Monthly Archive: July 2006 [33]
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July 31, 2006
竹むら
クリームあんみつ、７３０円。This Japanese sweet place is a treasured historical architecture. The cream anmitsu, though is pretty normal tasting. ^^;;
竹むら
Comments(6) [ japanese sweets | 神田・神保町・秋葉原 ]
野らぼー 神田北口店
野らぼーうどん、７２０円。 The udon was too soft and a bit bloated, maybe should have ordered cold udon with no soup instead. The dried fish tempura was interesting though.
野らぼー
July 30, 2006
Suzu Cafe(スズカフェ)
和風ハンバーグ、１１００円。Japanese style hamburger lunch. I think the meat is chicken. The sauce is a bit salty. Even this cafe is on the the 3rd floor, it is in the middle of the busiest area of Shibuya, yet so empty with no customers at all during lunch hour...
Suzu Cafe
July 29, 2006
Frédéric Scailteur(フレデリック スケルター＠神谷町)
Mille-feuille. A chocolate tart with pistachio cream, apricot and raspberry and 62% chocolate ganache cream. Both are so fantastic!! The tart, the pastry, the chocolate, the cream....every component is perfect, and not too sweet overall. Immediately a fan of this place. Got the galette and the financier to take-away, both very good too. My friend who went with me had mango tart, also great. The only complaint is the interior...feels more like an office than a cake shop. ^^;
Frédéric Scailteur
Comments(7) [ cakes and sweets ]
Fea Doma(フェア・ドマ)
Ratatouille salad. Spaghetti with pork giblets and tomato stew. Lemon cake. Lunch is 1800yen. Overall taste is alright. The sauce for the spa could be better though. My friend's choice had an additional charge but tasted better.
Fea Doma
Comments(0) [ italian food | 新橋・銀座・日本橋 ]
Lecomte (ルコント)
Cream cheese cake. Recommended by a friend who got recommended by another friend(^^;). Very good! Creamy, rich cheese taste, with a touch of lemon, not too sweet.
Lecomte
Comments(4) [ cakes and sweets ]
July 28, 2006
手打うどん 恩田
鳥天おろしぶっかけ、８００円。煮玉子、１００円。Chicken tempura and grated radish udon. The chicken, quite heavily peppered, were fried on spot and came out very hot. The interior is a bit shabby with only counter seats though.
恩田
Comments(6) [ good cheap eats | 大塚・茗荷谷・後楽園 ]
July 27, 2006
おざわ＠田原町
９・５割極太平打（特大盛）、１２００円。
It was a shockingly mercilessly tragic experience last time when I came all the way to this soba place with a few friends, so ready for some nice soba, and found out that the shop was closed, even though I had phoned to confirm beforehand that it would be open. Came back again alone and thank god it was open! I ordered the "extremely thick flat soba" which my friend recommended and I had been so curious and dying to try for a long time. Went for the largest portion of course, hoho. I knew it was going to be thick but I was still quite shocked cos it was really really REALLY thick!!! It is nice, and I do love thick hard noodles....but perhaps not to the point that every bite is simply a lump of starch(^^;;). I want to try the medium thick soba next time though, medium should be just right for me.
おざわ
Comments(4) [ good cheap eats | 浅草 ]
梅むら
豆かんてん、４５０円。Peas and kanten and honey. The kanten is very soft. Nice simple taste, though I got tired halfway...should have ordered one with fruits and ice-cream etc. Seems like a very popular place, many came in just to take-away. Most of the people ordered what I ordered so I guess that is the most popular item.
梅むら
Comments(4) [ japanese sweets | 浅草 ]
July 25, 2006
茶寮 都路里
抹茶そば、７３５円。特選都路里パフェ、１３６５円。
Matcha soba and Matcha parfait. There is ice underneath the soba, which keeps it cold but also makes it soggy. I have never eaten any matcha soba so green though~. The parfait has so much stuff in it: matcha and vanilla ice-cream, chestnut, tangerine, stick rice balls(white, green tea), matcha castella, matcha jelly, red bean, kanten(vegetable gelatin), and matcha whipped cream on top. The original tea shop is in Gion of Kyoto and I have queued and had the same matcha parfait years ago, which was so fantastic and I never quite forget.
茶寮 都路里
UPDATE! (03/2008)
Comments(8) [ japanese sweets | 新橋・銀座・日本橋 ]
July 24, 2006
Rabelais (ラブレー)
豚肩ロースのポワレ、ハーブソース、マッシュルームのリゾット。ランチは、パン、デザート、コーヒーが付いて、９９７円。
Pan-fried pork shoulder, mushroom risotto, herb sauce. Comes with dessert and coffee, 997yen. Isn't it incredibly cheap?! The pork and risotto are very good, though a little bit salty. The restaurant caters for weddings and there are bouquets everywhere.
Rabelais
Comments(3) [ french food | good cheap eats | 渋谷・恵比寿・代官山 ]
July 23, 2006
Anglaise(デザートサロン・アングレーズ＠荻窪)
クロスレビュー。
ラフランスタルト。Pear tart. This dessert place is one station away from the bagel place, and I have walked that distance before and it felt really near, estimated 15~20 minutes at the most, so I dragged my friend there after the bagel lunch....but it felt soooooo far this time! When we sat down in the dessert place, we realised we had walked for 45 minutes.....The cakes were not bad but probably not worth the effort....oops....hoho....^^;;
Anglaise
Comments(4) [ cakes and sweets ]
Pomme de terre（ポムドテール＠西荻窪）
クロスレビュー。
ヴィシソワーズ。ドフィノワ（じゃがいものクリーム煮）と地鶏とズッキーニのグラタン、ほうれん草ベーグル、１０５０円。テイクアウト：黒糖ときなこ、コーヒーとレーズン、キャラメルチョコ、むらさき芋、レモンポム、チーズ胡椒、イチジク。
Past entry here. Back to this super delicious bagel place with a friend. We went there about 20 minutes before the shop opened at 12, the queue was shorter than last time, but unfortunately the people before us(about 10 people) were all going to eat-in and we couldn't fit into the first round! Waiting for the second round would mean having to wait for at least an hour, and the shop staff refused to let us put down our names and perhaps wait in a coffee shop nearby or something....we hesitated but it was a long way there and stupid us, we didn't prepare a Plan B....so we ended up waiting outside the shop, standing and starving and hot, staring at other people's food through the window for an hour. ^^;; Potato soup came with the lunch set. I had the potato and chicken and zucchini gratin, which was alright. The salad however was very delicious. And of course the freshly baked spinach bagel, the thing we came for, hot from the oven, was very very good. Bought loads to take away too - black sugar and soybean flour, coffee and raisin, caramel and chocolate, taro, lemon apple, cheese pepper, and fig. But I think this will be my last time coming here...just too much effort. ^^;;
Pomme de terre
Comments(6) [ bakeries ]
Good Honest Grub
エッグズ・ベネディクト（サーモンと野菜グリル）、１４００円。Finally found a place that does egg benedict and someone willing to go with me! I was going to order 3 eggs, but the waitress said that would be too much, so I just got salmon and grilled vegetables and gave up spinach, but it turned out to be not that big afterall. Taste-wise....also pretty normal? The muffins, the eggs and the grilled vegetables were probably pre-made? Not that fresh, not that hot. Salad was not included and only grilled potatoes, a bit bland to finish. Hmm.
Good Honest Grub
Comments(5) [ 神宮前・青山・広尾 ]
京はやしや
抹茶パフェ、１０５０円。Matcha parfait, the matcha jelly and matcha ice-cream are both so good! But there are some banana pieces inside the ice-cream which completely don't match...at least there is no cornflakes!! Old entry here. I wonder it should be matcha or maccha or macha.....?
京はやしや
Comments(5) [ japanese sweets | 神宮前・青山・広尾 ]
饂飩四國 東横店
焼き茄子と香味野菜の黒酢醤油うどん、８９９円。Udon with grilled aubergine and herb in black vinegar soy sauce. The aubergine was quite burnt and tasted bitter, but the udon and the herb were quite good.
青葉
特製つけめん、９００円。The original ramen shop is in Nakano and I have tried there before and it was unforgettably good. Unfortunately this branch in Ikebukuro has entirely different taste and frankly quite bad. Always long queue though.
Comments(4) [ 池袋 ]
July 19, 2006
Aux Delices de Hongo (オ・デリス・ド・本郷)
Back again! Old entries are here, here, here and here. The same French-food-loving friend set up everything well in advance so I had been really looking forward to this meal for weeks.
Marinated salmon, with Caponata and Anchovy sauce. The salmon is fat rich and delicious enough on its own. Even better is to break the quail egg and eat the salmon with the yoke, or with the vegetables stew, or with the anchovy sauce.
Whisked fennel cream and sea urchin, bottom layer is fennel flan, the sauce on top is made from prawn heads. This is so delicious!! At first I thought sea urchin would be the main thing for this dish, but the taste and smell of the prawn is much stronger than the sea urchin. A very very heavenly dish nonetheless. In fact it is so impressive that even after many days I still crave to have it once more.
Summer organic vegetables, with summer truffle dressing. There are so many different kinds of vegetables, every single one is delicious. It is such a big plate too! Though you don't get tired til the end.
"Loup en croûte, sauce Choron", a traditional dish that very few restaurants make it apparently. My friend made a special request and the chef made once before to try and this is his second attempt. Basically it is sea bass pie, sandwiched between the fish meat is scallop mousse. The Choron sauce is like hollandaise sauce, colour is pink because of the tomato puree, also added are shallot and white wine and egg yoke, the taste is slightly sour and light and matching the fish well. One slice is big and everyone was full by that time, but it was so light that everyone finished easily.
Fruit salad with apple mango sorbet. Again many many different kinds of fruits and each spoon is a delight: peach sweet, rhubarb sour, medlar sour and melon sweet again...
The wine are all fantastic, especially the white, I don't know anything about wine but the white wine I have in this restaurants are unlike anything I had before, not just a complement to the meal but outstanding on its own!
An amazing meal! Thank you Sinp-san!
Comments(5) [ my favourites | french food | 本郷・根津・湯島・上野 ]
July 16, 2006
Bistro Juillet (ビストロ・ジュイエー)
クロスレビューはやっこさんのブログへ。
３１００円のランチコースにて。渡り蟹のキッシュ。フォワグラのソテー、リゾット添え モリ－ユ茸のソース（＋６００円）。
Crab quiche - the crab and egg were on a piece of bread instead of the a pie...can it still be called quiche? (^^;;) Foie gras saute, with risotto and Morille mushroom sauce. The foie gras was watery and half-melted inside, probably wasn't defrosted probably? The sauce was too sweet and too salty, and the risotto was soaked in that sauce...
ジャガイモの冷たいスープ。黒豚バラのポートワイン煮、カリッとスパイス焼き。グレープフルーツのハーブゼリーあえ、カシスのソルべ、フロマージュブラン添え。
Cold potato soup, with consomme jelly. Very creamy and very thick, good though. Simmered pork belly in Port wine. Supposed to be crisply grilled with spice, but was neither crispy nor spicy, just very sweet very salty, because the sauce again was too sweet and too salty. Fromage Blanc with Cassis sorbet, grape fruit and herb jelly. Normally I would find it too sour, but after an overdose of the heavy sauces, I found it very refreshing. (^^;;)
Bistro Juillet
Comments(9) [ french food | 大塚・茗荷谷・後楽園 ]
July 15, 2006
Elio Locanda Italiana(半蔵門)
１６００円のランチ（サラダとコーヒー付き）。根野菜のスープ。
Vegetables soup. A small salad too, not in picture.
菜園風タリアテッレ、リコッタチーズケーキ。
Tagliatelle with zucchini. Ricotta cheese cake. Quite good value for so much food - the portions are big! Overall taste is basic, but there are a lot vegetables and it feels healthy. An Italian friend of mine recommended me this place, said it was very authentic. I went on a weekday lunchtime quite late and it was still packed with customers, mostly foreigners, probably because the British embassy is nearby? Most of waiters are Italian too, and the atmosphere is very lively, in fact I have never been to an Italian restaurant in Japan noisier than this place...felt like I was in dim-sum place!!(^^;;) Maybe they are used to serving businessmen with very limited time for lunch, each dish came quickly(but not until I finished the previous). I went into the restaurant at half past and I was able to leave at five past! 35 minutes!
Elio Locanda Italiana
July 14, 2006
みなとや 鉄火丼
うに・いくら、１０００円。海鮮丼、１０００円。
I was searching for sea urchin rice bowl and found one in the middle of a big market in Ueno, seemed quite recommended. It turned out to a dirty road-side eating place without air-conditioning(-o-;;). I hesitated but went in anyway....argh the uni was black and it stank! People who don't like uni usually have had bad experiences eating bad ones and are traumatized forever...I think this is it(-o-;;). I was seriously scared that I might get food-poisoning...so decided not to take the risk and left most of it. On my way back, still very hungry, I came across another similar seafood ricebowl place, and there were more customers inside...maybe I went to the wrong one and this was the one recommended? Failing to think clearly I went in to try...BAD IDEA!! It was a different branch of the same shop!! Damn!!(^^;;) Luckily I learnt my lesson and ordered a mixed seafood rice bowl, so at least I would have something to eat if the uni turned out to be bad...as it happened it was bad.
July 13, 2006
ロワゾー・ド・リヨン(L'oiseau de Lyon)
ピスタチオ、フランボワーズと生クリームのムース、４７０円。
Pistachio and raspberry and cream mousse. It is okay-good.
L'oiseau de Lyon
Comments(2) [ cakes and sweets | 本郷・根津・湯島・上野 ]
福助
白玉クリームあんみつ、６３０円。 The Japanese sweet place I was looking for turned out to have closed down, probably for good, and this place was nearby so just went in to try. It is alright.
福助
Comments(3) [ japanese sweets | 本郷・根津・湯島・上野 ]
July 12, 2006
アユタヤ
竹の子と春雨ランチ、５００円。
My quest for super cheap lunches continues! A Thai place that does 500 yen lunch. The entrance to the building and the elevator are old and dodgy-looking, but once you are inside the restaurant it is quite alright. Today's "one-coin(500yen) lunch" is stir-fried bamboo shoot, green bean vermicelli, onion, egg, bell pepper, beansprout etc. Not bad!
アユタヤ
Comments(2) [ 池袋 ]
July 10, 2006
AU BON VIEUX TEMPS(オーボンヴュータン＠尾山台)
Don't remember the names so just simple descriptions. Chocolate mousse on a crunchy tart with nuts, like it the most. Dried fruits and nougat mousse, don't like it much. Passion fruits, kiwi and berries and custard cream sandwiched in pastry layers, quite good.
The tart underneath the flaky decoration has pear and almond cream. Cherry and almond cream. Both are okay.
AU BON VIEUX TEMPS
Comments(8) [ cakes and sweets ]
Casse-Croute(キャス・クルート＠目黒)
２０００円のランチコースにて。
アジのエスカベーシュ。グリーンピースの冷たいスープ。
Mackerel escabeche, very cold...like just taken out from the refrigerator.
Green peas soup, also very cold...even for summer.
豚肉とじゃがいもの煮込み。チョコレートムース。
Pork and potato stew, huge portion and simple taste, the pork is quite soft. Chocolate mousse, a bit too sweet.
キャス・クルート
July 09, 2006
HERLEQUIN (エルルカン)
会席ランチ、３６７５円。
When I heard it was going to be Japanese-styled French, I was a bit suspicious due to past experiences. Maybe because I wasn't expecting high, this place turned out to be wonderful! The European garden interior was lovely, every dish in the course was delicious, and the portion was not too small either(^^;;). There was no written menu so just what I can remember:
Paprika mousse, ikura and consomme jelly on top.
Prawn(raw), grilled avocado(seasoned, and still warm when it came out, very nice!) with tomato sauce. Cold carrot soup with pistachio oil.
Anago and vegetable fritter(the batter had curry flavour!), soy bean and garlic sauce(very unique!). Pork belly in red wine sauce, this sounded so simple yet the fat and meat were well-balanced and the surface was grilled crispy, heaven~! My friends were all very full and couldn't finish the pork so I ended up finishing for them. ^^;;
Dried fruit kanten(gelatin), passion fruit seeds, and lemon liqueur(probably) sorbet. So refreshing! Caramel pudding. Again this looked and sounded so simple yet oh it was so creamy so smooth so delicious! There were coconut bits inside the pudding too. Everything is in the 3675yen lunch course, good value.
HERLEQUIN
Comments(9) [ my favourites | french food | 渋谷・恵比寿・代官山 ]
July 08, 2006
お茶処 福茶
抹茶ぜんざいと煎茶（八女の峰）のセット、９００円。果実酒のサービスあり。
Grilled mochi, mochi balls, chestnut and red beans, in green tea. A cafe run by an old couple, very small but nice environment on second floor with big windows, though the sweets taste pretty normal. They sell fruit wine and if you eat there you get a little glass for free...nice treat on a workday. ^^;;
福茶
Comments(4) [ japanese sweets | 池袋 ]
楽旬堂 坐唯杏
（別館）ちりめん松前そばとアスパラ丼、９５０円。（本館）四川坦々うどん、８００円。
Two branches of the same restaurant, right on the opposite sides of the road. The left pic is cold soba and asparagus pork rice bowl. The rice bowl was bland, while the sauce for the soba was too salty, to the point that I had to put the soba on the leftover rice to soak the sauce out of it. But they gave out 200yen discount coupons so I tried the other branch another day and had the Szechuan tan-tan udon on the right pic...the soup was tasteless, but with a discount coupon it was only 600yen(getting stingy nowadays ^^;;).
Comments(6) [ 池袋 ]
中国健康茶房 小籠包 美来
小籠包＆回鍋肉丼のランチ、５００円。 All that for 500yen! Isn't that too cheap?! Taste-wise it was quite okay too, the dumplings were steamed after I ordered so very hot.
美来
Comments(6) [ 大山・板橋 ]
レストラン シュベスター
ミンチカツとローストポークランチ、６３０円。Fried cutlet of minced beef and roasted pork lunch. Cheap, and such high fat high calories that even I felt full all day - good for budgeting!
シュベスター
Comments(0) [ 大山・板橋 ]
韓国料理専門店 とうがらし
ブルコギ鍋ランチ、７５０円。Hmm, too little ingredients in the hotpot and the soup too sweet.
Comments(0) [ 池袋 ]
July 03, 2006
Aux Legumes(レストラン オゥ・レギューム)
４５００円のディナーコース。
アミューズ： トマトとメロンのガスバチョ。
前菜： 鮎のコンフィ。
Tomato and melon soup. Prawn on the stick, duck, tomato and cucumber on the spoon. Appetizer is "ayu"(sweetfish) confit.
メイン： イベリコ豚のグリエ、野菜とチョリソー。
熟成チーズの盛り合わせ。
Iberico pork grill, with vegetables and pork sausages. Cheese platter.
自家製手打ちフェットチーネ、サーモンとクリームソース。
デザート： フォンダンショコラ タヒチ産バニラのアイス。
Fettuccine with salmon in cream sauce, as a side order to share. Fondant chocolat with vanilla ice-cream(the chocolat is warm, with raspberry sauce inside). Everything tasted great! I realise the more the pictures I have taken on the full course, the fewer the words I can actually write besides the menu...excuse for being lazy? ^^;;
Aux Legumes
Comments(5) [ my favourites | french food | 麻布・六本木・赤坂 ]
