広島お好み焼きカープ (Hiroshima Okonomiyaki Carp)

Posted on April 14, 08 by seat

Oyster.

Negiyaki: Okonomiyaki with lots of spring onions.

Okonomiyaki with squid, prawn, pork and soba(noodles). Very good!

We tried toppings of mochi(the white clump in the picture) and cheese(cheapy supermarket slice cheese), also with udon added. Didn’t turn out very well….

Famous Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki place that we were stupid enough to go on a freezing-cold Friday evening. When we arrived at 20:30, there were 20 people waiting in the queue…not being able to think of a plan B, we ended up waiting for an hour outside. -o-;;;;; The last order is 21:30, but after that people still kept coming and coming, asking if it was still okay and the staff had to keep turning them off. There are only counter seats and the food is cooked in front of us. Relatively healthy okonomiyaki style with very thin layer of batter as the base, an egg on the top, and lots of lots of cabbage in between. Major toppings are pork, squid and prawn. Soba(not buckwheat but noodles) or udon are usually added too. Since it has more cabbage and less batter compared to say Osaka-style, it is much less heavy. The shop is opened from 11am til 10:30pm – apparently the time between lunch and dinner during weekdays is pretty empty(weekend is busy all day).

広島お好み焼きカープ
Add: 3-5 Kajicho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-5296-0080

Édition Koji Shimomura (エディション・コウジシモムラ)

Posted on November 25, 07 by seat

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

L’Embellir (ランベリー)

Posted on May 10, 07 by seat

Nice entrance~.

ナスで巻いたウサギのガランティーヌ、タイム風味。
4410yen lunch course with 2 appetizers, main dish and dessert. The bread is quite big size but it is just so good that I had THREE!!
Galantine with rabbit meat rolled in aubergine. This kind of meat appetizer is the chef’s specialty apparently. Very good!

カキ(厚岸産)とフォアグラのグラタン。
ホロホロ鳥と大山地鶏をミンチ状にして二層に。胡椒とポートワインのソース。
Oyster and foie gras gratin. Absolutely delicious!!
Guinea fowl and chicken are minced and made into two layers. Sauce is pepper and port wine. As my friend put it: a high-class chicken hamburger(^^;;). Very good though. Sauce is rich and delicious. Great with wine.

クレームブリュレ。
Creme brulee with banana crepe and chocolate slice(nice chocolate smell, probably freshly made?) and ice-cream.
And one petit four plate for each person!

Coffee refill OK. And a small glass of vinegar at the end to clear your taste. Finger cakes for everyone to take home too.

Service can be a bit robotic with no smiles. But the food is great and the value is good(drinks are reasonable too). Definitely want to go back!
Cool menu plates: left half, right half. A bit difficult to read though.
L’Embellir

洋食 GOTOO (Youshoku GOTOO)

Posted on March 27, 07 by seat

昔懐かしナポリタン、９００円。カキフライ（３個）、６００円。
Old fashioned “Spaghetti Naporitan”. Ingredients are bacon, ham, onion, bell pepper, mushroom. Sauce is tomato ketchup. I seldom order this even though every yoshoku place has it on the menu. But it is quite nice once in a while~. Fried oysters are very good too.
洋食 GOTOO

Cote d’Or（コートドール）

Posted on January 10, 07 by seat

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.

エイのキャベツ添え。口直し：天然キウイ。
Ray fish with cabbage. Natural kiwi.

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

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

La Saetta （ラ・サエッタ）

Posted on November 28, 06 by seat

三陸産カキのカルパッチョケッカソース。
Full course lunch is 3500yen(no tax, no service charge).
Focaccia with rosemary.
Oyster carpaccio, Checca Sauce. The oyster is a bit salty, but the sauce has nice citrus flavour.

サルデーニャ産カラスミのフェデリーニ。
北イタリアン伝統パスタアニョロッティ。
Fedelini with dried salted tuna roe. Spicy with real hot little chilli in it. Lots of seafood like scallops, prawns, clams, fish meat. Love the fish taste!
Agnolotti – traditional North Italian pasta apparently. Smaller than the usual ravioli, stuffed with pork belly and cheese. Green because of the spinach mixed in it.

スペイン産イベリコ豚のロースト。
Roasted Iberico pork. Fat and meat nicely balanced, very juicy. The sauce is made from eshallot and pork stock and something else I couldn’t catch when the waiter explained. Very delicious too. Actually I like the meat dish better than the pasta, which is usual for me in an Italian restaurant.

Lunch set comes with a small coffee. Dessert is optional.
Lunch menu(Japanese only): 1, 2.
La Saetta