Bistro La Ciboulette (ラ・シブレット@浅草橋)

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カツオのタルタル。にんじんのムースにウニとコンソメジュレ。
From the 5500yen “omakase” course. Katsuo Tartare on chicory. Carrot mousse, uni and consomme jelly. Pretty common combination but the generous amount of uni is unusual. The mousse is very delicious with natural sweetness from vegetables that actually outshines the uni completely.
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フォアグラとイチジク、バルサミコソース。
Foie gras and fig in Balsamic vinegar sauce. Fig is delicious, but the foie gras could be better. The foie gras I had in my last visit here was much nicer(see tag) though it was from a la carte menu.
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金目鯛とホタテ。シャンパン グラニテ。
Kinmedai and scallop. The orange paste on the side is spicy. Big portion for a fish course in a 5-course dinner. Love the scallop. Nice “granite”(sorbet) with strong champagne flavour that got my non-drinker friend a little high.
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0806170082ロースト沖縄ポーク。タルトスリーズとフランボワーズのソルベ。
Roasted pork is a bit dry. But the dessert is a real treat. Rich crunchy tart with two kinds of cherries – American cherry and Japanese Satou-nishiki(佐藤錦). Also raspberry sorbet on the side. After hearing my raving about the amazing “Canele” in this place, my friend requested for it when she phoned to reserve(a month in advance). I wish I could buy a whole lot of it…one is not enough!

A glass of sparkling wine, a glass of red wine, about 7000yen per person. The food is in general very good. Value is fantastic. Since it is only the chef cooking everything himself, if you go in a group of more than 3 people, you have to order the omakase course. Having tried both a la carte and omakase, I think a la carte is much more satisfying.

Bistro La Ciboulette (ラ・シブレット@浅草橋)
Add: 2-27-5, Asakusabashi, Taito-ku.
Tel: 03-3863-6232

Bistro La Ciboulette (ラ・シブレット@浅草橋)

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カキのスープ。生ハムサラダ。
Oyster soup. Salad.
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和牛ホホ肉の赤ワイン煮。
Wagyu cheek simmered in red wine.

Everything is absolutely delicious! Been here before for dinner(see tag). Heard that lunch is very good value but doesn’t accept reservation. Came early before the restaurant opens at 11:30am with a friend, and there was already a queue even though it was a weekday! The tiny restaurant was filled up in no time. We had to share a table with a guy who came alone.

Lunch set is 1050yen, which includes a big salad, a main dish and a very good Canelé at the end(coffee not included). The oyster soup is additional order(630yen). There were about 6 choices for the main dish, 3 fish and 3 meat. The Wagyu cheek I ordered had an additional charge of 840yen…It added up to 2520yen for me, not including dessert and coffee. Comparing with the dinner menu, the wagyu I had costs 1890yen as a la carte at night, which is actually the same price as lunch(1050+840=1890), except that you also get a salad and a canelé at lunch time. Considering its inconvenient location, dinner is a much much better idea. At dinner, reservation is accepted. There is no course menu, only a la carte. Last time I came, taking photos was okay but this time there were signs saying no photos….the chef and the madam were so busy and not looking so I just took anyway…oops. ^^;;;
Bistro La Ciboulette
Add: 2-27-5, Asakusabashi, Taito-ku.
Tel: 03-3863-6232

七厘@三ノ輪 (Shichi Rin)

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A rather local yakiniku restaurant recommended by a friend who is living nearby and is sort of a regular. We got to order stuff that are not on the menu(e.g. cow tongue sashimi and beef sashimi), and enjoy an incredible omakase course which allowed us to try almost everything on the menu. It is however an impossible task to translate the menu…in fact I can’t even match the name with the right picture cos they all look the same. ^^;; Basically we tried various parts of cow, both the meat and the horumon.
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キムチ盛り合わせ。牛アキレス腱ポン酢。にんにく焼き。
Assorted kimchi. Achilles tendon in ponzu. Grilled garlic.
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センマイ刺し。レバー刺し。
Cow stomach sashimi. Liver sashimi.
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牛タン刺し。牛刺し。
Cow tongue sashimi. Beef sashimi.
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幻のタン塩(ゲタ)。
From here, the meat are to be grilled. The pic on the left is some fancy cow tongue. The rest…sorry, don’t really remember.
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The umeshu here is very nice with a variety of choices – nihonshu based, shochu based, white wine based, red wine based, and house blend. I like the house blend and nihonshu based of umeshu the most. The one in the picture is just nihonshu.
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シビレ。
My favourite horumon “shibire”, it tastes like foie gras~ Takes a while to grill until it is smooth and creamy.
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The steak is nice too. The waitor cut it into pieces for us. But I prefer the fatty thin slices of beef which are just much more juicy.
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We had some additional orders which I didn’t take pictures of…btw, there were 5 of us, 4 girls and 1 guy. ^^;;;
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ユッケ。豚トロ。
Yukke – Korean version of Steak Tartare. Tontoro – fatty pork.
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Horumon also, forgot name. Hard and chewy texture.
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On the right is Kimchi fried rice.
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061206 122The usual stomach-filling carbs(though we were already very full…): Korean beef soup rice, chilled buckwheat noodles, and ramen in a hot stone bowl. I think we paid about 12,000yen each. Considering how much we ate and drank, and how amazing the quality of the meat was, not a bad deal.
My friend actually remembered the menu in Japanese and kindly sent it to me, so I just copied here.
・キムチ盛り合わせ ・牛アキレス腱ポン酢 ・にんにく焼き
・センマイ刺し ・レバー刺し ・牛タン刺し ・牛刺し
・幻のタン塩(ゲタ) ・カイノミ ・シンシン ・ホルモン ・コブクロ
・ギアラ ・コプチャン ・シビレ ・ヒレ ・トモ三角 ・ザブトン ・ツラミ
・ユッケ ・豚トロ ・ウルテ ・ハツモト ・子袋
・キムチチャーハン ・石焼ユッケジャンラーメン ・冷麺 ・カルビクッパ
七厘

桜なべ中江@三ノ輪 (Sakura-nabe Nakae)

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Dinner party at a traditional Japanese restaurant more than 100 years old. Speciality is horse meat, also called “sakura meat” in Japan.
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馬肉の佃煮。
Horse meat Tsukudani.
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馬刺し:霜降りと ロース 。 タルタルステーキ。
Two kinds of horse meat sashimi – more expensive shimofuri(meat marbled with fat), and loin meat. Somehow the cheaper loin meat is actually nicer. Both are sweet and tender.
Tartar steak – ground raw horse meat, with sesame oil, and a raw egg yolk. Very good. The sesame oil and the egg yolk combined to give the lean meat a smoother texture and a nice fragrance.
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馬刺しにぎり寿司。馬肉串焼き。
Horse meat sushi is incredible, while the grilled horse meat skewer is no good – the meat is too hard.
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桜鍋。ザク: ねぎ、しらたき、麩。
Sakura nabe: horse meat sukiyaki. Tender and juicy, no need to cook too long, dip into a bowl of raw egg before you eat. Also added to the nabe are leek, shirataki and fu. The warishita is miso and soy sauce and zarame sugar.
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ステーキ。お新香。
Steak. Thick cut and tender. Homemade pickles are so good you can eat them alone.
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Eggs are added to the leftover soup, and you are supposed to scoop the sweet full-of-meat-flavour egg and add onto the rice. It is so yummy!
Dessert is Matcha ice-cream.
中江

Bistro La Ciboulette (ラ・シブレット@浅草橋)

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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.
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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.
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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(^^;;).
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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

Hommage(オマージュ)

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フロマージュデュテット(豚の頭の煮凝り)グリビッシュソース。
Aubergine puree and tomato sauce. Pork head jelly with Gribiche sauce(made from egg and mustard), hmm, kinda tasteless.
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カボチャの冷製ポタージュ。スズキのポワレ、バターソース。
Cold pumpkin soup, very sweet, had some curry taste and a few drops of pistachio oil on top. Pan-fried Sea bass, not bad but…isn’t the portion a bit stingy?(That day the fish market was closed for obon holiday so that could be the reason…)
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仔羊背肉のポワレ スパイス風味。カルダモンのクレームブリュレ。
Lamb chop, with spice. The meat was soft, the first two bites were great, but half of it was plain fat and overall very oily, felt a bit sick halfway. Not sure where the spice was. The other choice for the main dish was not tempting to me so I ended up choosing the lamb again(last time I had lamb too). Cardamon creme brulee and raspberry sorbet. So mediocre….
I have come here before(see tag) and it was not mind-blowing impressive but each dish was quite good and the whole course was well balanced. This time was a disappointment…though this time we chose the 2900yen course, cheaper than the 3900yen course last time, that could be the reason too…
Hommage