Entertaining in Tokyo

After what seems like 3 weeks of eating out everyday, I have successfully come-up with a list of Japanese restaurants that is worth taking your clients out to during their short business trip in Tokyo. Area of concentration is Roppongi, Nishi-Azabu, Yoyogi, Yoyogi-Uehara and Shinjuku.

1. Gonpachi
Japanese foods in one box. It's like the easiest stop you can make. And you'll get a selection of sushi (at their 3rd floor branch) and you get an eclectic colletion of kushiyaki foods and hand-made soba specialty.

Web. Phone 03-5771-0170. Usually about 4,000 yen per head at the end of the evening. Reservation highly recommended for dinner.

2. Shunju
One of my favorite restaurants in Tokyo. Nouveau Japanese dish, and they have the very fresh tofu that they make at the table. Located on the 27th floor of Sanno Park Tower, the view of Tokyo is breathtaking.

Web. Phone 03-3592-5288. Prepare to pay 8,000 yen and up for a fine dining experience (trust me, it's worth it). Reservation highly recommended, and always try to get seats by the glass wall.

3. Ikuta
Kobe beef specialist. Usually the price is dire if you want to dine on this special Kobe beef, but Ikuta is much more reasonable than most. Located in Yoyogi, very close to Shinjuku. Atmosphere is not pretentious at all.

Web. Phone 03-5340-7240. Course menu starts from 6,980 yen. Capacity is not very large, reservation is recommended.

4. Seryna Honten
Great Shabu-shabu restaurant in Roppongi. Full review see here.

Web. Phone 03-3402-1051.Reservation required. Course starts from 8,000 yen.

5. Mon Cher Ton Ton
Another Kobe beef restaurant. Served in teppanyaki style. Mon Cher Ton Ton is located on 52nd Floor of Sumitomo Building in Shinjuku. The view is absolutely stunning, while the food is out of this world-ly delicious. Very expensive. My client picked up the tab, so it was OK.

Web. Phone 03-3344-6761. Reservation required.Kobe Beef course menu is 20,000 yen per head.

6. Tobu Sakana
Complete opposite to the other's hefty price, try to go to Tobu Sakana in Tokyo's hip pocket Shimo-Kitazawa. The freshest fish restaurant I've ever been to in Japan. Full review is here.

Web. Phone 03-3414-6611. 3,000-4,000 yen per head.Place is small, reservation is recommended. Cash only.

7. Sasagin
One of my favorite place in Yoyogi Uehara. The restaurant has hundreds of bottles of sake collection. Menu is in difficult Japanese only, so all you need to do is tell the master to do what he wants and deliver the sake that goes well with the food. All you need to do is say how hungry you are, and what food you're allergic to or hates. You'll be very pleasantly surprised.

Formal review. Phone 03-5454-3715.Moderate, 4,000 yen~ per head. Cash only.

8. New York Bar and Grill
Not exactly Japanese, but this is something that every single of my clients all wants to go. You know, to get their fix on "Lost in Translation" experience.

Web. Phone 03-5323-3458. Only the Grill takes reservation. Just show yourself up. Once live music start, cover charge is 2,000 yen per head. Drinks starts from 1,000 yen.

9. Shabuzen
Good shabu-shabu restaurant in Roppongi. Much more affordable than Seryna. Better option for a party of 5 and above.

Web. Phone 03-3585-5600. Reservation sometimes necessary if it's Friday or Saturday night. 7,000 yen~ per head.

10. Kougetsu
Somewhere in between Shabuzen and Seryna's price range, there lies Kougetsu. My favorite amongst the 3. Specify to the restaurant if you don't eat pork.

Web. Phone 03-5771-0141

11. Shousuke
Excellent yakitori chain. Try to go to the one in Shinjuku San-chome's T&T building 7th floor, great view of Shinjuku Gyoen Park.

http://r.gnavi.co.jp/fl/en/g264513/index.htm.Phone 03-3356-1818.Average budget 5,000 yen per head. Reservation not necessary but recommended for big party.

And the quest continues!

Restaurant Review: Tobu Sakana

The locale is in Shimokitazawa, roughly 10 minutes on Odakyu line from Shinjuku, or even less from Shibuya.
Recommended to go here by a friend who used to live in the locale. One of the freshest seafood restaurant I've ever been to, with a very good price.
If in season, don't forget to order yaki-sora-mame (this is grilled giant edamame beans, very very tasty).
Things that should never be passed on while there: the suwai-gani (big crabs), grilled prawns, any grilled fish on a bed of salt. To reserve a table means you also reserve a plate of assorted sashimi.
For drinks, they have a large selection of sake and shochu. The fresh grapefruits sour (half of a grapefruit mixed with shochu) is really nice, they quickly sell out on this, though. Also try their "umeguro" beverage. It is a mix between umesshu and guinness. Kind of on the sweet side, but refreshing nonetheless.

Just to give an idea, first time I was there with Deenster, we ordered grilled fish, edamame, yakisoramame, prawns, a plate of sashimi (yes we were very hungry), and 3 drinks each; the bill came down to about 8,500 JPY. Not bad, eh?

Restaurant Information
Tobu Sakana
2-15-5 Kitazawa,
Setagaya-ku,
Tokyo

Tel: 03-3414-6611
Closed on Tuesdays
Open 5:30 pm to midnight
The place is cozy small, reservation is highly recommended

Rating
food quality *****
food taste *****
service ****
value to money ****

Restaurant Review: Seryna Honten

Some meat eating clients were in town and they wanted to eat lots of meat dish, so I suggested that we go out to eat shabu shabu.

Shabu-shabu by Wikipedia definition is a Japanese variant of hot pot. The dish is related to sukiyaki in style, where both use thinly sliced meat and vegetables, and usually served with dipping sauces. However, it is starkly different in taste; shabu-shabu is more savory and less sweet than sukiyaki. It is considered a winter dish but is eaten year-round.

Having transfered that knowledge onto them, we made our way to "Seryna Honten".

This restaurant is known for the prime quality beef and an outstanding selection of fresh seafood to go with the course.
We were relatively hungry and wanted to escape the always dragging menu choosing process, so we ordered the Special Seryna Dinner course A. The course presented us with an appetizer, assorted sashimi, assorted combination of seasonal dish, Prime beef shabu-shabu and finally dessert.

The food came in a slow pace and we are ever grateful that they did it that way, considering the amount of food that we devoured. By the time we finished the assorted combination of seasonal dish, we were already full; but then the Prime beef and the hot pot came, so we continued eating.
And then the veggies came for the hot pot, so we ate some more.
And finally on the savory side, the noodles came, so we finally ate them all.
We finished the 3-hours feast with a very delectable almond jelly and declared ourselves officially stuffed.

One thing that I have to point out about this restaurant is the quality of customer service that they provided. Truthfully I did not care much about their interior decor, if anything it felt a little bit too old-fashioned, like from the 80s; but with the quality of food and customer service, I'm more than ready to brush aside that fact.

One last note, the restaurant is not the cheapest in town. It is never cheap with shabu-shabu to begin with, since the higher quality the beef is naturally will jack up the price. However, it is a perfect place to take visitors to. Just be sure to do that when you're on company's dime.

Restaurant information:

Seryna Honten(瀬里奈本店）
3-12-3 Roppongi
Minato-ku, Tokyo
Tel. 03-3402-1051

http://www.seryna.co.jp/shop/honten-e.html

Map in English
http://www.seryna.co.jp/shop/map/map01-e.html

Map in Japanese
http://www.seryna.co.jp/shop/map/map01.html


Lunch course menu starts from JPY 3,000
Dinner course menu starts from JPY 10,000
A la carte menu starts from JPY 924 (but will quickly escalate)


Rating
food quality *****
food taste *****
service *****
value to money *****

Restaurant Review: Au Temps Jadis

My favorite creperie in the entire world. A great little joint in between Harajuku and Shibuya. A very close walk from Shibuya kuyakusho (city hall).

I was first introduced to this little place by my friend Bin and Suj, in one of our autumn walks. That was 5 years ago. Since then, I go there nearly every weekend. The beauty of this place is, you have so many selection to choose from, and Taku-san (the chef. He looks like Where is Waldo's Waldo, even his shirt looks alike!) is always very accomodating with whatever dietary restrictions that you may have.
I've gone through the menu from top to bottom and back. Everything is good. Every single one of them.
The creperie always closes for a week in Summer when the entire team will all go to France to study crepes. Speaking about passion, hey?
Go there, you will have the time of your life.
Just one request, please don't tell too many people about this place. You'll be sad if you can't get in.

My favorite menu, one of my usual orders in one visit:
Popeye Galette JPY 1,000
Noix aux caramel JPY 1,200
Warm spiced wine JPY 800

Au Temps Jadis
1-5-4 Jinnan
Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 150-0041

Tel: 03-3770-2457
Open 11 AM - 8 PM
Closed Wednesdays
Smoking unrestricted
No reservations available, just show up

A la carte foods start from JPY 700
Course menu JPY 2,300

Rating
food quality *****
food taste *****
service *****
value to money *****

Happy customers: Montchan, me and Deenster

Restaurant Review: Hale Kai's

I started going here after being recommended by my German friend and her Dutch boyfriend who used to live in the neighborhood.

Hale Kai's is a darling little restaurant with a very strong aloha ambiance.
The food here is delicious and simple. I'm not really sure what Hawaiian food is, and based on past experiences, some Hawaiian food will always have fresh pineapple in it, which I'm not too crazy about.
Pleasantly surprised, the foods served are all very tasty, light and fresh. Eating lots of their foods will not make you feel bloated. Instead, you will be pleasantly satiated and the portion is just the right amount.
In conclusion the taste could simply be described as partially American, Japanese, and island-ish. Well, fusion, rather.

Hale Kai's is a tiny restaurant, and it has no website nor map for getting there. It is in one of the little streets of Nishi-Azabu. So click on the Japanese map I got here for getting yourselves there.

Service is excellent, reservation is recommended. They have English menu available (no pictures).
The price is right. Just to give you an idea, the last time I went there, there were 3 of us. We ordered a bottle of Ravenswood's chardonnay, plus 1 glass, and 5 kinds of food. The bill was footed at a handsome price of 11,200 JPY.

Restaurant Information


Hale Kai's
2-16-4 Nishi-Azabu
Minato-ku
Tokyo 106-0031
Tel: 03-3400-8012
Open Tue-Sat 6pm-2am, Sun & hols 6pm-12am
Closed Mondays
Smoking unrestricted

A la carte foods start from JPY 900.
Good selection of wine.


Rating
food quality *****
food taste *****
service *****
value to money *****

Restaurant: Court Lodge

Sri Lankan Restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

Restaurant information:

Court Lodge Shinjuku

Court Lodge Shinjuku
2-10-9 Yoyogi
Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo Japan
Tel: 03-3378-1066
e-mail: huejay@lankacurry.com
a la carte from 320 Yen
Course from 2,500 yen

Rating

Taste *****
Portion *****
Service *****
Value to money *****

Restaurant Review: Rucola

The Tuesday people met again, the first in year 2007. We had Tuesday-People-A from England, Tuesday-People-A from Italy (+ 1 guest from Taiwan) and Tuesday-People-Taiko Tari from Indonesia.

We ate at Rucola, just 3 minutes walk off JR Yoyogi station, Tokyo.

The name actually rang a bell to me. There was at one time a Rucola restaurant near my office. For company lunch parties we always go there, the food was known to be very tasty and their specialty escargot is to die for. Sometime last year the restaurant in Nishi-Azabu closed down and is rumored to open somewhere else.
When we walked by last night, I was pleasantly surprised. I told Tuesday-People-A from Italy that we should find out if this restaurant was a spin-off from the previous one.

The restaurant is in a basement floor right below Cambodian restaurant Angkor Watt. We walked in to be surprised with the very spacious setting.
We were seated by the Maître d'on a small stage thing right in the heart of the restaurant. Nice.

We opened the evening with a bottle of Borola. Tasty.
We also ordered a course menu for 3,000 yen per head. After telling them our limitation (Tuesday-People-A from Italy requires no pork or red meat, and me no pork or red meat or mayonnaise), we let them do the food thinking and hoped to be pleasantly surprised.

This is what we got:

hors d'ouvre:
smoked duck
fish carpacio
a small bed of salad
pickled pepper

bread and garlic butter (free seconds and thirds)

pasta 1 (eggplant and tomato)
pasta 2 that we ordered à la carte (gorgonzola and herbs)

main
you can choose from the followings:
1. beef tongue and sauce
2. shrimps, scallops, steamed beans and sauce
3. beef roast steak
4. grilled chicken with vegetable, beans and potatoes (and because Tuesday-People-A from Italy didn't like any of the three above, they made a special dish)

dessert
chocolate cake and some whipped cream

coffee or herb tea

I can't believe they charged only 3000 yen for the lot. I couldn't even finish my dessert since we got so much food!!!

To be fair, I wouldn't be bragging about the taste of the food in Rucola, it's good and well prepared - but not outstanding.

However, there are two things that have sealed the deal for us going back there.

1. They are flexible.

For those who have dined out in Japan more than 5 times and often find themselves in the situation where they found bacon in their Caesar Salad when they have explicitly told the restaurants that they don't eat pork, only to come back at you "Well, that's bacon, it's not pork." when questioned. What, do they actually think that bacon grows on trees?
You will appreciate Rucola's readiness to create a brand new menu on the spot.

2. They are friendly. They have a very polite, very friendly and above all... very patient team of staff over there.

OK, we're not proud about it, but some time the Tuesday people can be difficult when we dine out together at a restaurant. One thing to understand is that all of us are foodies. We cook well and thus when we go out we demand the food to be good, too. Or if the food is no good, then the service has to make up for it. That's simply our motto. Since we actually pay money for that, you know...
There were things that caught our attention and we are not shy to bring it up. Of course we are never rude or mean about these things, but some people may find it a little... well, unbecoming.
Yesterday one of us thought he found some pork in his food and raised his concern. Only to discover that it was actually roast duck. And then another incident with the spelling of Borola.
Rucola team is ever so gracious and unassuming and patient to our table. They never once changed their kindness and helpfulness throughout the entire evening. The chef even came out and shook our hands to say goodbye. Hmm, maybe they were happy to see us left? I hope not! I want to go back!

More information on Rucola can be found here. (Official information only available in Japanese)


Restaurant Information:

Casual Italian "Rucola"
1-38-13 B1 Yoyogi
Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 1-38-13
Tel: 03-3379-5678

à la carte menu starts from 630 yen
course menu: 3,000 yen and 4,000 yen per head

Rating
food quality *****
food taste ***
service *****
value to money *****

So, let the journey begins!

I can never be on a diet because I love food so much.
Eating out is one of my favorite activity. Figuring out restaurants to go to and trying out new foods.

I have been a part of several food reviewing projects, mostly online, but after some time I can't seem to find the most comfortable format or platform to post my reviews. In the end I often gave up posting a review because the sheer volume of information that is required by the projects and the database forms that were there are just way too complicated.
I kid you not, there were times when I have typed my review away, only to find out that the database didn't want to upload it. That was just down right frustrating.

So, I will do it on my own from now on. Blogger makes it easy. That much I know.

Let the culinary journey begins!