I still find it amazing that it was about 10 years ago when I first walked through the doors of Ta Vie 旅 with a few friends. We were very excited about Chef Sato Hideaki (佐藤秀明)'s new French restaurant, which would be a big departure from the modern Japanese fare of Chef Yamamoto Seiji (山本征治) he oversaw at Tenku Ryugin (天空龍吟). Over the years I've been a big fan and continued supporter, watching the restaurant gain its first Michelin star in its first year of opening, followed by a second in its second year. I was so ecstatic when I witnessed the restaurant's promotion to 3 stars two years ago, and now they are celebrating their 10th anniversary. I returned to the restaurant after a long absence for a special lunch today. Kang Mingoo (강민구) of Mingles in Seoul and Kawate Hiroyasu (川手寛康) of Florilège in Tokyo are joining Sato-san and their teams for a collaboration on this special occasion. Having missed out on many of Sato-san's previous collaborations, I decided that I wasn't going to miss this one. My previous visit had been on the last day before the restaurant closed for renovations, so this was the first time walking into the space in quite a while. I'm grateful that our gift is still proudly displayed in a prominent spot. We took note of the slightly different look of the dining room, although the biggest change would have been inside the kitchen. Besides his kitchen team, Kawate-san also brought along Takada Shinnosuke (髙田真之助), the mixologist behind Sodden Frog that is due to open just upstairs from Florilège. Takada-san created two cocktails for this collaboration, so Foursheets and I each ordered one:
