Isetan Shinjuku will be hosting an "Italian Exhibition" from September 30th, showcasing the latest Italian cuisine. The main venue, the event hall on the 6th floor of the main building, will have a dining area where customers can enjoy the dishes on the spot. The exhibition will run until October 5th.
The highlight of the main venue will be the shining golden saffron risotto. This risotto was created by Matsumoto Yoshihide, former executive chef of the renowned Milan restaurant "D'o," which is so popular that reservations are booked up six months in advance. He created this risotto based on a memorable dish he had with his mentor, Davide Oldani, and has incorporated it with a nostalgic Milanese touch. Incidentally, Milanese saffron risotto is said to have originated in the 16th century, when a glass craftsman with a love of yellow added saffron to risotto at a wedding, resulting in a golden finish that was met with rave reviews.
Served with this risotto is tripe by Yuzuru Sato, owner and chef of Trattoria BiCOLORE Yokohama. Tripe is a stewed dish made with beef tripe and other ingredients, similar to "motsu stew" in Japan. His green tripe is made by simmering fresh tripe in white wine and tossing it with basil pesto, resulting in a rich yet refreshing flavor. This risotto and tripe set, known as "Green Tripe & Milanese Risotto with Salsiccia" (2,750 yen), is available for eat-in and features a golden and refreshing green color.
Also worth checking out is Da Gaetano in Fukuoka, the only restaurant in the world that has been granted a branch by DA GAETANO, one of the most famous restaurants in Naples, the birthplace of pizza. The two Da Gaetano restaurants will be selling their first canzone-style pizzas (2,400 yen) at the venue.
You'll also want to check out the panino, created by Sadler, the owner and chef of a two-star restaurant in Milan. Panino is a street food made with toppings sandwiched between bread. In Italy, it's popular among businessmen as a quick lunch. The restaurant will also be selling a panino (1,668 yen) featuring grilled autumn eggplant and roast beef on frisella, a traditional crispy bread from Puglia.
Finally, we'll be introducing gelato. A special flavored gelato (548 yen) was created by Ayasuke Mogaki of ACQUOLINA, located in Yutenji, Tokyo, and Alice Vignoli, a judge at the World Gelato Competition. Using mainly Italian ingredients, the store will offer around 17 different flavors each day, such as Zabaione and pistachio, all freshly made in the on-site gelato machine.
In addition to the main venue, the store will also be showcasing Italian living goods and fashion items on each floor of the main building and men's building until October 14th, under the title "Italian Week."
