Cantonese food in Tokyo: You know it makes Sense

When Kenichi Takase, chef de cuisine at the Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant Sense, seeks culinary inspiration, he packs his bags and heads straight for Hong Kong. Takase has traveled throughout the southern Chinese province of Guangzhou more than 50 times since beginning his career as a chef. After a few weeks of training in Chinese kitchens and researching new ingredients, he returns to Tokyo with a renewed passion for Cantonese food. 

There’s still so much to discover, he says, about this infinitely varied culinary tradition. With a history that spans thousands of years, Cantonese cuisine is one of the oldest in the world. 

Takase takes a fresh approach to this ancient cuisine and delivers dishes that are both authentic in flavor and contemporary in feel. At Sense, tradition and innovation sit comfortably together at the same table. On the weekends, dim sum brunch offers classically prepared steamed dumplings -- jade-colored crescents stuffed with mushrooms and bitter greens, pork and shrimp purses topped with miniature shiitake mushrooms, har gow filled with fresh, sweet shrimp -- alongside a vibrant, Thai-inspired chicken and tofu salad, decadently rich wagyu beef soup-filled dumplings and irresistibly flaky ginger-infused crab puffs. 

A blend of culinary health and hedonism 

“I try to put things together in ways that have never been done before,” he says. “My dishes are based on Cantonese recipes, but I mix in elements of Japanese, Singaporean, Malay and Thai cuisines.”

Soups are of particular importance in Chinese cooking, and Takase’s elegant soup dishes reflect the Cantonese philosophy of balancing health and hedonism. A prawn wonton soup luxuriously accented with shrimp roe is light and delicate, while a soup of ginko nuts floating in clear broth tastes salubriously of Chinese herbs.

“Instead of relying on Western medicine when they get sick, Cantonese people think about the kind of food they should eat to get well,’” he explains.

To celebrate the restaurant’s fifth anniversary, Takase has created a special wine-pairing menu featuring crispy fried lobster drizzled with mango mayonnaise, sautéed seafood and greens sprinkled with Tabara crab and Japanese beef with vegetables in a smoky black bean sauce.

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