Excitement, of course, as Ramsay is recognised as a master of French cuisine and one of the world's best chefs.

Apprehension, too. After all, Ramsay's TV shows have made him famous as a loudmouthed, straight-talking taskmaster.

So what are you going to say when you order medium beef and it comes back rather overdone?

Eat up and say nothing, no doubt, because you criticise Gordon Ramsay at your peril.

Ramsay famously booted renowned food critic A.A. Gill out of his London restaurant, resulting in a superb put-down from Gill: "Ramsay is a wonderful chef, just a really second-rate human being."

Ramsay's rows with his kitchen staff are also the stuff of legend. One incident resulted in a police complaint filed by a pastry chef.

Rude and blunt, Ramsay is nothing if not honest. So here goes, Gordon: my beef really was overdone. Sorry, mate.

And the chocolate pudding wasn't too successful either. I can say that with confidence, not only because I'm a chocoholic but because the chef came out of the kitchen to apologise for it.

Ramsay so often berates his poor TV apprentice chefs that I have no qualms in criticising him in return.

But now that I've mentioned the beef and pudding, risking abuse and a free-flow of expletives, I have nothing more but praise for one of the most delightful meals I've experienced.

An early course of foie gras and smoked duck breast with fig chutney almost had me using the F-word though, in this instance, attached to the word "amazing".

The tortellini of lobster, langoustine and salmon was certainly among the most delicious pasta I've ever tasted.

And, despite being no big fan of bananas, I swooned over the banana pannacotta with white chocolate granita and almond tuile.

I sampled all these goodies at Ramsay's only Asian restaurant to date, inside the rather wonderful Conrad Tokyo hotel in the Shiodome district, a newly developed area between Ginza and the famous fish markets.

The restaurant is on the 28th floor and has 7m-high floor-to-ceiling windows which provide a view of Tokyo's twinkling lights.

The restaurant is modern, stylish and unlikely to offend, with a vaguely French decor and the purple highlights that are something of a Ramsay signature.

Unlike many top restaurants, it manages a very pleasant laid-back feel, helped along by an open kitchen and a Chef's Table where, if you want, you can sit at high stools and watch the action.

Mind you, perhaps because this is Japan, the chefs are all surprisingly quiet. Head chef Shinya Maeda is somewhat shy and polite.

Still in his mid-30s, he has none of the craggy face or out-there personality of Ramsay.

Maeda started his career in an Aussie sushi bar, then built up an international reputation in Europe and New York before joining Ramsay's team in London.

Ramsay sent him back to Japan last year to head up his Asian diner and snare a Michelin star for the restaurant.

When the Michelin guide to Tokyo launched recently, eight restaurants received three coveted stars. Just over 40 others received one or two stars – more than any other city in the world. The list included the Chinese restaurant at the Conrad Tokyo, China Blue.

Ramsay's restaurant didn't make the grade, to the confessed disappointment of the chef. Ramsay vows the restaurant will get its first Michelin star in 2009.

If it does, it will be no great surprise: Ramsay has already collected a constellation of Michelin accolades in his other restaurants.

The master of French cuisine has few surprises at the Tokyo restaurant but does have all the top quality and superlative tastes you would expect.

This isn't the place for watching calories or having a light meal: count on rather rich food, such as roast lamb, gorgonzola risotto, and chestnut milles feuilles for dessert.

There are some lighter dishes that are a nod, perhaps, to Japanese palates: cold melon soup, and superb sea scallops with cauliflower puree drizzled with a caper and raisin dressing.

The best way to sample Ramsay's dishes is to have the six-course dinner menu. It doesn't come cheap, weighing in at about about $200 per person. However, if that's a bit beyond your budget, the four-course tasting lunch is about $90 including an amuse bouche and tea or coffee to finish.

Considering what you pay for a top meal in Sydney these days, that's practically a bargain.

A typical tasting lunch features asparagus and petit pois salad with stilton vinaigrette, followed by herb and prawn risotto with aged parmesan and lobster glaze.

Main is either sea trout or chicken breast, and dessert is banana pannacotta with passion fruit granita and ginger mousse.

Ramsay's Tokyo restaurant is his closest outlet to our shores, though rumours about his opening a restaurant in Australia are growing louder.

Just don't expect to see the great man himself slaving away over your sea scallops in his Tokyo establishment. Maeda is at the helm and Ramsay rarely spotted.

Not, I hasten to add, that this is a complaint. Oh no, not at all. One journalist has already questioned the master about who actually cooks the food in his Tokyo restaurant.

To which Ramsay replied: "Did you check that Giorgio Armani himself stitched your f****** suit?"

The writer was a guest of Conrad Tokyo.

The Sunday Telegraph