When a restaurant is so popular you have to reserve as much as a month in advance, there's always a concern it may not live up to all the anticipation. But no need to worry at Mimosa, when you (eventually) get to your table there.

Chef Toshiro Minami already had a strong fan base well before he opened Mimosa last July. That's not surprising, given his pedigree as the man behind the wok for almost seven years at Chef's, the legendary (and still very much alive) Chinese restaurant in backstreet Shinjuku Gyoenmae.

But the main reason why tables at Minami's compact second-floor premises are still in such hot demand is because he's serving some of the most satisfying Shanghai food in Tokyo. Just as at Chef's, his cooking is authentic in its seasonings and infused with a Japanese lightness of touch. But here at Mimosa he has taken this approach to the next level.