Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Gonpachi - Nishi Azabu


28 February 2009 19:30 (Saturday)

Gonpachi is a bit of a legend over in Japan. When the former US president, George Bush, came over to Tokyo, the former Japanese prime minister apparently brought him here for some bites. For those of you who are into Quentin Tarantino films, you will find this restaurant highly familiar.... yes, that's cause the set for the scene in which Uma Thurman decapitates Lucy Liu and her Crazy 88 gang was based on this restaurant. Have i gotten you a little excited yet? :)


This is a view from our table on the 2nd storey of the restaurant. Doesn't the restaurant look so cool! It's always packed so reservations are a must! Gonpachi is a bit of an Izakaya, where people have small bites, drink huge amounts of alcohol and talk as loud as they can. And to reciprocate, the waiting stuff are always shouting some greeting whenever someone walks into the restaurant. The Chefs will then reciprocate with more shouting.... It's noisy, but it's oh so cool!


What's a good meal without sake right? Isn't this Sake pot so cool!


Starters to stimulate the stomach....


Errr.... i think this is the pork belly with a dose of Wasabi... Yuuummmm.


Grilled Beef... Mmmmmm....


Can't remember what fish this is but trust me, it taste better than it looks!


Black Miso Cod fish..... Meat so soft, Meat so smooth, Meat so tasty......


This one was our favourite of the night.... grilled Foie Gras with Strawberry. The liver melts the moment you pop it into your mouth. WHOA... i think i just fell into a 10 second trance just writing this bit about the Foie Gras....


More grilled meat.... too much alcohol to remember what is what....

Ok, i'll be honest. Gonpachi is a restaurant you gotta visit when you go to Japan.... but just once will suffice. It's a must in my books only because of it's decor and the electrifying atmosphere. You cannot find anything remotely close over here in Singapore. The food is great but it isn't fantastic... Don't get me wrong, it's very nice but you can have the same quality of food here in one of the better Yakitori restaurants in Singapore. We were looking for uniquely good in which we found in the atmosphere.... food was good, just wasn't unique. Still it's a must go... and you can quote me on that!

Gonpachi
1F,2F
1-13-11 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 106-0031
Tel: 03-5771-0170