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Menu of Happiness

About the Book

Menu of Happiness

written by Hisashi Kashiwai, translated by Jesse Kirkwood

A beloved Japanese bestseller, MENU OF HAPPINESS is for fans of BEFORE THE COFFEE GETS COLD and asks the question: What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time?

Every memory has a flavor. A very special restaurant in Kyoto helps find them...

Welcome to the Kamogawa Diner, where every meal is a mystery ready to be solved. This unique establishment is run by a father-daughter duo who offer more than just mouth-watering meals. They act as “food detectives,” delving into the past to produce nostalgia-infused dishes for their hungry clientele.

Among the patrons is a once-renowned pianist whose promising career was marred by a self-inflicted injury. She longs to taste the yakisoba shared with the only man she ever truly loved. The diner also welcomes a man haunted by shadows of regret. His mind is haunted by the memory of gyoza served by the parents of a lover he once jilted, as he seeks understanding and, perhaps, forgiveness.

The Kamogawa Diner doesn’t just serve food --- it recreates forgotten recipes, helping its patrons to revisit memories lost to time. Each dish is a portal to the past, serving not just sustenance but solace and reconnection through the miracle of delicious food.

Menu of Happiness
written by Hisashi Kashiwai, translated by Jesse Kirkwood

  • Publication Date: October 14, 2025
  • Genres: Fiction, Mystery
  • Hardcover: 208 pages
  • Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
  • ISBN-10: N/A
  • ISBN-13: 9798217045358