I am not a food critic, nor do I pretend to be a cook. I am not the type of person to waste my time on writing about chefs. While I admire the work of a good chef, I find most chefs single minded.

I heard many mixed reviews about Edition Tokyo, a two star Michelin restaurant. In fact most of the reviews have been negative, but I can now attest to the fact that Edition is indeed worthy of Michelin’s praise. The chef prepares a menu for us, I made a few minor changes in advance of our arrival, and he graciously obliged.

I was surprised by Edition’s composition and his attention to micro details. So often those basic microscopic details make Michelin restaurants grow more popular. Non Michelin restaurants also use micro details to impress the eyes of clients, and it works.

Most foodies appreciate the articulated hand work of a chef and his team. This is in part what made Spanish cuisine rise above the mark. Having said this, I am not in favour of micro cuisine unless it has the depth of taste, a micro image isn’t enough to impress us.

We arrived to a private dinning room through a rather typical and ugly office building in Tokyo. The location of Edition Tokyo is not a Michelin entrance, however in Japan a Michelin entrance has so many faces. The room is decorated tastefully, the settings are colourful, something I hesitate to comment on.

The restaurant manager is charming, helpful and its clear he follows the strict orders of his chef/boss Koji Shimomura. The table setting looks right, but could use a little more detail and order.

A wire twisted tree sits on the table, chic, it reminds me of Michel Bras and I don’t know why. The bread arrives, the crackers offered seem more interesting, although slightly out-of-place, I get it, a black peppery cracker, a second more neutral, a kid of boy and girl set.

I expect more from a Michelin two star, when it comes to bread. We mustn’t forget, bread at a Michelin is a key ingredient, a signature of every French Michelin, and tonight is French cuisine.

The amuse is amusing, a dried tomato and asparagus with some creamed cheese. It looks a little contrived. The taste is normal, nothing terribly special, it looks better than it tastes, I think it is more to demonstrate technique than anything else.

The chef, he looks soft and curly but I doubt he is. He is focused, a talented cook, and he his own approach in preparing French cuisine. Something over looked, and something we appreciate, so what is it?

The chef prepares classical French dishes with a smart twist, it isn’t whimiscal, it isn’t his curious touch, it something much more important. The dishes he creates and the preparations are cleaver and tasteful, see Part II on Chef Shimomura.

http://www.koji-shimomura.jp/profile/index.html