NAKANO SHOKUDO Aux provencaux (オー・プロヴァンソー)

フォアグラのテリーヌ・いちじくの赤ワイン煮。
Foie gras terrine with fig simmered in red wine.

鴨のコンフィ。
Duck confit. Desserts from the wagon.

Tried this French restaurant that opened last year after hearing quite positive reviews from friends. The food didn’t disappoint! Lunch course I had was 3000yen; there is also a 2500yen lunch course which serves the daily soup instead of appetizer. There are a few choices for the appetizers, but for the main dish, you can either choose fish or meat. Limited choice is fine for cheaper weekday lunch, but I went on a weekend and I did wish they had more options for the main. There is no service charge and tax is included in the price so the value is not bad. Glass wine is 840yen. The foie gras terrine is one of the best I’ve had recently and it is even better than more expensive places. The main and the dessert are both very decent. Definitely will go back for dinner!

Lunch menu(J) here.

Aux provencaux
Add: 1-3-9 Hirakawacho, Chiyoda-ku
(near Koujimachi or Hanzoumon subway station)
Tel: 03-3239-0818

L’Artemis Petillante (ラルテミス・ペティアント)

Posted on January 19, 08 by seat

5250yen 4-course dinner has the choice of either: 2 appetizers+main+dessert, or appetizer+fish+meat+dessert. I had the later. There is also a 3990yen course which is the basic 3-course meal: 1 appetizer, 1 main and 1 dessert. The portion for each dish is slightly bigger for the 3 course dinner compared to the 4-course one.

フォアグラのポワレといちじくのロースト（＋６３０円）。
Chilled corn soup.
Foie gras and roasted fig(+630yen).

本日の魚のポワレ（カレイ）丸ナスの厚切りローストとシェリーヴィネガーとケッパーのソースで。
フランス産小鴨のヘーゼルナッツ焼き（＋６３０円）。
Pan-fried “karei” flat fish, roasted aubergine, sherry vinegar and caper sauce.
Grilled baby duck with hazelnut(+630yen).

本日のスフレ（洋ナシ）。
Pear Souffle and pear sorbet.

The food is not impressive but not bad in general. The roasted fig is really nice though the duck could be better. Many of the tempting choices in the menu have additional charges, like the foie gras and the duck. But the boring-sounding options without additional charges actually look good too so maybe it is best to stick to the basic options for better value. Tax is included and the service charge is 7%. Unfortunately the service is far from great – try to get the manager to explain the menu cos the waitress is not so helpful. Glass wine is less 800~900yen. Location is a bit inconvenient – about 10 mins from Harajuku station if you don’t get lost.

Menu(J): 1, 2, 3, 4.
L’Artemis Petillante
Add: 2-31-7 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku
Tel: 03-5786-0220

Caudalie (コーダリー)

Posted on January 7, 08 by seat

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.

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.

Herb tea and petit fours.

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.

Third time. Vichyssoise with consomme jelly in it. It is so nice! Panfried fish(2 kinds) in crustacean and basil sauce.

Fourth time round I tried the 2800yen lunch. Asparagus and broccoli soup.
Escargot on mushroom with garlic cappuccino sauce.

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)

Posted on December 27, 07 by seat

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.

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[s] Michel Troisgros (キュイジーヌ[S] ミッシェル・トロワグロ)

Posted on December 13, 07 by seat

French restaurant inside the Hotel Hyatt Regency. Check out the English review here.

Very high-quality snacks!

Amuse-bouche is green peas soup with mango and some citrus fruit jelly in it.
Homemade bread is basil, bacon and one I forgot.

トマトのジュレ、マスカルポーネオリーブとレザンのラビオリ仕立て。
真鱈のパヴェ、ポワローのグリエと舞茸添え、マスタードのジュー。
Tomato jelly with two kinds of ravioli – mascarpone ravioli, olive and raisin ravioli.
Madara(Pacific cod) with grilled leek and maitake mushroom in mustard sauce. The sauce is made from beef stock and katsuobushi. A bit sour.

シャラン産鴨肉、無花果のバニュールスワイン煮、ポムスフレとフォルムダンベール。
Challans Duck with fig cooked in Banyuls wine, potato souffle with Fourme d’Ambert cheese and wasabi. We had to add the duck sauce ourselves.

Yogurt mousse and orange. Chocolate tarte with coffee cream inside. Ice-cream is caramel and anise flavour.

High-quality petit fours!

I have heard about this place for a long time and everyone warned me that the food is not “classic French” but more modern Japanese-French fusion kind of cuisine. The fish is definitely very Japanese, while the rest are light tasting and use quite a bit of herbs. I like the food alright but am not crazy about it. The environment is elegant, and the service, though a bit formal, is very professional. Somehow there are menus for 7500yen and 10,000yen course, but the cheapest 5000yen has no menu which makes it a bit embarassing to order…
Cuisine[s] Michel Troisgros

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

AUXAMIS TOKYO

Posted on November 12, 07 by seat

Fantastic view from the 35th floor of Marunouchi building.

甘エビ、北海道産帆立貝と完熟マンゴーのタルタル　カクテル仕立て。
I was surprised to see that they have very reasonably priced lunch course starting from 1800yen. We went for the special Southern France selection lunch course, 5040yen.
Sweet prawn, scallop and mango Tartare.

パルマ産生ハム・吉田豚のリエット・本日のシャルキュトリーの一皿　オーガニックサラダ添え。
Parma Prosciutto, Pork rillette and pate with pistachio.

南仏の香りをまとった仔羊背肉のローストラタトゥイユ添え　ジュのソース。
Roasted baby lamb with ratatouille.

本日のデザート。
Blueberry creme brulee with milk ice-cream.

AUXAMIS started off as a wine bar so we decided to go for the 1890yen wine tasting course which includes 3 glasses(2/3 glass each) of wine that go with the amuse-bouche, appetizer and main dish. I forgot to take pictures of one of the wine but you can check out my friend’s blog for the complete selection. The champagne and dessert wine in the pictures here are not included in the wine-tasting course. The food is overall good. The meaty appetizer is nice but indeed quite impossible to eat without wine. The massive lamb chop is tender and juicy; the amount of fat is a bit scary but with the help of the tasty veggy sauce I devoured the whole thing.

Menu: 1, 2, 3, 4.
AUXAMIS TOKYO

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