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Tsubame Grill (2006-09-29)

It's not the first time we went to Tsubame Grill for lunch, in fact we have been there several times.  The one we went to recently is located on the 13th floor of Takashimaya (kanji) Department Store in Shinjuku (kanji).  It is a mid-size establishment with some tables set up in the terrace area for those who prefer outdoor dining.  The tables are, like so many restaurants in Tokyo, packed tightly together.  Don't expect an intimate meal there, you're lucky the people at the next table don't hear every word in your conversation.  Service is good, but then again 99% of the restaurants in Japan have very good service.  The waitstaff doesn't work for tips, it's their amazing work ethics and discipline that drive them to deliver the pleasant service to the customers.

Tsubame Grill doesn't have a large menu, but what it lacks in variety it more than makes up for in taste.  We have tried many items on their menu and have to say we are not disappointed in any dish except for their bad bread.  But can you count bread as a dish?

We tried their pork chop and saute chicken leg before and both were succulent and full of flavor.  My friend whom we brought for lunch once ordered the whole tomato salad and bouillabaisse and she couldn't stop saying how tasty they were.  This time though, KL and I ordered their signature hamburg steak which we for unknown reasons never ordered in previous trips.  Seeing how just about every person surrounding us was eating this dish, we thought we should give it a try this time.  We also ordered spring rolls with diced shrimp as an appetizer and bread to go with the main.

The spring rolls arrived promptly and they were piping hot with a few dressed lettuce leaves in the center of the plate.  The dressing was very yummy with a hint of grated onion in the not-too tart and perfectly seasoned vinaigrette.  The spring rolls were crispy, not oily and the shrimp sweet, just delicious.

Then came the hamburg steak which essentially is a hamburger patty.  KL and I both chose the dish with two patties wrapped with their housemade bacon.  The hamburg steaks are always served on hot plates but they don't arrive at the table sizzling, the food is nevertheless piping hot.  The patties were oozing with juice and the bacon had a deep smoky flavor, in fact the smokiness might be a bit too overpowering and masked any salty bacon flavor.  The baked potato which came with the dish was bursting with steam when I cut into it.  It was fluffy and so very sweet, an indication of the top-notch variety from Hokkaido (kanji), the famed potato-growing region in Japan.  The little container of brown sauce on the plate was perfect for dipping the meat and potato, everything was delicious.  The bread was the one thing that ruined the meal for us, the crust was way too thick and hard and the inside was chewy and dry.  We should've ordered steamed rice instead of that terrible bread, a small setback in our otherwise perfect meal.


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