Ever since I booked my flight tickets to Tokyo in June, I have been trying to find a decent place in Aoyoma to enjoy our first meal of the trip. But having my 3-year old around didn't help the cause. The city with the most Michelin stars in the world also happens to have the strictest children's policy in the galaxy (typical fine dining restaurants in Tokyo only welcomes children from 10 or above). After trying at least 20 high-end restaurants without luck (mostly with Michelin starred ones), I finally decided to change my game plan. I started to go after a group of low-key restaurants, ones that serve excellent French or European cuisine but yet not flashy enough to catch the attention of Michelin inspectors and typical tourists. That's when I discovered a hidden gem in Remerciements Okamoto.
Tucked away in a quiet alley in Minami-Aoyama, Remerciements Okamoto is the perfect example of a low-key restaurant with a strong credential. Owner-chef Hideki Okamoto (岡本英樹) who hails from Hokkaido, honed his skills in France under Guy Savoy and Michel Troisgros before returning to Japan in 1999 and finally going solo with his first-ever venture in 2012. While his restaurant doesn't currently have a Michelin star, its Gault Millau rating of 15/20 is one that reflects very solid cooking. Based on what I've read about the chef, his cuisine is very ingredient-driven putting a strong emphasize on seasonal and locally sourced produce.
I can tell by the little things here (including the napkin) that the chef is very serious and passionate with what he does.
Our lunch started off with a small amuse, cauliflower mousse topped with consommé jelly and snow crab meat.
The velvety cauliflower mousse was very creamy, working well with the consommé jelly that came with both vegetable and meat flavors. If its temperature was somewhat a little warmer, it would be even more delicate to our palate.
At this point, we were offered some French baguette.
There were two choices of starter today. Most of us had the salmon fillet which had been sous vide. It was served with variations of potato. This was decent but definitely not the most exciting starter one would see from a French restaurant.
I was the only one to order the other starter, a seafood salad that came with an assortment of premium ingredients including lobster, shrimp, abalone, scallop, squid and mussels. There was a small salad with a simple vinegar dressing and avocado purée served on the side. I have to say, this was way better than the sous-vide salmon that everyone was having.
Next up was pan-seared flounder served with tomato and cabbage in a pretty subtle white wine sauce.
Finally, we were getting served with some meat from the chef's hometown of Hokkaido. The roasted pork loin from Hokkaido served with a collection of winter vegetables (also from Hokkaido) including pumpkin, carrot, zucchini, tomato and radish was nicely cooked but surprisingly a little chewy.
Much more successful was my spring chicken with cheese risotto and winter vegetables. The beautifully cooked chicken was so tender and flavorful. The risotto a little too cheesy but nice work by the vegetables from Hokkaido to balance some of the cheesiness for me.
Pre-dessert was a refreshing coffee pudding (like a panna cotta) served with vanilla cappuccino.
It's time for the real dessert and everyone was stunned when the dessert trolley showed up. There were so many choices on display that they simply couldn't fit everything into one trolley.
I was pretty stuffed so I just got myself a very small portion of tiramisu and Mont Blanc cake which tasted more like a chestnut tart with a very crispy crust.
While I thought the Mont Blanc cake was just okay, little nugget seemed to be really enjoying it.
Last but not least, some tea and coffee to go with our desserts. I was a little disappointed not to have any mignardises to wrap up this meal. After all, it's a French meal, right?
Chef Okamoto's French cuisine was one that's both hearty and unpretentious. Unfortunately, we could only afford the time for his shortest course menu so we didn't get the chance to try his more sophisticated creations such as his signature "leek terrine". But this was certainly not a bad way to kick off our trip, especially with all these amazing produce from Hokkaido.
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: ￥￥￥
Address: 1/F b-town, 3-6-7 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062 Japan
Closest Metro Station: Omotesando
Tel: +81 3-6804-6703
Website: www.chefokamoto.com
Opening Hours: 11:30am - 1:30pm, 6:00pm - 9:00pm (Tue - Sun)
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