Forty and some food festivities

[blackcat20]

That is some serious cheese!

I was about to say the same. Impressive!

 

[LadyC]

Great report ​LadyC.

Thank you kindly

 

[LadyC]

I was about to say the same. Impressive!

It takes 2 people to carry it is so big. It was cheesilicious!

 

[PLANT]

Can we have some prices for this amazing trip..... Or at least links to price lists for motel and restaurant's please?

 

[LadyC]

Can we have some prices for this amazing trip..... Or at least links to price lists for motel and restaurant's please?

I will edit in the restaurant prices for you. Hotel rates vary significantly so I will leave that out.

 

[KitKat]

We did Kyubei when we were first in Tokyo in 2013 - it was great and we were lucky to be served by the owner/original chef.

There is a new Japanese restaurant that had opened here in Melbourne i am keen on trying - called Minamishima - but i will wait a while. First as we have just come back, all those japanese tastes are fresh and i don't want to be disappointed. Secondly, both the wallet and the waistline need a break!

Liking your thoughts on the similar places we have been recently.

Minamishima is as close as we are likely to get here in Melbourne.. a little cheaper at $150 pp but I think a level below Yo****ake (or Japan)

 

[boomy]

Minamishima is as close as we are likely to get here in Melbourne.. a little cheaper at $150 pp but I think a level below Yo****ake (or Japan)

For a restaurant with 0 Michelin* to be just one level below Yo****ake is not too bad
Can't wait to try it next time in MEL with +1.

 

[LadyC]

So the final high end dinner we had organized was at Ryugin. Also a 3 Michelin starred restaurant, it is described as modern kaiseki. I was a little bit nervous as I have been to traditional kaiseki and didn't enjoy it that much. I nearly cancelled the booking to try elsewhere but thought it would be too late to find somewhere else of the same calibre.

 

[LadyC]

Ryugin is located in the back streets of Roppongi. Luckily the taxi dropped us right at the front as we would have had no hope in finding it. There is a small entrance hall, followed by a slightly larger room with a counter where they take your coats. I am not sure if they have more than one dining room but we entered a dining room on the ground floor. Wait Staff are all dressed in suits and all have earpieces that is a little reminiscent of the Secret Service.

 

[LadyC]

The menu is provided in an envelope on the table. We started our meal with the customary sake and mineral water. We were surprised to be served by a waiter with an Australian accent. We chatted with him throughout the evening and he was Japanese but completed secondary school and his post school studies in Australia.

A few photos of the beautiful sake bottle and glasses again, as well as the Ryugin logo.

 

[LadyC]

Straight into the food

The first dish, the sea urchin and squid, was quite tasty. I liked the contrasting textures of the dish

The soup was okay. If i recall correctly, it had some leaves in it that had a faint numbing quality, a little like Szechuan pepper.

The sashimi was good but not as good as Yos**take. I did ask about what was on the sashimi plate as i had read that sometimes they serve whale which I did not want. No whale that they told me of anyway.

The kinki fish with eggplant was delicious, one of my favorites of the night.

 

[LadyC]

The vegetable dish was fun. There was a hot soup with fresh vegetables and a sesame flavored dipping sauce. Be careful though as the gentleman managed to splash himself a bit.

 

[LadyC]

The vegetable dish

 

[LadyC]

The sukiyaki beef was very nice and i loved the crunchy shrimps.

 

[LadyC]

The first dessert, the strawberry dish was indeed playful.

 

[get me outta here]

These are great photos of the wonderful food. What of the little man ...

The sukiyaki beef was very nice and i loved the crunchy shrimps.

 

[LadyC]

The second dessert, sake flavours, was a sake souffle and sake ice cream. The souffle was very tasty and slightly better than the ice cream in my view.

 

[LadyC]

Both the gentleman and I really enjoyed the meal and I am pleased I didn't cancel the booking. The damage, including a serve of sake and mineral water, was about 67,000 yen or $740aud.

 

[LadyC]

These are great photos of the wonderful food. What of the little man ...

Little people are generally not welcome at establishments such as these. So a baby sitter was organised through the hotel for these dinners.

He certainly ate out with us at all other times and loved the okonomiyaki!

 

[LadyC]

So it wasn't all fancy meals. Being located near Tokyo station, we went to Daimaru food hall on a few different days to buy lunch to eat in our room once the little man slept. Lots of variety, both western and eastern, to choose from. French pastries are pretty good in Japan but i did generally go for a Japanese option. This was a tasty bento box I had on our second last day, costing about $13aud.