The Beginning - La BomBance Experience

One of our key 'must-dos' was to visit at least 2 gourmet restaurants in Tokyo. When we got to our hotel, Sis L literally grabbed our very patient receptionist, Miss Suzuki, and got her to make 2 essential reservations at La Bombance and Restaurant Yonemura.

The restaurant is a small little place in Nishi-azabu. They privately seat only a table of four and a suitably sized counter for eight. We were lucky, we got the table. But we were warned that no one spoke a word of English. Good thing no ordering or pointing to pictures would be involved since they were serving the chef's tasting menu (Y10,000).

The first course was excellent. A creamy broth with a silky smooth tofu to warm the belly, interspersed with surprising bits of flavour and texture from the foie gras and ginko nut chunks.
The next course was a symphony of colours, and yummy flavours. A twist to the idea of 'petite fors' each little treat was a unique fusion of ingredients never expected to be paired. The humble bamboo shoot, olive and carrot is able to bring alive it's contrary exquisite companion - the soft roast beef, the fresh escargot, the rich cheese and smoky salmon respectively.

The plates are a whole other story! A true testament to Japanese eye and attention for detail. Everything has to match perfectly, pleasure to the eye and palette.

The fugu salad was a refreshing change. I've only had puffer fish in the form of dried chewy sticks at Shunju 2 years ago and at Tomo, never fresh as served here. And it wasn't bad at all.

Then next few dishes got comfortable and more amazing. By now, we kind of observed a trend. The chef often takes a humble ingredient and make it the accent of the dishes that efficient roll out of this tiny kitchen. The chef paired foie gras with yams from Kyoto, crisp tapioca chips and sharks fin [we only found out when our personal waiter announced the combination - by which time, it was too late to decline =) ]. Fusion at it's own high level.

Stuffed beyond belief, despite the petite portions, our zesty waiter kept bringing out dishes. Next was a small portion of glutinous rice served with a generous portion of freshly peeled crab meat and opulent crab roe. This was one of my favourites.

Lastly, we ended with a sweet leek and beef soup and grilled fish slices. We had absolutely no idea what fish was served and were unable to ask since the wait staff were superbly courteous, efficient and jovial, but unable to explain what fish in English. He finally found a picture and excitedly showed it to us.

Our final course was a nice simple Japanese risotto with puffer fish. Simple but certainly not understated, a perfect way to complete our experience with this amazing chef.

The sweet endings to this amazing experience cannot be solely attributed to the lovely white and black sesame dessert served with a nice cup of hot Japanese tea. Our lovely waiter thoroughly made the experience enjoyable and one of a kind. From the beginning, awarding our rude late arrival with a warm smile, to recommending superb sake, aging at a robust 14 years, to patiently making the effort to enunciate several English words throughout our dinner.

This dinner was definitely worth our 10-minute 'lost-wonderings', the eager 30 minute train ride from Shinjuku station (Marunouchi line) and 20 minute power-walk from the Hiro-o Metro station. A much refreshing start to our Tokyo trip.

106-0031 2-25-24-
B1 Nishiazabu Minato-ku
Tel: 03-5778-6511
www.bonbance.com
*Booking is a must!