Gastronomy Joël Robuchon, 9/3/2025, Tokyo, Japan (5-Course, ¥33599 incl. Taxes, excl. Gratuity)

There are many Robuchon dining spots in Tokyo, I have always been eager to dine at Gastronomy Joël Robuchon which is the only Michelin 3-star restaurant located in Tokyo in the Robuchon empire. Before Chef Robuchon passes away, he has been awarded 30+ stars. Thru AMEX Platinum Concierge, I was able to secure a reservation and was informed to pre-order the Degustation menu with either of 1, 2 or 3 main courses along with the associated Amuse Bouche, appetizers, cheese and desserts. The selected pre-order can’t be changed once reservation is confirmed. 

Joël Robuchon is located in a large 2-stories building sharing its premises with other Robuchon establishments in this new development in Tokyo, Yebisu Garden Place, very similar to the Hudson Yard project in NYC, USA. In the dining room, staff were stationed in key posts to make sure diners’ needs was attended to. The setting is a luxurious neo-French Chateau, reminiscent of an 18-century palace with a formal atmosphere. The restaurant does require formal dress code.

Once we were seated. I notice there were carts of food being wheeled around, one cart for bread, one cart for cheese before dessert, two carts for desserts to go with the dessert course. It started with Amuse Bouche.

Amuse Bouche

1).Gaufrette/Sea Urchin and shrimp

Gaufrette is a French term meaning “little waffle” that refer to a few different foods, including a crisp, wafer biscuit or Belgian-style waffle. This dish firstly prepared Sea Urchin mousse made of sea urchin, creamy mashed potatoes, white wine and purée shrimp. Mousse sandwiched in between waffles and then deep fried the sandwich in butter. Mousse was fresh and scrumptious; coating was lightly battered and crunchy. I felt like one is not enough. Sea urchin was just tasty enough to open the palette.

2).Caviar Imperiale de Sologne

To make a simple description, it is pâté of crab layered with fennel jelly, then blanketed with caviar. Crabs are Zuwaigani crab, also known as Japanese Snow Crab, that is prized for its succulent, sweet meat and tender texture. It is a popular ingredient in various Japanese dishes.

Caviar, succulent and plump is from La Maison Nordique, renowned for their incomparable quality, caviar have a firm grain, a slightly iodized taste and perfectly balanced curing. Caviar is placed on crab meat which is surrounded by crustacean jelly made from fennel, lobster and shrimp with blobs of cauliflower cream dots and parsley dots on top. Cauliflower dots made of puréed cauliflower, potatoes and cream. This jelly, made of fennel and crustacean broth, was the amazing synthesizer. It made this dish with such a fabulous appearance, indulgent texture and flavors. Although it is served as amuse bouche which is usually in the experimental stage, it has already been recognized as one of the signature dishes. I noticed that the quantity of jelly has been increased in this version from the prior version. I was deeply impressed by all aspects of this dish. It is a miracle to be so perfect. I inquired the Director on how many cauliflowers dots are on each plate. He would not give me a straight answer. Regardless, it is a practice of patience.

Breads

Once the bread cart parked by your table, the attendant automatically gave us their signatures – a small baguette and a slice of rye bread. In addition, the restaurant served olive oil and Froment du Léon butter from Brittany. It is a high-quality dairy product with a very special yellowish luster and smooth and rich diary taste. The varieties of bread include breads with charcoal, anchovies, basil, plain, cheese, corn, sun dried tomatoes, bacon, olive, rosemary, etc. They looked so yummy, but I had to watch how much bread I ate so that I had enough room for the rest of the meal. The real game will start with the cold appetizer and then hot appetizer.

Les Entrées Froides / Cold Appetizers

La Niçoise – Soft Boiled Egg in Modern Style “Niçoise” with Macedonia Vegetables

It was green egg with gold leaf. Never had green egg before. To make dish with such a lush green color, the source has to be natural with multiple color combination and some molecular gastronomic techniques. It required Ukokkei chicken and Tokyo Bekana lettuce to make dark green sphere.

Tokyo bekana is a leafy green vegetable in the celery cabbage family. It has a mild flavor and tender texture, making it an excellent substitute for lettuce.

Ukokkei chickens(烏骨鶏), originally brought to Japan from China, also known as Silkie chicken, is a unique and highly prized breed of chicken in Japan. Renowned for its distinctive black skin, bones, and white fluffy feathers, long been treasured for their rarity and rich nutritional value, has a vibrant and deep orange color yolk. Silkie chickens are known for laying very few highly prized eggs and being very expensive. While a typical chicken lays 280 to 300 eggs annually, a Silkie only lays around 40-80.

Egg was sitting on top of tomato purée which was surrounded by dots of potato purée (one of Robuchon’s signature dishes) and pea purée, a trio appearance. I have had Ukokei chicken (It means dark bone chicken) and am familiar with the taste. In this course, diner could feel the richness of the running yolk in the mouth. Taste of chicken blended well with other ingredients. The highlight of this course was the green chicken egg and the rich taste of the egg yolk.

Le Sauman – Wasabi Smoked Salmon, Delicate Mousse Served with Wasabi Scented Cream

It was wasabi smoked salmon wrapped around salmon mousse and adorned with salmon roe on top, with slightly scented wasabi cream served on the side. Smoked salmon was juicy and fresh. It was with gentle wasabi flavor; some diners probably would prefer a stronger taste of wasabi.

Les Entrées Chaudes / Hot Appetizers

L’Asperge Verete – “Jet Farm” Green Asparagus Creamy Velvety with Ricotta Cheese Raviolis Flavored by Fresh Mint

Baby Ricotta cheese ravioli was very tasty, served with fresh asparagus and other micro vegetable. What made the difference was the creamy, slightly minty sauce.

L’Escargot – Snail Accompanied with Parsley and Garlic Purée Breading  

It was prepared with the “Panure” process. It is a French term for the breadcrumbs or breading used to coat food before cooking, such as fish or chicken, involves dredging food in flour, dipping it in egg, and then coating it with breadcrumbs before pan searing. Chef Robuchon had his variation, his cooking method used dry roasted garlic and parsley in making croquette and then baked the croquette. Chef used the local escargot, not imported from France. Snails were juicy, tender and succulent.

Les Plats Chauds / Main Courses

Le Hata – Iberique Steamed Hata with Sage Blossom, Served with Kamonasu and Chorizo Mousseline

Hata, also known as the Japanese Grouper, has a translucent white meat with its delicate and sweet flavor, similar to sea bass. Best season is in winter.

Two different types of sauce were served, tomato sauce and Chorizo sauce. Herbs and julienned fresh vegetable and coriander served on the side of fish filet. In addition, fried eggplant pockets and steamed Hata made a balanced taste. Eggplant was from Kyoto; it was a special type of eggplant with fewer seeds and smoother taste. I have seen it in the market place. It is smaller than the original western eggplant and shorter than the Oriental eggplant. It was the best eggplant that I have ever had. The texture and the seedless feature definitely please diners’ tastebud. I originally requested medium Hata but was prepared well-done. However, the 2^nd attempt was delivered mediumly cooked. 

Le Carré d’Agneau – Roasted Rack of Lamb with Thyme, Vegetable Calissons in a Rich Juice

Lamb was from France, 3-month-old baby lamb which required great care. Since it was roasted with skin on, it required baby lamb be kept in an environment without too much movement to damage the skin. Baby lamb was served with roasted red pepper covering potatoes reminiscent of Calisson (Calisson is a diamond-shaped sweet made with ground almonds). In addition, the famous mashed potatoes served on the side. The mashed potatoes were outstanding. Before I dined at Robuchon, I used to think Chef David Bouley in NYC made the best mashed potatoes. It is sad, Chef Bouley has passed away a few years ago, so did Chef Robuchon.

I have had baby lamb in other fine dining restaurants. It is distinctive in its texture and flavor. It was roasted (medium) and it was tasty, tender, succulent, adequately spiced with perfect flavor. I was very satisfied with my choice. 

Cheese

Cheese course is where every great French restaurant differentiate itself. To offer cheeses in various state of ripeness and served at the right temperature. I selected a few varieties – 2-year-old aged Comté, medium flavored Goat cheese, strong flavored Goat cheese, Brillat-Savarin (a decadent soft-ripened French triple-crème) and a slice of nut and dry fruit bread. My priority - I needed to conserve space for the complete dessert courses.

DESSERTS  

I.Dessert Course on the Menu

1).Coconut Chocolate Shell Served on a Passion Fruit Jelly

The inflated white ball, Espuma, was achieved by pumping gas into the mixture of coconut and white chocolate, a practice of Molecular Gastronomy pioneered by Ferran Adria. It was served with delicious nectarine of passion fruit, pineapple and mango at the bottom of the plate. Flavor was also enhanced by dices of tropical fruits displayed around the plate as well as the chocolate fence around the Espuma. It involves using a whipping siphon with gas cartridge to incorporate air into purées, soups or creams. A delightful and refresh palette cleaner.

2).Light Lemon Soufflé with Creamy Fromage Blanc Ice Cream

It was light lemon soufflé with creamy fromage ice cream. A very light weight soufflé with fine texture.

II.Trolley 1- Pastries, Cakes and Mignardis

They are all delicious and temptation. With my stomach being in overloaded condition, I still had a few “wanted”, it was too difficult to resist the temptation. I knew I can’t possibly have every type among displayed in the trolley: lemon cream tart, grapefruit tart, raspberry chocolate tart, opera cake, chocolate cake, Napoleon, vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, raspberry sorbet and St. Honoreé cake, etc. My favorite was Napoleon (Mille-Feuille). Chef made the layers of crust so fine and so crunchy, one of the best Napoleon that I have ever had.

III.Trolley 2 – Fantasies and Chocolate

The selection of desserts is gargantum. I was so full, but my palette still not satisfied. I got pleasure simply by looking at the trolley which displayed more temptation such as chocolate caramel, chocolate with sea salt, raspberry chocolate, chocolate praline, noisette, crispy hazelnut, dark chocolate hazelnut, ice candies almond, brownies, meringue, madeleines, truffles, yuzu white chocolate bon bon on a lovely lemon biscuit, etc. My favorite was Yuzu bon bon.

Among all the fine dining restaurants that I have visited, Gastronomy Robuchon and William Frachon/Chapeau Rouge in Dijon are the two still using the glass dome to cover the dinner plate while food being brought from kitchen to table. It was a great pleasure to enjoy the aroma and smelt upon the moment of serving when dome was removed.

Upon departure, the restaurant gave us a pineapple cake. We ate it the following day, it was yummy and different from all other pineapple cake. According to the Director, the restaurant does have a bakery, but not for retail. A customer will get his/her baked goods by invitation only.

Narisawa, Tokyo

Narisawa, Tokyo (36,300 ¥, 11/14/2019, 13-Course incl. VAT & Gratuity)

Chef Narisawa was born in Aichi prefecture in 1969, to a baker and travelled to Europe at the age of 19. He polished techniques and skills in France, Switzerland and Italy before returning to Japan in 1996. He opened Napoule in Odawara, Kanagawa in 1996. In 2003, he opened “Les Créations de Narisawa” in Tokyo and renamed it Narisawa in 2011. Narisawa has ranked on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list for a few years. He has built his fame on promoting organic and natural ingredients as a part of Japanese cuisine.

Narisawa is located on the ground floor of an office building in a relatively quiet neighborhood. It is relatively easy to find. The décor was simple, sleek and contemporary with white table cloths. Tables are located in a small square room with an open kitchen concept, can accommodate approximately up to 32 guests. You can observe the chef and staff through two panels of glass doors. In addition, there are two panels of wooden sliding doors which allows restaurant to close the kitchen view.

Narisawa only serves a set menu of 13 courses. The menu came printed on a little booklet finished with unbleached white hand-made Japanese paper and tied up with hemp string. It included an explanation on the Satoyama Scenery landscapes and Narisawa’s Sustainable and Beneficial Cuisine philosophy. Japan is 70% covered in forest, a highly mountainous groups of islands, the sea and the forests are never too far from the cities. Satoyama refers to this landscape of forests between the mountain and the towns (sato is village and yama is mountain).

To begin with, we were offered a red small shallow cup/plate and our server poured some 1-year old young Sake, from Ishikawa prefecture in Honsu, into ours cups. This red lacquered cup is called “Hiki Sakazuki” and is used to drink during a formal tea ceremony. Using this plate signifies the start of an important meal. Guests usually will ceremonially say “Kanpai” before drinking Sake. It is a gesture of cheer.

1^st Course – “Bread of the Forest 2010”. Moss

As the date indicates, this dish has been a feature on the menu for years. The live bread was brought over to our table and kept warm for 5 minutes by a candle underneath the bread box. Bread container was placed in the middle of a large plate filled with gorgeous looking autumn foliage and fruits. After the 2^nd Course Satoyama Scenery was served, our server grated some chestnut sprinkles on the dough and transferred the bread dough to a pre-heated stoneware (slightly greased at the bottom) at 200 C degree, covered the stone bowl with a piece of wood board and let it baked in the hot stone on table for 20 minutes.

The end product was two small bread balls cooked to a slightly chewy texture. The best part of this course was the butter. Butter was from Hokkaido, looked like a moss-covered rock in the forest, covered with black olive powder and green moss (spinach powder and matcha) and made for a great companion to the bread. After I made comments to our server that I hated to see leftover butter goes to waste, he brought a few more bread rolls. 

2^nd Course – Satoyama Scenery and Essence of the Forest

This dish is a great representation of Narisawa’s Satoyama practice and the most well-known of his signature dishes. The dish was served on a wooden slate covered with varieties of mixed herbs and greens in artistry multi-colors presentation. The black particles consisted of bamboo leaves ashes and coarsely grounded cooked soybean while the green particles consisted of spinach ashes and coarsely grounded soy bean with spinach juice. The brown stick was root vegetable burdock which tasted almost like fried yam skin. The little round piece of green was tempera of forest herb. In addition, there was a few mukago (Japanese baby potato). All these ingredients were laid on a bed of fermented soy bean yogurt (in light green color) and garnished by murasaki shikibu (the little red ball). This dish was paired with a small flask of bamboo filled with cedar and oak infused water, probably to evoke senses of walking through a lush bamboo forest.

The artistic presentation was fabulous and using of soy bean yogurt to smooth the taste bud was another outstanding innovation.

3^rd Course – Sea Snake, Okinawa.  Soft Shelled Turtle. Saga

They caught and dried the snake, and then brought it to the table. The flavor of the soup was rather subtle with the slightest tinge of chicken soup. There were cooked chrysanthemum flower pedals and turtle meatball in the soup. According to Chinese herbal medicine theory, snake is very effective on cleansing your body. So do the chrysanthemum. Turtle meat are rich in micronutrients. The turtle meatball was tender and delightful. Had I not known that the key ingredients were snake and turtle, I would have guessed them chicken soup and chicken meatball.

4^th Course – Amberjack, Hokkaido.  Kabosu, Kagoshima

The English term for Kanpachi is “Amberjack”. But, because Yellowtail can also be called “Japanese Amberjack”, oversea sushi diners sometimes think they are the same fish. Amberjack is the species Seriola dumerili which is less fatty and not as much exported. Amberjack has pale pink flesh and sweet flavor. Compared to its cousin, it is lower in oil and its flesh is a bit softer. Amberjack from Hokkaido is marinated in Kabosu sauce with olive oil. Kabosu, from Kagoshima, is a citrus fruit of evergreen broad-leaf tree. It is popular in Japan, where its juice is used for improving taste of many dishes such as cooked fish, sashimi and hot pot dishes. It tasted less citric than yuzu and its aroma was less pungent than yuzu. The sliced Amberjack sashimi was garnished with sesame seeds and julienned colorful vegetables including Japanese green onion (green), carrots (yellow), carrots (orange), and radish (red). Chef has prepared this dish with minimalist approach by using top grade ingredients only. The cutting technique and preparation were superb and the presentation was artistic.

5^th Course – Buckwheat, Hokkaido.  Wild Mushroom, Shizuoka

This was a Japanese version of pasta dish. Gnocchi was made with buckwheat from Hokkaido and served with the great savor enhancers - wild mushroom from Shizuoka and white truffles from Alba, Italy. Gnocchi was flavored in chicken broth sauce with white cheddar cheese and foie gras from Nagano. Pasta and truffles always made a good pair. Chef Narisawa has fully applied his western technique on this pasta dish, it was truly sumptuous.

6^th Course – Conger Pike, Aichi.  Sudachi, Tokushima

Conger Pike (Hamo) is a species of eel. This dish was a Conger Pike roll filled with matsutake mushroom from Aichi prefecture. Conger Pike roll was coated with panko to keep it juicy and tender throughout the frying process. It was served with sudachi foam from Tokushima, red sauce made from plum and red leaves, and sansho pepper, shiso purée (small green dots) made from Japanese sansho pepper, shiso leaves and white miso. Sansho’s distinctive feature is the unique refreshing aroma and spicy taste, and shiso has the pungent and grassy flavor of spearmint, anise, basil and cinnamon. Sudachi is a small, green citrus fruit of Japanese origin that is a specialty of Tokushima prefecture. It is a sour citrus, not used as fruit, but used as food flavoring. Chef used the sauce and sour sudachi to balance the overall-taste.

For centuries, Hamo has been considered inferior and unpopular because it contains hundreds of tiny bones. It was only when one clever soul invented hamokiribocho, a special knife that separates the bones without destroying the delicate white flesh, then hamo in “already deboned and filleted” became available and grew popular.

It is a contentious issue among the Conger Pike experts regarding when is the best season to eat Conger. Some claim that Hamo taste the best in July when it takes just enough fat because Hamo spawn in autumn. The regions around food crazed cities Osaka and Kyoto (the old capital) have been in love with Conger.  Traditionally, it was served with sour plum. Kyoto aficionados have always considered the autumn versions are the tastiest.

7^th Course – Inaniwa Udon, Akita.       Sea Urchin, Hokkaido

                    Salmon Roe, Hokkaido.   Green Yuzu, Shizuoka

This was another Japanese version of pasta dish, udon. Udon is a thick round shaped spaghetti (without egg) has more body and chewy than the ordinary pasta. I have never tasted any overcooked udon.

In this course, Inaniwa udon from Akita prefecture was served along with fresh sea urchin (uni) from Hokkaido. Uni was so cleanly fresh, not even the slightest ocean smell. Salmon roe from Hokkaido was succulent and not too salty. It was served with sauce made with white tomato sauce, olive oil, and yuzu kosho (literally yuzu and pepper, made from fermented chili peppers, yuzu zest and salt). Yuzu is a green citrus fruit tastes like a mix between a Meyer lemon and grapefruit, while yuzu kosho is fragrant and packs a lot of heat. In this course, chef used green yuzu to complement uni’s taste while used yuzu kosho to offer a little kick to uni and udon.

8^th Course – Langoustine Shrimp.  Kanagawa, Kanto

It was an unusual combination, Chef used meat based “Luxury Essence Soup” instead of shell fish based soup. Luxury Essence Soup was made by steam cook pork, chicken and ham for 6 hours and extracted the broth for serving with a dash of olive oil. Langoustine shrimp from Kangawa, Kanto prefecture (south of Hokkaido) was used. Langoustines look almost like Maine lobster (and are the lobster family), and are much smaller, far slenderer thru the body and have elongated pincers instead of wide claws. The major differences between lobster and langoustine shrimp probably are size and price, langoustine usually priced less than half of lobster’s price.

Langoustine shrimp was very tender and succulent, served with varieties of colorful fresh and tasty vegetables including radish, beet, carrot, Brussel sprout, yellow carrot, broccoli and baby okra.

9^th Course – Eel, Aichi.  Rice, Kyoto

Unagi eel, from Aichi prefecture, was served with rice from Kyoto in a traditional Japanese way. Unagi is the Japanese word for freshwater eel while anago is the Japanese word for saltwater eel (Conger Pike). Unagi is more expensive than anago because they are born in the ocean, migrate to rivers and then go back to the sea to begin the cycle again. In this dish, Chef charcoal grilled and slathered unagi with delicious house made Teriyaki sauce (soy sauce, sugar, mirin, sansho leaves).

Koshihikari rice from Kyoto was boiled first and mixed with vinegar, sugar and mirin before it cooled down completely. Koshihikari is considered the best rice in Japan, it retains moisture longer to assist in perfect sushi shaping. Its texture and taste are soft, moist, springy and slightly sweet. Freshly grated wasabi was also adorned on top of unagi along with black rice powder around the bowl.

10^th Course – “Life & Death” Yezo Shika Deer, Hokkaido

My taste bud was still lingering for more Kobe, I requested for Kobe beef as an alternative to deer meat. Therefore, I got Kobe beef and my companion got deer meat.

a). “Life & Death” Yezo Shika Deer, Hokkaido

Yezo is the Japanese word for baby, Shika is the Japanese word for wild deer. Wild baby deer fillet mignon from Hokkaido was served with varieties of vegetables (beet root, roasted pumpkin, red & yellow sweet potato, fresh gingko nut) displayed in the plate like beautiful autumn foliage. It was served with brown sauce made with orange juice, coriander, cinnamon, beef broth and red sauce made with wild berries juice, beet root juice. In addition, there was onion foam made with onion purée and cheddar cheese. Best of all, more white truffles from Alba, Italy and a rare scene of caramelized edible maple leaf. Since the flesh was from a 6-month old baby deer, it tasted tender and succulent without any gamy taste. It almost dissolved in your mouth.

b). Ichibo, Kobe

I noticed the appearance of this Kobe A5 was different from what I had at Gyuma, Osaka. I got a quick education from my server on Kobe steak. What I had at Gyuma was from Kobe A5 Sirloin steak which was significantly more marbled while what I had at Narisawa was from Ichibo A5. Ichibo was a cut of steak from the rump. A rare part of cattle called Ranichi is marbled meat of thigh, Ichibo named after it because it connects to H (“Ichic” in Japanese) shape bone. Visually, I can see the tissue and texture of rump is different. Rump has longer fiber tissue. However, because its A5 grade, it dissolved in your mouth. In other words, rump was leaner than sirloin. I hate to admit, I prefer more to the flavorful and fatty sirloin, hence tastier, sirloin.

The arrangement and presentation for the Kobe A5 rump was the same as for the wild deer. They were equally scrumptious and enjoyable.

11^th Course – Melon, Kumamoto

This course was a palette cleanser with a theme flavor of melon, with several variations on the main ingredient element similar to the Pierre Gagnair style.

Mellon bits from Kumamoto was accompanied by white foam of melon juice, vanilla ice cream, melon granita, melon soda, melon parfait and passion fruit seeds. It was refreshing and delightful.

12^th Course - Chestnut, Kyoto.  Green Yuzu, Sizuoka

There were two parts on this course:

a). Roasted Chestnut – Mashed chestnut from Kyoto was shaped like a ball, wrapped in chestnut leaves and roasted. Autumn is the season of chestnut; chestnut flavor was in full swing from the roasting in wrapped leaves.

b). Vanilla Ice – Vanilla ice cream was served on a bed of roasted chestnut and mochi with chestnut sauce. What made this sub-course unusual was the grated green yuzu on top of ice cream made your palette invigorating with citric flavor to complement the earthy flavor of chestnut.

13rd Course – Yame Matcha, Fukuoka

 This was the last course for the Tasting Menu. Two crispy rice shells look almost like macarons. Crispy rice shells were outsourced to Monaka and made with a distinctive logo of Narisawa – a bee. Chef Narisawa believed bees are an important specie in the world, therefore, he chose bee as the logo for Narisawa. Crispy rice shells were filled with varieties of delicacies in multi-colors:

a). Green – matcha sauce and matcha jelly

b). White – shirotoma, like mochi

c). Brown – brown sugar jelly made by finely ground brown sugar (wasannbonn), and sweet red bean paste balls

We got a nice surprise, Chef was kind enough to offer us a complementary anniversary cake, a layered matcha cake. It had 3 layers with matcha sauce and matcha cream fillings. On the top, it was adorned with two lovely matcha flavored macarons and white chocolate slices. It was the best matcha cake that we have ever had.