I have an American friend, who occasionally treats himself a very good meal. Once he came to Japan for a trip, and suggested us to go to Tapas Molecular Bar on the 38th floor of the Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Tokyo to eat molecular cuisine.
14,000 yen for a meal, I hesitated, for a second. But, why not? (as of now, the updated price is 21000 yen)
The restaurant only does two rounds per night, with a maximum of 8 diners each time. Booking is required.
Going in and out of high-end hotels actually make me feel uncomfortable. It’s a place for the rich. I saw a foreign woman sat on the same table dressed like going to a ball. My gray sweater made me look like a little girl who has not yet grown up.
But you won’t worry about these. After you’ve settled down, and the two chefs started to play with nitrogen syringes, your eyes will naturally be attracted to them.
There were 19 dishes in total. I was worried that the quantity would be too much. but of course, each dish was very small, like a little magic trick which sparks your imagination and conversation, as the form displayed by molecular cooking is completely different from the taste you imagined.
The chef first explained the science behind in bilingual, and he sometimes made you guess, so that there is a gap between your imagination and the real taste.
During the cutscene, the chef chatted with customers again. After knowing that I am from Hong Kong, he asked me what is delicious in Hong Kong. And I only could told him the typical answer – Yum Cha.
The entire dinner was full of fun. While everybody was busy at taking pictures, we would speculate before eating, ‘do you think that pebble is edible?’ ‘No way! It’s clearly a real pebble!’
Among those 19 dishes, I was most impressed with the use of espresso and porcini mushrooms in a coffee pot, and then brewing it like a Cappuccino, surprisingly they were matched! But I thought the climax must be the finale of the ‘Fruit Platter’. When the staff brought a few pieces of strawberries, oranges and lemons, I wondered if it would be too common? The secret lied in the red and fine-grained miracle fruit, which subverted all traditions! It’s not fun to put it bluntly, go and try it for yourself!
