Two Rooms Keeps It Stylishly Simple

“If you had a restaurant, what would you name it?” JP asked, giving his wine a swift, professional-looking swirl.

“That’s a tough question.” I shook the clams in my pan and sprinkled them with salt before turning around to face him.

“Not for any particular reason, but I think Olga and Peter is a pretty good name.”

“You’d name your high-end restaurant after your parents?”

“Lots of high-end places are people’s names.” He clutched his glass defensively and curled his torso in on itself like a rolly polly.

“Yes, but usually just one name, like only Olga or only Peter. Anyway, there’s already a Peter,” I turned back to my clams.

“Okay, what’s your idea, then?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I kind of like Koi,” I replied, chewing thoughtfully on a strand of linguine. “It sounds crisp.”

“Hmm, people might expect Japanese food.”

“True. But it also sounds vaguely African, no?”

“I think simple is best. Salt. Beige. Two Rooms.” He stood up to pour another glass of wine, signaling an end to our conversation with dad-like decisiveness.

When I first heard of Two Rooms, I was skeptical. The name sounded uninspired, even a bit silly. It indicated the layout but little else, and I feared that the restaurant would be blandly trendy.

The designers certainly deserve props. The space is fabulously open, with wrap-around views of the city. The smart interior, done in black, white and dark wood, gives off the kind of contemporary, cosmopolitan vibe you might expect at one of Tokyo’s many design-conscious hotels. That’s not surprising, considering that the management team comes from the New York Grill and the Oak Door.

Adjacent to the main dining area is the bar, which houses an impressive 1800-bottle wine collection. But the ornament on the hood of this architectural Cadillac is the cocktail terrace, a wooden deck that extends artfully over a mirror-flat pond of water. It’s stylishly outfitted with boxy, boat-sized rattan sofas and matching tables - patio luxe for the 21st century jet set. If ever there was a proper context for passion fruit mojitos, this is it.

The food’s not shabby, either. The chef makes clever use of fresh domestic meat, fish and produce. The market lunch sets are a good value, and JP and I were both torn between the fish and the pork. Being married becomes a great advantage when confronted with two delicious-sounding options. Naturally, we went with one of each -- plus a couple of oysters on the half-shell.

JP’s appetizer of poached Sanriku scallops, topped with a salsa of Hokkaido corn and shallots over hummus was eye-openingly tasty. I would never have thought of putting those things together, but the smokiness of the hummus highlighted the natural sweetness of the corn and scallops nicely.

Although I’d been looking forward to the soft-boiled Datte eggs with truffle salt and Inca potatoes, the dish lacked overall impact. The potatoes, also boiled, provided the composition with little textural variation. Everything had a similar mushy consistency. I would like to have seen the potatoes made into crunchy latkes for some contrast.

My main dish of suzuki sea bass, served with creamy Meridith goat cheese, tomato puree, thinly shaved strips of fennel and black olive pesto; was artfully presented. The inventive combination of goat cheese, tomato and fennel harmonized well with the delicate fish. The olive pesto, however, was entirely unnecessary. It dominated the flavors, casting an aggressive piquancy over the entire dish. It also obliterated our wine, a steely and poised Tenuta Mount Nelson Marlborough ’07 Sauvignon Blanc.

JP had no complaints about his char-grilled Yamayuri pork with yuzu-kosho sour cream, which came with a juicy sliced zucchini and generous slabs of bacon. Generally speaking, I’m kind of opposed to the idea of bacon and pork on the same plate (unless we’re talking sausage), but this worked. The dish was simultaneously decadent and simple. I enjoyed it enough to steal the idea for our aborted dinner party.

The service was competent and professional, if a tad slow. Although the dining room was only half full, we waited for several minutes before receiving our menus, and my wine glass stood empty a few times (a big no-no). Our oyster starters took their time leaving the kitchen, but the pace picked up mid-meal.

Did I like it? Yes. Did I love it? No. Would I come back? You bet. The terrace beckons, and, while I’ve never been much of a raspberry martini girl, I’d be willing to give it a try.

Sake Walk with Me

If you're old enough to catch that reference to Twin Peaks, you're definitely old enough to drink, and that makes you eligible to sign up for the upcoming Sake Walk in Ginza! October 1st is Nihonshu no Hi, and, to celebrate, sake fans in Tokyo will be taking to the streets. Etsuko of Tokyofoodcast is organizing a sake meetup around the event.

Now, I've walked 10k to raise money for AIDS research, 12k to support breast cancer awareness, and for sake, I'm willing to go the distance: a whopping 2 kilometers! Come on, you have to love this. Hardly a walk-a-thon but that's just how we sake fans roll - or more precisely - stumble. Even if you don't feel like doing the walk, you can still come out for the free (yes, free!) sake tasting at the Marunouchi House afterward. See details below and contact Etsuko to join the party.

Announcing a new Meetup for The Tokyo Sake Meetup Group!

Sake-no-hi or October 1 is just around the corner. It's the day to appreciate nihonshu. So, hope everyone have a glass or two.

There's a organized walk through the heart of Ginza to raise the awareness and promote the special day. If you can spear a few hours in the afternoon, please join the group for the walk.

I will be at the walk on that day and plan to stop by at Marunouchi for another event. If you can join the walk, please contact me by 9/24. The organizer has get a permit for the event from police.

Event: Nihonshu-no-hi Walk in Ginza
Date: October 1, 2009 Thursday
Time: 1:30 pm registration
2:00 pm -3:00 pm event starts in Ginza
Route: The group will walk about 2 km from Ginza to Hibiya Park
Organized by: Wajowaraku, association of sake brewers and shops, with sake enthusiasts in Tokyo
RSVP by: 9/24 to Et-chan

If you are in the Marunouchi/Ginza area on sake-no-hi, please stop by at the sake promotional event at Marunouchi House on the 7th floor of Shinmarunouchi Bldg.
Event: Sake Park
Time: 4 pm - 10 pm
Location: Marunouchi House (www.marunouchi-house.com) at Shinmarunouchi Bldg.
What: Enjoy sake by participating in the tasting quiz, trying different temperature and paring with food.
Fee: Free

Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner

I can say with some confidence that I’m a good hostess. 12-person dinners were a common occurrence at every place I lived in San Francisco, and it still surprises me that so many people came to the sushi parties I threw in that dump on Divisadero. The bathroom alone should have been enough to scare them off, and even I wouldn’t have trusted myself to prepare raw fish in that kitchen. Luckily, no stomachs were harmed.

Once, when I’d announced that I’d be making a vat of red beans and rice, 20 people showed up. Being Chinese-American, I’m usually hyper-cautious when it comes to making sure that people have enough to eat, but this had caught me unawares. Even after scraping the bottom of the pot, I didn’t have enough for the last guest. I had no choice but to offer him my half-eaten plate of beans, which, unbelievably, he accepted. That was the first and only time a person has literally taken the food from my mouth, but I took it in stride and did what any self-respecting hostess would do: I just poured myself another glass of wine, raided the fridge and started making smoked salmon and cheese crostini.

Hosting dinner parties has always come naturally for me, but it’s not easy for everyone. I have attended parties where I’ve been asked, upon arrival, to prepare whole dishes. I have watched a male host offer my husband a beer but leave my glass empty. I have waited three hours for food, without being given a single thing to nibble on or a drink to nurse. I have strained to make conversation in a cold and silent room. I have been poisoned.

To throw a successful party, you don’t have to be a great cook or have fancy digs. What you do need, however, is preparation.

We’d planned to have dinner with Oskari and Saya on Saturday, and because coordinating the schedules of four busy people in Tokyo can be a trick, we’d set this date back in August. I was smack in the middle of two hectic weeks so wanted to do as much ahead of time as possible. By Friday night, we’d bought all the food, made the soupe au pistou, blitzed the anchovy dressing, and had pork shoulder marinating in brine. Saturday morning was spent giving our apartment a much-needed cleaning, before I ran out to pick up a bottle of Les Hauts de Poupille Rose. Beers were chilling in the fridge, vegetables were on the grill, and I was whipping together a dip of avocado, blue cheese and fromage frais, when JP called out from the other room.

“I think you’re getting a text,” he said.

I glanced at my cell phone. “It’s the Finn,” I chuckled. “No!”

“What?”

“Oskari’s got the flu and can’t make it!”

“You’re kidding me. It’s like 3:00.” We stared at each other in disbelief. I looked at all the food on the table and shook my head.

“Well,” I shrugged, “I know him and he’s not a flake. He was probably just being optimistic this morning.”

“True, it’s better for him to stay home, especially if he has swine flu,” JP nodded.

“Nobody said anything about swine flu. Why would you curse him like that?”

“Well, we made all this food…” JP started. “But you’re right, we’d be furious if he made us sick.”

“Plus, we really needed to clean the house.”

“Now we can have a quiet dinner alone. And be lazy. Wanna beer?”

“Why not?” I smiled. This was not such a bad thing after all.

We spent the rest of the afternoon drinking and watching episodes of Hell’s Kitchen (my secret vice) in our pajamas. Dinner was laughably large. After a bowl of vegetable soup with home made pesto, we moved on to a salad of grilled mushrooms, peppers, eggplant and zucchini tossed with a bright anchovy-lemon dressing and feta. Both of these dishes fared very well with the Rose; it was forthrightly cheerful with fresh strawberry and raspberry flavors, pomegranate acidity and a touch of sweetness.

We were both nearing fullness, but we couldn’t neglect our roast pork with spicy yuzu-kosho sour cream (an idea I’d filched from Two Rooms) and green beans with crispy pancetta. Again, the wine was a star, and the sweetness offset the bite of the yuzu-kosho nicely.

JP raised his glass, “To Oskari’s health.”

“May he recover soon,” I added.

“And to a tasty dinner at home alone.”

Sorry, no pix this time - guess you'll all just have to come over for dinner sometime.

Off to See a Guy about Some Sake

Robert-Gilles will probably kill me, but I missed the big Shizuoka sake tasting on Sunday. Very bummed about that but I was otherwise engaged (and sadly a bit hungover but that is another story).

But for anyone who can make it, the Yamada Nishiki Summit (yes, that's right) is going down tomorrow.

Lots of stuff is coming up in October, including (forgive my laziness) the Kanto Jizake Tasting:

第十回関東地区龍力を楽しむ会

日 時　　１０月７日(水)　１７時～
会 場　　グランドアーク半蔵門　　
会 費　　１２０００円
問　合　　㈱本田商店内　龍力を楽しむ会
担当　久原・岡本
079-273-0151

A big SSI event on 10/8 at the Hotel Metropolitan Edmont for Y5500 per person.

And one of my favorite tastings of the year, the fall ginjoshu event.

If you can't make it to any of these, don't fret none. There are plenty of places to get the goods. And at some of them you can even sip before you buy.

This, incidentally, is a special shout-out to the sake friends in town this month who have asked me for shop info. Enjoy and have a great trip!


Where's that chokko?

Hasegawa Sakaten

This stylish sake enclave in Omotesando Hills features a small standing bar where patrons can taste brews on the weekly changing menu starting at Y300 per 50ml glass. Their friendly and knowledgeable staff will help you pick the perfect bottle, and some staff members can assist you in English. The newest location, in the basement of Tokyo Station’s Gransta shopping area, is a great place to wait for that next shinkansen bullet train – they even have bar stools.

Jingumae 4-12-14, Omotesando Hills 3F
5785-0833

Fukumitsuya

The interior of Fukumitsuya more closely resembles a gallery than a sake store, but the shop represents a brewery in Kanazawa that dates back to 1625. Everything, from the sake bottles to the delicate glassware, is attractively displayed and tastefully backlit. A bar runs along the left side of the shop, where you can order sizable pours from Y600 off the English menu.

Ginza 5-5-8
3569-2291

Meishu Center

At the other end of chic in Hamamatsucho, the tasting bar here provides a terrific chance for sake buffs to nerd out. What the Meishi Center lacks in style, it more than makes up for in the quality and breadth of sake available. They will even set up a blind tasting for you. No English spoken.

Hamamatsucho 2-3
5405-4441

Suzuki Mikawa Sake

This little shop in Akasaka features a nice selection of sake from several producers representing the new generation of young brewers. Most of the bottles are available for informal tasting – the staff will give you a small plastic cup and leave you to it. English service is limited.

Shinkawaya

A hidden gem in Gaienmae, this place has everything you would want in a local shop – great sake, good prices, and helpful, laid-back service. They hold tasting events every season, so check with the staff for details.

Jingumae 2-4-1
3401-4462

Cool Neighborhood Joints

Sakaya Kurihara

Feast your eyes on the excellent selection at this small shop in Hiroo. You’ll even be able to read the shelf-talkers – most include brief explanations in English.

Moto-Azabu 3-6-7
3408-5378

Mitsuya

The folks at Mitsuya have crammed their tiny shop full of great sake from all over the country. Once a month, you can join their benkyoukai tasting events, which feature a different brewery each time (in Japanese only). Ask the staff for more information.

Nishi-Ogikubo Minami 2-28-15
3334-7447

Aji no Machidaya

This cool and quirky shop boasts and impressive collection of one-cup sakes, in addition to the amazing variety available in 720ml and 1.8L bottles.

Kamitakada 1-49-12
3389-4551

Iseyuu

An incongruously hip shop in down-to-earth Saginomiya, Iseyuu features a small but well-chosen selection with some interesting and hard-to-find brews.

Saginomiya 3-35-3
3330-0434