My wife and I are a “foodie team”, intense travellers, drinking and eating all over the globe. She tastes, I write, we drink, and eat for the last twenty years. Outside our team, we have three eating partners, friends who we respect, they respect our taste and sense of judgement, that’s why they join us in our endeavours.

Our two friends in Tokyo, guide us through the maze of restaurants, one is a well-known 5th generation Korean living in Japan, no passport, no identify, just a very fast left paw. A former K1 trainer of the fierce Andy Hug, a vicious sport of skilled kick boxing declined after his death. We enjoy to experiment when we can, a trip to Hokkaido, or wherever.

The other is a skillful sushi chef, the finest we’ve tasted, nicknamed by my wife 18 years ago, Mr. T.  He has the “tongue”, he understands balance and flavors, and over the past 18 years we travelled globally. I know him 35 years, he is a great family friend, with the most memorable experience in Cambodia in the fish market. The fish was appalling, the smell so intense we just laughed it off, and the temples made up for the rest.

One year we travelled to the United Kingdom, got trapped into going to Nobu London. He walked in, simply amazed by the mass of people, he turned to me smiling and said, “this is how people make money with sushi”, then he laughed. His restaurant has eight seats at one counter, he serves a select audience, many are the same clients, and very few are newcomers. Mr. T had never travelled to Europe, it was his first time to see a sushi restaurant from the inside. We didn’t try the fish at Nobu, it was all imported fish, and in his restaurant he only serves locally caught fish. That is the prestige of a high-end restaurant in Japan.