tokyo food file

Nirvanam in Toranomon — another excellent buffet

As briefly mentioned, Nirvanam recently opened a second branch right by Toranomon subway station, which offers exacly the same excellent menu. The food is plentiful; it's all prepared in-house (not trucked in from the main branch in Kamiyacho); and what's great is that the selection changes daily. Here's a guided tour of what was on a couple of weeks back...

Chicken "kebab fry" (marinated in freshly ground spices and deep-fried, so actually more like kara-age); and an excellent mutton masala with a good level of heat.

Vada (deep-fried lentil doughnuts) and sambar, a soup/dip made in the Karnataka style with lentils, okra and other vegetables, tamarind, jaggery, coconut and spices.

 

Chicken curry in coconut gravy; and porota (pan bread), both Kerala specials.

 

A mild vegetable/spinach curry (vegetarian); with khara pongal, a kind of stodgy rice porridge including lentils and spices, that would have been better prepared with long-grain rice.

 

And here's what it all looked like on the plate.

Or, I should say, plates — as I went back for more...

...a couple of times...

[The last time I noticed the sign asking customers to use/reuse only two bowls].

There's extra hot sauce to pep it all up if need be; there's rice of course, although it's of the Japanese short-grain variety (which means they get docked a point or two in my final reckoning). And there's also dessert:

All in all, a great spread, one you can really fill up on. And good value for ¥1,200. The basement premises are OK for lunch — though as a dining room, I much prefer the original Kamiyacho branch.

Note: it's quite hard to find this branch. The entrance is on the small street parallel with Sotobori-dori. There's a map on the web site here (scroll down), which also gives the daily specials on the lunch menu.

And yes, the sharp-eyed amongst you will have noticed that the photo at the top mistakenly ran in the paper along with the side story (on Taj Akasaka).

code kurkku: Kyoto-Italian in Yoyogi Village

Arriving at code kurkku in the evening, through the cluster of converted freight containers that constitute Yoyogi Village, is pretty memorable, with that living wall of vegetation glowing through the massive picture window.

It's very easy on the eye in the daytime too...

The lobby leads past the gleaming open kitchen, with the chefs in their well-worn white baseball caps...

The dining room has a nice simple spacious feel, the height of the ceiling moderated by the random clusters of lights hanging overhead.

As I wrote in my Japan Times column last week, we had the upper of the two set lunch menus (¥5,000), which started with this excellent "cigar" of anago wrapped in filo pastry and deep-fried till crisp. This was draped over a fragrant asari-jiru, a clear broth derived from clams, containing plenty of mitsuba herb and a soft, freshly poached egg prepared in onsen tamago style. That's sansho scattered around the rim of the bowl, lending its distinctive aromatic presence without dominating the flavors in the mouth.

The antipasto was buri yellowtail, the slices lightly seared in tataki style, just enough to whiten their exterior but still sashimi-rare inside. These were paired with thin slices of apple and a small mound of mustard leaf salad topped with a white foam (also with a faint apple perfume), and served on a delectable sauce of grated raw apple mixed with daikon oroshi (from tangy karami-daikon), further spiced up with red peppercorns.

Spaghettini tossed with spring nanohana greens and plump, pink ama-ebi shrimps so lightly cooked they were almost raw, it was scattered with bright yellow bottarga and just a hint of tōgarashi chili. Bursting with understated flavor, this more than anything else on the menu gives meaning to the term Kyoto-Italian cuisine.

The main course: fricassee of Iwate free-range jidori, rolled and pan-fried, then finally seared in the oven over sumi charcoal to give it a lovely golden skin. Carefully arranged on the plate with a colorful selection of vegetables — potato, button mushrooms, yellow squash, Brussels sprout leaves and scarlet kyō-ninjin carrots — it came with a swoosh of pureed broccoli and a creamy vegetable-based sauce that was remarkably rich and satisfying for something containing no butter or dairy.

Dessert (hers): matcha tiramisu, with hojicha ice cream.

Dessert (his): panna cotta packed with espresso, sozzled with a dark, boozy caramel sauce and topped with a simple milk gelato.

The verdict: excellent. and a beautiful example of the evolving genre that has come to be called Kyoto-Italian. Just as we had expected, given the involvement (as executive chef) of Yasuhiro Sasajima of Il Ghiottone fame. Not quite up there on the same level as at his main Kyoto restaurant, but certainly as fine and inventive (and beautiful) as when we ate at Il Ghiottone Cucineria, Sasajima's more casual second restaurant.

OK, the view from the dining room is not as spectacular — Cucineria sits on the bank of the Kamogawa river in Kyoto. But screen out the looming Docomo high-rise and that exotic garden is still quite something for Tokyo.

In fact, illuminated at night, it's quite atmospheric.

I wrote up the original kurkku kitchen restaurant when it first opened. I haven't been back for a couple of years now, but I still hear great reports, especially of the café.

The web site for Yoyogi VIllage/code kurkku is here...

A recipe for comfort on a sleet-grey Tokyo evening: shamo-nabe and a flask (or two) of sake

One hibachi filled with glowing charcoal...

 

A casserole of steaming dashi...

 

Some prime cuts of gamecock...

 

cooked in front of you...

 

and washed down with a nice crisp nihonshu...

 

either chilled...

 

or gently warmed...

 

There aren't many better ways for keeping out the cold of winter.

 

Like all the best neighbourhood joints, this place doesn't need any extra custom. You'll know you've found it when you spot this window.

life is a (Thai) beach... in Kamakura

As soon as the weather gods throw the heat switch, I move into Southeast Asian summer mode. Thankfully there's a great Little Thai beach down in Kamakura, just a one-hour ride away from the city.

It's not the sand or the laughably low surf that draws me to Yuigahama Beach. It's the promise of SIngha Beer, green Thai curry and the friendly ministrations of the Thai staff. And the view, of course...

If you've never been down to this stretch of coast, this is how it looks...

This year there's more Thai food than ever. The LIttle Thailand stalls are not in their usual place right by the bridge: they're about 100 meters further down the waterfront. This is my current favourite — not just for the charming welcome...

...but also the aromas wafting off that grill.

There are plenty of tables there, but I like to get an order to go.

The kai yang is pretty fine...

— and so is the spicy Thai sausage.

Here's my Japan Times column from two years ago.

And here's a map link... 

dreaming of the noodles of summers past: Ivan Ramen

Can it really be over a year since the last time I visited Ivan Ramen?

This was one of his summer specials two years ago (2009). Still memorable, though.

It was a cold tsukemen, which he called nori-tori. Wholewheat flour noodles with morsels of poached chicken breast , and topped with plenty of spicy wasabina herb.

The dip was green with ao-nori seaweed, even before I added those tangy wasabi-like leaves...

This was my JT review of Ivan Ramen...

Here's a map link...