吃飯了嗎？

臨泉楼 柏屋別荘 Rinsenro

Splurged on a fancy onsen-ryokan hot-springs hotel in Bessho-Onsen on our sakura-watching trip to Ueda. The typical stay includes "1泊2食", i.e. "one night two meals," where the meals are taken in the room, and the food is as much a draw as the hotel's facilities itself. After a quick soak in the hot-springs upon arrival, we returned to our room relaxed and ready for our serving girl to come lay out our evening meal. The dinner menu, hand-written on Japanese paper, has a fancy name "卯花月 相染膳" and it featured a wide variety of dishes all made with local ingredients.

Sashimi with sweet scallops and a crunchy-chewy squid rolled with shiso leaf.

Opening appetizers: 雛壽し，手綱捲も，蛤辛煮，鴬真丈，こより昆布メ
Feel free to match up what's on the menu with what's on the plate. Tasty citrus-dressed greens-seaweed. Delicate rice ball with egg and greens. Savoury chewy oyster. Fluffy green thing.

Our server started the fire under the traditional rice pot at the start of dinner, merrily steaming away as we had our appetizers. And two bowls of perfectly fluffy white rice finished cooking about halfway through the meal, just as we were getting to the more substantial dishes.

The wagyu beef beef was not quite as tender as the prime-fillet at the Michelin-star restaurant, but the more substantial portion and the chewy sinew offered up more meaty beef flavor, and went nicely over rice.

小鍋立 is like a sukiyaki in Shinshu miso sauce, with thinly sliced pork-belly, mushrooms, and greens. Finished table-side sukiyaki-style. In the background is a whole fish, simply salt-grilled.

Soft egg custard in clear seafood stock.

Our serving girl returned promptly at 8am to reset the table and set out all the bits and bobs of breakfast. Breakfast featured six different savory tastes, almost like Korean panchan, designed to compliment the bowl of rice (choice of white, brown, or congee) without bloating the stomach. A small river fish, thoroughly cooked in soy and mirin, to be eaten bone and all. House-cured pickles and a packet nori on the side. You could tell the nori was good just from the fancy Japanese-paper packaging, instead of the usual cellophane plastic wrapper. A broccoli rabe and pork meatball stew is the hearty anchor of the breakfast spread. Of course there's the requisite bowl of miso soup. A glass of fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice for a refreshing finish.

臨泉楼　柏屋別荘
上田市別所温泉1640
+81-268-38-2345

天ぷら新宿つな八 総本店‎

The humble tempura has been my favorite Japanese dish since forever. Even as a kid I could appreciate the fried goodness of a panko-coated shrimp. Over the years I've had a zillion different versions of tempura, from oil-logged disasters to sublimely light and flavorful fry-ups. We've had nice tasting menus in Japan which offered a course of tempura as a matter of course, but not yet been to a restaurant where the art of frying is the sole purpose. I'd read about the Tsunahachi empire, the tempura specialist with half a dozen outposts in Shinjuku alone. But we were on the wrong side of Shinjuku Station and it's already been a long day of touring so I figured we'll just make do with random-ramen and not make the wife walk all that way. But then she decided she had the energy for some more shopping before the stores closed, which brought us into the heart of Shinjuku once again. Turned out that we were right near the original shop (i.e. 本店 "Honten") that started it all. So I scouted out the location while the wife browsed H&M, and once she got her things I was able to smoothly lead her right to dinner without any apparent indecision or wandering.

As with most historical shops in Japan, Tsunahachi Honten is tucked away in a Shinjuku alley behind Mitsukoshi, serving up fried goodies for more than eighty years. Originally to local laborers, now to office workers and tourists. Even relatively late there was a wait, as we had to contend with late-leaving workers from the Skyscraper District. We were shunted off to a side counter that turned into a foreigner's ghetto. But we got good service and with it being late we were just happy to be able to get a walk-in spot in the packed restaurant before they stopped serving. The counter direct faced hooded vats of hot oil, a proprietary sesame blend. The chef is the intermediary that brings the fresh food from the fryer to you in the most minimal distance possible. It must take utmost Japanese-style dedication to keep those chef's whites starched and sparkling clean even while standing in front of a sputtering fryer all day every day.

 

Somewhat to my surprise they didn't have a crunchy heavy panko-style tempura crusts that I've had at other high-end restaurants. Instead it was a quick dip in a relatively light batter then straight into the fryer. The coating is designed to keep the fresh juices and flavor locked in without intruding on the flavor of the food, rather than a heavy breading side-dish. The prices were mid-low range, an anytime meal rather than a special splurge. Wife had the basic combination which featured the shrimp, fish, eggplant, sweet-potato, etc. Exactly the basic tempura you'd get at any Japanese restaurant in the world, except here we know it's definitely being done The Right Way, whatever it may be. I had the upgraded meal, with some extra portions, the highlight being the tempura-ed oyster. The frying took off the slimy edge of the oyster, while the breading held in the fresh juices. Complemented with a big bowl of the typical-perfectly cooked Japanese rice. Wash it down with cold draft beer. Almost the same amount of foodie enjoyment as the Michelin-starred French restaurant, for a tenth the price.

天ぷら新宿つな八 総本店
Tempura Shinjuku Tsunahachi, Honten
東京都新宿区新宿3-31-8
03-3352-1012

Tokyo-Izu-Karuizawa Miscellany

とん亭・海人

Took advantage of the JR East Rail Pass to go as far as we could all the way out to the end of the Izu Peninsula to Shimoda. One of the first free-ports forced open by Perry and his Black Ships, Shimoda offered some interesting historical sights.

But first, lunch.

Wife chose a trio of mini seafood donburi: salmon roe, jackfish sashimi, and marinated tuna. Looks pretty and seems more food than there actually was, but perfect amount for her with just enough for me to get some tastes.

For me, local Shimoda jackfish 下田鰺 two-ways: whole fish breaded and deep-fried, and raw sashimi. The fish liver made into an accompanying paste. The bony whole fish and the pungent, fishy liver sauce might be off-putting to lesser men but it was right up my alley. Nothing fancy in the preparation, but went well with the big bowl of always-excellent Japanese white rice.

Grom

Loved Grom's sorbets and gelatos when we were in Florence, visiting it twice a day every day even though in the middle of winter. So I did a double-take and was thrilled when I saw Grom's distinctive Romanesque logo through the picture window while walking past one of the many 0101 department store branches in Shinjuku. Just had to grab the wife to stop in for a couple of scoops even though it was late in the evening and we haven't had dinner yet. It had been a long day's worth of travel and the itinerary wasn't particularly successful. But scoops of Crema de Grom and Salted Caramel gelato cured all ills.

腸詰屋

Stopped in Karuizawa on our way from Ueda back to Tokyo, mainly to hit the big outlet mall by the Shinkansen station. But Karuizawa is a charming little town in of itself, so we hurriedly took a walk around. Didn't eat in the crowded and boring mall restaurants, but we didn't have time for a drawn-out sit-down lunch, either. So when we passed by the local smoked meat purveyor, a sausage sandwich seemed like just the ticket. Beside the meat counter was the take-out station selling sausages cooked to order. Paprika brat with grain-mustard for me. Curry-dog with ketchup for her. Seemed very Japanese to have the bread just barely large enough to keep your hands off the sausage itself.

Atelier de Fromage

Wanted to visit some historical chapels and other sights in Karuizawa, but we went down the main boulevard a ways and realized that we won't be able to get back and catch our train in time if we went any further toward those destinations. So there we were at the intersection with a long redundant, long walk ahead of us. So we decided to first stop in at this cafe for a quickie dessert break before starting back. The store prides itself on milk products. So I had to have a taste of their sno-cone. Rich but clean milk flavor, without gummy fillers. The special spring-time-special sour-cherry sakura flavored mont-blanc wasn't my favorite, but 'tis the season and we're suckers for limited-edition varieties.

とん亭・海人
静岡県下田市東本郷1-4-3
+81-558-22-5500

GROM
東京都新宿区新宿3-30-13 新宿マルイ本館1F +81-353-69-8966

腸詰屋 軽井沢二号店
長野県北佐久郡軽井沢町軽井沢1323-293
+81-267-42-7696

アトリエ・ド・フロマージュ 軽井沢売店（Atelier de Fromage）
長野県北佐久郡軽井沢町軽井沢東18-9
+81-267-42-7394

Cuisine[s] Michel Troisgros

Got a decent travel package for a sakura-watching excursion to Japan. Except for the initial flight which landed in Tokyo in the afternoon so it didn't leave much free time after we reached our Shinjuku hotel. Decided to just relax and have a nice meal in the area for the evening, and they don't come much nicer than this. The signature restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Shinjuku is imported from France, an offshoot of the Michelin three-star Maison Troisgros in Roanne. The plural [s] added to the name of the Japanese branch signifies the fusion between French and Japanese cuisines, and it carries two stars of its own. So I made a later reservation, which left us enough time to go up to the Tocho tower's free observation deck to take in the view of the Skyscraper District, before crossing the street to the Grand Hyatt.

The clientele was mostly Japanese, dressed up for a special meal, as the menu is expensive even by Tokyo standards. But hey, we were already saving money in Tokyo by squeezing ourselves into tiny business hotel rooms, so we can splurge for the fancy meal. So splurge we shall. Two different tasting menu options for the wife and I to try everything they had to offer. They dressed up the room in the style of an intimate European library, with dark wood paneling and paintings on the walls. Unfortunately it's hard to fully disguise the fact that we're in the basement of a rather sterile building in the midst of a business district at night, without much scenery or street-life outside. The service was appropriately considerate, but our Japanese waiter's English wasn't really good enough to communicate the nuances of the dishes, so we had to rely on the flowery but limited descriptions on the menu to guide us.

Tomato with candied sesame shell, sesame coated rice cracker, thin slice of apple on spinach puree with a cheesey shortbread base.

It's a tomato salad. That's so not doing the dish justice. But I couldn't remember the details of the off-menu appetizer, not that our server's broken English was much help in the description, aside from its main ingredient

Scallops with sweet pepper and Yuzu Kosho, cucumber and crispy Daikon

Perfectly cooked scallops with a tasty fruity topping.

Shellfishes, quintessence of tomatoes and cuttlefish ink, fennel

Wow, that's a combination I wouldn't ever have thought of. A challenging array of colors, textures and flavors.

Sea bream with grapefruit nage, caviar, celery and basil

Sea bream (鯛) is a cornerstone fish in Japanese cooking, but the preparation is all French nouvelle cuisine. Made sure to scoop up all the little caviar bits with my fish spoon.

Roasted monkfish tail, liquorice and lemongrass

This was dressed with the most amazing beef consomme reduction. The flavor was familiar, almost like a Chinese roast 滷汁 sauce. But with all the richness and flavor of a top-notch French sauce.

"Embraced" Kuruma prawn and rabbit, lemon confit, bacon and sage

The rabbit was surprisingly chewy, almost as much so as the prawn. Fantastic pink color on the rabbit. Cooked sous vide?

Tofu ravioli with black truffle

Off the menu, but a signature of the restaurant's fusion intentions. The almost rubbery tofu skin covers a pool of intense truffle goodness. The black-and-white contrast of the tofu skin and truffle sauce is striking.

"Kuroge Wagyu" beef fillet, melting shallot, rucola and tarragon

Even at the price we're paying for this meal, the piece of wagyu fillet was not much more than a taste. But what a taste it was. One could enjoy the meaty taste of unadorned fillet, pair it with the slightly sour creme fraiche, or dip it in the herbaceous shallot-rucola-tarragon sauce.

The beet cubes on scallion stems were a cute accompaniment.

Calf's sweetbread with arabica sauce, raisin and carmine

"What organ is this?"

"Don't worry about it, just eat it."

Tender sweetbreads dressed with a coffee-flavored middle-eastern-style sauce.

Crispy canneloni with herbs

Beet juice and olive oil dressing, cool cheesey filling.

Truffled Brie

I am not usually a big fan of strong cheeses, especially near the end of a big meal when I'm already full with other rich foods. But this was really tasty without being overpowering. Getting a bread-refill to go with the cheese helped, too.

Citrus soup with mint and yogurt, underneath a won-ton crisp.

Ice cream with strawberry sauce in crisp meringue shells.

Our server suggested that dessert time would be best for a picture together. Excellent idea.

Crispy caramel and praline, ginger and yogurt ice cream

The crisp ginger-yogurt flavor nicely complemented the sweet caramel and praline.

Aerial mille-feuille with marinated strawberries, lemongrass ice cream

First time trying lemongrass ice cream. Works better than expected. Mille-feuille is a favorite dessert of the wife's so she got a large piece of it. A classic done classically well.

Mignardies: Marshmallow, sugar-donut, chocolate mousee, macha fiancier, and yuzu gelee.

We typically take away the petit fours after a large meal like this. But here they've mastered the Japanese portion sizes to fill you up perfectly without leaving you unsatisfied or bloated (if you were an average Asian person). And so we were able to still enjoy the mini-candies with our coffee and tea.

With our late reservation and sedate pace of consumption, it was getting near midnight by the time we paid the check. Living up to Michelin stars' standards of service, the maitre'd was willing to indulge our slightly annoying penchant for photos even as we were leaving late into the evening. It was a fantastic meal, beyond anything one might find in Taiwan short of L'Atelier de Robuchon. But I had to admit it hurt a little bit to watch all those 10,000-Yen bills flutter away. For our next trip I shall take value more into consideration over stars and such.

Cuisines Michel Troisgro[s]
東京都新宿区西新宿2-7-2
ハイアット リージェンシー 東京1F
Hyatt Regency Hotel Tokyo 1F
+81 3-3348-1234

Saveurs

I've not been all that impressed with French-cuisine in Taiwan (non-Robuchon division), but mostly because they tended to try too hard to be fancy and upscale and end up seeming old-fashioned instead. What's missing is the unassuming corner bistro that would be lost amongst the crowd in Paris, but would shine like a unique star in the alleys of Taipei. Well, what I missed others have found, as Hungry Girl In Taipei's Reader Poll Award gave the Best French award to Saveurs. Exactly the sort of little bistro serving authentic, non-haute, French cuisine at a fair price.

So when the baby was taking a long, late nap, we sneaked out for dinner and let the nanny hold down the fort. Good thing I'd done my research because it would've been easy to miss the unassuming restaurant hidden in a back alley behind the Renai-Fuxing intersection. A few tables outside in a courtyard inset from the alley offered overflow seating or even a first option on a nicer day. The menu covers were well-worn, but the inset contents were freshly printed, offering a varying menu of seasonal dishes. We usually only order one prix fixe set meal plus one entrée a la carte to share between us. But it was only a couple hundred NT more to add appetizer, soup, and dessert, and all the appetizer and dessert options looked good on the menu, so both of us got full meals this time.

Almost thought my appetizer was an entrée when it came out. Big grilled shrimps, on a layer of vinegared greens salad with mozzarella-parmesan cheese crisp on the bottom. Not fancy ingredients but cooked and arranged beautifully. Wife had escargot drenched with shockingly green parsley sauce, which thankfully isn't quite as strong as it looks. The fresh-baked bread with good butter and even better tapenade spread also deserve commendation.

I love how they translated Duck Confit as 功夫鴨 (Kung-Fu Duck), which works perfectly as a phoenetic transliteration, as well as evokes the slow-cooking process of the confit. Not much to the presentation, as it was just the duck leg on a plate with broccoli, carrots, and a round of potato-au-gratin. The duck itself was excellent, though, with crisp skin and flavorful meat, drizzled with pan juices. Wife had mushroom-and-gravy chicken, which one can find in almost every Western value-style restaurant in Taiwan. But here the sauce is a step up from the usual sweetened goop served in Taiwan, the French-trained chef doing it full justice.

Creme brulee was de rigeur and tasty enough but nothing special. The Île Flottante, on the other hand, is a very French dessert that's rarely seen around here. Soft, fluffy egg-white meringue floating on a lake of vanilla creme anglais. Simple and attractive, and not too sweet, which always appeals to the Chinese clientele.

It was a pleasant and satisfying meal, and a good value for under 1500NT. The business lunches are even cheaper, but our schedules do not allow us to take advantage of the deal. There's still plenty left on the menu that looked awfully tempting (rack of lamb! warm chocolate cake! etc., etc.), so I'm sure we'll be back at some point.

Saveurs 歐洲風味餐坊
台北市復興南路一段219巷14號
02-2751-0185