I had a very special night with a friend at L’Effervescence in Nishi-Azabu.
It’s a beautiful restaurant, run by Executive Chef Shinobu Namae.
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This is the super-talented chef, Namae-san. We found out that we had (at least) three different friends in common. What a small world! The cuisine he creates is quite unique of his own, so it’s almost not appropriate to put it under a single category (although L’Effervescence normally categorized as French). Namae-san has an extensive background as a chef. In the recent years, he spent many years at Michel Bras and most recently at Fat Duck together.
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We were very excited to try his tasting course. Tonight’s course was titled, “Un souhait et la lumiere – A prayer and the light” . Let’s begin.
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Hose olives…there were a couple of blood orange flavored kinds. Caviar and trout, sansho peppercorn & kinome leaves, smoked. A glass cover over the fish was lifted at the table and the beautiful smoke aroma billowed in the air. Great start.
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My nostalgia -
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Bitter flavor from spring time – Bamboo shoot sauté, bitter fuki bud & broccoli puree, firefly squid, prawn caramel
Flavor of greens – Slow-cooked Ainame fish, rutabaga puree & vinaigrette viande, black olive, mustard leaves
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Whole-cooked Japanese turnip, parsley oil emulsion, dried Spanish ham, brioche
Foie gras cooked naturally & katakuri leaves, pink grapefruit chutney and pink pepper, olive oil flavored milk jelly
Right & left – Taiwanese tea...forgot to take a picture. Half cold and half hot version of tea in the same cup! I had my "fat duck" moment.
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Jump into the spring time – Iwate beef from the mountain sirloin roast and its juice, parsnip puree and spring cabbage, leaves and stem of wasabi...I liked that I could choose a knife from different desings presented in front of me. The meat was perfectly cooked and its marbled fat was packed with almost extracted umami flavors.
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Cheese selection and vegetables selection...salad after cheese course totally worked. It was so refreshing and sharpened my palate again.
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Desire of destruction – Chocolate shell with rhubarb, yoghurt ice cream, coriander, dense chocolate streusel
Air-light mont-blanc...one of the best mont-blancs I've ever tasted.
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Wines…2007 Les Arums de Lagrange (Bordeaux)…Chateau Lagrange’s rare white (since the 1996 vintage). 60% Sauvignon Blanc, 30% Semillon, 10% Muscadelle. Very aromatic with white flower, oranige peel, and herbs. Round body, with extremely ripe fruit. Categorized as sec, but hint of RS.
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Our dinner lasted 4.5 hours – the dreamy time which I wished never end! I loved every detail and every moment of the dinner. Namae-san’s dishes were so natural, artistic, and progressive, and they are so organically personal. It made me feel like I was interacting with each dish by using all 5+1 senses of me.
Honestly, I can’t wait to come back to experience his dishes again next time.