Photos courtesy of Soho

Maki Nibayashi caught up with Roy Yamaguchi on one of his recent trips to Tokyo - he has been based in Hawaii for 12 years - and found a chef who is still in the mood for food.

For the last 20 years Roy Yamaguchi, owner of restaurants across Japan and the US, has cultured a distinctive "Euro-Asian" cuisine that he calls "Roy' Way." Born and raised in Japan, the itinerant Yamaguchi has spent a lot of time in Hawaii, and in recent years has traveled extensively around Asia imbibing the culinary traditions of China, Thailand and Malaysia.

The "Euro" side of his culinary repertoire began with his training at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and continued with work at several of California's cutting-edge dining establishments - at L'Ermitage in West Hollywood, he worked with such acclaimed French chefs as Jean Bertranou, the Troisgros brothers, and Michel Guerard.

Why did you choose to become a chef?
I took home economics in high school because a friend of mine asked me to take the class with him, to meet girls actually. I ended up taking the course for two years, and my school counselor decided that I should pursue a cooking career.

How did you develop your own cooking style?
I think that the most important thing is that you build a foundation. I was fortunate enough to work in a very successful, busy and progressive French restaurant when nouveau cuisine, the lighter French cuisine, was very popular. The chef that I worked for started this trend in LA. When I worked at that restaurant, I knew towards the end that in order for me to be successful I needed to do something that was my own. I was learning French cooking, and no one was doing a blend of Asian and French at this time, which was maybe around 1980, 1981.

How often do you come to Tokyo?
About three or four times a year.

What's your feeling on all these fusion restaurants opening in Tokyo now?
Well, it's always good. Japan is a country of international travelers, and the history of its cooking goes way back. You can't just mix and match everything, but it's interesting to see the influx of foreigners and foreign foods and some fusion activity. It's good.

Do you have a favorite place to eat in this town?
I've been a big fan of Nobu for the last 12 years, maybe even longer. I like noodles so I love ramen, all kinds of ramen. Ebisu is a really good place for it. I also like yakiniku.

Do the menus in your Tokyo restaurants differ from the ones in the States?
All of our menus and restaurants are regional. They change because our chefs, who are very important to our restaurant philosophy, are very creative, and each adds something unique to our restaurants. So sometimes the food might be a little saltier, sweeter, or spicier depending on the location. In some areas of California people don't appreciate spicy foods, so there might be a little more sweetness. In Japan, people tend to prefer more acidic, lighter tastes.

You opened the Bali-Hai restaurant in Tokyo last year. Was there a specific reason for not just opening another Roy's?
Well, there are three Roy's already so we wanted to try something different. While I enjoy eating Malaysian or Thai food, Bali-Hai isn't about creating an authentic Thai or Malaysian restaurant. I believe these flavors go very well with French cooking and wanted to combine these foods while mixing in a little Japanese.

Any side projects?
We are going to start brewing our own sake. To make good sake, you have to get good rice. Sake rice is different from regular rice, and we are using Yamadanishiki, which is grown in California. Our sake is made in Oregon and it's the first sake ever produced in America using the Yamadanishiki rice. We're making the sake to suit the American palate, so it's more like boutique wine. There's really no bitterness and it's not heavy. Sake made in Japan is made by older sake masters and the flavor is geared more towards people who have been making or drinking sake for the past 50 or 60 years. We just launched in February in New York and everyone enjoyed it. It's called Y Sake. We have four different flavors: Wind, Sky, Snow and Earth. One is nigori, so it's unfiltered and white, one is wild ginger, one is drier and one is semi-dry.

What are five essential things you have in your kitchen at all times?
I always like to have salt, pepper, wasabi, mustard and Thai chili sauce.

Do you have a favorite Japanese ingredient?
If I had to pick one, I would pick soy sauce, but I like to use a lot of different things like sansho or shichimi or wasabi. Usually I like to use a combination of ingredients.

Is there any ingredient you're stuck on now?
I like the white celery leaf right now. It's like a lettuce, and I just like to eat it.