Our second day in Osaka started out a little later than expected in Umeda (梅田). We had plans for an early breakfast but most of us including yours truly decided to sleep in. So, by the time we arrived at Osaka Station, it was almost 11:15am, less than an hour before noon.
Fortunately, I had lunch all planned out a few months early. While Jelloman and I make a return trip to Pierre, a Michelin starred French restaurant in InterContinental Hotel Osaka, our moms and little nugget would be having Christmas Eve buffet at NOKA Roast And Grill less than 50 metres away from us.
Fortunately, I had lunch all planned out a few months early. While Jelloman and I make a return trip to Pierre, a Michelin starred French restaurant in InterContinental Hotel Osaka, our moms and little nugget would be having Christmas Eve buffet at NOKA Roast And Grill less than 50 metres away from us.
Perched on the 20th floor of IHG Osaka, Pierre is a restaurant I have very fond memory of thanks to a very satisfying experience in 2015. In fact, I thought so highly of it that I decided to pay them another visit seven years later. Unfortunately, like many fine-dining restaurants in Japan, Pierre has a strict children's policy making it impossible to bring little nugget along.
Since we last visited Pierre, there has been a change of guard in the restaurant's kitchen.
Former Chef de Cuisine Susumu Okubo who worked under Alain Ducasse at Spoon and Beige in Tokyo, left for Kyoto to launch Restaurant Singular at Yura Hotel Nijo Jo Bettei MGallery in 2020. At the helm of the kitchen now is Executive Chef Tobias Gensheimer and Head Chef Yoshitaka Shibahara. Under the duo's guidance, Pierre has successfully maintained their one-star status for the sixth consecutive years (Chef Okuko started it all in 2015) using the same winning formula, combining Japanese ingredients with French cooking techniques.
Kicking things off was a small amuse bouche of poached marron, marron purée, pickled purple yam and crème fraîche, topped by a thin sheet of dried bacon wafer. I love a dish, any dish with in-season Japanese marron in it.
Our amuse was accompanied by a nice, pillowy brioche with some homemade butter.
The butter, very soft and delicate.
Scallop, potato, yuzu – The first dish of the Christmas tasting menu was scallop tartare, served on a base of mashed potatoes with squid, caviar and quinoa, and finished off with some citrusy flavors from the variations of yuzu including small dabs of yuzu purée, yuzu flavored chips and yuzu zest.
I like the idea of matching the sweetness of the tartare with some lovely acidity from yuzu but all the flavors and textures on the plate never really came together to harmonize each other.
Chicken, mushroom, Japanese pepper – The maitake, shiitake and porcini mushrooms were beautifully cooked but they were paired with one of the lightest-flavored consommé I've ever tasted. Not exactly a match in heaven.
I thought the only flavor that really stood out from the broth was the shiso leaf.
And there was the minced chicken stick. Interesting idea but probably one that I didn't expect to see from a French restaurant.
Prawn, fennel, red perilla – The superbly cooked Japanese prawn served with fennel, dill and risotto, was elegantly topped with red perilla flowers, chrysanthemum and what our server described as a Japanese plum emulsion.
I was expecting some sweet and sour notes from the plum emulsion but they never registered.
Spanish mackerel, broccoli, ginger – Following two under-seasoned starters, we finally arrived at our fish course.
The Spanish mackerel, poached and seared, came with shallots, ginger and yuzu on top. The dish was finished off with a buttery white wine sauce. This was a nicely executed dish with great balance of flavors. For me, the best dish of the afternoon with a wonderful job of seasoning.
Up to this point with three dishes under the belt, we have a pretty good idea what to expect from the kitchen, especially with the seasoning part which has been minimal at best. So, it wasn't at all surprising to see the mild-flavored broccoli and broccoli purée complementing the fish fillet.
Olive beef, turnip, garlic leaves – The restaurant's signature Olive beef from Shodoshima, slow-roasted with shaved black truffles, and a red wine and red pepper sauce combining for a strong finish.
I love the slightly charred crust for some nice smokiness and I thought the pea purée, turnip and garlic leaves did well to tone down the richness of the beef.
Our pre-dessert was refreshing red berries sorbet, wine jelly and muscat topped with yoghurt.
Ishikawa sweet potato, mandarin, raw sugar – There were a lot of textures on the plate including the sweet potato from Ishikawa, variations of mandarin (ice-cream and compote), caramel cream, walnuts, hazelnuts, raw brown sugar and a small creme brulee style pudding. But other than the sweet potato which was delicious, everything else didn't make a strong impression.
We had the luxury of enjoying a cup of tea with our dessert, while our folks and little one were finishing up their lunch buffet.
and Petite four.
Pacing slowed down to a snail's pace towards the middle of the meal and the entire journey ended up taking almost three hours. Not bad for 7 courses? The timing would've been a reasonable one if I didn't ask our server to speed up the pacing when we first sat down (But did he actually get what I was trying to say?).
Apart from the slow pacing, another disappointment came from the food itself, which was at least a notch down from my last visit when Chef Okubo was still in charge. Like legendary chef Yannick Alléno used to say, "Sauce is the heart and soul of French cuisine...". Well, not just the sauce, the seasoning and supporting cast also play an integral role but that heart and soul seems to be missing throughout the meal.
Food Rating: 6/10
Price: ￥￥￥￥
Address: 20/F InterContinental Osaka, 3-60 Ofukacho, Kita Ward, Osaka 530-0011, Japan
Closest Metro Station: Umeda
Tel: +81 (0)6 6374-5700
Opening Hours: 11:30am - 2:30pm daily, 5:30pm - 9:00pm (Fri - Wed), 5:00pm - 9:00pm (Thu)
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