My meal at Aronia de Takazawa is by far the greatest gastronomical experience in my life.
It was like eating in a private laboratory of a mad scientist-chef.
Except Chef Takazawa is anything but mad, and his creations are not experiments but masterpieces so perfect they pleasure and excite not just the taste but all of my senses.
The master at work in his open lab
Takazawa's wife Akiko, who speaks perfect English, went around table to table explaining each course and making sure the guests at all three tables (the maximum they accept) were pampered and happy.
Chocolate and cream :)
The setting was simple yet very tasteful
Amuse bouche of black truffle croquette, fried pretty bell, iberico ham, and baby turnip
with crumbs and spices. I knew right away this was gonna be a marvelous meal.
"Ratatouille"
Takazawa's version of the French vegetable dish, served with a piece of black bean and
a grain of salt on the side
15 kinds of vegetables cooked individually and meticulously assembled into this exquisite,
colorful mosaic. Akiko explained this took forever to prepare and asked us to eat it whole
in one mouthful. So fresh and clean. The chef's level of creativity is truly beyond words.
"Vegetables Parfait"
Tomato water, tomato gazpacho with caviar, black jelly, basil jelly, petals and
fresh basil leaf. The "ice cream" was actually parmesan cheese mousse. Wow!
Believe me this tasted even better than it looked!
"Bread and Butter"
Sweet potato bread with Okinawa pork rillette
"Pucchin Pudding"
Takazawa replicated the sweet pudding he enjoyed during his childhood days.
I grew up enjoying the same during my Taiwan years so I thought this was interesting and a lot of fun!
But it was not as simple as a sweet egg pudding
It was pumpkin pudding that he filled generously with hairy crab meat and topped with prawn jelly.
Incredibly creamy and bursting with flavors of the sea.
"Powdery Dressing"
And this was not an ordinary tuna salad. Look at how fresh the fish and micro greens!
Takazawa then came to our table and sprinkled over our salads his magical
powdery dressing
The powder slowly dissolved into a balsamic emulsion
I will never see tuna sashimi the same way again
"EZO-Venison Tartar"
Crispy galette, white truffle, venison, uni from Hokkaido
It was an absolutely delightful and delicious mess!
"Candleholder"
Akiko instructed us to remove the cover, and then...
Voila!!!
Foie gras crème brulee, pear sauce with rosemary leaf as the "candle,"
hazelnut cranberry toast with nutmeg.
"Breakfast at Aronia de Takazawa"
Potato flakes as cornflakes, white truffle, egg, guinea fowl soup.
Simply the most expensive breakfast in the world.
"Hot Balloon"
Inside was the most flavorful anko fish soup with assorted mushrooms and black truffle
On the side was a thick slice of ankimo resting on a sheet of raspberry crystal
And then Akiko set down in front of us plates containing a small white tablet
She poured hot water on it and it slowly expanded. Turned out the tablet was a
dehydrated towel! She then asked us to clean our hands with this towel that
smelled of wood because we will be eating the next course with our hands!!!
"Dinner in the Forest"
A burning pine leaf rested on top our next dish, giving off a smell of the forest
Lamb from Hokkaido, sweet potato, chestnuts, gingko nuts and taro potato were presented on
a chunky cork bark. We ate the pieces with our fingers which smelled strongly of wood.
How brilliant is that? Indeed, a dinner in the forest. This course blew me away.
"Grated Cheese?"
It was grated frozen apple to cleanse our palate!
"Takazawa's Special Camembert"
The camembert was actually a cheesecake made with parmagiano, cream cheese,
blue cheese and black truffle. On the side was manuka honey ice cream
and a marinated persimmon. This was delectably unforgettable.
For our tea service, Akiko brought out a good selection of tea leaves for us to choose from.
We chose "Refreshing" and "Happy" :)
Petit Fours - Matcha Cake, Coconut Meringue, Salt and Pepper Chocolate, Yuzu Mashmallow
Life-changing, this meal. No words can ever do justice to his amazing talent.
I don't know how it's possible, but each course was even more fantastic than the last.
Aronia de Takazawa is truly an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.
Aronia de Takazawa: 2/F Sanyo Akasaka Building, 3-5-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Tel: +81 3 3505 5052
