Tokyo Up Late

New York Times Best Cookbooks 2022As the sun sets, the neon lights of Tokyo flicker to life: hidden restaurants and bars come alive; rounds of beer, highballs and sake are ordered, and the scent of yakitori and sounds of nightlife fill the air. Tokyo’s night scene is always fun, boisterous and lively. This is where locals shake off the day, eating and drinking, and often staying out until the last trains leave the city. Tokyo Up Late is your food guide through the night: from noisy izakayas, ramen joints and tempura bars, to gyoza pit-stops, curry restaurants and the iconic convenience stores that stitch the city together.

Brendan and Caryn Liew set up their pop-up Japanese café, chotto, in 2016, bringing the art of traditional ryokan-style breakfasts to the Australian city of Melbourne. The café transported diners to Japan on a cultural and culinary journey that traversed old and new, everything inspired from countryside dinners on the Nakasendo trail, to the food of Japan’s far north and deep south, and the animated feasts of Studio Ghibli. Head chef Brendan Liew spent time at the three-Michelin-starred Nihonryori Ryugin in Roppongi, Tokyo and Hong Kong, and also studied the art of ramen-making in Japan before delving into kappo and modern kaiseki cuisine. In Melbourne, he has worked at Kappo, Supernormal, Golden Fields and Bistro Vue. Together, Brendan and Caryn have travelled extensively through Japan’s countryside and major cities to explore, learn and live Japan’s culture and cuisine.

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