A note on the words: subuta is Japanese sweet-and-sour pork, described here as a house specialty and served in a rich black-vinegar sauce alongside steamed buns to wipe the plate clean. Awabitake is the abalone mushroom, prized for its meaty texture and savory depth, featured here in a delicate steamed broth. Chimaki is seasoned glutinous rice wrapped and steamed in leaves, served here in fragrant lotus leaves, while okowa refers broadly to steamed glutinous rice dishes. Sashimi is thinly sliced raw seafood, presented here with salmon over a bed of seaweed as a salad course.
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Akasaka Momo no Ki on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. Wondering where to have lunch today, I took a casual stroll over to Tokyo Garden Terrace Kioicho. I hadn’t really been to many of the restaurants inside. Riding the escalator up to the third floor, I spotted a Chinese restaurant right near the landing! Looking over the lunch menu, there was a short course for 3,500 yen. It wasn’t overly expensive, the place gave off a distinct air of high-end quality at a glance, and so I decided: this is the spot!
Stepping inside, the dining room is bright with large windows. It felt like the kind of place where businesspeople bring clients to talk shop over lunch.
The Okigaru lunch course — 3,500 yen
The Momo no Ki course — 5,000 yen
The Casual lunch course — 11,000 yen
This time I chose the Okigaru lunch course.
Lately I find I can’t finish huge portions anyway. For lunch, an amount like this is just right!
Now, for something to accompany lunch: tea! I asked for an iced jasmine tea.
The sashimi is salmon. It is tender and delicious. A generous layer of seaweed is spread underneath, which feels wonderfully healthy!
The soup at high-end Chinese restaurants is always delicious, isn’t it?
The dashi comes through firmly, yet it is delicately seasoned so you can clearly taste the savor of the mushrooms. A deeply comforting bowl.
This subuta (sweet-and-sour pork) seems to be the restaurant’s specialty!
Chopstick-tender pork. It might feel like a small portion, but honestly, this amount is quite enough.
It comes with steamed buns.
You tear off pieces to wipe up the sauce on the plate and eat it!
Taking a bite of the pork, it’s delicious. There is a gentle sourness, and plenty of savor condensed into the sauce.
As for whether the pork fell apart with chopsticks, unfortunately, ha, it wasn’t quite like that (though if you really worked at it with chopsticks, you could just about manage, ha).
Still, it wasn’t too tough either, with just the right pleasant chewiness, and very good.
It was certainly a delicious subuta. The sauce goes well with vegetables too, so by putting both the vegetables and steamed buns to work, I finished every last bit cleanly.
Chimaki.
I feel like it has been a long time since I last ate glutinous rice.
Wrapped in a lotus leaf, the chimaki gives off a wonderful aroma. The well-seasoned okowa (steamed glutinous rice) is delicious!
Dessert was lemon sorbet.
The cup for the hot tea served alongside it at the time was stylish.
And so, although it is a short course with modest volume, in terms of portion size it was completely sufficient. To get a full run of dishes including their specialty for 3,500 yen feels like quite a bargain. It is said to have earned two Michelin stars five years running, and seeing how meticulously crafted everything was, I thought it was indeed a fine restaurant. Though leaving out the “chopstick-tender” claim might perhaps be better.
Akasaka Momo no Ki (Chinese / Nagatacho Station, Akasaka-mitsuke Station, Kojimachi Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.6
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
