18-02-2016
Mister Kida, tenpura manager at restaurant Matsunoya in Kobe, in the prefecture of Hyogo, Japan, on the ninth floor of the Kobe Kotsu Center, 1-10-1 Sannomiyacho Chuo-Kum tel. +81.78.3330678. A kaiseki tasting menu costs around 20K yen (125 euros circa)
When you arrive in Kobe you’re surprised because instead of a herd of wagyū steer roaming freely in the fields, you see one and a half million people grazing in the airy streets of a modern and laid-back town. Many work in the steel industry and in order to win alienation, they play golf on greens closed by huge nets standing out against factories and orbital roads. They climb between the smoke of the chimneystacks, swirling thanks to the breeze coming from the sea. The rush hour is hardly in a rush: people move in a composed way, there’s a calm atmosphere set by the sweet green hills of the prefecture of Hyogo behind and the huge port looking onto the Pacific Ocean.
A scorching Ishiyaki: the stone on the left was heated on a flame for one hour. On the small plate to the right, crab claws and marinated scampi with a base of saké and seawater. To cook them, just place them on the stone for a few seconds
Marie and Seijiro Udono, fourth and third generation at restaurant Matsunoya in Kobe, opened 99 years ago
Sukiyaki (saucepan on a flame) with chicken, onion, vegetables and mirin (sweet saké)
Gabriele Zanatta’s opinion: on establishments, chefs and trends in Italy and the world
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born in Milan, 1973, freelance journalist, coordinator of Identità Golose World restaurant guidebook since 2007, he is a contributor for several magazines and teaches History of gastronomy and Culinary global trends into universities and institutes. twitter @gabrielezanatt instagram @gabrielezanatt