La Luna Rossa (ラ・ルーナ・ロッサ＠中目黒)

Posted on April 12, 07 by seat

Lovely window view of a little river(Megurogawa). There are sakura trees along the river so the location is perfect for ohanami. But then you will probably have to book way in advance and it is hard to predict the blossom period which is only like a week…I didn’t even bother to try. ^^;;

はまぐりのパン粉焼き。
三陸産牡蠣のパステッラとじゃがいものクレーマ、サンダニエーレ産プロシュート添え。
Grilled clam with breadcrumbs. Good.
Oyster fried in pastella of batter, with potato cream and prosciutto. A bit salty and the batter is quite thick.

白金豚のサルシッチャと菜花、パルミジャーノチーズのピチ。
Bread is so-so.
Pici(pasta) with platinum pork salsiccia(sausage) and nanohana and parmesan cheese. The handmade pasta is very good!

豚肉と季節の野菜と添えて。
ビターチョコレートの焼きたてトルティーノ。
Pork with seasonal vegetables. Bland.
Warm bitter chocolate Tortino. Chocolate is rich. Very good. The little balls are truffle ice-cream. The cream for the chocolate cake is banana flavour.

Lunch course I ordered was about 4000yen. There is a cheaper 3000yen lunch course that doesn’t include the meat dish while the pasta(same choice as 4000yen course) is twice the portion. Since the meat is no good anyway, the cheaper pasta lunch is probably a better choice. I only had a glass of sparkling wine and mineral water, came up to 5700yen.

Service is just so-so. And despite the fact that the restaurant is along the river, it is quite hard to find – everyone got lost. Sakura blossoming or not, the environment is very nice though.
Menu(J) here.
La Luna Rossa

Don Ciccio （ドンチッチョ）

Posted on February 1, 07 by seat

岩手短角牛のカルパッチョ。
Shorthorn beef carpaccio.

仔牛トリッパと茄子とアーモンド煮”シチリア風”。
”シラクーサ風”赤ピーマンと茄子のカラマリ、トマトソース。
Sicilian-style beef tripe and aubergine with almond.
Calamari alla Siracusana. “Calamari” is ring-shaped pasta that looks like squid ring. Red bell pepper and aubergine in tomato sauce.

白金豚ラグーとブロンテ産アーモンドのフジッリ。
”シチリア名物”イワシとウイキョウのカサレッチ。
Fusilli with Platinum pork ragu sauce and almond.
Casarecci with fennel and sardine. Traditional Sicilian dish.

白魚のスパゲッティーニ。
岩手骨付白金豚の香草炭火焼き。
Spaghetti with Bianchetti(tiny white fish which are spawn of sardines or anchovies, not sure which).
Charcoal grilled Platinum bone-in pork with herb.

大山地鶏と干しイチジクの”ウブリアカ”。
“Daisen” chicken and dried fig. Sweet sauce.
Right pic is my share of the 2 meat dishes.

あさりと仔羊リドヴォーのリングイネ。
大山地鶏とカボチャのヴェスヴォオ、クリームソース。
All four of us didn’t feel quite enough….so after the main dishes we ordered some more pasta. The last two pasta were both 1.5 portion, while the ones before were all single portion.
Linguine with vongole(clam) and “ris de veau”(Lamb sweetbreads).
Vesuvio(pasta that looks like Mount Vesuvius? Just guessing…) with “Daisen” chicken and pumpkin in cream sauce.

Zuppa Inglese. Semifreddo.

Strawberry tiramisu. Gateau chocolat.

A famous Italian restaurant that closed down last year and re-opened with a new name. Many loyal fans apparently, one of them being my friend who tried the new place and said it was just as good as the old one. Already an impossible-to-book restaurant and you can only book two weeks in advance. Location is a bit inconvenient – quite far from both Shibuya and Omotesando station.

The food is great. All the pasta are very simple. Light and simple sauce with not much ingredients, but perfect al dente. Actually at first I thought the pasta were a little unimpressive (I love fancy sauces and fancy ingredients…) but the amazing thing was that I craved the simple, comforting taste immediately again. The pasta are not homemade though. The main dishes are pretty normal, especially the staff-recommended pork. Chicken in fig sauce is nicer.

4 of us went crazy and ordered so much food, plus 2 bottles of wine and mineral water and coffee, total was about 11000yen per person.

Atmosphere was very lively and energetic. Warm decor. A little crowded perhaps. It was full when we arrived, and when we finished around 11pm, there were still customers coming in! Appetizers and pastas came fast after we ordered, but the main dishes could be a bit slow in delivery. Despite of the negative comments I have read, the service is quite good. I am not saying this because all the staff are young and good-looking guys(which is quite a sight really ^^;;), but they know the menu well and are patient to explain to us. Also willing to split each and every one of the dishes for us. Though they didn’t do the job so well…..the portion wasn’t quite even and the ingredients were simply absent in some plates….often mine for some reason. ^^;; But definitely will go back!

Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4.
Don Ciccio

Cucina Siciliana Archimede （アルキメーデ＠神泉）

Posted on January 15, 07 by seat

レバーペースト、豚のリエット。カリフラワーのスープ。
Dinner at a recently opened Sicilian restaurant, which is about 10 mins walk from Shibuya station. Dinner course is 6000yen.
Liver paste and pork rillette. Cauliflower “soup”(more like paste). Bread is warm and soft.

１０皿の前菜。
10 appetizers to share between 2 people.
Left pic: octopus and salmon and fruit(top left); beef neck meat with herb and almond and cheese; pork and tuna paste; squid and prawn(bottom left); porcini; spicy aubergine.
Right pic: aubergine layered with cheese; maguro(tuna) veggy roll with bell pepper paste.

手打ちのタリオリーニムール貝のラグーシシリア産マグロのからすみ添え。
Left pic: baked mussels; tripe and leek.
Right pic: one pasta from the menu of 4 choices. I picked the homemade tagliolini in ragu of mussel, topped with Sicilian tuna karasumi. The portion is for 2 to share.

リングイネ魚介たっぷりのシシリア風ペスカトーレ。
窒息鴨のローストちょっと甘めのシシリア産マルサラソース。
House speciality Linguine seafood Pescatora is prefixed. Also for 2.
My main dish from the menu(6 choices) – Roasted duck in sweet Marsala Wine Sauce. This is for 1 person. The madam said the portion for the meat is the biggest from the top of the menu and gets smaller as you go down the list. Mine is right at the bottom and is supposed to be the “smallest”.

デザートの盛り合わせ。
Dessert plate for 1: passion fruit sorbet and pineapple; pistachio roll cake with lemon cream; raspberry Tiramisu; panna Cotta.
For herb tea, you pick the tea leaves and mix it any way you like. I had a bit of everything.

For 6000yen it is amazing how much food they are giving you. After the appetizers, most people will probably be 80% full already. Even a big eater like me had difficulty finishing the main dish and the dessert. (In fact I couldn’t eat breakfast and lunch the next day…) The very friendly madam told me that there was a customer who got mad about the crazy portion, stormed into the kitchen and shouted at the chef: “How can you expect me to finish all that food?!”. ^^;;; Apparently the chef learned cooking in Sicily for 3 years and the experience of being welcomed with good food that just kept coming and coming even though he could eat no more, made him decide to do the same to his customers. ^^;;; Taste-wise, it is quite good but not exceptional. The nicest is the meat dish – the duck is tender and the sauce is sweet and wonderful. A shame that I was so full by that time that I couldn’t really enjoy it. Linguine is cooked al dente but otherwise the pasta dishes are a bit normal. The madam asked us if we wanted smaller portions for the pasta, but my friend is a big pasta lover so we said no. Hmm, the best solution is probably to request for smaller portions of the dozens of appetizers. Some of them taste rather similar anyway. It is course-only for now but the madam said a la carte menu will be available soon.
Menu(J): 1, 2.
Archimede

RISTORANTE SICILIANO MASSHU GINZA（リストランテシチリアーノマッシュー銀座）

Posted on January 3, 07 by seat

おまかせコースは５０００円。
マグロの顎肉のタルタル、焼き茄子、アンディーブ。
ヒラスズキのカルパッチョ、天然舞茸のソテー、ルッコラ。
5000yen dinner. Everything is included in the course for one person.
Maguro(tuna)’s chin meat Tartare, with grilled aubergine and endive.
Hirasuzuki(a kind of seabass) carpaccio, maitake mushroom saute, rucola salad, very sweet tomato sauce, and pistachio sprinkled on top.
Both are absolutely divine!! I never had Hirasuzuki before, it is so nice. Very generous portion of my autumn favourite maitake. A good start and it only gets better.

コルクで蒸し上げた蛸のモンデッロ風インウミド。
Steamed octopus with potato. I am actually not a big fan of octopus but this is so soft so delicious. Even the simple potato tastes amazing.
Two kinds of bread – sesame and cheese. Both so good that even though we knew we should control as we were only on our third course, we couldn’t resist finishing them all and asking for more.

蕪のピュレとサフランと魚のスープ、キターラとマグロのカラスミ入り。
乳飲み仔羊、ポルチーニとトリュフオイルの手打ちフェットチーネ。
Fish base soup with turnip purée, saffron, Chitarra(pasta), topped with maguro karasumi. Wow amazing depth of taste just as the many ingredients have promised. The karasumi is salty to eat alone but very nice with the soup.
Homemade fettuccine with baby lamb, porcini mushroom and truffle oil. The fettuccine is not overcooked like in so many Italian restaurants(even the expensive ones). The ragu sauce with such generous amount of porcini and lamb would never go wrong, especially the truffle oil gives off an appetizing fragrance that you simply forget you already had 4 plates of food.

鹿肉のオーソブッコ：鹿のスネ肉の赤ワイン煮。焼き栗のペーストと砂糖漬けの洋梨添え。
シンプルなトマトソースのスパゲッティ。
Vension knuckle simmered in red wine, with grilled chestnut paste and glaced pear and a slice of truffle on top. The tender meat just slid off the bone. So yummy. The sauce, the chestnut, the pear are all sweet.
Simple spaghetti with tomato sauce. In case you are still hungry, you can ask for any grams you want. The standard is 60g, I was greedy and had 80g. ^^;; The tomato sauce is thick but just so good that I finished every drop.

Dessert and coffee are not included in the dinner course, and we were just too full to even ask for the dessert menu. The course itself is 5000yen, I ordered a glass of champagne and a glass of BIO white wine that the staff recommended, plus a coffee at the end, the bill came up to 9000yen. For the amount and the quality of the food, a great deal I think. Though my friend, who likes mild taste and can’t quite take rich food, said this place is a bit too salty for her.

This restaurant is on the second floor of a shabby building with a sign almost impossible to spot. We simply walked straight past it the first time. Very small place and crowded with customers even on a rainy weekday evening. We booked 2 weeks before but all tables were full and only the counter seats were available.

Very very friendly people working here. All guys. The chef who came out and explained the dishes to us, was so sweet and looked like he was in his twenties that I didn’t realise he was the chef himself at first and thought he was just a waiter. ^^;;
RISTORANTE SICILIANO

Ristorante da Nino (リストランテ・ダ・ニーノ＠乃木坂)

Posted on December 24, 06 by seat

Lunch at a much hyped Sicilian restaurant.

Cute tableware. The homemade bread is very good.

前菜の盛り合わせ:
自家製アランチーニ、ミートソース入りサフランライスコロッケ。
築地直送、本日のカルパッチョ（鱒）パンテッレリア産ケーパー。
いわしのインボルティーニパン粉焼き。
ブロッコリ、レーズンの入った卵焼き。
パスタ：ボンゴレビアンコ。
Appetizer:
Arancini.
Trout carpaccio with caper.
Sarde a beccaficu: stuffed sardines with breadcrumbs.
Baked omelette with broccoli.
Pasta:
Vongole Bianco. Tastes a bit boring, great al dente though.

お魚料理：真鯛のオレンジソテー。
デザート：ズッパイングレーゼ。
Fish: Red sea bream saute with orange. Rather bland…
Dessert: Zuppa Inglese.
Special lunch course is 3800yen. A glass of champagne and mineral water, came up to 5200yen. The Japanese waitress is friendly and helpful, even split the bill for each of us without our asking(some of us ordered different courses). The Italian manager however is a bit of a snob. The decor is cute but quite cramp inside. A bit overpriced given the quality. I guess someone has to pay for the posh location.
Ristorante da Nino

DIRITTO (ディリット＠幡ヶ谷)

Posted on December 18, 06 by seat

Location very local but the decor is surprisingly stylish. Service is friendly and accomodating. Three of us went and tried out the 5000yen dinner course. Everything in the pictures are included for one person.

旬をひとくち：厚岸産の赤貝。
Potato foccacia and walnut bread were so good that we simply couldn’t stop eating them and even asked for a second helping. The complementary appetizer was ark shell – just simple sashimi with olive oil but very fresh and sweet.

三陸産牡蠣とかぶのフリカッセ。
シチリア産からすみのスバゲッティー。
Oyster and turnip fricassée.
Karasumi spaghetti.

いろいろな茸のタリアテッレ。お口直しのシャーベット(ブラッドオレンジ)。
Mushroom Tagliatelle. Blood orange sorbet.

ニュージーランド産仔羊の炭焼き。
和牛テール肉の赤ワイン煮込み。
Charcoal-grilled baby lamb(left pic).
The main dish is fixed for the 5000yen course, but one of my friends can’t eat lamb and they kindly let her choose a different main dish from the a la carte. She had the Wagyu tail simmered in red wine(right pic).

DIRITTO風クレープシュゼット。
林檎のクレームブリュレ。
Crepe suzette. Apple creme brulee. I like the creme brulee better.
Many choices of tea were available, also coffee and cappuccino.

Every single dish is absolutely delicious. Simple but the great combination of fresh and nicely prepared ingredients is more than enough to satisfy. I had a glass of champagne and about 2 glasses of wine, and the bill was less than 7000yen for each person – a bargain for this type of quality. Definitely a favourite!
Menu for the 7000yen course here(Japanese). Dessert menu here.
DIRITTO
Add: 3-55-2 Hatagaya, Shibuya-ku
Tel: 03-5350-6588

CHIANTI (キャンティ＠笹塚)

Posted on November 30, 06 by seat

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