Another From The Ukai Clan...

Starters of chilled shrimp with asparagus & grilled bamboo shoot

Consomme & fish with shitake

Wagyu beef steak with garlic chips & Chocolate Fondant

If opulence is a measure of haughtiness, then Ukai Tei at Omotesando deserves its place amongst the elite. Its stately baroque style decor of towering columns, lofty high ceilings and ornate high backed chairs ensures that it is not some shabby neighbour to names like Chanel and Bvlgari. Our dinner party of four were even given a partitioned room of our own, retrofitted with a gleaming Teppanyaki grill and a beaming chef:)

The food at Ukai Tei though is a different story altogether. There are simply too many good Teppanyaki finds throughout the city and given the relatively high prices that Ukai Tei charged, portions are somewhat anaemic and taste mediocre at most. One thing though which piqued my curiosity was the chef's use of Perrier during the cooking process. According to his explanation and translated through my painfully limited Japanese, the carbonated water seemed to better the taste of the food. Personally, I dismiss that notion as pure gimmicky since I am sure that I would not have been able to spot any differences if subjected to a blind taste test. I must, however, single out the grilled bamboo shoots for special mention. I have hated bamboo shoots all my life but these at Ukai Tei were a revelation!

Although my response to Ukai Tei is as lukewarm as a cup of coffee which had been lying around for an hour, lunch might still present a very attractive option since its mid-day menus are at bargain basement prices. Thereafter, one can always count on Ukai Tei's chi-chi neighbours to provide the second half of the afternoon's entertainment('',)

Ukai Tei
Address: 5-10-1 Jingumae, 5F Gyre Building, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Tel: 03-5467-5252
Michelin: *