DIY pizzas  

this is going to be one long post by the time i post up the recipes etc, and right now i don't really have the time to do that what with being stuck up to the neck in work. so i'll let the pics speak for themselves first, and fill in the words later. 

"the classic"  
tomato + cured black olives + pesto + mozzarella & parmesan 

"the truffle hunter"
parma ham + black truffles + arugula

"the swiss"
raclette cheese + thin sliced ratte potatoes + cornichons

(also known as "the eaten" because it was mobbed before i could stick the camera in edgewise.  damn peasants @#%$) 

chasing the vibe

SPRINGTIME IN PARIS TOKYO

le table du robuchon

beige

les creations de narisawa

benoit

pierre gagnaire tokyo
 

This, a short list of Tokyo restaurants, is for my friend Yvonne, who will be spending a glorious slice of summer in the city next week.   It may seem somewhat of a travesty to be recommending nothing but French eateries in Japan, and in that regard I plead guilty to being, first in line, the biggest Francophile in all matters culinary.    But it really makes perfect sense to eat French in Tokyo - if anyone, it is the Japanese - meticulous, perfectionistic, obsessive aesthetes that they are - who are true kindred spirits of the French.   With a bit of forethought and planning*, one can dine in the capital of Japan like a true Parisien princess with her own permanent table at le Grand Vefour (or better still, on air-kissing terms with Yannick Alleno )    And at a fraction of Paris prices!      

* OK, it pretty much amounted to military planning on my part, plus the extraordinary ability of the conciergerie at the Park Hyatt to score the unscorable.

The five restaurants I went to and would recommend are, purely subjectively in order of my preference, as follows :

La Table du Robuchon   
La Table is the lunch room in the Chateau Robuchon fantasy castle set in the grounds of Yebisu Garden Place in Ebisu.  The initial attack of kitsch melts into believability once those wonderful pain l'ancienne baguettes turn up and the perfectly executed amuse arrive.  The more chi chi Chateau Restaurant is upstairs, and the bakery is in the basement.  Whoever brings me fougasse from there will immediately be my friend

Prix fixe lunches are incredible value at 2800 or 3700 yen.  Wines aplenty by the glass, and cheaper than HK too.
Their website is here

Beige
I headed to Beige with some reservations - first, with the Ghost of Spoons Past lurking in the shadows and second,  asssuming that the restaurant, ostensibly the canteen for the Chanel crowd, would be pretty much the local hangout for the ladies-who-lunch-but-who-don't-really-eat-much-because-they-have-to-fit-a-size-2.    I was right on the latter - I don't think anyone in that room weighed over 90 pounds.  But slow metabolisms need not worry - Beige's food is light as air, all touched with nothing but the most angelic vegetable and stock jus but wondrously flavourful.  Stupendous cooking, and it was nice to see Monsieur Jerome Lecressonniere at the helm in the kitchen.  Monsieur Lecressioniere came to Tokyo from Paris via a stint as the French Consul's chef in Hong Kong; it was good to see someone from Hong Kong doing well in higher places.

Prix fixe lunches at 6,000 8,000 and 11,000 yen.  Website and menu.

Les Creations de Narisawa
Very competent french cuisine in a small but meticulously run restaurant by Japanese chef Yoshihiro Narisawa and his lovely wife.  We had a delightful spring lunch there - a melting slab of salmon poached in just barely warm olive oil, a splendid bouillabaise (in response to my query Mme Narisawa said yes there was indeed rascasse in Japan!), tender but flavourfully vinegared beef brisket hiding under the choicest baby greens... and delightful desserts!   Be sure to drop in the Sony Computer Entertainment centre next door and check out all the kids coming at 3.30 pm to do their "homework"  -  all-you-can-play playstation! 

Prix fixe lunches at 4,500  7,000 and 12,000 yen.  Website

Benoit Tokyo
My virgin Ducasse experience was at the old location on the ave. Poincare and (as with other kinds of first-time experiences *nudge nudge wink wink*)  subsequent visits to the Plaza Athenee never really matched up.   Spoon in HK left a bad taste in the mouth, so again it was a pleasant surprise with Benoit.  Lovely mediterranean flavours from the kitchen headed by the chef Massimo Pasquarelli who hails from Montepulciano.   There's a Pierre Herme downstairs too!  (oh, and anyone who brings me a macaron truffe blanche gets a free massage  )

Prix fixe lunches at 4,000  5,000 and 6,000 yen. Website and menu.  

Pierre Gagnaire Tokyo
I'm including PG Tokyo, but with a caveat - our dinner there was disappointing but friends who had lunch there sang its praises.  I think the restaurant is still in its teething stages.  Dinner was a scattergun mish mash of dishes with trite/cliched Japanese touches that added nothing to the flavour (random bits of nori and dried soba noodles that begged not to be eaten ).  I really really really hope they get their act together - Monsieur Gagnaire is a genius and it would be a terrible shame if the kitchen doesn't live up to his name.  We had a lovely chat with a lady from the Mandarin Oriental who was spending some time at PG Tokyo in preparation for Gagnaire Hong Kong and I am still looking forward to their Hong Kong restaurant with great anticipation.  Ganbatte!

Dinner was 17,450  and 26,880 yen.  Lunches are 7,350 yen.  Website

Other eats to think about :

Tapas Molecular Bar at the new Mandarin Oriental in Ginza.  The Tokyo version of El Bulli.  I'm still hitting myself over giving up our reservation for this in favour of PG Tokyo.  Oh well.  There's always an excuse to go back then hahahahaha

Then there's the always entertaining and reliable Chanto group of restaurants - Ken's Chanto, daidaiya etc

Tokyo eating tip # 1 : the Japanese say that soju will never result in a hangover.  They are lying. 
Tokyo eating tip # 2 : hangover sushi at Tsukiji is quite effective.
And always - when in doubt, order what the next table is eating. 

MISO YUMMY

Miso and prune juice sounds like a recipe for diarrhea, but actually makes a VERY good and VERY easy steak sauce.  Miso's rich umami tones are perfect for steak (ever tried steak with a blue cheese sauce?  Miso gives you the same tones, albeit not as sharp), and the tartness of prune juice livens things up just fine.   This is another one of them let's-throw-together-anything-I-can-find-in-the-fridge dishes of mine, only that it turned out so well I'm going to pretend it's a real recipe   

Every fridge should have some miso.  It's the ultimate healthy fast comfort food - great for a 3 minute soup after a long day; and even better for a sauce for your steak. There are probably a thousand kinds and brands of miso out there, but they generally come in brown and the slightly sweeter white versions.   I use the brown for steak.    This sauce is basically made out of the brown bits from your steak + a dab of miso + a little prune juice and brandy.   The tartness of the prune juice helps a) to thicken the sauce, and b) to balance out the oil, particularly if you're grilling or frying a fattier cut of meat.  Throw in a couple of brandy soaked raisins, garlic and shallots, and you have your very own "MisoYummy Meat"  

Ingredients

meat for steaks
buncha raisins
cheap cooking brandy, couple of tablespoons
prune juice, around a quarter cup
brown miso, around a tablespoon
shallots and garlic, diced
tablespoon of butter
salt & pepper

optional - dash of balsamic vinegar & sugar to taste

1. Soak raisins in the brandy.  Finely dice garlic and shallots. 
2. Fry steak.  I could go on and on about time temperature and techniques for checking done-ness and pressing on the ball of one's palm and all that, but there's an Alain Ducasse article that sums everything up pretty neatly here.  (it's a cached version of a NY Times article ages ago.  Catch it before it disappears!)
3. During the last 2 minutes of frying, add the butter and toss in the garlic and shallots to flavour the beef.
4. Take out the beef and let rest.  
5. Turn heat down and toss in the raisins, brandy and prune juice and the miso; press down on the miso paste to dissolve. 
6. Add a little water if necessary and scrape all the brown bits together (fancy word for this is de-glaze).   Turn heat up to thicken the sauce.
7. Add salt with a judicious hand (the miso is already quite salty so go easy on the sodium).  Add pepper, and a little sugar & balsamic vinegar to taste if necessary. 
8. Reduce until desired consistency.  Pour over steak and serve !

 Wine notes - I'm thinking a big, indecently bold aussie shiraz. 

 
Steak supplier shoutout -  TC Deli in Hang Hau Village is now my main meat man.  They're so good they're worth the drive from the southside to Tseung Kwan O.  They stock a vast range of good quality US and Australian beef, plus NZ lamb, pork, and an assortment of frozen Aussie seafoods and cheeses, at prices around 30 to 50% lower than the so called gourmet supermarkets in town.  Their Australian Angus MB2*  tenderloin is the perfect steak - just the right amount of marbling for flavour and a melt-in-the-mouth texture without the icky oil-slick-in-the-mouth one sometimes gets from wagyu beef.   

   TC Deli
   Address: G/F, 10B Chap Fuk Road, Hang Hau Village
   Sai Kung, New Territories
   Phone: (852) 2358 0273

* The Aussies have their own marbling grade - click here for the paraphernalia.