Sazenka earned two Michelin Stars after its first appearance in Tokyo's Michelin Guide.
This is an incredible achievement on the heels of "Oryori Miyasaka" and "Higashiazabu Amamoto" last year.
https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1306/A130602/13184986/
https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1314/A131401/13196420/

Head chef Tomoya Kawada (34 years old) is a chef who focuses on authentic Chinese food, but he also has trained at "RyuGin," a famous kappo-ryori restaurant known across Japan.
"I thought I'd never find an answer to the questions on why I cook Chinese food in Japan when I have Japanese ingredients, Japanese climate, and have studied Japanese cuisine," said Kawada.
He was greatly impacted by the quality of the ingredients and the precise techniques used at "RyuGin."
"While I stay true to traditional Chinese cooking, I realized that you need certain skills to utilize Japan's amazing ingredients."

As such, the restaurant that Kawada opened is based off of the concept of "wakonkansai," or "the Japanese spirit imbued with Chinese learning."
"It's said that tea and Zen both originated in China and then were developed independently within different world outlooks. I hope to make dishes that refine traditional Chinese cuisine with Japanese cooking techniques."

Kawada is passing on all of the many techniques he has learned over the 15 years he spent practicing cooking into his chosen field of Chinese cuisine.
The adventure of this genius chef who strives to develop this new style of Chinese cuisine that can only be made in Japan has only just begun.

<Sazenka's Specialties>

★Quality Pheasant Soup with Wonton
The soup, made by infusing pheasant bones in cold water, carefully skimming off any scum, and straining, is made with painstaking care over the course of 3 to 4 days.
To finish, it is sprinkled with 15-year-aged Shaoxing wine, immediately unlocking the dish's aroma.
The flavor, seemingly taking the best parts of Chinese shang tang soup stock and the best Japanese dashi stock, is truly exquisite.
This soup embodies Kawada's belief that "true taste delicately remains."

★Grilled Golden Eye Snapper with Spring Onion and Ginger
This specialty dish is prepared using charcoal grilling techniques that Kawada learned at "RyuGin."
Based off of the flavors of the beloved traditional Chinese steamed dish "qing zheng xianyu" (clear-steamed sea bass), the fish is precisely cooked over a charcoal grill rather than being steamed, resulting in crispy skin and meat with an exquisitely moist mouthfeel, making the best of the natural fat in golden eye snapper.

★Grilled Young Pigeon Breast and Spiced Leg
Chef Kawada serves this specialty dish up with pride.
The leg meat is seasoned with Chinese five-spice, coated in maltose and repeatedly fried, then finished like Peking duck.
The breast meat, which gives off an aroma of Margão, is smoked with straw before being grilled over charcoal.
They are both finished beautifully, with the leg meat crisp and juicy, while the breast meat is delightfully moist.

★Tea Pairing (+6000 yen)
The tea pairings are carefully selected by Chef Kawada, who has self-studied in tea since he was 18 years old.
Teas from various Asian countries, beginning with China, are served at carefully considered temperatures.
Black tea is topped with 6 spices (rose, bay leaf, cinnamon, lemongrass, maqaw, clove), and the spiced tea created as a result is richly fragrant and pairs beautifully with the pigeon main course.
My number one recommendation is the mixed pairing, which offers up Chinese tea between wines and Shaoxing wine paired with the courses.
The precisely calculated overlap of flavors alows you to truly enjoy the sweet lingering flavors of the pairings.