Having enjoyed many a previous dinner at the Kani Seryna in Roppongi, I figured that I would give this establishment a try. It is located on the 52nd floor of the Sumitomo Building in Shinjuku, just adjacent to the Keio Plaza hotel, and minutes from any Shinjuku area hotel. For those of you who don’t know, the Seryna Corporation manages 6 dining rooms in 3 locations across Tokyo. As they say, “Exclusiveness is our Quality.” Although not the most elegant or expensive restaurant in Tokyo, they serve two of the most famous food dishes from Japan- Teppan Style Kobe Beef, and Kani (Crab) shabu-shabu, and are generally pretty good at what they do. Service is always impeccable, and the food is consistently good. I would say that this is a good restaurant for visitors to sample some of Japan's better known delicacies.
For this meal, we decided on the “Kobe Beef Special Dinner”, which consisted of several courses, culminating in a 130g serving of the best beef of the land. I should point out that the restaurant has a nice selection of regional Sakes, but is a bit lacking in the wine department.
Our dinner started off with a Tako (Octopus) Salad. Served with vinegared seaweed and lotus root, it was nice and refreshing.
Next came the Iranian Osetra caviar, served with traditional garnishes, and buckwheat blinis cooked on the teppanyaki countertop. Caviar was a bit too briny, as I think it may not have been as fresh as I am accustomed to. It was still enjoyable though.
The beef sashimi course was excellent. Paired off with sliced onions and soy sauce, it was a very enjoyable sampling of the star of the night.
The foie gras was grilled on the tabletop, and served with a red wine sauce. It was nice, and was cleaned well, as it was thoroughly de-veined. Not quite on par with the stuff I am used to from the table of Chef Laurent Manrique, but still…
The lobster course was quite good. It was the pacific variety, not of the homard variety, and it yielded very sweet morsels of white flesh. The lobster was cooked on the teppan surface of the table, and was served with a side of the green glands and some white sauce. Sorry I didn’t take a picture of the lobsters prancing in pain as they were being seared semi-live. =)
A small green salad followed, with some garnish of shiso and fried noodles. I thought the placement of this dish was a bit weird right smack in the middle of the meal, but it was small and as the other dishes were, well balanced.
On to the main course. Here you can see the various stages of seasoning and cooking the beef. The chef brought out a very small 260g cut, to be shared by my date and I. Isn’t it amazing how marbled and textured the beef looks? For us carnivores, this was truly a delight for the eyes and tastebuds. I had mine medium rare, and it was perfect. Paired with fresh potatoes and corn, this was definitely the star of the evening. Since it has high fat content, its best to eat this beef quickly, while its still hot. I had no problems finishing of my meager 130g serving. I have eaten many meals of Kobe beef, and each one has been satisfying- as long as beef is not overcooked, its hard to not enjoy it.
Remember Mr. Lobster? After the steak, he made a reappearance, err..at least his head did, in a wonderful hot bowl of miso shiru. Boiled with the miso paset, the lobster imparted its delicate flavor into the soup. I am not a big fan of miso, but this soup was fantastic. This fit right into the meal, signaling to my stomach the end of a wonderful meal.
Instead of rice to accompany my Steak, I elected to have the cold somen with daikon. The texture of the noodles was fantastic, and this was a good accompaniment to the other courses.
After dinner, we ended the meal at the bar, which had a fantastic view of the city. Ice cream and panna cotta.
I'll end with a gratuitous wrist shot of the watch I was wearing- my vintage Rolex Daytona 6239.
Happy Eating Everyone!
