Bistrot Dauphin D'or: Melt in your mouth pork

Area:  about a 5 min walk east of Nagoya Station, exit 11 of Unimall  ユニーモール
Restaurant:  Bistrot Dauphin D'or  ビストロ　ドファンドール
Website:  http://www.castle.co.jp/plaza/restaurant/dauphindor/index.html
Map:  http://www.hotpepper.jp/strJ000015841/map/

Hours:  Lunch 11am-2pm, Dinner 5-9:30pm



I came across this bistro on a search for a newly opened restaurant on the basement floor of the castle plaza hotel.  Although that restaurant's website said last order was 2pm, it seemed they had already closed.  But that may have worked in my favor.

This bistrot's last order for lunch was indeed 2pm.  Being a weekend, the business lunch wasn't available, but the bistrot lunch (¥1300) and the monthly lunch were (¥1800).  The only difference between the two are that one comes with an hors d'oeuvres plate.  I normally would like that, but upon reading and seeing the sample, it didn't look all that interesting, just smoked salmon and cheese.  

The salad consisted of mizuna (a green leaf veggie), romaine lettuce and pretty flower shaped carrots.  It was dressed with a Japanese style dressing.  The bread was a warm baguette, soft and stretchy on the interior and crispy on the outside.  

There were 3 mains to choose from; a sautéed fish, a clam chowder soup, and pork.  The most interesting was the pork.  It was so soft that it pulled apart without the need of a knife.  It had a tomato, onion and nut mild vinaigrette toppping.  It came garnished with bak choy, cabbage, baby carrot and potato chunks all each lightly but well seasoned with butter or salt.  The potato had a nice chewy outer layer, and was maybe fried before being stewed in a broth.  The flavor of pork was strong, which I wonder if that's a characteristic of this "mochi" pork (the name of the meat was labelled on the menu so it must be kind of well known).  It was fairly fatty so that might also be the reason it's well known, since Japanese like fat-laden meat.  

The dessert creme brûlée was silky with a milky flavor and a nicely burnt topping, tasting like a slighty burnt roasted marshmallow.  There were a lot of flavorful vanilla bean black specks throughout the pudding.  Unfortunately the coffee tasted as if it were sitting out and then warmed on top of the stove (but I did come a little late in the lunch hour).  It was a strong blend that might have been nice if fresh.  Having said that, I admit I accepted an offer of a refill.  

They do put on an air of fine dining, but I didn't quite care for the jewelry box music.