The only reason I had dinner in Roppongi on purpose was the desserts you eat sitting at the counter of Toshi Yoroizuka, a place I’d been dying to try. Last order is at 9, but you have to go to the shop in advance and reserve a seat, so I dropped by around 8. As expected, I had to wait about 30 minutes.
I posted photos of the shop before, so I’ll skip them this time.
Mango risotto, 1,200 yen
It’s a creamy risotto piled high with fresh mango, topped with a rich mango ice cream and a biscuit. As you can see, the presentation is stunning – they seem to have put a lot of thought into the lighting, too – but the ingredients themselves are top quality. I was already a mango fan, but I fell for this one the moment I saw it. The softly crumbling rice and fresh mango are generous enough in both quantity and quality to work not just as a dessert but as a meal in their own right. Snapping off pieces of the biscuit as you eat the ice cream is a lot of fun too. My only regret is not having come to eat this sooner.
Honestly, 1,200 yen is way too cheap considering the ingredients and the location. So I couldn’t very well not order a drink.
Grape juice and a glass of water
This is supposedly the house’s pride, a German grape juice, but for 700 yen it was pretty ordinary. It costs a bit more, but you’re better off just ordering white wine or champagne.
Chef Toshi Yoroizuka – or should I say patissier? – coming out to the counter to chat with his regulars is a very Japanese scene and nice to watch. It was lovely, too, that he personally thanked us when we finished and left. Somehow I get the feeling I’m going to become a regular ^_^