Category Archives: International

MERCER BRUNCH. The best French toast in town.

by Bianca

IMG_5497

Brunch everyday is the concept of this cute little restaurant in Roppongi near the Tokyo Midtown establishment. It is relatively new and the cosy design of this establishment has been pulling me in every time I pass by. I finally walked in for lunch a couple of days ago and loved the design of the place. A small dining room is laid out around a cosy fire-place.

IMG_5499Standard brunch dishes are on the menu and here is what we had.

Nordic salmon with fried egg

Nordic salmon with fried egg

Grilled chicken and eggs

Grilled chicken and eggs

But it is these babies that are the highlight of my visit…

Heavenly brioche french toast

Heavenly brioche french toast

The brunch food was just standard but the french toast was to die for!. I have never tasted a french toast so perfectly moist and delicious. A unanimous vote was cast by me and my two other lunch friends. This is definitely the best french toast in town.

Price: $

MERCER BRUNCH
Address 4-2-35 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Telephone 03 3470 6551
Open Mon-Fri 10am-3.30pm, 6pm-midnight; Sat, Sun & hols 9am-midnight

Thanksgiving dinner at THE OAK DOOR

by Bianca

It is not easy finding a restaurant serving Thanksgiving dinner in Tokyo. Not that many do. I love turkey and I love turkey stuffing but I was a little too late at trying to get a reservation. I was first aiming for Thanksgiving dinner at the Ekki Bar and Grill at the Four Seasons Marunouchi but they were fully booked. My other option was the Oak Door at the Grand Hyatt Roppongi, a much bigger restaurant with dark interiors on the 6th floor and a cosy bar that seems like a cool place to hangout. They had availability.

Dinner is a set menu that is quite pricey, about 9500 yen++. The starter was a smoked trout salad with apple, candied pecans, pomegranate seeds and cider vinaigrette.

The smoked trout salad

I found the salad to be particularly fresh and delicious. The mixture of all the ingredients created the perfect concoction.

The next course was a pumpkin and barley soup which was the perfect comfort soup.

Pumpkin and Barley soup

The roasted turkey with chestnut stuffing main course came immediately after.

Roasted turkey with chestnut stuffing

I found the turkey main course to be just so-so. The stuffing though delicious was a little dry and the gravy poured over the turkey was minimal. It definitely wasn’t the comfort food turkey meal that I expected to warm my tummy, but then again, Oak door is a hotel restaurant. Maybe my expectations were too high.

The pecan pie dessert however cheered me up.

 

My verdict, the dinner wasn’t really worth the price but judging from the delicious salad and soup I do believe the Oak Door has some potential and I might come back to try other courses in the future.

Price : $$

The Oak Door. 6th Floor, Grand Hyatt, 6-10-3 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo. Tel : +81 3 4333 8784

 

 

 

 

 

TY HARBOR BREWERY in Shinagawa

by Bianca

I love this place. Been meaning to visit it since forever but somehow only got around to it yesterday. Everything about TV Harbor Brewery is perfect, the location on a river bank in the Shinagawa area is fabulous , prices are reasonable and most important of all, the food is really..really good.

It was a rather gloomy day when I visited yesterday, but the temperature was just perfect to sit outdoors on their terrace to enjoy our lunch. The lunch menu changes everyday and I found the choices to be very extensive. You have about 5 dish choices everyday and yesterday we ordered the steak, meat loaf and spaghetti. Their lunch menu seems to be a mix of international and Asian food. Dinner is a different menu and it mostly consists of steaks and burgers. Prices are very reasonable.

The spaghetti with mushroom, beef and onions had a delicious Asian taste to it.

The meat loaf with mushroom gravy had the perfect amount of mixture of beef and bread in it. I loved it.

Meatloaf with mushroom gravy

What better way to enjoy our lunch than with some delicious beer. It is a brewery after all. I tried the special ale which had honey in it. I would have preferred the beer to be served a little colder but nothing much to complain about.

The set lunch comes with some delicious coffee pudding but we added a lovely pecan cake with banana gelato. Yummy.

Below are some more picture of the interior and views from the restaurant. The weather now would be the perfect time to visit and I heard they are very popular for brunch on weekends so make sure you have a reservation.

Interior of TY Harbor Brewery

View from the terrace

Price : $

TY HARBOR BREWERY : 2-1-3 Higashishinagawa, Shinagawa, Tokyo 140-0002, Japan. Tel:+81 3-5479-4555 ‎