When I met Keisuke-san at his restaurant in Nice last April, he told me about the opening of this new restaurant. Restaurant-I is now only 3 months old and it's located in the beautiful "hidden" area by Togo Shrine in the heart of Tokyo. The kitchen is run by another young talented chef, Yoshinaga Jinbo. Their cuisine is Tokyo-style modern French.
I started with this very interesting Japanese "nigori" sparkling wine by Katashimo Wine, Osaka, Japan. The grape is Delaware and this semi-dry sparkling is made in Methode Champnoise. It had the very delicate palate of the lightly sweet grape.
I also had another Japanese wine. It was dry 2008 Rubaiyat Koshu Sur Lie. It was very nice, too.
We did lunch prix-fixe (3-course).
Vegetable Tartare, topped with Scallop Carpaccio, Wasabi Creme...There were at least 10 kinds of vegetables in the tartare. I loved it so much. Wasabi creme was very delicate. The "zuke" sauce (soy sauce, sake, etc.) made a great accent, to.
Roasted "Tokyo X" Pork, Edo-na Green Sauce with Coconuts...Between the pork were the slices of lotus root. Edo-na is a local green, which is similar to komatsu-na. Wonderfully balanced dish.
Harajuku "Wa" Crepe, September 2009...Inside of the super fluffy crepe (made only with water and flour) was an ice cream of the ancient rice, etc. Very elegant dish.
Everything was so delicious!!! I was so impressed by how detailed each dish was with all the fresh local ingredients. I totally loved all the Japanese-style accents in each dish. I would love to come back here for dinner next time!!
