Monthly Archive: March 2006 [50]

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March 30, 2006

京はやしや

いちごと抹茶の春パフェ、１２６０円。Strawberry and macha parfait. The macha ice-cream is super yummy!!
京はやしや

Comments(5) [ japanese sweets | 神宮前・青山・広尾 ]

おけいすし

Absolutely delicious! The fish were all seasoned and flavoured and the rice did not have much sugar and vinegar taste probably for the balance. The sushi lunch course was 5000 yen. The ikura and wasabi little rice bowl and 3 different kinds of soup came with the course - the little one in the first pic was clam soup, very good. The pics are a bit blurry cos when I started taking pics the chef said to me, "It is for eating, not for (photo)taking. " He didn't seem so threatening even though he was holding a knife, so I ignored him and carried on taking. ^^;;; I did try to take them as quick as possible hence the blurry outcome.
おけいすし

Comments(6) [ my favourites | japanese food | 神宮前・青山・広尾 ]

Pirouette

モンブラン、レモンのタルト、パリプレスト。Mont Blanc, Tarte de Citron and Paris-Brest Frase. For tea I had the Wedding Imperial, which has a chocolate and caramel flavour(but not sweet). The cakes were so-so. The tea was good but I think it was left too long in the tea-pot and was already very bitter when it was served, and it got more and more bitter as time went....even I like my tea bitter, it was a bit hard to drink.
Pirouette

Comments(3) [ cakes and sweets | 神宮前・青山・広尾 ]

はせがわ酒店（表参道ヒルズ）

発泡酒日本酒：
Bijoufu 微発泡純米吟醸、３００円。
Biko 赤色微発泡純米、３００円。
A very trendy standing sake bar which serves not only the tradtional sake but also sparkling sake for 300yen a glass! So cheap! I have been there twice already since I love the place so much! The white one Bijoufu is sweet and the pink one Biko tastes more like champagne than sake! Both very very good!
はながわ酒店

Comments(7) [ 神宮前・青山・広尾 ]

AW kitchen figlia

本日の冷製パスタ：ブロッコリーとウニ。
Broccoli and uni chilled pasta.

蛤とブロッコリーのキターラ　フレッシュトマトソース。
地鶏とキノコのカチャトラリガトーニ。
Chitarra with clam and broccoli, fresh tomato sauce.
Cacciatora rigatoni with chicken and mushrooms.

豚のロースト、味噌ソース。グレープフルーツのケーキ。
Roasted pork with miso sauce. Grapefruit cake.
I went to the original restaurant in Nakameguro(entry here) and the pasta was very good yet very expensive at dinner time, so when I heard the Aoyama branch does lunch, I was eager to try. The quality here turned out to be...nowhere near the standard of Nakameguro. The pasta were all overcooked, and the meat dish was terrible. Lunch with a cold pasta appetizer, a pasta dish, dessert and coffee, is 1800yen. Two of us ordered a main dish to share which was an extra 1200yen. Hmm....

Comments(5) [ italian food | 神宮前・青山・広尾 ]

March 27, 2006

O'gazie

フローズンダイキリ。Frozen Daiquiri.

ブルーチーズベイクドケーキ、６００円。季節のフルーツとマスカルボーネのパルフェ、７００円。
Baked blue cheese cake. Fruits and Mascarpone parfait.

ホワイトチョコとバナナのパルフェ、７００円。フランボワーズスフレグラッセ、５００円。
White chocolate and banana parfait. Framboise souffle glace.
A nice cafe bar with modern interior that makes you forget you are in the middle of the dirty and crowded Ikebukuro on a weekend evening. 4 of us were in the mood for cakes besides cocktails. At first we didn't expect the quality of the cakes to be that high since afterall it was a bar. But the cakes we ordered were all so nice!!! I had the blue cheese cake and it had the richest blue cheese flavour I had ever tasted! Also the cakes were all very reasonably priced. The cocktails were good and inexpensive too. This place was really a nice surprise.

Comments(8) [ cakes and sweets | 池袋 ]

A・RAJ

マドラス　パロータ（キーマと野菜、玉子入りパロータ）。
Paratha stuffed with chicken, egg and vegetable. Super yummy!

サンバール　ワダ（豆粉のスパイシードーナツ　野菜入り豆カレーがけ）。シェフのサラダ。
Vada made of lentil flour topped with vegetable and beans curry. Chef's salad.

キーマ　サモサ（ひき肉入り　インド風揚げギョウザ）。クリームソース漬けのタンドーリーキチン。
Kheema Samosa. Cream sauce Tandoori chicken.

マサラポテト入りドーサ。玉ねぎ入りドーサ。
Dosa stuffed with spicy potatoes. Dosa stuffed with onions.

玉ねぎ入りウタパム。チキンのひき肉入りほうれん草カレー。
Rice pancake topped with onions. Minced chicken and spinach curry.

マトンカレー。タマリンドライス。
Mutton curry. Tamarind Rice.
Everything tasted great! And very cheap too. Shared between 4 people. Including drinks, about 4000yen per person.

Comments(2) [ my favourites | other cuisines | 池袋 ]

MANUEL cozinha portuguesa

干し鱈と豚の耳とコリアンダーのスープ。干し鱈のコロッケ。
Lunch in a Portuguese restaurant. Dried cod and pig ear soup. Dried cod croquette.

豚の耳のサラダ。豚肉と豆の煮込み。
Pig ear salad. Pork and beans stew.

干し鱈のリゾット。ライスプディング。
Dried cod risotto. Rice Pudding.
So this is Portuguese cuisine. The only Portuguese food I know is of course those curry cream sauce chicken so common in HK. Have been to Macau a couple of times but the Portuguese food I had there were just like HK cafe food, definitely no dried cod and pig ear. ^^;;
MANUEL

Comments(2) [ other cuisines | 渋谷・恵比寿・代官山 ]

ノミの市

フォアグラテリーヌとサラダ。ハチノスと豚足のトマト煮込み。いちごタルト。Foie gras terrine salad, cow stomach and pig feet tomato stew, strawberry cake. Without drink lunch course is 1600yen. The pig feet was all fat. ^^;;
ノミの市

Comments(2) [ french food | 渋谷・恵比寿・代官山 ]

March 26, 2006

Canoviano

４５００円のランチコースにて。鮮魚とカラスミの冷製カッペリーニ。
Fish(forgot what) and fish roe Capellini(cold). Absolutely delicious~~~!! The first dish's high quality made me excited of what to come...

カンパーニャ産水牛のモッツアレラチーズとフルーツトマトのカプレーゼ風サラダ、フリウリ産ハム添え。
岩手県産黒毛和牛のラグーソースと京壬生菜のスパゲッティーニ。
Mozzarella cheese, fruit tomato and ham salad. The appetizer for the lunch course was octopus originally but the waitor asked if there is anything we don't like, so I requested a different appetizer instead of octopus - which I don't fancy. This is very nice. The tomato is very sweet.
Beef ragu sauce spaghetti. It is a bit overcooked....a bit unbelievable for a high-class Italian to not achieve al dente...and I craved Italian and it just tasted too Japanese.

沼津港直送鮮魚（金目鯛）のポワレ、魚介のスープ仕立て。
シャラン産鴨胸肉のロースト、パルサミコのソース。
Pan-fried Alfonsino(found in dictionary...) in seafood soup. The fish and the yam underneath it are both very good. Though it is again very very Japanese...
Roasted duck, in Balsamico sauce. The duck is a bit hard...

Chocolate ice-cream and Mascarpone cheese with raisins. Chocolate was grated in front of me by the waitor - a bit messy. ^^;; But it tasted wonderful. My friend's dessert was pineapple and ginger ice-cream.
Canoviano

Comments(4) [ italian food | 渋谷・恵比寿・代官山 ]

恵比寿麦酒記念館

生ビール飲み比べセット、４００円。Sapporo beer museum's tasting lounge. Beer tasting set includes 4 small glasses of different beers and a pack of beer cracker, 400yen. Used to come very often but haven't visited for a long time. Still amazed by how cheap it is! (The museum is free entrance!)
麦酒記念館

Comments(6) [ 渋谷・恵比寿・代官山 ]

TIRI TIRI

チリチリマサラカレー（辛口のチキンカレー）、９００円（M）。Chicken masala curry. A bit too salty but alright.

Comments(0) [ 渋谷・恵比寿・代官山 ]

宮城野

ふくろとじそば、１１０２円。Soba with egg, chicken, crab roll, vegetables etc. Just a quick eat.

Comments(0) [ 池袋 ]

パンコントマテ

Spaghetti with bacon and potato in tomato sauce, and chicken risotto, 998yen. Speechless...-o-;;

Comments(3) [ 渋谷・恵比寿・代官山 ]

March 23, 2006

洋食黒船亭

ビーフシチュー、２４１０円。ライス、２６０円。Beef stew. The beef is so tender and the sauce so good!! But it is so expensive~~even at lunch time there is no set and you have to order rice separately.
黒船亭

Comments(3) [ 本郷・根津・湯島・上野 ]

みはし

苺クリームあんみつ、７００円。Oh I crave Japanese sweets nowadays!! It is very good.
みはし

Comments(5) [ japanese sweets | 本郷・根津・湯島・上野 ]

LE CAFE de Joël Robuchon(日本橋高島屋)

Dessert plate and coffee, about 2000yen. Hopped into this cafe simply because it was near. Expensive and no good. Tea creme brulee, green apple sorbet, apple mille-feuille and chocolate cake. My friend's plate had a very obvious broken corner....err this place is supposed to be high-class...
LE CAFE

Comments(3) [ cakes and sweets | 新橋・銀座・日本橋 ]

とんかつと豚肉料理　平田牧場（日本橋コレド）

棒ヒレかつ膳、１８００円。Oh very good!!! I went at 5pm with a friend for an early dinner and to our surprise, a queue formed immediately after the restaurant opened at 5 sharp....we had no idea this place is so popular.
平田牧場

Comments(4) [ 新橋・銀座・日本橋 ]

七條

ディナーコースは４５００円。
前菜：皮を焼いた本マスのマリネ、野菜のエチュベ添え（＋２００円）。
Can't recall what the small appetizer was, some terrine. ^^;;
Appetizer is trout(I think), marinated and skin lightly grilled. Not my favourite kind of fish but this is quite good, and MASSIVE like a main course.

エビフライ。プチポテトグラタン。
Fried prawn and small potato gratin that come with the course. Both are yummy!

メイン：仔羊背肉のロースト、黒オリーブソース（＋４００円）。ミルフィユ。
Roasted lamb, in black olive sauce. It was shockingly horrible....too rare and bloody, yet rough and hard. I asked the waitress if it was undercooked but she said it was the intended "rare" condition....I felt rather sick halfway. My friend who ordered roasted beef complained it was too red and yet not tender at all. Now I recall, I have had roasted lamb in this restaurant before and it was just as bad! I completely forgot about that otherwise I wouldn't have ordered it again. Roasted beef/lamb are bad choices, the safest is probably "yoshoku" type of menu, like stewed beef, hamburger, croquette, which I have tried(e.g. here) and were very good. Well this place is more yoshoku than French anyway.

Comments(2) [ french food | 神田・神保町・秋葉原 ]

えるびす

味玉つけめん、８００円。It is alright.
えるびす

Comments(1) [ 池袋 ]

椿屋珈琲店　池袋茶寮

渋皮モンブランとオリジナルブレンドのセット、１３１０円。The coffee house is huge and very retro, though the waitresses are a little odd, serving in open fake smiles and overly polite "performance". ^^;; The Mont Blanc is alright.
椿屋珈琲店

Comments(2) [ cakes and sweets | 池袋 ]

ハーイ・ハニー

豚ランチAは豚肉の生姜焼き＋ポテトコロッケ。Pork with ginger, potato croquette and rice, 550yen!!! Not just cheap but tastes good too. Basic homemade food that has no pretense but fills you up warmly. Though there is a lot of cabbage and beansprout to make up the volume. ^^;; The woman sitting next to me tried to order "omelette rice gratin" that is not on the menu, but the chef said they don't do that during busy lunch hour. Next time I want to try that. The shop looks really shabby from outside that makes you think twice before going in but it is okay inside.

Comments(2) [ 池袋 ]

March 19, 2006

釜竹

うめワイン（赤）。かつおネギ。

ごま豆腐（美味しい！）。細打ちざるうどん大盛り。Sesame tofu. Handmade udon(thin). Both very good! Though I ordered the "large" portion and it was not the ordinary "large" but "Jumbo Large" so had difficulty finishing it! ^^;;
釜竹

Comments(6) [ good cheap eats | 本郷・根津・湯島・上野 ]

谷中カフェ

自家製２豆とそばがきのパフェ、ドリンクセットで１２００円。Super ultra healthy-tasting Japanese-style parfait. ^^;
谷中カフェ

Comments(2) [ 本郷・根津・湯島・上野 ]

Al Porto(池袋東武)

レガレアーリ（ナス、ミートソースとリコッタチーズ）、１３２０円。ドルチェセット（パナコッタ）、６３０円。Eggplant, meat sauce and ricotta cheese spaghetti. Panna Cotta and coffee. 2000yen altogether. Quite stiff price for a weekday lunch, but both the pasta and the panna cotta are very good. It is a casual branch of an expensive Italian, and the menu here is limited to a few simple items. The location certainly is very convenient though.

Comments(7) [ 池袋 ]

キッチン Oh!Way

ポタージュ。特製和風土鍋煮込みハンバーグステーキ、９５０円。Corn soup. Japanese-style claypot hamburger steak. It is just like sukiyaki! Very good very good! The beef is fresh and not overly grounded.
キッチン Oh!Way

Comments(0) [ 池袋 ]

ＫＩＴＣＨＥＮ 胡

コンフィ入りのサラダ。Pork confit salad. The homemade focaccia is really good!

お魚ランチ。ココナッツパナコッタ。Fish lunch. Coconut panna cotta.

Fish lunch set is 1700yen. There is only one chef cooking everything and a madam serving. It wasn't particularly crowded on a weekday, yet it was a loooooooong wait for each course. I was alone and was eating fast, yet it took more than 1 hour to get to the coffee at the end, most of the time waiting. I did get a little grumpy but every dish was prepared whole-heartedly, so I guess I should only go to this restaurant when I have a lot of time and with friends.
ＫＩＴＣＨＥＮ 胡

Comments(3) [ 池袋 ]

京茶寮鶴

抹茶パフェ、８４０円。Also inside Seibu, had it after the bibimbap. Yum!

Comments(3) [ 池袋 ]

英陽（ヨンヤン）

石焼ビビンバ、８６１円。A quick eat-in place inside Seibu, next to the counter selling Korean food. The stone-bowl was not hot enough so there was no okoge(that yummy slightly burnt rice at the bottom).

Comments(3) [ 池袋 ]

GHIOTTONE

ペスカトーレ。Pescatora, 900yen. A mountain of spaghetti drowned in tomato sauce that doesn't seem to get smaller....it certainly is very cheap.

Comments(0) [ 池袋 ]

SUIREN

The menu "Uni spaghetti 900yen" caught my eyes and of course I had to try. Gosh...it was horrible horrible fake uni taste and even the spaghetti tasted like rubber. I was quite traumatized actually. How can a restaurant like that survive is a mystery.

Comments(2) [ 池袋 ]

March 12, 2006

鶯谷園(鶯谷)

特上カルビ（これはうまいよ～）。特上タン。
Highest rank of beef(that melts in your mouth) and cow tongue.

豚トロ。上ミノ。Pork and cow stomach.

キムチ。Not very spicy.
カルビ。The normal rank of beef. It is good but it doesn't melt in your mouth - you need to chew. ^^;;

冷麺。豆腐チゲ。Cold noodles and tofu hotpot soup. The cold noodles is so tasteless. I ended up adding the tofu soup into the noodles. 2 people, 1 drink each, 4000yen per person. This restaurant is quite hyped up as being "cheap and good", and I think the meat are all good quality, but maybe not as cheap. My friend whom I went with was very disappointed though.
鶯谷園

Comments(4) [ other cuisines ]

Michel Chaudun

The chocolate cake is the best!
Michel Chaudun

Comments(2) [ cakes and sweets | 新橋・銀座・日本橋 ]

Dhaba India

マサラドーサ。Crepe with potato inside.

ラム肩肉のペッパーコルマ。辛いチキンひき肉カレー。
Lamb shoulder meat curry. Minced chicken curry(very spicy and very good!).

ケララフィッシュカレー。チャナマサラ（ひよこ豆）。
Fish curry, a bit too "fishy"? Chick peas curry, slightly bitter but good too.
Dhaba India

Comments(5) [ other cuisines | 新橋・銀座・日本橋 ]

レストラン カサドール（日本橋人形町）

海の幸のサラダ、バジルソース。ラクレット。
Seafood salad. Potato and melted Raclette cheese.

チーズフォンデュ。Cheese Fondue, very strong white wine flavour.
カサドール

Comments(2) [ other cuisines | 新橋・銀座・日本橋 ]

Ma Maison

チキンのピザ風。Chicken pizza-style, 840yen. Chicken with tomato sauce and cheese on top, not bad not bad and cheap.
Ma Maison

Comments(2) [ 池袋 ]

Ｋｈａｐｏｍ

ナシゴレン＋生春巻き＋デザートのタピオカ＋玄米茶、１０００円。辛くなくて、油控えめで、食べやすい。
Khapom

Comments(2) [ 池袋 ]

March 09, 2006

季楽

国産牛の鉄板焼ランチコース。Teppan-yaki beef lunch course, 3800yen. Many ranks for the beef and we chose the cheapest(yes already the cheapest...) course. The appetizer was super yummy, including the famous Saga(佐賀) beef terrine with foie gras, Saga beef sashimi with ponzu, also yellow tail salad etc. The side vegetables, the freshly cooked rice, the many different kinds of pickles and even the dessert plate were all super fantastic. But the beef itself was not as soft and tender as I expected....the cheapest lunch we ordered was not Saga beef steak but normal Japanese beef, that's why. ^^;; btw, the raw piece of beef is for 2 people, and the cooked beef on the plate is the first half for 1 person, the cook waited until we finished it before cooking the other half for us.
季楽

Comments(6) [ japanese food | 新橋・銀座・日本橋 ]

まんぷく食堂

マグロユッケ、ウニのスパゲッティ、焼き鳥。Tuna yukke, uni spaghetti and yakitori. A retro drinking place right underneath the train rail, quite reasonable price - the uni spaghetti has so much uni in it and it is only 1200yen! Of course the spaghetti is overcooked but the generous amount of uni compensate everything.
まんぷく食堂

Comments(2) [ 有楽町・丸の内 ]

Abientot

真鯛トマトのスパゲッティ、鱈のサフランソース。Lunch set includes tofu salad, bream and tomato spaghetti, pan-fried cod in Saffron sauce, dessert and coffee, 1470yen. Taste-wise it is actually quite good, but the service is kinda shockingly bad. The salad didn't come first while I waited with no food, and then the salad, the spaghetti and the fish all came at the same time....a bit of a rush to eat everything before they get cold. The waitor especially asked if I would like rice or bread when I ordered, but it never came....The dessert came after I already finished the coffee....and the poor couple next to me had no forks to eat with and had to beg the waitor for them....err....^^;;
Abientot

Comments(1) [ 池袋 ]

麺ダイニング 韓韓房

牛韓辛麺（大辛）＋餃子。Korean beef noodles and gyoza set, 880yen. There were several spicy levels and I chose the second hottest, and it was really really spicy. The soup and the beef were both very very yummy, though the noodles tasted like instant noodles(maybe it was instant noodles...).
韓韓房

Comments(3) [ 池袋 ]

March 05, 2006

Aux Delices de Hongo (オ・デリス・ド・本郷)

佐賀産ホワイトアスパラガスのコンフィー。
豚足、耳、舌、牛ハチノスの温かいテリーヌ、温泉卵添え。
White asparagus confit. Very good.
Terrine of pig feet, ear, tongue, and cow stomach, with hotspring egg. Somehow it tastes Chinese but very good too.

フォアグラのフラン　トリュフ風味。
プーラルド　ドゥミ　ドゥイユ。
Flan of foie gras with truffle. Unbelievable! *o*!! Can never look at chawanmushi the same way again.
Poularde demi-deuil(for 4 people). Wow~~.

My god, never eaten so much truffle in my life! The sauce is rich and the chicken tender and soft. Plus truffle truffle all over, a huge bubble of heavenly smell engulfed me during the time I enjoyed this dish~. How I didn't want it to end!
竹の子。Grilled bamboo shoot. Never tried it before. Just used our hands to tear the skin off, tasted really great on its own.

紅玉の温かいパイ、バニラアイス添え。Warm apple pie with Vanilla ice-cream. Very crispy and not too sweet, super yummy. I went with someone who knows the chef and the sommelier well and we were served special menu and each dish came with a glass of specially chosen wine to match the dish. I didn't take pictures but the 2 glasses of white wine I had with the terrine and foie gras were sooooooo good that I was in awe throughout the entire meal. So nice to go with someone who is true gourmet, X-D!!
Aux Delices de Hongo

Comments(6) [ my favourites | french food | 本郷・根津・湯島・上野 ]

LA TABLE de Joël Robuchon

Super highclass French restaurant but tea time is quite reasonable. I had the chocolate mousse dessert with herb tea, 1500yen. My friend got to select from a wagon with 1800yen. The taste was good but not like shockingly fantastic, though the atmosphere was good for a lazy afternoon chat.
Robuchon

Comments(13) [ cakes and sweets | 渋谷・恵比寿・代官山 ]

Acqua Pazza

野菜のバーニャカウダ。冷前菜。
Vegetables with Bagna Cauda(Anchovy and garlic and olive oil dip).
Cold appetizer: marinated seafood.

温前菜。彩り楽しい色々パスタ。
Warm appetizer and two types of pasta. The pasta was unacceptably overcooked and too salty.

カボチャのニョッキ。お魚　丸ごと　アクアパッツァ風。
Pumpkin Gnocchi. I liked the gnocchi though it was a bit oily.
Fish in “acqua pazza”. The fish was a huge disappointment. Too salty and oily...

My friend had Marron creme Brulee, and I had Mascarpone cheese soup. Hmm, my friend's one was probably better though I didn't taste it....anything would be better than mine.

Lunch set, 6000yen. NEVER going back again.
Acqua Pazza

Comments(0) [ italian food | 神宮前・青山・広尾 ]

硯家本店

肉ぶっかけうどん＋炊き込みご飯セット。Beef bukkake udon and takikomi rice(dunno how to translate ^^;;), 900yen. I thought bukkake udon usually has only a bit of sweet soya sauce to mix with the udon, but this one basically is soup udon, and since I ordered cold version, the soup was cold....I was chilled to the bones eating it. And the beef was too hard and tasteless and I left most of it. The noodles itself was good though. And the portion was MASSIVE. Would have been happy about it if I hadn't ordered the wrong thing(for the weather). The takikomi rice was good too.

Comments(2) [ 池袋 ]

Trattoria Una Volta

ゴルゴンゾラチーズリゾット。Appetizer: chicken salad, marinated shellfish and pumpkin. Gorgonzola cheese risotto. Pasta lunch set is 1470yen. The restaurant is a bit far from the Ikebukuro train station, yet the price for a weekday lunch is not cheap. Especially when the quality is not that great and the portion is tiny. Fortunately the homemade bread was warm and good, I had two and my stomach was half-filled.

Comments(3) [ 池袋 ]

鉢や

豚ヒレごま焼き。Grilled pork with sesame seed, 800yen. A cute little shop with the madam cooking everything and a girl serving. Food is home-made style and very healthy-tasting.

Comments(2) [ 池袋 ]

十人十色

地鶏照焼き定食。Chicken teriyaki lunch, 880. My god it is absolutely horrible, couldn't finish even half of it.

Comments(1) [ 池袋 ]

刀削麺荘

坦々麺＋餃子。Tan-tan noodles and gyoza lunch set, 940yen. It is a chain restaurant and I wasn't expecting high, but the noodles turned out to be surprisingly chewy and good, portion was large as well.
刀削麺荘

Comments(0) [ 池袋 ]

プシケパスタ倶楽部

タリアッテレ、春キャベツ、アスパラ、キチンクリームソース。Tagliatelle with cabbage, asparagus, chicken and cream sauce. Macha blanc manger. Lunch is 1300yen. Considering it is cheap and inside a shopping mall, it is actually not bad.

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