Saido　is a vegan restaurant that opened in Jiyugaoka, Tokyo, in September 2018. Just a year after opening, it was awarded first place on “Happy Cow,” a website introducing vegan and vegetarian restaurants worldwide. It is now the World’s best vegan restaurant. They also offer a Halal menu.

About 1 billion vegans/vegetarians and 2 billion Muslims are living in the world. With more vegan and Muslim people coming to Japan, the demand for suitable eateries is increasing. This is because we have few vegan or Muslim eateries in Japan.

Mr. Kusumoto, Chief Chef at Saido, studied Muslim and Haral food to cater to Muslim people. First, he served Japanese cuisine without pork and alcohol, but it was not well accepted.

After many trials and errors, he developed a new interpretation of Japanese food. This interpretation could be enjoyed by Muslims or vegans/vegetarians. For example, he used a spicy flavor that would never be used in Japanese cuisine.

He realized that everyone would love Japanese cuisine. It had been designated an intangible cultural asset. However, some tricks would be needed to make it acceptable to Muslims.

Since then, he has tried “Umami” without using meat or fish. He realized that it is possible to create “umami” flavor from dried mushrooms, tomatoes, vegetable seeds, vegetable skins, etc.

The three of us ordered different menus and were impressed by their presentation and the food’s taste. When we opened the glass bowl, smoke or mist came out on the table—a pleasant surprise!

Yuki had “Unaju (grilled eel on rice).” A grilled eel looks like an eel. Atsuko had ramen, and I had a “Tricolor rice bowl with minced chicken meat and egg.” Chicken and scrambled eggs on rice are made from beans or something else. The lady in the restaurant said that it is a secret menu.

They offer a combo platter featuring a main of your choice of noodle dish, rice bowl, or curry soup. Desserts and liqueurs can be added for a full-on experience.

Saido does not use animal products such as meat or seafood. It avoids chemical additives and refined sugar. The recipes also exclude the five pungent roots.

We all agreed that the food was beautifully presented, healthy, and tasty.

***

Lunch: JPY2,000

SAIDO

Address:  Meguro-ku, Jiyugaoka, 2-chome. 15–10

Tokyo, Japan

Telephone: +81-357269500