I never thought this elevator was the main entrance and circled around the block…but this was it. ^^;;; Very lovely open terrace. Too bad it was too cold to sit outside.
The little tidbits have interesting spicy taste. Bread is from Maison Kayser.
カボチャのニョッキ パルメザンのチュイル。
ウズラの卵とトピナンプールのヴルーテ。
Amuse-bouche alone consists of 5 dishes!
Pumpkin gnocchi and parmesan feuille(I guess “feuille” is the same as mille-feuille but just one layer?).
Quail egg and topinambours(Jerusalem artichokes) in Velouté sauce.
ポロ葱とムール貝のスープ。
牛肉とカリフラワーのジュレ コリアンダー・ホウレン草 アーモンドを添えて。
Poireau leek and blue mussel soup.
Beef and cauliflower jelly, coriander and spinach, with almond.
平スズキのマリネ スモークサーモンのペースト。
Hirasuzuki(a kind of sea bass) in marinade, with smoked salmon paste.
ノイリー酒の香るフォアグラのガトー仕立て モヤシとズッキーニのクロッカン緑のソースにキノアを浮かべて。
地キンメのパヴェ 焦がしバター風味 フヌイユのママレード＜ピエロ＞サフランの香り。
Foie gras gateau(a slice of smoked duck on top), beansprout and zucchini(chopped into small bits) and quinoa in green sauce. On top is “Crystal leave”, which is some fancy laboratory invention and has a natural crispy texture and a shiny surface caused by the salt intrinsic to the leaf….quite delicious but felt like eating an experiment. ^^;;
Kinmedai(Alfonsino) “Pavé”, with burnt butter, marmelade of fenouil(fennel) in saffron sauce.
Dessert alone has 4 courses…
Raspberry soup with forgot-what ice-cream.
The cube thing is pistachio and forgot-what ice-cream.
Pear soup with forgot-what ice-cream(should have jot down some memo). The spaghetti thing is fried custard cream apparently.
Underneath the chocolate disc is chocolate paste and hazelnut and other things. The server poured hot chocolate sauce into the hole before we ate.
A 3-hour parade of dozens of dishes of food in bite size, all in trendy and stylish presentation. Each dish, no matter how small, is so complicated, that we spent a lot of time listening intently to the server’s long explanation and cross-checking with the menu that everyone got at hand. I think I am not the one who went from mildly dazed to half-confused to utterly exhausted. ^^;; The food are all fancy but I have to say taste-wise they leave very little impression. Seriously I simply didn’t know what I was eating at some point…very interesting experience though!
We had the 7000yen lunch course, which is quite cheap considering how many plates and bowls they will have to wash afterwards, but the drinks are quite expensive so better watch out.
PIERRE GAGNAIRE à Tokyo
Oh my goodness: rooftop dining! (and only way in is a elevator~~) It’s amazing that there’re 5 Amuse-bouche 4 desserts, it’s like…nonstop ^^;; Now I understand why there’re 16 tasting courses out there, it’s really possible. Each course is so tiny that it’s more like a sampler where you can only have few small bites (imagine if you’d do wine pairing for each!)
Crystal leaf…^^;;; It looked as if it’s embellish with tiny crystals, looks too much texture to be edible. I think fine dining tasting course menu is always more about the experience. By the 5th course you almost just want the waiter to just skip the explanation and go ahead and chow (yeah yeah we know it’s inventive and contains special ingredients…just let me eat). This course looks amazing! I can imagine those crafty delicate hands making all these delicacies…like the fried custard cream~
I’d assume the ‘mille’ in mille-feuille is “multi” or many…^^;;
すごいわ～！！
本当にオンパレードだわ＾＾；
ロブションのディナーもこういう感じで
十何品か出てくるって聞いたけど、
これって、一種の高級フレンチのスタイルなの？
やっこさん＞
これって、和食の懐石みたいだよね。
果たしてフランス人が本当にこういうもん食べてるかは、、、
Freda>
Wow long comment. ^^;;;;;;
The 5 amuse dishes came out at once and it was at the beginning so it was fun, but by the end when 4 desserts came one after another, I was simply exhausted. To be fair though, having to take pictures and remember as many details as possible, adds to the exhaustion….^^;;
I feel sorry for the server who has to remember all those explanations~. And the menu probably changes all the time. btw, Pierre Gagnaire was not actually there when we went. He only comes to Tokyo once in a while and you have pay $$$$ to have him cook for you…
That’s how most of these ‘famous chef’ headed restaurants are…^^;; it’s own by them (sometimes), menu designed by them…but most of the time it’s his apprentice who’s running the actual restaurants.
I guess designing the menu is the hardest part. Though I bet the apprentices participate in creating new menu too, just not taking credits for it~