Tempura Kondo (天ぷら近藤)

Posted on December 10, 08 by seat

From 8400yen “Fuji” dinner course. Prawn head.

Two prawn.

Asparagus. Shiitake mushroom.

Kisu – white sillago fish. Renkon – lotus root.

Haze(Goby). Small onion(tongue-burningly hot!).

Anago. Satsumaimo taro(pic shows 1/4 cut) is not included in any of the courses but it is a MUST order. It takes a long time to make so you must order at the beginning.

Kakiage(with lots of scallop) tendon. You can also choose chazuke with the kakiage, or have kakiage and rice come separately. I wanted to try the sweet sauce so I opted for the tendon but to enjoy the crispiness, it is probably better to have it come on a separate plate.

“La france” pear.

Kondo is so famous that I think every foodie interested in dining in Tokyo knows. Somehow the idea of a 9F floor high-end restaurant in Ginza with only counter seats made me a little nervous before going, but to my surprise the atmosphere is totally casual and the staff are friendly. We sat in front of Kondo-san but there is a comfortable amount of space in between and he was busy making the food anyway so we were quite happy to be left alone. He cooks for other customers too and the younger chef also cooks for us so I guess it doesn’t really matter where you sit. We had the cheapest course with 2 prawn, 3 fish and 4 veggy, which is actually quite enough. The ingredients are all top-notch and fresh that I ended up eating them with just salt and sudachi and didn’t want to “spoil” them by dipping into the sauce with grated raddish. We were there for about 2 hours and as far as we could see, the oil(100% white sesame oil) was changed 3 times. I saw other customers ordering uni and shirako which looked so amazing that I couldn’t help drooling…too bad my friends were all too stuffed. I haven’t been to that many high-end tempura places so I can’t say much but I totally enjoyed the meal in Kondo.

Tempura Kondo (天ぷら近藤)
Add: 9F, 5-5-13 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Tel: 03-5568-0923

鈴なり (Suzunari)

Posted on November 2, 08 by seat

A fantastic Japanese restaurant that I’m so happy I decided to give it a try. The chef was trained in the famous Kaiseki restaurant “Nadaman”, but “Suzunari” is very casual and reasonably priced – the cheapest dinner course starts from 4500yen. We opted for the 6000yen course and were all very surprised by the large number of dishes served to us as well as the high quality of each dish. The value for money is truly amazing! Since there were so many courses, I think we spent more than 3 hours(close to 4 probably…) there, but we didn’t feel like we had to wait between courses cos the timing of delivery was perfect.

シジミのしょうゆ漬け。おひたし。
We printed out a coupon from “Hotpepper” and got the Shijimi clam in soy sauce for free(one per table). Ohitashi(boiled vegetables dish) starts the dinner course. All the pics show portion for one person.

ヒラメの刺身。生ガキ。
Hirame sashimi. Raw oyster.

八寸（バイ貝、柿の白和え、イカの塩辛、アン肝など）。生うにの玉地蒸し（フカヒレ入り）。
Assorted appetizer: Baigai(Japanese ivory shell), Persimmon Shiraae(tofu dressing), squid Shiokara, Ankimo etc.
Tamaji-mushi(just Chawanmushi) with fresh sea urchin and shark fin.

刺身盛り合わせ。合鴨と白身魚のたれ焼き。
Assorted sashimi. Grilled duck and fish in tare sauce.

鯛しゃぶ。
Tai Shabu. The soup is delicious enough to enjoy on its own and adding the fatty fish is…heaven!!

松茸ご飯。杏仁豆腐。
Matsutake mushroom rice. Almond pudding.

The restaurant is very small and gets booked up very quickly. I tried calling 1-2 days in advance and it was always fully booked – at least one week in advance is necessary to secure a table. The restaurant is near Yotsuya Sanchome – the location is central enough but there is nothing much around other than office buildings and I’ve only come here a few times in the past for dinners. The small alleys leading to the restaurant are quite hidden and accomodate many intriguing(in fact slightly scary) restaurants – we got curious and ventured into one after dinner and found out it was a bar. Before dinner, I also didn’t forget to drop by the famous Wakaba to take out some taiyaki. Not my favourite kind of taiyaki but it is not bad.

鈴なり (Suzunari)
Add: 7, Arakicho, Shinjuku-ku
Tel: 03-3350-1178

くいもんやす多ち/すだち (Kuimonya Sudachi)

Posted on October 4, 08 by seat

A very small restaurant offering casual Kyoto food with only one table and about 12 counter seats. It is located on the third floor of a “multi-tenant building” near Shinbashi and Ginza. The Obanzai(Kyoto daily family dishes) lined up on the counter made me drool hungrily while waiting for my friends to arrive. Other customers all ordered from the a la carte but we decided to go for the 5000yen omakase(chef’s choice) dinner course and let the okami(madam chef who is from Kyoto apparently) decide for us.

Obanzai moriawase(assorted): (anti-clockwise from bottom left)Unohara, squid, shirataki and mentaiko, cha-mame beans, potato salad, turnip, Koyadoufu, and marinated sanma in the middle. The picture shows portion for 3 people.

Clear soup with yuba(tofu skin) and matsutake mushroom.
Sashimi(for 3 people): Hirame(bottom left), himedaikon(little radish, eat with miso), octopus(eat with sudachi and salt), Aji coated in sesame seed(at the back).

Wakasagi tempura and sweet corn kakiage(round fritter) in curry flavour. Grilled Onigiri(rice is flavoured) and Kenchinjiru(miso soup with root vegetables).

This is a side order not included in the course. Deep-fried crab meat potato salad.

Buri daikon(Buri and radish simmerered in sweet soy sauce) is a side order also. Dessert included in the course is fruit.

Everything is absolutely delicious. Kyoto food gives the impression of very mild and light taste but the food served here all had strong flavour, which I actually prefer. The ingredients used are of good quality and you can really tell the attention paid to the detail in making each dish. The obanzai is reheated before serving which is important for me to enjoy it fully. The madam chef behind the counter was working non-stop throughout the night but whenever she had a moment she would smile at us and ask if everything was alright, so even though we did have to wait quite a bit for each course, we didn’t really mind. The restaurant is not non-smoking which is really a shame though…must remember to book the table away from the counter seats next time. Including a drink, side order(which proved to be too much and we were all bursting-full at the end…), about 7000yen per person.

Menu(J): 1, 2.

くいもんやす多ち/すだち (Kuimonya Sudachi)
Add: 3F, 8-5-15, Ginza, Chuo-ku
Tel: 03-5568-3321

赤寶亭 (Sekihoutei)

Posted on September 22, 08 by seat

From 5250yen lunch course. Umeshu(Sour plum wine) included in the course. Fig with goma(sesame) sauce, ginnan(ginkgo nuts), hamo no ko(roe of hamo) inside the orange leave, satoimo(taro), suzuki(eat with green sauce), anago sushi. The last three items are warm.

Hamo and atsuage. I’ve tried hamo a few times before and I never thought it was anything special, but after trying the hamo in this restaurant, I realised I just never had a good one before!
Makogarei and Maguro. Eat with either ponzu or soy sauce. The brown-ish cube is kanten jelly with seeds.

Aubergine and pumpkin takiawase. It is so simple but so delicious.
Fried ayu was great but the fried pepper, edamame and corn were truly outstanding.

Maitake mushroom takikomi gohan. Miso soup with winter melon.
Kyohou grape jelly. So nice!

The food might look ordinary and sound simple but the quality is just fantastic. At first the pace of delivery of each course was a bit too fast – we were busy chatting – but I told the staff to slow down a bit and it was fine. The lady in kimono was very friendly. Two of us shared a small bottle of nihonshu(1000yen) she recommended which was very nice. I went for lunch on a Saturday and only booked the day before but I had no problem getting a private room on the first floor. On the way to the bathroom(only on second and third floor), we saw that while the tables are only partitioned with screens, they look very comfortable with sunlight coming through the windows. Nice place to have a relaxing holiday lunch~

赤寶亭 (Sekihoutei)
Add:3-1-14, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku
Tel: 03-5474-6889

銀座とよだ (Ginza Toyoda)

Posted on August 11, 08 by seat

うなぎ、白瓜、トマトに土佐酢のジュレ。しんじょうと糸瓜。
From 5000yen lunch course. Cold appetizer with unagi, cucumber, tomato and vinegar jelly. Shinjou(grounded fish meat) in clear soup.

お造り：マグロとスズキ。鮎の塩焼き。
Maguro and Suzuki sashimi. Grilled Ayu.

にしん、ナス、小松菜の炊き合わせ。トウモロコシの炊き込みご飯。
Takiawase(simmered) of Nishin(cured herring), aubergine and komatsuna. Rice cooked with sweet corn.

白桃のプリン。ゆずのゼリー。京番茶。
Peach pudding. Yuzu jelly and Kyobancha tea.

I love every dish in the course! From the sweet tomato in the appetizer to the last piece of yuzu jelly and Kyobancha tea served at the end, everything is satisfying. No-frills, no creative fusion whatver, just solid good quality washoku. The atmosphere is quite casual at lunch. We sat at the counter and watched the chef at work and got served by the good-looking female staff in kimono. Definitely a place I will feel comfortable to take friends from overseas to try traditional washoku.

銀座とよだ (Ginza Toyoda)
Add: 2F, Ginza 7-5-4, Chuo-ku
Tel: 03-5568-5822

明神下　神田川本店 (Myoujinshita Kandagawa)

Posted on August 2, 08 by seat

I like eating unagi in winter months cos it is much fattier, but seeing lots of pictures of unagi on the day of douyo no ushi(土用の丑) makes me crave for it too. The old building of this unagi restaurant is so gorgeous that it alone is worth a visit. Booking is absolutely necessary and although there were only two of us, we got the private room all to ourselves. Unajuu(unagi on rice in a bento box) is not cheap – a bit more than 4000yen(there is service charge) and soup is not included. But the quality is really high and I love the sauce which is not sweet like the usual kind. Location is convenient – easily accessible from Akihabara or Ochanomizu.

明神下　神田川本店 (Myoujinshita Kandagawa)
Add: 2-5-11 Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3251-5031

Ristorante La Barrique Tokyo (リストランテラ・バリックトウキョウ)

Posted on July 18, 08 by seat

Lunch was too good(see tag) so we decided to come back for dinner. This time we let the restaurant decide the menu and the wine for us with a budget of 20,000yen per person. Money well spent! The quality surpassed all our expectations. First amuse is the same as last time. The second is a cold amuse with prawn, saltwort(veggy underneath) and ricotta cheese.

We were a group of 8 and I am not sure if it was difficult for the kitchen to have everyone served the same thing at the same time, or maybe they just wanted to let us try more things, each course came in two varieties and we just shared in pairs.
Cold appetizer 1: Tomato soup. There is mozzarella cheese, tomato sorbet, tomato jelly, crab meat and dried tomato in it.
Cold appetizer 2: Hon-maguro(tuna) tataki salad.

Warm appetizer 1: Foie gras and fig tart in Marsala sauce.
Warm appetizer 2: Abalone saute.

Ayu pasta. Ikasumi(squid ink) pasta.

Main 1: Baby goat from Hokkaido.
Main 2: Igor pork. Not sure about the name. Similar to Iberico pork apparently but I haven’t had Iberico pork tasting this good.

Chocolate. Passion fruit.

The Italian wine chosen by the sommelier was amazing, especially the white wine in the picture. We had sparkling wine, white wine, red wine(two different kinds of red? Too drunk by the end to remember….). This time we sat in the main dining room with very romantic Japanese-style decor. A truly wonderful experience! My crappy writing can’t possibly convey how great this restaurant is!

btw, I thought it would be hard for my friends who were visiting this place for the first time to locate the entrance in the dark but the tiny sign was lit at night so it was in fact easier to spot.

More pics from my friend’s review here(J).

Ristorante La Barrique Tokyo (リストランテラ・バリックトウキョウ)
Add: 2-12-2 Suido, Bunkyo-ku
Tel: 03-3943-4928

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