This restaurant needs no introduction. This is my first visit to
Quintessence during my recent holiday in Tokyo and wow, just simply wow,
it was a big eye opener for me in Japanese-French cuisine. I have to
admit that I seldom eat french food and was somewhat worried that I
wouldn't be able to appreciate the creativity and mix of ingredients
served at Quintessence. But I figured, what the heck, this is one of
those restaurants where "you must go" according to so many people. And
yes I have to say, this was one of the best dining experiences I've ever
had.
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| Monkfish Liver soup with herbs |
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| Free flow of bread and butter! |
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| Homemade fromage with olive oil |
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| Cod Milt in cabbage mixture topped with truffles |
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| Sea urchin with wild white mushrooms on a pancake |
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| Beef tripe |
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| Grouper with a very nice and crispy skin |
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| Wild game duck |
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| Cheese with toast and Jam |
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| Sorbet |
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| Strawberry short cake "Quintessence" style |
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| Apple Pie |
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| The famous Quintessence ice cream |
I know you're thinking, some of these dishes look very ordinary. Unfortunately, the descriptions for each dish is rather limited as it's been a couple of days since I ate this and it was quite a challenge for the restaurant staff to explain the dishes in English; don't get me wrong, I am not faulting them in any way, I appreciate their effort in trying explain every dish as if they were speaking Japanese. But in many instances, the best chefs are those who can serve simple-looking food but at extravagant taste and quality, and that is what makes restaurants like Sukiyabashi Jiro, Saito and Quintessence so good. In other words, not to worry, every dish tastes great. However, if there was one dish that I would be eager to come back for, the dish that stole the show, it's the ice cream. Believe it or not, the ice cream was the best thing on the menu and one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. There is no specific flavour, it's not vanilla or hazelnut or whatever, you can taste bits of it of course, but it's just pure flavour and satisfaction in your mouth. You may think I'm bullshitting here but trust me, there are no words that can describe how magnificent this ice cream tasted.
I look forward to my next visit here, whenever that may be, because apparently the chef will never serve the same menu twice to you, it'll always be different. Based on just this meal alone, if he is able to conjure up all these fantastic dishes, I can't wait to see what else he can make and how creative he can be.
Website:http://www.quintessence.jp/english/chef.html
Address: 141-0001 Shinagawa-Ku Kitashinagawa 6-7-29 Garden City Shinagawa Gotenyama 1F
Budget (Dinner): 27000+
My rating: 4.5 - 5 /5
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