A wonderful welcome back to Noeud by Chef Naoto Nakatsuka. It had been nearly 14 months and every dish had changed on Chef's inventive menu. One of only 11 Green Stars in Tokyo!
The room was full and alive, and having just got off the plane from Haneda, a place to relax and enjoy Chef's menu of Spring ingredients.
Noeud's somm, the bridge between English and Japanese, poured some great, unexpected wines with dinner.
I think the team recognizes the true compliment is when an overseas diner returns for a second visit. They remembered me, and I certainly had fond memories of my first visit.
Let's dig in with some highlights....
Green asparagus, wasabi, kiwi, mackerel. You're thinking, what? Perfect control of the wasabi and kiwi with a good "bite" to the asparagus
bamboo shoot, deer tongue, deer heart. The bamboo is only in season for about six weeks and plays foil to the tender, juiciness of the meat with freshness of the greens to lighten it up.
beetroot in several preparations, swiss chard, striped beakfish. A new fish to m, but just look at the work and technique in the beet elements
Japanese parsley, shitake, venison. Once again, amazing sauce work.
Golden berry, with what else, chocolate.
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