| Restaurant Review |
By Hiroko Fukuzawa |
Keke
There’s no need to restrain yourself at this healthy Japanese-style buffet
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| Photo courtesy of Potluck International |
We visited Keke on a warm Saturday evening as families and their pets came flooding out of nearby Komazawa Park. Many of these groups were obviously headed to the same place we were, because when we arrived at the all-you-can-eat restaurant, the first floor was filled with kids. On our way up to the second floor, we were glad we had made reservations.
Keke’s magnificent buffet spread is located downstairs, so once we were given the magical OK sign, we headed back down, picked up a sturdy wooden plate, and surveyed the array of dishes before us. Thanks to all the organic veggie fare, there’s no need for metabo dad, health-conscious mom, elderly granny, or a vegetarian gaijin to think twice about what to eat.
The salad bar was colorful, with fresh, locally grown tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, beans, corn and—our favorite—green papaya, deliciously drizzled with a grape-seed-oil dressing. Next to the raw bar was a selection of good-ole Japanese dishes: crisp ohitashi (bright green spinach flavored with soy sauce and topped with dried bonito), hiyayakko (chilled tofu with ginger and soy sauce), sanma-ni (long-simmered Japanese mackerel), ratatouille-style stew, and furofuki daikon boiled in soup until translucent and served with black sesame-flavored miso. Delicately made kinpira (burdock and carrots) and hijiki reminded us of grandma’s homemade, shoyu-based dishes.
Hot entrees ranged from crispy tempura (eringi mushrooms and green peppers), which we managed to snag just as they were brought from the kitchen, karaage fried chicken, and saba (mackerel) grilled with a dash of salt. Two kinds of pasta (one with a cream sauce, the other wafu) and even Japanese-style curry were also on offer. Diners can choose white, brown or black rice, with optional furikake toppings, and even dashi to create their own ochazuke (rice soup). Hot miso soup completed the ideal washoku meal.
The drink bar included both juices and coffee, and we especially appreciated the healthy tea selection. The kids enjoyed their trips back and forth, but we’d be lying if we said we weren’t having just as much fun.
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After four full plates of salads, appetizers and main dishes, we made our way to the desserts, which included yogurt with black syrup or carrot-honey sauce, annin-dofu pudding, hot azuki bean soup, and chocolate nut cake. The tasty organic oat and honey crunch cereal was so addictive that we had to snatch a bit more as we went back for our second espresso.
Keke offers a guilt-free feast, making it a welcome alternative to hotel buffets for a fraction of the cost—just ¥2,400 for adults and ¥200-¥1,400 for kids. So, even with an additional organic bottle of wine thrown in (¥4,000), no one at the table minded picking up the tab. And the 15-minute walk back to the station was perfect way to digest our feast.
5-1-3 Komazawa, Setagaya-ku. Tel: 03-3703-5213. Open Mon-Fri 11:30am-3:30pm & 5:30-10pm, Sat, Sun & hols 11:30am-4pm & 5-10pm. Nearest stn: Komazawa-Daigaku. http://keke.jp
When we heard that a restaurant called Wine Love had recently opened, we were taken with the name and headed down to Minami-Aoyama to check it out. The basement eatery is located in a tiny side street just off Kotto Dori, and we were delighted with the informal atmosphere. The interior holds true to the restaurant’s name, with blackboard menus mounted on old wine crates and wine-related art on the walls. Although we were a couple, we easily convinced our waiter to let us try the “ladies only” appetizer plate (¥1,480), which included pickled veggies, mussels steamed in champagne, pâte, caprese salad and more. Opening the wine list, we were surprised to find over 130 bottles on the menu, and were relieved
that the prices hovered mostly around ¥3,000-¥4,000 per bottle—quite
a deal in Tokyo. We asked our waiter to suggest something we had probably never tried before, and he returned with Australian Coldstream Hills Chardonnay ’06 (¥6,800). Having caught a bit of a chill from the rainy season, we decided to warm up with the organic vegetables and cheese fondue (¥1,350), which paired wonderfully with the wine. We finished with the fish of the day (¥1,350)—grilled Japanese sea bass served in a sauce of cream and (of course) wine. We left knowing we had found something rare in Tokyo: fantastic food and wine without all the pomp, circumstance and sticker shock.
B1, 5-8-5 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-5774-4656. Open Mon-Sat 5:30pm-midnight, closed Sun and hols. Nearest stn: Omotesando, exit B1. www.wine-love.jp Kevin Mcgue
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