food – Pheebz Eatz

Arossa Shibuya

I normally just update my Instagram & Facebook, but I am reviving my blog. Expect records of my absolute favourite eats that you absolutely should go to – because you wouldn’t doubt me, right? And watch this space for travel destinations too. The hospitality industry needs a lot of love right now.

As a starting point, it’s only fitting that I write about Arossa Shibuya, a small restaurant serving up Australian / Australian-inspired fare (yes, they have kangaroo). I can’t actually count the number of times I’ve been there. I would probably be embarrassed to know the number.

My previous office wasn’t too far away and if I timed it write, because Arossa is rightfully a very popular lunch destination, I could arrive, mildly out of breath, and squeeze onto a table just before midday.

Then, they stopped lunch service and I was very sad.

But now they’re back, and with a brand new menu offering to boot. 1600 yen gets you a starter, a choice of main (two pastas, one chicken, one pork and one steak dish) and a dessert, with your choice of tea or coffee.

The most important thing you need to know: everything that passes your lips will be brilliant. The staff are also warm, welcoming and accommodating.

For starters, starter looks like a dessert: an organic vegetable parfait comprised of carrot mouse that hides lentils, topped with consommé jelly and more veggies.

Last week, for main course, I chose their weekly tomato pasta – a delectable ragu topped with grana pedano. This week, ichibo (hipbone cut) steak from Australian beef with alshings of garlic butter and potatoes crisped to perfection.

Dessert was also smooth and well-balanced coffee blancmange topped with coffee jelly. Also sampled almond babaroa (Bavarian cream).

Dinner is around 6000 – 8000 yen, although that’s entirely dependent on how many of their Australian wines you decide to sample. I’m looking for an excuse to go, so by all means, invite me! In the meantime, I shall be a faithful regular lunchtime visitor.

Arossa Shibuya

Opening hours:
Currently subject to change. Please check their Facebook or call the store (some staff speak English): 03-3469-0125

Teahouse Sekison on Mt Oyama

Have you been to Mt Oyama?

Did you just say Mt… Where?!

An easy day trip from Tokyo, Mt Oyama should be top of your list if you’re looking to escape the city or just experience a different side of Japanese life. Known as the rainy mountain, it boasts traditional crafts and great hiking as well as being a popular pilgrimage site. For more on its history, read this excellent piece by Alice Gordenker.

Grab yourself a Tanzawa-Oyama Free Pass (2520 yen) at Shinjuku that lets you ride the train, bus and cable car for free for 2 days. Then, hope on the Odakyu line to Isehara. A short bus journey up into the hills and you are there.

It is a little bit of a climb up some steps to the cable car but you will be following a shopping street. Stop to browse different kinds of pickles and sweets, or even stop to get the excellent pork-tofu croquettes from Oyama Tonkatsu Nakamuraya (you can eat in or take out). Stop also to admire the traditional wooden spinning tops which are a local craft in the area. Sadly, there are only three makers left.

Once at the cable car, you get to admire the landscape as you are taken higher and higher.

At the top station, you will find yourself by the lower shrine of Oyama Afuri shrine with the main but significantly smaller shrine being at the summit. It’s a fairly steep but rewarding climb that can be completed in a 2.5 hour loop.

But the great thing about Mt Oyama is the variety of paths and Mt Fuji views on a clear day. For those not wanting a strenuous hike, follow a flattish path along to Miharashidai (見晴台). Take a map of the area and see what you feel like.

Now, while I love spending time in nature – I take myself for walks and even went hiking in Yakushima and Ogasawara alone – I also enjoy working up an appetite. (….Who am I kidding? I always have an appetite!)

After admiring the breathtaking views and enjoying the fresh mountain air on Mt Oyama, it is clearly time to treat yourself to more of the same BUT with delicious things included!

Teahouse Sekison is located in Oyama Afuri Shrine and it simply stunning – from the setting and design to its very fashionable menu.

Of course, you will find excellent tea and coffee – the “spicy latte” with cinnamon is quite a treat – but you can enjoy a light meal. Their galettes look particularly tempting.

IMG_20191003_122810-2 — Mizu shingen mochi and spicy latte

IMG_20191003_122816-2 — Oh what a thing of beauty!

I was already stuffed from eating a giant guesthouse breakfast and then finishing everyone else’s breakfast (shamelessly, may I add) so I only went for sweets.

The matcha tiramisu is apparently creamy and dreamy and an absolute must. Which is why it was sold out by the time I got there. Instead, I got a matcha affogato, which was hardly disappointing. The bitter, umami-full matcha flooded the vanilla ice-cream combining into a smooth, lightly sweet dessert, a colour as vibrant as the forested mountains before me.

Teahouse Sekison / 茶寮石尊

Upper Deck @ Harbour Hotel, Christchurch

Being a British food writer based in Japan, I have had more than a few comments about my native country’s cuisine or lack thereof. Whereas 15 years ago I would have been prepared to nod is typically awkward agreement, but not anymore. Not only do I think London is one of the most exciting gastronomic destinations in the world – indeed, its variety far outstrips Tokyo – but the quality in many other locations is soaring upwards.

Continue reading “Upper Deck @ Harbour Hotel, Christchurch”

Taka Goryokaku, Hakodate

There are times when you have a meal so perfect that you’re almost afraid to eat again because you know that your next meal could never match it. Dining at Taka Goryokaku was one of those experiences. This was where my friend held her wedding dinner last year and it had left an impression – another opportunity to dine there was not to be passed up.

We had a reservation for 7.30pm, and arrived to find ourselves the only party there. We shed our shoes and stepped up into a hallway as if into someone’s house. Guided into a private room, a menu detailing our courses was laid out before us, but the dining experience was already well underway.

Taka Goryokoku – taking the latter half of its name from the nearby star-shaped fortress – is run by chef-owner Takatoshi Fukui, who spent a year and half training in both France and Switzerland, returning to Japan to hone his Japanese-style French cuisine. This harmonious approach to two of the world’s finest cuisines is immediately apparent from the openers.

While sipping on our beverages of choices, we were presented with the amuse-bouches. The “s” isn’t a typo – for unlike some stupidly pretentious experiences (Joël Robuchon, I am looking at you), we were presented with a vast selection: ebi-bouzushi – prawn sushi, wrapped in pink turnip and pickled chrysanthemum, the vibrant colours sparking as sharply as the vinegar in the rice; turnip mousse topped with consommé jelly and tomato – a feat of umami; rum raisin cream cheese encased in a light pastry; potato salad enhanced with tuna and onion, topped with tantalisingly soft-boiled egg; quiche loirraine so well-balanced it would be sure to win a competition.

These were followed by a second amuse-bouche – for the selection was classed as one – with a burdock cappuccino, lightly frothed and effortlessly moreish.

Next up, Taka’s pastry skills were in show once again. A puff pastry pie appeared, the crisp topping flaking satisfyingly as it gave way to the spoon to reveal juicy prawns awaiting below.

Succulent trout with expertly crisped skin bathed in a cream beetroot sauce and mildly sweet bamboo shoots. This triumph was hotly contested by a fillet of beef that yielded to the knife like butter; fried asparagus, matsutake mushrooms and a simple potato gratin all played competent supporting roles.

Finally, we had to face that it was time for this gastronomic adventure to come to a close. Representing Japan, a sakura tiramisu, with red beans and matcha, nestled alongside a cheesecake-style stick of crema catalana that successfully held the sugar at arm’s length, and was complemented by a strawberry compote. Yet our stomachs were to compete a little longer – black sesame biscuits and meringues accompanied our coffees.

My father asked me to translate “I’m in heaven and you’re an angel” to Taka as we showered him with our appreciation. He grinned from ear to ear and said he’d never been complimented so much. Guess we’ll have to go annually to make sure he gets used to it. This is an essential dining experience in Hakodate and one I certainly intend to repeat.
Taka 五稜郭 (Taka Goryokaku)
25-12 Goryōkakuchō, Hakodate, Hokkaido 040-0001
0138-83-5777

COFFEE: Bondi Coffee Sandwiches, Komababa

I’ve cycled past this place probably at least once a week for nearly 3 years. And I hardly ever make enough time to stop – which is a shame because it’s worth it.

Bondi Coffee Sandwiches is one of five stores in Tokyo, offering a similar menu focussed around coffee, smoothies and light meals. Continue reading “COFFEE: Bondi Coffee Sandwiches, Komababa”

Review: Bon Gout Hamburg, Kamiyamacho (Shibuya)

In Japan, one of the first things you should learn is just because a word sounds like a borrowed English word, or indeed is a borrowed English word, does NOT mean it is in fact that word.

Let’s get straight to the important difference between “hanba-ga-” and “hanba-gu”. The former is indeed a meat patty wedged in a bun; the latter a meat patty minus bread, often served on a sizzling hot plate with some kind of sweet sauce. For the sake of being easy to understand, let’s call them “hamburgers” and “hamburgs”.

It is my very professional opinion that the Japanese do hamburgers terribly, whereas hamburgs tend to be rather good. Continue reading “Review: Bon Gout Hamburg, Kamiyamacho (Shibuya)”

Review: La Taberna Alhambra, Madrid

It took me over 35 hours to reach Madrid from Tokyo and three flights. The plus side was I got to hunt down noodles and night markets in China en route. But despite these indulgences I was starving by the time I arrived.

To make matters worse, little sister who kindly came to meet me at the airport was brain addled due her “sleep is for the weak” campaign. It took her nearly 25 minutes and several wrong transfer buses and escalators later to meet me at arrivals.

Fortunately, she had done some research (by research, I mean, looked up some decent restaurants) and she ushered me promptly into La Taberna Alhambra on the way home. Continue reading “Review: La Taberna Alhambra, Madrid”

Exploring Jianghan Road, Wuhan

When I booked a flight from Tokyo to Madrid, I didn’t imagine I’d be dragging my suitcase round a night market in central China. But that’s exactly how things played out.

A layover of 8 hours in Wuhan forced my hand; there was absolutely no way I was going to sit in an airport that long when a 24-hour transit visa exists. An adventure beckoned.

Continue reading “Exploring Jianghan Road, Wuhan”

Review: Shibasakitei (ramen!) at Tsutsujigaoka

Shibasakitei / 柴崎亭

If you can walk away from a ramen place and not feel heavy and bloated, you’ve possibly found a good thing. Even more so if you’ve eaten tonkatsu and tempura only 2 hours beforehand. Not that I did *cough* *splutter* Let’s move on…

Shibasakitei is a small joint to the west of Tokyo, not far from Chofu. Squeezed in alongside the Keio line tracks, this store is a couple of minutes’ walk from Tsutsujigaoka station. However, it takes its name from Shibaskitei, the next stop west where it was originally located, but moved for slightly more spacious premises. Continue reading “Review: Shibasakitei (ramen!) at Tsutsujigaoka”

Review: Szechuan Aun, Yushima – Tantanmen

“It’s like hanging out with a junkie. You’re already planning your next hit.”

My friend was surveying me with disbelief. I wasn’t paying him much attention though because I was bouncing on and off the pavement, and doing mini star jumps.

The cause of my happiness? Some really good noodles. What else?

As a matter of fact, I had eaten at Aun more than a year ago and had been itching to go back ever since. The anticipation – combined with the fact that I generally adore tantanmen – had elevated my mood to levels probably beyond that of normal human beings. I was also deliriously babbling about trying to go back the next day to eat more. Hence the druggie comparisons. I needed my next hit. Continue reading “Review: Szechuan Aun, Yushima – Tantanmen”