A quest for the ultimate menu! R to L (Japanese Style). "The Joy of Rice" In this volume of Oishinbo, Yamaoka and company look into the single most essential food in Japanese cuisine: rice. Cultivated for millennia, a staple meal in itself and the basis of countless other dishes, rice is an important component not only of the Japanese kitchen but also of Japanese culture. When Yamaoka is asked by TMzai's head chef for help in coming up with a new rice dish, what starts out as a simple culinary request rapidly grows into a disquisition into the past, present and future of Japan's food culture. As part of the celebrations for its 100th anniversary, the publishers of the TMzai News have commissioned the creation of the "Ultimate Menu," a model meal embodying the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. This all-important task has been entrusted to journalist Yamaoka ShirM, an inveterate cynic who possesses no initiative--but also an incredibly refined palate and an encyclopedic knowledge of food. Each volume of Oishinbo follows Yamaoka and his colleagues through another adventure on their quest for the Ultimate Menu. Now, the highlights from the hundred-plus volume series have been selected and compiled into A la Carte editions: bite-sized chunks of story arranged by subject that add up to a full-course manga meal!
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Manga writer and essayist extraordinaire Tetsu Kariya graduated from prestigious Tokyo University. Kariya was employed with a major advertising agency before making his debut as a manga writer in 1974 when he teamed up with legendary manga artist Ryoichi Ikegami to create Otoko Gumi (Male Gang). The worlds of food and manga were forever changed in 1983 when Kariya, together with artist Akira Hanasaki, created the immensely popular and critically acclaimed Oishinbo.
Akira Hanasaki is the manga artist for the culturally significant series Oishinbo, which has been continuously serialized in Big Comic Spirits since 1983. Kariya and Hanasaki won the 32nd Shogakukan Manga Award in 1987 for Oishinbo.
Akira Hanasaki is the manga artist for the culturally significant series Oishinbo, which has been continuously serialized in Big Comic Spirits since 1983. Kariya and Hanasaki won the 32nd Shogakukan Manga Award in 1987 for Oishinbo.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Manga writer and essayist extraordinaire Tetsu Kariya graduated from prestigious Tokyo University. Kariya was employed with a major advertising agency before making his debut as a manga writer in 1974 when he teamed up with legendary manga artist Ryoichi Ikegami to create Otoko Gumi (Male Gang). The worlds of food and manga were forever changed in 1983 when Kariya, together with artist Akira Hanasaki, created the immensely popular and critically acclaimed Oishinbo.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
OISHINBO A la Carte - The Joy of Rice" is another enjoyable release and features Japan's rich history of rice,
By
This review is from: Oishinbo: The Joy of Rice: A la Carte (Oishinbo: a la Carte) (Paperback)
The long running manga "Oishinbo" (which means "The Gourmet") is a popular best-selling manga series published by Shogakukan which has been ongoing since 1983. The series have sold 1.2 million copies per volume annually and have sold more than 100 million volumes as of Jan. 2009.
Written by Tetsu Kariya and art by Akira Hanasaki, the series has won multiple awards and has had a successful anime TV series run from 1988 through 1992. And now the series is being released in the United States from Viz Media through their Viz Signature. Because there have been so many volumes, Viz has selected chapters from the popular manga and will separate each volume release by cuisine topic. So, far the following manga been released: * Oishinbo A la Carte - The making of food, beverages and utensils * Oishinbo - Sake * Oishinbo A la Carte - Ramen & Gyoza * Oishinbo A la Carte - Fish, Sushi and Sashimi * Oishinbo A la Carte - Vegetables "Oishinbo" revolves around the employees of the newspaper Tozai News with its employees commissioned to create the "Ultimate Menu", a model meal that embodies the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. Both Shiro Yamaoka and Yuko Kurita are in charge of the project and throughout each chapter, the series is broken down to several types of dishes or food related items and how each dish is created. Meanwhile, his father, who Shiro has had an estranged relationship for years after his mother's death, the world renown founder and director of prestigious Gourmet Club and Japanese pottery creator, Kaibara Yuzan heads the "Supreme Menu" for a rival newspaper. So, both Shiro and his father are known to butt heads many times. With Kaibara looking at his son as a person with a lacking knowledge of cuisine but Shiro, never to stand down against his father, proving that he knows more than his father thinks. For this latest volume of "OISHINBO A la Carte", the stories are broken up in chapters that relate to rice. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each chapter: 1. Recipe: Scallop Rice - Featured in one of the stories of this volume, a recipe featuring photos (in color) of how to prepare scallop rice. 2. FIRST COURSE - A Remarkable Mediocrity - An earlier story featuring Kyogoku Mantaro (The wealthy businessman), as Tozai news tries to get the millionaire to lend his Renoir for the Impressionist Art Exhibition through food but accidentally offending him. Can Yamaoka win him back? 3. SECOND COURSE - Brown Rice vs. White Rice (Part One) - A group of the judo women's team must incorporate brown rice into their diet but they dislike it. 4. SECOND COURSE - Brown Rice vs. White Rice (Part Two) - Yamaoka must show Takeko Miyamoto, supervisor of the Buiku Women's College Judo Team of why their version of brown rice is not good. 5. THIRD COURSE - LIVE RICE - Yamaoka try to help Arakawa-san how to cook rice (using a rice mill) to please her boyfriend's mother. 6. FOURTH COURSE - Companions of Rice - Yamaoka must convince the deputy prime minister why they should not import rice to Japan. 7. FIFTH COURSE - The Matsutake Rice of the Sea - Mantaro has a bet with his friend/rival on who can cook the best Matsutake rice but something bad happens to his friend. 8. Oishinbo Day-by-Day - Tetsuya Kariya talks about the act of eating rice and comparisons of Japan, Chinese and South Korea when it comes to eating certain food with rice. 9. SIXTH COURSE - No Mixing - Tozai News chef and employees want to include mixed rice into the menu but the publisher Oharo Daizo is against it. 10. SEVENTH COURSE - The Season for Oysters - Yamaoka must prove to his boss why oysters are better in the Summer and also learning of scallops with rice. 11. EIGHTH COURSE - Rice Ball Match (Part One) - The Ultimate Menu (Tozai News) challenges the Supreme Menu (Teito Times) in a rice ball competition. 12. EIGHTH COURSE - Rice Ball Match (Part Two) - The Ultimate Menu (Tozai News) showcases their rice ball recipes to the judges. 13. EIGHTH COURSE - Rice Ball Match (Part Three) - The Supreme Menu (Teito Times) showcases their rice ball to the judges. Also, included at the end of the main chapters is a "Notes on the Text" which explains certain panels and meaning of certain Japanese words. JUDGMENT CALL: I absolutely love "OISHINBO A la Carte". Any fans of Japanese cuisine can also read this manga and just be amazed of how enjoyable, how witty, how smart each story is written. Not only are the readers engrossed by the characters, especially the rivalry between Shiro and his father Kaibara Yuzan, you really learn about the Japanese perspective of cuisine and also preparation. With "OISHINBO A la Carte - The Joy of Rice", this latest volume is quite interesting as in previous volumes, there was more focus on competitions between Tozai News (Ultimate Menu) versus Teito Times (Supreme Menu). But in this volume, with rice being so important in the Japanese diet, there is more focus on the history of rice in Japan and its importance. We get to learn about Yamaoka and Japanese who worry about importation of rice, we learn about the differences between short-grain and long-grain rice and also how the environment is hurting certain ingredients that Japanese loved with rice but is now becoming rare in today's society. The latest volume of "Oishinbo A la Carte" was once again enjoyable. Just to remind everyone that because the manga series has been around since 1983, there was just no way the complete series could be released in the US. So, Viz Media chose to separate each volume based on a food item/ingredient or beverage. So, you do miss out on the romantic storyline but nevertheless, the focus is on the food and for the most part, each volume is informative, educational and also very enjoyable to read. Overall, each volume of "OISHINBO A la Carte" has been magnificent and this latest volume is just as enjoyable as the previous releases. Highly recommended!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best one of the series so far,
By Lady Maxwell (NY, NY) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Oishinbo: The Joy of Rice: A la Carte (Oishinbo: a la Carte) (Paperback)
I stumbled upon Oishinbo in the neighborhood comic bookstore. The first two Oishinbo volumes I purchased were the Sashimi volume and the Vegetable volume. I liked them so much that I started collecting them all. They are not only fun to read, but they are also very informative. Plus, it makes me really understand Japanese food which makes it even more enjoyable when I eat it.
The Oishinbo Rice volume is the newest of the series and my current favorite. I grew up eating rice regularly, but it never occurred to me how much you can do with rice. Maybe it's because I can't cook, but I was really impressed with all the recipes and all the explanations for the rice dishes created in this volume. This is my favorite volume of the series so far, it left me hungry after every story... but it was worth it.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun and Educational,
By Mika Ono "author of Ancient Wisdom, Modern Ki... (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Oishinbo: The Joy of Rice: A la Carte (Oishinbo: a la Carte) (Paperback)
This is such a fun book! Our hero, newspaper reporter Yamaoka Shiro, continues his adventures in the Oishinbo series, this time helping his friends, irritating his colleagues, and challenging his father the grand chef in episodes themed around rice--a topic close to the Japanese heart and essential to its distinctive cuisine. We learn about how the grains' moisture content affects the cooked dish, the importance of true organic farming for brown rice, and the glory of rice balls in their many incarnations. All this while we surrender to the drama created by characters who take their food seriously and laugh at Yamaoka's misadventures playfully illustrated in a manga cartoon format. It's easy to see why the Oishinbo series rose to fame in Japan and it's a pleasure to see it cross the Pacific Ocean to North America.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
