The Sybaritic Critic

Dosanjin 土山人, Nakameguro

2011-07-25T12:48:00.000+09:00

The chef at this unassuming restaurant in a basement toward the Yamate Dori end of the Meguro River in Nakameguro creates some delicious and beautifully presented food at very reasonable prices. Today we're here for the ¥ 1,500 lunch set which, if you're looking for a delicious light meal, and like soba (Japanese buckwheat noodles) it's a perfect choice. That's not to say this is exclusively a soba restaurant, far from it; there is a wide selection of imaginative and delicious dishes available at dinner, but that's another story.

Be warned... there is no English menu here, so if you can neither read nor speak Japanese, dinner here will be a challenge to say the least, but if you can smile sweetly and say "runchie setto onegaishimasu" then you'll be all set for lunch.

After crossing the miniature rock garden, you enter and see a blond wood counter on the right which seats six, and is my favourite spot to sit; from here you can see the chef at work, and drool like one of Pavlov's dogs as he prepares the tantalising morsels you are about to taste. In addition to the counter there are a couple of semi-private spaces with tables and upright chairs, and a much larger area with low-slung seating and low tables which I personally do not find conducive to enjoyable dining.

As you sit, you'll be brought a hand towel and a cup of buckwheat tea. What follows varies slightly each visit, but is always delicious. Today we are served a small dish of salad containing warm aubergine, myoga ginger, salad leaves and a vinaigrette dressing with ume sour plum and grated radish (7/10); this is very tasty, but... next to this is another small dish containing a deliciously creamy pale green avocado tofu with a mayonnaise and white miso sauce sprinkled with crunchy soba wheat grains; it's hard to describe how good the tofu tastes or how perfectly judged the sauce is; you just have to come and try it for yourself (8/10).

The next part of the meal includes chilled soba and tempura served together. As you wait for your food to arrive, a myriad of small bowls will appear with salts - coarse for the tempura and smooth for the soba - grated wasabi root, thinly sliced green table onions and a dipping broth for the soba.

Earlier we were asked whether we wanted our soba to be normal or coarse milled (arabiki). We've chosen the coarse milled as it has a superb texture and bite. It's served cold and perfectly cooked; I could easily eat double the serving (8/10).

The soba-yu (cooking water) in a lacquered tea-pot is brought to the table toward the end to pad out the dipping sauce.

At the same time as the soba comes a selection of vegetable tempura which includes lotus root, burdock, lady's finger and baby corn, all covered in the finest, crunchiest batter. It's not the least bit oily; tastes fresh with the vegetables retaining just the right amount of crunch. Seriously well prepared and seriously healthy (8/10).

If you want dessert it's extra. Today we didn't choose to eat it.

I'll be making a dinner visit here soon and writing about the wonderful food this gifted chef serves up in the evenings. Find a Japanese friend and bring them along to translate, you won't regret it. In this reviewers opinion, the cooking at this restaurant is easily worthy of a Michelin star.

3-19-8 Aobadai
Meguro-ku
Tokyo

More information at www.dosanjin.co.jp

Aronia de Takazawa, Akasaka

2011-07-16T20:00:00.283+09:00

I was lucky enough to be invited to dine here again this weekend. Another splendid meal was about to unfold; but first some trivia...

Ever wondered what Aronia meant? So had I; Aronia or chokeberries are cultivated as ornamental plants and also as food because they are very high in antioxidant pigment compounds. Like a kind of obscure superfruit that's really good for your health and well-being - not a lot of people know that. The implication being that eating Chef Takazawa's food is good for you in ways you only hitherto imagined.

Again this evening it's the nine course menu at 20,000 yen per person we will be working through; as I've mentioned before, if you want to mix it up a bit, there are shorter and longer combinations available; have a chat with Akiko when you're making your booking.

Also, as mentioned in a previous post, an email to Akiko requesting a copy of the wine list in advance helped to avert a very nasty case of "last bottle syndrome" for this visit. Feel free to email your host if you require a sneak preview of the wines on offer.

Amuse Bouche

Tonight's opener comes in a ceramic sardine tin, which when opened reveals delicious piece of Tokizake salmon dressed with olive oil and herbs. Alongside it is another small pot of foie gras creme brulee with some tiny slices of a wholemeal nutty melba toast to accompany. The salmon is good, but the foie gras and the melba toast is very good. (7.5/10)

Next to arrive is warm bread laced with edomame beans served with a small corked glass beaker of the creamiest rillette de porc you could ever hope to taste. Thankfully a staple here. (8/10)

N.B. As always the dishes here are followed by quasi-vintages to denote the calendar year in which they were first served at the restaurant.

Ratatouille (2005)

This dish is served on a spoon and looks like slice of a vegetable terrine wrapped in a red cabbage leaf with a jewel of crystallized salt and a piece of red bean sitting at the side. Each of the 15 constituent vegetables is cooked, steamed, vinegared, sliced, pared and seasoned to perfection. Guests are encouraged to eat it in one mouthful. Hours to prepare and about a minute to eat, but what an enjoyable minute it is! (8.5/10)

Ayu Cappuccino (2009)

Ayu is a sweet tasting Japanese fish, related to smelt. This ayu is smoked and served in a very light sour cream dressing, topped with a foam of cucumber and a generous dollop of oscietra caviar. On the side plate are a few sweet cherries, which appear to be dusted in icing sugar; the icing sugar is, in fact, salt and contrasts beautifully with the sweet cherries. Additionally we are served what appears to be a very thin square tuille which is described as ayu paper made - goodness knows how - from the bones and other left-overs from the fish; it is perfectly seasoned, translucent, impossibly thin and bursting with fishy goodness. A very complicated yet harmonious dish. (8/10)

Summer Vegetables (Seasonal)

A beautiful and delicious arrangement of various vegetables including a pate of gorgonzola and miso atop which sits a perfectly poached egg with the reddish coloured yolk described elsewhere in this blog, a sweet baby carrot, fruits tomato, baby aubergine tempura, radish, zucchini flower tempura, baby turnip and a large slice of dessicated salty black cabbage leaf. A vegetarian smorgasbord both perfectly cooked and crunchy in all the right places with the wonderfully salty hit of the dessicated cabbage leaf. A joy to look at, and a joy to eat. Never had this before. Very good. (8/10)

Puccin Pudding (2009)

This playful dish is named after a cheap convenience store creme caramel pudding. It resembles it in name only. The yellow creamy element of the pudding is a delicious blend of sweet hairy crab meat and sweetcorn. The caramel topping is constructed from tiger prawn jelly. I've eaten this before but it it truly lovely and still brings a smile to my face. (8/10)

WASABI -196ºC (2010)

This dish is brought to table with a few choice morsels of perfectly cooked wagyu beef sitting on a base of white sliced mild onions and japanese ginger (shoga) with a hint of Japanese pepper (sansho). At the side of the dish is a small dollop of freshly ground green wasabi root. Now the chef comes to the table carrying an insulated bowl full of liquid nitrogen into which he drops fresh wasabi leaves. The leaves become immediately frozen solid and placed on top of our beef. We are instructed to smash then in small pieces with our chopsticks. The combination of wagyu beef and wasabi is a very harmonious one, and the sansho leaves a very low frequency tingle on your tongue. Well constructed, delicious and extremely theatrical. (8.5/10)

Caprese (2010)

A play on the Italian Tricolor. The red colour is provided by fruits tomatoes, the white by beautifully steamed seabass, and the green by a topping of tiny basil leaves and and chervil flowers. It's all topped with a foam created from the tiger prawns. All the elements are very tasty indeed, with the chervil flowers giving a hint of aniseed to the dish. (7.5/10)

Lamb Curry Rice (New)

First new dish of the day. A plate with a lamb chop and a spare rib are served. Arranged around the plate are small silver onions covered in breadcrumbs and black sesame and deep fried - to die for. And small servings each of onion compote, carrot with cumin and finally potato with apple vinegar and garlic - again all very delicious. The chef then comes to table with a rice cooker and offers us our "curry rice". It transpires that the curry rice is a very clever thin, translucent and crispy sheet which we are told to crumble over the dish. The taste is precisely that of curried rice. Another very theatrical dish which I enjoyed very much but for one flaw; namely the fat on my and other guests' lamb chops was not seared on the outside or sufficiently softened by the cooking process, instead it retained a rather nasty crunch. This is frustrating, because in every other way the dish was terribly clever and inventive. The tastes of all the other elements were delicious, and the "curry rice" simply boggled the mind. (7/10)

Cheese and Mango (New)

Pudding time! A cold summer cheese made from ewe's milk is served like a scoop of ice cream alongside the most deliciously sweet Miyazaki mango. The most expensive mangoes money can buy! Simple but delicious. (7.5/10)

Gazpacho (New)

It's so true that we eat partly with our eyes, and I begin to drool as soon as this dish is brought to table. Baby watermelons have been topped and hollowed out to make soup containers. They contain a delicious plum sorbet floating in a soup of salted watermelon juice and flesh, skinless Delaware grapes and peach pieces. It's a fruit explosion and utterly delicious with the salt giving a real lift to the watermelon juice. Perfectly conceived, perfectly prepared and perfectly delicious. A blissful dish. (9/10)

Petit Fours

Green tea Madeleine
Mini chocolate bar (made from 56% cocoa with a hint of black pepper)
Coconut Meringue Finger
Aoyouzu Marshmallow

Getting rather full now, but manage to force them down. The chocolate and the marshmallow being particularly delicious. (7/10)

Dining here is always special; part gastronomic event, part theatre, and enormous fun. Tonight was no exception. And with only one bump in the road, this has to go down as one of the best meals I have ever eaten here.

Email well in advance, and Akiko, who speaks excellent English, will help you to arrange your evening.

2F Sanyo Akasaka Bldg

3-5-2 Akasaka

Minato-ku

Tokyo

〒 107-0052

Tel :03-3505-5052

Chez Olivier, Ichigaya

2011-07-02T12:22:00.015+09:00

If you're coming here for the first time, and taking a taxi, make sure the driver uses his navigation, as this charming restaurant is a little off the beaten track, and you won't want to be late...

For those of you who don't know, the Chef Patron, Olivier Oddos, eventually moved to Paris where he worked at the Drouant Restaurant and the Hotel Meurice. Later, Olivier was invited to become the Sous Chef at La Tour d’Argent where he worked with Chef Bernard Guilhaudin.

In 2000, Chef Oddos joined L'Ecole Cordon Bleu in Japan. In 2003 he became the Executive Chef at the Kobe school, and in 2007 became the Executive Chef Cuisine for Japan, and Technical Director for Tokyo before setting up on his own in 2009.

We are welcomed by the friendly staff and offered a glass of of Louis Roederer NV champagne at a counter bar area close to the entrance While our party gathers, we are served home-made meaty pork rillette - which is a little over-chilled, and slightly cold to the taste, but quite delicious nevertheless. (6.5/10)

With the rillette we are offered some rather good home-bread; it is cigar-shaped, with a firm crust and a soft interior. (7/10)

Soon we are ushered to our table in the light, simply decorated and modern dining room. There is no linen tablecloth, which is a pity, but the table is very pleasantly presented and more than comfortable enough for the four of us.

The menu is brief and well constructed, with an a la carte section and several tasting menus but on several friend's advice we opt for the dinner tasting menu - the most extensive meal on offer - priced at ¥8,500 per person (subject to 10% service charge).

Amuse Bouche

A rich, deep tomato soup is served in a small glass, topped with a mousse of halloumi cheese. On the side is a ceramic spoon with what appears to be a small albino egg yolk topped with basil and olive oil. The egg yolk is, of course, a "soup" of yet more halloumi cheese cleverly transfigured using the techniques of molecular gastronomy. Good taste combinations; I could have eaten several helpings of this dish. Delicious. (7/10)

Foie Gras de Canard Poele, Vinaigre de Mange et Mangue Caramelisee

I need to get out more, because this is the first time I've ever eaten caramelised mango with foie gras; I sincerely hope it will not be the last. There's just the right amount of tartness in the caramelised fruit and vinegar to cut through the richness of the duck liver. Even the delicate arrangement of leaves sitting quietly in the corner of the plate taste extraordinary. It's all washed down nicely with a glass or two of Domaine Cauhape Jurancon 2008. Bliss. (8/10)

Veloute d'Asperges Vertes, Emulsion de Poitrine Fumee

I love the asparagus season, and this soup is quite delicious, not overly creamy so you can really taste the asparagus; topped with a light mousse with the flavour of smoked pork belly. It's finished with a dusting of minute salty, crunchy bacon bits. Very well done indeed. (7.5/10)

Dos de Bar Cuit a la Vapeur, Risotto a l'Ence de Seiche, Emulsion de Roquette et Gingembre

We are told this is the signature dish of the Chef, and from the moment it arrives at table it's clear why. Visual appeal is very important in dining, and this dish is as pretty as a picture. It is filled with vibrant colours; the kind of dish that makes you drool with anticipation. But unlike some pretty looking dishes, this one only gets better when you taste it.
A perfectly moist piece of steamed bass sits on top of a perfectly cooked squid ink risotto. The risotto is surrounded by a moat of vibrant green rocket soup flavoured with a perfect hint of ginger. The fish is topped with a sliver of dried tomato and a rocket leaf.
I have used the word perfect a lot in this description, and that is deliberate. This is one of the most delicious dishes I have eaten in a long time. Superb. (9/10)

Sorbet Pommes Vertes et "Wasabi"

A palate cleanser of apple sorbet flavoured with wasabi. An unusual and surprisingly pleasant combination of tastes. Is it just me, or is that wasabi getting fierier the further down the glass I get? This one certainly blows away the cobwebs. (6.5/10)

Filet de Boeuf de Hokkaido poele, Legumes de Moment, Polenta Cremeuse, Sauce Bordelaise

Here we have another beautifully presented dish. The meat is moist, perfectly a point (medium) and not too fatty, as is too often the case with wagyu. A small selection of flavoursome vegetables are well cooked and tasty. We also have a creamy polenta which has a wonderful texture but is a little under-seasoned for my taste.The dish is finished with an unctuous red wine sauce bordelaise. I'm not keen on the rather odd knives we are given to eat our meat; I think meat always tastes better eaten with a Laguiole knife; but then I'm a dreadful snob about things like that.(7/10)

Cheeses

We order, at extra cost, two plates of assorted cheese, which is more than enough to share between four diners. The selection includes:

Brillat Savarin
Montbriac
Valencay
Comte (18m)
Lou Caussinhol

The cheeses are all presented in tip top condition, although they are served in a rather austere way with no gorgeous bread, compotes or other bits and pieces to augment the pleasure of the cheese. (7/10)

To bring the meal to a close we are offered a choice of desserts from the following six selections:

Creme Brulee aux Epices
Gelee de Fruits Rouges Infusee a la Citronelle, Fromage Blanc au Gingembre Crumble
Mousee au Chocolat au Caramel Sale
Fondant Chaud au Chocolat Guanaja "Valrhona", Glace a la Vanille de Tahiti ou Sorbet de Framboises
Macaon a l'Huile d'Olive, Creme Citron et Olive Confite, Sorbet Citron
Cafe Liegeois

The desserts we chose generally well received. The fruit jelly with ginger crumble (7/10) and the macaroon with lemon sorbet (7.5/10) are both very good. Sadly two of four diners, myself included, go for the chocolate fondant; we both agreed that something here was not right. Rather than a soft and yielding cake filled with a slowly oozing chocolate centre, we both found the exterior to be rather hard-baked and the filling too runny, although the raspberry sorbet that was served with it was delicious. (5/10)

Dinner is followed by tea or coffee.

At ¥8,500 per person (excluding cheese) this menu represents very good value for money. The ingredients are high quality and cooked with imagination and flair. The dining room has a warm atmosphere, with polite and knowledgeable staff. From time to time the inscrutable Chef Olivier shimmers calmly through the dining room to ensure everything is running smoothly.

In this diner's opinion, this restaurant easily warrants one Michelin star. Improvements could be made to the wine list to better compliment to the high quality of the food. Linen tablecloths would also be a welcome improvement. All this said, I will coming here again, hopefully before Michelin find it and I can't get a table any more. And if you haven't been yet, you should.

Chez Olivier
4-1-10 Kudan Minami,
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 102-0074

Tel: 03-6268 9933

Aronia de Takazawa, Akasaka

2011-06-23T20:00:00.376+09:00

The eponymous Chef Takazawa and his Maitre d' wife Akiko continue to produce and serve some of the most artistic, creative and consistently delicious food available anywhere in Tokyo.

The nine course menu is priced at 20,000 yen per person; which when you tag on the amuse bouche and petit fours, is more than enough food for anyone to wade through - even if you have skipped lunch in anticipation. If you want to mix it up a bit, there are shorter and longer combinations available; have a chat with Akiko.

A word to the wise here. This restaurant only seats 10 people, and keeps only a small selection of 150 bottles in the cellar in the restaurant, so if you're bringing a thirsty bunch and don't want to be thwarted with 'last bottle syndrome' let the owners know in advance, as they have a large selection of wines just off site and can probably meet your needs. They also have a large selection of Japanese wines from which to choose.

Amuse Bouche

Prosciutto and Melon, which is served in the form of a soup. A slightly gelatinous prosciutto stock is mixed with a melon soup and the perfect hint of mint. On the side is an oyster leaf (all the rage two years ago in fine dining and still making the occasional appearance, this time more for its actual flavour rather than "wow' factor) topped with a blob of tartare sauce sprinkled with the crunchiest of breadcrumbs. The leaf, along with its toppings Akiko advises us is a down in one; delicious crunchy oyster with tartare sauce. (8/10).

With suitably amused bouches we set about our dinner properly.

First to arrive is warm bread laced with edomame beans served with a small corked glass beaker of the creamiest rillette de porc you could ever hope to taste. (8/10)

N.B. The dishes here are followed by quasi-vintages to denote the calendar year in which they were first served at the restaurant.

Ratatouille (2005)

This dish is served on a spoon and looks like slice of a vegetable terrine wrapped in a red cabbage leaf with a jewel of crystallized salt at the side. Each of the constituent vegetables is cooked, steamed, vinegared, sliced, pared and seasoned to perfection. It must take hours of painstaking work to produce and assemble, and guess what? It's another down in one. It tastes wonderful. (8.5/10)

Carpenter's Salad (New)

A refreshing selection of red tuna, vegetables and leaves is served up with assorted "carpenter's paraphernalia". A screw, a spanner and a nut (the kind that goes with a bolt rather than a squirrel) all formed from anchovy and olive tapenade, and a spring fashioned from daikon. Very tasty and cute, but perhaps lacking the panache one expects of Aronia. (6.5/10).

Summer Beans Soup (New)

A perfectly formed poached egg is surrounded by pea shoots, edible flowers and shaved green asparagus. It is subsequently covered in a cold, creamy (but not overly chilled) soup of fava beans and green asparagus. The egg has the most extraordinarily orange yolk I have ever seen; I'm told this is because the free range hens are fed with just the right amount of paprika and turmeric in their diets; how about that for attention to detail! This is my favourite dish of the evening so far. The flavours combine wonderfully and are seasoned to perfection. My bliss soon swings to despair as I find myself unable to access the final drops of the soup which lurk mockingly in the corner of the pretty but ergonomically challenging bowl.
Luckily I spy a piece of bread and the residue is swiftly dispatched. (9/10).

Carbonara (New)

Nothing is quite what it seems at Aronia, and so our carbonara consists of spaghetti made from white asparagus strands, topped with a smoked quail's egg, perfectly soft scrambled eggs and Hokkaido uni (sea urchin) which is always at it's most delicious in the summer months of the northern hemisphere.
On the side are two white asparagus tips blanched and then finished in a beurre noisette. This is a truly wonderful dish, and one that I can hardly bear to finish. (8.5/10).

Kincho (2009)

Another sensual treat here, as we are served a succulent slice of guinea fowl breast, with perfectly crispy skin. Alongside is a mock Baygon mosquito coil fashioned from guinea fowl liver served with a splodge of rich tomato jam in the centre of the coil and a raisin or two tastefully arranged around the plate. The senses are given an extra treat as the whole dish is given a dose of hay smoke before it's brought to the table. This dish really does tick all the boxes; a tricky piece of poultry cooked to perfection, marvellous invention and presentation. Superb. (8/10).

Herbal Forest (2010)

Let's cut to the chase; this was my least favourite element of tonight's dinner. It wasn't unpleasant, it was just rather pedestrian by the high standards of this establishment. Tokizake is a rather grand form of ocean caught salmon. For my taste, it was perhaps a fraction overcooked, and certainly underinspired. The fish was topped with a huge amount of herbs, hence the allusion to a forest. Time to press on; dinner's not over yet... (5/10).

Dinner in the Forest -WAGYU (2009)

Let me start by saying that my heart often sinks when I'm about to be served wagyu beef because I find the really fatty meats like Kobe beef overwhelmingly rich. But I can honestly say this is one of the most delicious cuts of Japanese beef I have ever been served. Three small and perfectly cooked pieces sit next to a husk of baby corn, and two pieces of soft and yielding burdock, which is a root I usually find inedible. Again a sense of the forest is evoked by burning fern before serving. A well balanced dish, with an ingredient that, if poorly chosen, can so easily overwhelm the diner in the latter stages of a large meal. (7.5/10).

Campari Orange (New)

Another delicious and very clever course here. A shot glass is partially filled with Campari granite, and then topped with what resembles the shape and consistency of an egg yolk, but lo and behold, the egg yolk is filled with orange juice. Clever, fun and deliciously refreshing. (8/10).

Déjà Vu (New)

As the name implies, this dish looks like something we've already eaten. It turns out to be a dessert facsimile of the Carbonara. It's a delicious pudding of shaved pineapple, grated frozen apple and coconut ice cream.
Again, very clever, surprisingly light and quite delicious. (8/10).

Petit Fours

We are served a tiny green tea muffin, a coconut meringue finger, a tiny spoon with a blob of strawberry sorbet surrounded by condensed milk and a saffron and orange marshmallow. All quite tasty, especially the sorbet. (6.5/10)

For those with the stomach capacity, coffee and a large range of teas, herbal and otherwise await.

An extraordinary dining experience, with wonderfully imaginative food, and a great welcome from the wonderfully welcoming Akiko, who incidentally speaks excellent English.

Worthy of at least one and more likely two Michelin stars. The good news is, the proprietors don't seem to want them, which is good for those of us who want to eat here, as it's hard enough to get a table even without any extra hype.

Yet again, Bravo!

Email well in advance, and Akiko will help you to arrange your evening in English.

2F Sanyo Akasaka Bldg
3-5-2 Akasaka
Minato-ku
Tokyo
〒 107-0052

Tel :03-3505-5052

Kidoguchi Sushi, Omotesando

2011-06-22T12:00:00.161+09:00

Tucked away down a flight of stairs on a small side street off the bustling Aoyama Dori in Tokyo's Omotesando shopping district is Kidoguchi. A small, friendly sushi restaurant offering counter service at two separate counters. This review is of a lunchtime visit, where from Monday to Friday one can enjoy a bargain basement lunch course at either 2,000 yen or 3,000 yen per person, excluding drinks. For comparison, dinner here with a few beers and a drop of sake will cost 20,000 yen and up per person, so lunch is doubtless a bargain, with no compromise on quality of ingredients.

As usual we sit at the rear counter, which is the smaller of the two, and greet our Chef Masano-san, a delightful chap whose grasp of the English language is mostly, for obvious reasons, based around the names of fish. Luckily my lunch companion is a Japanese speaker. We order the 3,000 yen omakase course (Chef's recommendation) and as we don't want to get too full we request Shari sukuname de (smaller pieces of rice under the fish).

Non Japanese speakers shouldn't be put off, as there is one staff member who speaks excellent English, who should be able to help with the reservation at least. And if you want to brush up your sushi terminology, you can memorize or print out this useful glossary.

We dive straight into the sushi, and we are served one piece each of:

Chutoro Medium fatty tuna fillet

Akami A deep red non-fatty tuna fillet

Karei Brown sole, a flatfish.

Shima Aji Stripe Jack

Ika Squid

Anago Sea eel

Kazunoko Herring roe

Kohada Gizzard shad. An oily fish marinaded in vinegar

Shinko The infant form of the kohada. Delicate, soft, rare and highly seasonal (mid Jun- mid Aug) This is an extra course at an extra charge to the fixed price. Allegedly this fish is only offered to those who know what to ask for! Luckily my companion is in the know.

Palate cleanser of yuzu (Japanese citrus) pickled daikon (radish).

Ikura and Uni Salmon roe and sea urchin; the latter is fast approaching its best quality in the summer months of the northern hemisphere.

Tamago Egg

Tekkamaki Soy marinaded red tuna rolls (3 bite-size pieces each)

Misoshiru White miso soup with clams

Kuri negitoro maki Cucumber, table onion and tuna rolls (3 bite-size pieces each)

Shima Aji Aburi More Stripe Jack, but this time very lightly sealed on the outside with a blowtorch before serving.

All washed down with lashings of green tea, this strikes me as money very well spent. The final bill for two including One-and-a-half flasks of sake and the extra course of Shinko came to 10,400 yen.

A perfect treat for the ladies who lunch, and the THE go-to lunch venue on my weekdays off.

Kidoguchi
Aoyama 5-6-3
Minato-ku
Tokyo

03-5467 3992

Quintessence, Shiroganedai

2008-03-22T11:06:00.029+09:00

It's a beautiful Spring day in Tokyo as my three friends and I are welcomed at Quintessence, a small restaurant tucked away in a side street off Platina Dori in Shiroganedai. We have been waiting almost three months for a table at this establishment, opened by Chef Shuzo Kishida in March 2006. Mr. Kishida had formerly worked as Sous Chef to Pascal Barbot at the Michelin 3 star L'Astrance in Paris.

In 2007, aged just 33, Kishida joined the ranks of the culinary aristocracy with an award of 3 Michelin stars, so with keen appetites and high expectations we take our seats for lunch.

The dining room is comfortable, understated and elegant; we are handed a printed sheet outlining the Menu Carte Blanche. The menu comprises 7 courses of seasonal ingredients of the Chef's choosing. The Maitre d' asks if any of us have any allergies; we do not, but we suspect he might as he repeatedly clears his nose with an alarming snort at the end of every sentence; it's hay fever season so we politely try our best to ignore it.

Three of us order champagne, but the fourth is slightly hungover and orders a Bloody Mary; this is where the wheels come off. He's told that there is no tomato juice. Not today; not ever; amazing in a 3* establishment. He asks instead for a vodka and tonic only to be told there is no tonic water either. Not today; not ever. Feeling the ginger ale he's offered is a poor substitute, he opts for a glass of water and requests the wine list. First black mark, and we haven't eaten a bite yet.

After a short wait we are served an amuse bouche of Kochi fruits tomato with Japanese plum and basil jelly which is pleasant enough, though the delicate flavour of plum is overpowered by the metallic basil. (6/10)

The next course is announced as one of the Chef's signature dishes; a Kyoto Goatsmilk Bavarois with Macadamia Nut and Sliced Lily Bulb. It is served with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt. The combination of tastes and textures is very pleasant, but it's not getting anyone excited. (7/10)

The next course is a Pie of Thinly Sliced Raw Scallops, Yam Potato and Beetroot Sauce with a Salad of Shaved Fennel, Apple, Marjoram and Aniseed Liqueur. All of us agreed that this dish didn't work at all. The beetroot sauce was by turns both sweet and acidic, and overpowered the delicate flavour of the scallops; a tiny layer of bland yam potato brought little in the way of taste or texture to the dish. The delicious sounding fennel and apple salad was marred by too much marjoram; a rather disappointing dish. (4/10)

With our first three courses we have chosen a bottle of Chablis Premier Cru "La Forest" 2005 Vincent Dauvissat priced at 12,600 yen.

For our next courses we switch to Saint-Aubin Premier Cru en Remilly 2004 Michel Coutoux priced at 14,700 yen.

The next course to be served is Gurnard Confit with Sauce of Cherry Leaf Foam and Komatsuna. The gurnard fillet is soft, delicious and cooked to perfection. The cherry leaf foam is well seasoned and an excellent compliment to the fish. Komatsuna is a seasonal green vegetable from Hokkaido which in appearance is somewhere between spinach and choi sum; it is bursting with freshness, flavour and crunch. Finally, an exciting plate of food. (8/10)

For our main course we will be served pork; we ask the sommelier to recommend a red wine from the list and he selects a Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru Les Noirots 2004 Domaine Arlaud priced at 21,000 yen.

The main course is Three Hour Roasted Pork with Roasted Inca Potatoes, Gyoja Niniku and Mashed Endive with Raspberry Vinegar. The slightly pink pork from Saga prefecture in the north of Kyushu is juicy, moist and packed with flavour; the fat is seared and crispy on the outside and melting on the inside. The Inca potatoes - a kind of sweet potato - have a golden colour and a rich creamy texture. The gyoja ninikku - again from Hokkaido - is a type of fragrant wild garlic. The raspberry vinegar on the mashed endive has a wonderfully astringent sharpness which perfectly cuts through the richness of the fat in the slow roasted pork. Now the food's getting a lot better. (8.5/10)

To accompany pudding the sommelier recommends a Cuilleron Rousilliere (Chenin Blanc) at 1,470 yen per glass.

Next comes an avant dessert of Coconut Mousse with Pistaccio Oil and Espresso. The balance is just so, with the powerful coffee harmonizing perfectly with the other ingredients. (7/10) One of my dining companions doesn't like coffee, and is offered an alternative of Almond Sponge Cake with Coconut Cream; an almond cake is baked once, powdered then re-constituted into a second cake. The cake has a fudgy, moist texture yet somehow retains an almond crunch, it is served with a rich coconut cream.(7.5/10)

We close our meal with another signature dish of Meringue Ice Cream, packed with the sweet flavour of mashed up meringue. The dish is served with a few drops of sea water, which combines cleverly with the sugary ice cream. It is a pleasure to eat. (8/10)

This restaurant serves extremely good espresso.

The seven course lunch with drinks came to a total of 99,000 yen. Not unreasonable given the amount of food we were served.

There is no doubting that Shuzo Kishida is a talented Chef, producing some impressive food, but based upon the experience of this meal alone I am unconvinced that Quintessence warrants its Michelin 3 star rating. There are many similarities to L'Astrance in the ambition of the service, but the food here falls short of the imagination, complexity and consistency acheived by Pascal Barbot.

The wine list here is extensive with a strong focus on French wine; the sommeliers are knowledgeable and helpful, yet there is no offering of a degustation of wines to accompany the food, which in my opinion is a great pity, and an opportunity missed given the number of dishes served and the variety of tastes. The inability to produce a Bloody Mary or a vodka and tonic as an aperitif is shocking.
I tried to re-book for dinner as we left the restaurant, but was told the only way to get a table is to pray to St. Jude and call the permanently engaged reservation line until you get through. It seems, then that my concerns about this establishment are not widely shared; perhaps I'll make it to dinner after the Michelin hype's died down.

Restaurant Quintessence
Barbizon 25 1F
Shiroganedai 5-4-7
Minato-ku
Tokyo

Tel: 03-5791 3715