Blue Dragon - Motoazabu - Asian Fusion

Blue Dragon - Motoazabu
March 2009

1F Tanaka Building
3-2-20 Motoazabu
Tel. 03-3478-8287
Open 6.30pm - 3.30 am

Best Dish - Chicken Rice Soup
Cost - This place is actually licenced as a bar not a restaurant so they make you order one drink. Including one drink, expect to pay maximum 3,000 yen each.
English Friendly - Yes
Seats - 12 + counter
Atmosphere - No-nonsense, good value.
Food - Most dishes are very good, a few are exceptional. Half the fun is trying them all!
Service - below average
Wine list - In typical Japanese style they have 2 kinds, red and white.
Functions - no
Private Room - no
Non smoking areas - no
Vegetarian Options - yes but I wouldn't guarantee no fish sauce.
Family Friendly - no

Ren Ren Ren - Marunouchi - Chinese

Ren Ren Ren - Marunouchi
December 2008

1F Tokia Tokyo Buiding
2-7-3 Marunouchi
Chiyoda-ku Tokyo Japan
Tel. 03-5252-7361
Open Mon-Sat 11:00 - 04:00 and Sun 11:00 - 23:00
Website: http://r.gnavi.co.jp/g763385/ (sorry no English)

Best Dish - Peking Duck, whole duck is 7,500 yen.
Cost - Lunch from 1,000 yen. Excluding live catches, duck and drinks, dinner is around 3,500 per person.
English Friendly - Yes, no English menu but a few of the waiters are fluent.
Atmosphere - Salary Men
Food - OK for the area but I prefer Cafe Eight.
Service - Average
Wine list - None
Functions - Yes
Private Room - No
Non smoking areas - Yes
Vegetarian Options - Yes
Family Friendly - Yes

Monsoon Cafe - Thai

Monsoon Cafe - Azabu Juban
January 2008

6F Festa Azabu Building
1-7-5 Azabu Juban
Tel. 03-5775-6900
Open 7 days 11:30am - 5:00am
http://www.monsoon-cafe.jp/en/casual/home/welcome

Also located in Chiba, Kanagawa, Osaka, Daikanyama, Ebisu, Ginza, Jiyugaoka, Minami Aoyama, Nishi Azabu, Odaiba and Shibuya. See the website for more details.

Best Dish - Vermicelli Salad
Cost - Dishes go up to 1,380 yen each
English Friendly - Yes
Atmosphere - Tacky interior but the outside deck is lovely if the weather is nice.
Food - Average
Service - Average
Wine list - A good selection of Champagne and cocktails but only house wine.
Private Functions - Yes
Non smoking areas - Yes
Vegetarian Options - Yes
Family Friendly - Yes

Elements - Toranomon - Fench Fusion

Elements - Toranomon
December 2007

Toranomon Towers Residence 1F

4-1-34 Toranomon

Minato-ku Tokyo
Tel. 03-5733-0222

Open for lunch 11:30 - 15:00

Open for dinner 18:00 - 23:00

Closed Sunday and holidays

www.elements-restaurant.com

Best Dish - The roasted duck is the signature dish and the steak is also superb.
Cost - Mains go up to 12,000 each.
English Friendly - Yes.
Seats - 2 private rooms for up to 10 people each and 52 seats in the main room.
Atmosphere - The interior design could be in any top restaurant anywhere in the world. The wooden floors can make is noisy.
Food - wonderfully fresh
Service - excellent
Wine list - A large selection of mostly French.
Private Functions - Yes.
Non smoking areas - Yes.
Vegetarian Options - No.
Family Friendly -No.

Beacon - Aoyama - Steak

Beacon - Aoyama
February 2007

1-2-5 Shibuya
Shibuya-Ku
Ph. 03-6418-0077
Lunch: 11:30 - 15:00
Tea time: 15:00 - 17:00 (Sat, Sun, Hol)
Dinner: 18:00 - 22:00
Bar: 18:00 - 23:00

This place was recommended to me for lunch but since I am usually busy during the day we had to settle with dinner. The decor is similar to that of modern restaurants all over the world with dim lights, high ceilings and a slightly Japanese influence.

The menu has a wide range of fish and meat dishes with a few vegetarian dishes also available. To start with, we had the prawns and the wagyu beef carpaccio matched with the pinot noir (by the glass). The prawns are served in a deliciously spicy sauce and crispy bread to dip in. I was a little disappointed when the carpaccio was served. It looked more like beef tataki with thick slices of slightly seared wagyu arranged on the plate but it did taste good. The pinot by the glass was average.

We had a salad between courses and were a little surprised when the waiter arrived with a Caesar salad. On the menu it was called Romaine Salad, Romaine lettuce leaves are also known as Cos lettuce leaves. It seamed like our waiter did not have much to do. He continually looked over us, waiting for us to finish our meals and as I was putting my fork down from the last bite, his hand was already on the plate taking it away. It was a little disconcerting having the feeling of being watched while eating our meal. As another waiter reached across the table to put a fresh glass of wine, his sleeve went straight in my food.

For mains we ate wagyu steak and braised lamb shanks with garlic mash on the side. We drank a glass of Shiraz and a glass of Merlot. The Shiraz was typically barossa with rich peppery aromas but the Merlot was definitely the pick of the day and it went perfectly with the lamb. The mash had one garlic clove on top but other than that I could not taste any garlic mixed in with the mash. The steak was as expected very marbled and became a little too fatty towards the end (it was quite large). The braised lamb shanks were a special and I don't think they will last long on the menu. The meat did not fall off the bone and the flavours on the sauce did not match the lamb.

Best Dish - Prawns to start
Cost - For 2 people including 2 glasses of wine each we paid around 16,000 yen.
English Friendly - Yes, English speaking waiters and an English menu.
Seats - 100
Atmosphere - International.
Food - Stick with steak.
Service - Below average.
Wine list - Good.
Private Functions - Yes

Non smoking areas - No

Vegetarian Options - A couple of dishes.

Ex - Roppongi - German Bar

Ex - Roppongi
February 2007

1F Roppongi Maisonette bldg
7-6-6 Roppongi
Minato-Ku
Ph. 03-3408-5487
Open: Monday - Saturday 17:00 - 2:00
Last food order 21:45
http://www.ex-tokyo.com/

This bar is an old establishment among locals and has been around for about 30 years. It has good beer, great staff and excellent food. We ate the pork chops, roast pork and meat loaf. All 3 were fantastic but one meal between 2 is probably enough unless you are very hungry.

Best Dish - Pork Chops
Cost - We paid 13,000 yean for 2 meals shared between 3 people and a few beers each.
English Friendly - Yes.
Seats - 15
Atmosphere - Work collegues.
Food - Authentic German.
Service - Superb.
Wine list - white and red!
Private Functions - No




Non smoking areas - No
Vegetarian Options - No