Caudalie (コーダリー)

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From the 1800yen lunch course(available on weedays only).
Bread is hot and refillable. Chilled(still summer when I went) turnip soup with Iberico pork bits on top.
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豚のロース肉のポアレ、白いんげん豆のトマト煮、メルゲーズ添え。
Green salad and pickled vegetables.
Pan-fried pork loin, white kidney beans in tomato stew, and Merguez sausage.
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Herb tea and petit fours.
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Went back and had the 1800yen lunch again. Chilled green asparagus soup. Beef fillet and vegetables with rice, teriyaki style. The salad is the same(here) while the petit fours have different flavours(here). Last time I kept having more bread cos they were so good, and the manager seemed to remember and kept giving me more bread this time too…3 bread plus rice with the main dish, I was so stuffed by the end. But from this time onwards, they don’t warm the bread anymore – kitchen staff too busy? Still good though.
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Third time. Vichyssoise with consomme jelly in it. It is so nice! Panfried fish(2 kinds) in crustacean and basil sauce.
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Fourth time round I tried the 2800yen lunch. Asparagus and broccoli soup.
Escargot on mushroom with garlic cappuccino sauce.
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Grilled quail. Black sesame seed creme brulee and nougat ice-cream with marron and apricot. Also includes coffee and petit fours.

This restaurant is still pretty new. When I first went in summer, it was never full, but now it is always fully booked even on weekdays lunchtime, which is quite amazing cos its location is obscure and entirely off the main road(though it is near Ueno Park). The food is delicious and the value is amazing. 1800yen lunch is really a good deal, though the menu for it doesn’t change much. I basically tried all available options for the 1800yen lunch. The restaurant is tiny and there is only one guy(very friendly) serving. Tax is included and no service charge at lunch or dinner.
Menu(J): 1, 2.
Caudalie
Add: 1-6-19 Ikenohata, Taito-ku
Tel: 03-3828-3006

L’Embellir (ランベリー)

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カリカリのじゃがいもで包んだ赤座海老、オリエンタルなソース。
栗とリンゴのラビオリ、秋のキノコのソース。
From 4410yen lunch course.
Langoustines in fried potato roll, oriental sauce(herb).
Ravioli of chestnut and apple, in autumn mushroom sauce.
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0711280030うずらの丸ごととココット焼き、黒豚とフォワグラを詰めて、ソース・マデール。
Cocotte grilled quail stuffed with minced kurobuta(pork) and foie gras, Madere sauce. (+1050yen)
Chocolate mousse with honey ice-cream, chocolate and Rosemary ganache with vanilla ice-cream.

Been here before(see tag). I love the food much more this time cos my choices were all-hit-no-miss to my taste! You are supposed to choose 1 cold appetizer, 1 hot appetizer and 1 main dish, but instead I ordered 2 hot appetizers and 1 main(with no additional charge!) so I got to try the specialty Langoustines, and the ravioli which has my favourite food Japanese chestnut in it. Both are absolutely fantastic. The main dish and the dessert are both satisfying as well. The value for lunch is really not bad. Though glass wine is about 1575yen so it might be better to order bottles.

We went to this restaurant for lunch a few days after it got 1 Michelin star(though we booked way ahead) and saw all these flower bouquets in the front door. Some are from restaurants which also got Michelin stars.
L’Embellir
Add: 4-17-33 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-3423-0131

cuisine francaise JJ

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Finally went to Tokyo Midtown! Only took a few pics on my way to lunch. The area is actually quite big. Of course lots of lots of people flooding everywhere. Queues outside every restaurant at lunch time.
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We have booked a table in advance – no way I’m going to queue. ^^;; Have been to this restaurant twice before. Used to call “Joel” and located in Aoyama. The old location is closed now. The chef and the whole staff team have moved to Midtown. The manager still remembers me…err….
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These pics are taken in the terrace space also belongs to the restaurant. It was sunny but still a bit chilly, so we decided to eat inside. We sat at the counter. Fantastic view! Apparently it was intended to be a bar counter but it was mistakenly built too low(^^;;;) so now it is also used as dining space as well.
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The champagne served that day was the usual 13% but somehow it felt strong and I was dizzy pretty quickly~
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Lunch menu(J) here.
4200yen lunch course consists of an appetizer, a main dish, dessert and coffee. Used to include two appetizers for the 4200yen lunch so as expected the price has gone up. We added one more appetizer to the lunch for an extra charge of 1800yen.
Amuse bouche: clam in saffron sauce.
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Traditional country pate, with salad, walnut and bacon cake.
Puff-pastry of Norwegian salmon and mousse. Itadori sauce and red wine sauce.
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Quail with potato paillasson(from the web: traditional potato preparation in which grated raw potatoes are fried to form a thin flat cake resembling a straw mat (“paillasson” in French)) and mushroom saute. Desserts from the wagon.

The food is great! Just love the sauce here so much. Service is friendly as ever. After we had our desserts, we spot the French chef(60 year-old gent) hanging around, talking and laughing with the madams, having a good time himself. The Japanese staff all have that “Oh not again~~” smiles on their faces. ^^;;; Later he came to talk to us and dragged us to the terrace and we chatted for quite a while. He was drinking coffee from a plastic cup that you normally use to brush your teeth. ^^;; Funny guy. Kept telling dirty jokes(in fluent Japanese!) and winking to my (girl) friend…err….^^;;;
cuisine francaise JJ

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

Brasserie Gus (ブラッセリー・グー)

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フォアグラのテリーヌ。ウズラのバターライス詰め。
Foie gras terrine. A thin slice but very rich foie gras taste. The salad, especially the asparagus is so good.
Roasted quail stuffed with butter rice. My friends said the rice tasted like pilaf in yoshoku place. ^^;; The quail is tender, the vegetables are plenty and very tasty, the sauce is not too heavy.
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ヌガー・グラッセ。
Nougat Glace. Lots of nuts and dried fruits, nice too.
Full course dinner(not including coffee) is only 2980yen, so cheap! Such a feminine restaurant – the staffs and the customers are 100% female. The food is mild and healthy tasting and lots of veggy, yet the portion is not too small. Though the wine-based cocktail I ordered was mainly just plain soda, and the glass wine was not a generous amount….better to order a bottle of wine instead. I have come here for lunch before (see tag) and I had the 2100yen lunch and it was wonderful. Very popular place so must book in advance.
Brasserie Gus

Salut (サリュー)

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うずらとセップ茸の包み焼き。
姫サザエとうにのエスカルゴ風グラタン。
Galette with quail and Cepe truffle – my friend’s appetizer. Gosh it is big as a main.
Turban shell and uni, escargot gratin – my choice. The uni is at the bottom, unfortunately too cooked to taste uni at all. The sea snails are a bit oily but very nice.
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白金豚の盛り合わせ(肩煮込み、バラ肉コンフィ、ソーセージ)。
ほろほろ鳥もも肉のパテ詰めのロースト、アンディーブのグラタン添え。
Assorted Platinum pork(Braised, confit and sausage) – my friend’s main.
Roasted pate-stuffed guinea fowl, gratin of endives – my choice. The guinea fowl is soft and tender, a bit light, but the liver pate gives it a rich meaty savoury taste. The sauce is slightly salty and the endive gratin a bit watery though.
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桃のコンポートとアーモンドミルクのシャーベット。
バナナのプリンと塩キャラメルのアイスクリーム。
Peach compote and almond milk sorbet – my friend’s dessert.
Banana pudding and salt caramel ice-cream – my choice. This dessert is incredible!! The ice-cream is salty, bitter, and caramel sweet all at once! (*o*)!! Banana pudding with fresh banana slices is nice, the brownish jelly is bitter and has alcohol taste, veeeeeeeeery good~~~
With amuse and petits fours, the dinner course is 5250yen. Also ordered a Kir Royal, and a decanter of red wine to share between 2 people, came to 7000yen each. Actually quite a good deal.
Been here for lunc before(see tag). Damn I just realise I had chicken last time…^^;;
Salut

La Grappe(ラ・グラップ)

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3990円のディナーコースで。アミューズ:ブータンノワールとグージェル。
Pork blood sausage and cheese puff, both are hot and very good.
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人参のムースとコンソメジュレ うに添え。
うずら肉のグリエと筍のブレゼマディラワインソース。
Carrot mousse and consomme jelly and sea urchin. Have had similar thing in other restaurants but still can’t resist ordering it. It is nice~.
Grilled quail and bamboo shoot in madeira wine sauce. The sauce was too salty… My friend ordered the fish and apparently it was fantastic….hmm, just unlucky?
060530 047.jpg自家製ケーキの盛り合わせ:パッションフルーツのムース、バニラアイス、バナナタルト。
Passion fruit mousse, banana tart and vanilla ice-cream. Not bad. Dinner course, with a glass of wine, about 5000yen.
La Grappe