Autumn in Tokyo and Environs

Autumn usually brings in a lot of vegetable and fruit produce. Pumpkins come to mind too, especially in the West during Halloween. In Japan, Halloween is quite a celebrated event as well, and people usually come out in creative costumes and party the night away. And similarly, pumpkin is used by a lot of restaurants as a theme ingredient during this period. Such as this tiramisu in Cocolo Cafe in Shinjuku: 

This sumptuous dessert + drink set costs around Y850. Delicious and sweet pumpkins are used and they blend effortlessly into the mascarpone cheese. 

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A nice and very affordable place to eat in Shimokitazawa is Pebble Cafe. The place is youthful and vibrant, and so is the menu, with its rather simplistic selection: rice toppings, curry (served either with naan or rice), noodles, and dessert. 

The fennel bulbs tried the keema curry with naan (Y900). The naan was baked nicely, and the keema curry is just hearty; not too salty and rich to the palate as ready-made curries tend to be. A simple salad of fresh greens and a sweet/garlicky dressing is served on the side. 

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The fennel bulbs have gone to Shizuoka just to see more of Japan. Most travelers just go past Shizuoka between Tokyo and the two much larger cities of Osaka and Nagoya. However, this city has a lot of nice views to offer, including magnificent vistas of Mt. Fuji, as long as the weather is clear of course. 

PARCO shopping center just near Shizuoka station has a selection of rather standard run-of-the-mill restaurants; but one just simply caught the fennel bulbs' interest: Baqet restaurant on the shopping mall's top floor serves a set meal consisting of soup or salad, a main course, and unlimited freshly-baked bread and a glass of wine for just around Y1,700.  

Shrimp, broccoli, and egg salad was chosen for the salad course. The dressing is based on mayonnaise, and it was light and refreshing. 

For the main course, a cutlet of chicken breast is deep fried Cajun style and served with vegetables (broccoli, eggplant, and courgettes). The chicken is cooked very well and the quality of the meat is very good. The flesh is not threadlike which usually happens when chicken is fried. A hearty meal, to go with 3-4 wheat/rye rolls and a croissant.

*Shizuoka is around 150 km to the west of Tokyo and can be easily accessed by the JR Tokaido Shinkansen in an hour, or in 3 hours using the JR Tokaido Local Line via Atami. Some spectacular scenery can be viewed along the way. 

Muji Cafe * Soholm Cafe

The fennel bulbs have always been partial to Muji, a big Japanese lifestyle brand known worldwide for its simplicity of style. It sells everything we need from day to day from clothes to furniture, food, and yes, condoms even. The largest store in Tokyo is located in Yurakucho (有楽町), right in the centre of Tokyo. 

Muji has several cafes all throughout Tokyo including one in Shinjuku, and another one in more laid-back Aoyama. The cafe in Yurakucho is rather in the style of a canteen. Surprisingly, noise levels are not at all debilitating and the atmosphere is calm and relaxed enough for one to have a quiet brunch while reading a good book. 

For a light evening meal to end a bit of shopping around, a set of 4 deli dishes was ordered. From top left clockwise: quiche, chicken tandoori, eggplant with cheese and tomatoes, and squash salad (Y1150). Everything was definitely beyond satisfactory.

On another autumn afternoon, after a nice stroll in Shinjuku Gyoen, the fennel bulbs had some cake at Soholm Cafe, a nice cafe serving Scandinavian-inspired snacks. As it was autumn, pumpkin was a very timely ingredient, and they had pumpkin cheesecake. A set with black tea costs around Y700. The cheesecake blended very well with the drizzling of maple syrup. 

*Yurakucho (i有楽町) is a short walk from Ginza. Yurakucho station can be easily reached through the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho line, and through the JR Keihin-Tohoku and Yamanote lines. 

Healthy Dining

There are a lot of neighborhood restaurants in Tokyo that serve surprisingly ingenious cuisine. One neighborhood in Setagaya-ku that has a rich eccentric vibe to it, apart from being one of the centers for youth culture in Tokyo, is Shimokitazawa (下北沢). This neighborhood has a lot of specialty boutiques, including ones selling cheaper pre-owned designer goods, bars, cafes, and the usual Pachinko slots. 

One restaurant that serves delightful French food with organic and anti-aging ingredients/formulations is BioMaison. Located in a quieter section of Shimokitazawa, BioMaison is a quaint place that looks more like a nice kitchen nook. It serves French-inspired cuisine with the aim of promoting well-being. Healthy food is definitely on the menu. 

A downside is that the menu is entirely in Japanese, and one would need a dictionary to understand which items to order. For this visit, the fennel bulbs ordered some dishes with more or less familiar ingredients, and all fortunately turned out to be truly memorable. 

For starters, a trio of diminutive hors d'oeuvre was presented (Y330). This is not ordered, but given rather mandatorily. It would be quite rude to refuse as the taste and the presentation are both worth more than its price. From left to right, a succulent sun-dried tomato, parsley, and cheese ball; followed by shaved herbs and cheese over a slice of ham and some greens; and lastly a slice of bread with a vegetable spread. 

Next in line is a shrimp and avocado salad (~Y880). The flavours are delicate and very well balanced. The proportion of avocado, dressing, and shrimps are just enough such that there is a unison of flavour that is unique. And the cherry tomatoes are so sweet!

For the main course, a superb dish of fish cooked in the Corsican style (which uses tomatoes), is served with some freshly-grown vegetables - a slice of squash, peppers, cauliflower, and purple carrots (~Y1880). On the side is bread baked with organic yeast (Y330), supposedly to promote good digestion. Also, the menu says that a lot of B vitamins essential for the health of the nervous system and general well-being are abundant in these ingredients. 

The servings are a bit on the small side though, and more authentic French cuisine can be had elsewhere. But, BioMaison is a homely experience for those who want to experience healthy (and anti-aging, as it claims to be) cuisine. 

*Shimokitazawa (下北沢) can be reached easily (in 10 minutes or so) either from Shibuya through the Keio Inokashira Line or from Shinjuku through the Odakyu Line. 

Tokyo Sampler

The fennel bulbs are off to Tokyo once more, but this time for a much longer time. There will be more opportunities to dig in deeper into the gastronomic diversities the Japanese capital has to offer. One would expect that Japanese food would be definitely on top of the list, but we've decided to tackle dishes from different cuisines and cultures first, just to show that just about everything is being offered in the world's largest city. 

First stop is hamburgers. There are a lot of burger joints in Tokyo, including McDonald's, Mos Burger, and Freshness Burger. Also the burger steak has been incorporated into Japanese cuisine and figures as the baaga-suteki (バーガーステキ) served with rice and topped with soy-based sauce and grated radish. But a restaurant in Jiyugaoka (自由が丘) makes the difference by making top-quality Western-style burgers from purely organic ingredients. 

The restaurant is quaint. The little space it fits in is typical for a lot of Tokyo establishments. The interiors are cozy and one can find most of the tables on the outdoor terrace. 

Guacamole burger set with fried potatoes and coleslaw (Y1640) was ordered. One first gets to taste the buns which are the most perfectly-tasting hamburger buns there could be. It is utterly delicious and fresh, baked bread at its finest, accentuated by the taste of sesame seeds. The guacamole is made from organic avocados, and the beef is likewise organic, and it is Wagyu (和牛). The beef tastes very fresh. Superlatives are to describe this burger as well as the fried potatoes and the coleslaw, which is light and refreshing. 

Moving on to flashier Omotesando, the shopping center Omotesando Hills has some culinary treats to offer. On the ground floor is kurkku3 restaurant which offers an alternative view on how meals should be eaten - its menu categorizes food according to the good and qualitative effects it can do on the body (not necessarily medical). Dishes are tagged as energizing, or relaxing, or mood-uplifting, and so on.

 

The interiors are cool and swanky and one has a view of Omotesando and the passers-by.  

 

First to be ordered is a bowl of Korean Bibimbap (Y1300), with a kurkku3 interpretation. Bits of tender beef are cooked just right and served over rice and topped with poached egg and assorted vegetables (spring onions most markedly). One has to mix together the ingredients and the dish achieves an organic unity, with the poached egg serving as a binder. 

Then comes a Vietnamese style spring roll stuffed with green leafy vegetables and fried eel (Y550 for 1 piece, cut in half). It is served with hoisin sauce dusted with ground peanuts. The richness of the eel, which is fatty fish in the first place, is subdued by the vegetables, achieving a delightful balance. 

Last stop for this issue is a restaurant in a quieter section of Tokyo. Futako-tamagawa (二子多摩川) seems to be another typical Tokyo neighborhood, appearing more suburban. But with the addition of Rise Shopping Center which has very good shops, there's always a reason to visit this place. 

 

 

On the top floor of Dogwood Plaza (still included in Rise S.C.) are restaurants. The liveliest of the restaurant seems to be the Pasta House AWKitchen. It's lively enough to even attract groups of elderly Japanese, although the place seems to be a bit too modern and gives the impression of targeting younger groups.  

For antipasto, eggplant puttanesca (横浜メスプッタネスカ, Y550) was ordered. The tomatoes are fresh and the taste of anchovies delicately punctuate it. The eggplants are cooked just right with no hint of bitterness.

 

Last is the pasta - an olive oil based pasta dish of rigatoni in ground chicken and garlic sauce with lotus root (Y1100). The sauce is cooked together with a piece of dried chili which adds some heat. The rigatoni is cooked al dente and is freshly-made (not dried pasta). The serving is a bit on the light side and won't leave someone feeling bloated from too much pasta. 

Overall, a good experience it is. 

More to come. 

* Jiyugaoka (自由が丘) and Futako-Tamagawa (二子多摩川) can be easily accessed from Shibuya (渋谷) through the Tokyu Den-en-toshi line.  
* Omotesando (表参道) can be accessed either through the Tokyo Metro on the Hanzomon, Ginza, and Chiyoda lines, and can be reached by foot from 原宿 Harajuku station on the JR Yamanote line.

Quirky Details

A delightful restaurant situated along quiet Luna Mencias Street in Mandaluyong City is "The Frazzled Cook." One can find some lovely eccentricities in the restaurant, including a whole shelf lined with Maneki Neko's (まねき猫, the Japanese cat), and Hello Kitty spoons. 

 

The interiors are cozy and elegant, an eclectic mix of period furniture and more contemporary furnishings. Books and memorabilia adorn the shelves. The menu brings to mind the down-to-earth goodness of a home kitchen with a lot of soul, that is. 

 

First the fennel bulbs energized their palates with a delicious fruit and walnut salad (Php200). Two big slabs of melon, mixed greens, walnuts, and a vinaigrette comprise a nutritious dish. The croutons taste like days-old butter garlic toasts, the locally made ones like La Pacita, which conjure cozy feelings of eating a home-spun meal. 

 

 

Next is the Potato and Basil Chowder with Prosciutto (Php150). The soup is hearty and very comforting especially on a stormy evening. The basil is just enough to provide a pleasant sweetness to the soup and the prosciutto adds a contrast with its innate saltiness.

Next is the tenderloin and sausage pizza (Php350). The pizza is good enough to serve 2 people, but a hungry stomach can devour it all. This is not authentic Italian pizza but a more domestic take on the dish. The crust resembles the ready made pizza crusts one can buy at the grocery store (like Bambi's). The real goodness of the dish though lies on the toppings. Generous portions of tenderloin chunks, chopped sausages, capsicum, and cheese is a definitely a treat. One can drizzle chili oil over it for more flavor. 

Last but not the least is Spicy Cajun Fish with Saffron Rice (Php375). A huge fillet of fish (most probably dory, 500g of it) placed on top of saffron-flavored rice. The fillet is rubbed generously with spices. A salsa consisting of onions, olives, and other spices enhances the flavors. A very tasty and spicy dish indeed! 

Overall, The Frazzled Cook is a very good restaurant; its ambiance and food both have a lot of character. And the fennel bulbs still have a lot of dishes to try out!