Category Archives: 01:French

Maison du Châtaigne (メゾン・デュ・シャテーニュ)

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ホタテ貝とラタトゥイユのカソレット。 仔羊ジゴのロースト。
Scallop and ratatouille cassolette. Roasted baby lamb shoulder meat.
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ラタトゥイユとリエット。豚ホホ肉のコンフィ。
Ratatouille and rillette. Pork cheek confit. Gateau chocolate.
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ラタトゥイユ。 豚カタロース肉のロティ ローズマリー風味。
Ratatouille. Pork loin roti with rosemary.
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生ハムと高原トマト、インゲンのサラダ。 牛バヴェット（ハラミ）のソテー 黒ビールのソース。
Prosciutto, tomato and kidney bean salad. Beef bavette saute in black beer sauce.

From four lunch visits. 1600yen lunch includes appetizer, main, bread and coffee.

First time I went, the scallop and the lamb were so wonderful that I went back again taking a friend for a weekend lunch. However the second time was disappointing – the pork confit was no good and the chocolate cake was simply bad. Wanting to know if the second visit was just bad luck, I went back the third time, and had the pork loin roti which was very good!! Why?! Why?! Not giving up and went back the fourth time: the beef bavette was hard and impossible to chew…so the quality fluctuates!! The scallop appetizer was delicious and other appetizers were pretty basic salad/ratatouille that don’t go wrong so they are alright. The grilled vegetables on the side of the main dish are always nice too.

This restaurant is always completely empty at lunch time….basically it is just the chef, the waiter who is a little too attentive cos he has nothing else to do, and us/me. I was so glad to see other customer one time – the girl eating by herself – that I took a picture of her. ^^;;;; The bland interior, the claustrophobic underground space with no windows, and the complete silence make the atmosphere very depressing. ^^;;; Maybe it is more lively at night? Afterall the location is pretty local and not many offices nearby.

Lunch menu(J): 1, 2, 3, 4.
Maison du Châtaigne
Add: B1, 2-14-10 Nezu, Bunkyo-ku.
Tel: 03-3827-2503

La Rochelle Minami Aoyama (ラ・ロシェル南青山)

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小さいなオードブル： ヒラマサのジュレ、イワシとサーモンのクレープ包み、ニシ貝のフラン。
ロワール産白アスパラガスに帆立貝と北海道産雲丹を野生のウイキョウの香りで包み。
From the 7350yen dinner course.
Amuse bouche: Hiramasa(fish) jelly, sardine and salmon crepe, Nishigai(shellfish) flan.
White asparagus, uni and scallop, uni and mango mousse(on the spoon), olive jelly(at the back), and fennel here and there. This appetizer is amazing!
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旬の野菜のカプチーノ仕立て。
赤座海老を舌平目で包み、黒のパン粉焼きにし、イカ墨のラザニアとトマト風味のバルサミコソース。
Pumpkin soup cappuccino style.
Akaza-ebi(Langoustine) wrapped in Shitabirame(sole), grilled with black breadcrumbs. Squid ink lasagna at the bottom, with tomato and Balsamico sauce.
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和牛肉をハーブとベーコンで包み焼きにし、モアールと尾尻肉をカナッペにして。
お口直しの小さいなデザート。
Wagyu wrapped in herb and bacon.
Small dessert is apricot soup.
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0707220102アップルマンゴーのデザートにはちみつのアイスクリームを添えて。
Apple mango dessert and honey ice-cream. Petit fours. After coffee, herb tea is also served.

Lunch was very good last time(see tag) so went back for dinner. What a nice restaurant. Delicious and delicate food, attentive service, lovely environment(though lots of cheering and clapping and flashlights when a wedding reception is taking place) – all at a reasonable price. Very satisfied!
La Rochelle Minami Aoyama
Add: 3-14-23 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-3478-5645

ahill ginza

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本日の前菜： サーモンのミルフィユ。
メイン： 特製ハンバーグステーキ（宮崎牛・イベリコ豚・フォアグラを使用）。
2000yen lunch course including appetizer, main dish and coffee.
Salmon mille-feuille. Layered salmon mousse and marinated salmon. It looks nice but tastes pretty normal.
The hamburger steak is made from Miyazaki beef, Iberico pork and foie gras. It is delicious!! There is enough foie gras in it to give the hamburger a rich taste.
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ポロネギとズワイガニのマリネ コンソメジュレ寄せ。
宮崎牛特選サーロインステーキ。
Went back again for lunch to try other things.
Leek and zuwaigani(crab) in marinade with consomme jelly. Cute but tastes so-so…just like last time! My friend’s pate is much better. Maybe you should only order meat in this place.
Miyazaki beef sirloin steak. Gosh it is so nice! Super juicy with the perfect amount of fat. But the portion is tiny~~. Close up here.
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特製ahillカリー。ジャスミンティープリン。
Special ahill curry rice is nothing special, while the Jasmine tea pudding is very good.

Basic lunch is 2000yen, but I ordered the beef(+1200yen), curry rice(+800yen) and dessert(+500yen), came up to 4500yen excluding drinks.

Menu(J) here.
Add: 8F Ginza Velvia-kan, 2-4-6 Ginza
Tel: 03-3562-8080

La Rochelle Minami Aoyama (ラ・ロシェル南青山)

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小さなオードブル。川原さんの畑の”いんげん”、オマール海老、イカのマリネと駿河湾のシラスを２種類の食感で。
From the 6510yen lunch course.
Amuse-bouche. Asparagus mousse in the front. Prawn and clam soup in the middle. Forgot the other two…
Kidney beans, with lobster and squid. Fried shirasu(baby sardine) and lobster on the spoon.
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かます＆雲丹をサンドウィッチのイメージで、ベルベーヌ風味のソースを添え。
仔牛のフィレ肉にフォアグラの燻製を詰めてローストし、オリビエさんのスパイスとサリエットの香り。
Kamasu(Saury pike or Barracuda) and uni, sandwich-style, with Vervain sauce.
Veal and smoked foie gras rolled in sansai(wild vegetable) with spice and sarriette(savory) flavour.
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0707060060プティ・デセール。デザートワゴン。
A small dessert, and then dessert wagon service where you can choose what you like. I had ALL. ^^;; Petit fours with the coffee, and then a small cup of fresh herb tea.

The food is just amazing. The presentation is beautiful yet taste is not compromised to make it look good. The mille-feuille-looking fish dish is pretty AND delicious, with many layers of uni, fish, prawn etc. The veal is tender and perfectly cooked. The most impressive part however, is the veggy on the side – all standing up and artistic-looking, and each of them has something unpredictable stuffed inside, e.g. ratatouille inside the radish, corn paste inside the aubergine…I love them all! The desserts are nice too. Souffle cheese cake with lavender, and honey ice-cream were the best. For the 6510yen lunch course, you can also choose a dessert plate instead of wagon dessert.

The environment is lovely. There is a church next to the restaurant(first pic). In fact on the day we went, there was a small wedding reception going on, and one-third of the restaurant was partitioned by glass panels and separated from where we sat. We could still see the bride and hear the clapping and cheering though.

If you print out the coupon here, you get a discount of about 1000yen for the “seasonal lunch course”. Very good value! One coupon can be used for up to 4 people.
La Rochelle Minami Aoyama
Add: 3-14-23 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku
Tel: 03-3478-5645

Apicius （アピシウス）

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イイダコのトマト煮。
エスカルゴのラビオリ 野菜のフリットと共に。
Iidako(octopus) in tomato sauce.
Ravioli of escargot with vegetable frit.
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フォワグラのポワレ グリーンピースのトリュフ風味煮込み添え。
仔羊のロースト 蕪のコンフィ添え ローズマリー風味。
Saute of foie gras with stewed green peas, truffle flavour.
Roasted lamb with turnip confit, rosemary flavour.
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Mango mousse, cheese cake and Saint Honoré.

Had the lunch course B(5000yen), but changed the meat dish from beef steak to roasted lamb which is the main dish option of the lunch course A(8000) with an additional charge of 1000yen. Also added the foie gras(4260yen) from the a la carte menu. Four of us shared a bottle champagne and it was about 15,000yen for me. The lamb was soft and tender but had a bit too much fat. The rest was good but could be better, especially the foie gras. Even though the a la carte menu sounds so tempting and hard to resist(in fact everyone in my table changed this added that…no one stuck to the basic lunch course ^^;;), value-wise it is not so great. The environment is nice though – we stayed for like 4 hours. ^^;;
Lunch menu here.
Apicius
Add: B1, 1-9-4 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku
Tel: 03-3214-1361

La Blanche (ラ・ブランシュ)

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Pork rillette. Bread is nice and warm.
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イワシとジャガ芋の重ね焼き、トリュフ風味。
本日の魚料理： マナガツオのポワレ、キュウリソース。
Grilled layers of sardine and potato, with truffle flavour.
Today’s fish dish: Managatsuo(a kind of bonito) in cucumber sauce.
These two dishes are easily the tastiest thing I have had recently! The truffle fragrance is strong and appetizing. The sardine and the potato match so amazingly well. There is a bit of melting butter on top. The little cup is warm, milky and smooth potage with sardine flavour. The fish dish is juicy and fatty, grilled to perfect crispiness on the outside. The cucumber sauce is a wonder too, full of herb taste. I mopped every bit of the sauce with bread, which kept coming, and my friend simply drank the sauce to the last drop with a spoon. It was that good. The onions, cucumber and other vegetables are fresh and sweet and juicy. Simply perfect!
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グランテ： 八角のシャーベット。
鴨肉のコンフィ、パイ包み焼き。
Anise sorbet.
Grilled duck confit pie. The duck meat inside the pie is mixed with herbs and vegetables. Quite good but not as impressive as the fish dish. The veggy on the side are delicious though.
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お口直し： カルバドスのシャーベット。
Marinated beet came separately later…maybe they forgot?
Apple brandy sorbet.
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チョコレートムースとチョコレートアイス。
Chocolate mousse and chocolate ice-cream. Super rich chocolate flavour…a bit too rich for me though.

We had the 6000yen lunch. The cheaper 3600yen lunch doesn’t include the sardine and potato appetizer which I really wanted to try. Wine is 1200yen per glass.

At first I thought the price range is a bit towards the expensive side, but the food is just fantastic and all worth it – fresh and tasty vegetables ARE expensive. The portion is generous, the service is friendly, the atmosphere is warm and homely. The chef came out to say hi at the beginning and again when we finished our food. On the day we went, most of the customers were madams and old ladies and they mostly ordered fish instead of meat. I asked the waiter if fish is the chef’s specialty and he said meat dish is just as delicious. But meat dishes like lamb chop, pork roti etc. are only included in the 7800yen lunch course.
Lunch menu(J) here.
La Blanche
Add: 2-3-1 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku
Tel: 03-3499-0919

epanoui (エパヌイ)

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江戸前穴子のポワレ　リゾット添え　赤ワイン風味のソース。
Amuse: Soramame(broad bean), ham and short pasta.
Appetizer: Pan-fried anago with cheese risotto in red wine sauce. Very Japanese.
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イベリコ・デ・ベジョータのカイエット　甘酸っぱいソースをかけて： 豚のひき肉と野菜を網脂で包んで焼き上げ甘酸っぱいソースをかけた。
Cold potato potage.
Main dish: Minced Iberico pork and vegetables in sweet and sour sauce. So it is a high-class pork hamburger. ^^;;;
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クレーム・キャラメル　キャラメルのアイスクリーム添え。プラリネのミルフゥィユ　チョコレートのアイスクリーム添え。ガナッシュのヴァロティーヌ　オレンジ風味　コーヒーのアイスクリーム添え。
Three desserts my friends and I shared. Creme caramel(pudding) with caramel ice-cream. Praline mille-feuille with chocolate ice-cream. Ganache cake with orange flavour, coffee ice-cream.

We had the 3990yen dinner course. Soup is additonal order, 525yen. Food is not bad. Very good value for a full course dinner. The homemade bread is delicious. The anago and hamburger I had were fine but my friends were disappointed that their foie gras appetizer, lamb and fish were all a little overcooked. The desserts were just so-so. The intimate atmosphere is nice though, and the madam is very friendly. I have come here a couple of years ago and liked it(see tag).

epanoui (HP, review)
Add: Hiroo 3-2-14, Shibuya-ku
Tel: 03-3407-1513