博多もつ鍋 山笠(Yamagasa)

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サラダとモツの明太子和え。
Salad. Motsu and mentaiko.
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馬刺し盛り合わせ(赤身、霜降り、炙り) 。もつ鍋(味噌味)。
Assorted horse meat(sashimi and broiled). Motsu-nabe(miso based).
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チャンポン。
Chanpon is added to the leftover soup.

Delicious motsu-nabe. A lot of seasoning stuff on the table(garlic, miso, chilli, wasabi…) for you to add yourself.
山笠

Restaurant JOEL (ジョエル)

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ズワイガニとカニミソのムース。周りはサフランの黄色を使ったホタテのムース。カニミソ・クリーム添え。
Cheese puff with prawn and pistachio inside.
Suwai-gani(snow crab) and kanimiso(crab innards) mousse. The yellow part is scallop and saffron mousse. Kanimiso cream is on the side.
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海老のソテーとジャガイモのムース、ジャガイモチッブスのミルフィーユ仕立て。
鴨モモ肉の赤ワインソース。
Prawn Saute and potato mousse, potato chip mille-feuille – very simple but tasty.
Duck thigh meat in red wine sauce. My friend ordered venison and it tasted much better than mine. Later found out that this restaurant is famous for its vension….damn.
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ワゴンデザート。
Wagon dessert. Had a piece of everything. The manager highly recommended(in fact he told us that everyone should have it) the gateau chocolat which is absolutely delicious. Love the basic caramel pudding and pear sorbet too. We also had some muscat dessert wine which is sweet and fragrant. Service is attentive and patient. The very knowledgeable and friendly manager is great fun to talk to. Dinner course is 8400yen.

N.B. This restaurant is going to move to Tokyo Midtown by the end of this month and the name will change to cuisine francaise JJ.
JOEL

みますや (Mimasuya)

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さくら刺(霜降り、赤身)。
Sakura sashi(sashimi of horse meat) – shimofuri(meat marbled with layers of fat) and lean meat.
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牛煮込み。キノコ煮。
Simmered beef with onion. Simmered mushroom.
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あん肝。穴子。
Ankimo. Anago.
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カキフライ。柳川鍋。
Fried oyster. Yanagawa-nabe – hotpot made with dojo(loach – a small fish related to eel), burdock, leek and eggs.
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肉豆腐。唐揚げ。
Meat and tofu. Kara-age.
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ばい貝やわらか煮。焼き茄子。
Simmered water snails. Grilled aubergine.
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ゲソ揚げ。玉子焼き。
Fried squid tentacles. Egg roll(very sweet).
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季節のぬた。刺身盛り合わせ。
Maguro and vegetables with miso. Sashimi.
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串カツ。ふぐのビール揚げ。
Fried pork skewers. Fried fugu.
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きぬかつぎ(里芋)。お茶漬け(梅)。
Little taro. Ochatsuke – hot green tea poured on top of rice with savory soup seasoning and sour plum topping.
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Curry udon. Meat udon. Grilled onigiri.
A hundred-year-old izakaya with 99% of customers being salarymen and ojisan. ^^;;; The food is typical izakaya food, cheap and tasty. Many sake choices.
みますや

Château Restaurant Joël Robuchon

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Restaurant is on the second floor of the gorgeous “château”.
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We couldn’t decide for a long time but finally opted for the more luxurious 12,000yen lunch course. The cheaper one is 7000yen.
Amuse-bouche is a spoonful of carrot jelly, blood orange sorbet and coriander foam.
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特選生雲丹 甲殻類のジュレになめらかなカリフラワーのクレーム。
Uni and crustacean(prawn or crab?) jelly with cauliflower cream. A big chunk of fresh uni at the bottom which is super sweet. A memorable dish!
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季節のキノコ 活帆立貝と合わせ、生姜の香るキノコのブイヨンを注いで。
Mushroom and scallop, with hot bouillon soup of mushroom and ginger poured (by the server).
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宇和島産真鯛 特選カラスミと共にグラチネして、ヴァンジョンヌ風味のサバイヨンを添えて。
Gratiner of red seabream and karasumi, with sabayon(foamy sauce made from egg). The crispy layer of “gratin” tastes of cheese, very nice!
Bread are all great, with many different kinds to choose from. I like the basil(green one) and the little croissant with anchovy the most.
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仔羊 パストラル風にローストし、ハーブのサラダを添えて。
Roasted baby lamb Pastoral style, with herb salad. Perfectly cooked, very tender and juicy. The black bits are truffle.
Avant dessert: Coffee jelly with amaretto and cocoa.
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洋梨のスープ仕立て スフレを浮かべて アプリコット風味のソルベと共に。
Marron souffle in pear soup, with apricot sorbet. This is so good! I tried a bit of my friend’s chocolate mousse but I like the souffle more.

The whole course is perfect. Just 100% PERFECT!! Every dish delicious without exceptions. I am seldom impressed by the fish course in French restaurants but I love the way they cook the fish. The lamb is easily one of the best(if not the best) I have ever eaten. Gosh I can see myself comparing lamb chops in other restaurants to this one from now onwards…

Service is very professional but not snobby. The interior is gorgeous of course. Unfortunately we were a big group and had to sit at the table right in the middle, which made us feel a little “exposed”. The sofa seats next to the windows look much more comfortable~. Ladies get free French bread with nuts and dried fruits as souvenirs.
Joël Robuchon

Don Ciccio (ドンチッチョ)

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岩手短角牛のカルパッチョ。
Shorthorn beef carpaccio.
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仔牛トリッパと茄子とアーモンド煮”シチリア風”。
”シラクーサ風”赤ピーマンと茄子のカラマリ、トマトソース。
Sicilian-style beef tripe and aubergine with almond.
Calamari alla Siracusana. “Calamari” is ring-shaped pasta that looks like squid ring. Red bell pepper and aubergine in tomato sauce.
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白金豚ラグーとブロンテ産アーモンドのフジッリ。
”シチリア名物”イワシとウイキョウのカサレッチ。
Fusilli with Platinum pork ragu sauce and almond.
Casarecci with fennel and sardine. Traditional Sicilian dish.
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白魚のスパゲッティーニ。
岩手骨付白金豚の香草炭火焼き。
Spaghetti with Bianchetti(tiny white fish which are spawn of sardines or anchovies, not sure which).
Charcoal grilled Platinum bone-in pork with herb.
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大山地鶏と干しイチジクの”ウブリアカ”。
“Daisen” chicken and dried fig. Sweet sauce.
Right pic is my share of the 2 meat dishes.
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あさりと仔羊リドヴォーのリングイネ。
大山地鶏とカボチャのヴェスヴォオ、クリームソース。
All four of us didn’t feel quite enough….so after the main dishes we ordered some more pasta. The last two pasta were both 1.5 portion, while the ones before were all single portion.
Linguine with vongole(clam) and “ris de veau”(Lamb sweetbreads).
Vesuvio(pasta that looks like Mount Vesuvius? Just guessing…) with “Daisen” chicken and pumpkin in cream sauce.
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Zuppa Inglese. Semifreddo.
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Strawberry tiramisu. Gateau chocolat.

A famous Italian restaurant that closed down last year and re-opened with a new name. Many loyal fans apparently, one of them being my friend who tried the new place and said it was just as good as the old one. Already an impossible-to-book restaurant and you can only book two weeks in advance. Location is a bit inconvenient – quite far from both Shibuya and Omotesando station.

The food is great. All the pasta are very simple. Light and simple sauce with not much ingredients, but perfect al dente. Actually at first I thought the pasta were a little unimpressive (I love fancy sauces and fancy ingredients…) but the amazing thing was that I craved the simple, comforting taste immediately again. The pasta are not homemade though. The main dishes are pretty normal, especially the staff-recommended pork. Chicken in fig sauce is nicer.

4 of us went crazy and ordered so much food, plus 2 bottles of wine and mineral water and coffee, total was about 11000yen per person.

Atmosphere was very lively and energetic. Warm decor. A little crowded perhaps. It was full when we arrived, and when we finished around 11pm, there were still customers coming in! Appetizers and pastas came fast after we ordered, but the main dishes could be a bit slow in delivery. Despite of the negative comments I have read, the service is quite good. I am not saying this because all the staff are young and good-looking guys(which is quite a sight really ^^;;), but they know the menu well and are patient to explain to us. Also willing to split each and every one of the dishes for us. Though they didn’t do the job so well…..the portion wasn’t quite even and the ingredients were simply absent in some plates….often mine for some reason. ^^;; But definitely will go back!

Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4.
Don Ciccio