There must be tens of thousands of Asian restaurants in Belgium.
Of course, they can take many guises, from Chinese and Thai to Vietnamese and Japanese.
So, to be named the best Asian resto in the whole of the country is quite some accolade.
That is exactly what ENISHI by TOSHIRO is able to proudly boast though after being bestowed this prestige title by the Belux branch of that famous culinary bible, Gault&Millau.
At a recent ceremony at Brussels Expo, the restaurant, in Waterloo, was among the major winners of this year’s awards.
The new Gault&Millau edition lists 153 new entries and 166 establishments that have risen in the prestigious listings. They highlighted 1,340 restaurants in Belgium and Luxembourg for its latest listings.
ENISHI by TOSHIRO is named after its owner, Japanese-born Toshiro Fujii who, in fact, arrived in Belgium almost by mistake, having set his heart on moving to live and work in Paris.
At the time, he was just 21 years old and had completed a year at catering school in his native Japan. Wanting to pursue this line of work abroad, France was his first choice but he was deterred by the fact that he did not know anyone there.
Conversely, he had contacts in Belgium so it was this country he headed for instead.
Diners at his fantastic resto in Waterloo must be most grateful that he chose Belgium and not France and it is the fab food he,ably supported by his current assistant Thomas, creates that won him that much sought-after Gault&Millau listing and title.
Rewinding, though, to his arrival in Belgium, Toshiro first worked for a highly renowned Korean-born chef at a 2 star Michelin-listed resto near Namur. Already highly talented, Toshiro really did learn at the feet of one of the masters of his trade in Belgium.
When the time came for Toshiro to branch out and go it alone, he initially looked for a place in Brussels but, failing to find anywhere suitable or affordable came across available premises just outside the centre of Waterloo.
It was an Italian resto at the time but Toshiro refurbished the place and turned it into what it is now: a place for some quite wonderful French-Japanese fusion cuisine.
The relatively modest façade belies what terrificly creative work goes on here and, if you nab a counter seat you can very closely observe some of it.
This is when the food is brought in from the kitchen and Tom, one of Toshiro’s staff, very lovingly and carefully preps it in the dishes and plates.
There are two menus to choose from at present: a 4 course and a 6 course option (preceded by Mise en bouche)
These, currently, consist of Saint-Jacques, tartare de crevettes, Lieu jaune, Ramen, Boeuf Wagyu and, finally, chocolate blanc Gallanga. All are mouth wateringly delicious.
The marvellous menu is, perfectly, accompanied by either three or five cups of sake, the traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage brewed from fermented rice, water, koji mold, and yeast.
The resto will be closing for a refurb and some staff changes from December 21 to January 20 so there is still time to indulge in an early Christmas treat at what must be one of the finest exponents of Franco-Japanese fusion food in Belgium. It seats just 28 people so booking is necessary.
Toshiro himself, when asked what characterises his food, says that he tries to “do something special” and draws on his Japanese roots in order to achieve some remarkable results on the plate.
He uses local producers for much of his supplies although some ingredients and the sake is imported from Japan. Nothing is left to chance and even the butter (made with four peppers) for the bread is a cut above the usual.
Much of the focus for his food is on fish and, given the culinary traditions of Japan, that should not come as much of a surprise.
It was not, Toshiro recalls, until about 150-200 years ago that meat started to really find its way onto the menu in Japan.
That is not to say there is no meat served here of course, as is the case with a particularly fine cut of wagyu, that famous Japanese meat.
Though impressively modest, Toshiro says he is rightly proud of the Gault&Millau Belux accolade but also points out that his restaurant, far from being merely “Asian”, actually specialises in a mix of the best of both Japanese and French food.
With his roots, he is able to bring to bear special Japanese techniques, such as the cutting and cleaning of the fish, to his work and seeks to combine this with a touch of that famous French flamboyancy.
But do not take this from us: check out this great place for yourself to see just how good it is.
ENISHI by TOSHIRO
Chau. de Bruxelles 64, Waterloo
02 683 0381
https://enishi.be/fr
- Photo credit: Gault&Millau
