Category Archives: Contemporary Japanese

Mame-cha

by Afra

If you happen to be looking for a nice lunch spot in the Yurakucho area, consider dropping by Mame-cha located on the 8th floor of the Lumine department store building. Its located under a cinema and relatively new on this floor.

They have a variety of different choices in the set menu, allowing you to pick the food that you like and leaving out the ones you don’t.

The style of the interior was very modern Japanese. Simple with light wood accents.

You pick your main dish from the menu and while waiting for your meal to arrive, there is an appetizer buffet elegantly designed like a capsule. You can choose three dishes of appetizers and dessert, all dessert or all appetizers as long as it is 3 dishes. Everything looked so inviting, it took me awhile to decide which appetizers to pick.

They had an interesting tea selection in the buffet, from grape tea to black bean tea. I tried a sip of them all and loved the grape tea flavor.

My pick from the buffet was 2 appetizers and 1 dessert. You could choose all dessert if you want. My dessert was a green tea cake.

My choice of main course today was a simple grilled fish. Nice and healthy.

The lunch menu costs 1500 yen ++ and it is just the right size so you wont get sleepy for work in the afternoon.

Good lunch spot!

Price : $

Mame-cha
〒100-0006 Tokyo, Chiyoda, Yurakucho, 2 Chome−5−1, LUMINE Yurakucho 8F
03-6267-4775

HORIKANE

by Bianca

Nestled in a very unassuming side street in the Shirokanedai neighborhood, Horikane’s excellent cuisine is anything but modest. The Michelin guide stated that “Owner-chef Hidehiro Horiuchi’s kitchen is a place of focused concentration”. The interior of this tiny restaurant may be a little dated but the brilliance of Horikane’s dishes are anything but obsolete.

Chef Horiuchi combines Japanese with chinese style and here are the series of exquisitely crafted dishes I was privileged enough to try.

Vegetable Appetizers

Vegetable Appetizers

I wish I could have asked what the dish on the right was but my limited Japanese skills couldn’t figure it out. The next dish was my absolute favorite. Not only was it extremely creative it was also highly delectable, a thick shark fin soup in a mango fruit. You were asked to eat it like you would a coconut. Scraping the mango flesh and eating it with the soup. Heavenly.

Sharkfin soup in a mango fruit

Sharkfin soup in a mango fruit

Next came three slices of the freshest fatty tuna (toro) with an array of condiments.

Tuna toro

Tuna toro

Following the tuna, came a squid dish bathed in black squid ink.

Squid ink dish

Squid ink dish

Next came what I thought was a tofu dish but actually wasn’t. Once again, limited Japanese language skills hindered me from finding out what it was but at least I can show you how it looked like.

Tofu-like dish

Tofu-like dish

And as the main course we were served Horikane’s famous hot pot with chunks of vegetables and delicious fish inside.

The hotpot

The hot pot

Then came a wonderful truffle scented rice porridge with poached eggs. Comfort food for my tummy.

Truffle scented rice porridge with poached eggs

Truffle scented rice porridge with poached eggs

And to end things on a sweet note. Some lovely strawberries in a sesame sauce.

I truly loved my meal. It would set you can around 25.000 to 30.000 yen but is absolutely worth it.

Price : $$$

HORIKANE
5-10-13 Shirokanedai
Minato-ku Tokyo
Phone : 03-3280-4629