Monthly Archives: January 2007

八山(Hassan)

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7700yen for two hours of “tabehodai”(eat as much as you like) of beef shabu shabu and sushi, and “nomihodai”(drink as much as you like) of beer, sake and other beverages. You get one big plate of assorted sushi at the beginning and you can order other stuff by filling out the sushi order sheet. The quality of the sushi is so-so except the anago which is quite good.
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The quality of beef varies, some were soft and delicious. Limited myself to about 5 or 6 sushi to save space for the beef. It is only hot water in the hotpot, not dashi that would have been much nicer.
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The uni is quite bitter, probably very cheap uni.
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Kishimen(flat udon) is added to the soup at the end – very nice since the soup is finally full of flavour from all that beef and veggy cooked in it. Matcha ice-cream as dessert.

Location is right at the main road of Roppongi. We went on a Thurs night and it was fully packed with salarymen and many foreigners. It was so busy that many of our sushi orders never came.
八山

Au gout du jour （オーグー ドゥ ジュール＠麹町）

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Chef’s lunch course 6300yen.
ホタテ、カニ、つぶ貝ののコンソメジュレ。
Scallop, crab and Tsubugai shellfish consomme jelly.
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カリフラワーのブルーテ トリュフ風味。
Cauliflower velouté with truffle. This is so nice!! The fragrance of the truffle is astonishing. Such a big piece too. The cauliflower soup is super sweet.
Completely forgot what the fish was…not much impression taste-wise either.
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060111 005鴨胸肉とフォアグラのポアレ 白隠元豆のバルサミコヴィネガー煮込み。
マスカルポーネチーズケーキ。
Duck breast and foie gras with white kidney beans in Balsamic vinegar sauce. At first I was not too excited about Balsamic sauce and kidney beans, but this is absolutely delicious! The duck is tender and foie gras is crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside.
For dessert I had mascarpone cheese cake. A bit light to my taste, but not bad.
Service is attentive but not too intrusive. One of my friends brought a cake to the restaurant and the staff cut and served the cake after the course dessert. Very accommodating.
Au gout du jour

浜よし(Hamayoshi)

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8000yen dinner course. Pictures show portion for 4 people.
鯛の煮付け。お刺身盛り合わせ。
Bream simmered in sweet soy sauce. Very nice! Fish is soft and fatty. Craved rice!
Assorted sashimi. Other than fish, there are also abalone sashimi and scallop. The abalone is very hard when eaten raw. Plenty of shiso underneath which is fresh and very nice to eat with the sashimi.
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毛蟹。
Hairy crab(kegani). My friends taught me to pour hot nihonshu(Japanese wine) into the crab shell, mix with the kanimiso(crab innard) and drink from the shell. Surprisingly delicious~.
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Apparently the master hunted the wild ducks himself. There is a picture of him with his hunting rifle on the wall. My friends went to watch him skinning and preparing the duck over the counter but I stayed at the table. ^^;;
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鴨鍋。
Other than the wild duck, pigeon is also added to make the soup stock for the kamo(duck) nabe.
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Lots of mushrooms, veggy, tofu, Konjac went to the soup too. One daidai(bitter orange) for each person to squeeze the juice as a final touch.
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The madam did everything for us so we just waited. (btw it takes 3 hours at least to finish the whole course)
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Sliced wild duck meat are to add at the end. Texture is quite hard.
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060110 034鴨雑炊。
Rice and egg are added to the leftover soup to make zousui(rice porridge). This is always the best part of a nabe course, but argh, I was just too full and only could eat a bit.
浜よし

上野の杜 韻松亭(Innsyoutei)

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This Japanese restaurant is inside Ueno Park. Lovely view! Must be amazing during Hanami season.
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Sat on the second floor. So comfortable~
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花籠膳（雪）、茶碗蒸し、豆御飯付き、１８９０円。
Hana-kago-zen: translated to “flower basket meal”. It is often said that “Japanese eat with their eyes”. So right on! Taste is secondary, celebrating Japanese aesethics comes first. Most of the pretty things in the basket are veggy and tofu, all cold. Chawanmushi and rice with beans(this is so good) and miso soup are of course hot. Rice and soup are refillable. Will come back for tea and sweets!
韻松亭