Tokyo, Japan: RyuGin

 

As soon as RyuGin made the leap to three Michelin stars last year, I knew we had to dine there during our trip to Tokyo. Situated within walking distance from the Roppongi metro station, this hidden gem can be found by locating the dragon statue near the front door. As soon as we pushed the sliding door, we were immediately greeted by the hostess and escorted to our table.



 

The decor was traditional Japanese with dragon-themed plates adoring the room.



Autumn Menu

 

There is only one tasting menu unless you reserve a table after 9:00pm for the a la carte menu which consists of 50 different kinds of dishes. The tasting menu is 23,100 yen per person not including the service fee. For two diners, a glass of champagne and a bottle of Japanese wine, the total cost was 70,000 yen.

 

Note: A bottle of Japanese wine is quite expensive, averaging around 12,000 yen. I would recommend skipping the bottle of wine altogether. More on that later.

 

The tasting consisted of alternating hot and cold dishes.

Hot: Variation of Autumn Vegetables with Pine Nuts dressing

Cold: Soft "Simmered Abalone" and "Blue Crab" with "Wakame Seaweed and Apple Vinegar Jelly"

Hot: Abalone Broth Hot Soup

Hot: Premium "Sea Urchins" from HOKKAIDO in Lace Wrapping Rarely Deep fried with "Edamame Beans Paste"

Cold: "Grilled Mushrooms" Cold Soup

Hot: "Ichiban Dashi" Soup with Grilled "Thorn Head" and "Matsutake Mushrooms" in Autumn Presentation

 

Cold: Today's Assortment of Sashimi RyuGin style

Hot: Autumn Colors in a plate... Grilled "Sea Perch", Eggplant, Chestnuts, Ginko Nuts, RyuGin presentation

Hot: Simmered preparation Soft "Octopus" and lightly fried "Sea Scallops" with Autumn Vegetables

Hot: Chef Yamamoto's Specialite

Sanuki Wagyu Beef "Sirloin" and "Matsutake Mushrooms" in Sukiyaki style with "Crispy Poched Egg"

"Edamame Beans" Rice and "Shrimp Broth" Red Miso Soup

Cold: "Two Grapes"

Hot hojicha (roasted green tea)
 

Cold: Grilled "Ginjou Sake" "Oyaki Souffle" with "Egg" Soft Cream

Matcha

As you can tell toward the end of the meal, my photos were not as clear as in the beginning. Why? I was drunk out of my mind. No joke!

 

I attempted to drink the few ounces of Japanese wine left from a bottle that costs nearly $150! By the time I got to the dessert dishes, I was nearly drunk and couldn't maintain focus. If you bring a camera with the intention to take clear photos, don't drink and shoot.

 

Though I failed miserably at the end, this was one of the best meals of the year. Tastings that left me plastered at the end of the night are the ones that I remember the most. This meal is up there with Alinea, Tickets and miniBar. Without a doubt, I always come home smiling.

 



RyuGin
Side Roppongi Bldg, 1st Floor
7-17-24 Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo 102-0032

Tokyo, Japan: Les Créations de Narisawa

Narisawa is a 2-starred Michelin restaurant and ranked #27 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. After reading numerous reviews on Chowhound and other food blogger sites, I was hesitant to book a reservation until a few bloggers recommended their 5-course lunch menu which was a value at 7,350 yen ($92.61 US). The 10-course dinner tasting menu is now available during lunch for 21,000 yen ($264.61 US).

The restaurant is located in Aoyama and three blocks away from the Aoyama-Itchome Metro station.

We were presented two menus and I selected the Autumn Lunch, 2012 - Evolve with the Forest. Chef Yoshihiro Narisawa has a deep understanding of the environment and his nature inspiration is seen throughout his creations. His Autumn menu was simply titled, Gift from "Saien", "Satoyama", "Satoumi" and the Forest.

The first course was a preparation of bread at table side. I posted the video in a previous post.

"Forest 2010", Bread of the Forest


Butter covered in moss. This was probably the most creative presentation of butter I've ever seen.

       Kamo nasu, eggplant

Suzuki, Sea bass, maitake mushroom

 

Free range purebred black pork, kagoshima

Waguri, chestnuts, yamazaki whisky

 Macarons

Mignardise Cart

Overall impression: unique interpretation of nature-to-plate. I feel Narisawa's nature-to-plate concept is similar to California's farm-to-table movement. I enjoyed the way Chef Narisawa recreated natural landscapes and made it appealing on the plate. I think we all need to remember where our food comes from and appreciate it without the smoke and mirrors.

Narisawa
Minami Aoyama 2-16-15 Minato-ku, Tokyo
107-0062, Japan
narisawa-yoshihiro.com

Video: Narisawa "Forest 2010", Bread of the Forest

Above is a short video of a dish prepared at table side during our lunch at Narisawa in Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

Course: "Forest 2010" Bread of the Forest.

Les Creations de Narisawa
Minami Aoyama 2-16-15 Minato-ku, Tokyo
107-0062, Japan
narisawa-yoshihiro.com

Instagram: Tokyo, Japan

I'm back from our trip to Tokyo, Japan. Above is a preview of what's to come when I have a chance to comb through the photos I took during our trip. My overall impression of Tokyo: EXPENSIVE. After a few days, I stopped reaching for my currency converter on my phone. Did I really pay $9.95 for a non-alcoholic drink or $5.03 for a pastry? Yup and it tasted good too.

Row 1: Drink vending machines located all over Tokyo; Tokyo Sky Tree and pastries from the Johan Paris boutique inside Mitsukoshi Ginza.

Row 2: View from the Tokyo Tower; specialty drink from the Gundam Cafe in Akihabara and dinner at Takazawa.

Row 3: Ginza shopping district; dinner at RyuGin and lunch at Narisawa.

Row 4: Chateau Restaurant Joel Robuchon in Ebisu; Laduree boutique inside Mitsukoshi Ginza and Sukiyabashi Jiro inside the Ginza Metro station (near exit C6).

Kickstarter: The Porthole

Last month I made an investment in something truly innovative and pretty darn cool. Martin Kastner of Crucial Details (the guy who designs the cool tableware for Alinea and Next), set up a campaign on Kickstarter to bring his latest design, the Porthole, to the masses. He needed an initial investment of $28, 500 and ended up with $736,113! 4,270 backers made an investment and we're all patiently waiting to receive our very own infusion vessel.

Below is a short video that describes the story behind the Porthole.

I don't normally do product reviews but as soon as I get this sucker at the end of November, I will definitely write a blog post on it.

Countdown: 2.5 weeks to Tokyo

Wow, it's been a LONG time since I updated this blog. I couldn't book reservations until the first of October so work occupied most of my time. I'm happy to report that I booked reservations at all of the restaurants that I wanted to dine at while in Tokyo. I also want to mention that Visa Signature Concierge is awesome. Some reservations I had to "call" during local hours. I didn't want to go through the hassle of calling a foreign country and screwing up the reservation so I had Visa Signature Concierge book the reservations for me. It took them mere minutes. For example, RyuGin seems to be one of the elusive bookings but one email through the concierge website and 38 minutes later I got my confirmation. It was that easy. I'm not sure why I never used them before.

Here's our dining line up:

Takazawa
Sanyo Akasaka Bld. 2F 3-5-2 Akasaka Minatoku Tokyo, Japan
Reservations: Book two months in advance via website.

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon

** Michelin stars

6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Reservations: Phone reservations only or book through credit card concierge service.

RyuGin

Ranked #28 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants, *** Michelin stars

Roppongi Bldg. 1F, 7-17-24 Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo

Reservations: Phone reservations only or book through credit card concierge service.

Narisawa

Ranked #27 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants, ** Michelin stars

Minami Aoyama 2-6-15, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062

Reservations: Book one month in advance via website.

Other notable places we plan to visit:

• Hidemi Sugino - Famous pastry shop in Ginza, Tokyo
• Laduree - Parisian macarons
• La Boutique de Joel Robuchon - Robuchon's bakery shop
• Tsukiji Fish Market - Biggest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world

Prior to our trip, I have a quick business trip to Chicago. I'm arriving there on a Sunday and only staying for a few days. It will be my first trip there without a dinner reservation to Alinea. I don't feel too bad since I look forward to our dining adventures in Tokyo.