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

Posted on July 17, 08 by seat

Lunch at this hidden and a bit out-of-the-way Italian restaurant. It is very near to Edogawabashi station and the exact location is not that difficult to find, but even you are right in front of it, you will stil hesitate if it is the right place cos the front just looks like somebody’s house and the tiny sign is impossible to spot. In fact, the building used to be the owner’s house.

This is the waiting room. We booked the private room on the second floor(used to be the study room) but the main dining room is beautifully decorated with Japanese-style screens made from paper and wood. We had the 4500yen lunch course(plus service charge 10%).
Amuse is warm mini bread with pickled cabbage and ham.

Second amuse(?). White asparagus sorbet, uni and consomme jelly.

ミントの香るトリッパのトマト煮　グラタン仕立て。
Trippa in tomato stew, gratin style. Baroro.

ホワイトアスパラガスと燻製した生ハムのスパゲッティ。
馬ヒレ肉のロースト　バローロソース。
White asparagus and smoked ham spaghetti.
Roasted horse meat in Barolo sauce. The yellow cubes on the side is polenta.

Chocolate creme brulee. Grappa.

Every single course was absolutely delicious. You just can’t imagine from the rather boring looks that the taste can be so good. The pasta looks like an ordinary carbonara, and the trippa looks like what you can get in bistro or even yoshoku places, but once you put them in your mouth, you are in for a surprise – they are nothing short of impressive. The horse meat is highly recommended by my friend who is a regular customer of this restaurant – unbelievably tender meat with very delicious sauce made from Barolo wine. To go with the meat, I also had a glass of Barolo which is amazing – completely wiped out my not-so-pleasant image of Italian wine. Apparently it is supposed to be really luxurious wine…of course I had never heard of it until that day. ^^;;; I don’t recall having an Italian meal that is so refined(not that I have been to that many Italian restaurants!). I had sparkling wine, red wine, grappa(included in lunch), and also coffee at the end – about 8000yen in total.

Lunch menu here.
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

Aroma-Fresca (アロマフレスカ )

Posted on July 11, 08 by seat

最初の一皿。空豆のスフレ風オムレツ　アロマフレスカ風。
From the 14,500yen dinner course.
Amuse is anago with a super-thin slice of potato chip on top.
Soramame(broad bean) souffle-style omelette. Fluffy omelette stuffed with lots of soramame. The sauce is a bit carbonara-ish. Very nice!

蛍烏賊のグラタン仕立て。冷たいスープを少し。
Hotaru-ika(tiny squid) in gratin style. There are white asparagus and karasumi(squid ink) risotto at the bottom.
Cold uni soup.

赤座海老のリゾット。春キャベツとイベリコ豚のキタッラ。
Akaza-ebi(langoustine) risotto. Delicious!
Chitarra with spring cabbage and Iberico pork. A bit yakisoba-ish(^^;;) but nice.

平鱸の”アルサーレ”春の香り。
Hirasuzuki(a kind of seabass) “Al Sale”(encrusted in salt). Comes with grilled white asparagus and sansai(mountain vegetables) tempura. The soup has strong butter taste. I love this dish!

柑橘のシャーベット。
Citrus sorbet is so sour that my friend actually choked on it. ^^;;

フォルマッジョを詰めた仔牛のコトレッタ。野菜(赤茄子)のココット。
Cotoletta with formaggio cheese stuffed inside. Takenoko(bamboo shoot) on the side is very sweet. Aka-nasu(a kind of aubergine） in a Cocotte that also comes with the main dish is unbelievably juicy and full of flavours…actually it left a deeper impression than the main dish itself(which is by no means bad, just a bit predictable).

Dessert is “eat as much as you like”(^^;;). There were altogether 5 choices and we ordered one of each to share(we were a group of 4). We liked the strawberry soup with cotton candy the most so we asked for one more of that too….

Can’t remember the exact names of the desserts…left pic is cheese pudding, right is chocolate mousse.

Mango pudding. Also petit fours and a selection of coffee and tea to choose from.

The food is of course good, and even though I am no wine expert, I must mention that this is one of the few Italian restaurants offering wine in glasses that I actually think is delicious and end up drinking more than I should.

Seriously I believe this restaurant(and its sister restaurant Casa Vinitalia) casts a “forget-the-time” spell on customers…The first time I visited, I missed the last train and had to crash at my friend’s place at the end. The second time I forgot the time again and had to dash to Azabu-Juban station with a full stomach and a blurry head in 5 mins(takes more than 10 mins to walk normally) to make the last train. And this time I specifically warned my friends beforehand: “Let’s watch the time and get our butt out of the restaurant before the last train.” I could NOT believe it when my friend took a look at her watch and announced that it was already midnight. I missed the last train again!!! Four hours, in a blink! Evil restaurants trying to hypnotize their customers with enchanting ambience should be banned. How nasty of them to offer free second helpings of desserts too. I ended up taking a taxi home…
Menu: 1, 2.

Aroma Fresca (アロマフレスカ)
Add: 1-7-31, Minami-azabu, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-5439-4010

おの寺 (Onodera)

Posted on July 4, 08 by seat

太刀魚と春玉葱、スプラウトのサラダ仕立て。
Tachiuo(scabbard fish), onion and sprout salad.

活〆花おこぜ（花虎魚）、穴子のお造り。
鰯つみれ椀　九条葱、茗荷。
Hana-okoze and anago sashimi.
Iwashi(sardine) tsumire with spring onion and myoga.

焼筍。いとより、筍、天豆の海老あんかけ。
Grilled takenoko(bamboo shoot). It is seasoned with dashi.
Itoyori, bamboo shoot, soramame(broad bean) and prawn in ankake(starchy sauce).

天然たらの芽フライ。あさりと筍、生のりの茶碗蒸し。
Fried taranome(buds of Aralia). Has a slightly bitter taste but very delicious.
Asari(clam) and bamboo shoot and fresh seaweed chawanmushi.

筍とわらびの炊き込みご飯、味噌汁。
Takikomi gohan with bamboo shoot and warabi. Very delicious!

There is only one dinner course which is 6800yen. Menu(J) here.

Very good washoku place on the 4th floor of an uncharacteristic building at Kagurazaka. Small restaurant with only one semi-private zashiki, and about 6 counter seats. The chef is still quite young I think. Even though he was so busy cooking everything by himself, he still managed to throw a joke or two at us – funny guy! The food is nice and the atmosphere is casual and relaxing.

おの寺 (Onodera)
Add: 4F, 2-3 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku
Tel: 03-3260-2066

I got to Kagurazaka a bit early and had a nice ice-cream at Gelateria Theobroma. 630yen for two flavours. I had Marron and bitter chocolate. The price is for take-out. There are a few chairs and a small table next to the door where you can sit and eat the take-out ice-cream, but if you want to sit inside at the cafe space, you need to pay 100yen more.

Bon Chemin (ボンシュマン)

Posted on July 1, 08 by seat

Delicious and hot homemade bread which kept coming. Must have had about four…
Chilled carrot potage.

Panfried fresh foie gras and foie gras terrine. A slice of toast at the bottom and homemade fig jam on the side. The terrine is soooooo good, even better than the fresh foie gras.
Baby lamb in Anchovy cream sauce. The lamb is very tender and soft. Surprisingly huge portion for a cute restaurant like this. Moussaka(lamb and aubergine) on the side is also good.

My friend’s pork cassoulet.
Matcha rollcake with black beans in black honey cream sauce. Just a piece of rollcake for dessert was a bit disappointing at first but it was very smooth and delicious so I was satisfied at the end.

Lunch course is 3000yen but the foie gras appetizer has a 1500yen additional charge. Glass wine is about 800yen. Cheaper 1800yen lunch course is also available. I like the food, the interior which makes you feel very at home and the friendly service here.

It is located halfway between Gakugeidaigaku(学芸大学) and Yuutenji(祐天寺). There is a very cute cake shop called Patisserie SOURIRE in the same block and is a must check.

Bon Chemin
Add: 2-40-5 Gohongi, Meguro-ku
Tel: 03-3791-3900

銀座あさみ(Ginza Asami)

Posted on May 28, 08 by seat

籠入り弁当。

水菜と油揚げの煮浸し。鯛にゅうめん。
Mizuna and aburaage. This is warm.
Tai(Sea bream) Nyumen. Nyumen is hot soumen.

鯛茶漬け。
Tai chatsuke(rice in tea broth).

Dessert is sakura-mochi.

3500yen lunch including a two-layered bento, Tai Chatuske, two side dishes and a dessert. You can order the bento and Tai Chatsuke on its own for 2500yen and 1500yen respectively. Reservation is absolutely necessary – you need to decide what to order when you reserve. There are about 10 counter seats(where we sat), and a few private rooms inside. The counter seats are a bit cramped and I couldn’t see much of what the chef was doing anyway so the private rooms might be a better idea. When we arrived at around 12 noon, the first round of customers were just leaving…which means that they must have started around 11:30am when the restaurant just opened and finished in 30 mins? Maybe they just had the Tai-chatsuke. The restaurant was fully booked from 12 and when we were leaving at around 2pm, the third round of customers started to come….seems like the rather obscure location doesn’t dampen its popularity.

The food is absolutely delicious. Surprisingly strong seasoning for its Kyoto origin – but not overly strong. The highlight is definitely the Tai Chatsuke. First you eat some rice with the tai sashimi and the sesame seed sauce(made with nuts too), and then you pour the tea to make chatsuke. The sesame seed sauce is quite salty so pour a bit at a time. The thick slices of Tai are fresh and delicious to be eaten as sashimi, but when they are slightly cooked by the hot tea and eaten with rice and the sauce, they are even more heavenly. Rice is refillable.

銀座あさみ(Ginza Asami)
Add: 8-16-6 Ginza, Chuo-ku (closer to Shinbashi or Shiodome)
Tel: 03-5565-1606

天ぷら深町(Tempura Fukamachi)

Posted on May 26, 08 by seat

特製かき揚天丼、￥２１００。

Tempura restaurant which is quite expensive at night, but at lunch time, other than the tempura set(tempura and rice come separately) and tempura full courses with prices ranging from 5000yen to 7000yen, a more purse-friendly option of 2100yen kakiage-tendon(very delicious) is also available. The content of the tendon changes with seasons – when we went there were asparagus, soramame, small prawn, scallop etc. in it. The chef used to work in the famous tempura restaurant in Yamonoue hotel which I have tried before and is a big fan. Reservation at lunch is only possible if you order the more expensive set/course. I went without reservation on a weekday, arriving at around 12:30pm and it wasn’t so full. But while we were eating people kept coming in and just before 13pm, the place was packed. It is a small restaurant with mainly counter seats but there are also two tables for two.
Lunch menu(J) here.

天ぷら深町
Add: 2-5-2, Kyobashi, Chuo-ku
Tel: 03-5250-8777

てんぷらと和食山の上ホテル(Tempura Yamanoue)

Posted on May 14, 08 by seat

天丼、￥３３６０。
Tendon: prawn, kakiage with prawn, fish and shishitou pepper.

Very famous tempura restaurant inside Hilltop Hotel. It was a bit of a quest to find the entrance…I went to the annex building, couldn’t find it, got out, went into the main building, couldn’t find it, got out, followed the tempura-ish smell and finally found the small sign leading to the hidden entrance outside the hotel building. ^^;;

かき揚げ天丼、￥２８８７。穴子天丼、￥３４６５。
Kakiage-tendon. Anago tendon.

野菜天丼、￥２８８７。天丼、￥３３６０。
Took a friend there and I had Yasai Tendon and she had Tendon. The prices include 5% tax and 10% service charge(even at lunch time!).

The sauce is this restaurant’s original and you can choose between “amakuchi”(甘口) and “karakuchi”(辛口). The staff said they are just the same sauce – “karakuchi” is just less sweet than “amakuchi”. I personally prefer karakuchi.

Probably the most “elegant” tendon I have ever had. All the tendon I had before felt cheap in comparison…both taste-wise and price-wise. ^^;;;

There are other lunch menu such as Ebi(prawn) Tendon, a luxurious Iki-Ebi Tendon which has a whooping price tag of 5040yen(plus tax and SC of course). Tempura full courses are also available at lunch time. Seating includes counter, tables, and zashiki.

Lunch menu(J): 1, 2.

山の上ホテル
 Hilltop Hotel/Yamanoue Hotel(English available)
There is also a Roppongi branch inside Tokyo Midtown.

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