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sanji
Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:38 am

Re: Ebisu & Meguro restaurants - European food
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Le Jeu de l'Assiette (ル・ジュー・ドゥ・ラシエット) in Daikanyama - French food *****

Address - 2-17-5, Ebisu, Shibuya-ku (渋谷区恵比寿西2-17-5 サンビレッジ代官山2Ｆ)
Opening Hours - 11:30 to 13:30 （LO), 18:00 to 21:00 （LO). Closed on Mon
Telephone - 03-6415-5100
Menu - in Japanese and French
Credit Cards - OK
Michelin 2008 - 1*

The name of the restaurant is well chosen! "The Plate's Game" is classified as a French restaurant, but the food has been deeply influence by molecular gastronomy (cuisine moléculaire), a cooking concept which is very trendy in Europe nowadays, and which consists of using chemical and physical techniques to transform the appearance and the taste of the food. Eating at Le Jeu de l'Assiette is not only a great culinary event, it is also a discovery of the fantastic scientific of the food!

The restaurant is located on the second floor, less than 5 minutes by foot from Ebisu or Daikanyama station. Its design is warm and modern at the same time. There is limited seating with only 6 tables. The dinner courses consist of 8 dishes (8000 yen + 10% service) or 12 dishes (12000 yen + 10% service); a comprehensive menu is also offered, but considering the type of food, the course is probably your best bet. When went for the 8000 yen one.

The first starters were a truffle croquette, followed by a "salad" made of salt-dried tomato with strawberries and frozen cheese. Finding the deep taste of truffle in a deep-fried dish is interesting; eating frozen cheese - which first has no flavor, until it starts melting in your mouth is the presence of vinegar - is really surprising, as the salad is recreated directly in your mouth.

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The next starter, and the only dish that does not change in this restaurant every month, is the home-made foie-gras served with echalotte and apple. Perfectly executed, with a foie-gras which for once is not overcooked in Japan. But in my opinion, this was the less surprising dish. It was followed by a much more funny "onion soup", with crumble around the plate and a thin slice of grilled Conté (hard French cheese). 

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The fish dish was a "fish and chip" - a golden butter fish (kinmedai) with crispy chips, served with a mousse of basil. This mousse made by extracting the basil perfume in milk and injecting air in the mixture is light enough to just underline the subtle fish. A rose granita was served before the meat.

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1171The meat dish is so-called the main dish (but in this course, there is not really a main service, it is more a succession of tastings): pork from Shizuoka-ken, served well-done with some vegetables. The crispy skin of the meat was especially great! It is also worth to mention that freshly baked bread is served during the whole dinner.

After a small sparkling cocktail made by dissolving CO2 in the drink - and which was not very interesting - we were proposed some cheese. The cheese is not included in the menu, so it will add 1050 yen to the total (and the waiter did not clearly underline that fact). But the selection of cheese was quite fair, including several goat cheeses as well as some interesting discovery like a Camembert washed with red wine. The cheese was served with tasty grape crackers. The dessert was fantastic: a selection of three chocolate mousse made of Valrhona and containing respectively about 40%, 60%, and 70% of chocolate. They were served with apple compote and a small glass of rum! 

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The menu also includes coffee/tea and macaroons. And for once, tea lovers will have a choice between real tea: not between Lipton with or without lemon! Indeed, they have a small selection of gardens from India and Ceylon, which are really nice and can be enjoyed without sugar...

Lets also mention that the wine list is really comprehensive, with more than 100 Bordeaux and Burgundy, and selections from other areas (mostly from France). We had a Hautes-Côtes de Nuits 1996 from Alain Verdet, a producer than is not using any chemical products while making the wine, for 8400 yen. Reds starts around 6000 yen and rise rapidly, with about 5-10 wines under 8500 yen. There are a couple of half-bottles, too.

The service was just perfect: elegant, discreet and effective. A knife felt in the plate, and in 5 seconds from nowhere the waiter arrived with a clean one. The chef, a young Japanese fellow, goes out to the street with the guests when they are leaving. Everything was just as it should be. This restaurant received his Michelin stars for 2008. I think it is on his way to the second, especially when compared with other 2* restaurants in Tokyo.

This restaurant offers also two menus for lunch (3500 and 6000 yen). 

Internet - www.lejeudelassiette.com