Eating in Tokyo: L'Osier!!

L'Osier is a restaurant that really deserves its 3 star Michelin status. Service was impeccable. Food was great.

Sorry about the layout of the photos-- I haven't yet got the hang of posting photos on blogger.com.

The restaurant is next to the Ginza Shiseido building. The exterior reminded me of Gordon Ramsay's flagship restaurant at the Royal Hospital Road in London, except that it was nicer. There were a few carefully sculpted hedges and trees outside, and the restaurant had a splendid, grilled facade. When we went there just two days ago, we were greeted by a doorman, a hostess and the maitre'd (whom I believe was French). The maitre'd was fantastic. He explained every single dish to us with utmost assiduity, and was very concerned for our comfort and wellbeing, whether it be with regard to where I put my bag, the layout of the cutlery, the taste of the food/wine, etc.

Anyway, at his recommendation, we had the "bleue" menu for lunch, which comprised hors'd'oeuvre or soup, main dish, dessert and petit fours. He said that bleue was probably sufficient for us unless we were really famished.

Given the quality and service, I think the price of 6800 Yen (roughly USD76) per head for the bleue menu was an absolute steal. I wonder how all the mid-range restaurants in Ginza can compete with this one- I walked by one that was charging about 5500 Yen a head- if I were to increase my spend a little bit I could dine at L'Osier, which is so much more worthwhile.

The amuse-bouche was sea scallops with water cress. It was wonderful, very tasty and beautifully presented to boot. We ordered a glass of French wine. At about 11.4 USD a glass I again thought it was good value for money for the quality! The bouquet was spicy and full-bodied, because of the nature of the grapes used to make the wine. The maitre'd mentioned a place in France- I forget where- where they harvest the grapes. While waiting for our first course, we were given a wide choice of bread (which included scottish bread, brioche, etc etc) and we ate it with salted as well as unsalted butter. We admired the dining room, which had a lot of modern art plastered on the walls. Our table layout was simple but beautiful.

For our first course, we had the terrine of duck meat and mushroom soup. I was sceptical about the mushroom soup at first, thinking that it would be too creamy and heavy, which is how most restaurants serve it. But L'Osier's version was fabulous! I have never ever tasted, and probably will never taste, mushroom soup that is so delicious. It was light, airy, frothy and goodness to the core. The terrine was good, but the soup was out-of-this-world. In my opinion, a must-try.

For mains, we had 1) the japanese pork rubbed with green tea, served with preserved onion and a japanese chesnut and mushroom, and 2) risotto, with chicken wings stuffed with parmesan, and poached pear (I think!). The japanese pork was one of the tastiest I have ever had, up there with Gordon Ramsay's pork dish, but the risotto!! Again out of this world. Bruno Menard (the chef) is a genius.

We had a beautiful creamy "pre-dessert", served in a jar, and which had some biscuit and strawberry liqueur at the bottom. Then, for more of the pre-dessert, we were served a panoply of sweeties- 1) Macarons- black currant, yuzu cream, chocolate and many other flavours 2) 2 packs of rice crispies 3) meringue tarlets (I think that was what it was) and 4) vanilla creme brulee. Do see the pictures for more information.

After we had stuffed ourselves with the pre-dessert, our actual dessert arrived. You can imagine the sugar rush we had. Mine was called, "Hamburger". The "bread" was soft white cheese I believe, but it was slightly sweet! It did not taste like cheese. There was strawberry sauce and a sliver of strawberry sweet in between the slices of "bread". There were spheres of green tea cream in between the pieces of "bread". And it was topped off with green tea ice cream. Very cute and chic indeed. I enjoyed it very much.

The other dessert was a chesnut chocolate ice-cream. It was again very good, I really can't say which dessert was better- it was like choosing your favourite child- one didn't really know which dessert to pick.

As if that were not enough, we had green tea/english breakfast tea and were allowed a free pick of MORE sweeties from the dessert trolley. It had almond biscuits, fruits, many different chocolates, lollipops, tartlets, cakes, etc etc etc. Fabulous! But I think I will go off sweets for a while.

All in all, a splendid dining experience. This ranks as one of the top dining experiences of my life, alongside Marcus Wareing in London. Admittedly, though, the food at Marcus Wareing, while good, is not as delicious as this place. But the service, and experience at Marcus Wareing, was also fantastic. I can't decide which was better. But anyway, all I can say is that L'Osier fully deserves its 3 Michelin stars. If it doesn't get 3 stars, I don't think any other restaurant can. I think this restaurant is a must-try.