I think we may a new top 5 favourite place to dine out at. Higashi-yama.
I wasn’t going to share, but I’m feeling all smug about it and can’t help but show off.
I know, I know. Not like me at all.
Not that I had anything to do with finding it. Or organising it. I just accepted the invitation and we rocked up on Saturday night with no real idea expectations.
Whilst I’m in a confessional kind of mood, I may as well point out that some of the photos I took on Saturday night look a bit blurry in the cold light of day. They looked OK on the night but that probably had something to do with the magical wine glass which never seemed to be less than half full.
Cos, after all I am a glass half full lass….
And so to another confession. The last one I promise.
I really don’t have any idea about the restaurant, so I’m going to point you in the direction of this reviewer who obviously speaks/reads Japanese and had her wits about her when she visited.
What I can tell you is that we had the 9 course wagyu dinner with matching wines and it came to a very reasonable ¥13,500 per person.
First course was tofu (homemade?) with wasabi and salt and there is no photo because I was too busy quaffing champagne and discussing everyone’s plans for Christmas and New Year to get the camera out.
Which is a shame because the plate it was served on set the majority of the table off into exclamations about where you could buy them from – apart from R naturally, who rolled his eyes and tried to slip under the table.
It didn’t get any better for R when course #2 arrived in the prettiest of bowls – and very cleverly, half the table had white bowls and the other table had these gorgeous red bowls. Given that we were a party of 14, they made quite an impact on the dark wooden table with the low lights of the double storey room.
Yes it’s a bit out of focus and I don’t really have any excuse given that I was only 2 glasses of wine into the evening. But hey, it was a fine course – apart from the roe which I think had been cooked in dashi and mirin. It was a bit too challenging for me – one bite was enough, it was a tad gritty for my liking. The prawn and vegetables were fine though.
And very pretty. Did I mention that already?
A challenge was issued to the table: find out where we can buy these bowls from.
It only got better crockery wise as the meal continued. The food was grand too.
Sushi was served next and I know the portions are small, but the quality was fantastic. I’m not sure what the white fish was (tai? snapper?) but it was quite firm and just as it should be, probably a couple of days old. The tuna was delicious, not top grade toro which I find can be too fatty.
The plates were admired but not as much as the soy sauce dispensers.
On the off chance that Father Christmas is reading this and feeling generous then I’m putting an order in for 2 or 3 please. I’m thinking one for soy, one for olive oil and one for balsamic. Thinking…wishing….hoping….you’ll have to deliver to the beach in Sri Lanka but I know you’ll find a way.
By this stage, R was trying to flee the building because it seemed as if he was the only one on the whole table who was not appreciating the tableware. There was talk of who had the biggest handbag and deepest pockets and I was glad that the staff spoke hardly any English for fear our next course would arrive on paper plates.
Which as it turns out would have been quite messy.
Crab meat and taro soup. Delicate. Delicious. Went very well with the new white wine which had miraculously appeared.
Course#5. Now I have to say, that on the night I thought this was a tempura course. But looking at the photo I’m pretty sure I can see panko breadcrumbs. So I’m blaming it on the wine (again) and taking a punt I’d say this was kushiage. Whatever, deep fried food always, always tastes better than anything poached, grilled or steamed and I’ll see you at dawn anyone who dares to say otherwise.
Course #6 was snapper. I say that confidently – I’m pretty sure it wasn’t far off snapper in the gene pool. It was cooked to tender perfection as was the eggplant served alongside – everyone else got fungus mushrooms.
Course #7 – wagyu. Small portions but that’s OK. When you have so many courses coming and lots of wine and chatter going on I’m happy with this style of eating. I hate that beached whale feeling you get when you’ve stuffed yourself so full you can’t sleep. In any case, for 9 courses you can’t expect half a cow to be dropped on your plate for ¥8000.
Course #8. Four huge bowls of udon noodles were brought to the table. R & I went back for seconds it was so good.
My heart sank when Course #9 arrived. Green tea something or other I thought. Again.
Turned out it was coconut pannacotta with a slightly bitter matcha jelly on top. Bliss.
Quite frankly how the kitchen managed to get all the crockery and cutlery back from the table is a small miracle.
Thankfully the reservation wasn’t in my name because we will be back again.
So this is what you need to know:
The menu is in Japanese and very little English is spoken.
If you call ahead and order the omakase wagyu course you can’t go wrong (assuming like us you can’t speak Japanese).
The restaurant is in a double story house with an open dining area with huge cathedral ceilings. It is a dark and modern room big on wow factor. Photos on the restaurant website here do it far more justice than me.
The bar downstairs is a major drawcard after dinner and it’s open til 2am so there’s no need to go on anywhere else.
The bar counter is made of quite possibly the most beautifully hued wood I’ve ever seen and is worth the price of a mojito to just sit there and run your hands along it. Trust me.
Don’t be put off by the address – it’s a brisk 8 minute walk from Nakameguro station.
Oh – and Father Christmas, all the crockery (including the soy sauce bottles) can be bought on the premises, sourced on line here and can be found at Axis Roppongi, J Omotosando Hills and Balls Roppongi Hills.
Higashi-yama is open for lunch Tuesday-Saturday. Anyone want to join me?
[box type=”info”] Where: Higashi-yama, 1-21-25 Higashiyama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 150-0043 Closest station: 8 minute walk from Nakameguro station Phone: 03 5720 1300 No smoking Dinner 6pm-1am, Lunch 1130am-3pm Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday.[/box]