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 () Department Store in Shinjuku (). 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 (), 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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