This week there's a run down of the El Bulli closure, introduction into the latest high street - high end - butcher and the opening of Senkai on Regent's street in London...
Here in Tokyo we are in the midst of the Summer heat, so foodie culture is stemming from festivals and beer gardens, where even the most basic of delicacies are celebrated. Kampai!
Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Eggy B abroad: The Oak Room
Sunday's in Tokyo are a bit like Sunday's in London. A quiet buzz of people finding somewhere good to eat, to cure the hangover lingering from the night before!
And at the weekend, brunch is popular. Most certainly a western influence brunch is mostly available in hotels but there are a handful of other more local venues too.
On 14th August we chose the Grand Hyatt in Roppongi Hills. The sister hotel of the one made famous in Lost in Translation, we were not disappointed with it's welcoming atmosphere and choice of restaurants.
We opted for The Oak Room, as they offered an all day brunch menu. A true mixture of lunch and breakfast served over a whopping four courses. The set menu's showed exceptionally good value... At 3,800Yen (approx £35) it was one of the cheapest deals we have come across in the last month. And the a la'carte prices were in the same bracket for just one dish. A no brainer!
There were three of us and well all ate something different. Here is a quick run-down:
Starters
Toasted ciabatta with ricotta cheese, tomato and prosciutto ham. Verdict: the ciabatta was not toasted enough, the tomato was too thinly sliced and of a quality that you might find on a mediocre shop brought salad sandwich and the ham, well that was the saviour but then how wrong can this get?!
Blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and banana. Verdict: good grub! Fluffy pancakes nicely sweetened and in a generous portion.
Smoked salmon. I didn't taste this one but my friend cleared his plate so I think that is a good sign!
Soup
Sweetcorn, crème fraiche and coconut. Verdict: cold! Not what we expected, and it needed heavily seasoning. Whilst it was quite refreshing and palette cleansing, it would have tasted better with some crusty bread served hot and fresh.
Seafood chowder. Verdict: portion size too small, which was disappointing because it tasted good! Although my personal opinion is that in a menu of four courses it was probably just enough...
Mains
Minute steak, bacon and fried egg. Verdict: the equivalent of a good ol' English fry up! Served on a sizzling platter it looked good. The downside though was that the meat was overdone.
Grilled seabass with sautee vegatables. Verdict: a nicely cooked piece of fish with disappointing and over cooked selection of veg.
The Oak Room Benedict - poached eggs, hollandaise and...crab cakes? Yes, that's right this was not Eggs Benedict, or even a Florentine but more of an Eggs Royale, with a twist!
And at the weekend, brunch is popular. Most certainly a western influence brunch is mostly available in hotels but there are a handful of other more local venues too.
On 14th August we chose the Grand Hyatt in Roppongi Hills. The sister hotel of the one made famous in Lost in Translation, we were not disappointed with it's welcoming atmosphere and choice of restaurants.
We opted for The Oak Room, as they offered an all day brunch menu. A true mixture of lunch and breakfast served over a whopping four courses. The set menu's showed exceptionally good value... At 3,800Yen (approx £35) it was one of the cheapest deals we have come across in the last month. And the a la'carte prices were in the same bracket for just one dish. A no brainer!
There were three of us and well all ate something different. Here is a quick run-down:
Starters
Toasted ciabatta with ricotta cheese, tomato and prosciutto ham. Verdict: the ciabatta was not toasted enough, the tomato was too thinly sliced and of a quality that you might find on a mediocre shop brought salad sandwich and the ham, well that was the saviour but then how wrong can this get?!
Blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and banana. Verdict: good grub! Fluffy pancakes nicely sweetened and in a generous portion.
Smoked salmon. I didn't taste this one but my friend cleared his plate so I think that is a good sign!
Soup
Sweetcorn, crème fraiche and coconut. Verdict: cold! Not what we expected, and it needed heavily seasoning. Whilst it was quite refreshing and palette cleansing, it would have tasted better with some crusty bread served hot and fresh.
Seafood chowder. Verdict: portion size too small, which was disappointing because it tasted good! Although my personal opinion is that in a menu of four courses it was probably just enough...
Mains
Minute steak, bacon and fried egg. Verdict: the equivalent of a good ol' English fry up! Served on a sizzling platter it looked good. The downside though was that the meat was overdone.
Grilled seabass with sautee vegatables. Verdict: a nicely cooked piece of fish with disappointing and over cooked selection of veg.
The Oak Room Benedict - poached eggs, hollandaise and...crab cakes? Yes, that's right this was not Eggs Benedict, or even a Florentine but more of an Eggs Royale, with a twist!
My verdict: I was very happy to be presented with this dish and after a four weeks of mostly Japanese cuisine, it put a huge comforting smile on my face. The crab was an interesting replacement for my much loved ham, but I'm sorry to say it did not entirely work. It needed heavily seasoning and there was not enough hollandaise! I believe it would have tasted better without the muffin. It was just too stodgy with the crab cake as well.
Again unusually for Brunch, we didn't wash it down with a Bellini or Bloody Mary or juice and coffee but a couple of bottles of Stags Leap Merlot! The entire meal was finished off with our fourth course; a nice French tart avec strawberry sorbet.
Overall I had a good experience, but I fear that might be the hazy wine memory talking. The Oak Room is typically American: the portion sizes and wine list say it all. I wouldn't really recommend it as a restaurant as it leant more towards standard 'hotel food'. I would go back for the bar though. The venue had a good atmosphere, friendly staff and in an elegant setting.
Wednesday, 3 August 2011
Why go to Tokyo?
Londoners, behold! A little taste of Japan has just arrived near Brick Lane and will stick around for one week only. Get your fix at the Kirin Ichiban Yatai pop-up restaurant (then come back and tell me how good it was)!
Reviewed by meemalee's kitchen, it sounds like a sumptuous after work treat.
There's no doubt that the Yashin Sushi duo (Yasuhiro Mineno and Shinya Ikeda) have the skills needed to pull off such simple and tasty Japanese food.
Yatai (street food) is quickly becoming one of my favourites here in Tokyo too. There is an abundance of restaurants to choose from and with yatai you can keep it simple and cheap, without comprimising on taste or authenticity.
Reviewed by meemalee's kitchen, it sounds like a sumptuous after work treat.
There's no doubt that the Yashin Sushi duo (Yasuhiro Mineno and Shinya Ikeda) have the skills needed to pull off such simple and tasty Japanese food.
Yatai (street food) is quickly becoming one of my favourites here in Tokyo too. There is an abundance of restaurants to choose from and with yatai you can keep it simple and cheap, without comprimising on taste or authenticity.
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
More to food than eggs benedict....
In a bid to keep this blog alive and kicking, I decided to make some changes.
Not only will I share with you some new foodie finds from the Japanese capital but I will be keeping a firm eye on the UK food scene and reporting back some of my favourite mouth watering goodies.
May I introduce you to two new pages:
Dinner time
Inspired by Heston's Mandarin Oriental based restaurant this is my space for reviews and updates. I've started with an overview of my London hit-list and hopefully as I explore Tokyo a little more we can start to incorporate some of those adventures too.
Foodie news
A new bi-weekly page dedicated to some of the latest food news. And to get started I decided to publish a some of my favourite finds from last few weeks, just to bring us all up to speed!
All in all I hope to keep you informed and entertained. I hope you like it.
Signing off.
B.x.
Not only will I share with you some new foodie finds from the Japanese capital but I will be keeping a firm eye on the UK food scene and reporting back some of my favourite mouth watering goodies.
May I introduce you to two new pages:
Dinner time
Inspired by Heston's Mandarin Oriental based restaurant this is my space for reviews and updates. I've started with an overview of my London hit-list and hopefully as I explore Tokyo a little more we can start to incorporate some of those adventures too.
Foodie news
A new bi-weekly page dedicated to some of the latest food news. And to get started I decided to publish a some of my favourite finds from last few weeks, just to bring us all up to speed!
All in all I hope to keep you informed and entertained. I hope you like it.
Signing off.
B.x.
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