Hola Ogasawara Hakushakutei...

The Beautiful Setting Of Ogasawara Hakushakutei

This charming, quaint Spanish-style villa is my current favourite. Built in 1927, it was the private villa of Count Ogasawara who was of the elite Samurai clan. Surrounded by such lush setting, you feel instantly detached from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo life.

Ogasawara Hakushakutei consists of a main dining hall and a more casual cafe cum bar. Only set menus are served in the posh dining area. This actually saves you the headache from making a decision as everything just sound so tantalizingly heavenly. We were there for Sunday brunch and felt the one-star it garnered from Michelin just does not do it justice:(

Morocco Style Prawn, Magic Kinder, Marinated Scallop With Oyster Cream Sauce, Watermelon Gazpacho With Marinated Hamaguri

Opps...I forgot to take a picture of the amuse bouche. It was bruschetta with diced tomatoes and Jamon Iberico. A classic crowd-pleaser. Next up was the Morocco style Prawn with Amaranthus. The grilled prawn accompanied by the Amaranthus sauce was refreshingly light even though the sauce was cream-based. But the highlight was the Magic Kinder. A combo of soft boiled egg, potato potage and wild mushrooms with black truffles to finish off, this dish really shows off the chef's skills and innovation. How the chef managed to get the proportions right for this dish still bewilders me! Nothing was too overpowering and the taste was just so smooth and velvety that the explosion of flavours just make you wish for a pot of this stuff! Ok, Ok, I know I am kind of exaggerating, so let's move on! The 4th course was the Marinated Scallop with Oyster cream sauce. The succulent scallop was lightly seasoned and well complemented with an oyster based sauce topped with a piece of crisp Iberico ham. The next dish was appropriately served to balance the richness of the previous dish. Watermelon Gazpacho with marinated Hamaguri clams. It was an interesting and refreshing change from the usual tomato gazpacho.

Grilled Isaki With Paprika & Anchovy Sauce, Roasted "Presa Iberica" Pork With Manchego Cheese Ice Cream, Paella In Crayfish Broth

For the mains, we started off with the Grilled Isaki with paprika and anchovy sauce. My other half, who does not really like fish gave this dish the thumbs-up;) Then came the meat dish which was Roasted "Presa Iberica" pork with salad and ice cream of Manchego cheese. The pork looked juicy and it was a shame that I had to give this dish a miss as I do not eat pork. The last main was the classic must-have Spanish dish - Paella in Crayfish broth. The plump rice was soaked to the grain in the broth and the robust flavours of this dish leaves you yearning for more, though I thought this was more risotto than paella.

ToEnd On A Sweet Note: Frozen Sangria & Peach With Ricotta Souffle

Lastly, the sweets. This was the only drawback at Ogasawara Hakushakutei. The desserts were disappointingly mediocre though the Frozen Sangria was my favourite of the two. The other one was Peach with ricotta souffle.

All in all, it was still definitely a gastronomically delightful and unforgettable Sunday brunch...ahhh...I am still rubbing my tummy thinking about it...

Ogasawara Hakushakutei
Address: 10-10 Kawadacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Telephone: 03-3359-5830
Website: www.ogasawaratei.com
Michelin: *