GASTROMONDIALE

MIZAI: BEST KAISEKI IN KYOTO

PH: 075 551 3310

CHEF: HITOSHI ISHIHARA

EVALUATION: 18.5/20

Linda and I visited Kyoto in November 2010 to dine at Mizai,  Nakamura,  Hajime and Gion Sasaki.  I had previously reviewed Hajime and Nakamura based on Spring 2010 visits.  My second meal at Hajime was less good compared to the first one and I ranked this meal 15/20.  Nakamura was almost as good as the first one and should rank 17.5/20.  Sasaki is very impressive and in my opinion it deserves 3 stars and should rank 17.5/20.

TWO KAISEKE MEALS IN KYOTO: KITCHO AND NAKAMURA

RANKING:  I need to eat more kaiseki meals to be confident about rankings.  This said, I think three Michelin stars to Kitcho is fully justified.  But I am puzzled by only two stars to Nakamura.  My meal at Nakamura was an unforgettable experience.  Only a handful of the chefs in the world can perform at this level of precision and sophistication.

DATE VISITED:  March 21 and 22, 2010, respectively.

PHONES: Kitcho 075 881 1101  Nakamura 075 221 5511

SUMMARY:  Japanese haute cuisine, the kaiseki meal, is a must if you visit Kyoto.  At its best, it is subtle, rigorous, harmonious, appeals to the eye and taste buds, and the course of the meal is driven by the availability of the best ingredients on the day you visit the restaurant.  (So the word ‘seasonal’ or the cliché ‘farm to table’ remain inadequate.)  I was taken aback by how much discretion chefs enjoy when designing exclusive kaiseki feasts for their guests.  At Kitcho in Arashiyama, the chef-owner Tokuoka-san works like a calligrapher, his style is quite restrained, and it is easier to appreciate him when his whole work is complete rather than on a dish by dish basis.  Nakamura-san, on the other hand, is capable of making some bold statements, and his cuisine is quite lusty by Japanese-kaiseki standards.  One thing that unites the two chefs is their absolute commitment to their profession and their attention to detail.

KAZURA: OUTSTANDING HIROSHIMA RESTAURANT

We had an excellent meal at this restaurant in Hiroshima. While Michelin does not rank Hiroshima, I would think that the restaurant should easily receive two stars for its cuisine and overall sophistication.  The seating at the counter is especially recommended as the chairs are very comfortable and, after removing your shoes when entering the restaurant, you can lay your feet on a warmed pipe if you sit at the counter.  The wine list is also serious, especially in white and red Bourgogne.

SUSHI SAITO -- TOKYO

RANKING:  This is one of the best sushi houses. I have no qualm with three MICHELIN stars.

SUMMARY: The quality here sets standards and should be a reference point for impeccable sushi.

A special mention is for the rice. It is outstanding in my opinion, because it is creamy and fluffy and neither al dente nor mushy. The proportion of rice to fish is optimum.  The fish cuts are elegant and not too thick, so you don’t struggle to swallow them.  He uses a very flavorful, subtle red rice vinegar and adds sea salt to his rice to highlight the sweet flavors of the fish. He uses chura rice and okinowa sea salt.

I apologize for the lack of photos, but I don’t like taking photos when eating sushi, because such great morsels should be immediately consumed and taking photos detracts from the overall enjoyment.

On the other hand, I requested the chef Saito to pose when leaving, and he did not refuse.

HAJIME IN OSAKA-JAPAN

RANKING: 18/20

DATE VISITED: MARCH 21, 2010

SUMMARY:  Michelin has rated this restaurant worthy of three stars in their first guide to Osaka.  It is a small restaurant with a loyal clientele which makes it hard to secure a reservation. Hajime-san worked with Michel Bras in Hokkaido and his cooking is somewhere in between Bras and Pascal Barbot of L’Astrance.  He is a very talented and perfectionist chef, and, while his cooking is cerebral, it is also focused and harmonious.  The restaurant certainly deserves its three stars, and it will be interesting to follow this talented chef’s evolution to see if he can secure for himself a place in the pantheon of the greatest chefs of French cuisine in the coming years.  This is a restaurant to which I would gladly return if I can.

KOJYU-TOKYO

RANKING:  19/20

DATE VISITED: MARCH 25, 2010

ADDRESS: Daini Sanyuu bld. 1 8-5-25 Ginza

TEL: 03 6215 9544

SUMMARY:  I would call this gem, which consists of six seats at the counter and  a few tables, the L’Ambroisie of Tokyo.  That is to say, Okuda-san, not unlike the great Pacaud of L’Ambroisie, is a true perfectionist who selects the best seasonal ingredients and calibrates complementary and contrasting elements to create incredible harmony.  He does not follow any fad or trend and he crafts each dish to please both the eye and the taste buds.  His meals typically consists of six courses which follow a well thought out sequence.  This is certainly one of the best tables in the world.

Tokyo Journal (by David Kinch)

I am delighted to publish David Kinch’s review of four outstanding restaurants in Tokyo.

The Michelin guides awards more three stars to Tokyo than to any other city in the world, but for many of us, including myself, the very best of  the Japanese cuisine  remains a black box.

Kinch, owner and chef of the Manresa restaurant in Los Gatos, where I had some of my best meals in the States, has visited Tokyo with a Japanese friend who helped him navigate some terrain unknown to Westerners.  Personally I found his reviews to be very honest in the sense that he makes a very sincere effort to come to terms with a genre of cuisine which is new to him, and he approaches this new realm with an open mind and scientific curiosity.  Being a world class chef certainly helps him to delve deeply into some details, but he never loses sight of the greater forest.

I hope the readers of gastromondiale will enjoy and benefit from these reviews as much as I did.

Vedat Milor