最初の一皿。空豆のスフレ風オムレツ アロマフレスカ風。
From the 14,500yen dinner course.
Amuse is anago with a super-thin slice of potato chip on top.
Soramame(broad bean) souffle-style omelette. Fluffy omelette stuffed with lots of soramame. The sauce is a bit carbonara-ish. Very nice!
蛍烏賊のグラタン仕立て。冷たいスープを少し。
Hotaru-ika(tiny squid) in gratin style. There are white asparagus and karasumi(squid ink) risotto at the bottom.
Cold uni soup.
赤座海老のリゾット。春キャベツとイベリコ豚のキタッラ。
Akaza-ebi(langoustine) risotto. Delicious!
Chitarra with spring cabbage and Iberico pork. A bit yakisoba-ish(^^;;) but nice.
平鱸の”アルサーレ”春の香り。
Hirasuzuki(a kind of seabass) “Al Sale”(encrusted in salt). Comes with grilled white asparagus and sansai(mountain vegetables) tempura. The soup has strong butter taste. I love this dish!
柑橘のシャーベット。
Citrus sorbet is so sour that my friend actually choked on it. ^^;;
フォルマッジョを詰めた仔牛のコトレッタ。野菜(赤茄子)のココット。
Cotoletta with formaggio cheese stuffed inside. Takenoko(bamboo shoot) on the side is very sweet. Aka-nasu(a kind of aubergine） in a Cocotte that also comes with the main dish is unbelievably juicy and full of flavours…actually it left a deeper impression than the main dish itself(which is by no means bad, just a bit predictable).
Dessert is “eat as much as you like”(^^;;). There were altogether 5 choices and we ordered one of each to share(we were a group of 4). We liked the strawberry soup with cotton candy the most so we asked for one more of that too….
Can’t remember the exact names of the desserts…left pic is cheese pudding, right is chocolate mousse.
Mango pudding. Also petit fours and a selection of coffee and tea to choose from.
The food is of course good, and even though I am no wine expert, I must mention that this is one of the few Italian restaurants offering wine in glasses that I actually think is delicious and end up drinking more than I should.
Seriously I believe this restaurant(and its sister restaurant Casa Vinitalia) casts a “forget-the-time” spell on customers…The first time I visited, I missed the last train and had to crash at my friend’s place at the end. The second time I forgot the time again and had to dash to Azabu-Juban station with a full stomach and a blurry head in 5 mins(takes more than 10 mins to walk normally) to make the last train. And this time I specifically warned my friends beforehand: “Let’s watch the time and get our butt out of the restaurant before the last train.” I could NOT believe it when my friend took a look at her watch and announced that it was already midnight. I missed the last train again!!! Four hours, in a blink! Evil restaurants trying to hypnotize their customers with enchanting ambience should be banned. How nasty of them to offer free second helpings of desserts too. I ended up taking a taxi home…
Menu: 1, 2.
Aroma Fresca (アロマフレスカ)
Add: 1-7-31, Minami-azabu, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-5439-4010
Delicious and hot homemade bread which kept coming. Must have had about four…
Chilled carrot potage.
Panfried fresh foie gras and foie gras terrine. A slice of toast at the bottom and homemade fig jam on the side. The terrine is soooooo good, even better than the fresh foie gras.
Baby lamb in Anchovy cream sauce. The lamb is very tender and soft. Surprisingly huge portion for a cute restaurant like this. Moussaka(lamb and aubergine) on the side is also good.
My friend’s pork cassoulet.
Matcha rollcake with black beans in black honey cream sauce. Just a piece of rollcake for dessert was a bit disappointing at first but it was very smooth and delicious so I was satisfied at the end.
Lunch course is 3000yen but the foie gras appetizer has a 1500yen additional charge. Glass wine is about 800yen. Cheaper 1800yen lunch course is also available. I like the food, the interior which makes you feel very at home and the friendly service here.
It is located halfway between Gakugeidaigaku(学芸大学) and Yuutenji(祐天寺). There is a very cute cake shop called Patisserie SOURIRE in the same block and is a must check.
Bon Chemin
Add: 2-40-5 Gohongi, Meguro-ku
Tel: 03-3791-3900
特製かき揚天丼、￥２１００。
Tempura restaurant which is quite expensive at night, but at lunch time, other than the tempura set(tempura and rice come separately) and tempura full courses with prices ranging from 5000yen to 7000yen, a more purse-friendly option of 2100yen kakiage-tendon(very delicious) is also available. The content of the tendon changes with seasons - when we went there were asparagus, soramame, small prawn, scallop etc. in it. The chef used to work in the famous tempura restaurant in Yamonoue hotel which I have tried before and is a big fan. Reservation at lunch is only possible if you order the more expensive set/course. I went without reservation on a weekday, arriving at around 12:30pm and it wasn’t so full. But while we were eating people kept coming in and just before 13pm, the place was packed. It is a small restaurant with mainly counter seats but there are also two tables for two.
Lunch menu(J) here.
天ぷら 深町
Add: 2-5-2, Kyobashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: 03-5250-8777
穴子フライ、￥３６７５。カツレツ、￥２６２５。
Took a friend to try this super expensive but also super delicious tonkatsu place. Had the standard “Katsu-retsu”. Also tried the “Anago Fry” for the first time - 3675yen is crazy(rice and miso soup not included) but they give you two big pieces and damn they just taste so good that you don’t regret paying(though I didn’t have to pay at the end hohoho).
(20 Sep 2007)
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!!
Menu(J) 1, 2.
ぽん多本家 (Ponta Honke)
Add: 3-23-3 Ueno, Taito-ku
Tel: 03-3831-2351
天丼、￥３３６０。
Tendon: prawn, kakiage with prawn, fish and shishitou pepper.
Very famous tempura restaurant inside Hilltop Hotel. It was a bit of a quest to find the entrance…I went to the annex building, couldn’t find it, got out, went into the main building, couldn’t find it, got out, followed the tempura-ish smell and finally found the small sign leading to the hidden entrance outside the hotel building. ^^;;
かき揚げ天丼、￥２８８７。穴子天丼、￥３４６５。
Kakiage-tendon. Anago tendon.
野菜天丼、￥２８８７。 天丼、￥３３６０。
Took a friend there and I had Yasai Tendon and she had Tendon. The prices include 5% tax and 10% service charge(even at lunch time!).
The sauce is this restaurant’s original and you can choose between “amakuchi”(甘口) and “karakuchi”(辛口). The staff said they are just the same sauce - “karakuchi” is just less sweet than “amakuchi”. I personally prefer karakuchi.
Probably the most “elegant” tendon I have ever had. All the tendon I had before felt cheap in comparison…both taste-wise and price-wise. ^^;;;
There are other lunch menu such as Ebi(prawn) Tendon, a luxurious Iki-Ebi Tendon which has a whooping price tag of 5040yen(plus tax and SC of course). Tempura full courses are also available at lunch time. Seating includes counter, tables, and zashiki.
Lunch menu(J): 1, 2.
山の上ホテル
Hilltop Hotel/Yamanoue Hotel(English available)
There is also a Roppongi branch inside Tokyo Midtown.
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