RICE NOODLE FISH: Deep Travels Through Japan's Food Culture

This is a fabulous book for all lovers of real japanese cuisine. Not for the fainthearted visitors of supermarket sushi dipped into tons of soy sauce. teh arite has a deep knowledge and understanding of the japanese way of cooking. Brilliantly written, very informative and it wants to make you buy a plane ticket and visit all the incredible restaurants. Domo arigato

I first fell in love with Roads and Kingdoms back in early 2012, after randomly stumbling on a tweet linking to co-founders Nathan Thornburgh and Matt Goulding’s rough and tumble, yet mesmerizingly written and incredibly well-informed adventures in Myanmar. Roads and Kingdoms then was a heady cocktail of cuisine, cultural commentary, history and geopolitical reflections all wrapped up in what seemed like an online journal of two experienced, savvy travelers who nevertheless have not lost their sense of infectious awe and insatiable curiosity at the world. Fast forward several years later, and they’ve released their first book in tandem with the sensei of all culinary wanderers, Anthony Bourdain – Rice, Noodle, Fish, a meticulously curated pilgrimage through Japanese cuisine (arguably the best in the world) as written by Matt and as edited by Nathan. It’s a book that crystallizes the best qualities of what makes Roads and Kingdoms peerless in the world of digital journalism. It is quite simply a marvel of a book, one that food enthusiasts will devour in one sitting. Thoughtfully conceptualized, each chapter focuses on a key Japanese city and paints detailed profiles of some of the culinary artisans (shokunins) which make that particular city’s food so indelibly great. Matt Goulding’s writing, as it is on Roads and Kingdoms, is impressively specific and evocative, a smart, inclusive voice that is as much experienced guide as warmly approachable barstool (or more appropriately teppan counter stool) companero. So who is Rice, Noodle, Fish for? I think it’s for us readers who are not just attracted by the sensory descriptions of cuisine, however passionately and vividly written, but more importantly are curious and concerned about the cultural context behind it. In the Hiroshima chapter for example, he writes impeccably about the complicated flavors and textures of okonomiyaki, but also deftly weaves a multi-threaded fabric of the resilience of Hiroshima’s citizens, the nuances of Japanese immigration, and the sadness of a history that can’t be erased. The Kyoto chapter is as much about the wondrous kaiseki meals he partook of as it is about a food scene that intricately and subtly co-mingles iron-clad social traditions and small, restless jabs at change and contemporaneity. Rice, Noodle, Fish is exhilarating reading, packed with information and pleasurable prose, clearly communicating that behind every gorgeous Instagram photo of sushi or ramen or chawanmushi is the cultural weight of the society that bore them.

This book is brilliant. The author is a true food nut, and where else is better to be nuttier about food than Japan? He really brings the place, people and flavours to life. Well written, captivating and colourful. His enthusiasm is infectious. This book can cure vegetarianism. 100% of fact. Actually, no, I made that bit up. Never a truer word was spoken, when he says that if you get a group of chefs around a table and ask them if they could only choose one cuisine to eat for the rest of their lives, all of them, without exception, will say Japanese cuisine. This book explains why.

brilliant book by a terrific writer. not just one of the best books about the wonders of japanese cuisine, but also one of the best books about the wonders of japan. and an amazing guidebook too. a matt goulding trifecta!

Mi è piaciuto molto, è scritto bene e intrattiene il lettore come un romanzo. Sembra di viaggiare in Giappone e di essere dentro i migliori ristoranti.