Bastide (West Hollywood, CA)

Bastide
8475 Melrose Pl, West Hollywood, CA 90069
323.651.5950
www.yelp.com/biz/bastide-restaurant-west-hollywood/ (Yelp, restaurant has no web site)
Fri 03/28/2008, 08:40p-12:20a



A couple of years ago, back when I was merely a foodie newbie, Bastide was a rather well regarded French restaurant, one that I wanted to try in fact. I remember hearing rave reviews about the restaurant, but apparently it wasn't quite appealing enough to me, as I never got around to going prior to its closure in January 2006, a shame.

But fortunately, last September, after over a year-and-a-half hiatus, Bastide opened up its doors once again, this time with a new chef (L’Auberge Carmel/Patina alum Walter Manzke), new sommelier (Alain Ducasse protegé Pieter Verheyde), new decor (courtesy of Andrée Putman), and new menu (more contemporary than French). Ownership, though, remains the same (commercial director Joe Pytka). This time, we made sure to go, lest the restaurant close on us again!


Bastide doesn't exactly scream for attention, and we literally had to drive by two times to find it. Street parking can be sparse, though there is complementary valet parking, which we also managed to overlook. Parking on some of the nearby side streets is a viable option.



Upon arriving, we were expecting to be seated in the patio, so we were pleasantly surprised when we were shown the semi-private chef's table instead. Separated from the main room by a curtain of pearlescent beads, the chef's table has a prime view of the bustling kitchen.


On one wall hangs a print of Chairman Mao Zedong. When we left the restaurant, we noticed that it was joined by an array of similar artwork in the hallway.



Opposite Mao was Bastide's formidable wine cellar. Pytka is an avid wine collector, and the selection here ranges from under $30 to over $100,000. In these photos, we see bottles of Château d'Yquem from the 1800s. Even the light fixture pays homage to the vast variety and caliber of wine that has been consumed on these premises.


The menu offers either a four- or seven-course menu. Guess which one we went for? Given the mere $20 difference in price, it wasn't a tough decision. Unfortunately Chef Manzke wasn't in on this particular night, so we couldn't get his signature. However, the restaurant more than made up for this by having the entire kitchen staff sign in his place! I think the only other time this has happened was at Summit in Colorado Springs. Click for larger versions.


However, as you can see, the menus aren't exactly overflowing with detail. On our tour of the kitchen, we caught a glimpse of something much more helpful. Click for a larger version.


Naturally, I had to start with my signature mojito, a fine example of such. Meanwhile, one of my dining companions enjoyed a kir royal (Champagne over crème de cassis).


Six varieties of bread were presented: French baguette, black olive, Gruyère brioche, bacon brioche, rosemary potato, and basil focaccia. Butters were unsalted butter and black truffle butter (this one went quickly). This was a nice variety, as each bread had its own unique flavor and charm. We threw aside our mantra of "don't fill up on bread" and must've gone through five or six servings!


Munchies: Clear Gazpacho
Soft and creamy in texture and savory in flavor, the Manchego cheese churro stood in stark contrast to the gazpacho, which I described as being akin to a vinaigrette salad dressing. A nice way to kick things off.


Amuse Bouche 1: Kumamoto Oyster
Vin de Bugey, Cerdon, Patrick Bottex, NV
Green apple gelée, wasabi, yuzu, daikon radish granité. The Kumamoto was quite tasty, mild in flavor as well as in consistency. The oyster's accoutrements, however, were sharp in nature and gave the dish a slightly Japanese flair. The paired Vin de Bugey was a light, refreshing sparkler with a touch of berry on the palate. Not exactly complex, but nice to drink.


Amuse Bouche 2: Bigeye Tuna Tartare
Saint-André de Figuières, Réserve Delphine, 2006
Uni flan, kinome-miso sauce, daikon gelée. Tuna tartares are all the rage these days, so much so that the dish almost seems a bit clichéd. Fortunately, there was a definite attempt here to innovate. A quick glance of the ingredients here will clearly give away the chef's Japanese influences (fyi: kinome-miso is miso seasoned with leaf buds). Although the uni flan did add some much needed intensity to the otherwise mild tuna, I'm not quite sold on the pairing. Perhaps I would've also enjoyed some more variety in the textural elements of the dish.


Amuse Bouche 3: Japanese Octopus Ceviche
Pavese Ermes, Blanc de Morgex et da La Salle, 2006
Tomato-tarragon sorbet, blood orange, celery, olives, tangerine, "10,000 year-old" Peruvian rock salt. Well this was certainly the prettiest of the amuse quartet. The octopus itself was cooked somewhat, giving it a firm yet pliant consistency. I appreciated all the various attempts to liven it up (the salt was the most successful in my opinion), but I didn't feel any of the accompaniments really took the dish to the level I was hoping for. Nevertheless, the tomato-tarragon sorbet was delicious on its own.


Amuse Bouche 4: Lobster
Dr Loosen, Graacher Himmelreich, Kabinett, Riesling, 2005
Hawaiian king prawn, English pea soup, Thai curry, tapioca, lemongrass, Thai basil. Interesting presentation on this one: the dish initially was simply lobster and prawn in the yellow curry soup, to which our server added a delightful pea and basil liquid. In any case, the taste was clearly Thai-influenced, with strong notes of coconuts. This was probably my favorite of the amuses. As for the wine, the Riesling turned out to be one of my favorites of the night. I recall it was rather sweet for a Kabinett; I thought it could've easily been a Spätlese. It displayed typical citrus and stone fruit notes, with medium acidity and a sweet finish.


1: Hawaiian Mero
The Ojai Vineyard, Salomon Hills Vineyard, Special Bottling, Chardonnay, 2006
White and green asparagus, black trumpet mushrooms, white mushroom-vin jaune sauce. Hawaiian Mero is part of the grouper family, so the fish did possess the signature grouper texture that I look for. The last time I had it, at Kevin Taylor, I described the fish as being "like a firmer, less oily version of sea bass." That statement still applies here for the most part. Quite nice. The addition of the asparagus and mushroom added some nice textural and flavor elements to the dish, which otherwise would've been a bit too monolithic. As for the wine, though I'm generally a huge Chardonnay fan, I did enjoy the pairing here. According to Ojai Vineyard's web site, the wine makes use of botrytised grapes, which seemed to add a rather unconventional sweetness to the wine.


2: Sonoma Duck
Gevrey-Chambertin, Les Corvées, Domaine Tortochot, 2004
Celery root ravioli with brown butter sage sauce, black truffle, foie gras sauce. This was a delectable, though perhaps a bit conventional, preparation of duck. I found the meat quite flavorful and succulent, though I may have liked the ravioli even better! As for the Pinot, I found the Tortochot too tannic for my tastes, "too young" I remember saying. I had a hard time discerning much of anything in the wine.



3: Beef
Domaine de la Laidière, 2004
Left to right, we have:
• Roasted potato with oxtail, braised swiss chard, mustard and horseradish - This bite displayed a well controlled interplay between the gentler potato and the lavish oxtail, and left me wanting more.
• Roasted carrot and bone marrow - Truth be told, I found this very rich, but unfortunately a bit nondescript.
• Braised short rib, foie gras, truffle - The fatty, unctuous, melt-in-your-mouth short rib was outshone in luxuriousness only by the foie gras.
• Roasted prime NY strip loin - This was my favorite of the bunch, very tender, flavored simply with only salt and pepper. With a good steak, that's all that's necessary.




4: Cheese
Foret
• Selles Sur Cher with fig - Goat, semisoft, Loire Valley.
• Brillant Savarin with rosewater gelée - Cow, triple cream, Normandy.
• Roth Kase Private Reserve with black cherry - Cow, hard, Monroe, Wisconsin.
• Garrotxa with honey comb - Goat, semi-hard, Catalonia, Spain.
Overall, this was a pleasing selection of cheese. Of course, I have a preference for the softer cheeses, so the Selles Sur Cher and the Brillant Savarin immediately stood out to me; the others I felt were much milder in flavor. The "wine" pairing here was an interesting one. I don't think it was a wine at all, but a Belgian ale. The nose was rather complex for a beer, spicy with hints of vanilla and coffee. This zest continues on the palate as well as the finish. Quite an experience.


5: Steamed Milk
Jurançon, Charles Hours, Uroulat, 2006
Caramel flan with coconut ice cream and pandan foam. I can say I've never had a dessert quite like this before, and I've been missing out! The hot milk paired with the cool ice cream and rich caramel was a joy to eat. Pandan is a plant widely utilized in Southeast Asian cookery, and a common preparation is actually to steep the leaves in coconut milk, so the combo really worked well here. The Jurançon was an off-dry wine, with a sweetness bolstered by hints of spice and honey that worked well with the dessert.



6: Chocolate
D'Olivares, Terrantez, 1977
Fondant with green tea ice cream, hot chocolate with coconut mousse. The hot chocolate was absolutely delightful, and with its coconut mousse, it was sort of a bridge with the steamed milk above. The fondant, meanwhile, seemed more like a brownie to me. Serving ice cream with a brownie is certainly a delicious, but perhaps too obvious, pairing. We had a Madeira with this course, which had an immense earthiness and smokiness which tended to drown out the dessert at points.


Mignardises
Caramel and ginger chocolate truffles. Tasty, though I would've definitely appreciated more variety.


Out parting gift was a bag of chocolate chip cookies. Given the nature of the meal preceding, I would've expected something a bit fancier. But nonetheless, the cookies were moist and chewy, just the way I like 'em!

Food-wise, Bastide was fairly strong throughout, but at the same time, there wasn't anything that blew me away. The cuisine definitely veers away from traditional French, gladly incorporating flavors and techniques from around the world, specifically Asia. But then again, who doesn't these days? Bastide wasn't as cutting-edge as I'd expected, but nevertheless, I had a decidedly positive experience here. A case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts? Perhaps it's best we waited.

Natori (Tokyo, Japan)

Natori
5-17-7 Higashi-Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0003
03.3361.2363
Restaurant has no web site
Sat 03/22/2008, 06:40p-08:10p



For the last meal of the trip, I wanted to do something special. I had originally planned to patronize a Michelin starred establishment, but figured I could visit them on any future trips to Japan. Professor Yasushi Hamao recommended Natori, a small "mom & pop" style sushi restaurant. Places like this are not nearly famous enough to be rated by Michelin, and Natori is the type of restaurant where you really have to know someone to have the best experience, a real "neighborhood" type of place.


The restaurant is located in a sleepy residential area in the Nakano ward of Tokyo.


Natori is a small, with seating for eight at the bar, and a small table for two. The restaurant is manned by the taisho and his wife. Service throughout the meal was efficient, yet warm and gracious.


As far as drinks went, we tried Yebisu, one of Japan's oldest beers. Currently, the brand owned by Sapporo Brewery and is positioned as their "luxury" label. We also had sake, specifically, a namazake from Miyagi prefecture. Namazake is a non-pasteurized sake that's best served chilled.


A copy of the menu was provided, though it didn't really help with ordering. It was pretty much an omakase meal. Note the stamp and fine signature of the chef.





1: Sashimi
• Buri - Yellowtail, specifically, adult yellowtail, as opposed to hamachi or kanpachi. I've also heard the distinction between buri and hamachi as wild versus farmed. In any case, I found this fuller in flavor than most yellowtail I've had before, perhaps more multifaceted.
• Maguro - A textbook tuna, lean and clean.
• Ika - Squid, pure and fresh, with a creamy consistency.
• Seki Saba - "Seki" saba is mackerel from Saganoseki. The fish is considered the best example of saba available, as Seki saba can only be caught with rods and must be killed by ikejime (quickly draining blood by puncturing holes near the gills and tail, thus preserving freshness). For me, this results in a milder taste, with less of the fishiness that one typically finds with mackerel. Saganoseki also offers a Seki aji, which I had at Go's Mart.
• Aji - Horse mackerel. Although this wasn't Seki aji, it could've fooled me. Very nice.
• Kohada - Quite delicious. Gizzard shad is actually related to mackerel, and thus has a somewhat similar taste. To me, the texture is actually a bigger differentiator.


2: Tamago
This was simply the best tamago I've ever had. I don't know what was added, but whatever it was, it contributed some fantastic undertones to the dish and resulted in a tamago that was far more complex than I'm used to.


3: Grilled Squid
Cooked in a mixture of soy sauce, sweet sake, red pepper, and ginger. I loved how these ingredients drew out the flavor of the slightly sweet squid. Really nice, easily the best squid I had on the trip (and I had a lot of squid!).


4: Ika
With salt and sudachi (a tart, small, green citrus fruit). I find ika to be soft, sweet, and creamy in nature. So it was great to experience the contrast provided by the salt and sudachi.


5: Buri
With salt and sudachi. Again, as with the ika, the additional accoutrements made this a totally different experience when compared to the buri sashimi I had above.


6: Kohada
Very similar to the kohada above, but now in sushi form. Compared to the sashimi, the addition of rice tempered the flavors of the fish.


7: Kasugo
Young tai snapper, or sea bream, treated with vinegar. The vinegar treatment was a first for me. Compared to standard tai, this had a more robust, complex taste that lingered in the mouth.


8: Suzuki
Sea bass treated with kelp, kobujime style. Another first! Kobujime refers to a method in which fish is placed on wet kelp in order to infuse its flavor onto the fish. In the process, moisture from the fish is also transferred to the kelp; note how the fish looks a bit dehydrated. The result is a super-concentrated flavor, enhanced with kelp. Very impressive!


9: Hirame
Flatfish done kobujime style. As with above, this was excellent, showing me flavors and textures that I'd never really experienced with hirame.


10: Ikura and Uni
• Ikura - Salmon roe, briny globules that burst with flavor upon mastication.
• Uni - As with Kyubey, this uni was untreated with preservatives, and was almost uncharacteristically sweet.


11: Anago and Asari
• Anago - Conger, or sea eel, from Tokyo Bay, near Haneda Airport. This is where the best anago come from. Here, the eel was lightly cooked to give it an incredibly soft texture that literally broke apart in my mouth.
• Asari - Otherwise known as cockle. I'm not sure if I've had this before, but I found asari to possess a slightly sweet taste and a squishy consistency. Quite nice.


12: Toro
Seared toro, with menegi leek sprouts and wasabi. This was a favorite of many of my dining companions. I don't blame them; the combination of the rich fatty tuna and the sharpness of the wasabi and menegi made for a winning combination.



13: Hosomaki
• Tekkamaki - Filled with tuna. Not much I can say about this.
• Kanpyomaki - I don't think I've ever ordered this before. Kanpyo is dried gourd shavings, an ingredient often used traditional Edomae Japanese cuisine. The gourd had a somewhat tart taste and crunchy texture. It is often said that you can tell how good the sushi restaurant is by having the kanpyomaki (as well as tamago).


A nice mug of green tea closed out the meal. From what I gathered, the mugs were custom made for Natori.


We even got a pack of nori as a gift to go.


At the end of the meal, we all received scarves, which taisho and his wife wrapped as headbands of sorts!

Looks like I did save the best for last! I'd put my experience here slightly above Kyubey. Although I had some truly stellar dishes at Kyubey, I felt that the average level of sushi here was more to my liking. This just goes to show that you don't have to be Michelin starred or even well known to be great. The unassailable quality of the food and the warm, neighborly atmosphere (it was almost like eating in someone's home) make Natori a clear winner in my book.

Okaryo (Minamiuonuma, Japan)

Okaryo
1269-1 Yamaguchi, Minamiuonuma-shi, Niigata, 949-7122
02.5775.3604
r.tabelog.com/niigata/rstdtl/15000510/ (Tabelog, restaurant has no web site)
Sat 03/22/2008, 12:30p-01:30p



Note: As I was not originally planning a post of Okaryo, and thus did not remember many of the details of the meal, I am indebted to Dr. Yasushi Hamao and his encyclopedic knowledge of Japanese cuisine for providing most of the text in this report.

Okaryo is a soba (buckwheat) noodle restaurant run by the famous sake brewery Hakkaisan. We visited the brewery earlier in the morning, so a meal at Okaryo proved to be the perfect lunch spot.


The building was once used as a ryokan (inn). Normally, customers eat in a more typical restaurant-style part of the building (not shown), but since we had about 20 people in our group, we were brought into the tatami-clad main dining room of the ryokan part. Although it was not particularly cold (about 50°F), there was a plenty of snow left on the ground.


Strictly speaking, "Hakkaisan" refers to a range of rocky and steep mountains, which ever since ancient times, were considered holy. The tallest one (1,778m, or 5,927ft) is called Nyudozan. The photo on the left was from outside the restaurant, while the other was the view from where we were seated.


This is the main dining room for the ryokan section of the structure. When we arrived, the tables were already set up, with tempura and pickles ready to be tasted. This was a special arrangement made with the restaurant, as we were hard pressed for time (in fact, we almost missed the shinkansen back to Tokyo!).


Unbeknownst to me, Hakkaisan also brews beer. What we had was Weizen, or wheat beer. Other variations include Pilsner and Pale Ale.


Okaryo is located in the yukiguni, or snow country, where inhabitants used to be locked in by heavy accumulation of snow without access to fresh ingredients. Thus, they ate preserved foods during the long winters. Of course, the situation is different now, but such traditions have stuck around. In the photo on the left, the rightmost dish is pickled herring, while the two leftmost are plates of different pickled vegetables. The pickles were all home-made: one standard preparation (right photo, top), and one made with sake lees (right photo, bottom).


The tempura we had consisted of vegetables from the local area. The green one was fukinoto, which is the bud of the fuki (Japanese butterbur). Come spring, fuki is the first plant to break through the soil, even in the presence of snow. For local people, experiencing the vegetable's bitter taste gives them an appreciation for the spring. Others ingredients were shiitake mushroom, maitake mushroom, renkon (lotus root), kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), and gobo (burdock). Very nice!


The soba on the left, with a lighter color, is 2-8 soba, made from 80% buckwheat and 20% wheat. The soba on the right was 100% buckwheat, made in the inaka (country) style, meaning the shell of the buckwheat seed (which is usually milled away) is collected and used when kneading the noodles. We also had 100% buckwheat noodles that were sans-shell and light colored. Two soba tsuyu dipping sauces were provided: one Edo-style (soy sauce, mirin, and sugar) and the other inaka-style (which adds iriko, or dried anchovies). Near the end of the meal, a pot containing the hot water used to cook the noodles (soba-yu) was brought in. We poured it to the remainder of the dipping sauce to make a cup of soothing hot soup. Soba-yu is especially tasty when the hot water was used to cook 100% buckwheat noodles.

Okaryo was easily the best lunch of the entire trip. And the soba, well it set a new standard for me. The only problem was that I couldn't eat as much as I wanted to. Why? Well I knew we had a great meal at Natori coming up that night, so I didn't want to spoil my appetite! Even so, I ate a bit too much. I was only planning on eating about half a zaru's worth of soba, but ended it eating the entire plate (and then some) since it was so tasty!

Little Hokkaido (Minamiuonuma, Japan)

Little Hokkaido
117-1 Muikamachi, Minamiuonuma-shi, Niigata 949-6626
02.5778.0228
www.sep-i.co.jp/little/
Fri 03/21/2008, 08:05p-09:50p



We had an opportunity to dine at Little Hokkaido on a brief side trip to the Hakkaisan sake brewery, which is located in Niigata prefecture, about two hours north of Tokyo via shinkansen. Minamiuonuma-shi is a small city located in a valley area known as "snow country" due to the large snowfalls present in winter. It was interesting to see the contrast between this countryside town and the bustling megapolis of Tokyo.


Little Hokkaido is located on what seemed to be a major thoroughfare in Minamiuonuma-shi. Nevertheless, the area was quite sleepy when we visited.


The restaurant consists of a bar, along with a few tables. However, we were shown our own private dining room for our party of about 18 people.



We were able to try three types of sake from Hakkaisan: a ginjo, a junmai ginjo, and a daiginjo. The daiginjo was special in that it used an even more polished rice than the normal daiginjo (35% I believe), and isn't available for sale. I enjoyed all three, and thought that they compared favorably to my old favorite, Kubota Manju. The last bottle is a plum wine, which served as sort of an after dinner drink.


1: Tsubu
Upon first glance, I thought this rather intimidating looking thing was snail. However, upon biting into the flesh, I found a firm texture, slightly briny and unlike any escargot I've had before. After researching it a bit more, I think this is tsubu, or whelk, a marine gastropod mollusk. Taste- and texture-wise, the closest thing I can think of is abalone.


2: Beef Shabu Shabu
This definitely wasn't as marbled as the beef I had at Imahan the night earlier, and thus wasn't as good eaten raw, though it still was quite tender and flavorful. It made for a nice shabu shabu. Unfortunately, I neglected to take photos of the actual hot pot.


3: Crab Legs
Simply grilled, with a touch of lemon to heighten the flavor. Though extremely difficult to eat, it rewarded diners with a soft, sweet flesh that left me wanting more.


4: Sashimi
• Toro - The oiliness was there, but the flesh lacked the melt-in-your-mouth goodness that a really good toro has (such as the one I had at Kyubey a few night earlier).
• Ama Ebi - A decent example, though unfortunately I don't think the shrimp was deveined.
• Tako - This was the first time I've had octopus prepared like this. Usually octopus is cooked somewhat, but this was totally raw, which gave the meat an extremely chewy texture.
• Sake - Good salmon flavor, but the flesh was firmer than I prefer. It also came with the skin on, which I found distracting.


5: Baby Squid & Octopus
The squid were close in appearance and flavor to those I had at Imahan. The octopus was very similar to the sashimi above, meaning it was extremely chewy and gave my mouth a good workout. Both pieces were bathed in a tart, citrus-y sauce, along with some sort of seaweed.


6: Chawanmushi
A nice example of chawanmushi, an egg custard flavored with soy sauce, dashi, and mirin. In this case, shrimp and gingko seed were found in the mixture.


7: Horse Sashimi (Basashi)
Raw horse meat, also known as sakura (cherry blossom, because of the meat's color), was perhaps the most interesting thing I had on this trip to Japan. We weren't told what this was before eating, but after I took one bite, I somehow knew immediately that this was horse. The lightly colored pieces on the right were from the neck; they was rather crisp in texture and didn't have much flavor. On the left, we had cuts from the rump, which I found pretty lean, with a taste not unlike venison. Overall, I thought horse to be not particularly tasty, though not offensive either.


8: Broiled Cod
The fish was served with what I believe is a stalk of myoga, which had a ginger-like tartness to it. I don't normally eat much cod, but found the meat tender, juicy, and flavorful. Quite nice.


9: Tempura
Crab, prawn, zucchini, shishito pepper, with tentsuyu (dashi, mirin, shoyu) dipping sauce and daikon oroshi (grated daikon radish). A great selection of tempura. I enjoyed all the pieces, especially the crab.


10: Sushi
• Tamago - Mixed with scallions, the tamago had a sweet/salty interplay going on, which I enjoyed.
• Uni/Ikura - I've never had a mix like this before. The two types of eggs were good alone, but I'm not sure I understood the pairing here.
• Hotate - Nice texture, with a subtle sweetness, though it was a bit overpowered by all that rice.
• Sake - Rather creamy for salmon, I felt it was lacking the fish's signature flavor.
• Ika - A prototypical example of squid sushi.


11: Soft Serve
This was a bit of a surprise. Soft serve is something I'd expect for dessert after a meal at Hometown Buffet, not an adventurous Japanese meal such as this. Nevertheless, this was probably the strongest example of soft serve that I'd ever tasted. I later found out that Hokkaido is somewhat known for its "softcream," so I guess this dessert makes sense.

I definitely felt that the food here was more "rustic" in nature, as in not as refined as I'm used to for Japanese cuisine. Though some of the items we had were definite misses, I'd say that this was the most interesting meal of the trip, in terms of pushing the boundaries of my culinary comfort zone.

Imahan (Tokyo, Japan)

Imahan
2-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 163-0701
03.3345.1470
www.imahan.com/e-guide/daiichi_shop.html
Thu 03/20/2008, 07:20p-09:40p



As a foodie, how could my trip possibly be complete without sampling Wagyu beef? The nomenclature "Wagyu" refers to breeds of cattle that are genetically predisposed to large amounts of marbling. Apparently, to further enhance the quality of the meat, these cattle are massaged regularly and fed a diet of beer and sake. Although "Kobe-style" beef is quite popular now in the US, it is still rather rare to find the real deal. I'd had genuine Japanese beef before in the States, but wanted to try it here as well. The original plan had called for dinner at Matsuzaka Akasaka, but much to our surprise, the restaurant was closed due to a national holiday. After conferring with the hotel concierge, we decided to try out Imahan instead.


The restaurant is actually located on the bottom floor of the Daiichi Seimei building in Shinjuku. In addition, there are several other locations throughout Tokyo as well.


Pictured above is the Western-style dining room; there are also kotatsu rooms available.



Here we see the main menu. Basically, there are four options for a course meal: sukiyaki, shabu shabu, steak, or kaiseki. Obviously, I had to order the most expensive option, the "Utage" steak course, while my dining companion had the "Hoshi" shabu shabu. Click for larger versions.


On the left is an abbreviated menu, I suppose for your typical Americans. On the right is a very short drink menu; I suspect there's a more expansive menu in Japanese. Click for larger versions.


In any case, we drank hot sake (I always get cold but my dining companion wanted to warm up) and Ebisu beer (quite nice, my first time having it).


For some reason, I was given a special placemat.




1: Appetizer
• Picked vegetables with katsuobushi - The dried bonito shavings did temper the bitter tang of the veggies, but this was otherwise unremarkable.
• Bamboo, carrot, fava bean, meat sauce - Not much going on here; fava beans must have been in season, as this was the third time I'd had them in five meals!
• Duo-color tofu paté - Rather bland, I couldn't really discern any difference between the two colors.
• Baby squid with sweet mayonnaise - Though the squid were perhaps a bit scary looking (my dining companion wouldn't eat hers!), they were actually quite tasty and went well with the sweet mayo (which reminded me of a similar sauce I had with appetizers at Kaji).


2a: Seasonal Dish
This was a clam soup with shiitake mushroom. The clam was quite hearty and imparted a great flavor and aroma to the soup, which was a pleasure to drink. Very nice.


2b: Seasonal Dish
These beautiful slices of beef nigiri were my dining companion's. She said she didn't eat raw beef but this certainly changed her mind!



3: Sashimi
• Kanpachi - Greater amberjack or yellowtail, clean and lean.
• Sayori - Needlefish, delicious but not particularly distinctive.
• Ika - Squid, rich and creamy.
• Tai - Snapper, with a great snap to it.
• Chu-toro - Chu-toro is the less marbled fatty tuna, versus o-toro. There's a world of difference when I compare this with the o-toro I had at Kyubey a few night earlier.


4: Broiled Fish
This was iidako octopus with some sort of tofu I believe. I thought the octopus was overpowered by its sweet sauce and didn't care for the tofu either. The weakest course of the night for me.



5a: Steak
Finally, the moment I'd been waiting for. Done medium-rare, this 150g (only 5.3oz!) tenderloin was amazingly tender, the tenderest steak I've had actually. In fact, I didn't even need to chew! This just glides down your throat, aided by copious amounts of juice. I will say however, that it wasn't as flavorful or beefy as the Kagoshima steak I had at CUT; it also wasn't nearly as heavy. The steak came with lemon and a mustard sauce; I tried both, but found them completely unnecessary.



5b: Shabu Shabu
Look at that marbling, beautiful! I actually preferred to eat the beef raw, as I felt using the shabu shabu tended to overcook the meat. The accoutrements included were chrysanthemum leaves, shiitake and enokitake mushrooms, onions, cabbage, and tofu. Ponzu and goma (sesame seed) sauce were also provided.


6: Rice Set
Along with the main courses, we were given a set of rice, pickles, and miso soup. Not much to say here; they were good examples of each.


7: Soup
After the shabu shabu was finished, a soup was made using the broth, combined with noodles, pepper, salt, and scallions. This was simple yet surprisingly good.


8a: Dessert
This was honeydew from Shizuoka, and quite possibly the sweetest, juiciest melon I'd ever eaten.


8b: Dessert
Papaya from Hawaii. I'm not a huge papaya fan, so I found this merely palatable.

Although Imahan wasn't my first choice of restaurant, I came away feeling quite satisfied. Sure, there were some weak dishes, but when it came to what really mattered, the beef, Imahan delivered.

Ikesu (Tokyo, Japan)

Ikesu
2-26-1 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0021
03.3209.3231
r.gnavi.co.jp/fl/en/g014706/
Wed 03/19/2008, 07:15p-09:30p



I cannot see her tonight.
I have to give her up
So I will eat fugu.               --Yosa Buson (1716–1783)

Indeed, the fascination and notoriety of fugu, or pufferfish, has been around for centuries, presumably because of the fish's potentially deadly effects. Specifically, fugu contains tetrodotoxin, a powerful neurotoxin with no known antidote. The poison paralyzes the muscles of victims until they eventually die from asphyxiation. However, since chefs preparing fugu have to be specially trained and licensed, cases of poisoning are relatively rare. Nonetheless, this remote possibility was apparently enough to keep the number of people at this group dinner at less than half the number at Gonpachi the night earlier.

Now, I'd had fugu before in the States, at Restaurant Abe in Newport Beach. Served sashimi style, it came as part of an omakase dinner. I remember it as being tasty, though nothing extraordinary. Interestingly enough, I did experience a slight tingling and numbing of my lips after eating the fish, a side effect of the poison perhaps? The fugu at Ikesu is advertised as coming from Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture. In fact, the city is known for fugu, as it's traditionally where the largest catch is taken each year.


It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when we arrived at Ikesu, located on the bottom of the Eiwa Daiichi building.


Ikesu is a tri-level affair, and I believe we were seated on the bottom floor. Our semi-private room was surrounded by a waterfall and several other smaller private dining rooms.


As with Gonpachi, drinks were unlimited. The large bottle on the left is Hakkaisan Seishu, the lowest grade sake from the brewery (a few days later, I would experience the best Hakkaisan has to offer). Though merely seishu (and not tokutei meishoshu, the specially designated honjozo, daiginjo, etc. classes), I found it to be very smooth, with pleasing floral and fruity notes. It sells for less than $10 per 720mL bottle in Japan, so it's an undeniable value. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what the sake on the right was; in fact, I'm not sure I even had a chance to taste it. In addition to sake, we also had plenty of beer and shochu to drink.


My place setting, replete with ponzu sauce.


1: Pufferfish Jelly, Pufferfish Skin with Ponzu Vinegar
Taste-wise, I found this rather nondescript, with a slightly salty finish. In terms of texture, the gelatin was a bit firmer than Jello, while the skins didn't add much to the equation.


2: Pufferfish Sashimi
Ah, this is the way I like to have my fugu: fugu sashi, sashimi sliced paper-thin. I believe the items in the middle of the dish were scallions, kabosu (a small green citrus fruit), and momiji oroshi (grated daikon radish mixed with red chili peppers). When mixed in the ponzu, these accoutrements added a nice zing to the fish, which sharpened its subtle flavor. The fugu was also quite delicious on its own though. I found the taste very delicate; there's not much quite like it, except perhaps for kawahagi (which I had at Kyubey). The texture of the fish is also rather special, firm and possessing a rather satisfying crunch. I thought this was easily the best dish of the night.


3: Grilled Pufferfish
The fish was cooked with scallions in a sweet sauce. For me, the sauce totally overpowered the fish. This could have been cod, or halibut, or a variety of other fish. Fugu has a very discreet taste, and in my opinion, should be more simply prepared.


4: Pufferfish Hotpot
Here, we have a fugu chiri-nabe: bone-in fugu cooked in a kombu-dashi broth with Chinese cabbage, scallions, mushrooms, chrysanthemum leaves, tofu, and noodles. I enjoyed the various ingredients of this hot pot, but the soft flavor of fugu was lost. Even the pieces of fugu were difficult to eat, given the large amount of bone present.


5: Deep-Fried Pufferfish
Fugu karaage with lemon. Deep-fried anything tends to pretty tasty, and this was no exception. However, it wasn't much different than other forms of fried fish, and lacked any character that would make it distinctively fugu. Nevertheless, I thought this was the best preparation of fugu behind the sashimi.


6: Rice Porridge
The savory stock that remained from the fugu chiri-nabe above was incorporated into zosui, a rice porridge with egg and ponzu that ended the meal on a hearty note. Unfortunately, the rice ended up rather bland, and I was unable to discern any fugu.


7: Dessert
Dessert consisted of strawberry and some fruit I couldn't identify. This was a rather disappointing denouement considering the previous procession of courses.

So the entire group managed to survive fugu without a single fatality. In fact, many came out wondering: "what's the big deal?" The reaction is understandable, considering fugu itself is rather mild in taste. I certainly do believe that a big part of the appeal of the fish is the desire to tempt fate, so to speak.

I think the fish is delicious enough, and having had only fugu prepared sashimi style before, it was very interesting to try other variations. Nevertheless, when all was said and done, the sashimi was my clear favorite of the night. There are a few preparations of fugu that I would've liked to have also tried. Specifically, the fins of the fish can be fried and served in hot sake, a dish referred to as fugu hire-zake. The skin can be eaten as part of a salad called yubiki. Finally, we have fugu shirako, literally "white children," the milt or soft roe of the fish (I did have shirako of snapper at Go's Mart). However, these would've added additional cost to the meal, which was already uncomfortably high for many of my classmates. Group dining almost always results in compromises.

Gonpachi (Tokyo, Japan)

Gonpachi
1-13-11 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0031
03.5771.0170
www.gonpachi.jp/en/nishi_azabu/home/location/
Tue 03/18/2008, 06:30p-09:15p



This was the first group dinner of the trip. And by group, I mean the entire group; we must have had around 70 people and took up the entire lower level of the restaurant! In any case, Gonpachi is an izakaya-style restaurant, which means less formal cuisine such as kushiyaki grilled meats and soba noodles. Many izakayas are nomihodai ("all you can drink") or tabehodai ("all you can eat"); Gonpachi was the former. And indeed, we took great advantage of the free-flowing beer and sake, perhaps to excess in some cases.


Befitting its atmosphere and appeal to Westerners, Gonpachi is located in the trendy Roppongi district of Tokyo. However, there are other locations in Tokyo, as well as a branch in Beverly Hills.




In the first photo, we see my vantage point from the bar. The bar seats around two dozen people, and is surrounded by about a dozen tables. There is also a second floor (from where the bottom four photos were taken), as well as sort of a mezzanine level. Apparently, the restaurant was the inspiration for the restaurant used for the large fight scene in Kill Bill Volume 1.


Since we were such a large group, a set menu was provided. The printed menu also doubled as a placemat. Note that the order presented on the menu is drastically different from the actual order of the dishes received. The restaurant probably had difficulty simply dealing with the sheer number of people. Click for larger version.


1: Gonpachi House Salad
Mixed greens topped with nori and what I believe was clam. Any dressing was either absent or very minimal. I'm not quite sure what the veggies were, but they were slightly bitter and not particularly tasty.



2: Three Kinds of Appetizer Assortment
• Tofu - Extremely soft and creamy texture, with a nondescript flavor.
• Octopus and Lotus Root with Pickled Plum Sauce - Quite good, with the taste of the crisp octopus pieces melding nicely with the sweet sauce.
• Kinpira - Kinpira refers to a Japanese cooking style of sautéing and simmering that is commonly used to cook root vegetables, among other items. In this case, it looks like burdock and carrot was used. Overall, I felt this had an almost pickled taste, which I did enjoy.


3: “Negima” Chicken Breast and Japanese Leek
“Negima” I believe specifically refers to the combination of chicken and leek/scallions. In this case, I found the chicken to be very tender and well cooked, with a slightly smoky flavor; meanwhile, the leek provided a sharp, slightly bitter contrast to the meat. The lemon added an interesting twist, but wasn't necessary. One of my favorite items of the night.


4: Tuna with Gorgonzola Tartar Sauce
The tuna was far overcooked in my opinion. The meat was left rather dry, without much flavor. The tartar sauce, thus, was much needed. This further reinforces my belief that tuna is best left raw/rare, save for exceptional cases (e.g. the maguro "spare ribs" at Kyubey).



5: Assorted Sushi Roll Plate
• Spicy Tuna Roll - This seemed like something you might see with supermarket sushi. Not spicy at all, but good enough.
• California Roll - Fortunately, this was a bit different than the California Rolls we get Stateside. I didn't detect much imitation crab, though the avocado did tend to dominate the flavors.
• Sukiyaki Roll - The combination of cooked beef, lettuce, and rice worked rather well for me.
Overall, I'm disappointed that no "real" sushi or sashimi was offered. I suppose given the large group, the food had to be "dumbed down," so to speak.


6: Fried Shrimp Dumpling with Sweet Chili Sauce
The dumplings were particularly difficult to eat given the "spines." But once I was able to bite into the meat, I did rather enjoy them. These almost seemed like they could be Chinese dim sum items.


7: White Asparagus with Truffle Salt
I'm not a huge fan of asparagus in general, though it does seem like I have a preference for the white variety, à la Spago. Again, I did enjoy these, especially how the slightly charred exterior surrounded a still juicy inner flesh.


8: “Karubi” Beef Short Rib with Garlic Seasonings
Karubi is a Korean-inspired style of making beef involving the marination and then grilling of short ribs. The word itself is actually derived from the Korean "galbi." Unfortunately, I felt the meat was a bit overdone (and thus tough), and perhaps a bit too sweet.


9: Eringi Mushroom
Eringis are also known as king trumpet mushrooms or king oyster mushrooms. The flavor of the flesh itself was mild, so the smoky flavor imparted by the grill was a welcomed addition. Overall, one of the stronger dishes of the night for me.


10: “Soba” Buckwheat Noodle
Served cold, with onion and wasabi. The dipping sauce, or tsuyu, was a mixture of dashi, soy sauce, and mirin, and really brought out the character of the noodles. Very nice.


11: Chicken Wing
This was the weakest chicken course for me, though still quite palatable. Unlike the negima above, the meat here was tougher and drier than I prefer, while being less flavorful.


12: “Tsukune” Minced Chicken Breast
Texture-wise, the meat was juicy and tender enough. But I thought these had a slightly odd, almost sour taste that was slightly disconcerting.


13: Seasonal Fruit
Grape, Strawberry, Pineapple, Orange, Grapefruit. A nice selection of fruit to close out the meal. All the items were very sweet (especially the grapefruit) and thus quite delicious.


14: Yuzu-Lime Sorbet
I usually think of sorbet as having a creamier consistency. This was more akin to yuzu-flavored ice, almost like an Italian ice or granita. A bit too bitingly cold for me.

Overall, Gonpachi was an enjoyable, though unexceptional, meal. I did feel like some of the food was meant to appeal more to "Western" tastes, though I admit I'm not really well versed with regard to izakaya food, so perhaps I just need to temper my expectations. Fine dining Gonpachi isn't, but for what it is, it succeeds in my opinion. With that said, I wouldn't mind trying the Beverly Hills location, though I'd be careful what I order.

Kyubey (Tokyo, Japan)

Kyubey
2-2-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023
03.3344.0315
www.kyubey.jp/keio_e.html
Mon 03/17/2008, 07:40p-09:50p



Kyubey. It's name is synonymous with sushi, and the restaurant is arguably the most famous sushi restaurant in all of Japan. Kyubey is perhaps best known as the inventor of the gunkan-maki, or warship roll. Its creation significantly expanded the repertoire of ingredients used in sushi, such as uni and ikura. The original Kyubey is located in Ginza, but the restaurant has since expanded to several locations throughout Tokyo. Although I would've liked to have visited the Ginza restaurant, time was a constraint, so we decided to dine at the Keio Plaza location in Shinjuku instead. Fortunately, from what I hear, the quality is fairly comparable among locations.


The restaurant is small, with three tables seating about a dozen people. Of course, we didn't come all this way to eat at a table...



The bar is where the action is. It seats thirteen, of which my party took eight of the seats. Apparently the fellow in the last photo is the head chef.


We started with beer, then moved on to sake. One of my dining companions, who doesn't drink, enjoyed a Coke; I tried a sip, and it does taste different than what we have in the US. Humorously, he had originally ordered a Diet Coke, but was chided by the wait staff for doing so. I'm not sure why, as Diet Coke is available in Japan, though it's not nearly as popular as in the US.


On the counter in front of us sat mounds of seaweed, daikon, ginger, and freshly grated wasabi. We were also given what I believe was a miso-ponzu sauce with scallion. Soy sauce was also poured of course.


1: Iidako
This was baby octopus, in a sweet sauce. A fitting way to start the meal.


2: Fava Beans
Crisp and crunchy, though not as flavorful as those I had at Kaji the night earlier.


3: Hirame
Over here in the States, hirame generally refers to halibut. However, it really means any flat whitefish, such as fluke or flounder. I don't think this was halibut, but I can't be sure; I should've asked. In any case, it had a pleasing taste and a nice firmness to the flesh.

4: Shima Aji
Unfortunately I was busy eating and forgot to snap a photo. My first time, I swear! I'm not sure if I've had shima aji before; its translation is "striped jack." I found the fish rather mild in flavor, which meant it took very nicely to the sauce.

5: Tai
Naturally grown snapper, or sea bream. Great texture and signature tai flavor. Sadly, I forgot to take a photo here as well.


6: Kawahagi
Not only had I never had this fish before, I hadn't even heard of it. I get a translation of "thread-sail filefish." The fish was served with its liver, and was fantastic, one of my favorites of the entire meal actually. Apparently, kawahagi is used as a substitute for fugu when the latter is out of season. Indeed, its crisp, clear flesh is very similar to that of blowfish.


7: Katsuo
This was bonito served with shredded myoga (a crisp, tart vegetable) and a special garlic ponzu. The fish had a slight fishiness thanks to the skin. However, when dipped in the sauce, those flavors faded and gave way to a delicious interplay between the ponzu and the katsuo's beautiful red flesh. Very nice.


8: Eggplant
I've never had eggplant served at a sushi restaurant before. It was a bit odd, and seemed out of place, but the eggplant was crisp and tart, and I didn't mind it.


9: Karasumi, Daikon Chip
Karasumi two days in a row! I had it at Kaji the night before. In this case, the mullet fish roe was treated with shochu. Compared to the version at Kaji, which was cooked in a hot pot, this was bolder, saltier, and purer in flavor. Surprisingly good.


10: Maguro "Spare Ribs"
Tuna cooked "on the bone." This was actually toro-like in nature. The fish was extraordinary rich, fatty, and flavorful, almost like beef instead of tuna. This was my favorite course of the night, and probably my favorite of this entire trip! This may very well be the most flavorful piece of fish I've ever eaten.


11: Akagai
This is known in English as ark shell or red clam, with the red coming from the large amount of hemoglobin that the flesh has. Apparently, akagai is best in the summer months, after the clam lays its eggs. I found it to be relatively mild compared to other types of clam, including the aoyagi below.


12: Aoyagi
Aoyagi is translated into round clam or hen clam. Unlike other examples I've had, which were very briny, I found this aoyagi to have a delectable subtle sweetness. The clam was good on its own, but the included salt provided a nice contrast.


13: Ama Ebi
Sweet shrimp from Hokkaido. These were extremely creamy and almost sticky in texture. Very fresh. Afterwards, we were given the fried heads, which had charred exteriors giving way to soft, gooey insides.


14: Shako
This was a first for me. I don't think I've ever seen shako (a.k.a. squilla or mantis shrimp) in the States. I found this not dissimilar from cooked shrimp, though perhaps a touch brinier.


15: Kurama Ebi
Next, we have another type of raw shrimp, which I'm told is one of the most prized and expensive prawns in Japan. These were killed right in front of us prior to serving, so freshness was assured. And in fact, they were still moving for some time afterwards! That's why they're sometimes also known as "odori ebi," or dancing prawn. The flesh was much firmer and crisper compared to the creamy ama ebi above, which I preferred. The cooked heads burst with flavor in the mouth.


16: Sawara
A generous helping of Spanish mackerel served with its own special ginger ponzu. I thought this was quite mild for mackerel actually. The ponzu went great with the fish but I ended up enjoying many of the pieces sans sauce.


17: Pickled Daikon
Now here's something else I've never experienced at a sushi bar. The daikon was very firm and crunchy in texture, with a slightly acerbic taste. Not bad. This was useful as a palate cleanser of sorts.


18: Ika
Squid. Great texture on this one, a perfect cross between crispy and creamy, with a mildly briny taste that just coats the tongue.


19: Otoro
Look at that marbling; talk about melt-in-your-mouth! So rich, so oily, so soft, so fatty, this may very well be the best toro I've ever experienced, and at 3000 yen a piece (about $30), it should be.


20: Uni
I thought this was a strong example of uni: mild yet still possessing that signature uni flair. Note its rather liquid-y appearance. I was told that the reason for this was that it didn't contain certain preservatives that typically prevent uni from becoming watery.


21: Anago
Conger Eel, served two ways, one with sweet sauce and one without. I actually preferred the version without, as it placed more of an emphasis on the eel flavor itself. Often times in the US, I feel that sauce is too liberally applied to eel. As an interesting aside, I was told that unagi (freshwater eel) isn't traditionally used in Edo-style sushi, since it's much oilier and richer than its saltwater cousin.


22: Tamago
A very unique looking tamago. It was slightly sweet, with a light, spongy texture, almost like a cake.


23: Shiso, Plum Paste, and Daikon Sandwich
The daikon gave this dish a crisp texture that complemented the mintiness levied by the shiso, while the plum provided a contrasting sweetness. A hot cup of green tea was a satisfying closure to the meal.

Kyubey is considered the epitome of sushi restaurants in Japan, and indeed, it did not disappoint this night. I was able to experience fish and flavors that had previously never touched these lips. Truly, this was one of the top sushi experiences of my life. And truly, such prowess and perfection doesn't come cheap. If my memory serves me, this was my second costliest sushi meal ever, behind Urasawa of course. But like Urasawa, it was worth every penny (or yen).

Kaji (Kyoto, Japan)

Kaji
112-19 Yokokaji-cho, Ogawahigashi-iru, Marutamachi-dori, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 604-0087
07.5231.3801
r.gnavi.co.jp/k356400/
Sun 03/16/2008, 06:00p-08:30p



Kaiseki is a traditional Japanese meal, oft considered the highest form of Japanese cuisine. The term originally referred to light meals served after tea ceremonies, but now applies to elaborate multi-course dinners such as the one here. Kaiseki often features seasonal and regional specialties, arranged and plated in ways that enhance the appearance and seasonality of the meal.

Fortunately for us, Kyoto is considered the prime location for this form of dining, so a kaiseki meal was a must. Kaji is owned by chef Kenji Kaji. Kaji is perhaps best known for his appearance on the Japanese TV cooking show Iron Chef. In it, he fought Iron Chef Michiba in the umeboshi (pickled plum) battle. Kaji managed to set a record for the highest number of dishes prepared, at eight, though this was still not enough to defeat Michiba. I watched the battle on YouTube and felt that Kaji deserved the win. It was the first battle for Michiba after recovering from an illness, so perhaps Michiba had to emerge victorious for political reasons.

A special thanks goes out to Yasushi Hamao for arranging the meal and translating the menu.


The main entrance. Note the small pile of salt near the doorway. Apparently, the origin of placing salt outside restaurants was to attract horses, and thus their riders, to the establishment. Salt is also viewed as an element of purification, so the salt may act to purify those who enter the restaurant.



Kaji is a small restaurant, with bar seating for ten persons. These seats directly face the kitchen, and thus we were provided with a nice show along with dinner. There is also a small dining room upstairs.


We ordered two types of sake. The first came in the ceramic tokkuri on the left, while the second was served in a glass flask. Unfortunately I don't recall the name of either, though both were quite delicious and paired well with the food.


1: Aperitif
White sake, unfiltered. The sake was served in a sakazuki, which is a saucer-like cup we weren't quite familiar with. Humorously, we weren't sure if/how we were supposed to drink it. This was quite unlike any sake I'd had before; it was sweet and super thick, loaded with much more sediment than any nigori I'd experienced previously.




2: Appetizers
Served with plum bud decoration:
• Cooked Asari clams - Subtly sweet, slightly chewy, with a hint of the ocean.
• Monkfish fillet, deep fried and vinegared - I would've liked to have this served warmer. Perhaps we waited too long before eating, as the fried outer layer of the fish was a bit soggy.
• Fava beans - Not much to say about this, but it was nice.
• Small anago eel sushi - Very light and delicate, quite good.
• Urui mountain vegetable with sweet mayonnaise - My first experience with urui; it was almost scallion-like in nature if I recall correctly. The sweet mayo was a great accompaniment.
• Iidako baby octopus and wakegi scallion, with mustard vinegar miso - I think this was the best octopus I've ever had. I loved the fresh snap of the octopus and the perfect pairing of the mustard sauce.



3: Clear Soup
With bamboo shoot, wakame seaweed, steamed triple colored paté (shiba ebi pink shrimp, eggs, and yomogi leaves), sake-steamed amadai white fish, baked karasumi mullet fish roe, and sansho tree leaves. A very nice soup. I especially enjoyed the paté and the karasumi. The bamboo was quite tasty as well. This was my first taste of karasumi, or sun-dried and salted pickled mullet roe. It had a strong, distinctive, salty flavor which stood in contrast to the milder tones of the rest of the soup.


4: Sashimi
Tai, toro from small blue fin tuna, tachiuo, uni, sayori, yuba tofu skin, bofu leaves, shiso leaf, grated wasabi, twisted carrot strip. My favorites were the tachiuo (largehead hairtail, my first time having it) and sayori (needlefish). And although I'm not a huge uni fan, this was one of the best preparations I've had. The sashimi easily stood on its own, but was further enhanced with two dipping sauces: soy sauce with dashi stock, and spiced vinegar.



5: Grilled Fish
Sasa-garei (whole small flounder from Wakasa Bay north of Kyoto) with sweet vinegared myoga (a plant native to Japan known for its edible flower buds and shoots, which I found it quite tart). The fish was tasty, though a bit difficult to eat. In fact, some of my dining companions had trouble getting hold of the meat, so Kaji-san had to step in and help them! The fish was paired with a new potato with egoma seed paste, which gave the potato a slightly sweet flavor.


6: Middle Dish
Egg tofu, warabi cake with green seaweed, wasabi flower with thickened sauce. This was my first experience eating warabi, which is otherwise known as fiddlehead. The taste was like nothing I'd had before, and I found it a bit disconcerting. It tended to dominate the dish, and drew attention away from the tofu and wasabi.



7: Small Hot Pot
Shirauo white fish, warabi bud, yam, shiitake mushroom, snap peas, hamaguri little neck clams, and sansho leaves, in clear clam soup. The warabi here was much less concentrated in flavor I thought. It was a nice addition to the hot pot, but my favorite items were the clams, peas, and mushrooms. Afterwards, I drank the remaining clam soup, which was fantastic.


8: Rice Cooked in a Clay Pot
Fresh scallop, cooked with dry scallop, served with mitsuba leaves and a dash of plum paste. Here we have the scallops that we saw being cooked with a blowtorch above. The scallops were delicious on their own, well-cooked but not over-cooked, and proved to be fitting toppings for the rice. A funny thing happened with this course. Two large pots were cooked, and after we were done with our first bowls, we were offered more. We thought it'd be rude to refuse, so we just kept eating. At the end, we were all stuffed! I had three bowls myself. It was only later than we discovered that we were supposed to take the bulk of the rice to go.


Along with the scallops, we also had a small plate of pickles: kombu seaweed, dried baby sardine, new cabbage, red shiba pickles. They provided a tart accompaniment to the rice. In addition, we also were served a soup of funori seaweed in red miso, which I was rather liked. It was akin to your standard miso soup, though more focused, with seaweed flavors.



9: Dessert
We had a choice of three desserts: kinkan kumquat citrus sorbet (crisp and tart), kinako soy bean powder ice cream (thick and rich, with hints of red bean), or daiginjo-class sake lees ice cream (very intense, with strong notes of sake and alcohol). All three were served with a pomegranate-topped strawberry mousse. A cup of tea closed out the meal.

Overall, I was quite satisfied with this first foray into traditional kaiseki cuisine. I haven't had a meal quite like it before, and I definitely felt there were some tastes and textures that I hadn't experience previously. I sensed a great pride and respect for the ingredients used, and appreciated the simple yet complex techniques of preparation that preserved the character and integrity of the raw elements, while at the same time adding depth and layers of complexity. As for Kaji-san himself, it is obvious that he's dedicated himself to his restaurant and the preservation of Kyoto kaiseki cooking. During the meal, he was immensely humble as well as helpful, going out of way to translate for us the ingredient list from Japanese to English (using an electronic translator no less, as no English was spoken). Kaji-san, you're worthy of an Iron Chef in my book!