[/floatr]Guardian: Rory MacLean reviews "Sushi and Beyond"
...Intrigued by Oriental longevity, and worried about his own expanding Western waistline, Booth decided to travel across Japan, discovering "methodically, greedily" the secrets of its national cuisine. Over a period of three months, he lunched with Sumo wrestlers, massaged the world's most expensive cows and visited a dog café. He met celebrity rock star chefs. He learnt about the sake crisis and MSG. He dropped by a parasite museum and the world's largest cookery school. He shopped at the Tsukiji fish market. He even risked a serving of notorious fugu puffer fish...He came to understand the fundamental importance of the seasons in its food, the obsession with freshness and simplicity, even the spiritual meaning of rice...Booth found himself haunted by the elusive flavour of Sapporo crabs ("sensuous to the point of perversion"). He grew to appreciate the vast range of ramen noodles (while learning to slurp in appreciation). Above all, he was transformed by his meal at Mibu, Japan's finest restaurant which guests may attend only on invitation from the owner. The "transcendent" meal at Mibu was "a seismic moment in my life as an eater", he wrote, where he enjoyed the best sashimi, aubergine, eel and dashi he'd ever tasted. The flavours and aroma literally made him shudder with pleasure "like a mini-orgasm"...more...
"Sushi and Beyond: What the Japanese Know About Cooking" by Michael Booth
