Shrimp & Oyster Bar, Akasaka 赤坂

Escaping the hot, sticky confines of the office resulted in my wandering the even hotter, stickier streets of Shibuya with a couple of hours to kill before meeting Tokyoeater for a spot of dinner. Not much wandering took place and I arrived at Akasaka far too early. As luck would have it, the “resto” my dining partner for the evening had chosen happened to be housed in the same building, the Atrium section next to the Akasaka Biz Tower, as the Delirium Café, a Belgian beer bar that I’d visited last year and completely forgotten about. A bottle or two of Piraat and a few chapters of the iBooks edition of The Adventures of Sherlock Homes (“what the deuce!”) and it was time to visit the Shrimp and Oyster Bar for the evening. 

The relatively plain exterior of the restaurant did not belie greater ostentation within. Very simple, basic even, making it feel more like a cafeteria or diner. The tables were a little on the small side, too, which would turn out to be something of problem.

Guided to the narrow confines of our table, beers were swiftly ordered and an appetizer of chives cream cheese and crackers supplied. Not the best of starts. As is so often the case when two bulls get together, talk was the order of the evening, and in part the quaffing of beer to quell the thirst bequeathed by the hottest Tokyo summer in a decade (or so it’s said), and so it took a while for us to get around to the menu.

As luck would have it, the cover of said menu promoted a set course offering a range of dishes including oysters and several shrimp-based delights. Truth be told, “delights” it too positive a description. Not that the food was bad, it just didn't excite or justify the price. The oysters, served on ice with a couple topped with tomato, feta and basil, were small, and rather lacklustre. A pile of lettuce, black olive, scrambled egg, cheese and ham salad – drizzled in something like the much-maligned Thousand Island dressing, followed. Already there was something of the chain izakaya about the food here. 

Chilled white wine, name escapes me but something to do with oysters, took the edge off the food, and barely touched my dining partner’s lips from what I can recall (sorry…). The waiting staff leave the wine on the bar opposite your table, and attentively poor whenever your glass is near empty. Unfortunately, they pay no attention whatsoever to the pace at which your companion’s glass is being emptied (or not as the case may be). While on the subject of pace, let it be said that the food crashed upon our tawdry board like a tsunami. Before we knew it, there was no space left to set the dishes, and engaged as we were in talk – and as I was in the bottle – we failed utterly to consume at the speed apparently expected. Even after our protestations, it continued in relentless fashion.

A salad, Mediterranean in style, consisting of red and yellow peppers, onions, basil, octopus and shrimp was swiftly followed by deep fried shrimp served with shredded cabbage, bulldog sauce and mayonnaise.  Oddly enough, this utterly “izakaya basic” turned out to be the tastiest part of the meal. Says it all, doesn’t it?

There followed some more shrimp (prawns?) in an oily balsamic soak, complimented by dry bread, a woefully small and thin tasting lasagne and a couple of other dishes I’m sure, though I have neither photograph nor recollection.

The service was okay, polite and increasingly friendly once the waitress revealed her hidden English speaking talents and impending visit to the U.K. Not quite sure I needed to be cornered by her outside the men’s room for a chat every time I visited though…

Tel: 03-3568-3787

Lotus Palace, Akasaka ロータスパレス、赤坂

If, like me, there are times when you long for bolder, spicier tastes than those found in Japanese cuisine, then Akasaka’s Lotus Palace, a Vietnamese restaurant a stone’s throw from the Metro station exit, is likely to please. I can’t claim to be well versed in the ways of Vietnam’s cuisine, but as this restaurant had been introduced to my dining partner by a gentleman of Vietnamese descent I expected to be pleased with the evening’s meal.

The Lotus Palace, of which there are two, the other being located in Ikebukuro, is a small establishment on Akasaka Dōri recognized by its glass façade behind which hang slatted wooden blinds that allow only a slight glimpse of that which awaits the expectant diner. The interior is attractive, blacks and reds, less than a dozen small tables, with faux black leather benches, a bar on the right before the kitchen with high bar stalls, and to the rear of the room a smoking section screened off with bamboo lattices. Nicely lit, so as two create an intimate atmosphere, the place is comfortable enough, although the tables for two are a little on the small side and as such you would be best advised not to order too many dishes all at once, with the interior decoration far removed from the usual wooden simplicity of Japanese izakaya. My only real gripe, aside from the tables, was the dreadful Euro-trance piped into the dining area. Hardly conducive to a relaxing meal, it served only to bring about the usual tightening of the lungs and rapidly beating heart that any who misspent their youth in UK clubs during the 1990s will be all too familiar with…

A tall, slim waitress clad in a tight-fitting traditional Vietnamese dress, slit high up the thigh, threatened to distract me from the dining experience. She also brought the ample menu, complete with Vietnamese names for the dishes and photos to guide the uninitiated, and took our drink orders. Surprised as I was to find Bass Pale Ale on the menu, I opted for a standard draught beer while noting the availability of Vietnamese liquor. The service throughout was polite, although somewhat too business like, as was that given by the master of the house, a portly Japanese fellow.

Our meal commenced with two nama harumaki (uncooked spring roll) bulging with bacon, juicy shrimps, potatoes, cucumber lettuce and noodles, eaten with ones fingers, dipping the roll into a spicy sauce. Delicious, filling, healthy. A fantastic salad of green papaya, sliced and boiled, mixed with peanuts, shrimps, pork and fried garlic followed. This was certainly a highlight of the meal. Wonderfully moist, the taste of the papaya was intriguing and the aroma strong. Encouraged we ordered the Banh Xeo, a 30cm diameter pancake stuffed with bean sprouts and mushrooms, which is the then sliced up, wrapped in lettuce leaves and dipped into another spicy sauce. In terms of size it was excellent value, and yet I found its taste rather oily. Furthermore it is extremely messy with the oil, juice from the filling, and dipping sauce running all over ones hands. By the time we had finished the thing a small pile of hand wipes gobbled up what little space was left on the table.

Ordering some of the “Vietnamese shōchū,” the bottle’s label declared it to be “Vietnamese vodka”, I marveled at its strength, nutty flavour (Almond I believe) and the volume of gaijin entering the restaurant. Being Akasaka, and close to the station, I ought not to have been surprised. Still, it is rare, at least in my experience, to dine in a restaurant in which gaijin outnumber Japanese and other Asians. Around this point in the evening the trance music ceased, to be replaced by something else. What I cannot remember. It was certainly quieter at any rate. Next came the Bo Xien, skewers of succulent beef sprinkled with spring onion and nuts. These were dipped into a sweet and sour sauce. Overall an excellent dish, the taste highly reminiscent of spare ribs. Still impressed, we then ordered deep fried crab, a nice pile of small karaage like morsels, the crabmeat soft, the taste one of oil and spices. Recommended!  By this point, I really felt unable

to eat another bite, but wanting to try some soup we had the Fuō, a large bowl of steaming broth in which chicken, Fuō noodles and spring onion jostled for attention. Content, pleased with quality of the meal, and not a little drunk, I decided to round off the evening with a whisky. One of largest I have ever had. Truly excellent value!

An interesting, delicious, meal at a reasonable price can easily be had at Lotus Palace. Dance music aside, the surrounding are pleasant and the service business like. The menu offers a good selection of varied dishes that certainly require further study. Worth a visit? Certainly.

Tel: 03-5114-0747