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A review by mandaleigh
The Restaurant of Lost Recipes by Hisashi Kashiwai
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This is one of those book where I feel like I'm not smart enough to understand it. It's fine, but repetitive. After skimming other reviews, I realize this is a sequel which I didn't know when I grabbed it from the library.
Someone comes to this small diner off the beaten path of Kyoto and wants the chef to recreate a food dish from their past. Their reasons vary from wanting to move on from guilt or a hard time, relive a moment of glory, or because they think maybe this dish would provide guidance while they're at a crossroad of life.
The chef and his daughter (who runs the "food detective agency" of the diner) gather information from their clients and set off to recreate the dish in two weeks time. (Yes, always two weeks later.) All the food detective business happens off page only to be summarized/explained when the client returns to try the food, which is always a perfect recreation. The clients leave having learned something about themselves and are told to pay whatever they feel is fair to some mysterious bank account on a piece of paper.
The food descriptions sound decident and delicious, though I'm not sure I'd pick them from a menu myself. I felt like the chef put down his daughter a lot, criticizing her needlessly, making comments about her being unmarried, even slowing him down on the final food detective field trip. Since it is a translated work, perhaps the humor gets lost?
I was drawn in by the adorable, colorful cover and the want to challenge myself in a way to read more translated work. Sorry to say I feel this one missed the mark. There is an audience for this I'm sure, but it isn't me.
Someone comes to this small diner off the beaten path of Kyoto and wants the chef to recreate a food dish from their past. Their reasons vary from wanting to move on from guilt or a hard time, relive a moment of glory, or because they think maybe this dish would provide guidance while they're at a crossroad of life.
The chef and his daughter (who runs the "food detective agency" of the diner) gather information from their clients and set off to recreate the dish in two weeks time. (Yes, always two weeks later.) All the food detective business happens off page only to be summarized/explained when the client returns to try the food, which is always a perfect recreation. The clients leave having learned something about themselves and are told to pay whatever they feel is fair to some mysterious bank account on a piece of paper.
The food descriptions sound decident and delicious, though I'm not sure I'd pick them from a menu myself. I felt like the chef put down his daughter a lot, criticizing her needlessly, making comments about her being unmarried, even slowing him down on the final food detective field trip. Since it is a translated work, perhaps the humor gets lost?
I was drawn in by the adorable, colorful cover and the want to challenge myself in a way to read more translated work. Sorry to say I feel this one missed the mark. There is an audience for this I'm sure, but it isn't me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent