Tokyo
The Tokyo MetPod thru January 30, 2011
Special Guest: Chaka Khan!
Chaka Khan with Kong backstage at Billboard Live, Tokyo
Chaka talks frankly about where she gets her amazing energy when she performs on stage and it has something to do with “green laser beams.” You’ve got to hear this! Chaka will be concertizing at Billboard Live, Tokyo February 3 and 4th and at Billboard Live, Osaka January 31st and February 1st.
And, of course, we have movie and event info about things going on around Tokyo, but at the end we have a vocal jam session with another special guest, movie actress and XEX Nihonbashi burlesque show singer, Miss Claudia Vasquez who entertains our showbiz reporter Chris Betros and Concert Calendar musician Kaleb James.
(Left) Chris Betros chats with Claudia Vasquez. (Right) L-R, Chris Betros, Yui Takeguchi, Bill Hersey, Claudia Vasquez, Douglas Kirkpatrick, Kaleb James.
FYI: Kaleb will be doing his tribute to Quincy Jones, Thursday, February 3rd and Friday, February 4th at Blues Alley in Meguro. To make your reservations follow this link and click on the word “Reservation” —> http://www.bluesalley.co.jp/schedule/live.html Not surprisingly, tickets are going extremely fast!
To listen from an iPhone click on the word download, below.
The Tokyo MetPod thru February 14th,2011
We Have JOBS Available!
Send your resume to: jobs@metropolis.co.jp
If you have a friend who’s interested in journalism in Japan, tell him/her to check out the first 10-minutes of this podcast for details. (I’ll be posting more info here within the next few days.)
CHALAZION
I’m sorry for the lack of event posts lately…since FRIDAY my left eye has been swollen and in a lot of pain. I endured it until Saturday but realized that I should go to the eye doctor. I was referred to Minami Aoyama Clinic since they were open on Sundays. The doctor told me that I had an eye infection and prescribed me an anti-biotic eye drop. I used it 5 times that day but my eye didn’t feel any better, however I endured the pain for one more day…This morning, I noticed that I had a tiny white sty or something on the top of my lower eye lid that was scratching against my eye..so I decided to go to my regular eye doctor in Nakameguro. My doctor, who can speak perfect English explained to me that I did not have an eye infection and the anti-biotic eye drop I was using was not going to help this eye problem!! OMG——— She told me that I had Chalazion. What the heck!? Apparently, some lipids are stuck inside my bottom eye lid which were causing the swelling. Fortunately, this is NOT contagious but unfortunately takes a while to cure… =(
She said that this problem is caused from lack of sleep and tiredness……..I have to agree I was feeling all of this when she said this…so I have to take a break for a few days, use 2 of the eyes drops above 5 times a day as well as the ointment, which is sooooooooo difficult and annoying to apply…and take 2 tablets of Vitamin A for 2 weeks.
I thought that I would catch the flu or a cold first, but instead I’m one of the rare ones to develop this Chalazion!!!!! My body must really be exhausted. I will take a break until Friday. I really hope that this swelling goes down by then!!!
Anyhow, I really hope that everyone is taking care of their health, sanitizing their hands as much as possible and sleeping as much as possible!!!!
Take care everyone..Good Night.
ほよよ〜
TRIP’S ANGELS presents "Mai Last ‘Single’ Birthday Party…2.10.2010 @ LE BARON
IT’S MY BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!! YAY!!!!
**update: MAJORDUDE will not be joining this evening m(-.-)mTITLE : TRIP’S ANGELS presents “Mai’s Last ‘Single’ Birthday Party before she becomes a Wifey…..Sorry Guys! – “
DATE : 2011.02.10 THURSDAY
TIME : 21:00 〜
PLACE : Le Baron de Paris
ENTRANCE: 3,000YEN(1D/ CLOAK) With Flyer 1,000YEN(1D)
DRESSCODE : MEGANE /// Any Glasses OK.
SINGLE GIRLS : PINK
UNAVAILABLE GIRLS : RED
CONCEPT : It’s mai’s last birthday party as a single girl.. So tonight will be a special birthday celebration night where mai will be spreading her cupid power for every girl who comes!
まいちゃん独身最後のバースデーパーティー！まいはその夜シングルガールズのキューピッドになるよ！特別で最高にハッピーな夜を一緒に過ごそうね！
ENTERTAINMENT : RESIDENT DJ : DJ PELI
IKEMEN DJ’S :
DANCERS : TOKYO GIRLS
///
■ARTIST INFO _
TAKU★TAKAHASHI (m-flo) : DJ、音楽プロデューサー。1998年m-floを結成し数々のヒットを生む。2009年より自身のレーベル”TCY Recordings”を主宰。ajapaiの「Incoming…TAKU REMIX」はbeatport D&B 2010年 年間チャートで１位を獲得。ダンス音楽専門ネットラジオ“TCY RADIO”を設立。4月オープンまでただいま試験放送中。3/30にソロ名義でのMIX CDをリリースする。
YONE : フォトグラファー、アーティストYONE!!!
KEIICHI NITTA : 1975年東京都生まれ。ファッションやミュージシャンをポップに撮り下ろす、東京を代表するフォトグラファー。NYでTerry Richardsonに師事。帰国と同時に独立。
ALEXANDER LEE CHANG : “AlexanderLeeChang”デザイナー、プロスケーター、アーティスト。1975年サンフランシスコ生まれ、国籍はアメリカ。中国人の父と日 本人の母を持ち幼少期をカリフォルニアにて過ごす。13歳より始めたスケートボードをきっかけに、絵画、 コンピューターグラフィック、クラフトなどのさまざまなデザイン活動を行う。自身のブランドでは、 ストリートカジュアルでありながら構築的なアイテム作りを得意とし、 未来に繋がる社会を意識している希有なブランドと言える。DJとしては2001年から活動開始。NewWave、Disco、Techno-Pop、 Rockなどを中心に、BPM120前後でフロアー（と自分を）揺らす。SECO-BARやBALL ROOMにて、AlexanderLeeChangブランド自らプロデュースしたパーティ開催や名古屋でのKentaro Iwaki氏、井上薫氏との共演、全国でのDJ-PLAYなど、精力的に活動している。
KASKAY (PARLOUR) : 18歳より様々なクラブでDJを始め、現在は東京とロンドンを中心に活躍中。2005年、ロンドン、Jaguar Shoes Dream BagsにてHappy Wednesdayを主催。その後Ice Cream @Sketch やDesignersblock主催のレセプションパーティーにて、BoomboxメンバーであるPrincess Julia、YR MUM | YA DAD、Mechanical Cabaretと共演。日本に帰国後はfancyHIMにレギュラー出演を行い、様々なパーティーに出演しながら「Another New Romantic for the 21st Century」をテーマに掲げたパーティー「PARLOUR」を開始。2010年を代表するファッションパーティーにまで成長し、多くのファッション ヴィクティムを虜にしている。
Nashmillion$ (THE ULTRA☆MEN / Big☆Bang Production) : L.A.でDJのキャリアを始め、HIP HOP,HOUSE, ELECTRO,REGGAE など様々なジャンルの影響を受けた雑食系DJ!!そBORDERLESSで予測不可能なPLAYに定評あり、現在東京のLe Baron、VeloursやTrump Houseなどで活躍中。その一方、avex/rhythm zoneでBaby M,nicola,SEEK, twenty4-7、などの楽曲制作も手掛けている。
DANCERS : TOKYO GIRLS Katie, Kim, Noriko, & Erica
ほよよ〜
IT’S FRIDAY! Taku Takahashi presents TACHYTELIC NIGHT @ AIR TONIGHT!!!
ps。i hate when the spacing is all weird and i can’t fix it!! arg……….sorry.
Tel: 03 5784 3386
http://www.air-tokyo.com/
Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu!!! Happy New Year!!!
It’s a New Year and in the stores here in Japan, you’ll see these lucky bags (Fukubukuro) everywhere! The value of the items in the bags are supposed to be quite good, though I have never personally bought one.
These bags were at a Jusco near my house. Some of the places selling bags had them roped off with signs warning that they were not available for purchase until the first. On most of the bags I saw, there were sizes posted on the outside of the bags in clothing departments.
Scented tissue – sniff before you blow!
I have to thank my friend for turning me on to these. You can’t really go anywhere in the larger cities without someone pressing a small pack of tissues into your hand, so I never purchased them. One day my friend took out a package of tissues for her daughter. I think I said something about never having seen printed tissues before. She showed me that they were scented too. How cool!!! I was then told that it is popular for school girls here in Japan to trade packs of the scented and printed packs of tissues.
My friend gave all of the packs on this page to me. The scents above are, ‘American Cherry’, ‘Sweet Strawberry’, and ‘Petit Pineapple’.
The packs above are strawberry, orange, and pineapple.
I guess this last pack is geared more toward adults. The two packs are slightly larger and are lavender and a sweet smell.
Tokyo Design Flow 『LAST THURSDAY』 32th LAST THURSDAY 1.27.2011 @ SMOKE BAR
Hello, Trip’s Angels (mai x meg) will dj @ smoke bar tomorrow! Feel Free to come by!!! xoxo
新年一回目のラストサーズデー。盛り上げていきます。
アートは初参加の「すみユニット」を招き、Alexander Lee ChangとTRIP’S ANGELSがSMOKEを、いや！GYREを揺らします。
今回はテーマをあえて設定せずにいきたいと思います。
今回のラストサーズデーを作り上げるのは来た頂いた皆さん、一人ひとりです！！！！！
一緒に、東京の１月の最後の木曜の夜、盛り上がりましょう！
ご来場をお待ちしてます！
///
TOKYO DESIGN FLOW『LAST THURSDAY』
日時：2011年1月27日(木) 19:00 – 23:30
場所：SMOKE BAR & GRILL ＠ GYRE
関連：http://www.smoke.co.jp/
住所：東京都渋谷区神宮前5-10-1 GYREビル４F
Charge：¥2,000- (w / 1Drink)
主催：TOKYO DESIGN FLOW
共催：senseseeds
ART：すみユニット
SOUND：Alexander Lee Chang、TRIP’S ANGELS
FOOD：ミンスク ケータリングサービス x 男子野菜部 from Farmer’s Market
アーティスト情報、イベント詳細についてはこちら → http://www.tokyodesignflow.com/event/lt.html
▼ SOUND／Alexander Lee Chang
“AlexanderLeeChang”デザイナー、プロスケーター、アーティスト。1975年サンフランシスコ生まれ、国籍はアメリカ。中国人の 父と日本人の母を持ち幼少期をカリフォルニアにて過ごす。13歳より始めたスケートボードをきっかけに、絵画、 コンピューターグラフィック、クラフトなどのさまざまなデザイン活動を行う。自身のブランドでは、 ストリートカジュアルでありながら構築的なアイテム作りを得意とし、 未来に繋がる社会を意識している希有なブランドと言える。DJとしては2001年から活動開始。NewWave、Disco、Techno-Pop、 Rockなどを中心に、BPM120前後でフロアー（と自分を）揺らす。SECO-BARやBALL ROOMにて、AlexanderLeeChangブランド自らプロデュースしたパーティ開催や名古屋でのKentaro Iwaki氏、井上薫氏との共演、全国でのDJ-PLAYなど、精力的に活動している。
▼ SOUND／TRIP’S ANGELS
Mai x MaHOに加え、tripをブレインとする「大胆で革新的な空間を創造するためのプロデュースチーム ” TRIP’S ANGELS ” 」ブランドのメッセージを最大限に伝え、ゲストの心に爪痕を残す様な空間を演出します。答えはシンプル。体験したすべての人が「楽しい！」と声を出 してしまうこと！今回はmaiとtripのDJをおたのしみください！Hey Girls, Must Be Crazy&Sweet! HaHaHa!
▼ ART／すみユニット
書家・美帆と水墨画・穂(メグミ)のユニット
2008年、書家・美帆と水墨画家・穂(メグミ)が出会いイベントでのコラボレーションをきっかけに『すみユニット』を結成。伝統の枠に捕らわれ事なく二 人の感性を融合させた作品を次々と生み出している。イベントでのライブ・パフォーマンスを中心に活動し「2009年東京ガールズ・コレクション」連動イベ ントのオープニング・アクトや海外でのパフォーマンスを実施。
_______________
Tokyo Design Flowのwebサイト、mixi、twitterでも随時情報をあげていますのでそちらもチェックしてください！
Tokyo Design Flow：http://www.tokyodesignflow.com/event/lt.html
mixi：http://mixi.jp/view_community.pl?id=3500890
twitter：http://twitter.com/TokyoDesignFlow
:::::::::
TRIP’S ANGELS、DJもするんだよ、 BOOK US!!!
ほよよ〜
IT’S FRIDAY! THIS IS WHERE I’LL BE….
I’M DJING HERE from 10:15-10:45です。
I’ll be all over tonight but these were a few that I will not miss. HEHE
ほよよ〜
PARTY REPORT. FAR EAST MOVEMENT SECRET LIVE @ LIQUIDROOM 1.27.2010
after my really lame blackberry drama, my homies got me drunk. thank u♡
Lady’s man.
久しぶりにmtv alan x nycca!
１年ぶりにjoyrichのTOM!
my honey JONTE★MOANING
people anxiously waiting..
soo much energy!!!
イケメン
put your hands up in the air…
There was an invitation only secret live event for Far East Movement @ Liquidroom the other day. I haven’t seen the guys since last year when they came for the Lady Gaga concert (which i missed because I had just come back from New York and was still at customs at Narita Airport)..We partied hard one night the day before they left..and that’s all I remember. HEHE CHECK HERE. My friends from Stereotypes produce a lot of Far East Movement’s songs so you can imagine how proud I am to see them move up the charts last year…LIKE A G6 made it to #1 on Billboard and this was truly amazing. Rocketeer is climbing the charts this year too!!!!! Here are their other songs if you don’t remember me mentioning them before: MAI POSTS I had to DJ after this live event so I met up with the guys later..which you can find in my next reports. HEHE
ほよよ〜
Ride in a hole in the ground
Truth is, I wrote all of these posts last Thursday and set them to publish automatically. Suckazzzzzzz!
Figured I wouldn’t be able to eat out much in NY, and if I could eat out, wouldn’t have time to write about it, and if I had time to write about it, I wouldn’t be able to upload pictures, and if I couldn’t upload pictures, you wouldn’t want to read. You’re so damn fickle. I hate you all. Damn it. I bet I’m at work today too. And it’s probably snowing again.
Japan’s longest foot bath. For people and dogs!
This foot onsen is 105 meters of pure happiness. There are places to sit and just soak, but there are also reflexology bumps in the walking part of the onsen. 
You can massage your feet out of the water too. Your choice.
The Obama Onsen is a free foot bath snuggled into the Unzen area of the Nagasaki Prefecture. You can soak your feet while either gazing upon the ocean or the mountains.
It’s free to soak your feet. They’re open from 10:00 to 18:00 until April when they are open until 19:00.
The pet foot bath is at the end. On the other end is a place where you can steam your lunch.
The pet foot bath.
Forget microwaves… we’re cooking geothermally!
Hot springs have been used to cook food for thousands of years. So, why not take a trip back in time and head to the Obama Onsen Resort with a dozen eggs, veggies and some kind of meat for lunch?
Get a basket, check the time chart listed above the steam ovens and wait.
Out comes a delicious meal prepared by nature. Eggs take 8 to 10 minutes, potatoes 20 to 30. Octopus only takes 7 minutes… in case you were wondering.
Cooking chart above the steam ovens.
It’s Christmas in Japan!!!
This video seemed more appropriate when we lived near Tokyo, but it’s still very cute
Christmas at Huis ten Bosch
We didn’t even attempt to go up the clock tower that day. It was the Emperor’s birthday, so the park was crowded.
The photo above and the one below were taken at the Huis ten Bosch Palace. There is a separate charge to get in. I personally thought that the Light Art Garden in the main part of the park was a better light show, but the Palace light show includes a concert. The lights at the palace are timed with songs by ABBA and Billy Joel amongst others.
Before you buy into Canon’s latest “low light” claim for their Powershot camera, take a look at these photos taken in the low light setting. They looked fine in the view finder, but they look horrible once I downloaded them.
The light display this year was different enough to bring us in again, so if you went last year, you may want to return.
Kit Kat Coffee Mug
A pentagon shaped coffee mug, Nescafe and a plain Kit Kat. I wish the package would have included a flavored Kit Kat, but beggars can’t be choosers.
Kinkai off the main road.
This looks like New England to me… at least the New England I saw at the start of the Newhart Show. That church-like building is actually a group home in Kinkai. The traffic was at a dead stop on the main road south to Nagasaki, so we took a drive in country.
This was a little beach area with a pretty big parking lot. The fall foliage was beautiful.
A couple of starfish on the beach.
Keeping the evil spirits away.
My house is clean, clean, clean! Now we just have to rid it of evil spirits. I’m told I can do this with a Shimekazari. Oosouji is the huge once a year deeeep cleaning of your house, car, etc… I guess it has to be done before the new year begins.
The back room of the farmer’s market I so love was filled with an array of these Shimekazari ranging in price from 200-yen for a tiny one in the photo below all the way up to a 5,000-yen more ornate one.
Most of the customers were buying the size above. They are all around 550-yen.
There were also many people purchasing Kadomatsu. These small, pre-made versions were all around 1,800-yen.
This was the scene outside where they were selling the various parts of the Kadomatsu as well as a couple of huge Kadomatsu at the entrance.
Happy New Year 2011!!!
I saw the first sunrise of the new year (Hatsuhinode) here in Japan… on TV. When the sun hit Fuji and made that star pattern, they yelled, “Diamond!!!” They flashed it on the screen in Katakana too. Very fun, and much warmer from my living room.
Touran ramen, Kanda (桃蘭)
It’s an ill-advised wind, my friends, one that blows in from Kanda. It blows you down little alleys like this and into shops that aren’t likely to be very good. There’s a certain romance to seeking out hidden gems, but this is Tokyo. Depending on your reckoning there are 9 to 50 million people, and a lot of them like eating out and seeking out hidden gems. If they aren’t talking about a place, it tends to mean it sucks. They aren’t talking about this place, but I still got some enjoyment out of it.
Mostly because it’s like Hope Ramen, dingy and tinged with grime, but in a soft and warm way. What did that mean? The plastic curtain separating the counter from the kitchen is odd; they want to spare the customer from the fumes and heat, or they’re embarassed about the bare brick back there, or they have a clientele that wants privacy, and a blank curtain is more private than having to look at someone cooking? Disturbingly, the smell kept reminding me of my grandmother’s kitchen, and if you were ever in that kitchen, you know I don’t mean that in a good way. Fortunately I can safely say that only two readers know what I’m talking about.
Travel photos can be so generic. For instance, last night I read an article about Budapest, or perhaps Istanbul, and looking at these tiles now reminds me of that. Of course, I haven’t been to any of those cities. It’s probably my imagination that’s generic.
They have ramen. They have some Chinese basics. This is the ramen. It’s basic. As this basic ramen goes, it wasn’t bad at all. The noodles and soup were almost good, while the pork was terrible (just in an overcooked, tough sort of way), and the nori made me feel a little queasy. The overall effect doesn’t compare unfavorably to someplace like Sakeya Milk Hole, which is a little famous. I’m not saying this should be famous, I’m just saying. Nothing here is going to inspire you to fits of flatulent exultation.
They offer a bunch of sets of Ramen + Chinese Basic. This is the Chinese Basic portion of mine, a version of mapo tofu. It’s only once a year that I feel like eating something with ankake, the thick cornstarch sauce that characterizes vile Chinese food to me. This wasn’t that day, and the burgundy translucence of this sauce combined with the slimy texture to make the overall effect a bit vile. With tofu and rice it was edible, and once the tofu was gone I stopped. Just like this review, right here.
ta-tou-ran-ran-ran-ta-tou-ran-ran
03-5280-5141
Magoroku, Monzennakacho (深川 孫六)
This was very pleasing. Very very pleasing – brilliant yakitori plus game meat and jizake. How did I manage to go this long without trying it? Mainly it was my unreasonable anti-chicken bias. I’m recently converted, and now there are several more chicken places I should hit around town. You can keep your everything-but-the-cluck Birdland places; I’ll be near home enjoying myself.
Magoroku isn’t just a chicken place. The menu extends into game meat, perfect for the season, and slightly, barely, into vegetables: boiled turnip, a bit of bell pepper, sesame sauce. The menu didn’t have much else vegetative. The master just shrugged when we asked.
You might notice the empties outside – the menu extends into this whole ‘nihonshu’ thing too. It’s quirky and interesting – Nabeshima, some new brands, some aged sake. A big mix.
And the dishes extend into some really excellent ceramics. This is a tokkuri that I might be tempted to buy if it showed up in a store.
And boooooy do I wish there was a store selling these duck sausages. First bite I ate at this restaurant was this, and that was enough to make me say “This place is recommended.” The house-cured venison prosciutto (!) was interesting, more wet and less flavorful than I would have expected. Compared to the version we ate the next night (!) it wasn’t quite as good.
This dish was great though, wasn’t it? It’s just the torizala for the sausage and ham. Aside from liking it, it’s even better because it’s antique – the edge is chipped and it’s generally elegant in a shabby way. Or the inverse.
Ay-yah, the grilled items were excellent. The master here is young and serious, as is his (?) wife. It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken, and he’s getting it done. The quality of the bird in the negima was wonderful, while the tsukune were yet another variation on the theme. These were perferrable to me because they have individual balls rather than one long turd; more surface area to get crispy.
Someone said ‘game meat’ before. You could order half a duck if you wanted it, or you could order a venison steak. I was excited to get it, then skeptical when I saw him cut it (small, thin) then excited when I ate it (tasty, delicious). Grilled onions were mostly an attempt to get some vegetation.
And zousui was someone’s attempt to shime. I didn’t try it.
But I wish I had tried this place a year ago!
03-3643-5024
Cafe BRiO, Kanda (カフェ ブリオ)
Broken record, all this stuff about how I look at places and never go to them. Here’s another one. I’ll spare you.
Pretty sure I got a takeout coffee here with Koala one time, but never wrote it up. It’s right out in the open – you almost can’t go to west-side Kanda without going by it. It’s also near Pure Yakiniku, and my prior contact with Tucker was her commenting on the need for a coffee-fix and the relative merits of Illy, so I figured as a good host/guide it behooved me to set up a coffee after the manly meat. They have panini and pita and other sandwichy things too. It’s a little smoky.
The main event – this is a thoroughly worthwhile coffee if drunk in the store. It’s, uh, it’s…it doesn’t suck like Starbucks, and it takes an experience like this in close proximity to Starbucks to show you the gap between them. My macchiato was lovely, Tucker’s latte has a good design on top (I know it’s just the milk, but getting the design that pretty implies an awful lot of practice, and my new theory is that no one would practice that much on the milk and then suck at making the coffee), and Todd’s Irish has just enough Irish to ease you into the afternoon (I’m making that up. I didn’t drink it.)
Caudalie, Yushima
If they want to convert the bottom floor of their modern, rebuilt Yushima house into a 1-room French restaurant with good style and serve decent food at reasonable prices, more power to ‘em. That’s what I say.
I saw Caudalie a year or more back while on a bike cruise around Yanesen; it’s taken this long to get there. It’s just one block off Shinobazu Dori, the west side of the big pond in Ueno, but even that block is enough for it to be totally quiet and devoid of commercial activity. They have a single narrow room, 16 seats, one waiter, 2 chefs, 1 dishwasher. Somehow the room doesn’t feel very intimate, which is too bad. Maybe it’s the high ceiling, or the lighting, or the sheer narrowness. The customers were mixed – old couple, middle-aged young couple, young couple, first date, business-y looking groups. I would have expected a bit more youth and female-ness, but the food is also more old-fashioned than expected, so maybe those girls are staying away.
They call the menu courses but it’s basically a la carte – you can choose courses with exactly the sequence of dishes you want. There are a fair few upcharges, but nothing too silly, and for legitimate items like beef. All the courses start with two amuse – the first was turnip mousse with gazpacho topping. The gazpacho was good, the mousse was creamy and delicious, but the turnip flavor was missing in action. No crime there; I’ve yet to be dissuaded from my theory that the only way to appreciate turnips is raw.
And the only way to appreciate deer, according to Caudalie, is also raw. Rather, cured a bit, as in the slice on the left of the pickles here. This was more flavorful and smoky than the cured deer last night…and a lot thicker and chewier, which I also enjoyed more.
We ended up getting 3-plate courses – two starters, one meat each. Both of wanted the deer terrine, which was more of a meat-in-aspic thing. But since the aspic was wine-based, it was nice. Very chunky, and the carrots and prunes were inneresting additions.
Here’s a sort of glamorous sausage-y thing – it’s shirako, wrapped in prosciutto, wrapped in pastry, fried. It was very good and, yes, creamy.
Oysters in season are less creamy, which is a good thing; these were meaty and seasoned and cream-sauced and generally a bit overdone, but not offensively so.
Duck confit, again an overlapping order, was a decent version. Very soft and easy to shred, reasonably crisp skin. That little baton peeking out on the top right was memorable among the vegetables – roasted purple carrot. I couldn’t tell if it was burnt or just really dark purple, and it tasted great.
Peach sorbet palate cleanser.
Big ‘ol chocolate savarin, lots of rum in the sauce, toasted (hazel?)nuts on top, a bit gooey inside. This was good even though I found the sauce a bit much – alocoholic rather than creamy, which just wasn’t what I expected.
Carrot creme brulee was creamy and carrotty and scorched on top; the baby yellow carrot and shredded regular carrots sort of let it down for me since they were just there, not integrated. Same thing for the cumin seeds scattered on – classic combination, neat to see it in a dessert, but it would be better if it was in the creme or the sugar or dusted on rather than being big pieces of cumin.
Lovely petit fours, aren’t they? I do like a restaurant that goes the extra mile, and I imagine one of the reasons Caudalie gets such positive reviews is that it does all those touches. From left in the front row, these were a guimauve (you call it marshmallow), yuzu macaron (very good for a non-specialist shop), almond cookie, and chocolate covered candied grapefruit peel (very good as well).
Decent coffee, interesting cup and saucer, solid food, good prices, pleasant evening, over and out.
Since 2007.
03-3828-3006
Longing to stray
Not to put too fine a point on it, I’m actually in New York right now, hard at work.
Are ya ready, boots?
Are ya still readin’? Can’t be very interesting to wake up to a one-liner from me.
But I hate to give up the readership. I’m obsessed with keeping your attention.
Think of all the ad revenue your eyeballs are generating for me.
Just like all the overtime I’m being paid.
The Battery’s down
Headache every morning – goes away with exercise and water, so I bet it’s dehydration from hotel air.
Headache every afternoon – I’m betting it’s caffeine withdrawal. Somehow I got up to drinking a whole ton of caffeine every day in the last couple weeks. It’s like unhealthy living, it just creeps up on me over time until I realize it’s out of of of control and I need help need help OMG.
New York people are amazed by all their dining options, but all I can think when they talk that book is “You should try Monzennnnakacho. And 50 other neighborhoods of Tokyo.” I grant you the serving sizes are smaller, and the attitudes are lower, but I’m good with both those points.
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Fall/Winter 2010 EMU or UGG?
I’m an UGG lover since last year.
UGG really spoils my feet. It’s really hard to wear heels after I get used to wearing UGG boots.
Some people wear EMU instead of UGG. EMU is more generous when we consider about the price.
Kitson seems like pushing EMU for this fall and winter.
Mouton boots are “must” in winter. Which mouton boots do you wear?
EMU? or
UGG?
But I will wear Minnetonka this fall:p
