Mētis Roppongi (Metis 六本木), Tokyo
This was a last-minute booking just before I flew out of London (less than two weeks ahead). I was just curious how a Japanese chef presents French cuisine, which was surprisingly fun. I was the first customer in the night, and in fact there were only seven customers for the evening. It was a tiny restaurant, with all counter seats. There were only two chefs and two waiters. It was a relatively short menu. I picked the non-aged wagyu beef as the main dish, while the other choices were aged wagyu and venison. I was also delighted that the restaurant provided bottled cold tea.
Seat and Menu
The first fun dish was “Steamed bun with Foie Gras”, which was a simple and cute combination of French and Asian food. The bun was probably made from buckwheat, therefore, with the brown colour. The Foie Gras filling was difficult to tell whether it was fully cooked, however it did taste very smooth. The only drawback was, the bottom of the bun was broken, I suspect, the skin was too dried or over cooked, so it was cracked.
Steamed Bun with Foie gras
The chef combined Japanese style in his cooking, which was not surprising since we were in Japan. For example, the dish “Deep fried red shrimp” is literally a posh tempura; In contrast, high-end French cuisine often serves raw shrimps because of their creamy taste. The red chilli was probably inspired by south-east or (some regions of) Chinese Asian cuisines. It was a really simple idea to balance the greasiness of the deep-fried (dough) coating.
Deep-fried Red shrimp and Sweet Chili
The next “Rosy Seabass (Akamutsu)” was my favourite: the visual design was very European but with a nice touch of Japanese, I think, cherry blossom shoots. The sauce made from sake lees had a slightly light taste, rather than the common creamy taste. The fish, Rosy Seabass, had a stronger flavour than common seabass, and the cherry blossom shoots mixed in a bitter flavour and a harder texture.
Charcoal-grilled Rosy Seabass "Akamutsu" from with Indian spinach
After the main wagyu beef, I got the last hot dish “risotto”. This was a very Japanese touch to put the rice at the end. Except the risotto rice, other ingredients are just Japanese, abalone, matsutake mushroom, and dried cherry blossom. I found dried cherry blossom a cool idea: (1) it adds amazing colour to often boring-looking risotto, also a great representation of Japanese palette, and (2) it puts extra bitter seasoning and fibre texture over the traditionally creamy, heavy and even sticky flavour and texture. However, I should say this risotto was a little dry.
Italian Carnaroli rice risotto with Abalone, "Matsutake " and Gink go
This was such a surprise booking. I did not have any expectation, but it ended up a great evening before my flight back to London. The waiter actually told me the restaurant got one star just after a year since open. It certainly deserved it. It had a homely and welcoming environment, and fun and thoughtful dishes.
🐼 Score: 3/5
