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Any eating establishment that wants to call itself "authentic Japanese" had better hide the California and tempura rolls and stop putting Kalbi or teriyaki chicken on the menu! The sushi police will be on their way soon, direct from Japan!
The Japanese government is considering offering an official "seal of approval" to those restaurants that only serve purely Japanese food in an effort to prevent the downward slide of authentic Japanese cooking.
This kind of reminds me of some other "branding" of food products, like the French wine apellations, or only sparkling wine made in Champagne can be called champagne.
So if I want to eat "authentic" Japanese food, I can't just rely on the fact that lots of Japanese frequent that restaurant with the Japanese name anymore? I have to go look for that seal of approval?
I think lots of "Japanese" restaurants in Hawai'i will have to reinvent themselves as "Pan Asian" restaurants.
Miulang
The Japanese government is considering offering an official "seal of approval" to those restaurants that only serve purely Japanese food in an effort to prevent the downward slide of authentic Japanese cooking.
"What people need to understand is that real Japanese food is a highly developed art. It involves all the senses; it should be beautifully presented, use genuine ingredients and be made by a trained chef," he continued. "What we are seeing now are restaurants that pretend to offer Japanese cooking but are really Korean, Chinese or Filipino. We must protect our food culture."
In recent years, few culinary traditions have witnessed the kind of global boom, and distortion, of Japanese food.
In the United States alone, the number of restaurants claiming to serve Japanese food soared to 9,000 in 2005, or double the number a decade ago, according to Japanese government statistics. The government projects that the number of Japanese restaurants worldwide will leap to 48,000 by 2009, more than double the current level.
Some have gone all-out to ensure authenticity. Masa in New York City imports its fish from Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market while Umu in London regularly flies in the soft water of Kyoto, Japan's old capital, to make its bonito fish broths. But they are largely exceptions in a world where the Japanese fear their food is being lost in translation.
In the United States, the proliferation of counterfeit Japanese foods now includes seaweed rolls stuffed with smoked salmon and cream cheese. In Canada, Vera's Burger Shack in Vancouver is offering tempura-battered onion rings. As the recent test in Paris showed, even such gastronomic bastions as France can be guilty of sushi sacrilege.
In recent years, few culinary traditions have witnessed the kind of global boom, and distortion, of Japanese food.
In the United States alone, the number of restaurants claiming to serve Japanese food soared to 9,000 in 2005, or double the number a decade ago, according to Japanese government statistics. The government projects that the number of Japanese restaurants worldwide will leap to 48,000 by 2009, more than double the current level.
Some have gone all-out to ensure authenticity. Masa in New York City imports its fish from Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market while Umu in London regularly flies in the soft water of Kyoto, Japan's old capital, to make its bonito fish broths. But they are largely exceptions in a world where the Japanese fear their food is being lost in translation.
In the United States, the proliferation of counterfeit Japanese foods now includes seaweed rolls stuffed with smoked salmon and cream cheese. In Canada, Vera's Burger Shack in Vancouver is offering tempura-battered onion rings. As the recent test in Paris showed, even such gastronomic bastions as France can be guilty of sushi sacrilege.
So if I want to eat "authentic" Japanese food, I can't just rely on the fact that lots of Japanese frequent that restaurant with the Japanese name anymore? I have to go look for that seal of approval?
I think lots of "Japanese" restaurants in Hawai'i will have to reinvent themselves as "Pan Asian" restaurants.Miulang
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