Absolutely immaculate
This is my first kaiseki ever and true to the name, every single dish is not only meticulously assembled and beautifully presented—some of them almost too beautiful to eat lol— but the flavors were balanced, delicate, refined, and complex all at once. The theme here is Hinamatsuri (Doll’s Day or Girl’s Day), as you can see a lot of repeated seasonal ingredients like white/sweet sake, clams, fernbrake, mochi-like fish cakes, mushrooms, lotus roots, etc. The meal got more progressively intense (pic 11, the pickled course being the most intense, ending with the chirazushi and that gorgeous mango “soup” with a floating passion fruit sorbet.
It was a joy to eat and experience. And as a baka gaijin, I honestly was kinda nervous to even attend this because I felt I wouldn’t know “how” to eat this meal, which sounds crazy right now. But one of the other patrons at the restaurant ensured me that I can relax and just enjoy the meal because this branch is less formal than the original Kikunoi in Kyoto. Also the chefs were kind enough to explain some of their intents on the dishes via Google Translate and mutual hand waving.
Last week I started my first trip to Japan in Kyoto and it was fitting to end it with Kyoto.
by jujuflytrap