The signature restaurant of the hip and swanky Tokyo Edition Toranomon hotel, The Jade Room is one of the city’s most picturesque spots, thanks to a sky-high outdoor terrace offering an up-close and unobstructed view of Tokyo Tower. The restaurant pairs its lofty locale with an elevated modern-European meets Japanese menu by chef partner Tom Aikens (whose restaurant Muse in Belgravia now holds one Michelin star) and chef de cuisine Richard McLellan.
Aside from its regular fare, The Jade Room also offers a seasonal Terroir Japan tasting menu championing the country’s best produce. The second edition of this menu, named Terroir Miyagi, focuses on some of the Tohoku prefecture’s most celebrated ingredients. These include silver salmon, sudare shellfish, scallop, pure-bred Miyagi duroc pork from a small sustainable farm, seri (Japanese parsley), and strawberries.
The Jade Room has chosen to showcase these signature Miyagi produce using various techniques across seven courses. The sudare shellfish starter is paired with radish both smoked and pureed, plus green tomato jelly and consomme incorporated for freshness. The confit silver salmon, on the other hand, sits on a bed of white asparagus puree and Japanese parsley oil, and is finished with a creamy fermented white asparagus and whey sauce that’s surprisingly textural, thanks to the addition of ikura salmon roe.
In the other main, the tender Miyagi duroc pork’s flavourful fat is rightly complemented with earthy, herbal profiles by way of blanched mustard spinach leaves brushed with pork fat plus a quenelle of the same vegetable as a compote. Completing the tasting menu are a beef tongue dish with napa cabbage, as well as a fresh Miyagi strawberry dessert with cheese and geranium to cap off the meal.
What truly stands out from this menu is the selection of local Miyagi wines and sake, curated by head sommelier Masakatsu Yatabe to pair with the dishes. Japan currently has about 50 wineries, of which ten are in Miyagi. The natural wines featured in this menu come from two small, independent producers, Fattoria al Fiore and Sen no Yume Winery, and they are distinctive and full of personality.
The first-release Kaze (2021) by Sen no Yume Winery, for instance, blends Muscat Bailey A and merlot for a deliciously juicy mouthful replete with plum notes. The Fattoria al Fiore Oro (2021), on the other hand, is a bright and citrusy chardonnay featuring hints of green apple.
The sake line-up is no slouch, either. The bottle by Suminoe Shuzo, made with premium local rice, underground water from the Kitakami River and Miyagi yeast, offers clean, soft and elegant flavours. As for Niizawa Brewery’s new label, Hakurakusei, this sake pairs well with seafood thanks to its gentle flavours anchored by hints of fruity sweetness.
The seven-course Terroir Miyagi menu is priced at ¥22,000 (inclusive of tax and service), with the option for Miyagi wine and sake pairing (five glasses) at an additional ¥17,000. It’s available for lunch (Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 12noon-4pm) and dinner (Wednesday through Sunday, 5.30pm-11pm) until May 26.
For more information, check The Jade Room's website.
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