Monthly Archive: September 2007 [9]
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September 28, 2007
La Rochelle Minami Aoyama (ラ・ロシェル南青山)
小さいなオードブル： ヒラマサのジュレ、イワシとサーモンのクレープ包み、ニシ貝のフラン。
ロワール産白アスパラガスに帆立貝と北海道産雲丹を野生のウイキョウの香りで包み。
From the 7350yen dinner course.
Amuse bouche: Hiramasa(fish) jelly, sardine and salmon crepe, Nishigai(shellfish) flan.
White asparagus, uni and scallop, uni and mango mousse(on the spoon), olive jelly(at the back), and fennel here and there. This appetizer is amazing!
旬の野菜のカプチーノ仕立て。
赤座海老を舌平目で包み、黒のパン粉焼きにし、イカ墨のラザニアとトマト風味のバルサミコソース。
Pumpkin soup cappuccino style.
Akaza-ebi(Langoustine) wrapped in Shitabirame(sole), grilled with black breadcrumbs. Squid ink lasagna at the bottom, with tomato and Balsamico sauce.
和牛肉をハーブとベーコンで包み焼きにし、モアールと尾尻肉をカナッペにして。
お口直しの小さいなデザート。
Wagyu wrapped in herb and bacon.
Small dessert is apricot soup.
アップルマンゴーのデザートにはちみつのアイスクリームを添えて。
Apple mango dessert and honey ice-cream. Petit fours. After coffee, herb tea is also served.
Lunch was very good last time(entry here) so went back for dinner. What a nice restaurant. Delicious and delicate food, attentive service, lovely environment(though lots of cheering and clapping and flashlights when a wedding reception is taking place) - all at a reasonable price. Very satisfied!
La Rochelle Minami Aoyama
Add: 3-14-23 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-3478-5645
Comments(0) [ my favourites | french food | 神宮前・青山・広尾 ]
September 27, 2007
Italian Dining Ventaglio(Mandarin Oriental Tokyo)
From the 5000yen dinner buffet. Everything is from the buffet except the pasta which you pick from 2 choices and they bring to you from the kitchen. I was a bit shocked that they brought us the pasta while we were just starting our appetizers... Anyway, the food is mediocre at best. Most of the appetizers are strong with herb(as mentioned in the homepage). The cooked meat are slightly better.
Italian Dining Ventaglio
Comments(6) [ other cuisines | 新橋・銀座・日本橋 ]
September 24, 2007
お好み焼き ゆかり AKIBA-ICHI店
特選ミックス焼き（米澤豚ロース・イカ・タコ・エビ）。
豚平焼（とんぺいやき）：米澤豚ロース１２０ｇを特製生地と玉子で包み焼き上げる。
Left: Special mix okonomiyaki. Has pork, squid, octopus and prawn in it.
Right: Tonpeiyaki. Pork wrapped in egg and flour mix.
オムレット焼そば（米澤豚バラ・イカ・オニオン・マシュルーム）。
Omelette yakisoba. Has pork belly, squid, onion and mushroom in it.
ジャパン（もち・チーズ）。
"Japan": Mochi and cheese okonomiyaki.
Originally from Osaka and this restaurant in Akihabara is its only Tokyo branch. The food is very good. The staff made everything for us so we just had to cut them up. The Tonpeiyaki and Omelette yakisoba are cooked in the kitchen, while the rest are made in front of us. We went around 6pm on a weekday and we got seats immediately, but when we came out around 7:30pm there was a queue waiting outside. Price is reasonable, the environment is clean and new, and the seats are comfortable. Definitely will go back.
Menu(J) here.
ゆかり(Okonomiyaki Yukari)
Add: 3F Akihabara UDX, Soto-kanda 4-14-1, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3526-3310
Comments(8) [ my favourites | japanese food | 神田・神保町・秋葉原 ]
September 20, 2007
Ponta Honke (ぽん多本家)
Yoshoku restaurant established since 1905. I was a bit dazed when I saw the menu...a salad is 1050yen, deep-fried seafood is 3000~4000yen, cow tongue stew is 4200yen...good thing my target was katsu-retsu(i.e. tonkatsu) which is an affordable(relatively speaking) 2625yen. Rice and soup and pickles are an additional 525yen. Seriously, it never cease to amaze me how yoshoku sometimes can be so expensive and yet many people are so willing to pay. I mean you can have a full course French lunch with that amount of money. Anyway, the cutlet turned out to be quite delicious. ^^;;; Coating is thick but crispy. Apparently thick and floury coating is the traditional style for deep-fried things in Japan. I guess people in the past didn't worry so much about calories. The pork is fried twice, first very slowly in low heat oil, and then a quick finish in very hot oil. It did take a long time for it to come. The pork is a thick huge piece, has very little fat, soft and tender, feels a bit sandy in the mouth and not the juicy kind but I like it a lot. Didn't feel ill afterwards but apparently it is fried in lard....There is only a bottle of sauce on the table which I reckon is for the cutlet but I prefer eating it just with salt and mustard. Oh, I sat in the counter(only 4 seats) on the first floor and there was only a salaryman eating alone. He was drinking wine and eating a plate of something, and I overheard his bill was over 13,000yen...^^;; I found an English review here.
Couldn't resist and went back to try "Ebi korokke", i.e. Prawn croquette. With rice and miso soup, it is 3150yen also. Very expensive...but it is so delicious! Inside the perfectly-fried crust are corn cream and big chunks of prawns. Only two croquettes but they are quite big. Though I think the pork cutlet is of better value. I want to try other things in the menu....but the price is just too high!! Rather use the $$ for French...
Menu(J) here.
ぽん多本家 (Ponta Honke)
Add: 3-23-3 Ueno, Taito-ku
Tel: 03-3831-2351
Comments(2) [ japanese food | 本郷・根津・湯島・上野 ]
September 17, 2007
ahill ginza
本日の前菜： サーモンのミルフィユ。
メイン： 特製ハンバーグステーキ（宮崎牛・イベリコ豚・フォアグラを使用）。
2000yen lunch course including appetizer, main dish and coffee.
Salmon mille-feuille. Layered salmon mousse and marinated salmon. It looks nice but tastes pretty normal.
The hamburger steak is made from Miyazaki beef, Iberico pork and foie gras. It is delicious!! There is enough foie gras in it to give the hamburger a rich taste.
ポロネギとズワイガニのマリネ コンソメジュレ寄せ。
宮崎牛特選サーロインステーキ。
Went back again for lunch to try other things.
Leek and zuwaigani(crab) in marinade with consomme jelly. Cute but tastes so-so...just like last time! My friend's pate is much better. Maybe you should only order meat in this place.
Miyazaki beef sirloin steak. Gosh it is so nice! Super juicy with the perfect amount of fat. But the portion is tiny~~. Close up here.
特製ahillカリー。ジャスミンティープリン。
Special ahill curry rice is nothing special, while the Jasmine tea pudding is very good.
Basic lunch is 2000yen, but I ordered the beef(+1200yen), curry rice(+800yen) and dessert(+500yen), came up to 4500yen excluding drinks.
Menu(J) here.
ahill ginza(Located right next to this restaurant)
Add: 8F Ginza Velvia-kan, 2-4-6 Ginza
Tel: 03-3562-8080
Comments(3) [ french food | 新橋・銀座・日本橋 ]
September 12, 2007
New York Grill (Park Hyatt Tokyo)
Weekend brunch buffet, 6200yen. Includes a glass of sparkling wine.
Salmon mousse and other appetizer from the buffet.
More appetizers.
You get a variety of main dishes to choose from. I had the roasted Australian baby lamb, with spicy minced lamb meat. The meat was very tender and perfectly cooked but it was just simple grilled lamb that I got tired of it after finishing one slice(there were three thick slices!) I wish there were some sauce or spice to go with it.
I thought I didn't have space for desserts...but I was wrong. Three of us clean-swept the dessert bar.
The restaurant is on the 52th floor of Park Hyatt. Too bad it was raining that day otherwise the view would be stunning.
I'm not a big fan of buffet but this place is nice! Food is good, and the atmosphere is relaxing. If you don't order extra drinks, your bill will be less than 7000yen.
New York Grill (English review here)
Comments(13) [ my favourites | other cuisines | 代々木・新宿・新大久保 ]
September 10, 2007
Paris S'éveille （パリセヴェイユ＠自由が丘）
シブースト・キャラメル（中にはみかんのコンポート）。
Ciboust caramel(orange compote in the middle). Simple but good.
サントノーレキャラメル。 タルト・ポンム・カシス。
From the second visit.
Saint Honoré Caramel. Tarte Pomme(apple) Cassis.
Both are popular items and get sold out quickly so I called up in advance to reserve. Both are very nice! It was very busy on a Sunday afternoon so we had to wait for a bit to get a table. My friends ordered the weekend-only dessert plates and they looked great. Going to try that next time.
Past entry here.
Paris S'éveille
Add: 2-14-5 Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku
Tel: 03-5731-3230
Comments(4) [ cakes and sweets ]
September 05, 2007
よね津（学芸大学）
Sour plum wine.
突き出し。黒潮天然白身魚ちり造り。
Appetizer: clam and seaweed(?) and wasabi.
Shiromi-sakana(white-meat fish) otsukuri(sliced raw fish).
夏野菜の煮こごり。 かつおたたき。
Summer vegetables gelatin. Bonito tataki.
四万十川ごりの唐揚げ。 鯨カツ。
Fried gori(some kind little river fish). Gei-katsu(fried whale meat). These two are absolutely delicious specialties of this restaurant and are must-order. Whale meat actually has the texture and taste of venison! Make sure you order Gei-katsu early or it might run out.
さんまの友肝焼。 新しょうが旨煮。
Grilled sanma(Pacific saury). Apparently rolled with its liver, but I couldn't tell. Simmered ginger, simple but good.
どろめ（生しらす）。豆腐の玉子とじ。
Raw shirasu(white bait). Tofu and egg hotpot.
帆立貝とハス芋の炊き合わせ。鴨汁ぶっかけそうめん。
Scallop and hasuimo "takiawase"(boiled vegetables). This came in a big bowl but I forgot to take pic. Cold soumen with duck soup.
土佐の棒寿司(カマス)。冷製茶がゆ。いちじく甲州煮。
Bouzushi(literally "rod sushi"). Cold tea porridge. Fig koushuni(simmered with red wine, soy sauce etc.).
A friend took us to this local and casual washoku place for dinner. A bit out of the way for me but it is only a few minutes walk from Gakugeidaigaku station which is near Shibuya. A tiny restaurant with mainly counter seats. We sat at the only table at the back which can accomodate 4-6 people. Everything we ordered were delicious without exceptions. I especially loved the Bonito tataki, fried gori and fried whale meat. Everything on the food and drink menu are reasonably priced. We ate and drank(mainly ninonshu) til we couldn't move, and it was a bit more than 7000yen per person. They have a set dinner course less than 5000yen but my friend never tried it so not sure what would come out.
Menu(J): 1, 2.
よね津 (Yonetsu/Yonezu)
Add: 3-4-13 Takaban, Meguro-ku
Tel: 03-3716-5991
Comments(3) [ my favourites | japanese food ]
September 04, 2007
La Rochelle Minami Aoyama (ラ・ロシェル南青山)
小さなオードブル。川原さんの畑の“いんげん”、オマール海老、イカのマリネと駿河湾のシラスを２種類の食感で。
From the 6510yen lunch course.
Amuse-bouche. Asparagus mousse in the front. Prawn and clam soup in the middle. Forgot the other two...
Kidney beans, with lobster and squid. Fried shirasu(baby sardine) and lobster on the spoon.
かます＆雲丹をサンドウィッチのイメージで、ベルベーヌ風味のソースを添え。
仔牛のフィレ肉にフォアグラの燻製を詰めてローストし、オリビエさんのスパイスとサリエットの香り。
Kamasu(Saury pike or Barracuda) and uni, sandwich-style, with Vervain sauce.
Veal and smoked foie gras rolled in sansai(wild vegetable) with spice and sarriette(savory) flavour.
プティ・デセール。デザートワゴン。
A small dessert, and then dessert wagon service where you can choose what you like. I had ALL. ^^;; Petit fours with the coffee, and then a small cup of fresh herb tea.
The food is just amazing. The presentation is beautiful yet taste is not compromised to make it look good. The mille-feuille-looking fish dish is pretty AND delicious, with many layers of uni, fish, prawn etc. The veal is tender and perfectly cooked. The most impressive part however, is the veggy on the side - all standing up and artistic-looking, and each of them has something unpredictable stuffed inside, e.g. ratatouille inside the radish, corn paste inside the aubergine...I love them all! The desserts are nice too. Souffle cheese cake with lavender, and honey ice-cream were the best. For the 6510yen lunch course, you can also choose a dessert plate instead of wagon dessert.
The environment is lovely. There is a church next to the restaurant(first pic). In fact on the day we went, there was a small wedding reception going on, and one-third of the restaurant was partitioned by glass panels and separated from where we sat. We could still see the bride and hear the clapping and cheering though.
If you print out the coupon here, you get a discount of about 1000yen for the "seasonal lunch course". Very good value! One coupon can be used for up to 4 people.
La Rochelle Minami Aoyama
Add: 3-14-23 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-3478-5645
Comments(6) [ my favourites | french food | 神宮前・青山・広尾 ]
