Yakiniku Jumbo Shirogane(焼肉ジャンボ 白金)

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ユッケ刺。黒毛和牛タン下煮込み。
Yukke. Simmered wagyu tongue. Both very good!
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キムチ盛り合わせ。牛刺。
Assorted Kimchi. Beef sashimi.
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Some pork some beef…can’t remember names… Veggy on the right is “Sanchu”.
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The beef on the right is “sabuton”.
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Pork feet is cold and hard and tasteless – don’t order it!
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All different parts but can’t remember names…
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0901120001冷麺。クッパ。
Korean cold noodles. Spicy soup with rice.

Have been to the honten(original shop) in Shinozaki(see tag). The variety and the quality of meat is about the same(i.e.very good), but I must say the portion is much smaller in this Shirogane branch. I was stuffed to my throat by the end in Shinozaki and I paid about 7000yen including drinks, while in Shirogane I wasn’t really that full but the bill came up to 10,000yen per person. Though my visit to the Shinozaki honten was in 2007 and I haven’t been back since then. Shirogane is a much more convenient location and not too far from the station, while the honten is a hell of a walk from the out-of-the-way Shinozaki station. If you care for nice interior, young and lively staff, high percentage of female customers in trendy clothes, then Shirogane is your choice. I, on the otherhand, prefer the honten’s busybody owner who sticks a gun to your head if you cook his top-quality meat too long(3 seconds max!). I don’t think there was a time limit in Shinozaki, but you can only stay for two hours in Shirogane. I took pictures of the whole menu but most of the meat we ordered were not on it and were explained to us by the staff. I was too lazy to take notes but my friend’s choice “U-wa-mi-su-ji” had the most marbled fat and was the most juicy. Sabuton was also my favourite. Just like the honten, the grill wasn’t really that hot so I actually preferred cooking the meat – which was so fresh that it could be eaten raw – for more than 3 seconds(*gasps*). All the side dishes like yukke, soup rice were much nicer in Shirogane branch.

Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

This place is very near to Labyrinthe’s Patisserie Shinohashi which I’ve bought some bread before(entry here).

焼肉ジャンボ 白金 (Yakiniku Jumbo@Shirogane)
Add: 3-1-1 Shirogane, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-3679-8929

Restaurant Quintessence (レストラン カンテサンス)

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This is the menu we were handed. Nothing is written on it!! There is only one price for lunch(7350yen). You can tell the chef in advance what you can’t eat, while the rest is up to the chef.
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Corn chimaki(Japanese word for zongzi) and corn soup. Both are sweet and very nice~ Inside the bamboo leaf looks like this. Bread is warm and is the slightly sour type.
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Goat milk bavarois with fruity olive oil and yuri-ne(Lily root). Tastes like yogurt! Plain yogurt in fact cos it is neither sweet nor salty.
Grilled scallop with soba-no-mi(buckwheat seed) on top. The buckwheat seed gives the scallop a great crispy texture and nice fragrance.
Soba-no-mi risotto. Not much taste. ^^;;
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Masu salmon. The sauce in front is Amanatsu and black olive and rocket(herb). The green veggy at the back is kogomi, a kind of sansai.
Main dish is simple but very very juicy pork. A galette made from lentil and “Awakening of Inca” potato. From another angle here.
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Almond cake(with coconut sauce in the hole). Merengue ice-cream(very good!). Close-up here and here. Herb tea is made from fresh leaves, very nice!

I have heard so much about this place being very avant-garde and creative, so I was expecting some fancy presentation, small portion and dunno-what-you-are-eating kinda taste. But the food turned out not that weird. The pork was such a thick slice that I got really full but I had to finish it cos it was so good.

Service staff are quiet and don’t intrude too much, especially we had booked a month in advance and got to be seated in the private room, which is much more comfortable than the rather small and crowded main dining room. The chef is very young and came out to greet us while we were leaving.
Restaurant Quintessence
Add: 5-4-7 Shiroganedai, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-5791-3715

Cote d’Or (コートドール)

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赤ピーマンのムース。
スモークサーモン、ポロ葱とじゃがいものスープ。
Red bell pepper mousse, with tomato sauce.
Smoked salmon, leek and potato soup.
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羊のレバー、タン、ハラミのグリル。
アールグレイのシャーベット。
Grilled liver, tongue, and diaphragm of lamb. Comes with potato galette.
Earl Grey sorbet.
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バナナタルト。
Banana tart. Has coconut in it.
Lunch course plus a glass of white wine, 6600yen.

Everything is good! Brought a friend who has many likes and dislikes about food and who generally hates French food(^^;;) to this place for lunch. Thanks to the very accomodating staff, my friend was able to finish the course without picking half of her plate off.
Cote d’Or

Lachérir (ラシェリール)

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なめらかな卵、コンソメ、うずらの卵。
Dinner course 6800yen.
Amuse-bouche: Bottom layer is egg, topped with consomme jelly and half-cooked quail egg.
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ノルウェーサーモンと冬野菜のモザイク。
イサキのポワレ、菜の花のソースで。
Norway salmon and winter vegetable “mosaic”. Beautiful and delicious.
Pan-fried isaki(grunt fish) with rape blossom sauce.
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鶉のフォワグラ詰めロースト。
ココナツミルクバジルシード入りコーヒーゼリー。
Roasted quail stuffed with foie gras. There is a layer of cabbage between the foie gras and the quail.
Coffee jelly with coconut milk and basil seed. Very strong alcohol taste, very good!
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クレームキャラメルとマスカルポーネのアイスクリーム。
Creme caramel and mascarpone ice-cream. The dessert is absolutely heaven.

Taste-wise probably a bit lacking in impact but no disappointing factors. Fish and meat dishes are a bit on the salty side. Desserts are wonderful. Bread is piping hot and keeps coming. Good service too. Location maybe a little hard to find and a little far from the nearest station.
Lachérir

Cote d’Or(コートドール)

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赤ピーマンのムース。
冷製 季節の野菜の蒸し煮 コリアンダーの香りをつけて(野菜のエチュベ)。
Red bell pepper mousse, with tomato sauce.
Steamed vegetables with coriander.
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黒トリュフのかき卵 ワインソース。
牛のしっぽの煮込み 赤ワインソース。
Scrambled egg with truffle, red wine sauce.
Braised ox tail in red wine sauce, pumpkin paste.
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北海道白糠産仔羊のロースト ポテトのグラタン。
Roasted lamb with potato gratin.
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桑の実シャーベット。
青森産赤いリンゴのタルト ダイスケ風。
Mulberry seed sorbet. Apple tart.
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小田原ミカンのスフレ。
Mandarin orange souffle.

The chef’s 10 famous dishes are:
01 赤ピーマンのムース (Red bell pepper mousse)
02 えいとキャベツ (Ray fish with cabbage)
03 季節の野菜のエチュベ (Steamed vegetables with coriander)
04 トリュフのかき卵 (Scrambled egg with black truffle)
05 牛尾の赤ワイン煮 (Braised ox tail in red wine sauce)
06 仔羊のロースト (Roasted lamb)
07 しそのスープ (Shiso soup)
08 おこぜのポワレ (Pan-fried Stonefish)
09 ソーモンのタルタルモンブラン (Salmon Tartare Mont Blanc )
10 根セロリとリ・ド・ヴォーの煮込み (Celery root and Lamb sweetbreads)
Book here.

I have tried 1 and 2 during my first lunch visit(see tag). Came back again with a few friends and tried 3, 4, 5, 6. We basically picked from the a la carte menu, and have them arranged into a lunch course. Not cheap to order from the a la carte, but gosh the “scrambled egg with truffle” is worth everything….you can smell it miles away! So much truffle in it! Every spoon is truffle truffle truffle~~~absolutely heaven! The server said to eat it quick, at the most 5-6 minutes, otherwise the egg will harden. But it was just too mind-blowingly delicious that I was reluctant to finish the last mouthful. ^^;; Everything else is so good. You won’t go wrong in this restaurant. Though as personal preferences, I do like the Ox tail more than the lamb(pictures for the meat courses show half portion only), and I like the souffle included in the lunch course(which is the same as my last visit) more than the apple tart(which we shared) from the al la carte. In terms of value, the 4500yen lunch course is probably better, but exquisite experience comes with a price….my friend said later that she couldn’t help thinking how much each spoon of that truffle was while eating it…^^;;
A la carte menu(J): 1, 2.
Cote d’Or

Cote d’Or(コートドール)

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赤ピーマンのムース。 生牡蠣、下仁田葱ソース。
Red bell pepper mousse, with tomato sauce.
Raw oyster with shimonita leek sauce.
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エイのキャベツ添え。 口直し:天然キウイ。
Ray fish with cabbage. Natural kiwi.
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みかんのスフレ。
Mandarin orange souffle.
Macarons and chocolate.
Lunch course plus a glass of champagne, 7000yen.

Absolutely lovely food! Every dish looks simple but tastes perfect. Staff are very friendly and sweet. The red bell pepper mousse is a signature dish and I tried to request for it when I phoned to book, but I was told politely that it was not available during winter season. But when we went on the day, red pepper mousse was on Today’s Lunch menu! Apparently they remembered my request and made an exception. Ray fish with cabbage is also another signature dish and even though I didn’t request it, I was happy that it was available too. The food, the service, the ambience are all just so great that the minute I walked out of the restaurant, I already felt like going back again.
Cote d’Or

L’assiette Blanche (ラシェット・ブランシュ@白金高輪)

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鰯のマリネ、クスクスサラダ。
Bacon and cheese toast. Marinated sardine and couscous salad.
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060910 001.jpgブルターニュ産仔鴨胸肉のロースト アンディーブ添え 柑橘ソース。ココナッツのブランマンジェ、マンゴーソース。ランチコースは3500円。メインはアラカルトメニューからチョイスして、+1500円。グラスワインは800円。
Roasted duck breast with endive in citrus sauce. Coconut blanc manger in mango sauce. Every dish was very good! The cheapest 3500yen lunch had 3 choices for the main dish but they were all very standard and I had similar stuff many times before, so I picked the main dish from the a la carte menu, which was an extra 1500yen but the waitor said the portion would also be bigger – turned out it was the right choice cos the duck was so tender so soft so juicy and so big! Like my friend said, this place doesn’t have a creative menu to tickle your curiosity but instead the standard dishes are all very refined. The service was fantastic yet there was no service charge!
L’assiette Blanche