A sugar-blanketed deep-fried Portuguese doughnut. A bowl of chili that leaves aficionados of the traditionally spicy side dish scratching their heads. A
Luxe Japanese-Style Omurice, Beef Stew and Curry Rice Debut at Waikīkī’s New Yoshoku Ginza Bairin
Western-style dishes viewed through a Japanese lens are quirky, comforting and oishii.
February 25, 2021
Long before a beret-wearing chef went viral for theatrically flipping and slicing oozing molten omelets over fried rice, pharmacist Nobukatsu Shibuya was preparing what would become Japan’s most famous yoshoku specialty: tonkatsu. Yoshoku the category of Japanese comfort dishes inspired by Western cuisines was introduced to Japan during the Meiji Restoration in the late 19
th Century. Shibuya, the founder of Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin, Tokyo’s first tonkatsu restaurant, passed his recipes down. Nearly a century later his grandson has brought his versions of