Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on April 2010

Courtesy of The Imperial Hotel Tokyo

It’s been five years since chef de cuisine Thierry Voisin arrived at Les Saisons, the Imperial Hotel Tokyo’s flagship restaurant. His debut in 2005 coincided with a dramatic makeover of The Imperial’s Main Building, which included a large-scale renovation of the plush French eatery (www.imperialhotel.co.jp; 03-3539-8087). The Tokyo Michelin Guide has since awarded the restaurant one star in each of its three inaugural editions, praising Voisin for his “delectable food… infused with a modern sensibility.” To celebrate the anniversary, Les Saisons is offering a sumptuous menu of bestselling dishes, available from April 4 until the end of May. It begins with a blue-purple shelled Brittany lobster with apple and lemongrass jelly, followed by a low-baked French sea bass flavored with champagne and a creamy leek sauce. The fish course is sautéed sweet langoustines with fresh French morel mushrooms, while the meat entrée is nothing less than a grand classic: beef Rossini, a premier Japanese beef filet garnished with foie gras and truffles. After a platter of French cheeses, the dessert of “Rose de Rheims” is biscuit mousse with red berries and champagne sherbet. The ¥25,000 menu is available at both lunch and dinner.