With my first full day in Tokyo behind me, I have a lot to cover here on the blog – and a lot to look forward to in the coming days. The change of pace and location has provided a much-needed, greatly appreciated distraction. Still, I think of Maximus often and wonder how the other dogs are going to adjust. According to my dog-sitter, they’re doing fine right now. Bubba and Lulu are doing a lot of walking while Jelly is doing a lot of lying around, wrestling with her toys. Christine forwarded the following pic of Lulu and Bubba rarin’ to go…
And speaking of rarin’ to go…
My trip to Tokyo happens to coincide with the what is billed as “the largest event dedicated to chocolate”: Le Salon du Chocolat. As some of you know, I’ enjoy the occasional chocolate – and chocolate-related party (April 18, 2010: The Greatest Chocolate Party Ever!). And so, yesterday, we met up with my friend Keiko and headed to Isestan Shinjuku which was playing host to some of the world’s greatest chocolatiers – and, of course, their creations.
The plan was to do a tour of the place, then go to lunch after which we would make our purchases and start sampling. Well, yes, that was the plan. We were only steps inside when we happened across a little seated area in which diners were being served some of the most incredible-looking chocolate creations I’ve ever seen. After hardly any consideration at all, we decided to line up and sample the chocolate masterpieces. They certainly looked incredible, but would they be as delectable as they appeared? I’ll save you the suspense. The answer is: yes!
The Kobe Kitano Hotel, igrekplus bakeries, with the help and coordination of Kobe Kitano Hotel General Manager and Executive Chef Hiroshi Yamaguchi, and accomplished restauranteur and International Vice-President of Relais & Châteaux Dominique Loiseau present…”les creations”:
I ended up chatting with Dominique Loiseau who owns several restaurants in France including the 3-star Michelin Relais Bernard Loiseau (named after her late husband, the famed Bernard Loiseau) and she discussed the challenges of creating something that not only looked beautiful, but tasted wonderful as well. I assured her she and her team has succeeded.
With dessert out of the way, we headed to lunch at a Wako-owned tonkatsu chain restaurant…
My favorite was Keiko’s kurobuta from Kakoshima. It struck the perfect balance. Special mention should also be made to the killer wasabi seaweed served with the meal. Akemi assured me we can find some before we head back to Vancouver. Overall, a nice lunch – but, for my money, Butagumi is still the place to beat for tonkatsu.
After that, it was back downstairs for Desserts, Round #2.
On this day, my high school French came into great use. I stopped by one booth and ended up chatting with a Frederic Madelaine, chef/owner of Le Pommier in Kitazawa and Azabu-Juban (http://www.lepommier-patisserie.com/). Incredible affable fellow. Akemi loved his Japanese! We purchased one of his nine-piece selections that we ended up enjoying this morning at the hotel!
Well into our chocolate high, we let the Salon and cut through the Isetan enroute to the metro…
After returning to the hotel to unwind, I headed over to the Pierre Marcolini Cafe to say hi to my friend Moro. And, since I was there, I couldn’t well pass up one of these –
With the Salon du Chocolat and that late afternoon parfait behind me, I was finally ready for dinner. I headed off to Nishi-Azabu where I ended up dining with the lovely Tomomi at Le Bourguignon. We enjoyed great service, cozy and quaint surroundings, and an excellent food.
It was ticking past 10:00 p.m. and I was exhausted. But I knew that I had to visit one more place in memory of my wingman Ivon who couldn’t make the trip…
Check out Star Bar here (スタア・バー・ギンザ) and info on the upcoming Tokyo International Bar Show here (Tokyo International BarShow – Info | Facebook).
By the time I got back to the hotel, I was exhausted and ready for bed. Akemi presented me with a present from the friend she’d had dinner with. Apparently, he knew I liked sushi and felt badly I’d missed out…
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