterity.
There are five private rooms at the back of the restaurant where guests can dine on a set course menu centered around the popular items at Momonoki, but they will also accommodate various requests, such as "focusing on vegetables."


There are eight seats at the counter. You can enjoy watching Chef Kobayashi cook right in front of you.
"First, aroma, second, color, third, taste."
I'll introduce some of the dishes that were on offer. But first, a word of warning.
Japanese people don't pay much attention to this, but as Kobayashi says, the essence of Chinese cuisine is "First, aroma, second, color, third, taste." If you eat with this in mind, the food will appear as something completely different.
First up is the appetizer "Shanghai-style Drooling Chicken" (top image). In normal Drooling Chicken, the main ingredient is the chicken, but this one has a superb sauce that makes it feel like the main ingredient is the chili oil and mala sauce.
The aroma of smoked chicken, fried Chinese peanuts and Chinese cabbage rises. They blend with the sauce, releasing a rich mix of five flavors: sweet, sour, spicy, bitter and umami. You'll find yourself engrossed in scooping up the sauce. And above all, it has a gentle flavor.
The side dish, "Miyagi Prefecture Black Abalone with Truffle and Spring Onion Sauce," first lets you enjoy the aroma of truffle and spring onion. When you put it in your mouth, you'll be surprised at how well the sauce sprinkled on the surface goes with the soft boiled abalone. Even though it's a side dish, you'll be drawn into the depths of flavor.
Crab miso rice bowl is the pinnacle of culinary delight
The next dish, a Sichuan dish, "Sweet Snapper with Sweet and Sour Green Onion Sauce," was also excellent. Deep-fried in wheat flour, the sweet snapper had firm flesh and crispy skin and scales that delighted the palate. What's more, the sauce was so good that it almost seemed like the main ingredient. It was a combination of soy sauce, chili oil, light sesame oil, black vinegar, sugar, 1mm cubes of green onion and dill. Adding too much sesame oil would make the dish heavy, so the chili oil was added, and on top of that, fresh green onion, dill herbs, and red chilli peppers were added to give it a refreshing taste, resulting in a light and refreshing sauce.
The oil was so light! After eating the tilefish, I drank up all the remaining sauce.


If you try the "Shark Fin with Shanghai Crab Sauce", you will definitely ascend to heaven!
Of course, the "Shark Fin with Shanghai Crab Sauce" is the ultimate winter luxury, and only the highest quality female Shanghai crabs from Yangcheng Lake are used.
The dish is made with shark fin and ginkgo nuts, topped with shredded Shanghai crab meat and flying crab roe, and topped with a thick sauce. The rich aroma of the crab is enough to make you choke. When you scoop it up with a spoon and put it in your mouth, you'll think, "Ah, it's good to be alive." The ginkgo nuts have a nice elasticity. What's more, they even offer you a bite of rice. What a guest-first restaurant. The mini bowl of crab and miso sauce took me to the pinnacle of culinary delight.
The one and only chef
As mentioned at the beginning, the chef's techniques are based on Cantonese cuisine, with various techniques from Sichuan, Beijing, Shanghai, etc. Normally, a Cantonese chef will never leave the realm of Cantonese cuisine. That is Chinese cuisine rooted in regional characteristics.
Kobayashi says, "My master (Yutaka Yamamoto of Chikuro Sanbo in Kichijoji) was an expert in many regional cuisines," but how difficult is that? Because each cuisine is completely different. They are as different as French and Italian. That's why there are very few chefs in the world who can use a variety of regional Chinese cuisines at the highest level by themselves.


Chef Kobayashi's pot-shaking skills are worth watching just to see.
Ah, I want to eat "chicken soba" again.
The final main course, "KOBAYASHI and NUMAMOTO," is a dish made with rare "Takamori Wagyu" beef from Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The producer, Numamoto, is known as a Wagyu beef specialist. "Boiled beef" is a collaboration between the two. This is one of the most representative dishes of Sichuan cuisine, and is usually so spicy that it numbs the tongue. The chef has reduced the spiciness and added chili peppers, doubanjiang, black soybean paste, and finally Sichuan peppercorns, blending them gently and gently to create a festival of aromas. The charcoal-black chili peppers are beautiful. When you put the beef in your mouth, the exquisitely balanced sauce clings to your tongue.


The "Braised Beef" has red chili peppers that are burnt black. It's delicious to crunch on.
The "chicken soba" served before the fried rice introduced earlier has now become a specialty. The green onions floating in the soup look stunning. The rich, yet gentle, nutritious flavor of the broth draws in everyone. The soup made with local "Momiji" chicken is full of collagen. The only place I've ever had such a wonderful "Momiji" soup is Man Wah at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. The noodles, which don't get soggy at all, are also fantastic. It's been a few days now, but I'm thinking about eating it again.


Chicken soba is so rich in collagen that a film immediately forms on the surface.
A rare experience of kindness
Something else occurred to me here. Three types of condiments to put on the chicken soba were placed in front of me: white pepper, black pepper, and truffle oil. Usually, a chef of this caliber would present a fully seasoned dish to the customer and tell them to eat it like this. However, Kobayashi leaves the customer the freedom to change the flavor. The mild flavor and the generous degree of freedom are probably a reflection of the chef's personality.
This warm and comfortable atmosphere is evident from the first contact when greeting customers on the street, through to the reception, service and sommelier. I have rarely experienced such hospitality being so pervasive in every corner. I was very impressed.
Lastly, the wine pairings by sommelier Arai were truly superb, and the Chinese tea from Alishan, Taiwan served at the beginning and end was excellently brewed and incredibly delicious.
The only thing on guests' minds is probably wondering when they'll come again.
Chinese restaurant "KOBAYASHI"
Roppongi Urban Rex 3st basement floor, 3-29-XNUMX Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
TEL: 050-1809-4801
Hours: 17: 00 ~ 23: 00
Closed: Sundays and other irregular holidays
Counter Omakase Course from 38500 yen
Private room course from 19800 yen
Wine pairing from 16500 yen (tax and service charge not included)
Toshizumi Ishibashi
After graduating from the Graduate School of Letters, Faculty of Letters, Keio University, he joined Bungeishunju. He has served as editor-in-chief of Claire Traveler, Claire, and the Special Edition Mook Editorial Department, and was finally an editorial committee member. He has taken countless overseas gourmet trips at his own expense, and during his five years at Claire Traveler, he enjoyed the best food in over 30 countries. The six restaurants that shocked him most during his private and professional dining experiences are Mirazur in Menton, France, Epicure in Paris, El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Spain, Torre del Saracino in Sorrento, Italy, and WING and Amber in Hong Kong. He is currently an editor and writer covering topics ranging from food, hotels, and inns to history, medicine, and business.
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