Monthly Archive: November 2006 [41]
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November 30, 2006
CHIANTI (キャンティ＠笹塚)
カリブサラダ。
Caribbean salad. The salad dressing in this restaurant is supposed to be very famous. Forgot to take picture of it but a very big bottle of dressing for you to add freely. Very nice garlic flavour, healthy-tasting that you can add a lot without feeling salty or oily.
ソフトシェルクラブのイタリアクレープ手巻き。仔羊のスペアリブ炭焼き。
Soft-shell crab Italian crepe roll. Two kind of sauces, one is mayonnaise-based, the other is like Peking duck sauce...the whole process of wrapping felt like eating Peking duck too. Charcoal-grilled lamb sparerib, juicy but very salty.
いかすみスープのスパゲッティ。ゴルゴンゾーラクリーム ニョッキ。
Squid ink soup spaghetti - this is no good. Gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce - gnocchi is nice but sauce extremely salty.
Seems like a family restaurant type of hangout place for the locals. Casual, cheap, big portion, taste-wise a bit on the strong and salty side.
CHIANTI
November 29, 2006
かがり火
野菜天おろし ぶっかけうどん、＋するめいかの白子天、１０９０円。
Bukkake udon with vegetable tempura and squid roe tempura. Love the hand-made udon, sticky and chewy. Vegetable tempura is nice too but the squid roe is bitter and dry. Very slow on the delivery, I ordered a drink but they forgot, and didn't give me water until I begged them, but they were nice enough to let me, being alone, take up a table for 2 instead of a counter seat surrounded by salarymen. And it is very cheap and location very convenient.
かがり火
Shark (シャーク＠目白)
パスタ２種盛り合わせ： 挽肉とアスパラのトマトソーススバゲッティ、サーモンとズッキーニのクリームソースペンネ。
Spaghetti with minced meat and asparagus in tomato sauce, and penne with salmon and zucchini in cream sauce. Came with appetizer, bread and coffee, 1050yen. Food was not too exciting but it filled me. The restaurant I wanted to go was full so just went next door for a quick lunch.
Shark
Comments(2) [ other areas in tokyo ]
November 28, 2006
La Saetta （ラ・サエッタ）
三陸産カキのカルパッチョ ケッカソース。
Full course lunch is 3500yen(no tax, no service charge).
Focaccia with rosemary.
Oyster carpaccio, Checca Sauce. The oyster is a bit salty, but the sauce has nice citrus flavour.
サルデーニャ産カラスミのフェデリーニ。
北イタリアン伝統パスタ アニョロッティ。
Fedelini with dried salted tuna roe. Spicy with real hot little chilli in it. Lots of seafood like scallops, prawns, clams, fish meat. Love the fish taste!
Agnolotti - traditional North Italian pasta apparently. Smaller than the usual ravioli, stuffed with pork belly and cheese. Green because of the spinach mixed in it.
スペイン産イベリコ豚のロースト。
Roasted Iberico pork. Fat and meat nicely balanced, very juicy. The sauce is made from eshallot and pork stock and something else I couldn't catch when the waiter explained. Very delicious too. Actually I like the meat dish better than the pasta, which is usual for me in an Italian restaurant.
Lunch set comes with a small coffee. Dessert is optional.
Cheaper lunch entry is here.
Lunch menu(Japanese only): 1, 2.
La Saetta
Comments(4) [ italian food | 本郷・根津・湯島・上野 ]
November 27, 2006
硯家
硯家南池袋店
豚肉うどん、７７０円。
Pork udon(hot). This udon place has two restaurants which are only a few minutes walk from each other. I have been to the honten(original restaurant), entry here. I didn't like the chilled udon last time so when I went to try the branch restaurant, I had the hot soup one, which is not as salty and much better. The beef was no good last time so I have pork...unfortunately the pork meat is also very rough and hard. For a simple bowl of udon, I did have to wait for a very long time even though the restaurant was pretty empty. I thought I wasn't going back to his place anymore but I saw the tempura other customer ordered and it looked so good...damn.
硯家 本店
だし巻き玉子、３５０円。天ぷらざるうどん、８４０円。
Honten has better seating and better service, so I went back to try out their egg roll and tempura zaru udon. The egg roll and the udon are no good, but the tempura is quite good - huge slices of aubergine, pumpkin, shishitou(small green pepper), prawn and bell pepper, all freshly fried. Very thick flour coating but it was crispy. 840yen for a tempura udon is very cheap!
Comments(2) [ 池袋 ]
November 26, 2006
Mr. Rosa (ミスター・ロサ)
トントロ串、豚しそチーズ、ロールキャベツ、鳥だんご、大根。
On a stick: fatty pork, pork with shiso and cheese. Oden: cabbage roll, chicken meatball, and radish. All 150yen each. First time going to this kind of drinking place by myself at night...circled the shop three times before summoning enough courage to go in. ^^;; But once you are in, have a drink, you do get quite relaxed because even though 100% of the customers are salarymen, nobody really cares about you and you can just read, or watch TV, and eat quietly. I should do this more often~
Mr. Rosa
Comments(5) [ 池袋 ]
November 25, 2006
Bistro La Ciboulette (ラ・シブレット＠浅草橋)
Cozy bistro with only 2 tables and counter seats. Location is obscure but apparently very popular - always a queue at lunch time, and reservation a must for dinner.
Went with a friend and sat at the counter. The delicious egg tarts are teasers, one with prawn and the other with salmon roe. Two for one person so no fighting.
フレッシュフォワグラのポワレ イチジクの甘酸っぱいソース、１８９０円。
黄鹿モモ肉のロースト（巨峰のソース）、２４００円。
Seems like there is no set course. For appetizer I had Pan-fried fresh foie gras in fig sauce. Absolutely heaven! And such a big piece! Maybe it is meant to be a main?
For main course, I had Roasted venison thigh. Lean and tender meat, incredibly generous portion. The sauce is kyohou(Japanese grape), very sweet very yummy! After I devoured the meat, I joked that I wish I had a spoon to drink the leftover sauce. The next second the madam gave us a spoon each...I swear I wasn't loud(^^;;).
洋梨のコンポート。カヌレ。
Two of us shared the pear compote with vanilla ice-cream. So good! Not too sweet, very refreshing, especially after the meat feast. While having coffee, we were *quietly* talking about the Canelé displayed on the counter and my friend said you get those at lunch time. The next second the madam gave us a plate for free...she does have good ears. I have to say, this Canelé is the best I have ever tasted!! Never a big fan of this French sweet, but instantly hooked.
Two drinks, a massive appetizer, a main dish, half the dessert, and coffee, I paid only 6800yen. Very good value!
Menu(Japanese only): 1, 2.
Bistro La Ciboulette
Comments(5) [ my favourites | french food | 浅草 ]
November 24, 2006
山くじら すき焼 ももんじや＠両国
野獣肉コース、６８００円。
先付(猪と大根の煮込み)、鹿刺身。
A dinner course of wild animal meat. Simmered wild boar and radish. Venison sashimi. The wild boar meat and the raw venison both don't have the bitter taste or unpleasant smell I expected of game meat. Very light and easy to eat. Venison is lean and healthy, very soft.
猪鍋（甘味噌仕立）、鹿竜田揚。
Wild boar sukiyaki. Miso is added to the sukiyaki, the soup base is quite strong. Probably that's why there is no distinct smell or taste from the meat since the strong soup is covering it up. The wild boar meat is very hard at first, but the more you cook it, the softer it becomes.
Venison Tatsuta-age(i.e. meat is marinated with soy sauce before deep-frying). Venison is lean and gets a bit dry and "sandy" when cooked, but it is well-seasoned and frying it gives it back a little fat. ^^;;
狸汁。〆のうどん。
Tanukijiru(racoon-dog miso soup). Gosh, this soup is one strong experience of the wilderness. ^^;; There are only bits of racoon-dog meat, which stink even stronger than the soup when you chew it. Everyone else was okay and absolutely loved it. I thought it was delicious too(seriously!), but I couldn't help feeling a bit sick at the same time. ^^;; The course doesn't include udon but we ordered it to put into the leftover sukiyaki(must add water to dilute it though cos it is so strong), which is very very yummy.
あずきと栗のアイス。
Red bean and chestnut ice-cream.
I didn't realise it at that time but when I got home, all my clothes stank as if I had been to the zoo.
ももんじや
November 23, 2006
CAFE AALIYA (カフェアリヤ)
フレンチトーストとチキンベジタブルスープ。コーヒーが付いて８００円。
Soft and fluffy and light French toast, with chicken vegetables soup. Both are very nice!
CAFE AALIYA
November 22, 2006
MIST
らぁ麺、１２００円。
Soy sauce based ramen. Smart decor, trendy waiters, stylishly-designed tableware, chopstick and spoon hidden in a black drawer under the counter which I had to grope for a minute to find. The ramen is nice but nothing really special. The shop is inside Omotesando Hills.
MIST CHABUYA JAPAN
Comments(7) [ 神宮前・青山・広尾 ]
November 21, 2006
讃岐饂飩元喜＠千石
舞天ぶっかけ、８００円。舞茸とシメジの炊き込みご飯、２２０円。
Bukkake udon with Maitake mushroom tempura. Maitake mushroom and shimeji mushroom rice. Although udon, unlike soba, is not seasonal and is pretty much the same taste any time of the year, the choices of tempura are definitely more tempting in autumn!
元喜
Comments(4) [ good cheap eats ]
Atelier de mannebiches (アトリエ・ド・マヌビッシュ＠春日)
パン・ド・ミー。
The square-cut white bread is famous in this local bakery so I just got it even though I have no butter/jam/spread of any kind in my fridge, and I confess I can't eat white bread on its own. Toasted it and ate it with just honey, nice nice.
アプリコットとクルミ。メープルノア。ローストビーフのバケットサンド。
Apricot and walnut. Maple and walnut. Roasted beef sandwich - lots of pepper and onions.
カマンベールチーズサンド。黒豚のサラミとチーズのフォカッチャ。ソーセージキャスクルート。
Camenbert cheese sandwich. Pork salami and cheese focaccia(salty but quite good). Sausage Casse-Croute.
フレンチトースト。マロンデニッシュ。
French toast(soaked with egg, very good!). Marron Danish(marron paste and sweet potato inside).
Atelier de mannebiches
Comments(7) [ bakeries ]
November 20, 2006
Department store sweets
金沢和音(池袋東武)： かぼちゃ餅（道明寺）、つき餅（つぶあん）、栗大福。
Pumpkin mochi(pumpkin paste inside), Tsuki mochi(mochi freshly made from rice-pounding, lightly salted red bean on top), and chestnut daifuku. All are sticky and nice. The two mochi have harder texture while the daifuku has very soft skin.
銀座かずや
A very popular Japanese sweet which gets sold out quickly - people queue up outside the shop before it opens apparently. The fresh ones are probably only sold in the original shop in Ginza, but my friend got the packed version in a department store. The matcha taste is so strong and bitter, which I like a lot, the texture is smooth and sticky.
ふるや古賀音庵
粟だんご。大福。
Dango with corn paste on top is nice, very sticky and chewy. Daifuku with red bean paste is okay.
鎌倉源吉兆庵
栗雅楽： 栗餡を二層のしぐれで包み込んだ。
嘉千栗： 蜜漬けした栗を栗きんとんで包んだ。
Two sweets made from chestnuts. Not really my favourite...
扇屋
More chestnut sweets. The one on the left has chestnut paste and red bean inside, better than the one on the right, which I can't recall the taste at all...
Comments(6) [ japanese sweets ]
もり晴
カジキ鮪の煮付け定食、８５０円。
A newly opened local washoku place. Simmered spearfish lunch set is just so-so though.
Comments(0) [ 大山・板橋 ]
November 19, 2006
Volo Cosi (ヴォーロ・コズィ＠千石)
Lunch at a rather new Italian restaurant which is obscurely located but much hyped amongst food bloggers.
Beautiful dark and classy decor. Though I learnt afterwards that this place used to be a French restaurant and the decor is pretty much unchanged. Service is very formal, a whole team of stiff-backed black-suited waiters and waitresses standing around every corner and checking on you all the time. Very friendly people though.
Vegetable soup, with barley in it. It is so tiny, amazed they found such a miniature bowl. Bread is hot and very good.
全粒粉の自家製スパゲティ たまねぎとアンチョビソース。
Appetizer plate. Couldn't quite catch the waiter's explanation of each item but they are gorgonzola mousse(very good!) in front of the brioche, roasted pigeon(in the middle), cod paste on potato cake, crab, octopus, vegetable stew, eel roll with orange sauce, and sardine.
There were many pasta choices, I had the homemade whole-wheat spaghetti with onions and anchovy sauce. Simple but good. The onion is very sweet. Soaked all the leftover sauce with a second helping of bread.
栗のアイスクリームとパンナコッタ。
Japanese chestnut ice-cream and Panna Cotta with cherry sauce. A lot of chestnut must have been used to make the ice-cream, not too smooth but very rich.
Lunch without the meat dish - the one I ordered - is 2750yen. Quite cheap actually. Full course lunch is 3800yen.
Volo Cosi
November 18, 2006
La Goulue (ラ・グーリュ＠巣鴨)
サンマのカルパッチョ、パルサミコソース。ホウボウ、コリアンダー風味。
Saury Carpaccio, Balsamico sauce.
Pan-fried gurnard, with coriander - the vegetables and the sauce make it quite chinese tasting.
仔鹿もも肉のロースト、くるみソース。チーズ。
Roasted venison, walnut sauce. Rather bland, but the meat is soft.
洋梨、キャラメルソース、チョコレートムース。
Pear in caramel sauce and chocolate mousse.
Lunch set is 3675yen. Price is not cheap considering the location. It is one of the restaurants I heard about and wanted to try but never quite got the chance and sorta forgot about it for years. Didn't feel comfortable about dragging friends to go with me so I just went alone. Unfortunately the attentive service didn't quite make up for the mediocre quality. Good thing that I was alone...
La Goulue
November 17, 2006
すずらん
味噌角煮つけそば（平打）、１２５０円。
Miso tsuke-men with kakuni(simmered pork). I love the flat noodles!! Even though the miso soup doesn't stick so well to flat sheet noodles but still like it. Many people ask for "soup-wari", i.e. adding soup into the tsuke-soup(which is too strong to drink by itself) to finish it off. They have a large menu, e.g. curry ramen, chicken soup ramen, clam soup ramen etc. Want to go back to try others!
すずらん
Comments(6) [ good cheap eats | 渋谷・恵比寿・代官山 ]
November 16, 2006
Le Trianon (トリアノン)
Seafood cream sauce spaghetti, salad and drink bar included, 1300yen. It is on the 59th floor of Prince hotel, nice highrise view, can even see the skyscrapers in Shinjuku. The menu is mainly yoshoku, hamburger and pork cutlet and steak etc. The spaghetti I had was not great, though I really just came for the view...
Le Trianon Sunshine 60
Comments(4) [ 池袋 ]
November 15, 2006
Tipsy's
柿と鴨とフォアグラのテリーヌ。
Persimmon and duck and foie gras terrine. Sweet and very good! Bread is hot.
豚ロースのロースト エピスソース。ヨーグルトのムース、キャラメルアイスと柿添え。
Roasted pork loin in épice sauce. The pork is rather dry.
Yogurt mousse, caramel ice-cream and persimmon. The ice-cream is good.
Lunch course is 1890yen.
Tipsy's
Comments(5) [ french food | 大塚・茗荷谷・後楽園 ]
茎の花
粟ぜんざい、７４０円。
Awa-zenzai: millet and red bean. Hmm, both the milet and the red bean are a bit watery. I like this one better.
茎の花
Comments(2) [ japanese sweets | 大塚・茗荷谷・後楽園 ]
November 14, 2006
FUJIMAMAS
Eggs Benedict "the Classic" Poached Eggs on an Engish Muffin, Ham and Hollandaise Sauce, 1470yen.
Perfect Pancakes with Real Maple Syrup & Whipped Butter, 1260yen. Cappuccino, 630yen. The pancakes are so huge, and three slices! Very soft and moist. I love it! So many foreigners in this place - staffs, customers, even the Japanese staffs speak English.
FUJIMAMAS
Comments(5) [ 神宮前・青山・広尾 ]
November 13, 2006
東京麺通団
大根と厚揚げ。かきあげ。ぶっかけうどん（大）。
Radish and deep-fried tofu. Kakiage - tempura with onion and carrot. Bukkake udon - udon with various toppings on top. This one just has ginger and spring onion, and sweet soy sauce. This place is self-service, very cheap, and the quality is good.
東京麺通団
Panetteria ARIETTA (パネッテリア アリエッタ)
黒豆久左エ門、くるみあんぱん、クリームパン。
パプリカとチーズのベーグル、ベジタブルパテのベーグル。
Black bean - neither salty or sweet, very healthy tasting. Walnut and sweet red bean bun. Custard cream bread.
Paprika and parmesan cheese bagel. Can't tell the paprika at all, only a faint taste of cheese. Vegetable pate bagel - carrot and other vegetables made into a paste and mixed with the dough apparently. Again, can't tell the vegetable, only lots of pepper. The texture of the bagels is soft and chewy though.
Panetteria ARIETTA
Comments(2) [ bakeries ]
November 12, 2006
PÂTISSIER INAMURA SHOZO (パティシェ イナムラ ショウゾウ)
上野の山のモンブラン。ポムカネル。
Mont blanc. Layered from top to bottom with marron paste, fresh cream, sponge, custard cream, and sponge again. Also some marron bits here and there. This regular Mont blanc can't quite beat the more luxurious version in terms of the (marron/other stuff) ratio, and the richness of the marron itself, but it is quite nice nonetheless, and a bit cheaper. Think of it as a marron sponge cake rather than a Mont Blanc. Another seasonal item - green apple mousse, cinnamon apple, caramel mousse, and chocolate sponge as the base. Nice combination of sweet and sour. Got the Lemon pound cake to take away too - everyone in the line in front of me got the lemon cake so I just followed. ^^;; Lovely lemony flavour and moist texture. Can keep it for 4 days but I ate it in 2 by myself easily.
INAMURA SHOZO
Comments(5) [ cakes and sweets ]
砂漠楼
冷製生湯葉と生うにの吉野餡かけ。天然魚の刺身盛合せ。
Yuba(tofu skin) and uni. Sashimi.
十二種類の野菜サラダ じゃこドレッシング。宮崎地鶏もも肉 炭火焼。
Salad. Charcoal-grilled chicken thigh.
塩ちゃんこ鍋。杏仁豆腐。
Chanko hotpot. Almond tofu.
4000yen including All-you-can-drink. I got so drunk. ^^;;
砂漠楼
November 11, 2006
Bistro Clair (ビストロクレール)
秋鮭のブランダードとまぐろとアボカドのタルタルのクレープ包み。
豚こめかみ肉の赤ワイン煮。バナナのムースとバニラアイス。１５７５円。
Crepe with salmon brandade, tuna and avocado tartare. Pork temple meat in red wine. Banana mousse and vanilla ice-cream. Very local bistro, the food is okay. Th lunch I had last time was better.
Menu here and here.
Bistro Clair
Comments(2) [ french food | 大山・板橋 ]
November 10, 2006
ソーニヤ
ポルシチ＋ライス＋ピロシキセット、１２６０円。
Lunch at a Russian restaurant run by two ladies. Lunch set includes Borstch, rice and Piroshki. Borstch has beetroot, tomato, potato, cabbage, carrot, and chunks of very soft cow tongue in it, topped with sour cream. A bit light tasting to my liking, though the cow tongue is very soft. The piroshki has minced meat, onions and vermicelli, just fried and very good. For piroshki, you can choose red bean or pumpkin instead of minced meat.
ソーニヤ
Superfrutto
This Italian gelato shop's homepage looks very promising with so many different flavours, but when I visited there were only 5 flavours: coconut, cafe latte, matcha, cream, royal milk tea. None really exciting. I had royal milk tea and cafe latte in a cup, 300yen. Both are too watery...bad timing?
Superfrutto
November 09, 2006
栄児(ロンアール)
汁なし担々麺セット（サラダ、餃子付）１０００円。
Tan-tan noodles(no soup), comes with salad(all cooked veggy) and boiled dumplings. Very local Szechuan restaurant that somehow got very famous because of its authentic Szechuan spiciness. First-timer will be strongly recommended by almost every waitress, every kitchen staff, every cook, over and over, to try the mild version first, but I stubbornly insisted on having the normal spicy version. Turned out it was actually okay, the tingling and numbing sensation from the Szechuan pepper spreads over your tongue and your mouth, which is quite scary, but because your tongue is numbed, you don't really feel painful. ^^;; I couldn't finish all the noodles though, not because it was too hot, but because it was a big bowl and I got really tired of the same taste. However the two waitresses came to me one after another saying, "See, I told you to get the mild one." ^^;;; Very local and friendly ambience though, which is kinda contagious and makes you feel like chiming into the conversation between the customers and the very talkative waitresses. Want to try their mapo tofu. There is a famous Szechuan restaurant in Ikebukuro(entry here) and I tried their cold Szechuan noodles before and I was complaining about how boring it was to have no other ingredients with the noodles other than chilli sauce, but now I realise that it is in fact the authentic style of Szechuan noodles...oops.
栄児
Comments(5) [ 大山・板橋 ]
November 08, 2006
PÂTISSIER INAMURA SHOZO (パティシェ イナムラ ショウゾウ)
羽衣モンブラン。
This mont blanc is limited seasonal item. Apparently 10 Japanese marrons are used to make one of these, and there is definitely no cheating because I have never eaten a mont blanc that has such a thick layer of marron paste and tastes so rich! Inside is fresh cream and one whole chestnut cooked in syrup, bottom is chocolate macarons. It is amazing, and surprisingly not too sweet!
キンモクセイ月光。
Sweet Osmanthus mousse with fresh cream and sponge cake at the bottom. So creamy and very nice fruity flower fragrance. Also first time I see a doorman for a cake shop! ^^;;;
INAMURA SHOZO
Comments(7) [ cakes and sweets ]
November 07, 2006
Aroma-Fresca (アロマフレスカ )
This Italian restaurant is inside Casa Vinitalia which I have been twice before(entry here and here). The background story is long, but anyway this place is so legendary and has so many loyal fans that you need to book 3 months in advance. Yes 3 months!! Such heroic deeds are not performed by me of course. ^^;; We had the standard course which is 10000yen. The seasonal course is 13500yen(a bit hard to read but the menu is here). Everything in the pictures are included in the course for one person. Expectation for the quality of the food is fulfilled - all the dishes are absolutely delicious and unforgettably fragrant, the service is immaculate. The interior? When you walk in, you feel like you have wandered into a secret garden of your dreams~.
The olives are so green, never tried before.
Smoked unagi with caviar.
焼きタラバ蟹のサラダ アロマフレスカ風。
Charcoal grilled taraba crab salad.
穴子の香草蒸し フレッシュトマト風味。
ポルチーニの冷たいスープとアワビの肝。
Steamed anago with herb and fresh tomato.
Porcini potage with abalone liver.
ワタリ蟹のスバゲッティ。
じゃがいもを詰めたラヴィオリ バジリコ風味。
Watari crab spaghetti.
Potato ravioli in basil sauce.
金目鯛のわかめ包み蒸し。
Steamed red sea bream wrapped in seaweed, clam sauce. The original menu is sea bream with a special kind of clams but unfortunately the clams were not available that day....
Lemon and passion fruit sorbet. Very sour and really wakes you up!
和牛のビステッカ アロマフレスカ風。
Wagyu(Japanese beef), comes in a hot plate and you have to move it to your own plate. The top looks rare but bottom is cooked. Very soft and very fatty. Eat it with lemon+mustard sweet paste, or wasabi(western type apparently) or garlic paste. The salad is rucola. Also comes with sweet potato in cheese cream sauce, very sweet like a dessert!
イチジクのコンポート、ライチアイスクリーム。
Fig compote, with lychee ice-cream(blue berry sauce inside the ice-cream).
Petit four and caramel tea, and more sweets and chocolate in a big glass.
What a meal!
Aroma-Fresca
Comments(7) [ my favourites | italian food | 麻布・六本木・赤坂 ]
November 06, 2006
手打古式蕎麦
もりそば、８５０円。
Old-style soba, which is made from whole buckwheat with its skin unpeeled, hence the dark colour. I expected very rough texture, but it was actually quite smooth. Very nice! I realised too late that, instead of the normal tsuyu sauce I had, I should have gotten the radish sauce+soy sauce(with a 100yen extra), which is the best way to eat the soba apparently....must go back!
手打古式蕎麦
カフェテラス古瀬戸
The wall paintings in this cafe are done by a multi-talented celebrity Kido Maako(城戸真亜子), whom I've never heard of until I was taken to this place. ^^;; I just had coffee the first time with some friends and took tonnes of pictures, but I wanted to beef up the entry so went back for their curry which seems to have many fans. The prawn curry is a bit normal though. I guess you don't go there for food, but for the cultural ambience~
カフェテラス古瀬戸
November 05, 2006
東京純豆腐
豚スンドゥブ（みそベース）：豚肉、あさり、豆腐、しいたけ、ネギ、油揚げ、貝柱、芝エビ。ランチセットは、ご飯、ナムル、キムチ、デザート付きで、９００円。 トッポギはトッピングで１００円。辛さはベリーホット。
Pork "Sundub" lunch set. Ingredients are pork, clam, tofu(soft type), shiitake mushroom, spring onion, deep-fried tofu, scallop, prawns. Extra order of Korean mochi stick. Two kinds of soup base and I chose miso. Three level of hotness and of course I had "Very hot". The menu's suggestion is to eat the first half of the rice with the soup, and then add the Namul, chilli paste and the soup into the rest of the rice and eat it like a bibimbap. I did that and it was really nice. The soup is really delicious anyway, whatever you do with it, it will be good.
東京純豆腐
Comments(10) [ good cheap eats | 渋谷・恵比寿・代官山 ]
November 04, 2006
Waffle Cafe ORANG (ワッフルカフェ・オランジ＠下北沢)
モンブランワッフル、９４５円。マロンクリームにホワイトチョコとクランベリー、手作りココアクッキー、アーモンドクランチをのせて、カシスソースで仕上げた。チャイ、６８２円。
Mont Blanc Waffle: marron cream, white chocolate and cranberries, cocoa cookies, almond crunch, and Cassis sauce. Looks a bit of a mess(^^;;) but it is quite nice actually. All those crunchies and cream and sauce made the otherwise ordinary-tasting waffle very luxurious. Surpisingly it is not too sweet too. The chai is good. The one-e-missing name of the shop always puzzles me though.
Waffle Cafe ORANG
Comments(6) [ cakes and sweets ]
Via Partenope (ヴィア・パルテノペ 品川店)
ピッツァランチ： マルゲリータ、１２６０円。
Margherita: Pizza with mozzarella, basil and tomato sauce. Comes with appetizer and coffee. The pizza is okay. The restaurant is inside an office complex, so lots of OLs and salarymen.
Via Partenope
Comments(4) [ other areas in tokyo ]
November 03, 2006
Patisserie Mariage (パティスリー マリアージュ)
キャラメル オレンジ。蜂蜜とイチジク。オレンジピールのパンケーキ。
Old entry here. Caramel and orange: Orange and caramel chiboust. There are caramel sauce and almonds in the middle layer. Tastes okay. I have tried a couple of cakes from this place but none of them is really impressive. However, they do have a large collection of cookies and baked finger cakes so I tried a couple of those. Honey and semi-dried fig Madeleine. Pound cake with orange peels.
フィナンシェ。マロンとカシス。ガレット。
Financier in Teddy bear shape. Madeleine with marron and cassis. Galette. All of them are actually quite good, a bit on the light-tasting side. Particularly like the pound cake which is the only one rich with butter, and the sour-sweet madeleine with marron and cassis.
Patisserie Mariage
Comments(6) [ cakes and sweets | 大塚・茗荷谷・後楽園 ]
神田 はちまき
Tempura lunch set, 1350yen. This tempura place is 60 years old, and the cooking style has not changed over the years apparently, so I am guessing traditional style means smaller concern for fat-control, i.e. thicker batter. ^^;;
神田 はちまき
November 02, 2006
居残り連＠品川
秋鮭のハーブソテー、１０００円。
Salmon saute with rosemary. Very nice! Comes with appetizer, pumpkin miso soup(sweet) and rice. Very popular lunch place for salarymen and OLs - I went early so was immediately seated but when I left, there was a long queue outside. It is quite far from the Shinagawa station and no other alternatives nearby. I sat on the first-floor counter but there is a second floor. The retro building used to be an old Unagi(eels) restaurant which closed down two years ago. Renewed to this "western" restaurant, serving basically Japanese food with a western touch. Lunch menu seems to change everyday, today's menu is here.
居残り連
Comments(5) [ other areas in tokyo ]
Wanofu＠品川
あずきと長芋のタルト、ケーキセットで、９００円。
Red bean and Nagaimo potato tart. Not so good. The shop is on the second floor of ecute inside the Shinagawa station, not outside the ticket gate but inside.
Wanofu
Comments(5) [ cakes and sweets ]
November 01, 2006
Bistro Chez AZUMA （シェ・アズマ）
オニオングラタンスープ。仔羊肩ロースのロースト・ドライトマトソース。
Onion gratin soup. Roasted lamb in dried tomato sauce. Both were very good! My friend ordered guinea fowl and gave me a bite to try, very yummy too. The waitress was very friendly.
生姜風味のブランマンジェとチョコレートのムース。
Ginger Blanc manger and chocolate mousse. The dessert is a bit weak, compared to the good quality of previous courses. Lunch menu is surprisingly large to give more variety than most French restaurants offer at lunch. Price ranging from 1000yen to 2800yen. Took a bunch of friends who were rather broke but wanted good food, so the 1000yen lunch was my original plan. But once I said the onion soup was very good here, and only the 2800yen lunch included that...plan changed immediately. ^^;;
Old entry here. I wanted the same onion soup but I completely forgot that I had lamb last time and ordered lamb again....even the sauce was the same! Damn! ^^;; Oh and you don't have to split from big plates yourself at lunch time. Great for lazy butts like me!
Chez AZUMA
Comments(6) [ french food | 渋谷・恵比寿・代官山 ]
