Nobody puts Babbi in a corner

And rightly so. 'Cuz this Baby rocks too.

Ok, so I just wanted to use that line because who doesn't have Dirty Dancing in their DVD collection, right? And even if you don't, you're admittedly in the closet about liking the film. Just like we all secretly love Doug Dorsey and Kate Moseley iceskate their way into love in The Cutting Edge (man, I love that film...), we cheer for Johnny and Baby too, having the time of their lives in the summer of '63 somewhere in the Catskill Mountains. Unfortunately however,  this Babbi rhymes more with Pappi than with Baby, and sounds more like a mobster name than a Jewish girl in a pink summer dress. But oh well. 

BABBI is the famous sweets brand established in Italy some 56 years ago, specializing in chocolate, wafers and gelato. Their first shop in Japan opened in 2002 and now has 12 locations throughout the country. I go to the Roppongi Hills shop because it's most convenient for me... and is great for those occasional slow days where I don't have to be back in the office until 1:30pm and I feel that I've worked hard enough the day before that I feel I deserve an after-lunch dessert. 

I absolutely love BABBI gelato. I think I've tried about 20 of the 30 flavors available. My favorites being menta stracciatella (mint choco chip), fichi (fig), latte fragola (strawberry milk), nocciola (hazelnut), and kid's (marble chocolate). BABBI gelato is definitely high-end compared to Baskin Robbins' 31 flavors, Haagen Dazs or even Coldstone Creamery, so be prepared to fork out a little more money for these Italian babies. But I guarantee you that they won't disappoint! (Photo source: BABBI.jp)

BABBI Roppongi Hills

Minato-ku, Roppongi 6-9-1, Roppongi Hills Keyakizaka Dori 1F

Open 11:00-21:00 Daily

Tel: 03.5775.0070

http://www.babbi.jp/

'saiya later alligator!

May 2008 marked the 5th year anniversary of Roppongi Hills. With it came a whole bunch of store renewals and expansions, including a massive new Adidas superstore (where I got to attend the opening party to see some celebs like our supermodel, Shiho. She was so cute!!) and  a Tiffany's store just for men (is this even necessary? there's a regular Tiffany's around the block). One of the new restaurant openings was Motoyama Milk Bar, which I already featured in my previous post. Yummy. So let's talk about Yasaiya Mei now, shall we?

Final verdict: Disappointed.

We were all so excited for this place because it features organic vegetables and lunches especially targeting the working gal's wants and needs for a healthy diet. So we went as a group for lunch on their opening day, May 09. We were handed the menu and our first reaction was, "where's the rest of it? I think we're missing a page." There was the vegetable shabu shabu lunch for 2900 yen, the vegetable course for 4300 yen, and the vegetable curry for 1400 yen. That's it. It was an outrage. First of all, if you open shop in an office building, you have to offer a variety of lunch choices around the 800 to 1500 yen level. We can't spend near 30 bucks on lunch everyday. We'd go broke in a month. And second of all, there's not a single salad at the vegetable house. What? Are the salads on haitus or something? Aren't salads the first thing that pops to mind when you feel you need to recharge your veggies intake? So bizarre.

Anyway, so we all tried the vegetable curry (because we can't afford the other two). While it took them forever to serve us, I have to admit that the taste was good. It was nice. The presentation was lovely with all the various vegetables neatly stacked on the plate. But... why is this cold? The artistic vegetable creation atop the curry probably took too much time to construct, so by the time the waiters brought it to your table, the curry and rice had gone cold. What a shame. The curry was too mild for my taste as well. I think all the vegetable additions made it sweeter by accident. Bummer. 

We all haven't been back to Yasaiya Mei since our first unfortunate visit. But I checked their website just now and it seems they've added 4 more items to the menu since May. And they started a take-out lunch box for 1000 yen. Good girl. But it's going to take a lot more than that to impress us. Seriously, all we want is an awesome salad.... until that day comes, I'm not going back.

There's a Yasaiya Mei is Omotesando and Gotanda as well, but I'm sure the story is the same there. I'm disappointed because this comes from the same house (the EatWalk Group) responsible for AW Kitchen Tokyo, which is a lovely pasta place in Nakameguro.

Vegetable House Yasaiya Mei

Minato-ku, Roppongi 6-10-1, Roppongi Hills Westwalk 5F

Open 11:00-23:00 M-Th, 11:00-26:00 F-S

Tel: 03.5775.2960

http://www.eat-walk.com/roppongi/index.php

Creamy and Dreamy

There's a new shop in town. From the great plains of Yakumo, Hokkaido comes Motoyama Milk Bar. It opened this past April at Roppongi Hills, taking over the space that used to be Tofu Cafe. There's a big fat Daisy cow standing in front of some blue and pink doors. You can't miss it. It's the first thing I see going up the escalators every morning. The milk stand opens at 8 am so you can actually buy a bottle of milk on your way to work. I like the coffee milk (320 yen), personally, but what's cool is that they all come in a glass bottle with a paper tab lid. Just like the old days! (well, old days like for our parents... I'm sure we all had paper and plastic in our generation). 

After lunch, you can grab yourself a softserve ice cream (480 yen) too that is just pure heaven. Creamy AND dreamy! And when you see a group of grown men in suits sitting at a table eating ice cream, you can't help but smile. I have yet to actually go inside the place (I just settle for the window stand) but they apparently serve more elaborate things for eat-in guests, like parfaits, pancakes, and even curries and gratins. I bet they're good too. Motoyama even has online shopping so if feel like it, I can have them deliver milk (and coffee milk!) to my door for up to 6 months! Awesome. The only thing is though, I try very hard to stick to nonfat milk every day, so I'll have to pass on the delivery thing. I've gained too many pounds because of rich milk sold and served in Japan. Any more and I won't be able to moooove. (Photo source: Motoyama Milk Bar)

Motoyama Milk Bar

Minato-ku, Roppongi 6-4-1, Roppongi Hills Metrohat 1F, Tokyo

Open 8:00-22:00

Tel: 03.6273.2248

http://www.motoyamamilkbar.jp/

Kurosawa

I am pretty picky about Soba and Udon. The texture, the flavor, the aroma, the color... it all has to be just right. And it better be handmade or I ain't having it. There are a couple great soba places down in Azabu Jyuban, but it's tad too far to go for lunch on the weekdays, so I stick with Keyaki Kurosawa, which is just across the street from my office.  I go there probably 4-5 times a month for lunch. This place makes the cut for good soba at a decent price. 

Keyaki is one of the late director's restaurants. There are 3 other restaurants in the Kurosawa Restaurant franchise, all with different themes and menus, but all of them have photographs of Akira Kurosawa and his old movie stills decorating the walls. Keyaki is the simplest of the bunch, I think. The interior is reminiscent of an old Japanese house, and the wood furnishings are warm and relaxing. My favorites here are the cold Inaka soba (735 yen) and the hot Tamagotoji soba (945 yen). Pairing it with a pork rice bowl (butadon, 945 yen. Aka is my choice) is definitely a MUST. I have to admit that the portions are small. If you don't have a pork rice bowl with your soba, you'll be hungry by 3 pm. 

Keyaki Kurosawa（欅くろさわ）

Minato-ku, Nishiazabu 3-2-15, Across the street from Grand Hyatt Roppongi

Open 11:30-15:00, 18:00-3:00, Closed Sundays

Tel: 03.5775.9638

http://www.9638.net/keyaki/index.html

Burn baby burn

Unfortunately, the only burning that goes on here is the yakitori. Forget about it if you want to burn calories. 

MOE is one of our favorites. The girls and I go there from time to time after work to release our stress and have a good time. The name means "on fire" but since it's pronounced exactly like Moet (& Chandon), they serve you the champagne as a free starter! Isn't that fabulous?! I love it. The servers are very friendly and attentive, even though the place is usually packed. The best yakitori here are the bonjiri, tebasaki, tsukune, sori, and sasami yuzu koshou (price ranges from 250 yen to 450 yen each). Eat a bit of salad so you don't turn into a lion, but I won't blame you if you want to stick to just eating meat. The chicken here is MmMm good. To finish, have the soopu-chazuke. This chicken soup porridge is so yummy, it totally hits the spot.

There's no way of getting in on Thursday or Friday nights without a reservation. MOE is a popular hangout for the office workers around the Roppongi area so calling in advance is highly recommended. Secure a table in the back because it gets a little rowdy along the counters overlooking the flames.

Yakitori MOE（やきとり燃）

Minato-ku, Roppongi 3-8-12

Open 18:00-4:00, Closed Sundays

Tel: 03.5414.1141

http://rockgogo.jp/

The best cakes in Tokyo

Patissier Toshi Yoroizuka is a cake god. 

After training in Austria, Paris and Belgium, refining his skills at 3 star Michelin restaurants, and advising multiple brands and department stores, Chef Yoroizuka opened up shop in Ebisu 3 years ago. And last year, with the opening of Tokyo Midtown, he unleashed his second store to the delight of many eager fans. 

Toshi Yoroizuka is definitely in the class of "celebrity chefs." Just like you have your Marios, Wolfgangs, and Bobbys in the U.S., we have our long list of celebrity kitchen gods as well. Yoroizuka used to be more of a local favorite when he only had a shop in Ebisu, but once he opened in Midtown... no, wait... once actress Naomi Kawashima (48) announced last year that she finally got engaged to none other than the most promising patissiers in Japan, Toshihiko Yoroizuka (42), his brand exploded onto the gourmet scene and secured him onto everyone's cake map. Naomi Kawashima is one lucky gal. She scares me and her miniature dachshunds also scare me, but it's nice that she finally found a guy to meet her sky high expectations. At a press conference last year, she announced her engagement wearing a candied ring he made for her. How sweet. It's sexy when a guy knows how to cook. But it's a dream if he knows how to bake a kick ass cake. 

There are always long lines outside of Yoroizuka. The salon is packed everyday and the take-out line spills out of the door. There is even an attendant outside to organize the lines. I like to call him the bouncer, cuz this place is really happenin'. I wish that all the tourists would just go away, though. The shop is mentioned in almost every guide book and gourmet magazine now, so it's really annoying. It's frustrating when "locals" like myself just want to buy her choux paysanne as a 3 pm snack to accompany her nonfat latte. Haha! what a bratty little remark, right? But you know what I'm talking about. You'd say the same if 20 grammas with failing vision were in line in front of you. (Photo source: Yoroizuka)

My favorites: 

Choux Paysanne (What they're famous for. The ultimate cream puff)

Mont Blanc (Marron creme at its finest)

Saint-Honore Chocolat (Yum. Complex yet delicate)

Tarte Aux Fraises (Strawberries!!!)

Bernard (Pistacchio cake. trust me, it's good)

Profiterole (Cream puff tower. Just saying that is a winner)

Toshi Yoroizuka

Minato-ku, Akasaka 9-7-2, Tokyo Midtown East 1F

Open 11:00-21:00 (Salon open til 22:00), Take-out is closed Tuesdays

Tel: 03.5413.3650

http://www.grand-patissier.info/ToshiYoroizuka/index.php