ER
THE Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo which located in Shinjuku, Tokyo, has been offering “osechi,” a traditional Japanese New Year’s dish which is an assortment of small dishes arranged in tiered ware boxes.
According to Keiko Kawashima, PR Manager hotel said this year’s osechi dishes are prepared under the supervision of French cuisine executive chef, Chinese cuisine chef, and Japanese cuisine chef. Various kinds of carefully and beautifully prepared foods are served in multi-tiered boxes.
“Most dishes in osechi are cooked in order to be preserved for at least three days. This is because it was believed that Toshigami (god celebrated at the beginning of New Year) comes and stays in our house in first three days of January and we should not use kitchen during that period,” she said.
Keiko Kawashima mentioned that also, each dish has meaning, and is part of celebrating the New Year and has some auspicious meaning which reflects people’s wishes. For example, “kuro-mame,” sweet simmered black beans, are for diligence as “mame” means diligent. And “kazunoko,” herring roe, represents fertility.
“Overseas visitors from over 100 different countries account for about 77% of all guests staying at the Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo. The authentic food experience is designed to disseminate various aspects of Japanese culture to those guests,” Keiko added. [traveltext.id]
