Yoshihashi: Michelin starred sukiyaki in Tokyo, Japan

Japan is reputed to have more Michelin starred restaurants than all of France. And many, many more who refuse to be listed. I suspect this little, gem of a sukiyaki haven in Motoakasaka is one where the owners probably do not care about the Michelin star that it adorns. Nowhere on the premises is the star displayed, unlike European establishments where it is prominently displayed at the entrance.

Yoshihashi's entrance has no such display. But if great sukiyaki is what you seek, this is the place for it.

Situated in a cul de sac in the quiet neighbourhood of Motoakasaka, just a stone's throw from the Emperor's Akasaka Palace, the restaurant is not easy to find. The entrance itself, is nondescript. Only a small sign, in Japanese announce the name of the restaurant, and that of the Oasis Bar, just next door. Japan Times calls it a "favourite among Japan's captains of industry, as well as ranking bureaucrats and political bigwigs from nearby Nagatacho."

But within, is another story. Elegant does not begin to describe the interior. As one enters the ante room leading to the main dining room, one is greeted by a magnificent view of the Japanese garden.

We arrived at 11:25am to ensure a spot (it opens at 11:30am), as they do not take reservations for lunch. The lunch time menu, like many top Japanese restaurants feature a lower cost and less elaborate version of the evening meal. In the case of Yoshihashi, the dinner sukiyaki set is ¥20,000 and up. But lunch is offered at ¥2,100 and ¥3,150 for the premium sukiyaki set. 

We had read that lunch was limited to 16 bar counter seats, but when we arrived, we were shown into one of the two the private rooms. each can probably seat 10, given the 10 cushons on the tatami. But the restaurant was not totally full, and we occupied one room with two other ladies who were also tourists. The other room was occupied by 6 Japanese ladies who lunch. 

The long table with an opening to slot one's legs into, in case one is not adept at the Japanese style sitting with one's legs folded under self. The room itself was superbly minimalist and elegant. 

The menu was in Japanese only, though the kimono clad waitress spoke a little English. But we knew what we wanted. We ordered both the regular sukiyaki set as well as a premium sukiyaki set.

And it was served about 10 minutes later. Top two sets in their copper bowls where the sukiyaki was cooked in are the regular sets, and the lower right one is the premium set. A large pot of steamed rice, was offered on an unlimited basis. And Japanese green tea.

For dinner, the sukiyaki is cooked at the table by your waitress, who also whips the egg white stiff with a pair of chopsticks while the yolk remains undisturbed below. For lunch, the sukiyaki is cooked in these copper pots in the kitchen, and one is left to one's own devices on how to eat it.

But it is easy. First beat up the egg...unless one is trained to do so, just a messy stirring with the chopsticks will do the job. Then pick up the beef with your chopsticks and en-route to your mouth, dip it in the raw egg.

The premium beef tasted sublime. The term, melts in your mouth with powerful, earth shattering umami is overused...but is definitely what applies here. The beef is packed with flavour, all the beefiness, all the tenderness. Very lightly flavoured by the Yoshihashi house blend warishita sauce and the almost begining to cook raw egg. Sublime. 

The regular set features more or less the same, but the beef was more lean. I actually preferred the leaner regular cut, less richness, but a bit more bite to the meat. Accompanying the thin strips of beef, were cubes of grilled tofu, chunks of onions and negi leeks, shimeji and shiitake mushrooms, shungiku (edible chrysanthemum) greens and transparent, chewy shirataki noodles. 

This is easily not only the best sukiyaki I have eaten, but also one of the best beef I have tasted. Truly magnificent, and definitely a must eat everytime in Tokyo. 

Yoshihashi

1-5-25 Motoakasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo

http://gm.gnavi.co.jp/shop/0120140295/

A Christmas meal with great friends: Black Sheep Cafe

I have written about Black Sheep before...but good things like this little cafe stands to be repeated. So when a small group of friends decided to get together for Christmas, we decided to that a revisit to Ratha's little restaurant was in order.

We had Chef Ratha design a special meal...the rib eye, roasted, as I understand slowly. But I am ahead of myself...first the starter...

Very special. Fresh, succulent scallops, cooked to perfection...well, simply...as the shellfish was especially fresh, only a light searing was sufficient. Indeed the scallops were very delicious, but what made the dish special was the ingenious use of a some diced lup cheong (Chinese dried sausages) steamed, and sauteed. And with a leek fondue sauce. Very special and very delicious.

The roasted Angus Rib eye on asparagus with crabmeat-peppercorn béarnaise was the main course...a rather large portion...

The ribeye was slow roasted as a block, weighing some 2+kg, and sliced after roasting and resting into 8 portions. And then seared beautifully before serving. The sauce is magnificent, as was the meat. Truly beautifully well done, and wonderfully tasty. Definitely one of the better tasting ribeyes I have eaten.

And for dessert, Chef Ratha's speciality of a kalua souffle, with the soufle poured on the table.

Another truly magnificent dish. The soufle rose to the occassion...pun intended, and within a thin, slightly elastic skin was the light, almost frothy interior, which went beautifully with the sauce and ice cream.

A magnificent meal, the cooking was quite inspired. The company was superb. And the wine, an interesting shiraz from 2001 by Paracombe was delicious.

We brought our own bottle, and corkage is $15 a bottle, a rather reasonable price, in my view. Brilliant restsurant, highly recommended.

Black Sheep Cafe
Thomson V, B1-30
11 Sin Ming Rd

Osia Bar and Restaurant at Resorts World Sentosa: Highly Recommended!!

I will come out up front and say it...I love the food at Osia. This bright, airy Resorts World Sentosa eatery has captured my gastronomic imagination like few others in Singapore. Chef Douglas Tay is a genius in creating incredible looking and tasting dishes, and I highly recommend this restaurant.

Having come up with the recommendation up front, I also declare up front, that I have eaten a few times at Osia, and always on invitation of Resort Worlds Sentosa who have hosted the tastings.

And this incredible meal is no different. A huge tasting lunch, with numerous courses. Starting with the Seafood Ice Experience, served in a set of test tubes, with 6 interesting iced creations.

Watermelon raspberry Vinegar, Amabi; Calamari mojito with Hokkaido scallop; Sourz apple with salmon trout; coconut with Maine lobster; pineappple rum with tuna and lychee martini with oyster. I found all the appetizer ices to be very good, but was particularly impressed with the coconut with Maine lobster to be the most outstanding of the flight. Very strong, beautiful coconut flavours and aroma, complemented nicely with the sweet, firm bite of the lobster meat.

Then follows 5 appetizers, starting with the HJokkaido Scallop:

Beautiful hokkaido scallop, citrus cured on a bed of cauliflower cream, black truffle salsa and seaweed vinaigrette. The flavours are marvellous. The scallop sweet, very fresh, and the vinaigrette provided the acidity to cut into the richness of the cauliflower cream. Very nice.

The next was a Fjord trout

the trout is cooked sous vide, a la confit in a 42C water bath. Served with spiced cashews, a pineapple vanilla rum jelly and cilantro butter gell. Again, very beautiful flavours, coming together very well. The trout was mild in taste, but the other ingredients lifted it to quite a nice aural experience.

A soup of Norwegian Prawn

The very fresh prawns, deshelled and cooked in an emulsion, citrus, fennel and dill...the emulsion soup tasted very much like a very good lobster bisque, and the prawns, being very nicely fresh was crunchy and very sweet, with a very nice crustacean flavour.

A beautiful slice of turbot was next

A slice of turbot, with broccoflower, snap peas, cheddar, salted lemon, surf clam volute espuma. Very mild tasting, with a light flavour. Although the list of ingredients in seems rather long, the fish remained very delicately flavoured. Very nice.

And razor clams with Atlantic halibut and Hokkaido scallop

supported by an able cast of black garlic paste, green onion puree, potato foam, Iberian chorizo and artichoke barigoule. I found the scallops to be very intense tasting, bursting with flavours the seafood is famous for...sweet, very nice. The razor clams were also very nice. A superb texture and sweetness. I found the halibut a bit lacking in this company, but still quite nice. Delicious!

Then came the main courses, of which there were 3. Starting with the incredible beef short ribs

Cooked sous vide, a favourite of Chef Douglas, who prefers to use second cuts, as it is less challenging to cook with premier cuts of meat. Topped with a chestnut porcini mousseline, and on a bed of pulverised cider vinegar, compressed apple sauce and black truffle sauce. The meat was certainly very tender....not melt in your mouth tender...Chef Douglas takes issue with that..."beef should not melt in your mouth, it is not butter, but should have texture, and a mouthfeel"...to which I heartily agree that he has achieved. The short ribs were very flavourful, with powerful beefy flavour, and magnificently complemented by the chestnut paste. Very very good dish.

We also had some grain fed Black Angus beef tenderloin

Again sous vide, then seared before serving on a bed of creamed sunchoke, basil cepe, Aquerello rice, tomato parmesan and a red wine sauce in the small glass by the side. The tenderloin was supremely tender. The cut selected showed the characteristic tenderness, and less flavour than a tougher cut. The rice provided a textural change to the smoothness of the paste and the beef, with a nice crunch.

The marvellous milk fed lamb short loun and brest was next

The dish was served with a Swede carrot puree, Romanesco crumble, garlic cream spelt and Tawny Port jus. I found the lamb breast, shown partly on the left of the photograph to be a bit bland, but centerstage taken by the loin was brilliant. The lamb flavours were apparent, yet very mild, and barely noticable...just enough to remind one that one is eating lamb. Beautiful marbling makes for a very tender piece of meat, Very nice. Very, very nice.

Then came the desserts, the first was a pumpkin

A curious lemon mousse which went surprisingly well with the mango, goat cheese and frozen red wine. Marvellous dessert, but the best is yet to be. The Macadamia souffle was absolutely a brilliant way to cap off a wonderful lunch

Beautiful souffle. Superb! With a chunky praline, banana custard and sour ice cream on the side. One of the better soufles I have eaten for a long time...though, as long time readers will remember that my all time favourite was still the one at Chez Dumonet in Paris.

Truly marvellous cooking. Inspired. The chef, Douglas is a true genius in mixing the various ingredients to make a wonderful meal. Two thumbs up! Highly recommended.

Osia Bar & Restaurant
Resorts World at Sentosa
#02-140/141
26 Sentosa Gateway
http://www.osiarestaurant.com/home/

Jaan: a veritable temple of fine cuisine in Singapore

Jaan is another great French restaurant in Singapore. Once helmed by the great Andre Chiang, who now runs his own restaurant Andre, this temple of fine dining is perched on top of level 70 of Swissotel.

Magnificent views, needless to say...here looking down into the Esplanade.

This was an event organized by The Hour Glass with independent watchmakers Urwerk...with principal Felix Baumgartner attending...no he is not the same Felix as the Austrian dare devil, but this Felix is just as adventurous with his watch designs. Here is a glimpse of some of his works.

We began with a very special amuse bouche..

The waiter described this as a mushroom tea with cep sabayon, walnuts and lovage...certainly a wonderful concoction...very delicious, with strong wild mushroom flavours permeating.

A salad Jaan calls the Heirloom Beetroot Composition was served next

At that point Felix joined our table, and we had a very interesting discussion on the watches and the new piece...the UR210...and I missed the waiter's attempt at describing the dish...suffice to say, it was lovely.

A most interesting egg dish was next presented...the 55 min Smoked Organic Egg

I believe the egg to be cooked sous vide, and done just so...it was marvellous. It is hard to imagine an ingredient as humble as the common, and inexpensive chicken egg can be raised to levels of haut gastronomy...but it is. Served with wild autumn mushrooms and cherizo iberico.

If the meal ended there, I would have been very satisfied. But the chef continues to delight. The main course was a Tajima beef short rib

Cooked like a confit for 48 hours, and served with grenaille potatoes and horse radish. The meat was truly melt in your mouth tender. I didn't care much for the horseradish...scooping it aside so I can taste and savour the magnificence of the beef. The beef was sublime. Flavours burst in the mouth...the Tajima strain is a true full blooded wagyu, and the tender loving care of the Japanese farmers who raised the cattle can almost be felt through the tasting...as was the awesome skill of the chef. Amazing beef.

Desserts was next

Caramelised William Pear with salted caramel, dark rum and nougatine. It was marvellous, of course, but I was still reeling with the taste of the beef ribs in my palate, I only noted that the dessert was good...

Certainly one of the best meals I have had in a while. Almost every component of the meal was excellent and the beef perfect...well...actually nearly perfect...it would have been a perfect beef rib dish is it was somewhat larger...But certainly Jaan can lay claim to be one of the top French restaurants in Singapore.

Jaan
Level 70, Equinox Complex,

Swissotel The Stamford
6837 3322

Enfant Terrible? Or just very talented chef: Andre

Chef Andre Chiang is known...at least in Singapore. The talented chef used to helm the kitchens at Jaan, but decided to set out on his own...with a restaurant, totally conceptualised, designed by him...and aptly named Andre.

Everything in the restaurant bears his touch...from the raw timber used as the table above, branded by burnt marks with is name, to the flower decorations and of course the cuisine.

Reputed as one of the best restaurants in Singapore, Andre sits on its own building, just off Majestic Hotel in the hip Bukit Pasoh area.

We started with a dish he calls Seafood on Arrival

A tomato salad on the side (not pictured), and a chilled langoustine risotto. Marvellous. The lobster was fresh, had a nice bite. Tasted sweet with a wonderful flavour. Very nice. Accompanying are slices of very fresh, lightly cooked...almost sashimi squid, and a beautifully pan fried piece of fish.

For mains, I had the slow roast short rib of beef.

The beef was cooked to perfection. Perfect medium rare:

And truly tender, melt in your mouth. With a great flavour of beefiness, the dish was supreme. It was supported by the wild mushroom polanta and potato and onion praline.

Dessert was an unusual "tarte au chocolat"

A scoop of milk marmalade ice cream, and a milk pudding with a gorgeous filling of semi-molten chocolate. Divine.

A truly excellent restaurant for the refined palate. Expensive, but worthy of a place for that special occassion or special person.

Restaurant Andre

41 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore 089855

Tuesday – Friday Lunch

Tuesday – Sunday Dinner

Closed on Mondays and Public Holidays

+65 6534 8880 reserve@restaurantandre.com

Neuchatel: La Maison du Prussien

La Maison du Prussien is a small, country hotel and restaurant half way up the mountains in Neuchatel. Referring to the Prussian origins of the city of Neuchatel, it offers an interesting respite from the travels across the Swiss Jura and watchmaking districts. Many watchmakers are based in La Chaux du Fonds/Le Loche area, just minutes from the hotel. As are the manufactures in the city of Neuchatel. I was visiting with some friends an independent watchmaker by the name of Kari Voultilainen, a Finnish gentleman, who is a superb watchmaker and lives in the town of Motiers, some 45 mins drive away.



We checked into the hotel...my room was no 3, just above the restaurant, and the accomodations were very large, especially by Swiss standards. The timber floor was charming, and there was even a large jaccuzi in the bath. The restaurant in the basement had the reputation of 18 Gault Millau points, so it promises some interesting dining.

The amuse bouche was a combination of pates...all smooth, rich, and originated from fruits and vegetables.



The menu looked heavy, but rather interesting, and I was assured of an gastronomic evening. I started with what I perceive what the menu (in French only, no English) describe as a salad of endives and lobster.



What an interesting dish. A web-wall of sugar protects the creation from being directly assulted by the diner...a curious leaf of endive sticks out from what seemed to be a rather generous serving of lobster. The wall was crisp, hard, and sweet, of course. But it lends well to the taste of the lightly poached lobster, which was bursting with rich savour flavours as a fresh lobster ever could. The endive was more a decoration, and tasted like, well an endive leaf. Nice salad, even if there was more lobster and fanfare than salad. Enjoyed it.

For my mains, I had the beef with cheese...this was a heavy dish, Kari warned...but at the time of ordering, I thought it a good idea. But first the wine..




We consumed 2 bottles over the course of the evening. The first was in magnificent form. nice round tannins, with a beautiful nose reminiscent of berries. The second bottle was rather more powerful in its tannins, biting the tongue. On the palate it remained the same. We discussed this a bit, as we also found it strange that the sommelier told us that our taster need not taste the second bottle as he had already tasted it himself and declared it fine. Odd, as our taster had tasted and approved the first bottle, and eventually we found the second bottle to be inferior. But not wishing to cause a scene, we went along silently.




A thick slice of beef, cooked very nicely medium rare...a bit more medium than rare...but nicely done indeed...



The meat was magnificent. It literally fell off its sinews and almost melted in the mouth. The cheese provided able support with richness, and a saltiness which is characteristic of well matured cheese. I found the dish delightful, but after about 3/4 of the dish, I felt it was a bit too heavy, and could not finish it.

For desserts, we had an interesting sorbet of 4 mushrooms...



Interesting dish, allowing the flavours of the mushrooms to show. Obviously hand made in the kitchen by the pastry chef, this provided a nice round-up to the heavy meal.

Petit Fours were served, and as is typical of a high end restaurant, featured some hand made candies by the pastry chef:



Wonderful dinner, albeit a bit heavy. Perhaps I should have elected to go with the scallops instead of the beef. But overall, excellent service, great cooking. Fine food.



Hôtel-Restaurant La Maison du Prussien
Rue des Tunnels 11
CH-2000 Neuchâtel
Tel. +41 (0)32 730 54 54
Fax. +41 (0)32 730 21 43




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Dining in Seoul: Korean Beef

with colleagues in Seoul

Korean beef is quite famous…but only within Korea. The quality of beef in the country is equal to that in Japan. I am not aware of any branding applied to Korean beef, unlike the various wagyu in Japan. And for a long time, Korean cattle farmers have enjoyed protection from foreign imports, and have relied solely on domestic consumption. Koreans have the highest per capita consumption of beef in Asia.



Everywhere in Seoul, one can see restaurants serving Korean barbecue beef…from seasoned beef ribs, bulbogi, kalbe and other barbecued meats. Bundamujip is one of the more famous places for seasoned beef ribs and seasoned beef sirloin. Open since 1977, this restaurant is located rich in the middle of downtown Seocho-Gu…the shopping district of Seoul.

Typical of a Korean meal, a huge serving of side dishes are provided as part of the meal. Some even offer marinated, seasoned crab, and in this case, fried fish.



I love kalbe, an unseasoned beef either of ribs, or sirloin. Barbecued on hot coals right at your table, and eaten with a leaf of lettuce, bean sauce, and chillies (or on its own, with a bit of salt, as I prefer), it is a sublime experience. But Bundamujip is famous for the seasoned meats, so that’s what we ordered.



With ribs attached, the intercostal muscles are sliced into thin strips, scored and marinated in the shop’s own secret recipe, and rolled up around the bone as seen above.

On the table, the waitress opens up the rolls, and cooks the beef on the spot.



Hot coals are used to provide a smoky flavour. I have been told that coals which are cylindrical are better as the flame is more intense, and allows the outside of the beef to be seared and charred while the insides are medium.

In Bunnamjip, the coals are not cylindrical, but the flame is powerful enough. As you can see, a suction fan built into the chimney helps suck up the smoke, and odours.



Most Koreans eat the beef wrapped in a leaf (either lettuce, or a kind of leaf with a light minty flavour and a bit bitter in taste), with a small clove of garlic, and bean paste.

I ate most of my beef on its own, as the meat is already marinated, I did not add sale. The beef was very tender, with a fairly strong beefy taste. But this sample was not as tender or flavourful as wagyu, though in earlier trips, I have had kalbe which came very close to A-5 grade wagyu.



We also had a serving of cuttlefish.


The cuttlefish is almost live, and cooks very fast on the hot coals. It was light and tender inside, and a bit chewy on the outside.

Wash down the meal with some Korean sohju, a rice wine, which taste very mild, but packs 19% alcohol…quite potent.



And finally, as is typical for a Korean meal, the starch comes after the meats…we had hot Korean bean curd and kimchi soup, eaten with rice.




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Bunnamujip
1340-5 Seocho-Dong
Soecho-Gu, Seoul
Korea 137-072
Tel: 02-34734167