In France summer is inseparable from the outdoor terraces and rosé wine. In Japan, you can hardly find rosé wine at all. The respected wine gurus believe that rosé cannot be a quality wine and as for any deep-rooted belief, the change is slow and long.
To feel like in France you don’t need to fly across the globe, a visit to the Institute français in Tokyo (you can try the same in any other country) will be enough. In Tokyo, it has a Brasserie, hidden from the city at the back of the garden and with a perfect terrace for the outdoors season. Sit back, get a glass of wine and you will forget where you are.
Not only French expats like this place, quite a number of Japanese come here as well. Maybe Japanese people often do not speak English but the ones who come here (most of them) do speak French! Also, as a rule, they love France, Paris, French food, wine, and culture in general.
Once a month the Institute and the Brasserie organize a thematic dinner about French wines (certain region or type), where you can taste five different selected wines with the perfectly matching menu at a very reasonable price.
To end summer in style, they opted for rosé, rosé from Camarque, a region in the South of France famous for the pink flamingos (don’t tell anyone, but they say, for mosquitoes as well).
Tasting starts with Commandeur de Jarras 2014 and Amuse – bouche.
Commandeur de Jarras 2013 and Bouillabaisse froide, a cold version of a traditional Provençal fish stew.
Pink Flamingo rouge 2012 and Selle d’agneau en croûte de sel et byaldi de légumes (Lamb baked in salt and vegetable byaldi, a variation on a traditional French dish ratatouille).
As the dinner was coming to an end, four Japanese ladies at the neighbouring table summoned up courage and started asking about Paris, and especially, desserts (all in French).
Salade de fruits au basilic et sorbet yaourt (fruit salad with basil and yogurt sorbet).
I bet you think that in Japan everyone eats just rice, seaweed and sushi, and you cannot be more wrong. Stay tuned and soon we’ll be discovering the desserts!
A bien tôt!