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French Wines In Shizuoka City at La Vigne!

January 22, 2009 dragonlife 2 Comments

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Service: Excellent and very friendly
Facilities: great washroom, great cleanliness overall
Prices: reasonable, good value
Non-smoking!

La Vigne, which has just opened in Shizuoka City on December 18th, 2008, is a new concept in this city as far as wine shops are concerned.

A subsidiary of a Nagoya Company which has two other shops in Kasugai City (Aichi Prefecture) and Asahikawa City (Hokkaido Prefecture), it sells wines exclusively from France and directly imported from the winegrowers!

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The other innovation is the standing bar included on the premises where Mr. Hirotaka Sato and his staff serve a daily selection of wines by the glass at very reasonable prices, from 200 to 1,000 yen!. One can also have a cup of coffee instead, with a croissant or freshly baked bread. A menu including cheese, soup and light dishes/snacks is available all day long! Everything is “paid on delivery”, keeping everything to a comfortable minimum!

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By all day long, I mean all day long, as they are opened from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.!

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As for wines there is plenty of good value to choose from, including special sales.
Do not forget to have a good look inside the refrigerated cellar!

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A limited, but excellent delicatessen display allows you to buy and take some great snacks with your wine back home, including cheese and sausages!

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Come early enough to get some freshly baked bread and have a look at some interesting canned food and preserves!

A very easy-going place to taste a wine in all tranquility without the usual hassles!

LA VIGNE
420-0852 Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Gofuku-Cho, 17-2, 1F (within walking distance for Shizuoka JR Station in front of Fugetsuro!)
Tel. & Fax: 054-2054181
Business hours: 10:00~22:00
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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Cheese Plate at Gentil (3)

December 6, 2008 dragonlife Leave a comment

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gentil-cheese-12-a
(oven dried lotus root, potato and red yam slices)

This is the third installment of a hopefully long series of cheese plates served at Gentil Restaurant in Shizuoka City.
The Cheese Sommelier, Ms. Keiko Kubota is the not only the sole Japanese holding the title of compagnon d’Honneur de Taste Fromage in Japan, but she was asked to choose, prepare and serve the cheeses offered to all these vey improtant people at the G8 Summit held last July in Hokkaido.

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Top left: “Yama no Chiizu”/Mountain Cheese (Cow’s milk from “Mitomo Bokujyo” in Hokkaido)
Left bottom: Truffes (Goat’s milk/Provence-France)
Centre top: Gorgonzola Dolce (Cow’s milk/Italy) for Rowena?
Centre Middle: Dry raisins from France and “Sakura”) (cow’s milk/Hokkaido)
Centre Bottom: Vieile Mimolette (France)
Top right: Fourme d’Ambert (Cow’s milk/France)
Right bottom: “Yama no Chiizu”/Mountain Cheese (Cow’s milk from “Mitomo Bokujyo” in Hokkaido)

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Additional plate:
Epoisses affine au Chablis (Cow’s milk/France) and Blue Stilton (cow’s milk/Egland)

Restaurant Gentil
Address:420-0031 Shizuoka Shi, Gofuku-cho, 2-9-1, Gennan Kairaku building, 2F
Tel.: 054-2547655 (Reservations advisable)
Fax: 054-2210509
Opening hours: 12:00~14:00, 18:00~last orders for meals at 21:30. Bar time 18:00~23:30. Closed on Mondays.
Credit cards OK
Homepage (Japanese)

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Coq Au Vin/Chicken Burgundy Stew

November 22, 2008 dragonlife 2 Comments

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You’ve got a one-too-many bottle of red wine　(it does not have to be Burgundy!), or “unwanted” present!
No worries! Here is a simple recipe to use it! As the alcohol will disappear during the cooking, everyone can enjoy it!

Ingredients (6 people):
Cockerel or chicken (cut in appropriate-sized pieces): 2kg
Butter: 40g
Lard: 100g
Onion: 1
Echalotes (highly flavoured small onions): 2
Carrot: 1 small one
Garlic: 3 cloves
Flour: 40g
Cognac ( or marc or brandy): 50cc
Tomato puree: 1 tablespoon
Red wine (the stronger, the better): 750cc
Bacon: 125g
White mushrooms (champignons de Paris, white agarics): 250g
Bouquet garni (fresh thyme+parsley+laurel)
Salt & pepper to taste

Recipe:

In a deep saucepan heat 40g of butter and the lard cut in pieces (if soft, just as it is). Cook the pieces of chicken until golden. Then add onion, echalotes, carrot, garlic (all finely cut). Sprinkle with flour. Mix well. Pour in the Cognac and flambe on high fire (light the alcohol). Then pour in the wine and one cup of water, and the tomato puree. Add salt and pepper and the bouquet garni. Pit lid on. Let simmer on small fire for 1 hour and thirty minutes to two hours depending on the chicken’s firmness.
Cut the bacon in pieces. Put them in cold water. Bring the water to boil for a few seconds and drain the bacon. Cut the bottom of the mushrooms stems. Clean and slice. Cook the bacon in a small saucepan on small fire for a few minutes. Add the mushrooms. Saute (fry) on high fire for five to eight minutes. Pour the lot in a deep serving dish. Keep warm.
Take the chicken pieces out of the saucepan. Put them on the bacon and mushrooms.
Sieve the sauce and reduce on high fire for a few minutes if necessary. To make the sauce thicker and richer add the chicken liver crushed. Pour the sauce onto the chicken. Sprinkle with freshly minced parsley and serve with plain boiled potatoes.

Here is another variant: I served it with vol au vent filled with some finr ratatoulle!

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French Cuisine: Dinner at Gentil

November 8, 2008 dragonlife 2 Comments

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At long last, I found the right occasion to enjoy a full dinner at Gentil in Shzuoka City!
This is the oldest and best (with consequent prices) French Restaurant in town and most probably in the whole Prefecture.
Both the Maitre d’Hote, Ms. Keiko Kubota and her assistant, Ms. Keiko Nakagwa are Wine and Cheese Sommeliers of renown in Japan.
As I mentioned before, Ms. Keiko Kubota is the only the sole Japanese holding the title of Compagnon d’Honneur de Taste Fromage in Japan, but she was asked to choose, prepare and serve the cheeses offered to all these vey important people at the G8 Summit held last July in Hokkaido.

I did not bother looking at the menu and left all the choices of food and wines to Ms. Kubota.

As we were only two of us, I requested wine to be served by the glass from fine bottles, a very rare possibility in this country (it is not much of a problem as customers in Gentil drink a lot of wine!)
The first offering was white Bourgogne, Chablis 2006, Louis Latour, La Chanfleure.
I wil spare you the details about wine as I was busy enough jotting down explanations about food. Just that all the wines were chosen to a perfection!

The amuse bouche consisted of a sakura ebi/sakura shrimp (found only in Shizuoka. Expect a hefty bill if you are served them in Tokyo!) Quiche and a gobo/Japanese burdock soup served as a capuccino.
I will spare you from reading lengthy prose on the taste and so on. I just hope you will understand that sometimes savouring is far more important than erring into tart comments!

The first hors d’oeuvre was a marriage of:

Ishidai/snapper sashimi with fried renkon/lotus roots

Seared (tataki) venison carpaccio topped with fresh and fried Autumn onions.
When land and sea end up in the same fashion on a plate!

The next glass was a white Bourgogne, Macon-Villages, 2007, Les Tilles, Domaine Sainte-Barbe.

The second hors d’oeuvre was Matoya Oyster (considered as the best variety in Japan) slightly sauteed on a bed of spinach.

It was time for our first glass of red wine: Bourgogne again, Saint-Romain, 2005, Sous le Chateau by Pascal Brunion-Bonheur.

Pasta is not the prerogrative of Italians, (as Rowena will agree?) as demonstrated with this cold Kobashira/Round Clam Round Twin Muscles Capellini!

Great fish is plentiful along our coasts as vindicated by this Madai/Madai snapper first sauteed on its skin and then served en nage on top of a succulent vegetables soup.

The next wine saw the apparition of the “enemy” (don’t believe it, I always point out I hail from Bourgogne! I love Bordeaux, too, but don’t tell my family!): Bordeaux Haut-Medoc 2004, Chatau Real.

Time for the Cremant de Bourgogne Granite!

This granite was of a special meaning for me as it was a Cote Chalonnaise wine, my very home: Cremant de bourgogne, Domaine de la Tour Lajole. I do not have to tell you that for once I ate very slowly!

Now, the “main” dish was a rare treat:
Ris de Veau/Sweetbreads and Foie gras both sauteed with a Madeira wine sauce and mushrooms including chanterelles, eringe, and gobo/Japanese burdock. Some people would kill for that single dish!

Before we attacked the Cheese tray featured at the top of this posting (we had a chunk of each!) we were served a (in my case two) glass of Saint-Emilion 1998 (extravagant!) Dassault Grand Cru!

And now the cheese:

Follow the “N”!
Bottom left: Sakura (Swiss Brown Cow’s milk/Hokkaido)
Centre left: Selles sur Cher(Goat’s milk/France)
Top left: Bon de Sologne (Goat’s milk/France)
Top centre: Chevre/Goat Cheddar(Canada!)
Bottom centre: Bleu d’Auvergne (Cow’s milk/France)
Bottom right: Mont d’Or (Cow’s milk/France)
Centre right: Comte Extra (Cow’s milk/France)
Top right: Red Stilton (Cow’s milk/England)

Yes, we had dessert!: Mont Blanc and Cassis Sorbet/Sherbet.

I did have a couple of Banyuls with my coffee, but I gave as far as pics were concerned!
Best dinner of the year!

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Cheese Plate at Gentil (2)

November 4, 2008 dragonlife 6 Comments

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This is the second installment of a hopefully long series of cheese plates served at Gentil Restaurant in Shizuoka City.
The Cheese Sommelier, Ms. Keiko Kubota is the not only the sole Japanese holding the title of compagnon d’Honneur de Taste Fromage in Japan, but she was asked to choose, prepare and serve the cheeses offered to all these vey improtant people at the G8 Summit held last July in Hokkaido.

This time I was more careful with the picture, and I hope you will see it in a better light!

The cheese featured on the above picture are (from left to right)

-Sakura/from Hokkaido, cow’s milk from a cow breed called Brown Swiss.
-“Murasaki Imo”?viole yam chips
-Craquebitte/France, Loire, goat’s milk
-Crutin/Italy, Piemonte cow’s and ewe’s milk with Piemonte truffles
-Bleu d’Auvergne/France, Auvergne, cow’s milk with dry French muscat raisins.

Rowena will be happy to see an Italian cheese, and a great one (it costs a fortune!) featured:
Crutin.

As for wine, the cheese was beautifully paired with a 2001 Monthelie (France/Cote d’Or) by Gerard Doreau!

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Italian Cuisine: Latina

May 20, 2008 dragonlife 6 Comments

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Mr. Kojima is far from being a new face in Shizuoka City. For a long time he was the chef at Ciccio Ristorante, renamed Via de Burgo since then, before he had to take a year-long holiday due to health problems. In september 2006 he came back with a vengeance with his own restaurant, Latina, south of Shizuoka City JR Station, the fastest-changing area in town.
His (forced) move could not have happened at a better time when he took over an enormous cafe to modify it in a restaurant with a minimum of work. One can sit at a table away from the kitchen or next to it, or at a long counter overlooking Mr. Kojima’s kitchen.

Not only the food is great and very reasonably-priced, but the wine list is definitely top-class.
Now, I would suggest anyone to have a word with the master of the place before choosing one’s nectar as they are not all featured on the menu. The two friends who visited the place last Friday in my company being extremely knowledgeable, I chose a Rosso di Montalcino 2006 from Toscana. A bit young I admit, but with plenty of swirling around it did pretty well with our first order.

Although the ever-changing menu is written for all to see on a blackboard above your heads, you could always get your favourite dishes by notifying Mr. Kojima a few days in advance.
In any case, the antipasto misto was a beauty including homemade ham, crostini with homemade liver paste, omelette, meat balls, ratatouille and so forth.

Alright, I should have done my homework and prepared a menu beforehand, but as my friends intend to go as far as to organize a wine-tasting dinner there, it is only postponed!
So, to follow up in accordance with the wine, we ordered roasted guinea fowl (above)

roasted quail (notice the yellow-fleshed potatoes. Not yams, but a different variety of potatoes served as wedges with their skin, perfect!),

and a soft, so tender, venison stewed in red wine!
All cooked to precision but without any ostentation. Solid, delicious, homely fare, like in the Italian country!
Rowena, don’t kill me! And don’t ask where the Missus was!

As we still had some beautiful homemade bread left in the basket, we could not resist ordering a somewhat extravagant Carbonaione 1998 to go with some cheese in lieu of dessert. Mind you, it is only the first of a few more surveys. I shall be able to tease the likes of Memory Girl and Foodhoe later!

For this time I’ll be content with teasing Gaijin Tonic when I tell him that he Master of the place came with no less than eight kinds of Grappa for after drinks (on the house!) and two homemade liqueurs with lemon and orange!

Holy macaroni! I can tell you it was about time we took our leave as two of us were working from 9:00 a.m. the next day! Look forward to the next article!

LATINA
422-8062 Shizuoka City, Suruga Ku, Inagawa, 1-1-29
Tel. & Fax: 054-289-6522
Business hours: 11:45~14:00 (Saturday, Sunday & National Holidays only)
18:00~23:00
Closed on Mondays (or Tuesday if Monday is a National Holiday)
Credit cards OK

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Wine Tasting at Annam

April 22, 2008 dragonlife 2 Comments

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Thursday 17th of April was the third Thursday of the month and I had not expected drinking wine at Annam Vietnamese Restaurant in Shizuoka City as such tastings are held on the second Thursday of every month!
Not that I would complain, especially in the light that the Missus and I had come back from an unsatisfacory trip to Numazu City!
Annam holds such wine tasting with the help of Nagashima Saketen to demonstrate that Vietnamese cuisine can be appreciated with wine, instead of the usual beer for instance.

The Missus ordered a glass of Blanquette de Limoux, the oldestsparkling wine in the world (Dom Perignon, you are a horned liar!) while I had a draught beer (I did a lot of walking that day, and I needed fluids first!).
The papaya salad made for a perfect snack with the first glass.

The first drink having disappeared within a blink of the eye, I also had the Blanquette while my (?) half ordered Pinot d’Alsace Auxerrois (White, France). Actually as I downed the Blanquette before I could say “Glory be!”, I found myself asking for a St Magdalena (Red-Italy) before anything came up on the table. All simple hearty wines I must admit, but within everyone’s budget and in good accordance with more substantial set consisting of two kinds of Spring rolls, Vietnamese Quiche and other tidbits.

Deep-fried seafood balls,

and large prawns steamed in coconut milk enticed us for a glass of Cuma (White-Agentine) and another glass of the St. Magdalena diligently served by Mr. Hirotaka Sato, the Nagashima Saketen Sommelier on duty that night.
Although a white Viogner (France), a Petit Cep Syrah (Red-Languedoc/France) and a Serre Longue (Red-Roussillon/France) were also on order, we decided to call it a day (a night?) as rain was pouring in earnest outside and had to call a taxi back home.
The wine list changes every month, so I’ll do my best to attend the next wine tasting in May!

ANNAM

Shizuoka City, Aoi-Ku, Tenmacho, 17-9
Tel.: 054-2502266
Fax: 054-2502323
Lunch: 11:30~14:30
Dinner: 17:00~22:00 (last orders: 21:30)
Closed on Mondays and day after National Holidays
Homepage
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Where to Buy Original French Wines in Shizuoka?

February 22, 2008 dragonlife 2 Comments

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People certainly think twice when they want to order the better kind of French wines at あｎy restaurant いn Shizuoka, or anywhere else for that matter!
There is a limit to what you might afford to pay for them, then.
If you have enough confidence in your culinary talents, or alternatively in your hosting savoir-faire, why not enjoy higher quality wines at a home party for a reasonable price?
Keep in mind that whenever you buy a wine at a liquor shop in Japan, you must understand that the same bottle will fetch at least twice, and more usually, three times as much in amy restaurant.
Now, the wines you will find at Cafe-Labo in Isetan Department Store in Shizuoka City have the merit not only to be very fine wines with great value, but also to be very original. You will not find them anywhere else in Shizuoka Prefecture, and you may have a hard time looking for them elsewhere in Japan.
They were all imported directly from from the cellars through personal contacts. I went as far as to e-mail to each cellar to check!
Here are the wines currrently on sale:

Cave de Bissey, Cote Chalonnaise, Bourgogne Rouge, 2004.
Matured in oak barrels. 11.5 vol.. 2,901 yen.
This is a wine that should interest Trine as she is so fond of Bourgogne/Burgundy wines!
Growers in the Cote Chalonnaise, located between the Cotes de Beaune and Maconnais, decided some thirty years ago that their wines warranted a better destiny than to be bought by the large wineries which blended them to spice up their Bourgogne Rouge.
This particular cellar lies in a village where I spent many summers as a kid and still vividly remembers my pranks in the vineyards.
Light ruby red hue with mid-level intensity. The berry bouquet tends towards blackcurrant or blackberry. Agreeable to the palate, perfumed by fresh berries. Very easy to drink.
Most delectable served with pâtés, fine charcuterie, white meats, poultry, and soft cheese. It goes very well with Japanese food, too.

Chateau Bonnet, Saint-Amour, 2006.
13 vol. 2,901 yen
I can hear Melinda cream for that one, what with her wine tasting classes in Tokyo!
Beaujolais wines certainly deserve better treatment than being associated with the crass “Beaujolais Nouveau” inundating us regulary in this country.
Chateau Bonnet is a solid Saint-Amour, a great appellation in its own class, which goes so well with meat, pate, stews, without overpowering your senses. It is a true Beaujolais which certainly ought to be better known. At least it name would reflect your feelings!

Alsace, Clement Klur, Pinot Gris Katz, 2005. (bio wine)
13 vol. 3,801 yen
I have a special love for Alsace wines in spite of my Burgundian roots, and Clement Klug in katzenhal has produced a beauty here. Complex, lots of personality, fresh and long in mouth. Preserved fruit with a hint of fume. Perfect for aperitif and foie gras. Certainly a beauty with sushi! I can see Chuckeats checking his notes!

Alsace, Clement Klur, Cremant de Clement, brut. (bio wine)
12 vol. 3,901 yen
Here is another beauty by Clement Klur. Cremant is simply (figure pf speech) the same type of wine as the vaunted Champagne brews. But I’m sure Chrisos will agree, than yen for yen, they are certainly better value than their overpriced neighbours!
Vinified only from Pinot Blanc and Pinot Auxerrois old vines, it reveals a great structure and elegance. Very fine bubbles. To be savoured as aperitif, or with fish and white meats.

Banyuls, Le Dominicain, 6 years old.
Matured in oak barrels. 16 vol. 3,301 yen
Banyuls, in Roussillon by the Spanish border, is famed for it great port-like wines, which also represent better value again yen for yen than some disappointing vintages from Portugal.
Am I hearing Gaijin Tonic‘s ears rising to attention?
Sweet, without being cloying, it drinks so well as an aperitif. Perfect with blue cheese sprinkled with fine honey. A wine that will marry perfectly with chocolates!