Dining Diaries VI

[ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb]

One friend says that this is the most difficult French place to get a reservation in Tokyo: Restaurant Kinoshita (03-3376-5336) in Yoyogi. But he managed to get us a table, and it turned out to be well worth the one-month wait. We selected the ¥5,300 dinner course and had some difficult choices to make. We started with a red bell-pepper mousse with tomato jelly, and the boudin noir (black pudding). This turned out to be an entirely different matter than the blood sausages I remember from my young days; chef Kazuhiko Kinoshita’s boudins I could order any day! This was followed by the finest soup de poisson I have ever tasted, and a superb vichyssoise. Our choice for the main course was the swordfish from the daily menu, and the breaded lamb chop from the regular Japanese/French à-la-carte menu. The wine list consists entirely of French wines, starting from around ¥3,500. Reservation required.

---

On the way back to Yoyogi station we passed by Il Pentito (03-3320-5699), and I remembered how long I have missed their Roman style paper-thin pizza. This is the place to have a few appetizers (I remember the stuffed olives), a pizza or two, and a bottle of inexpensive Italian wine in a very casual, relaxed atmosphere.

---

And the quest in search of the ultimate Peking Duck has recently ended – in Shinjuku! Zenshutoku (03-3358-8885; www.zenshutoku.com) is the sister restaurant of the famed Quan Ju De restaurant in Beijing (www.quanjude.com.cn), which has served customers from all over the world for more than 140 years. A Peking Duck course is available, but also a large à-la-carte menu with Peking cuisine specialties. The menu is in Japanese with pictures, and the manager speaks fairly well English.

A little bit early this week, as the rest consists of public holidays.

[-pops-]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm......................... :)