About food in Japan

French - Les Creations de NARISAWA (Michelin *)

Les Creations de Narisawa; we cannot miss the name of this restaurant, when we talk about the best French restaurants in Tokyo or in Japan.

The restaurant is awarded 1 star by Michelin guide and on this April, it was elected  to"The best restaurant in Asia" as well as the top 20th of The S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2009.

This is the second time for me to have lunch here and is the first time in last one and a half years. Some of my friends have a passion for having meals at Les Creations de Narisawa.

The menu list reminds me the chef, Mr. Yoshihiro Narisawa's creativity.

Let's see with my photos.

One of Amuse- bouche very fresh radish with soil? No it looks like soil but not real soil.

The first plate: Natsu no hatake (夏の畑, Summer fields)

He often uses fresh vegetable for his cooking but I cannot count how many kinds of vegetable are on the plate

Everyone is fresh and surely has pure strong flavour of vegetables.

The second plate: Shiohigari (潮干狩り, shellfish gathering)

Shellfish gathering on beach is one of seasonal events in Japan. The plate reminds everyone the exciting events in childhood.

Thirdplate: Green bed

The green bed is made of sprouts or choux de Bruxelles. Not only the presentation but also the quality of ingredients, pork and sprounts made us very satisfied.

Another fantastic imagination is this "flower pot" served with

pieces of bread.

Yes It looks like a pot with soil and small sprouts and no one would try to eat

This is actually a kind of spread to be put on a piece of bread.

Stiring it for a while, it became surely something to eat...

 

Our surprises continued to the two dessert plates.

What the restaurant is pushed to The World's 50 Best Restaurants must be his creativitiy. Every time we go, we encounter new surprises time by time and season by season.

I am looking forward to being astonished again by his "creations."

Restaurant name: Les Creations de NARISAWA

Address: 2-6-15 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Website: http://www.narisawa-yoshihiro.com

Related website: The World's 50 Best Restaurants  http://www.theworlds50best.com

 

French - Lugdunum

Christmas day is coming soon. What we will do in Japan?
We are likely to spend time by a couple or with friends more than with family.
In Japan, Christmas is not a national holiday of course but we still feel that we want to organize a party or something at this year end fantastic season.
The gathering is called either "Christmas party" or "Bonenkai(忘年会　year-end party)" depending on how much the event is traditional Japanese style or Western style.

Western style, not only French or Italien, restaurants tend to offer special Christmas course during this season. This restaurant will be one of them.
Lugdunum in Kagurazaka is Lyon style French restaurant. The restaurant refers itsself as "bouchon"(traditional but casual Lyon style restauran). But it is much more sophisticated than the local typical ones.

We are able to taste traditional Lyonnaise dishes. Some of them, such as black sausages and tripe, are not familier for Japanese people. But they are truely Lyon local ones cooked by the chef born in the French gourmet city.

They are some of examples, although they are not on the Christmas special menu...

Cream soup of homard

Boudin noir(black sausage) with apple

Andouillette(Lyon style sausage)

Restaurant name: Lugdunum Bouchon Lyonnaise

Address: 1st floor Ebiya building, 4-3-7 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Website: http://www.eatpia.com/lugdunum/

Michelin Guide awarded more stars to restaurants in Tokyo

Michelin made clear today the restaurants on the list of Michelin Gude Tokyo 2009 and the number of stars awarded to each one, followed by publishing the book on this friday 21st November 2008.

According to its press release,
- The company expanded its research area to 13 central districts of Tokyo from only 9 districts in 2008.
- One three-star, 14 two-star and 35 three-star are newly added on the list or awarded more stars from 2008.
- Total 227 stars are awarded to restaurants in Tokyo. The number of star given to a city is still the biggest in the world.
-  60% of the restaurants on the list are Japanese ones.
- Two new symbol marks are implemented for retaurants with "interesting sake list" and ones "where guests are required to shoe off".

I found that more restaurants elected are not familier for me and that many of them are Japanese ones. It means that there is still huge extra space for me to discover restaurants in Tokyo!                     

                                                                                           

Chinese - Momonoki (Michelin *)

Momonoki is a small Chinese restaurant, located in Mita or Tamachi area. It is not far from Keio University Mita campus and Hungary Embassy.
The food is mainly Shanghai or Sicuan style Chinese, cooked with selected fresh and high quality ingredients. I visited on a day of summer holiday season weekend. So several items were not available.

Some of them are familier for Japanese such as dim sum, soured pork and noodles.
Others are ones that we cannot imagine the taste and that we see for the first time.
As the characteristic of the food from the regions, Shanghai and Sicuan, many of them are spicy or hot and are good match with beer or any other alcohol drinks.
It was hard time for us to make a decision for what we would take.
It means that all on the menu are equally very attractinve. 

Finally we had several dishes;

Dim sum

Pork saute with black sour - yes, it is really black!

Mapo-tofu (麻婆豆腐）Momonoki style

The taste is surely worth to awarding Michelin 1 star.
What makes us happy is that many plates of noodles and fried rice are available at much less than YEN 2000. We can try the taste at very reasonable cost even by alone only if a seat is available.  The restaurant has  a small number of tables including  a counter and  it is so popular that all seats are reserved or occupied.

Definitly we will come back here in order to try ones that we cannot have today.

Restaurant name: Momonoki
Address: Aurora Mita build 105, 2-17-29 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0073

Kaiseki Tsujitome(懐石 辻留）

On a hot summer day, I was very lucky to visit a "Kaiseki"(懐石) restaurant and to have lunch there. Kaiseki restaurants are traditionally consiedered as ones for people in high rank and celebrities such as politicians, senior executives etc and the places are far from ordinary people like me. So of course this is the first time for me to go into the world!
Mid-summer is slow season for that kind of luxury restaurants as many of their clientel are taking their vacations and have been out from Tokyo. All tables at the restaurant are in each private room. We can never see other dinners in the restaurant. Only I recognize some voices that seemed to be by other guests.

Kaiseki is a traditional style of serving food in Japan. The origine is from the traditional Japanese tea ceremony way and it has over a few hundreds years of history. The world is too deep to tell everything in a blog.

Tsujitome, the restaurant where I visited, has been a cater for a major school of Japanese tea ceremony in Kyoto for a century. The present chef is the third generation of the restaurant or catering service house.

Kaiseki style course is normally composed of several plates.
Todays our plates were... starter, soup, boild, cold, grilled, soured, rice and soup, pickled vegetables, sweets and green tea, served by waiteress wearing kimono.
All food and the sophisticated presentation never missed to remind us current season "summer".
It is important for Japanese cooks to take seasonal fresh food into the menu.
Particularly in our menu, they were very seasonal dishes which made us pleased the most.

Clear soup with "Hamo" (a kind of conger)
Hamo is expensive fish to eat and available only at luxury restaurants in summer. The meat was very soft and melted in mouth. Obviously it was the best quality one I have ever had...

Grilled "Ayu"(sweetfish) salted with sour source.
The fish was harvested in Kyoto according to the restaurant master.
The cooking is simple but the quality is essential and to grill in a good way requires skills. The fish looks like alive and jumping on the boad!

We sensed the warmest hospitality of the restaurant, the host(cook) and the hostess.
High quaity food in the most sphisticated presentation reminding us the season.
One of the best meal and the nicest experience I have ever had.

Restaurant name: Kaiseki Tsujitome
Address: B1 floor Toraya Dai-ni building, 1-5-8 Moto-Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo

****** Our recommendable accommodation around this restaurant *******

ANA InterContinental Hotel

Hotel New Otani Tokyo

The Capitol Hotel Tokyu

the b Akasaka

*************************************************************************

 

 

 

 

Hanasanshou (Michelin * in 2008)

Hanasanshou is located in Park Hotel Tokyo, a member of Design hotels.
The lobby and the Japanese restaurant, both are located on the 25th floor.

Celebrating the Michelin awarded a star,  the restaurant organizes special course menu using seasonal ingredients.

In the modern interior decoration, providing authentic traditional Japanese dishes from Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, it also has a good selection of sake, shochu.

For more photos, please check here.

Restaurant name: Hanasanshou (花山椒）

Address: Shiodome Media Tower, 1-7-1, Higashi Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-7227

Website: http://www.parkhoteltokyo.com