Monthly Archive: November 2007 [13]
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November 29, 2007
beacon urban chop house
北海道産タラバ蟹のクラブケーキ、レムラードソース。
From the 4200yen lunch course. Taraba crab cakes with remoulade sauce. Generous amount of crab meat inside. Tasty though the sauce is slightly salty. Peach tea is free and refillable.
オーストラリア産サーロインステーキ （200g）。
マンゴークレームブリュレとマンゴーソルベ添え。
Australian sirloin, Angus, grade 1, long grain fed 200g. Not a big fan of steak...but this is very good! Asked for medium-rare and it was juicy and tender. Mango creme brulee topped with mango sorbet. Chunks of mango in the creme brulee, very good!
The restaurant is about 10 mins walks from either Shibuya or Omotesando station. The seats are spacious and comfortable, and not so crowded even on weekends. Lots of foreigners. The price is not cheap but the portion is big. Will definitely go back to try their hamburgers. Same management as this restaurant.
beacon (ビーコン・アーバンチョップハウス)
Add: 1-2-5 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku
Tel: 03-6418-0077
Comments(4) [ my favourites | other cuisines | 渋谷・恵比寿・代官山 ]
November 25, 2007
Édition Koji Shimomura (エディション・コウジ シモムラ)
パルメジャーノのスティックパイ。 自家製プチハンバーガー。
From the 6300yen lunch.
Parmesan stick pie. Petit hamburger with ham and basil.
宮城産の岩牡蛎 牡蛎のクリームと海水と柑橘のジュレ添え。
Miyazaki Iwakaki(oyster), with seaweed, oyster cream(at the bottom) and citrus jelly. The oyster is only cooked in seawater for 10 seconds apparently. Very refreshing.
まとう鯛のフリット。人参と林檎のソルベ。
Chef specialty: matodai fritter. Kadaif is used for the coating. Very light and crispy. There are broccoli cream and lemon jam at the bottom. Apparently the idea of having lemon jam under the fritter comes from the usual practice of squeezing lemon on fried things. Absolutely delicious.
Carrot and apple sorbet.
鴨のポワレ。桃のコンポート。
Pan-fried duck. The consensus of our table(all Japanese except me) is that this dish is more Chinese than French because of the seasoning and the sauce. Even the melon underneath tastes Chinese. Everyone craved rice!
Peach compote. Peach sauce was poured in front of us. Very sweet fresh peaches with a touch of cinnamon and other spices. The bowl used is interesting too.
赤スグリのソルベとアマレットのアイス。
豆乳とアンディーブ根っこを使ったプリン。 ピーナッツペーストと生の落花生を添えて。
Red currant sorbet and Amaretto ice-cream at the bottom.
Soybean and endive root pudding. Pastry crispy with peanut and peanut paste.
It was our friend's birthday and we had the chef make him a birthday cake(here and here). It is chocolate mousse cake with passionfruit mousse and frozen raspberries inside. The cocoa sorbet on the side is also very nice.
The restaurant has only just opened recently. The chef was working in another restaurant which I have been before(entry here). I remember everything was impressive except the main dish, which can be said for the current visit too. Though to be fair, the meat dishes are certainly not bad. The chef is so friendly...and very funny! He kept bringing things to our table to show us...like rare water glasses, silver object in the shape of a bunch of grapes from Italy etc.
Édition Koji Shimomura
Add: 3-1-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-5549-4562
Comments(5) [ french food | 麻布・六本木・赤坂 ]
November 23, 2007
鉄兵
サーロインステーキ定食（200g）、￥３４００。
Sirloin steak(200g) set, 3400yen. Comes with rice and miso soup. Soft and tender beef steak in simple soy sauce style. Not those shimofuri beef marbled with fat though. Unless you are a big eater, 150g(2660yen) set should be quite enough.
Past entry here.
Menu(J): 1, 2.
鉄兵 (Teppei)
Add: 2-15-15 Nezu, Bunkyo-ku
Tel: 03-3824-4919
Comments(3) [ japanese food | 本郷・根津・湯島・上野 ]
谷中カフェ (Yanaka Cafe)
Very tiny cafe offering healthy organic food. Lunch set with genmai(brown rice) is 1000yen, including coffee which is quite nice. You can choose either seafood or organic vegetables, but the veggy was sold out so I had the sauteed scallop. The portion is really small!! Taste-wise it is okay - the brown rice was quite soggy. Last visit here.
Menu(J) here.
谷中カフェ(Jap. & Eng.)
PG Cafe Paris
Lemon meringue tart, with coffee 1200yen. This is a casual cafe of the French restaurant Pierre Gagnaire where I had lunch before(entry here). The cake set is a bit expensive for the quality but then the cafe is on the first floor of Shin-marunouchi building where everything is expensive.
Part of the cake menu here.
PG Cafe Paris
Comments(4) [ cakes and sweets | 有楽町・丸の内 ]
November 20, 2007
Hong Kong
Caprice
From HK$450 lunch course. Pumpkin Velouté with Chestnut Cappuccino and Fresh Herbs. Crispy Pork Belly with steamed Brussels Sprouts and Sauce a la Diable. Citrus Pear and Caramel Napoleon with Carambar Ice cream.
Went to this expensive French restaurant inside Four Seasons Hotel twice before(old entries here and here). The food was not exceptional but still good in my previous visits but this time turned out to be a disappointing experience. The quality is mediocre and the portion has become so small just like Japan. My sister and my mom ordered their beef medium but they both came out well done. We didn't want to wait so didn't complain - I am sure they are willing to make new ones for us. But the manager came to ask us how the food was so I told him about this and he gave us all these reasons about how the beef was supposed to be like that blah blah. I couldn't help but pointed out that he should have mentioned all those things BEFORE we ordered it. Also we had to wait forever for the desserts to come. Anyway, we had the window seat so the view was nice.
Menu here.
Dong Lai Shun (東来順)
Restaurant inside the Royal Garden(hotel) serving Beijing cuisine. Food is delicious, price is reasonable, environment is nice. Unfortunately the service is very spotty - not rude or anything but most of the staff don't seem to know how to serve and they don't seem to care either. There is no pork in the menu due to religious reasons. I have been there twice and tried many things and most are good. The Crab menu is a must try: steamed crab dumplings, crab glutinous rice, crab and tofu hotpot, crab and lobster on rice crackers(left pic) etc. The soup, which has a large variety of choices, is also very nice. Spicy fish(right pic) is tongue-numbingly hot but super yummy. As for the desserts, go for the hot ones, like taro pancake or sesame dumplings.
Restaurant Le Fauchon
Add: 6, Staunton Street, Soho, Central
Tel: 2526-2136
Lunch is about HK$100~120 depending on your choice of the main dish. I had pan-fried sole in red wine sauce. My friend had the spring chicken. Both are a bit too deep-fried. Seems like a popular place as it is quite full at lunch time. Though I thought its quality doesn't live up to its popularity. Perhaps dinner is better?
Tai Fung Lau Peking restaurant (泰豊楼酒家)
Add: 29-31 Chatham Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: 2366-2494
Old Peking restaurant famous for its lamb shabu shabu. The traditional coal-heated hotpot is so tall! They give you the sauces at the beginning and you can mix your own sauce. I just added a bit of everything. Thinly sliced lamb is a must. Squid balls with crab in the middle is really good. Try the pork meatballs too. Dessert is fried egg puff with sesame sauce inside and sugar sprinkled on the surface. Nice but the skin is very thick.
Cafe de Paris
Add: 23 Elgin Street, Soho, Central
Tel: 2810 0771
Lunch is less than HK$100, including bread, appetizer or soup, main dish, coffee or dessert. I had leek and potato soup, pan-fried seabass, and carrot cake. Quality is okay-good but not impressive. Though we saw a group of guys ordering from the a la carte menu...and we couldn't help drooling over their food.
So we went back the next day for the onion gratin soup and the mussels in red wine sauce we saw the previous day - both are fantastic! The staff told us that a la carte(or dinner) menu are much better than the set lunch. Two of us shared the mussels which came with very good french fries and salad, plus each of us had an onion soup, total was HK$380 - not bad at all considering the quality.
I fell in love with Krispy Kreme when I tried it in Las Vegas so when it opened in Japan I was really excited. But after something like a year, I still haven't managed to eat it because of the crazy queue! 2 hours wait is the norm especially on weekends, especially outside the Shinjuku branch. Just as I heard, it is so much easier in Hong Kong. I swallowed two donuts bought from the branch inside Hong Kong aiport once I arrived, and shared three more with friends in the Soho branch after lunch. Too bad they don't have freshly baked ones hot from the oven. Apparently the donuts are baked somewhere else and are delivered to different branches. But still, good donuts!
Changwon Korean restaurant (荘園韓国料理)
Add: G-1, Kimberley Street, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon
Tel: 23684606
Very delicious Korean restaurant. Big plates and very cheap. Love the octopus with veggy(left pic) so much! I ate a bowl of rice just with the yummy spicy and sweet sauce. Kimchi and pork is a bit sour(right pic). The staff said kimchi becomes sour when you heat it(really???). Also had spicy tofu soup and Korean leek pancake which are both very good.
Bonheur
Add: 6/F., The Pemberton, 22-26 Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan
Tel: 25446333
Bread has lots of stuff in it - cheese, onion, herb, bacon etc. Very good but quite heavy!
Pan-seared foie gras with glazed apple. The foie gras is very crispy on the surface. The foie gras itself could be a bit richer in taste though. Also the apple is not soft and sweet enough. Still not bad overall.
Seafood soup. Mushroom cream soup. Both are good but a bit salty.
Oven-roasted Australian Rack of Lamb.
Chargrill U.S. Prime Beef Steak, Green Pepper Corn Jus.
Oven-roasted Kuro-buta, Forest Mushroom Sauce.
Mille-feuille with mango.
The main dishes are all very good. The meat are tender and juicy. Sauces are nothing fancy, and all the sides are the same mashed potato and veggy but they are delicious. We were too full so we shared one dessert. Again nothing too impressive but the mango is sweet.
Three-course dinner is HK$338, four-course is HK$368. Glass wine is HK$55. This is not a proper restaurant but a private kitchen. The environment is nice and there are quite a number of tables, which were all filled up when we went on a Thurs night.
Menu(E): 1, 2.
Life Organic Health Café
Add: 10 Shelley Street, Soho, Central
Tel: 2810 9777
Lentil soup.
Grilled Eggplant salad: With roasted peppers, pesto, air-dried tomato, wild rocket and manouri cheese with organic balsamic vinegar dressing. This is really delicious!
Spinach and Feta Filo Bake: Spinach, feta cheese and pine nuts wrapped in a filo pastry. served with a crispy house salad and shredded beet and carrot. Nice too!
Homemade vegetable Lasagna: Creamy layers of organic whole-wheat pasta, spinach, zucchini and mushroom with an Italian style tomato and basil sauce, topped with melted cheese and grated nutmeg. Hmm everything is a bit too mushy.
Life's pizza: An organic homemade whole wheat flat bread base topped with Lebanese zaatar, fresh tomatoes, roasted peppers, onions, black olives and manouri cheese with a sprinkle of rocket. Not bad but wish there were more veggy toppings. Must eat while its hot or the crust will get very hard.
Mexican Burrito: With organic red kidney bean, mozzarella cheese, ground cumin and coriander served with organic red rice, mixed salad and tomato salsa. A bit too much beans stuffed into the burrito. Easy to get tired of the taste. The avocado cream on top is really good though.
Zinger: Orange and Wild berries.
Sunshine Shake: Banana, mangoes, dates and flaxseeds.
Power Lunch Shake: Wild berries, homemade organic soya yoghurt and strawberry protein.
I like the Zinger the best.
Food menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Sweets and drinks menu: 1, 2, 3.
Kin's Kitchen (留家厨房)
Add: 9 Tsing Fung Street, Tin Hau, North Point
Tel: 2571-0913
Today's soup.
Braised luffa, bamboo with Yunnan ham.
Fried shredded yellow eel with bean thread(vermicelli).
Braised pomelo peel and assorted vegetables.
Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.
One of my favourite restaurants in Hong Kong. Past entries here and here. Looking at old photos, the "braised pomelo peel and assorted vegetables" seems to have shrunk in size? Also I remember it was much richer in taste. But I like it still. Everything is good in this restaurant.
My friends recommended me cookies from Jenny Bakery, which is truly addictive, and also dried noodles from On Lee Noodle Factory(安利製麺廠) which I bought many as souvenir.
Comments(7) [ hong kong ]
November 18, 2007
Arossa Ginza (アロッサ銀座店)
アボガドとアンチョビのサラダ。
大山地鶏レバーのムース、ラルドとクルトン添え。
Avocado and anchovy salad.
Chicken liver, lard and crouton.
仔羊の胸腺肉のソテー、シャキシャキ赤玉ネギ、オレンジとくるみのサラダ。
木の実に漬け込んだＮＺ産鹿肉のロースト、赤スグリとカシスのソース。
Sauteed baby lamb sweetbread, red onion, orange and walnut salad.
Roasted New Zealand venison with redcurrant and cassis.
骨付仔羊肉のグリル。
フローマージュブラン、ズッキーニ、松の実、干しブドウのラザーニャ。
Grilled lamb chop.
Lasagna with white fromage blanc, zucchini, pine nuts and dried grapes.
Past lunch entry here. Came back to try the dinner. The food is overall very good. The chicken liver is amazing - one of the best I have ever had! The lamb is pefectly cooked, but it can't beat the venison which is super tender and juicy and the sauce is wonderful. The only bad idea was Lasagna....it was so terrible. Food is reasonably priced, but if you order wine by the glass, it can get quite expensive - probably wiser to order bottles.
Arossa Ginza (English review here)
Add: 8th Ginza Velvia-kan, 2-4-6 Ginza
Tel: 03-5524-1146
Comments(3) [ other cuisines | 新橋・銀座・日本橋 ]
November 14, 2007
KARUIZAWA (軽井沢)
A day trip to Karuizawa! One-way ticket is about 5000yen but a friend got us a cheap 6000yen two-way ticket so there we go. It is only about 1hr from Tokyo station so a day trip is totally possible. My friend brought champagne and olives so we started having a party inside the Shinkansen. She even brought ice to keep the champagne chilled, also wine glasses, which apparently were cheapy ones bought in 100yen shop so we just dropped them into the rubbish bin when we arrived at the Karuizawa station! XD!
Hermitage de Tamula (エルミタージュ・ドゥ・タムラ)
Apparently this is THE place to go for a nice lunch in Karuizawa.
サーモンのマリネを新米ともに。
Salmon marinade with rice. There is ikura(salmon roe) and a quail egg underneath.
そばパン。 海の幸と野菜の一皿。
Soba bread. Olive paste is really good.
Seafood and vegetables dish - so pretty! Sauce is beets, tomato and Rucola.
キノコのパイ包み、アンコウ添え。
Mushroom pie, with fried Anko(Monk fish).
金目鯛、春菊のソース。
ドンブ産ウズラ、キャベツのプレゼ包み。
Kinmedai(Alfonsino) in Shungiku(Chrysantemum leaves) sauce.
Quail with cabbage. Under the quail leg is polenta.
My friends' desserts. The apple soup is the chef's specialty apparently.
コーヒー風味のモンブラン。
I had the safe coffee Mont blanc. Petit fours.
Right pic is the madam sending off my friends. Lunch is 8400yen. Glass wine is 2100yen so it is better to share bottle wine which we did. Tax is included, service charge is 10%. I like the food alright. With a lovely environment like this, even cup noodles will taste fantastic. XD!! We sat inside in the main dining area but the tables next to the window have a better view of the greens outside. Oh by an amazing coincidence...I bumped into a friend on the way to the toilet!! XD!!
We didn't actually plan it but somehow we went at the perfect timing - red leaves! It was sunny so we took a long walk after lunch.
Resort houses.
Beautiful pond called Kumobaike(雲場池) which is about half an hour walk from our lunch place.
Red leaves red leaves everywhere.
It was more than half an hour walk from the pond to "Old Karuizawa". It turned dark very quickly and got quite cold...but I couldn't resist getting the famous "soft cream" while walking around "Karuizawa Ginza" shopping area. Also bought pudding and cheesecake from Paomu as souvenir.
Kawakamian (川上庵)
Before we took the train back to Tokyo, we went to a popular soba shop, which looks more like a trendy dining restaurant than a soba place! Luckily we booked in advance cos the queue was really long.
牡蠣天ぷら。 鴨南蛮そば（大）。
Oyster tempura and duck nanban soba(large size).
Comments(5) [ other parts of japan ]
November 12, 2007
AUXAMIS TOKYO
Fantastic view from the 35th floor of Marunouchi building.
甘エビ、北海道産帆立貝と完熟マンゴーのタルタル カクテル仕立て。
I was surprised to see that they have very reasonably priced lunch course starting from 1800yen. We went for the special Southern France selection lunch course, 5040yen.
Sweet prawn, scallop and mango Tartare.
パルマ産生ハム・吉田豚のリエット・本日のシャルキュトリーの一皿 オーガニックサラダ添え。
Parma Prosciutto, Pork rillette and pate with pistachio.
南仏の香りをまとった仔羊背肉のロースト ラタトゥイユ添え ジュのソース。
Roasted baby lamb with ratatouille.
本日のデザート。
Blueberry creme brulee with milk ice-cream.
AUXAMIS started off as a wine bar so we decided to go for the 1890yen wine tasting course which includes 3 glasses(2/3 glass each) of wine that go with the amuse-bouche, appetizer and main dish. I forgot to take pictures of one of the wine but you can check out my friend's blog for the complete selection. The champagne and dessert wine in the pictures here are not included in the wine-tasting course. The food is overall good. The meaty appetizer is nice but indeed quite impossible to eat without wine. The massive lamb chop is tender and juicy; the amount of fat is a bit scary but with the help of the tasty veggy sauce I devoured the whole thing.
This restaurant has a couple of branches in Ginza and Marunouchi, like Vinpicoeur Marunouchi(past entries: 1, 2, 3, 4) and Brasserie Aux Amis(here).
Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4.
AUXAMIS TOKYO
Comments(0) [ french food | 有楽町・丸の内 ]
November 06, 2007
根津のたいやき
Famous Taiyaki shop that I have bought from many times but never blogged properly. I really like it! The skin is thin and crispy and the red bean is stuffed all the way to the tip of the tail. You must eat the freshly baked ones on the spot. Long queues on weekends!
根津のたいやき (Nezu no Taiyaki)
Add: 1-23-9-104 Nezu, Bunkyo-ku
Tel: 03-3823-6277
Comments(2) [ japanese sweets | 本郷・根津・湯島・上野 ]
芋甚
Very nice local Japanese sweet shop that I visit often.
小倉あんみつ、￥４５０。 アベックまめかん、￥５３０。
Anmitsu with Ogura(red bean) ice-cream.
Mame-kan(endou-mame peas and kanten) with Ogura ice-cream and milk ice-cream.
小倉アイスモナカ。 寒天クリームぜんざい、￥５３０。
Ogura ice Monaka(take-out).
Kanten cream zenzai: Kanten at the bottom, with red bean paste and ice-cream on top(instead the milk ice-cream I had the Ogura one).
Menu(J): 1, 2.
芋甚(Imojin)
Add: 2-30-4 Nezu, Bunkyo-ku
Tel: 03-3821-5530
Comments(3) [ japanese sweets | 本郷・根津・湯島・上野 ]
November 04, 2007
さんだ 六本木店
アキレス腱。ハツモト。
From the 5000yen wagyu kaisei dinner course.
Achilles' tendon in ponzu. Hatsumoto(cow's artery).
肺。子袋。
Lung. Kobukuro(Uterus).
牛タンの団子煮。レバ刺し。
Cow tongue and Nankotsu(soft bone) dango(dumpling). Liver with sesame oil.
ハツ。タンユッケ。
Heart. Cow tongue yukke.
牛筋の煮込み。
牛タン、すい臓、頬肉、ギアラ。
Simmered cow tendon.
From left to right: Cow tongue, pancreas, cheek, cow's 4th stomach.
ミノ、タン下、のどしびれ、ハラミ。
From left to right: mino(cow's 1st stomach), base of cow tongue, sweetbread, harami(outside skirt meat).
千切りキャベツのサラダ、ざるうどん、シューアイス。
Cabbage salad. Zaru-udon. Ice-cream puff.
For 5000yen you get to try a little bit of many different kinds of cow horumon. Most importantly they are presented nicely as in a kaiseki course so even my friend who normally can't eat horumon was able to finish everything(well except the kobukuro which still had a distinct smell). Pancreas is rare and I've never seen it served anywhere else. My favourite part of the course are the cow tongue dango and the zaru-udon though. Rather than Japanese style, I think I prefer horumon prepared in Korean style like this place and this place.
さんだ (六本木店) (Sanda)
Add: 4-5-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-3423-2020
Comments(2) [ japanese food | 麻布・六本木・赤坂 ]
November 02, 2007
京くずし割烹 山城屋庄藏
丸十（さつま芋）の冷製茶碗蒸し 抹茶あんかけ。
鱧落としたての軍艦巻き、カボチャの煮揚げ、山口農家のだだ茶豆、穴子のにぎり、トマトの漬け、和牛のにぎり。
From the 4500yen dinner course.
Cold satsuma potato chawanmushi with matcha ankake(starchy sauce).
Hamo Gunkan-maki, Anago nigiri, wagyu nigiri, fried pumpkin etc.
炙り新さんまの造り 肝醤油仕立て。
新銀杏たっぷりの飛龍頭 松茸と刻み鱧のうすくずあんかけ。
Aburi(seared) sanma.
Ganmodoki with matsutake mushroom and hamo etc.
旬魚とスルメイカの麹漬け。
きずし マスカットの甘酢添え。
Fish and dried squid.
Kizushi - vinegared mackerel.
新米 宮崎産コシヒカリ。玉吸い。水茄子、茗荷の梅肉和え、沢庵と胡麻の和え物、胡瓜の古漬け、ふりかけ。鯛のあら煮。
ライムとマンゴーのスムージー、定番ほうじ茶アイス。
Hojicha ice is so good! The lime and mango smoothie is nice too. We tried this really yummy sparkling nihonshu(pic here).
The restaurant is on the 2F/3F of a building right next to Shibuya station but the interior is so atmospheric and dark and quiet that you really wake up with a start when you step out of the restaurant into the busy streets. In fact, when we came out, someone covered in blood was being carried into an ambulance....^^;;;
京くずし割烹 山城屋庄藏 (Yamashiroya-Shouzou)
Add: 2-3F Dougenzaka, Shibuya-ku
Tel: 03-5489-0039
