Thursday 24 April 2008

Maimon - hip oyster bar in Tokyo


Well, we aim to bring you the best of British seafood - but that won't stop us also running news and reviews of the world's top oyster and seafood locations.

This is Maimon, in the Nishi-Azabu junction district of Tokyo. Brought to you by the people who also run the ultra-hip Megu in New York, this is a stylish blue-tinged place that opens from 6pm - 4am - clearly a night-crowd pleaser. See that blue rim in front of the counter in the pic - that's real ice, with real oysters on top of it. Very cool.

They specialise in oysters from all over Japan, we had a dozen selection and liked the Kitakai oysters from the south the best. They came with a splendid collection of five sauces - cocktail, white wine vinegar, plums and shiso, yuzo-ponzu and 'japanese sauce with hot radish' which I liked the best. We also had grilled chicken skewers with paprika and marmalade (much better than it sounds). They have a huge ranges of sakes and shosu, and some good beers. Not at all a cheap place, but a must-try for any oyster lover lucky enough to be in Tokyo with an evening (or early morning!) to spare. Get the full low-down, in English or Japanese, at http://www.maimon.jp .