The best selling and most beloved food manga of all time As part of the celebrations for its 100th anniversary the publishers of the Tozai News have commissioned the creation of the Ultimate Menu a model meal embodying the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. This allimportant task has been entrusted to journalist Yamaoka Shiro an inveterate cynic who possesses no initiativebut also an incredibly refined palate and an encyclopedic knowledge of food. In this volume of Oishinbo Yamaoka and company look into the single most essential food in Japanese cuisine rice. Cultivated for millennia a staple meal in itself and the basis of countless other dishes rice is an important component not only of the Japanese kitchen but also of Japanese culture. When Yamaoka is asked by Tozais head chef for help in coming up with a new rice dish what starts out as a simple culinary request rapidly grows into a disquisition into the past present and future of Japans food culture. show more