Mother’s 81st Birthday

Another year has gone by and we are blessed to be celebrating my mother’s birthday with a fine French dinner yet again.

Not far from where they live, my parents walked to the venue.

Aperitif

Something I found unusual and most unFrench during the evening. Homemade popcorn made its way to our table as an amuse-bouche. Parents did have very nice chilled soup of corn.

I went a la carte and had this amazing salmon confit with an onsen tamago and a beetroot sauce.

My main course. Lamb with foie gras made into a pie. I wanted lamb so it’s what I ordered but I missed the part where it said it came with foie gras. Way too heavy though tasty.

Ogino

 

A Spanish Birthday Night Out

One of my besties had her birthday in July and the three of us in our little “club” that explores a new regional cuisine every month got together for her birthday. Spain was the theme as we have pretty much exhausted new regions to visit amongst Tokyo restaurants and decided that though it would be somewhat repetitious in the choice of region it was the appropriate country because of our friend’s love for Spain and the Spanish language so much so that she lived and studied in Spain twice on language programs.

We chose just the right resto in Daikanyama for the occasion.

The best Spanish omelette ever

Very nice seafood and chicken paellja

Happy happy

Dining at the Industry Club of Japan

I was invited to dine at the Industry Club of Japan in Marunouchi the other night.  The “club” is an old establishment (one of the reasons why its website may not be found in English) that has registered members from the heavy industry and other manufacturing industries among others so I understand.

Anyway the bar and the restaurant were nice with very classy French-based dishes on the menu.

Excellent, tasty madeleine made with honey produced on the roof of the club

Frozen Beer and More

The evening in Shibuya in an izakaya situated on the 8th floor of the building you see in the middle of the first picture here started out with this drink.  It was a couple of Fridays ago.

Frozen beer (half regular, half dark) and it’s a bit difficult to drink with the smoothie-like foam on top.

It was good and it wasn’t the problem but when I moved onto saké (lots of), beer again, a beer cocktail, and rum (lots), by the end of the evening, I knew I clearly had too much to drink.

Had a hangover for the first time in years the next day bad enough to cancel my gym appointment.

The bar we went to after dinner. Looked and sounded fine and it was but…

Still learning…!!

Singaporean Dinner

I was set on ordering the Hainanese chicken rice or at least the chicken w/o the rice at this Singaporean restaurant in Jimbocho managed by a travel agent specializing in visiting exotic, unexplored regions of the world but we didn’t pace ourselves right and at the end were too full to do so.  That was supposed to be THE dish of the night.  Sigh.

Going up to the second floor restaurant

The right beer for the occasion