Az/Bifun Azuma Osaka

The easy-going Chinese restaurant landed in the antique town of Nishitenma in 2011 and sports a dual personality that switches between night and day. At lunch, it operates as Bifun Azuma, which carries the 60-year-old legacy of its predecessor’s signature Chinese chimaki and the fried rice vermicelli noodles. In the evening, the establishment changes to “Az” and threads on new waters by bringing cuisine hailed from China to Europe. The two alphabet letters, symbolizing both the beginning and the end, embody the chef’s aspiration to craft dishes that traverse the entire Euro-Asian continent from end to end, merging regional cooking in each country with Chinese cuisine. A la carte options like salmon roe marinated in Shaoxing wine and parboiled lettuce with Cantonese soy sauce might make way for a confident lineup of dim sum. Seasonal spring rolls with scallops and dumplings packed with refreshing spring chrysanthemum, along with the shumai topped with Shanghai crab sauce, are among the many surprises underpinning Az. Michelin Guide accolades: 2024 - Bib Gourmand