A note on the words: monaka is a crisp, toasted rice wafer shell, here served as an amuse-bouche filled with salmon and ikura (salmon roe). Tachiuo is largehead hairtail, a delicate white-fleshed fish, while paitan is a rich, pale poultry broth served here with shark fin. Tantanmen is a noodle dish bathed in an aromatic black sesame broth, and nouvelle chinoise refers to modern French-influenced Chinese fine dining that highlights subtle seasoning and refined presentation. Kuroge is Japanese Black wagyu.
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Shinka on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. This time I decided to visit “Shinka,” a high-end Chinese restaurant in Nogizaka! I have known about this place ever since it was completed, but at first they did not seem to do lunch and I simply thought it looked quite fancy without ever having an occasion to go, but finally that chance arrived! So I was very excited! As for the location, it is not by where the Johnny’s talent agency office stands now, but near the site of the older one it used to occupy. Right near Nogi Shrine.
It is intensely stylish.
The room I was guided to this time was a private room. Incredibly spacious and comfortable.
Shinka late-autumn course — 19,800 yen
Late-autumn lunch course — 11,000 yen
Premium lunch course — 16,500 yen
With that in mind, this time I selected the Shinka late-autumn course.
It is on the pricier side, but it seems like a course where you can enjoy the flavors of autumn to the fullest, so I am really looking forward to it!
Leading off the course is
A single-bite amuse-bouche. Billed as oyako monaka (“parent and child”), salmon and ikura (salmon roe) are tucked inside a monaka wafer shell.
Popping it into my mouth in one bite: delicious!!! A gentle saltiness with the flavor of ikura and salmon wafting through. The aroma of the monaka wafer is lovely too.
What a gorgeous plate! What is more, when they moved the large plate where the amuse-bouche had rested, the components of this salad were underneath.
A loaded seafood salad containing so many ingredients.
Is this nouvelle chinoise, I wonder? A salad that is visually stunning, with a generous mound of caviar right in the center.
Incredibly gentle in taste and delicious. It is a salad where you can truly appreciate the innate flavors of the ingredients.
Next, the soup. Korean ginseng, Chinese mushrooms, and something like wood ear mushroom are in a broth of Daisen chicken.
Taking a sip: comforting, delicious. This depth of umami welling up from deep within. An exceptionally delicious soup.
I have hardly ever eaten anything having been told “this is Korean ginseng,” but nibbling a little bit of it, it has a medicinal sort of flavor. Delicious.
Cantonese-style seasoning with tofu and negi laid over tachiuo (largehead hairtail).
When you cut in with chopsticks there is the tofu and the flaky fish; when you eat it, the tofu actually has the firmer texture. The melt-in-your-mouth tachiuo is incredibly delicious. Truly an elegant taste.
Next is a truly huge shark fin!!!
Floating in a paitan soup! Taking a sip of the soup, it is very clean and refreshing.
A richly flavorful paitan, yet the salt is very subtle, letting you clearly taste the chicken.
The shark fin I had eaten up until now was always flavored in a thick, starchy soup to enjoy the texture.
Here, however, the shark fin is wrapped in a very gentle paitan broth, so it feels closer to the actual innate flavor of the shark fin (or rather, does such a thing even exist, ha). Delicious.
Another impressive vessel is brought out. Gorgeous, isn’t it!
Or rather, right around when my stomach is getting comfortably full, now comes the meat.
Is it beef cheek braised in stout beer, perhaps?
The tender, falling-apart beef cheek is delicious. Even feeling full, it slides right down. Refined flavors from start to finish.
I think this is why it works: because the salt is kept light, the other flavors stand out, and there is no muddiness at all, which is perhaps why it is so good.
Black sesame tantanmen.
Taking a sip of the soup, it is a gentle broth where the sesame flavor comes through clearly. Delicious!
Not overly spicy, but with a sharp, distinct kick of heat, and the soup goes beautifully with the straight noodles. Delicious!
And for dessert, a Mont Blanc. Sooo good!
Finally, sweets served with tea arrived to conclude the meal! Completely satisfied.
So there you have it — taking a leisurely two hours or so over the meal, by the time it was over I was stuffed full. Every single dish was an elegant and delicious Chinese creation. Traditional Chinese is great, but nouvelle chinoise, is it? This new style of Chinese cooking is wonderfully delicious, and it made me want to come back again! When you savor this kind of gentle, refined deliciousness, you realize just how much we are usually misled by heavy seasonings, ha. A wonderful experience.
Shinka (Chinese / Nogizaka Station, Roppongi Station, Aoyama-itchome Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★★☆ 4.0
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
