Saturday morning I woke up much later than the last few days. This is a direct result of having gone to bed after 3AM.
There's a party affiliated with the Kaigai Manga Festival in a Roppongi nightclub later this evening but I have the day to myself until then.
I realize that this is the perfect opportunity to check off the last of the restaurants that I've been planning to visit.
Minase is a kaiseki restaurant located near the trendy shops of Ometosando Dori. Kaiseki cuisine is a traditional Japanese style where a meal is served in multiple courses with each course designed to be a perfect synergy of taste, texture and appearance. My brother and I had been for a meal like this in Kyoto 8 years earlier and I was eager to repeat the experience.
I learned about this place from a blogger who had done a one week dining tour of Tokyo and had highly recommended it (particularly for the very affordable lunches). One thing he and other recommenders had indicated was how difficult it was to find the restaurant. Several people wrote of almost giving up in frustration before stumbling upon the hidden location.
I was not going to be caught in the same trap. Before leaving I mapped out the location on Google Maps. I even went so far as to do a street view search so that I would know what building to look for. Fortunately I had passed by the nearby intersection of Ometosando Dori and Aoyama Dori several times by now so I was relatively familiar with my surroundings.
In the end it was no trouble at all to get to the right location which was fortunate since when I climbed the steps to the second landing I was presented with three separate restaurant entrances, none of which were Minase. Since I was absolutely certain I had come to the right place I didn't leave and instead looked more closely at a white curtain to the side that was concealing a dark staircase. The curtain had some Japanese characters on it but no obvious sign that it was a restaurant entrance. Still with no other options at hand I decided to head up and see what I could see.
Sure enough I had found the concealed entrance to Minase. I was quickly shown to a seat at a counter with a large picture window looking out at a pleasant rock garden.
The staff brought the menu with pictures but I already knew what I was there for, the 8 course lunch for 3900 Yen (about $50).
Course 1- 2 small marinated salads flavored with flower petals. One had some marinated fish and the other some Japanese vegetables
Course 2 - an Osuimono broth with fish cake and a soft tofu cube filled with seaweed. As the tofu broke apart in the soup the seaweed was released to provide more texture to the broth. A brilliantly creative and tasty dish.
Course 3- small sashimi plate with two kinds of tuna. A special sauce was provided for one of the types of tuna.
Course 4- a seafood custard served in a small covered wooden pot.
Course 5- cooked Japanese eggplant and tofu in a light broth served in a beautiful covered lacquer bowl.
Course 6- small tempura plate with shrimp, snow pea and some assorted grilled seafood including a snail and some fish.
Course 7- served with course 6 this was the traditional pickles, rice and miso soup. The rice was made more interesting by being topped with tiny baby sardines
Course 8- small scoop of Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.
Truly a feast for the eyes as much as for the mouth.
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