Les Rendezvous - Meeting Expectations!

A recent dose of that ghastly modern phenomenon, the "feedback session", suggested that Your Humble Correspondent needed to somehow adjust the equally ghastly "work-life balance". Actually, it was already apparent that there was a surfeit of "work" - the YHC Over-Work Alarm kicks in at a little over one hour per day, and the klaxons were screaming.

So a brief moment's thought poolside at the wretchedly work-a-day Hilton Spa and Resort in Guam convinced me to immediately reach out to similarly minded individuals, and lift the "life" component significantly toute de suite. Ergo, an urgent missive to my Stern friend saw us headed to Les Rendezvous in Nishi-Azabu at the recommendation of the wretched Dominic; wretched only because he always seems to find these places before Your Humble Correspondent!

Les Rendezvous provides a wonderfully imaginative approach to the dining experience: it features good to very good French cuisine with good to very good Australian wine. Now, a warning to the wise: do not try this at home ... it requires an expert hand, and rafts of courage. Ikai-san (sommelier; waiter, CEO, dreamer) used a Working Holiday Visa experience in Australia to create more than one life's worth of ideas and inspiration. Chef Tsuruoka shares a remarkable vision with Ikai-san, and matches an eclectic and good value wine list with some remarkable efforts out of such a small kitchen.

The dream, of course, is to move to their own space (isn't it always?). The chairs don't match yet, and the decor is spartan (referencing the ancient Greek city-state's military camps perhaps?). But the effect is openly friendly, and the service always delivered with a smile and a sense of sharing rather than performance.

We chose the Degustation @ Y7,200 ... excellent value, and a chance to test Chef's mettle. The Jambon cuit sauce gribiche starter was home-made and therefore sweet and moist; its companion Amuse enough to hold interest while not distracting one's attention. The fish course - Sébaste pôelée sauce tomates fraîches (Pan fried rockfish fresh tomato sauce) - showed a deft, even dab, hand in the kitchen and was served with out the horrid dessication that a warming tray inevitably bestws. Our meat course was a wonderful domestic pork dish, with hints of wa-fu citrus and a delicate touch of herbs. We opted for cheese instead of dessert.

Les Rendezvous' wine list is best viewed via the iPad on offer, although Ikai-san should make sure it stays up to date and is kitted out with some tasting notes and advice rather than just being a pdf of a type-witten summary. Pricing is fair and reasonable - so that YHC was able to purchase sufficient to ensure he neither remembers the vineyard(s) nor the vintage(s)! Beer should move on from Malts, although Suntory was kind enough to donate the icebox and we should acknowledge their generosity if not flavor.

In summary, Les Rendezvous is what it sets out to be - a neighborhood bistro that welcomes your custom on a regular basis, and doesn't seek to replace your special venues as places for celebration. It is ... unashamedly ... the restaurant Your Humble Correspondent would like to set up once the work-life balance meter hits 100% (life). Go along with friends and lovers, but book ahead. I fear this is the sort of place that is going to get popular.

Pip! Pip!


Les Rendezvous: 3-13-20 Hide bldg. B1, Nishiazabu, Minato-ward. t: 03-5410-8110
Rating: Food: 7/10; Wine: 7/10; Service: 7/10; Ambiance: 7/10; Price-Performance: 8/10. Total: 36/50 (3 Forks)

Ristorante Casina Canamilla - Moderna e Classica en Naka-Meguro

There are places, Gentle Reader, when genius sneaks up quietly and taps one on the shoulder. It is almost always precocious, and inevitably surprising. Often, it falls like the gentle rain from a particular individual who seems to set the tone for an entire establishment. But rarely has Your Humble Correspondent found a venue which boasts a double dealing of culinary creativity like Risorante Casina Canamilla [Map].

Casina Canamilla is no humble farmhouse, and is in fact a remarkably effective collaboration between Chefs Konishi and Iwatsubo perched fashionably above the Meguro River between Asahi-bashi and Yadoyama-bashi (?宿山橋) a few short steps from Naka-Meguro station. [Note to self: This spot will be phenomenal in Spring with the cherry blossoms!]. It is well-appointed and very comfortable, and each aspect of the dining experience seemingly mapped out so that the only task for the guest is to engage in pleasant and witty conversation and sip slowly on an apertif of Italian birra.

Casina Canamilla takes extreme care to only use the freshest ingredients to create two menus - Classica being (obviously) classical Italian cuisine and Moderna as a much more creative and contemporary treatment. Canamilla marches its regional inspiration up and down the Italian peninsula in step with the seasons, so that summer sees Sicilian and Calabrian influences on the menu. Lombardy and Piedmonte obviously star in winter.

The service at Casina Canamilla is both professional and knowledgeable, and the wine list verily bulging at the seams with well-chosen selections from all over Italy. One has the feeling that the floor team and the kitchen team are always engaged in a graceful and entertaining minuet that delivers on customer expectations but never intrudes.

To professional gluttons like Your Humble Correspondent, there is really no choice. Moderna throws down a challenge that only the faintest of hearts would resist (see the menu reproduced below). Both chefs contribute to the game, and their contributions are helpfully marked on the menu. Technique and imagination are both on display in every course, although preparations such as the ricci di mare stand out as both stunning ideas and successful demonstrations of the culinary art. This is probably the most-rounded, interesting, and delicious meal put before YHC in the last three months.

This is a very good restaurant, Gentle Reader. In fact, this is a restaurant that is best kept a secret just between us. And good friends ... Visit only with friends and lovers, and take care that they don't talk out loud about it. The walls have ears ....

Pip! Pip!

Risorante Casina Canamilla [Map]: 2F Towa Building, 1-23-3 Aobaidai, Meguro-Ku; t: 03-3715-4040
Rating: Food: 8/10; Wine: 7/10; Service: 7/10; Ambiance: 8/10; Price-Performance: 7/10. Total: 37/50 (3 Forks)

Menu Moderna Buri marinato con porro, acciughe, ed olive nero
Ricci di mare e purea di finocchio
Trenette con Granchio
Tagliolini di farina de segale al ragu di cervo
Arrosto di maiale di YAMAGATA con ANNO-IMO e funghi tronbetta
Mousse di gianduja e polenta croccante, gelato di pistacchio al profumo di Yuzu

Bistro Aida - Promise You won't Tell

So, Gentle Reader: can you be trusted with a secret?

If Your Humble Correspondent told you about a very good restaurant with a splendid chef, gracious floor staff, and a good wine list - that was also remarkably good value-for-money - would you be able to keep it to yourself? Would the greater good ... in this case, my being able to get a reservation on a whim ... mean that you would forfend all and any attacks on your confidentiality? At this juncture, it seems appropriate to provide a brief explanation of the dilemma with which Your Humble Correspondent is confronted.

The daily commute includes an ambulatory section (rest assured this is taken at a gentle pace!) from the Hellhole to Ebisu Station, and for weeks one's eyes were drawn to a rather nondescript eatery with the quaint name Bistro Aida [Map] (the aida piece being the Japanese for 'space'). An innocent quip like "What ho! I do believe I have found another little gem..." was enough for The Once and Future Blonde to determine that we should visit said establishment (together, apparently). So we went ... but a different "we" than she imagined. As it happened, there was the appointment with The Adjutant that needed some sort of suitable venue. And the rest is history, Gentle Reader.

Chef Seiji Omote has this place humming since its opening in February 2010, and it is a real "keeper". There is only one omakase offering with six courses including the amuse, for the princely sum of Y3,800 plus supplements for various choices in the Plat Principal and Dessert courses. But the food is heavenly ...

Your Humble Correspondent was quite taken with the Hors D'oeuvre of Fois Gros Pate and Wagyu Carpaccio in a Yuzu and Kabu foam, which was served with four ambrosial slices of Kyo-vegetables (white, black, and red turnips along with black daikon). Our excellent Bagna Cauda was served with two very interesting salts as an alternative with the vegetables: sumi-shio (charcoal salt) and smokii-shio (smoked salt) from Fukushima. Only in Japan, one imagines, but these are both real taste treats that are by themselves reason enough to visit Bistro Aida.

The main course meant duck of course, served with a fascinating sabayon (syllabub to some) of fois gros and puree of porcini mushrooms. It must have been the military testosterone, but we both showed typical reserve by plumping for cheese instead of dessert (which was a Sweet Potato and Apple Pie with cinnamon ice cream).

The wine list is good and well priced, and The Adjutant and I shared a very good Domaine Millet Sancerre 2008 and a 2006 Burgundy that escaped detection. In spite of this extravagance, our bill came to less than Y30,000.

Most of the people in the room were considerably younger than YHC, a sad occurrence that is becoming all too frequent in recent years. But if Bistro Aida is a date spot for sophisticated 30-somethings, it is a refined and all together elegant one which lives up to its mission statement as "a restaurant for adults."

Visit with friends and lovers rather than business colleagues, who would no doubt turn Bistro Aida to their own evil ends. And look for the more mature lurker in the corner - it would be nice to make your acquaintance!

Pip! Pip!

Bistro Aida [Map]: 1F No. 2 AS Bldg, 1-16-33 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku; t: 03-5422-9685
Rating: Food: 8/10; Wine: 7/10; Service: 7/10; Maturity: 7/10; Price-Performance: 8/10. Total: 37/50 (3 Forks)

Restaurant J - Prithee, A Moment's Silence

Gentle Reader, it is with deep regret that we advise that master chef Masahito Ueki is soon (actually, today!) to leave Restaurant J for destinations as yet unknown. It seems that there is some considerable difference between Chef and his business partner in terms of direction and policy for Restaurant J going forward.

What an pity! While Your Humble Correspondent does not pretend to understand the gritty details of foul commerce, it is obvious even to him that some level of profit is essential to good financial health. At the same time, stand-out quality in a city that boasts a galaxy of Michelin stars is a must-have and Chef is within his rights to demand a free hand in the kitchen.

This outcome is sad for all of us who are fans of Ueki-san, although his commitment to delighting diners - and to opening again soon in a new venue - leave us with the hope that he will rise pheonix-like from the ashes of a spoiled relationship to even greater heights. Chef is a singular talent; and if greatness comes at least partially from passion and unwillingness to compromise in matters culinary, then we have a treat on our hands once he finds new digs.

One faint (feint?) glimmer of light from all of this is that spills and tumbles are always signs of an active and energetic gastronomic culture, and the rejection of "gaman" in favor of integrity augurs well for a bright future for diners in our fair city by the bay.

Your Humble Correspondent will no doubt wend his weary way to "The J" to document the fall of a good restaurant, and will race to put pen to paper (fingers to keyboard?) as soon as possible [although not this evening as I am off to Bistro Aida!].

Until then, then ...

Pip! Pip!

Restaurant Davis - Hidden Treasure

The article in the Japan Times about Restaurant Davis some two years by the effable Robbie Swinnerton caused Your Humble Correspondent no end of consternation, Gentle Reader. The Once and Future Blonde pointed out said article, and asked why we had not yet visited such a fine establishment. To which one could only respond "dunno", in the best traditions of conjugal communication. That started a brief but energetic campaign targeted at Mr. Davis in a vain attempt to earn an invitation. Foolish, really ... he was really far too busy with matters economical, and had the undoubted good taste to murmur something soothing before turning his face away to concentrate on other, more socially reliable interlocutors.

Mrs. Davis, on the other hand, has been welcoming vagabonds for some 12 years in the Takanawa edition of Restaurant and Wine Bar Davis, along with a brief interlude in a second venue in the vicinity of Daimon. In my humblest of opinions, this is a restaurant that you should mark down in your little red book as a "keeper". Well-oiled and efficient are words that come to mind at first blush, but that would take something away from the wonderful food and wine; and the atmosphere redolent with ... umm ... restaurantness. Mrs. Davis has a very good chef with her here, and the home-made (jikasei) anything is well worth trying. Meats - particularly those that might cause another less-capable to tremble - roll out of this kitchen. One hears that Christmas sees roast goose and traditional Xmas pudding available to the lucky few with the foresight to book early.

 

The seafood is sourced from reliable providors all over Japan, and Chef shows a deft hand here as well. Firmness and flakiness are the mark of any good fish, and the dish that YHC shared with The Texan Ranger (Note to self: I wonder if he found it difficult to find R&WBD?) was testament to a deep vein of experience and flair. The pastas should neither be overlooked, with excellent seasonality and full flavors.

 

Above all, one mustn't ignore the wine list. Others have offered fulsome praise, which can only be echoed in these dreary pages. But the refreshing thing about Mrs Davis' list is that it is both eclectic and representative of the world's major vignobles, showing discernment and a firm hand on the rudder.

 

There are those who complain that Restaurant Davis is hard to find: Pshaw! It is actually quite simple really, and only took Your Humble Correspondent about 30 minutes from 150 meters away. One feckless approach might be:

1. Ask your reinsman to take you to Takanawa Police Station...
2. Across the street is the Takanawa Fire Station with a natty fire observation tower (rodai) adorning the roof ...
3. It may be useful to take the tour of the Fire Station which includes the observation deck so that you can eyeball your eventual destination ...
4. Head north along the road towards Tokyo Tower until your reach the first street to your right ...
5. Delight your companion by buying a flower, and then ...
6. Turn right (east) until you hit the first road on your left...
7. Turn left (north) until you see the sign for Restaurant Davis on the left...
8. Complain that it is difficult to find. You'll be in good company.

A word on the l'addition - Restaurant Davis is remarkably ... well, cheap ... for the value received and one should not doubt Mrs Davis' arithmetical skills. The bill is correct and represents real value for money.

 

 Restaurant and Wine Bar Davis should only be enjoyed with friends and lovers, and it may benefit the rest of us if you only take them once. There is no chance they will remember where it is with only one visit, and then reservations will still be readily available for Fat Boys and vagabonds!

 

Pip! Pip!
Restaurant Davis: 2-5-6 Takanawa, Minato-ku; t: 03-3440-6007
Rating: Food: 7/10; Mrs Davis-ness: 7/10; Service: 7/10; Ambiance: 7/10; Price-Performance: 9/10. Total: 37/50 (3 Forks)

Ristorante FRICK

So what does one do, Gentle Reader, when confronted with a restaurant with a name like "Frick" [Map]? Wouldn't you, like Your Humble Correspondent, be tempted to give one just out of common courtesy? At the very least, we could then answer the eternal question of just who gave one anyway.

Now that the cheap puns are out of the way, you will no doubt be relieved to learn that "Frick" is in fact "FRICK" (well, one hopes you fr^*king care) and serves the laudable purpose of commemorating the founding team of this treasure of a restaurant. Each of them were generous enough to donate the initial letter of their given names to the venue's title. One wonders how that worked out for them ... Isao would be somewhat bland as "Sao". [Most Australians will recognize the previous sentence as another 'crumby' pun.]

Ristorante Frick is, though, a thoroughly happy surprise. Perched somewhat skittishly between Omotesando and Nishi-Azabu opposite the Nezu Art Museum, it seamlessly combines the youth and energy of the former and the fine dining and tradition of the latter. Owner-Chef Fukuda Kei (or is that now "Ei"?) is out to cut a dashing figure on the Tokyo dining scene, and his opening of FRICK in May 2008 has served to create and sustain an enviable reputation. He is often seen at major events, like the recent "Interior" exhibition, and is developing a presence as a personality.

One earnestly hopes that this does not "go to his head", because celebrity and chef-ing go together like costume jewellery and decolletage. The former is trashy and flashy, and takes away one's attention from the latter. Based on this admittedly arbitary yardstick, Gordon Ramsay is thus a celebrity and Joel Robuchon a chef.

Meanwhile, back in Minami-Aoyama ... FRICK sources its produce daily from the best suppliers all over Japan - literally from the farm gate or mooring. The goal is to present the very best of seasonal ingredients in prime condition, in an atmosphere that is both welcoming and subtly familiar. And it all succeeds surprisingly well. Whether Fukuda-san can become the Japanese Rick Stein remains to be seen, but anything that celebrates the food heroes of Japanese gastronomy gets Your Humble Correspondent's approbation immediately!

On a recent visit (perhaps we were early, but we seemed to be the only people there not on a wage), there were a number of excellent examples of what regional produce is all about, with Chef showing considerable knowledge and selectivity. It must be a courier's nightmare, getting all of these "MUST DELIVER TODAY" and "DELIVERY BEFORE 3PM" packages to Ristorante FRICK. A jolly nuisance, one imagines, but the resulting vegetable dishes and delicate pastas and wonderful risottos are testimony to both the skill of the FRICK kitchen team and the Japanese logistics network.

FRICK also has a reasonable wine list with more-than-reasonable prices, and excellent advice from an observant sommelier. More importantly, it also serves Moretti birra ... which was the only thing between Your Humble Correspondent and The Once and Future Blonde withering in the Tuscan heat a few summers ago. A delicious beer that cleans the palette in true PCB style, and never over-powers the flavors of the meal!

Get along to FRICK with friends and lovers - this is not a place one would want to waste on a Boss. It is far too refined and elegant for that. Should you see a fat boy counting delivery vans somewhere in the vicinity, be a good chap or chappess and ask me in for an aperitif. After all: someone, some time soon, is going to have to enlighten these brave lads on the alternative meaning of Frick.

Pip! Pip!

Ristorante FRICK: Home SQ 2F, 4-24-8 Minami-Aoyama, Higashi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku. t: 03-6905-7311
Rating: Food: 7/10; Moretti-ness: 7/10; Service: 8/10; Ambiance: 7/10; Price-Performance: 8/10. Total: 37/50 (3 Forks)

Le Clos Montmartre - Worth further investigation!

Only an unfortunate rapscallion like your Humble Correspondent would find himself with a teetotaller in a Kagurazaka bistro like Le Clos Montmatre that had been established by renowned French sommelier Jannic Durand. Hard to fathom really. Considerable lack of foresight, and world-class lack of planning.

At the same time, the recommendation of my vinetarius Eric the Cork was too good to pass up, Gentle Reader, especially when one was journeying to Suidobashi anyhow. Lavish praise is due to Eric, for this is indeed a splendid little spot! To my mind, the most accurate and concise description of Le Clos is provided by our erudite and amazingly informed friends at Pig Out Diary who described it as "authentic". Pig Out Diary is one of the best Tokyo food blogs we have encountered, Gentle Reader, although sadly it doesn't link to this Humble collection of mutterings.

"Authentic!", it is (note the added exclamation mark). Le Clos Montmatre prides itself on refusing to Japonicize its food and service style. Your Humble Correspondent likes this approach - the food is prepared and delivered with an eye more to quality and taste than sugoi-ness or performance.

We sampled a variety of dishes - pretty little quiches, meaty terrines, comfortable confits, a splendid little salad, and some quite remarkable seafood. The single terrible disappointment was that one was reduced to drinking apple juice (although there was a slight indulgence in a pleasant little pinot which appeared to one's left, and deserved a modicum of attention). The service was attentive yet non-intruding, and M. Durand's steady control of proceedings was evident despite the homme himself being rather retiring.

M. Durand believes that there are many wonderful wines to be discovered in the space between the grand chateau and 2-shilling plonk. He is of course correct. His goal is to - bless him - sacrifice himself on our behalfby finding these wines. One has to admire his dedication, for the wines on offer are amazingly varied and remarkably well-chosen. This chap is a bit of a globe-trotter, and after a stint at a Paris 2-star babysitting 28,000 bottles representing about 3,000 labels he was sommelier at Belle Epoche at the Hotel Okura for 8 years. He opened Le Clos in 1998.

Finding information on this restaurant is almost as difficult as finding the place itself - to achieve the latter, intrepid travellers should walk up Waseda-dori from Sotobori-dori to the Royal Host. Without entering that house of pain, turn right and then take the next right down the alleyway.

Your Humble Correspondent will be visiting Le Clos Montmatre again soon. You will be able to identify me through the conspicuous lack of apple juice on the table. Cast a weather eye over the clientele, Gentle Reader, and should you glimpse a likely and furtive rapscallion you might consider sending over a glass of said juice. For which you would earn my undying enmity ...

Le Clos Montmatre [Map]: Ryo1 Kagurazaka Bldg. 1F, 2-12 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku Ward. t: 03-5228-6478 [Closed Sunday]
Rating: Food: 7/10; Apple Juice: 7/10; Service: 7/10; Ambiance: 7/10; Price-Performance: 7/10. Total: 35/50

Daikichi - A Stroke of Luck!

It was with melancholy tread, Gentle Reader, that we wound our way to Daikichi in Daikanyama [No web site, but this summary in Japanese] [Map] to bid adieu to dear Lady Piffle and Lord Schatzie. The Once and Future Blonde had arranged to meet this delightful couple during the very hectic lead-up to their departure from these fair shores, and finding himself at a loose end your Humble Correspondent toodled along as well. Schatzie himself had promised that this was an entirely admirable yakitori restaurant, and so the evening promised much enjoyment despite the impending sadness.

Most casual observers would assume that yakitori is a firmly traditional Japanese addition to gastronomy, although in cheaper establishments it perhaps is more often pabulum than delicacy. Truth be told, Gentle Reader, yakitori is a relatively recent addition to the galaxy of Japanese food styles. It is rather a surprise that the food took the generic name yakitori, because most skewered dishes in the Edo period (1603-1868) were in fact oden and tofu treats. Gradually, street hawkers began to grill a range of fowl (but not chicken) as well.

Japanese in general did not really start eating meat until the Meiji Period (1868 - 1912), and chicken meat was actually more of a luxury then than beef. Sukiyaki also raised its pretty head at this time (Sidestep: suki is a hoe or spade, and yaki means "to broil". This was predominately a fish dish until about 1900), as well as meat-based donburi like gyudon.

Chicken yakitori made with Cochin chicken achieved some measure of favour with the more well-heeled during the Taisho Period (1912 - 1926) but the style really only enjoyed wider popularity from the 1960's when broiler chickens from the United States started to be imported in appropriate quantities. Indeed, if one opts for the non-chicken varieties one will closer to the roots of this cuisine than one might imagine. For a more "authentic" selection, try pork with the tare sauce or the very rare venues that still offer historically accurate but perhaps kawaiso-challenged skewered fowl like Japanese pheasant, quail, duck, geese, sparrows, bulbuls, and lark. Or not, as is your wont.

Your Humble Correspondent is quite the fan of good yakitori, and on this measure Daikichi is a skewer above its competitors. Those in the know advise that Daikichi buys produce on a daily basis, depending on quality and likely number of diners. That means ingredients are not frozen or otherwise culinarily abused, and it shows in the wonderful flavours that the restaurant turns out. Service is cheerful and prompt, despite the fact that Daikichi is a family affair (Father, Mother, Daughter) and often gets quite hectic.

We tried (in no particular order) hatsu chicken heart, rebā liver, tsukune chicken meatballs, kawa chicken skin, tebasaki chicken wing, negiwa chicken and scallions, and nankotsu chicken cartilage as well as a scrumptious salad and the to-die-for yaki-onigiri grilled rice cakes. Brau Meister beer from Kirin is on tap, and there is a reasonable selection of sake on offer.

Try Daikichi with friends (only). And spare a thought for Piffle and Schatzie, who will sadly be sans yakitori in Berlin only too soon. It's enough to make a man weep, dear Friends. Until the next course comes ... Irrashaimase!

[Note: I am still to visit Serata in Nishi-Azabu, which I am reliably informed is the best yakitori in the world. Hmmmm ... we'll see!]

Dai Kichi [Map]: B1F, 12-18 Daikanyama, Shibuya Ward. t: 03-3496-9222 [Closed Wednesday]
Rating: Tori: 7/10; Sake: 7/10; Service: 7/10; Skew: 7/10; Price-Performance: 7/10. Total: 35/50

Restaurant Hiromichi - Elegance emerges in Meguro

There is little that has previously commended itself, Gentle Reader, to the tiresome thoroughfare between Ebisu and Meguro that parallels the railroad tracks. It has been consigned to a dreary existence since it was the scene of some discombobulation by your Humble Correspondent many years back when he tumbled from a motor-scooter and tore the seat out of a new suit. Regardless of the heroics. Regardless, again, of the children thereby saved from perfidy.

But that has all changed now that Restaurant Hiromichi [Map] has landed, as if from some gastronomic Elysium. Or more precisely, now that Chef Hiromichi Kodama has landed from the 1-star Chemins in Akasaka. While it still has some way to go before becoming a gourmands' mecca - after all, there is only one place worth visiting and this is it - there is suddenly a reason to wander lonely as a cloud along this very carriageway. At which your Humble Correspondent is somewhat of an expert.

Chef Kodama aims to produce "jitsuryoku-ha" French cuisine. He succeeds, brilliantly. The Japanese word jitsuryoku is normally translated as capable and effective, but it also has a feeling of "the power behind the throne" in certain uses.

This is more than "capable" cooking; it is a mastery that expresses itself in food that is quietly confident and an unrepentant expression of sublime virtuosity. Chef Kodama represents the younger generation of highly experienced French chefs in Tokyo, the presence of which group goes a long way to explaining the continuing rise of this fair city in the gastronomic halls of fame.

Your Humble Correspondent first ventured there sometime back to meet The Duchess in a vain effort to convince here to add her considerable skills to the burgeoning team in Yokohama. Got my just desserts, actually, because one should never mix business with pleasure - particularly when the pleasure component is as Xanadific as Restaurant Hiromichi.

For entrees, we enjoyed Les Bonbons de boudin noir et pommes de terre croustillantes (nuggets of boudin noir wrapped in crispy potato with a caramel and apple reduction) and Bien fait des mer du printemps,montagnes,et de nature (Goodness, how poetic ... Blessings of the Oceans, Mountains, and Fields, or much more mundanely 'spring salad'). Oh the decadence, oh the delicacy! Delightfully prepared, and each dish a feast for the all the five senses.

Our main courses were Ballottine de "Shamo Kawamata" parfum de romarin (Ballotine of Kawamata gamecock fragranced with Rosemary) and Canard challandaise rôti et Crème de confit de canard (Roasted Challandaise duckling with Cream of Duck Thighs). A coarser scribe might tend to a rampantly sexual description but I shall forbear, except to say that it was better.

Restaurant Hiromichi has over 200 French wines for your enjoyment, although your Humble Correspondent has to admit to not trying them all (yet). The Sancerre we enjoyed was delightfully laced with the minerality of the terroir with a fresh acidic finish, and expressing all of the full character of the fruit.

Enjoy Restaurant Hiromichi with someone special, someone very special indeed. This is one of a handful of restaurants that will be best enjoyed as an occasional extravagance, rather than a casual stop-gap. Try not to visit more than, say, once a week.

And raise a coupe de champagne to the Shadow at the window. After all, The Shadows knows ...

Restaurant Hiromichi [Map]: Mita 1-12-24, Meguro Ward. t: 03-5768-0722
Rating: Food: 8/10; Wine: 8/10; Service: 7/10; Capability: 8/10; Price-Performance: 7/10. Total: 38/50

Bonne Femme - A little saucy for some!

One begins to intimately understand the fancies and foibles of friends, Gentle Reader, when one is engaged in this foodie blogging thing. Some like it hot, some like it slow, others prefer gentle, and still others look for urbanity and sophistication. While there's no accounting for it, people's tastes really are quite varied. And in the humble opinion of this Casual Observer, there is not much profit in trying to satisfy all.

We ventured as 16 brave souls of the Tokyo Darkside recently to Bistro Bonne Femme in Tameike [Map]. It had come strongly recommended by none other than Gourmand Eric Dahler [Eric's Wine Prosperite] as a venue particularly suited to our formidable gathering of illuminati, and we were all looking forward to re-visiting this bastion of diplomatic dining located as it is so conveniently to the Embassy quarter.

Your Humble Correspondent was very pleasantly surprised by the technique and flair demonstrated by the kitchen at Bonne Femme. It is no mean feat to serve cuisine classique to 16 diners simultaneously. The five courses (Amuse, two entree, a main course, and dessert) served to the Darkside were all turned out neatly with the highest standard of presentation. The sauces were a feature of the meal (note this point for later reference). The ingredients were excellent, definitely not like the variety served below stairs that one would expect at the price (Y5,000).

The house wines which we enjoyed in considerable volume are also exceedingly well-priced (Y3,500) given the above-average quality. Combined with friendly and accommodating service, this makes Bonne Femme a good choice for events between 12-16 ne'er-do-wells as well as an appealing venue for quieter tetes-a-tete.

So you can imagine my surprise, Gentle Reader, when I received a post-dated comment from someone we shall just call 'Joe' to preserve anonymity: Chef could "do just as well cooking in a Massachusetts roadside diner ...", and calling for a chef whose "idea of French Food isn't sauce, sauce, sauce.....". A quick survey of other attendees indicates that 'Joe' is rather in the minority on this, and that many Massachusetts roadside diners could definitely benefit from this sort of improvement.

Oh, and cuisine classique is my favorite style of French, based on the work of Escoffier and made famous in the legendary restaurants of Europe like the Grand Hotel in Monte Carlo and the Savoy in London. We have it on good authority, Gentle Reader, that Escoffier never visited Massachusetts. Unless it was Massachusetts, Monaco.

This revolution in the kitchen with the introduction of chef de cuisine brought about the replacement of service à la française (serving all dishes at once) with service à la russe (serving meals in courses), as well as the formalization of the preparation of both sauces (Bigod! Fancy that ...) and complex dishes based on Escoffier's Le Guide Culinaire.

For your Humble Correspondent it defines the pinnacle of haute cuisine: sinfully and delightfully distinct from cuisine bourgeoise, the quick and working-class cuisine of bistros [the word bistro likely comes from the Russian быстро bystro meaning "quickly"], and the (blessedly!) bafflingly delicious array of French provincial cuisines.

Cuisine classique has been criticized for heavy sauces, silly names for dishes, and very involved preparation. Yet cuisine as an art form needs a formal component, and a chef who has mastered the disciplines of cuisine classique is better equipped thereby to venture other pathways.

Sadly, more restaurants today focus on nouvelle cuisine and cuisine du terroir which offer better margin performance for the wretchedly money-minded restaurateur. Suitable perhaps for San Francisco, which is not in Monte Carlo either. Mind you, neither is Tameike come to think of it but it is close to a palace.

But cuisine classique is - well - classic. And therefore suited to fat boys, and unrepentant followers of la belle epoch. Just the thing for the more saucy among us. Like moi... but not 'Joe'.

Bonne Femme [Map]: Akasaka 1-3-13, Tameike Suzuki Bldg. 1F. t: 03-3582-0200
Rating: Food: 7/10; Wine: 7/10; Service: 7/10; Sauciness: 7/10; Price-Performance: 7/10.
Total: 35/50

La Terrace, Hong Kong

It is a little far to travel, one supposes, to Hong Kong to visit a neighbourhood French restaurant. Surely more appropriate to enjoy the splendid Chinese cuisine on offer, what ho! And we had, at a splendid Yum Cha luncheon washed down by a refreshing quaff of Australian Sauvignon Blanc (one wonders if that should be Sauvignon Blanche). It was also Spring, when a fat man's thoughts turn to ... well, food.

Your Humble Correspondent was indeed in the Pearl City for other reasons, but ever vigilant in pursuit of your dining pleasure we visited La Terrasse in Soho for a splendid meal at the suggestion of the redoubtable Colin. In the time-honoured tradition of this random collection of mutterings, Colin is not Colin's real name but it is remarkably easy to remember and one in which he seems to revel. He also has a well-developed love for good wine, which is a singularly endearing characteristic. Surprisingly, Colin is sans wine-pimp and relies on the normally unreliable off-licenses which in true HK fashion are perfectly reliable. Hmm, seems like an opportunity for an enterprising young man ...

The Soho area in the Mid-Levels of Hong Kong is probably one of your more favourite haunts, dear Gentle and Well-Travelled Reader, but for your Humble Correspondent and The Once and Future Blonde it was a revelation. Colin informs me that there is often more mediocrity on offer than mastery, often exacerbated by an influx of restaurant entrepreneurs perhaps more focused on margins than on the dining experience. But happily this is not the case at La Terrasse, which has delighted patrons for many years and relies exclusively on word-of-mouth rather than crass publicity.

You will no doubt be surprised to learn that we were seated on the very pleasant terrace at the rear of the restaurant. This showed estimable foresight by Chef Rene, as it meant that we were located in such a way as to feel suitably honored yet at the same time we were unable to frighten away any other potential patrons.

A word to the wise - avoid pastis as a pre-dinner drink. More accurately, avoid a surfeit of pastis as pre-dinner drinks. Actually, avoid very large quantities of pastis (think barrique).

It was scrumptious, mais oui, but left one considerably light-headed and with a resounding after-taste of aniseed. Of course this effect could possibly be put down to quantity rather than quality, but one was en vacance after all! In fact, it is now apparent to me why so many French bohemians became ... ah, bohemian. Pastis could quite likely induce aberrant behaviour in even the most-level headed of Correspondents.

But we digress. With The Don and Bride, we let ourselves be gently guided by Colin and Mrs Colin into a selection of entree and main courses that would test most kitchens. Do try the roasted heritage tomatoes topped with fresh mozzarella - a very interesting and successful variation on Caprese. The Sea Bass and Scallops was delicious, and was sauced prettily with a magical combination of butter and chives. Entrecote is somewhat of a speciality at La Terrasse, and given the satisfied faces of my companions you can safely assume it was entirely up to scratch. Do not give in to the siren call of the house-made bread ... well, at least try to avoid over-indulging.

Chef Badu is passionate about sourcing quality produce, which virtue results in a focus on precision in preparation and an admirable lack of fuss in presentation. La Terrasse is good at simplicity, and offers the visitor a guarantee of quality dining without the trappings of celebrity status.

The wine list at La Terrasse is more than adequate, with an above-average range of vintage and chateau at reasonable prices. While this is no doubt due to the enlightened move by Government to remove the tax on wine, it also encourages experimentation and indulgence - qualities that are your Humble Correspondent's forte. We sampled a Sancerre and two vintages of a sterling Bordeaux, and despite a slight tang of aniseed (see above) these quickly evaporated by the glassful in the pleasant Hong King spring weather. As did my memory of their labels. However, my companions assure me that I enjoyed them immensely. And the champagne ... Champagne? We had Champagne?

The floor team at La Terrasse are both efficient and friendly, a combination that seems strangely rare in Hong Kong. All of this makes for a very pleasant dining experience, for which we are all suitably grateful to Simon ... oops, Colin.

La Terrasse is such a pleasant combination of all of the things that go to make a "keeper" that it comes as somewhat of a surprise that it is on such a cruelly steep hill. Surely Rene could have managed it better! Thighs ache and chests heave if you approach from Staunton Street. The cost of the Sherpa team can be prohibitive. But follow the second option in the directions below and you should find it relatively easy.

Visit La Terrasse with friends and locals you wish to impress, but whose company you intend to enjoy. Like Colin. And smile sweetly at the fat boy in the back with the oxygen mask; after all, I'm the one who recommended the place!

La Terrasse [Directions]: 19 Old Bailey Street, Mid-levels, Central, Hong Kong. t:(852) 2147 2225
Rating: Food: 7/10; Wine: 8/10; Service: 7/10; Terrace-ness: 7/10; Price-Performance: 7/10.
Total: 36/50.

Tanger - Mediterranean Merriment

One seems to be making a habit, Gentle Reader, of navigational odysseys into suburban Tokyo with geographically challenged Texans. Your Humble Correspondent believes, of course, that any time spent with a frontiersman will be amply rewarded - most especially when the frontiers thus confronted are intellectual rather than topographical. And this was certainly the case when we recently visited Tanger [Map] in Takanawa at Jim's suggestion.

Tanger describes itself as a Mediterranean restaurant with a French base and Moroccan influences. It is certainly that, in a remarkably eclectic way, yet manages to present well-fashioned food at reasonable prices with considerable flair and eclat. One notes the review by the lithesome Dominic [here] - a little harsh methinks, and perhaps written with a dash more more bile than guile.

Your Humble Correspondent was still deep into a Lenten observance when we visited, but the menu is robust and pleasingly simple with a single page of selections enhanced by a daily specials chalkboard. Tanger lacks pretentiousness, which fact is reflected in its friendly and knowledgable floor team and the pleasant ambient noise level. The sound of fellow-customers enjoying themselves should be taken as a positive, Gentle Reader, and Tanger succeeds well in having patrons relax and engage without imposing themselves on others.

We worked our way through Grilled Vegetables with anchovy dressing - light and delicious even for this anti-anchovy activist - and very toothsome Italian salad with Strawberries and Parmesan, before moving on to Salmon Quiche and a Lamb Tangine. My Texan companion fulsomely praised this last offering, suggesting that the spices were subtle and tasty without dominating. Chef seems to be comfortable in his metier here at Tanger, and the deft finish he applies to the food provides an interesting counterpoint to more classic French establishments that seems to dominate your Humble Correspondent's appointment book.

A word on the wine list - good, without the facile decorative effect of high-cost / high-maintenance tired wines that put more emphasis on chateau rather than terroir. Pricing is surprisingly good, and we were able to enjoy a Premiere Cru Meursault (?) for Y6,000 and some excellent Alsace Riesling by the glass for Y800. For those looking for a decadent dalliance, pair this wine with the Tree of Life date and chocolate cake or the nougat glace confectionaries.

Taxi drivers and Texans seem to find Tanger difficult to locate, but a quick glance at the map should be enough for more resourceful types. Aim for the Peacock supermarket at the foot of Gyoranzaka, and tootle off down the laneway at the rear to arrive at Tanger on your left. Do have a quick look around for caftan-ed roues, and if you see through my disguise - perhaps you'd be good enough to send over a glass of that lovely Riesling!

Tanger [Map]: 1-5-8 Takanawa, Shinagawa Ward. t: 03-3449-4166
Rating: Food: 7/10; Wine: 7/10 (cheap!!); Service: 8/10; Morocco-isity: 6/10; Price-Performance: 7/10. Total: 35/50.

Restaurants to Avoid

There has not been a day in the last five or more years, Gentle Reader, when your Humble Correspondent has not had your culinary interests uppermost in his mind. While the days have increasingly been spent "in trade", the evenings and days of rest have not been similarly frittered away. Over that period, we have visited perhaps a thousand restaurants - very few of which we have judged to be up to your standards. But we have learnt the telltale signs of places to avoid.

Your Humble Corespondent would be the first to praise high-brow cooking — and, indeed, silver service — if that is the dining task at hand. Unfortunately, though, there are many venues where ambition and delivery are strangely akimbo and the collective result is either corrosive pretension or stunning failure. Some signposts on this slippery road:

First Impressions One expects the front of house staff to be welcoming - after all, your cash is what keeps the restaurant in business. But you should shriek and flee, Gentle Reader, if they ignore you for what seems like an eternity. More often than not, you can safely assume that the same treatment will continue once you are seated. Similarly, be wary if you are treated like a long lost relative - either they haven't seen a paying customer for a very long time, or they have mistaken you for someone else.

Dress-Ups Jackets are important items of clothing when one is grousing on the moors or watching the jumps at Royal Ascot on an autumn afternoon. Otherwise, these straighteners are the invention of impecunious tailors and pot-bellied ne'er-do-wells. And impede one's flailing arms when attacking some delicious morsel with gusto. Stay away from venues that insist that "Sir" wear a jacket ... unless it's the Tiffen Room at Raffles.

As for ties, which were devised in medieval France to prevent the infrequently laundered shirts from getting stained ... don't get me started!

Detours You may think me slightly fey, Gentle Reader, but if one was looking for a drink or cocktail then one would go to a bar, not a restaurant. The Maitre d' foxtrot that takes you via the lounge or bar is how a less reputable establishment will try to pad the bill (remember, beverages are much more profitable for restaurants than food). It also helps dull the palate, so that one does not notice that Chef has a hang-over.

Ambiance Art Deco and chandeliers are all very fine in their place - like perhaps my Humble Abode - but in a restaurant act as a sure sign that more attention has been paid to decoration rather than degustation. Noise should be your guide, Gentle Reader ... the human animal vocalizes when it is enjoying itself, much like a cat purring. Abject silence, in fear of either reprimand or the bill, is like a garish neon sign that says "Flee!".

Lighting One imagines, Gentle Reader, that harsh lighting schemes are important for laboratories. Similarly, singles bars and brothels probably benefit from subdued lighting. Neither is suitable for a restaurant. You should be able to read the menu and the wine list, but not feel like you are treading the boards at Drury Lane or on Broadway. A suggestion - prepare to run if you find yourself reaching for either the Raybans or a candle.

Glassware This is counter-intuitive, but if your hostelers have been too cheap to provide appropriate stemware and instead slander the wine with jam-jar cheap glasses you should feign a mild heart attack or suddenly remember that you have Dengue Fever - and leave as quickly as possible. Any libation tastes better out of crystal, and can soar when paired with an appropriately designed bowl and stem combination. Only make an exception to this rule when the establishment agrees to the embarrassing proposition that you will BYOG ... bring your own glassware. Actually, belay that - if the restaurant agrees with this proposition, it is a headline screaming "gentlemen thieves".

Floor Staff Children are given first names so that parents can readily distinguish between them, not in the hope that they grow up one day to serve others in restaurants. The overly familiar "I'm Corey, and I'll be your server" is not only too much information, but also a plain effort to ingratiate oneself with diners to fatten the tip. Run, Gentle Reader, and hope that you can hide.

Service Your Humble Correspondent is not aware of any proper university that offers a doctorate in Waiter so it is unlikely to be rocket science: the art lies in doing the minimum (take the order, lay out the right flatware, bring and remove plates, answer questions without scrambling off to conspire with Chef, and smile at the right times). It is also important to avoid anti-social behavior like commenting on the selection ("Oh, good choice Sir" likely means you have chosen a high margin item), manically topping up wine glasses (see Detours, padding the bill), and asking if everything is all right (if it wasn't we would tell you).

Bill of Fare A good menu is more often than not simple, and an excellent one is matched with both the season and the availability of quality ingredients. There should be (in order) soups; chilled and warm entrees (Appetizers); a reasonable choice of fish, fowl, and meat; and a sample of small desserts. Decorative leaves to indicate "vegetarian choice", and a list of side-dish vegetables should raise the hackles, Gentle Reader. Otherwise Chef is having you do the thinking for him or her, and trying to justify charging you Y1,500 for a potato.


You should also avoid places that need more than four pages, Gentle Reader, or offer a bewildering range of set courses. Culinary masturbation is best kept in the kitchen or the confessional, and artifice is a poor substitute for technique.

Amuse An elegant restaurant will often offer an Amuse Bouche, which is supposed to be a prelude to the meal ahead. It should be interesting and fit with the rest of the menu. An inelegant restaurant will often offer an Amuse, which is generally either an attempt to make inappropriate use of some left-over ingredients, or a way to make customers feel better about an inflated bill. Avoid the second type of establishment.

Contemporary Art It is said, Gentle Reader, that the eye is the introduction to a good meal. One tends to agree, except when the kitchen spends more time over-working the plate than on getting the flavors right. Effort spent on decoration instead of deglazing is generally wasted. If it looks too good to eat, it probably is - art is meant to be enjoyed at galleries, not at restaurants. When confronted with a decoration Zealot, you could try escaping by either inventing an imaginary art critic friend and loudly discussing post-modern composition with her, or pretending that you have Tourretes. Either way, be sure to leave. By feigning sympathetic madness.

Leaving It is self-evident that restaurants should not be trying to chase one out the door. Unless, of course, you have just indicated that you lack the financial wherewithal to meet the bill. By now it is obviously far too late, but one should also avoid establishments that insist you pay at the table ... as if either you or they should be embarrassed by the act of payment. If the entrance is too narrow to accommodate both departures and arrivals, then they should relocate the cash-box.

Finally, every meal is a feast - and should both start and end with a smile. Join me then, Gentle Reader, in banning every venue that refuses even this smallest of courtesies!

Lauderdale - Savoy of Pancakes?

Tokyo has long needed a breakfast destination, Gentle Reader, that is more than a place to gather and chatter. Something redolent of the breakfast culture of Sydney, with freshly-brewed quality coffee, week-end newspapers, and lashings of bacon. A place where quiet anonymity is welcome, and where the rattle and clatter of a busy kitchen and floor team is louder than the BGM. A refuge and an oasis that sets one up to deal with the coming day, rather than trying to compete with the rest of the schedule. And we may have found that place with Lauderdale in Roppongi Hills.

Don't imagine this venue seeks to compete on the "sumptuous brunch" level in Tokyo, for this space is famously filled by the wonderful Dom Perignon buffet at The Ritz-Carlton's 45 with its quaintly retro menu that shrieks the food equivalent of Art Deco and Roaring Twenties. Dare not to compare it with Suji's (where my question is more often "why?" rather than "what?"), the Tokyo American Club (Full Disclosure: I am a member), or The New Sanno (which brilliantly demonstrates the relative values of mass production and mass consumption). In the words of one young lady I know, Lauderdale is the "Savoy of Pancakes".

Your Humble Correspondent is, as ever, at a loss to understand this reference except to imagine that it refers to the glorious London icon now operated by The Fairmont Group. Or more accurately, not really operated but being renovated for a 2010 (re)opening. Some fascinating trivia for those of you who appreciate the Gilbert & Sullivan oeuvre... The Savoy was built by Richard D'Oyly Carte who produced the G&S comic operettas, and mostly funded by profits from the amazingly popular The Mikado. Its first well-known manager was Cesar Ritz (yes, the Cesar Ritz!) who arrived with Auguste Escoffier to put the Savoy on the way to becoming a legend. A quick aside: Titipu in The Mikado is present-day Chichibu.

But I digress. Lauderdale serves good breakfasts, and the pancakes are indeed special. So are the souffles, the smoothies (try the banana, strawberry, and acai version), and the omelettes. A small quibble on the bacon - not every customer prefers the wafer-thin American version cooked to the consistency of wooden shavings, and Lauderdale would do well to offer a "British" option sliced a little more thickly from the piece. Even Escoffier found it useful to adapt some of his dishes to a wider audience.

It would also do well to spread some newspapers around (may I suggest The Times, The Financial Times, The New York Times, and various other times) along with some magazines. These encourage the customers to return, knowing that there are precious few other venues offering a similar service. The coffee is fine as it is.

Your Humble Correspondent is looking forward to enjoying the balcony at Lauderdale in the Spring. So, Gentle Reader, you'd best pop along early and annex a good table. I promise the conversation will be ... well, Ritzy.

Lauderdale [Map]: 6-15-1 Roppongi, Minato Ward. t: 3405-5533
Rating: Pancakes: 7/10; Smoothies: 7/10; Service: 7/10; Ritz-iness: 6/10; Price-Performance: 6/10. Total: 33/50