Latest news with #Kyoto-style
Time Out
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
10 best beer gardens in Tokyo to enjoy barbecue and a cold pint outdoors
The rooftop of Lumine Shinjuku has transformed into a Japanese matsuri -themed beer garden with a BBQ menu inspired by various cities and local cuisines of Japan. You can choose from Tokyo, Kyoto or Sapporo barbecue courses, all offered in light (from ¥5,940), standard (from ¥6,490) and premium (from ¥7,590) versions. The Around Japan BBQ Premium Plan offers a taste of all the cuisines in one go, for ¥8,690. The Tokyo course comes with wagyu beef brisket in egg sauce, pork marinated in Edo-style miso, chicken marinated in salt-fermented rice koji, and sausages, accompanied by an assortment of veggies and sauces such as teriyaki, yuzu-shio and regular BBQ sauce. The Kyoto course features a beef short rib, pork marinated in Kyoto-style miso, chicken marinated in sake lees and an assortment of veggies. The Sapporo course comes with beef short-rib, Tokachi-grown glazed pork, Hokkaido-style deep-fried chicken, seafood options like scallops and shrimp, and special jingisukan BBQ sauce. All three sets include 90-minute all-you-can-drink deals where you get to choose from a list of 160 cocktails and soft drinks.
Miami Herald
24-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Starbucks' cold brew turns 10: How'd it become so popular?
Coffee lovers know that their morning Joe isn't just a drink. It's a necessity, and each day an estimated 2.25 billion cups of this rich, bitter beverage are enjoyed worldwide. But in case you haven't noticed (we know it's still early), there's been a huge shift in the way people drink their coffee - as cold brew - and credit goes to Starbucks for helping to fuel the trend. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Cold brew dates back to the 1600s, when Dutch traders introduced coffee to Japan. Residents of Kyoto extracted the coffee using cold water, and the rest is history. (This is why cold brew is also known as Kyoto-style coffee.) Once a novelty, available only in specialty shops like Blue Bottle and Stumptown, Starbucks first tested small batches of cold brew in a few stores in the Boston area in March 2015 - but there was one catch. Baristas only brewed one batch per day, or the equivalent of 40 grande cups, and so once it was gone, you had to wait until the store reopened to get your next fix. Thankfully, due to customers' seemingly unquenchable thirst for the chilled, caffeinated drink, a few months later, in July 2015, the coffee giant rolled cold brew out to the broader public, adding it as a core menu item to its 26,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada, and (thankfully) offering all-day availability. Related: Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes: Everything you need to know about the iconic fall beverage Starbucks' Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew made its debut in May 2016. At the same time, its Nitro Cold Brew, which infuses nitrogen gas into cold brew for a creamy texture and foamy head, also began being tested in a few stores, only to become a permanent fixture by 2019. It's safe to say that the coffee world hasn't been the same since - CNBC reported that Americans spent $88 billion on out-of-home coffee purchases in 2023 and spending on cold coffees, like cold brew, has doubled since 2016. Naturally, the place for coffee trends to get off the ground is at big coffee chains, like Starbucks, which is considered the leader of the coffee industry, with twice as many locations as its closest competitor, Dunkin'. The Seattle-based roaster reported that in 2024, three-fourths, or 75%, of its beverage sales were cold drinks, up from just 37% in 2013. So, in light of the 10th anniversary of Starbucks' cold brew, we take a look at its incredible ascent - as well as just who's driving the shift. Temperature isn't the only difference between hot coffee and cold brew. Drip coffeemakers make coffee by using hot water to quickly steep ground coffee beans, resulting in an aromatic, yet slightly acidic cup of Java. Cold brew, on the other hand, steeps coarse, ground coffee in cold water for a much longer timeframe, between 12 and 24 hours. This results in a smoother, less bitter-and, some even say, a naturally sweeter flavor. Another added boost: Because of its longer extraction time, cold brew comes with higher levels of caffeine, roughly 25% more than regular coffee. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Starbucks' 16 oz. cold brew has 205 mg of caffeine while its 16 oz. iced coffee has just 165 mg. Just don't confuse Starbucks cold brew with its iced coffee. Starbucks' cold brew is cold-steeped in filtered water, which produces a strong, full-bodied flavor with each sip. Starbucks' iced coffee, on the other hand, is more medium-bodied in flavor, though it actually boasts a double-strength serving of ground coffee, since it later gets diluted with ice. Starbucks typically uses four tablespoons of ground coffee for every six ounces of iced coffee (it uses just two tablespoons for hot coffee). The drinks' flavor profile differ, too. According to Starbucks, its cold brew contains a "natural sweetness with a hint of chocolatey flavor," while its iced coffee has more "caramel and cola notes." Sipping on a steaming cup of morning coffee seems to be going the way of the dinosaur, lately. These days, younger coffee drinkers - particularly members of Generation Z, ages 18-24 - have freed themselves from the perpetual drip-drip of a coffee machine, preferring cold ready-to-drink coffees and iced caffeine drinks, like cold brew, instead. According to the National Coffee Association, 45% of coffee drinkers ages 18 to 24 said they had a cold coffee in the past day, and that Millennials are also increasingly enjoying their coffees cold. More on Starbucks: Starbucks fall menu: When it drops and what to orderStarbucks' holiday menu: When it launches & what to orderStarbucks winter menu: What's brewing in the colder months? According to Starbucks' founder, Howard Schultz, the reason has a lot to do with social media. Since cold drinks typically come in clear, plastic cups, younger coffee drinkers opt to order their beverages cold, customizing them with colorful syrups, cold foam, and sweeteners - which can be an easier way to introduce to the bitter taste to new palettes. They then share their creations on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Members of Generation Z are also characterized by their health-conscious lifestyles, and they say they are drawn to cold brew because it has fewer calories and ingredients. A grande Starbucks cold brew, served black, has just 5 calories and 0 carbohydrates. (Adding milks and sweeteners changes things, of course.) The Seattle-based chain does not offer decaffeinated cold brew, but customers who want the taste of coffee without the caffeine can substitute Starbucks' decaf iced Americano. And, in case you're curious, cold brew can also be served warm: For a smooth and less bitter coffee experience, you can pop it into the microwave or heat in a saucepan on the stove. Just don't leave it sitting out. The product is non-pasteurized, so if kept unrefrigerated, it can spoil. Related: Legendary fund manager makes bold stock market prediction The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
The Age
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
This intimate counter restaurant in Perth's CBD is a lesson in quiet sophistication
While the menu includes wagyu, snow crab and other luxury items, it's the humbler dishes that leave the biggest impression. Previous SlideNext Slide Every pocket of Tokyo has its claims to fame. Shibuya has the scramble crossing. Shinjuku houses the planet's busiest train station. Harajuku is legendary for out-there fashion. Ginza, meanwhile, epitomises Japanese worldliness and luxury. Translating to 'silver mint' in Japanese, Ginza is synonymous with the finer things in life. The precinct is home to four Tiffany's boutiques; flagship Japanese department stores boasting more storeys than most Perth hotels; plus 29 Michelin-starred restaurants, including two of the capital's fabled three-starred dining rooms. In short, if you harboured aspirations to open an ambitious Japanese eatery, Ginza would be a suitably fancy star to hitch one's wagon to, even if the said eatery is found halfway down a dark alley. Welcome to Ginza Midai, one of the five venues inside the Japanese food Disneyland, Ginza Nana Alley. Pulling back the restaurant's mustard noren curtain reveals a sparse, tightly packed room built around a blonde timber counter with a dozen seats ringing an open kitchen. (And I do mean tightly packed. Getting in and out of your chair requires similar levels of neighbourly co-operation as going to the toilet on a plane.) But just as it is in-flight, the wisest play is to stay seated and try holding it in: you won't want to miss a moment of chef Midai Hatakeyama's nightly performances. Both Hatekeyama and Ginza Midai are about kappo cuisine: a school of Japanese cookery where items are prepared to order and served in a cosy, intimate setting for maximum theatre, interactivity and – most pleasingly in a time where pre-prepared, room-temperature food is gaining in popularity – flavour. At one end of the kitchen is a gas stove crowded with pots, pans and a konro grill fuelled by Japanese binchotan charcoal. At the other is baby-faced Hatekayama, his slender yanagiba knife in hand, carefully slicing and preparing dishes for guests. Dishes such as the minor miracle that is Kyoto-style freshwater eel: a seasonal wonder in which the creature's luscious flesh is 'minced' via intricate knifework, then patiently grilled till it blooms like a flower. Fresh eel is rare in these parts – most eel served at Perth Japanese restaurants is frozen – and the unexpected offer of an add-it-yourself shaker of black chilli powder fizzing with sancho pepper underscores that buzz of discovery. Unsurprisingly, seafood features prominently with the restaurant serving both Japanese and Australian fish. Of course, there's sashimi and sushi, although the former only comes as a five-fish platter that might include fat, rosy hunks of tuna and squares of squid, quickly scored for tenderness and quickly charred. The solitary sushi option features fatty Japanese black bonito pressed atop vinegared rice and served with strips of nori for diners to assemble their own onigiri. Meticulously handled seafood, naturally, comes at a cost: sashimi will set you back $88 while the sushi is $56 for two pieces. The price tags attached to the snow crab, wagyu and other high-end proteins may also stop diners in their tracks, although it's worth noting that dishes are designed to be shared between two. But while luxury ingredients chime with the special occasion aspirations of the restaurant, it's the kitchen's work with humbler foodstuffs that denotes Ginza Midai as an operation of real substance. The way that sweet, simmered conger eel celebrates the airiness of whipped potato and smoked daikon salad. Or the haunting, oceanic funk of chewy buckwheat noodles blanketed by an orange snowdrift of finely grated karasumi: salted mullet roe and Japan's answer to Italy's bottarga. Slow-cooking beef tendon in stock, sake and soy sauce renders the bovine offcut into an unctuous joy made even more memorable by its accompanying bowl of glossy potato loosened with butter and dashi: a starchy delight that's half mash, half puree. But perhaps the most compelling of Midai-san's rags-to-riches cooking is his oden: a Japanese hotpot starring ingredients slowly simmered in broth. In Japan, our man spent years at a specialist oden restaurant specialising in Kyoto-style oden: a lighter soup base than the darker, soy-heavy version served at Tokyo oden restaurants and konbini stores. It's this savoury fish and chicken broth that underpins Ginza Midai's choose-your-own oden adventure where guests can revel in soft-yolked eggs, crumbly chicken meatballs and chubby chunks of daikon cooked till just-so, lolling in said soup. When was the last time a radish rocked your food universe? Among the minor criticisms I noted about dinner at Ginza Midai – I'd love to see the uneven, albeit well-intentioned service sharpened – my main gripe was with the dining format. In Perth, it's almost expected that a setting like this would offer omakase or set menu dining, especially considering the breadth of the menu. While Yuso Hirose – Ginza Nana Alley's operations manager – says that management may consider set menus in future, they're sticking to their guns for now. 'We know that doing a la carte is harder and it'd be easier for preparation and waste if we did omakase,' says Hirose. 'But we want people to be able to choose what they want to eat and drink and maybe check out some of the other venues while they're here. As long as they're happy with that, then we're happy to keep doing it this way.' In an era where some restaurants ask diners to fit into their machine, this sentiment is a reminder that giving guests the luxury of choice remains a vital part of hospitality.
Sydney Morning Herald
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
This intimate counter restaurant in Perth's CBD is a lesson in quiet sophistication
While the menu includes wagyu, snow crab and other luxury items, it's the humbler dishes that leave the biggest impression. Previous SlideNext Slide Every pocket of Tokyo has its claims to fame. Shibuya has the scramble crossing. Shinjuku houses the planet's busiest train station. Harajuku is legendary for out-there fashion. Ginza, meanwhile, epitomises Japanese worldliness and luxury. Translating to 'silver mint' in Japanese, Ginza is synonymous with the finer things in life. The precinct is home to four Tiffany's boutiques; flagship Japanese department stores boasting more storeys than most Perth hotels; plus 29 Michelin-starred restaurants, including two of the capital's fabled three-starred dining rooms. In short, if you harboured aspirations to open an ambitious Japanese eatery, Ginza would be a suitably fancy star to hitch one's wagon to, even if the said eatery is found halfway down a dark alley. Welcome to Ginza Midai, one of the five venues inside the Japanese food Disneyland, Ginza Nana Alley. Pulling back the restaurant's mustard noren curtain reveals a sparse, tightly packed room built around a blonde timber counter with a dozen seats ringing an open kitchen. (And I do mean tightly packed. Getting in and out of your chair requires similar levels of neighbourly co-operation as going to the toilet on a plane.) But just as it is in-flight, the wisest play is to stay seated and try holding it in: you won't want to miss a moment of chef Midai Hatakeyama's nightly performances. Both Hatekeyama and Ginza Midai are about kappo cuisine: a school of Japanese cookery where items are prepared to order and served in a cosy, intimate setting for maximum theatre, interactivity and – most pleasingly in a time where pre-prepared, room-temperature food is gaining in popularity – flavour. At one end of the kitchen is a gas stove crowded with pots, pans and a konro grill fuelled by Japanese binchotan charcoal. At the other is baby-faced Hatekayama, his slender yanagiba knife in hand, carefully slicing and preparing dishes for guests. Dishes such as the minor miracle that is Kyoto-style freshwater eel: a seasonal wonder in which the creature's luscious flesh is 'minced' via intricate knifework, then patiently grilled till it blooms like a flower. Fresh eel is rare in these parts – most eel served at Perth Japanese restaurants is frozen – and the unexpected offer of an add-it-yourself shaker of black chilli powder fizzing with sancho pepper underscores that buzz of discovery. Unsurprisingly, seafood features prominently with the restaurant serving both Japanese and Australian fish. Of course, there's sashimi and sushi, although the former only comes as a five-fish platter that might include fat, rosy hunks of tuna and squares of squid, quickly scored for tenderness and quickly charred. The solitary sushi option features fatty Japanese black bonito pressed atop vinegared rice and served with strips of nori for diners to assemble their own onigiri. Meticulously handled seafood, naturally, comes at a cost: sashimi will set you back $88 while the sushi is $56 for two pieces. The price tags attached to the snow crab, wagyu and other high-end proteins may also stop diners in their tracks, although it's worth noting that dishes are designed to be shared between two. But while luxury ingredients chime with the special occasion aspirations of the restaurant, it's the kitchen's work with humbler foodstuffs that denotes Ginza Midai as an operation of real substance. The way that sweet, simmered conger eel celebrates the airiness of whipped potato and smoked daikon salad. Or the haunting, oceanic funk of chewy buckwheat noodles blanketed by an orange snowdrift of finely grated karasumi: salted mullet roe and Japan's answer to Italy's bottarga. Slow-cooking beef tendon in stock, sake and soy sauce renders the bovine offcut into an unctuous joy made even more memorable by its accompanying bowl of glossy potato loosened with butter and dashi: a starchy delight that's half mash, half puree. But perhaps the most compelling of Midai-san's rags-to-riches cooking is his oden: a Japanese hotpot starring ingredients slowly simmered in broth. In Japan, our man spent years at a specialist oden restaurant specialising in Kyoto-style oden: a lighter soup base than the darker, soy-heavy version served at Tokyo oden restaurants and konbini stores. It's this savoury fish and chicken broth that underpins Ginza Midai's choose-your-own oden adventure where guests can revel in soft-yolked eggs, crumbly chicken meatballs and chubby chunks of daikon cooked till just-so, lolling in said soup. When was the last time a radish rocked your food universe? Among the minor criticisms I noted about dinner at Ginza Midai – I'd love to see the uneven, albeit well-intentioned service sharpened – my main gripe was with the dining format. In Perth, it's almost expected that a setting like this would offer omakase or set menu dining, especially considering the breadth of the menu. While Yuso Hirose – Ginza Nana Alley's operations manager – says that management may consider set menus in future, they're sticking to their guns for now. 'We know that doing a la carte is harder and it'd be easier for preparation and waste if we did omakase,' says Hirose. 'But we want people to be able to choose what they want to eat and drink and maybe check out some of the other venues while they're here. As long as they're happy with that, then we're happy to keep doing it this way.' In an era where some restaurants ask diners to fit into their machine, this sentiment is a reminder that giving guests the luxury of choice remains a vital part of hospitality.
