Tokyo convenience store magic

Tim Anderson talks all things Japanese and culinary love letters to the buzzing city

The thing about Tokyo, explains chef Tim Anderson, is that it’s so vertical. “It’s not just that it’s busy on one level, it’s busy in three dimensions - it’s a bonkers city.”

And that applies to the food as much as the architecture, hence why it’s the subject of the London-based, Wisconsinborn restaurateur’s latest cookbook, Tokyo Stories.

There are physical and geographical layers to Tokyo’s food, starting with the eclectic, hi-tech vending machines on the subway; the conbini convenience stores where you can order yakisoba pan (fried noodles in a bun) or rice balls; then the street food, like yakitori (Japanese chicken skewers), tempura and ramen.

Plus there’s Japanese home cooking (“Kitchens in Tokyo are very small. You might just have a microwave and a tworing electric burner,” says Anderson), followed by really fine Japanese dining, high-end stuff like kaiseki (multi-course dinners) and sushi, as well as regional foods you can’t get unless you go to that region (except you can get it in Tokyo).

“I wanted to get the whole range,” says Anderson, who won MasterChef 2011, and who first visited Japan in 2002 after his parents bought him a package tour as a high school graduation present. “I was barely 18, and I remember Tokyo being so crowded and bright and crazy and just with so much going on that I was actually really intimidated by it.” While shooting the book, his photographer dragged him to temples and gardens “and I hardly even knew those were in Tokyo!”

That trip also saw Anderson, who runs Japanese soul food restaurant Nanban in South London, trying to track down specialities particular to the city - which was tough, because it turns out capitals don’t much have them.

His main aim with Tokyo Stories is to convey the diversity of the food available. “You can go to Tokyo, but also go to France,” he explains. “There’s fantastic French food and Parisian bakeries.”

Most intriguing of all perhaps are Japan’s convenience stores, which Anderson says are “very special”. “Sometimes I think they’re my favourite thing about Japan generally,” he adds.

He says it’s down to the fact they are incredibly well run, thanks to a logistics system that means each branch receives multiple deliveries a day, so fresh produce is never sat on the shelf for long.

“And then they’re cooking in there too,” Anderson buzzes, awed. “You can get fried chicken in the convenience store by the way! They take it out of hot cupboards, but they’re cooking throughout the day. They’ve got little fryers out the back, so when they need to top up the fried chicken, they just make it.”

Then there’s steamed buns and vats of dashi bobbing with vegetables, and bottled ice teas in every flavour.

“They’re magical places,” Anderson declares. “I didn’t pack enough underwear, so I went to the convenience store - got underwear! They have everything you need, they’re fantastic.”

Whether you cook from the book or not, Anderson just wants people to know that “Tokyo is just an amazing city”.

“For me,” he muses, “it’s like an emotional thing. There’s nowhere I feel more drawn to. I want to go there all the time - when I think about it, it almost feels like a tugging feeling.”

“It’s a mix of nostalgia,” Anderson adds, “but also the opposite of that, because there’s always something new and exciting.”

Tokyo Stories: A Japanese Cookbook by Tim Anderson, priced £26. Available now.