Tokyo! Metropolis of Japan, operating theatre of Kidō Keisatsu patoreibā Special Vehicle Section 2… Actually, I didn’t really mean to start writing that way, but I recently watched Revenge of the Sith and someone should really stop George Lucas from writing dialog. Just terrible stuff. And yes, I do know that’s the RX-78 and not an AV-98 Ingram.
バカ !

Anyhoo, travel is winding down for the year and it will be the second straight year that I failed to regain SuperÉlite status with Aeroplan. Ask me if I’m happy - it’s going to be another 12 months where someone I know can kick my sorry a$$ off the plane if he/she needs a seat. Or an upgrade. I’ll eventually write up my sidetrip to Charlotte and other places where I’ve been there, done that, but that will take a while as I’ve got photos to process beforehand. And there are a lot of trips. In the meanwhile, I’m scribbling about Tokyo, where my brother is currently running amok in the Land of Gundam.

I’ve been to Japan, but the experience has usually limited itself to Narita T1 or T2 as part of the to/from portion of the long-haul to Taiwan. One of these days I’ll actually go and visit, stomach growling, cameras in tow, and lots and lots of cash at hand (if you didn’t already know, Japan is really expensive and is generally an all-cash society). In the meanwhile, I’ll live vicariously through him.

His outbound trip was apparently uneventful, with the first leg from here to Hell on a flight packed with a Japanese tour group on their way home. Then some time bouncing between the gate and Pearson’s International Maple Leaf Lounge before getting the confirmation for the Business Class cabin.

I miss Air Canada Business Class. It’s not as nice as the Business Class seating of the Asian Star Alliance partners and can’t compete with on the service side with Austrian Airlines, but AC’s new 77Ws have fold-flat seat pods, noise-cancellation headsets, real glasses, a good selection of wines, palatable meals and nice staff. Well, AC staff have always been good to me, it’s just nicer to be sitting in the front of the plane.

Priority luggage didn’t quite work as expected upon arrival at Narita but the remainder of the arrival went smoothly. In his words, “Shinjuku is crazy busy. It’s packed with people. I mean packed.”

I’m not quite sure what happened since his arrival apart from successfully picking up a SIM card, but today’s adventure included a visit to the Park Hyatt Tokyo. This hotel is probably best known to people who’ve never been as one of the major backdrops in Bill Murray’s Lost in Translation, but it also houses a restaurant called the “New York Grill” (the link’s in Japanese). Okay, so… it’s a steakhouse. Or more to the point, it’s a very nice steakhouse on the 52nd floor of the Park Hyatt.

The photo looks very nice and I’m fairly certain that the view of Tokyo must be spectacular and rather surreal/serene from that high up. The Park Hyatt doesn’t offer an English version of the New York Grill’s online menu (BabelFish and Google both choked), but from what I could figure out from the Japanese menu, it’s a steakhouse (d-uh) with a twist. So what about dinner?

このレストランはすこしたかい。

Just saying.

However, both set menus and carte options are available as is an extensive wine that has the distinction of being the largest Californian wine collection in Asia. I don’t have all of the specifics of what he had but I have two highlights:

Foie gras terrine appetizer,
described as being “very tasty”. By the way, don’t expect a whole lot of waxing poetic – he’s on vacation and isn’t going to have time to do the 1000-word “what I did in Tokyo” book report for show and tell.

Unlike the more common torchon or terrine presentations, this terrine is cut into a wedge from either a pie or sheet pan mold. It appears to be topped with a clear aspic and is served with black truffle shavings, filberts, micro-salad, crouton and a sauce reduction (not sure but from the photo I’ll guess either a sweet wine like a Banyuls or port, Minus-8, or balsamic vinegar).

Grilled sirloin of Kobe beef,
which was most likely Tajima-ushi (但馬牛) from Hyōgo Prefecture.
このステーキはやわらかくてジューシーですね。!
Cow-wise, this was the real deal: high-marbling Japanese beef, not the Australian wagyū or the American wagyū/Angus crossbreed common on North America tables. I was quite surprised by the very simple plating but it was accompanied by a red wine sauce, onion compote, arugula and even more black truffle shavings. When it comes to truffles, I guess the spirit of Ryōri no Tetsujin still  lives on, but I’ve been assured that steak and the truffles were also delicious.

ごちそうさまでした ! In spite of the potential hurt that the menu may imply, the whole experience didn’t wind up costing and arm and a leg. Apparently it was only a leg, and not even a full one… maybe up to the knee.

Later on the sked: Tsukiji, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon and hopefully a ramen-ya because そうめんはうどんよりほそいです。 If I’m lucky I’ll get a photo of the noodle equivalent of El Dorado.

Quick Links: Tokyo Part 1 (you’re reading it now) • Tokyo Part 2 • Tokyo Part 3

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