You don't get to become a successful restaurateur without knowing exactly what it is that people want. As the man behind the Acquapazza and Mangia Pesce stable of ristoranti, chef Yoshimi Hidaka helped to define the new high-end Italian cucina of the cash-flush 1990s. Now he shows he is equally in tune with the more parsimonious, light-eating, health-conscious values of the new decade.
Case in point: lunch at Acquavino, Hidaka's latest venture down at the far end of Hiroo's friendly little shotengai shopping street. The main constituent of the one-dish special menu -- known as the piatto unico -- is not butter-rich, tomato-infused risotto but simple, natural brown rice.
Granted, this is very different from the kind of heavy, chewy grain most of us associate with earnest health-food eateries. In fact, it is likely to be the tastiest genmai you have ever eaten. Cooked together with a sprinkling of wild rice, small brown lentils and golden chickpeas, it is not just attractive to look at, it has a bright, nutty aroma that is wholesome and appetizing.