Dinner at Joel's place...

So, having been unable to secure a reservation for a top tier Sushi restaurant, since they only take reservations by phone, from within Japan, a month in advance, when the moon is waxing gibbous, (they claim it's because of the number of foreign no-shows they get, but it's clearly raw fish based racism of the worst kind) and the Commonwealth Bank's concierge service being incompetent gaijin; I was forced to book a restaurant that had a website with online booking and such.

Thus it was that we found ourselves heading to Joel Robuchon's Restaurant in Ebisu for dinner.

  

After a slight wrong turn out of the station, we wandered the seedy back alleys of Tokyo...

...eventually arriving at Yaesu Garden Place, who also appear to be getting in on the halloween action.

Joel's Restaurant is at the end of the arch, but you can't really see it

because someone was holding a fashion show, or filming Zoolander 3, or something
in front of the building.

The restaurant itself is quite swank with its contrasting theme of cool black tables,
and warm cream colored walls. Champagne is Veuve Clicquot girlie edition.

 Not pictured: My glass of Veuve Clicquot Man wine.

 

The degustation menu

Bread - Round 1: Rye, Tomato, and Seaweed.

Not pictured: The bread cart, with its additional 17 different types of bread, that they would take away and warm up for you.

Not pictured: Pre-dinner fancy toast thing.

Caviar served with a crustacean jelly and a cauliflower cream.

 Not pictured: A white wine whose name I can't remember.

Top Left: Candied Cherry Tomato served on tomato jelly with extra virgin olive oil.
Top Right: Duo of Beetroot and Apple, herb salad served with green mustard sherbert.
Bottom: King Crab and Avocado cannelloni, citrus and vanilla condiment.

Bread - Round 2: Anchovy, Pumpkin. Not pictured: Bacon bread, already eaten.

Left: Crispy Frogs Legs served with a garlic and parsley coulis. (tastes like chicken)
Right: Green Bean espuma served on an onion compote and spicy hummus.

  Not pictured: A different white wine whose name I can't remember.

Top Left: Deep fried and pureed Artichoke heart served with a chickpea and tumeric emulsion.
Top Right: Dublin Bay Prawn in a truffled ravioli served with stewed green cabbage.
Bottom: Kale served in different textures with smooth mashed potatoes.

 I believe my response to the Ravioli was something along the lines of "fuck the rest of the menu, just bring a plate of twenty of these"

 Not pictured: A third white wine whose name I can't remember.

Top Left: Gorgonzola Cheese custard served with diced pear and sage.
Top Right: Botan Shrimp broth flavoured with ginger.
Bottom: Pan seared sea bass, baby spinach and "Malabar" pepper sauce.

 Not pictured: A red wine whose name I can't remember. It was from 2007.

Beef and Foie Gras, "Rossini" style with souffle potatoes and a port reduction.

 Not pictured: A second red wine whose name I can't remember.

 Not pictured: The cheese cart.

Four cheeses - Hard, blue, thyme coated, and Apple brandy washed CHEESE!
Apricot, Fig, and Raisins. Honey, top left.

Left: 'Carioca' papaya coulis and guava mousse served with a black current sherbert.
Top-ish: Caramel and Mango composition, tangerine sherbert.
Right: "Red Dhalia" light fromage blanc mousse flavoured with lime, served on a shortbread biscuit.

  Not pictured: Taylor's Reserve Port. Gypped - that's not that fancy where I come from.

The first dessert cart.

Cheesecake. Decaf.

Dessert Cart 2: Petit Fours

They said I could have as many as I wanted.
Clockwise from Top Left: Walnut cream, passionfruit chocolate, the tastiest apple dessert in existence
a pear cake that should be ashamed for pears everywhere after the showing from the apple thing and its
paltry effort in comparison, pumpkin tart, pistachio macaroon, a yellow flavoured macaroon, rose macaroon.

At one point I said to Emma "The camp guy on the table next to us is totally
Japanese Neil Patrick Harris" and she agreed, and threw gang signs at the waiter
 to distract him so I could take a photo.