Spotlight on PABU, a Culinary Partner of our New Year’s Celebration on Jan. 8
The San Francisco Japantown Foundation’s special New Year’s Celebration on January 8, 2015, will feature osechi ryori, the traditional food and presentation prepared to celebrate the New Year. Because of the complex preparation required for the dishes, we’ve partnered with several restaurants to provide our guests with the most authentic experience possible.
One of these restaurants is PABU San Francisco, which opened in the summer of 2014 as a partnership between Chef Ken Tominaga (left in above photo) and star restauranteur Michael Minna (photo, right). Located in the Financial District, "PABU combines rustic, old-world Japanese charm with modern, urban sophistication to create a dynamic, social dining experience."
With PABU, Chef Tominaga and Minna are executing a modern take on traditional Izakaya-style dining and the restaurant has already been showered with rave reviews. Food critic Michael Bauer put PABU on his short list of the Best New Restaurants in 2014.
Chef Tominaga attended the Akasaka Cooking School in Tokyo. He studied the craft of sushi masters and adapted their recipes to reflect his personal style while staying true to Japanese tradition. He made his mark on the Bay Area food scene as owner of Hana Japanese Restaurant in Sonoma.
PABU and Chef Tominaga's contribution to the osechi ryori will be a dish involving buri, or grilled yellowtail. In osechi ryori, grilled fish are exquisitely presented in addition to preserved vegetables. All are prepared to be eaten at room temperature, and can be kept for several days without refrigeration. These morsels are tightly packed into exquisite lacquer boxes called jubako. In the original and classic fashion of small plates, osechi ryori offers tastings of a large variety of dishes–each with its own meaning and a definitive hold on every aspect of the flavor profile.
The San Francisco Japantown Foundation expresses our deep appreciation to Chef Tominaga and PABU General Manager Anthony Kinn for partnering with us on our New Year's celebration.
The public is invited to join us and experience the traditional Japanese New Year dining experience of osechi ryori on January 8 at the Hotel Kabuki. More event information and tickets are available online.
