London calling

Lovers of Japanese food in London are currently up in arms over a chef preparing a pricey dish round the back of a restaurant and next to some dustbins. A spokesperson for the local council commenting, “While preparing food outside is not strictly against the law certain measures need to be taken to avoid the risk of contamination.”

Yet as the restaurant, cleverly called ‘eat Tokyo’, is supposed to be a supplier of authentic Japanese cuisine, customers and the council alike should learn to stop being so squeamish, especially if it’s the real deal they are after — some blue fin being hacked up in far from hygienic surroundings simply the starting point for faithful fare.

A point perfectly proven at Tokyo’s Shin-Koiwa station last week, as a noodle stand served up its delicate breakfast dish of curry and noodles without knowing that an 8-centimetre-long rat had somehow positioned itself in the pot. The manager of the stall only finding out there was a foreign body in his breakfast broth after the animal got lodged in the ladle when the curry was being stirred; by which time it was already 8:30 a.m. and 18 people had happily wolfed down the hearty treat.

Not one of them making a complaint.