A Masterpiece of French Cuisine by Chef KitajimaThis restaurant is renowned for producing famous disciples in the French culinary world.Located just a 5-minute walk from Yotsuya Station, look for the yellow tent that says "Kitajima Tei".I made a reservation in advance for a weekend lunch.On this day, I opted for the course with hot appetizers, cold appetizers, and a meat main dish for JPY 15,400.Adding fish would bring the total to JPY 16,500.This is a so-called prix fixe course where you can select your favorite cold and hot appetizers, as well as the main dish.From the selection of cold appetizers, I chose the restaurant's specialty: Hokkaido fresh sea urchin with consomme jelly and cauliflower cream (an additional JPY 550).For the hot appetizer, I had the German white asparagus with hollandaise sauce, topped with sea bream soft roe and an egg pie (also an additional JPY 550).For the main dish, I selected the steak made from Ibaraki Prefecture's black-haired Wagyu top sirloin, served with shallot butter sauce.The amuse-bouche was a tart of summer vegetables!It was colorful and had a wonderfully flaky pastry, perfect to enjoy with champagne.This was followed by a tomato soup with basil cream.I paired three glasses of wine with my meal.The sea urchin consomme jelly was served on a plate, generously topped with sea urchin. When combined with the rich and flavorful cold consomme jelly, it felt incredibly luxurious.The asparagus was impressively thick, and when paired with the hollandaise sauce, the saltiness of the sea bream soft roe provided a delightful accent.For the main dish, the meat was served with a butter sauce made from shallots.I had expected a heavier sauce made with fond de veau, but surprisingly, it was light and delicious until the very end!For dessert, I had half of a tea pudding and half of a savarin.If you can't finish the final mignardises, they will pack them for takeout.I had heard that the portions were large, so I was concerned about finishing, but it turned out to be more than manageable.The dishes from this French master were perfectly calculated in both quantity and flavor, allowing me to enjoy every bite until the end.Occasionally, the chef would come out of the kitchen to chat with us.He was a lively and delightful chef, and I truly appreciated the wonderful dining experience.Finally made it to Kitajima Tei!
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