La Rochelle ~ Shibuya (Iron Chef Sakai)

Lucky last! La Rochelle was the restaurant we picked to close out our holiday to Japan for this year. Some of us who have watched Iron Chef on TV, enjoy the entertainment of the weekly 'secret ingredient', while some of us mock the english voice overs, while there are others whom I know who follow it religiously. For me, I was always amused by the theatrics that came with each episode, the costume that the Chairman Kaga puts on, the guest judges ranging from food critics to has-been TV starlets. And the iron chefs themselves: The likes of 'sakai' and 'chen'...etc, I thought, were all ficticious, despite their dramatic introductions with each episode....wow, I was wrong. Turns out those Iron Chefs did have restaurants in real life! I blame my late realisation that wrestling was all staged for my scepticism. Must thank Mally for telling me to check La Rochelle out. I don't know a bigger fan of Sakai than Mally. More of this later.

La Rochelle has 3 locations in Japan. I went to the one in Shibuya.... a location that is always a delight! The famed 'shibuya crossing' where masses of people converge at a busy pedestrian crossing with one common goal: to get to the other side of the road. Oddly enough, when Ella and I were last there, it was considerably less crowded at the crossing. Check the crowd out. Kewpie says hello too!

Before we left the hotel that morning, we made sure to get directions on how to get to the restaurant.
We made note of which subway exit to take and which building to head for... when we got to Shibuya station, that plan didn't quite pan out... but after a few short moments and finding our bearings, we got to La Rochelle right on time for our lunch reservation. Along the way, we probably picked up a dozen packets of promotional tissue. Love it!

We took the lift up to the 32F of the Shibuya Cross Tower. When the lift doors opened, we were immediately greeted by someone from La Rochelle. As we were being ushered to our tables, someone from the reception desk calls out "chotto matte..." ~ I stop and turn... at this time I think to myself, "Oh crap they are going to kick me out cos I am not dressed up to spec....instead, I am greeted by, no, not Chef Sakai, but (who turns out to be their Director of Sales and Marketing) an impeccably dressed gentleman who asks me, "Would you like a private room so that we can set everything up for you and talk you through the menu?" Confused? Well, at the time of making the reservation I informed the restaurant that I was coming from Sydney and wanted to take some pictures during my meal.  My stomach has a quick word to my brain and I politely decline. I explain that I am very happy sitting with everyone else.  I had also decided to leave the scary camera in the hotel and use Ella's camera for today's lunch. It didn't seem right to have them go through all that trouble and for me to whip out a little point and shoot. I was very impressed with their hospitality though.

First impressions of the restaurant: bright and 'quietly' buzzy. Fancy, elegant but no tacky. Not as 'serious' as Joel Robuchon which made me relax a little more (remember my shabby dressing?).... and a great expansive view of the city from level 32. Ooh, Hermes crockery. Nice!

We have a look at the menu and quickly decide to go with the 'Maestro' menu (yes, it's the degustation that offers the most courses) ~ 6 courses including dessert. I won't go into too much detail about the food. Suffice to say, the Japanese maintain a very high standard of french cuisine at all levels. La Rochelle is one example of making french cuisine accessible to everyone without burning a hole in your wallet.

amuse bouche - 9 kinds of small appetisers

sauteed scallop, fish, steak with foie gras and truffle sauce. it is worth mentioning that the foie gras was totally devine. yes. there is alot of chatter about the unethical way in which foie gras comes to the table, but I make no excuse of liking it.

BULL DOG MOMENT: Here's a funny story that happened during service. I have to admit, that it's hard to understand some of the verbal descriptions that come presented with the food. After all, I did mistake "LAMB" for "RUMP" at Joel Robuchon... so I resolved just to smile and nod when  presented with food. I wasn't going to probe and ask if I didn't understand. Anway, we were up to the 'soup of the day'.... the waiter tells us it's "vegetable soup....with BOO DOG" ~ I look up, turn to him and repeat with eye brows raised like a curtain at a concert "BULL DOG??" And the waiter replies, "Hai, hai... bull dog! Chotto, I get pictures to show you" he says. I try very hard not to laugh right away... and as soon as he turned around, I burst out laughing... as quietly as I could... (again, you see why no one asks me out to fancy restaurants? *sighs*)

Soup of the day "vegetable with boo dog"

Dessert came in the form of a wagon which got Ella very excited. We had the choice of 1 of each if we wanted. I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so I opted for things which I liked: panacotta, sorbet, green tea pound cake and a lovely jelly. *Click into image to enlarge*

At some point during service, the Director of Sales and Marketing (Chiharu-san) comes over for a chat. We talk about the food and Sakai... he then comes back with a laminated A3 sheet and says to me "I hope you don't mind, this is Sakai's handwritten notes of the menu." I was like "Wow, thank you..." and I bow profusely whilst sitting in my seat (probably should have gotten up to thank him). Chiharu-san goes on to explain that Sakai's in Sydney at the time, checking on produce. He also mentions that Sakai's got a good friend, Chef Harunobo Inukai, who own Blancharu in Elizabeth Bay. We chat some more and Chiharu-san leaves me his business card and even prints out details of Blancharu! Take a guess who was the lucky recipient of Sakai's menu?

Towards the end of dessert, we get given some macarons as well. I am a big fan of them. Am just intrigued by the colours, combinations of fillings and textures that macarons come in. And so I spend the next 30mins just taking pictures of the macarons.... all this while Ella goes "can i eat them yet? can i eat them yet?"

Definitely an enjoyable dining experience! I looked at my watch and we've been here for more than 3 hours, yet it doesn't feel like it. Ella and I walk out of La Rochelle feeling very full and happy. As we descend down in the lift, we debate what we liked in each of the 3 restaurants we tried on this holiday, but we decided in the end (in a very short space of time, with the fast descend down from level 32), each was unique in itself! Doors open: shopping time!

Just for abit of fun: this was the store we visited on our last night in Tokyo! It has 11 floors of shopping. 5 for boys and 5 for girls. There's a half naked buff dude that greets people at the entrance (come on ladies, you know this place). What you see in this picture below is winding stairs from about Level 8 towards the ground. 

If you know the name of this chain store... just leave a blog comment. DOE-MOE-A-REE-GER-TO