INTERSECT BY LEXUS – TOKYO presents a special menu adapted from recipes in the Dining Inside project, in which chefs around Japan create dishes using local ingredients.

This project is a spin-off from Dining Out, the premium experiential outdoor event that showcases the remarkable character of regions around Japan through food for a few days only. Dining Inside emerged from a desire by LEXUS, having supported the project for several years, to share examples of the charms of regional Japan, which is needed now more than ever when we find ourselves unable to travel or meet other people. The project is available on a special section of the LEXUS website, featuring comments from the top chefs reflecting on the local manufacturers and growers with whom they worked for Dining Out, alongside the newly chosen ingredients and recipes.

The first set of recipes by four chefs at prominent restaurants are introduced through videos, while the second set of recipes by eleven chefs from around Japan are showcased through photos and text. All of the recipes convey a strong sense of the bonds the chefs have developed with local manufacturers and growers. Since some of the ingredients can also be purchased online, Dining Inside helps people cook the dishes for themselves and bring the tastes of regional Japan into their homes.

Available for a limited time only, INTERSECT BY LEXUS – TOKYO now takes inspiration from the Dining Inside project to present two dishes selected from the first four recipes: Basket Clams and Wild Vegetables Chilled Soup by abysse’s Kotaro Meguro; and GohGan Special Keema Curry by Tsuyoshi Fukuyama of La Maison de la Nature Goh.

Enjoy these incredible dishes in Tokyo while imagining the next places you want to visit and the local food you want to try.

Aomori Prefecture: Basket Clams and Wild Vegetables Chilled Soup 900 yen (incl. tax)
Emerging from the coronavirus pandemic and encapsulating the various charms of Aomori in the far north of Japan, this is an ideal fish soup for the summer season. With basket clam juices for its base, the soup’s local apple cider gives it a sharp taste that whets the appetite.

Kotaro Meguro
Chef at abysse
Kotaro Meguro is the chef who handled the Dining Out Aomori-Asamushi event in 2019. Known for his use of the very finest types of fish caught in Japan and his focus on French-style fish dishes, his restaurant has been awarded a Michelin star for five consecutive years since it opened.

“My recipe is something I created to show my gratitude to locals after the Dining Out event. Inspired by the ingredients I discovered in Aomori, this dish only exists because I went to the prefecture.”

Kanesho Mature Apple Cider Vinegar
This cider vinegar made with mature apples was much praised when it was used at the Dining Out event by chef Kotaro Meguro. Using 100% fully ripe apples from the Tsugaru district of Aomori Prefecture, the peel is left on when the fruit is crushed and pressed to prepare the vinegar.

abysse
Ebisu Hills 1F, 1-30-12 Ebisu-Nishi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Kanesho
15-23 Kuranushicho, Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture

Fukuoka Prefecture: GohGan Special Keema Curry 1,100 yen (incl. tax)
Notwithstanding the coronavirus pandemic’s travel ban, this keema curry is a collaboration between Fukuyama and a friend overseas. It features three types of spices and no curry powder, while the meat is a local type of pork from pigs raised on a diet of peaches.

Takeshi Fukuyama
Chef at La Maison de la Nature Goh
Takeshi Fukuyama was the chef who oversaw the food at Dining Out Ryukyu-Uruma in 2019, alongside the Bangkok-based Indian chef Gaggan Anand. Fukuyama is the owner of La Maison de la Nature Goh, a renowned restaurant in Fukuoka that was the first in Kyushu to be selected as one of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants by William Reed Business Media.

“There are two key components to this dish: firstly, the use of three types of spices; secondly, using the peach pork. In this pork, the umami is really strong and this enhances the flavor of the keema. The coronavirus has made things very difficult for manufacturers and growers, so I was delighted that we could share ideas to overcome the crisis together.”

Riverwild Peach Pork
“I feel such gratitude for the care with which Takeshi Fukuyama has used our pork. While all we can do is keep on raising our pigs, it is our earnest hope to see diners smile when they enjoy the pork.”

La Maison de la Nature Goh
2-26 Nishi-Nakasu, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture

Riverwild
2-572 Yoshiimachi Tachibanada , Ukiha City, Fukuoka Prefecture

Dining Out (Japanese only): a premium outdoor restaurant experience, held each time at a stunning Japanese location for a few days only
https://lexus.jp/brand/dining_out/