Oriental delicacies in Manhattan

New York is, as the song says, the city where everything is possible, one of the favourite destinations for the most cosmopolitan tourists and the actual capital of the World for many. In fact New Yorkers can boast about enjoying the most complete and varied leisure offer in the planet and, according to the prestigious magazine Forbes, they can also visit in their own city the most expensive restaurant in the US and one of the most prohibitive in the World, MASA.

Located at Time Warner Center, MASA is a Japanese restaurant with capacity for only 26 people and managed by Chef Masa Takayama. Mr. Takayama, who started his career in Japan, emigrated to the US in the 80s. Soon after he opened a restaurant called Ginza Sushiko in Los Angeles, which became one of the most expensive restaurants in the city. Some years later he decided to move to New York.

With elegant design and minimalist decoration imported from the Land of the rising Sun, in this Japanese gastronomy temple a great care is taken over every detail and even plates, glasses and Sake bottles are customized. And even though it is widely known amongst Manhattan inhabitants as “the Sushi Temple”, it will not be easy for us to make it out, since its sign is only several centimetres wide.

According to Chef Masa Takayama himself, the essence of his restaurant lies in two ideas from the Japanese culture: shibui and umami. Shibui is simplicity without unnecessary elements and an honest presentation of materials; Umami, the basic essence of each ingredient’s taste. And regarding the ingredients, Takayama spares no details. He places the daily orders personally for fish to later prepare his select menu, real Japanese cuisine with ingredients exclusively imported for the most demanding gourmets. That is one of the main reasons why the MASA set menu changes every day. Takayama makes it up depending on the available ingredients. Reservations are done the first week of each month for the rest of the month. The price per person ranges between 350 and 500 US dollars not including taxes and drinks. An excellent option for gourmets to enjoy the most genuine and delicate Japanese cuisine in the heart of Manhattan.

New post on at Friday, 6 February, 2009, 5:46 pm and is archived in International News, Lifestyle, Luxury. Subscribe to answers with RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or make a trackback from your web.