We were walking around Isetan still a bit hungry and I saw this and I knew we had to get it.

Cake – Looks like a price of art. A really nice fruit cake. Light airy cake with cream and fruit. Layers of fruit inside as well. Surprisingly light despite the look of heavy cream.

Decor: N/A, no place to sit, just counter.

Overall Assessment: ($$, 5/10) – Sadly I think this was the best thing we got at Isetan. Though I do have a great story with it. We pay and the counter girl asks “Spoon, How many?” I go “2″. She responds with a quizzical look and go “Spoon, four?” Again I repeat “2″ and she gave me two. I bet she was thinking to herself “American Pigs.” Sadly if the portion is for two, the wife and I were able to finish it between the two of us.

Website: http://www.ccc-c3.jp/
Location: 3-14-1, Shinjuku
Reservation: N/A
Takeout: N/A
Hours: Unknown

Originally we were targeting Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki in Paris. However after not seeing any of his famous eclairs and everything else was so pricey we chose Anderson’s bakery due to my brother in law’s recommendation.

	Cannoli – The outer shell was a bit hard and bit packed in. The filling was a very sweet caramel base. A little too sweet actually.
	Melon Bread – The melon bread was very airy. However there were some parts that were a bit chewy and tougher than it should be. A bit uneven. Nice dusting of sugar on the outside.
	Bombolini – I think the best one of the bunch. Nice soft and texturing of crystallized sugar with a buttery sweet custard on the inside.

Decor: N/A, no place to sit, just counter.

Overall Assessment: ($, 3/10) – Nice really was exceptional. The bakery goods at Rauk in Kyoto were better. Though if you judging by a mall bakery, it’s a hundred times better than anything you can ever find here in the us.

Website: http://www.andersen.co.jp/
Location: 3-14-1, Shinjuku
Reservation: N/A
Takeout: N/A
Hours: Unknown

After much thought on what we could eat cold, we came up with sushi rolls.

Garden Roll – Simple avocado and green herbs mixed in with rice. Nice simple clean taste. Eel Roll – Eel and egg mixed in a roll with avocado. The egg’s sweetness blended nicely with the eel’s.

Decor: N/A, no place to sit, just counter.

Overall Assessment: ($, 3/10) – We liked how the rolls weren’t hard despite them sitting there for a while. We also liked how they cut the rolls after you ordered them. Better than the sushi rolls served in a supermarket. Liked the little tiny bottle of soy sauce. Cute. Good buy at the depachika due to ease of eating right there.

Website: N/A
Location: 3-14-1, Shinjuku
Reservation: N/A
Takeout: N/A
Hours: Unknown

Wanted something else to eat at Isetan.

Chicken Meal – The chicken is a lit on the dry side but has a light soy glaze. We were not a fan of the pickled green thing assortment on the rice. The egg and carrot blended nicely with the rice.

Decor: N/A, no place to sit, just counter.

Overall Assessment: ($, 2/10) – One of the only places we found that was serving hot food. The steaming of the rice bowls. Not the greatest but hey it was warm.

Website: N/A
Location: 3-14-1, Shinjuku
Reservation: N/A
Takeout: N/A
Hours: Unknown

Our Isetan Depachika tour starts here.

Tofu Rolls -Tofu with cabbage. Very naturally sweet covering with assorted mushroom mixture inside. Very light milky sauce.

Decor: N/A, no place to sit, just counter.

Overall Assessment: ($, 2/10) – I think it would taste better warmer. Wish I had known that all the depachika stuff was take home without heating or seats. Wife was trying to recreate the magic of the Buddhist meal with no luck.

Website: N/A
Location: 3-14-1, Shinjuku
Reservation: N/A
Takeout: N/A
Hours: Unknown

Another exploration of the mixology scene in Tokyo.

	Pistachio – Red pistachios. Nice and firm and taste like other pistachios.
	Sandwich – Pepperoni slice had a nice earthy smokey taste. Chewy slices on crunchy bread. The second one is a cream cheese spread on the same crunchy bread.
	Sea Breeze Cocktail – Tastes like a lychee. Very smooth and sweet, with nary an alcoholic taste.
	Gimlet – A nice yuzu smell and light taste. Light gin mixes well with the crushed ice

Decor: We were seated in the tables and that detracted a bit as we weren’t able to interface much with the bartenders. We were however close enough to see Ueda’s hard shake method. And we can say the rumors are true, the drink does come out colder. The bartenders seemed a bit more distant than the ones at Star Bar so I can’t tell you if that would have made a difference if we were seated at the bar. The atmosphere has more of a 20’s glamor. Very well lit and creamy and oak colors.

Overall Assessment: ($$$, 6/10) – The wife and I agree that the quality of the drinks are better here than Star Bar. In the same vein, it is a bit pricier. Again beware of the way the bars work in Tokyo is there is an upfront cost per person and then the charge for drinks. So don’t be too shocked if the price is more than you expect. It’s their way of packing the tip in. However we are just more partial to the atmosphere and the cultural bridge at Star Bar more.

Website: http://gourmet.suntory.co.jp/shop/0335718343/index.html
Location: 6-5-15 Ginza, Chuo-ku
Reservation: N/A
Takeout: N/A
Hours: Mon – Sat; 1700 – 0100

Had dinner at Tonki and their famous tonkatsu.

	Tea – Very aromatic and had a very deep taste to it.
	Pickled Vegetables – Not too pickled, went well with the rice. The cucumbers weren’t pickled at all. Nice firm and crisp.
	Rice – Nice and soft. Nothing out of the ordinary.
	Miso Soup – Loved their soup, with the little pieces of fat pork giving an aroma and depth not find in regular miso soups.
	Rohsu-katsu Tonkastu – This cut has a bit of fat with it. Amazing texture. Cooked perfectly well, not overdone at all. Loved the crisp exterior and how there is no oily aftertaste. A huge fan of the wasabi like mustard. The raw shredded cabbage go well as a vegetable side and is perfect with the sauce.
	Hire-katsu – Leaner. I thought that the lack of fat would make the pork a bit drier. But to my surprise that is not the case. The pork is like the above cut just without the fat. Well done sirs.

Decor: Simply wood design everywhere.  However it was very comfortable.  Nice bar setup where you can go and sit and watch what is going on. Your order is taken as soon as you walk in. They have an English menu but seriously your choices are fat and non-fat. If there is sitting at the bar you can go ahead, else you can wait at the benches behind. Really friendly folks. Love the efficiency and just seeing the preparation.

Overall Assessment: ($$, 8/10) – We arrived close to 8 pm and the place was still packing. Great simplicity in what they do; however, they do it well. Loved the extra free refills they give on cabbage and rice. So you will leave full. Very reasonably price for a a large chunk of pork as such. Can see the attention to detail they put by watching the assembly line work.

Website:
Location: 1-2 Shimo-meguro 1-chome, Meguro-ku
Reservation: N/A
Takeout: N/A
Hours: Daily; 1600 – 2300

I believe the words from the wife were “Are you crying?” We were shopping around the depachika and low and behold I saw this store. I thought I would have to go back to Paris to get my croissant. And they had stores here in Tokyo.

Croissant – It didn’t have that light sprinkling of sugar that I loved in Paris. But the croissant was nice and hot. It had that great crisp and thin flakiness. It was simply divine. I went back to the hotel and found more stores. They have branches in Senegal and Morocco but not the US.  What gives?

Location: 1-4-1 Nihonbashi

Related Reviews:
/2007/11/21/french-la-maison-kayser-paris-france/

Our second lunch day was the two star Michelin Spanish restaurant Sant Pau.

	Cava Champagne – Cava slight bitter and bubbly
	Bread – Bread had a soft center and very crispy exterior Breadsticks – Very long, very crunchy as well and chock full of flavoring too.
	There were three condiments for the bread Salt (Back) – Very fine sea salt, had a sharp distinct salty taste. Butter (Front Left) – Wish it was a bit creamier. Nothing distinct about it. Olive Oil (Front Right) – Very good Olive Oil, light olive taste and had a velvety rich taste to it.
	Croqueta no 7 (d’arros Japonica, misso, shiso, sesam) – Warm rice filled croquette with a light miso base mixed it. Also a sesame flavor from the exterior seeds. Couldn’t really taste the shiso.
	Broqueta de sanma tomaquet, motassa i poma – Sweet and sour soft fish, slight aftertaste. The sweetness comes from the tomato and the sour comes from a light vinagrette.
	Cap-i-pota de vedella amb guisat de cigrons – Pork a bit on the chewy side, perhaps braised for too long. The soft chickpeas mixes nicely with the tomato taste.
	Cornet de pa gelat d’pli d’oliva verge extra D.O. Siurana – Very light olive flavor, blends in nicely with the slight sweet taste. Loved the thin crunchy tuille
	Calamar 2009 (ceps calamar ink pasta, white sauce) – Squid is very soft while slight chewy. I did like the creamy mild sauce that allowed for the calamari to shine. The mixture of soft mushroom and al dente squid ink pasta though was very well thought out. Best course of the meal.
	Monkfish (julivertada, azuki) – Monkfish had a mild slight crunch to teh skin. It was served with a nice sweet red bean paste that offsets the slightly salty fish. The monkfish liver was creamy and mild seafood taste. The parsley, olive oil green sauce very very light and barely noticeable which allowed the fish to shine.
	Pluma of Iberian Pork (potato mille-feuille) – Crispy and staggered potato mille-feuille was the best part of the dish. When mixed with the awesome paprika jam ball, the potato was amazing. The tender pork had a mild zest and tang; however sadly the potato really stole the show as the pork wasn’t that good comparatively.
	South America (potato, chocolate & corn ice) – Potato mousse served with chocolate and jelly rum from Brazil. Sprinkled with crispy corn. Innovative but not our thing. Slightly sweetened potato puree needs to be more sweet. The ice cream was nice but the crunchy bits of corn detracts from the smoothness. But really kills it is the bitter rum. That really does not blend well with the mixture.
	Divertiments de Patisseria Polo de Piruleta – First Picture. Shaped like a Lollipop, eats like a cherry popsicle, not too sweet which is perfect. Plantan (coco) – Second Picture. Plantain covered with chocolate. The nice soft interior is contrasted nicely with a crunchy chocolate exterior. Third Picture. Only the right side of the plate going L-R, and down by row. Flam de roses – Rose flan. A very light rose taste. The flan practically melts in your mouth. Wife’s favorite. Pega dolca i sidral – Pistachio cake. It was a nice soft cake that had a great rich cream filling. The crunchy exterior peppered by pistachios. Cabell d’angel – Spaghetti squash. Almost had a pie feel with a chewy yet crispy exterior. It was lightly sweet with crunchy pine nuts. Bombo de xocolata – Supposedly spicy chocolate. No spice in my opinion. If you’ve had the “Melty Kiss” chocolates, this is what it feels like though with crunchy sesame seeds. Nori amb cacao – Coco covered seaweed. Interesting blend of a salty sweet. Not really our thing though. Cruixent de xocolata – Chocolate Crunch. The milk chocolate has a bitter aftertaste. The exterior is covered with crunchy almond fragments Sindria amb rom – Watermelon rum jelly. The jelly has a nice watermelon soothing taste. Just a mild dash of rum in it. Brac de gitano (to the left of the main plate) – Licorice sticks. Not too strong of a licorice taste, which was good. A light dusting of sugar to keep it sweet.
	Mint Tea – Nice mild mint tea. Nice aroma to it.
	Coffee – Strong and bitter like most other coffees here in Japan.

Decor: Very classy feel. Varied client base. we saw people in T-shirts in jeans while there are people in suits as well. The funniest thing we saw was this elderly grandmother that was eating by herself. Walls are red with art paintings all around. Another thing we noticed was that the whole wait staff were women. Odd as we have not seen much female wait staff here in Japan much less a staff made completely of women. We had no problems with it, just an observation. Our waitress spoke perfect English and Spanish as well, impressive. One thing that was odd is that they positioned to building to have a view, yet the view is of the side of a shopping mall. Another oddity was he was the only chef that didn’t come out to say hi to us when we asked for an autographed menu.

Overall Assessment: ($$$$$, 6/10) – Originally we wanted to visit La Rochelle but they were booked up with weddings. So we opted for this two star Spanish restaurant. We liked certain aspects of the restaurant. There definitely were some hits with the squid, and the paprika ball, some real downers like the dessert and just a lot of ho hum dishes. They do small plates here well. Both the four-mini course and the petit four plats offered innovation and promise. Perhaps they should do some more of that.

Website: http://www.santpau.jp/english/index.html
Location: 1-6-1 Nihonbashi
Reservation: 03-3517-5700
Takeout: N/A
Hours: Tues – Fri; 1130 – 1530, 1800 – 000, Sat – Sun; 1200 – 1530, 1800 – 0000

We had to go and try out the mixology in Tokyo.

	Bite Size Sandwich – Nice tiny bite size rolls. Bread roll around slices of ham and cheese. A nice little finger food. Not much in terms of food.
	Nuts – I think they were wrapped soy nuts. Full of flavor and very crunchy. Nice bar food.
	Dried Corn – We’ve had the large Peruvian corn and lets just say we weren’t very enamored with it. So when they served us the dried variant, we were a bit hesitant. Well the dried version is a hundred times better than the cooked version. Great crunch and the dried smokey flavor. Very wonderful. So good that we went to a grocery store afterwards to find some.
	Scotch Drink – I don’t know what the drink is called, we had a hard time communicating on the first drink. I just asked for a drink with scotch that was a little bit sweet. They brought this out. Very light and refreshing though you could sense the underlying scotch. Had a hint of cherry flavoring to it.
	Muscat Grape Gin – We somehow muttered out grape and the bartender goes muscat and we go yes, so he fixes up this very light and sweet grape drink with a smooth gin taste to it. Very nice, wife was in love with it immediately.
	Jack Rose – More success on this drink, the wife wanted something fruity after the wonderful grape drink and somehow pomegranate got tossed out. So they mix this number up that had a slight fruit acidic pomegranate taste.

Decor: It’s in the basement, a bit dark and a hint of smoke lingers. I somehow thought there would be a drink menu but no luck on that. Given the bartenders English skills and our nonexistent and horrible Japanese, it could have been a disaster. But we worked it out. Bartenders were so friendly, when we left they apologize and stated if we come back again there English would improve. Very cute. Even with the language barrier, they tried to make small talk (good thing we had our translator book with us). We spent a good amount of time there.

Overall Assessment: ($$$, 7/10) – Drinks were very well crafted. They really worked the subtitles of the fruit and alcohol well. We loved the charm of trying to communicate across cultures and languages. One thing to note, the way the bars work is there is an upfront cost per person and then the charge for drinks. So don’t be too shocked if the price is more than you expect. It’s their way of packing the tip in.

Website: http://starbar.jp/
Location: 1-5-13 Ginza Chuo-ku 1F 104-0061
Reservation: N/A
Takeout: N/A
Hours: Daily; 1500 – 0500