OUCH… (Review: Unagi Ogura)

8 December 2018

Today being my only full day in Matsuyama means I need to make the most of my time, so I headed out early to explore, glad I had an early night in after that nice sushi dinner at Sushi Ino last night. I explored the town a bit in the morning, timing things so I get to my lunch destination when it opens at 11am.

Today’s lunch is at Unagi Ogura, which is near the Ropeway to the famous Matsuyama Castle. I figured once I finish my lunch, the anticipated large Saturday crowd would be headed to lunch themselves… I was a little weary of eating on such a heavily trodden tourist path, but this is more about convenience than anything today.

I was the second client to arrive and was seated at the counter, where I looked quickly at the menu. Oooh, they have a wonderful beef special, so I decided to go with that instead of the usual eel. I relaxed with the tea and caught up with some emails that had accumulated over the week I was in Kansai since I know it’ll take awhile to do the full grilling.

Then after awhile the set arrives, and I opened the lacquered box with anticipation…then a mild groan. They messed up and brought me eel! I showed it to my server and she was horrified, realising her mistake at first. I didn’t want to wait another 20 minutes so, with help of Google Translate, I told her I’ll just settle with this since it’s cooked. She was very appreciative.

Sadly I wish I didn’t, as this may have been the worst unagi I’ve ever had in Japan. The size was good, but frankly the grilling was awful, and perhaps the eel used was poor. It was nowhere as rich as at Hashimoto earlier in the trip in Tokyo, and rarely do I remember eating eel and having to pull sharp, hard bones out of my gums; in fact, one of them caused a nasty bleed as it was that surprisingly rigid and punctured my gums thru-and-thru. Undergrilled. Piss poor.

So I just finished it without damaging my mouth further and left rather unhappy. The kitchen actually apologised, not sure for just the mistake or the poor eel. But either way, a lesson learned — don’t eat at a tourist trap, even in Japan. And Japan tourist traps, even if geared 99.9% towards locals, can come up with food you wouldn’t want to eat back home.

Lesson learned. Now off to Matsuyama Castle…

Unagi Ogura [うなぎ 小椋]
3-1-4 Okaido
Matsuyama, Japan

Review: Sushi Ino

7 December 2018

When I woke up the next morning I knew my energy level was wearing down for this trip. I had to run to the airport, thank goodness Itami, for my short flight to Matsuyama. I have never been to Shikoku island before, the last major island I have yet to visit in Japan.

Clearly Matsuyama is not as equipped to deal with foreign tourists, despite having a strong domestic tourism market. I eventually found my way to the centre in an over-crowded bus, no thanks to it being Friday afternoon, and I got to my hotel. I relaxed and wandered around town a little.

I had planned for dinner to be at Sushi Ino, a place I had found on Tabelog that luckily had an Instagram account. So with my broken Japanese, checked on by Google Translate, I DM’d them to try to book a seat for dinner. That turned out successful, so I’m quite happy I managed a Japanese dinner booking on my own — albeit thanks to Google Translate.

I got there and was seated at the front counter — which overlooks a busy intersection in the entertainment district of Matsuyama. It was already a busy night at this early 6pm time, as the work week was over and people started to party. I relaxed with some sake and we start into the dinner — a nice aromatic broth.

More crab, but this was excellent in a starchy broth full of roe. Excellent taste, far better than the bland dashi yesterday at Gion Kida in Kyoto. A good start. Then we have a set of goodies…

The tako (octopus) was nice, the karasumi (bottarga) was so-so, a bit mild, and the awabi (abalone) was quite good — especially with the liver sauce. This brought back memories of Sushi Yoshitake in Tokyo, the only 3-Michelin sushi-ya I’ve ever visited, and their signature abalone liver sauce. Not quite the same quality but quite nice. A good start.

I had not realised that this place has a Michelin star; I had not realised there was a guide here in Matsuyama, but it seems the past year they expanded the revived Hiroshima guide to also cover Ehime, so this was surprising in some ways. Then we have a sashimi plate…

A beautifully presented ika (squid) that was delicious, as well as a solid hirame (fluke) and an excellent akami (tuna). Then we have ankimo (monkfish liver).

Oh my this was good, the best of the trip. When ankimo is good, it blows foie out of the water, and this was one of the really good ones…oh my! Then we have more crab…

I may be a bit sick of crab on this trip, but not when it’s presented like this. Lovely meat and roe, with none of the sloppy bits like at Koryu in Osaka. That place will forever epitomise a 3-Michelin FAIL for me. Delicious dish here. Then we have some fugu…

Excellent, with its shirako. Far, far better than last night’s version at Gion Kida. Generous amount of shirako, and a very mild ponzu-ish sauce that didn’t eat too much into the main ingredient. Excellent. Then we have grilled sawara (Spanish mackerel).

Sadly nowhere near as good as lunch yesterday at the excellent Rikichi. This seems to have sat around a little as it was lukewarm and stiffened up. I think a large influx of diners just before this caused some issues with the back kitchen. In any case, the rice is brought out so I imagine we’re headed into nigiri territory…

Yep, and we start interestingly with katsugo (baby snapper), which was nice. Then another interesting one, sayuri (halfbeak)…

Pretty good. Then ika (squid).

Excellent quality. Then some uni…

Very tasty, especially with a touch of vinegar. Then we move into the tunas with some lean akami…

Delicious, then the chu-toro…

Very good, a short yet excellent tuna segment. Then a surprise, aji (horse mackerel).

Aji has fallen out of favour with a lot of people it seems, but this was a surprisingly good piece. Then we have kohada (gizzard shad).

Never one of my faves, but good enough. Then a chawanmushi…

A simple, good one, a good course divider. Then ikura…

Well, a bit sloppy, and one of the saltier ones I’ve had in Japan. This tasted much more like the dodgy ikura we get in the US…sigh… Then amaebi (prawn).

A bit weak also, somewhat stringy. Poor quality. Then anago…

Really nice, some of the best I’ve had on this trip. But that also signals the end. I was pretty full so I was happy to see the tamago and the soup…

Then the dessert…

Which was just some fresh fruit, but very welcoming at this point. A good dinner. Not a long course, but I was pretty full. I enjoyed this, but not sure it was Michelin-quality — whatever that may mean these days, after that calamity at Koryu a few days ago. But I was satisfied.

I headed out into the cool evening and by this time the drunks were already out in force. I wandered around but it got too annoying, so I headed back to my hotel. A good dinner, good to be in Matsuyama.

Sushi Ino [鮨 いの]
1-10-9 Nibancho
Matsuyama, Japan

* I headed out later in the evening for a stroll and perhaps a late snack, but the sheer amount of drunks put me off. My goodness people drink hard here. And after nearly being run over by a drunk driver, I decided to just head back in…

Review: Gion Kida

6 December 2018

I certainly needed that excellent lunch at Rikichi to get through the afternoon in Kyoto. It was pissing down hard, and I was drenched for most of it. Plus a lot of fruitless hiking. I got to see much of what I wanted in town, thanks to some hilly hikes (at times it was so steep in the rain I thought I was gonna slide all the way down), but missed out on the most important thing I had planned to see.

Part of my Kyoto trip involved going to pay respects to one of my heroes growing up, one of the individuals that made me want to go into physics — Hideki Yukawa. Unfortunately, due to construction work at the historic Chion-In, the path to the lower cemetery where he is interred was closed. It was so frustrating to have hiked way up the hill, to look down and see his grave but not be able to reach it. I tried to go around and hiked up 3 other hills, just to be stymied by fences and threats of trespassing — which I wasn’t about to do, especially one of them involved the Tomb of Emperor Hanazono. The last thing I need is to be deemed a defiler of an Imperial Tomb…

So after hours of trekking around, a very soaked Mel gave up and hid in a park gazebo and dried off. No one was around since it was also rather cold and windy, which is perfect for me sitting around in a wet shirt drinking cold barley tea. All before I made it to dinner in another part of the Gion district. Tonight’s destination is another 1-Michelin kaiseki restaurant, Gion Kida.

I got there and there was a couple that went in before their 6pm opening time, and they were already being served. So despite me being there at the same time, they grouped me, service-wise, with the rest of the counter customers. That would affect my dining experience all night…

I relaxed and thank goodness was pretty dry thanks to that rest in the park gazebo…and I managed to change shirts thanks to the early sunset. I relaxed with some sake and the busy kitchen was at work, since several groups have also come in and occupied the private rooms. This seems to be a bigger thing down here in Kansai, that most kappo kaiseki places also cater to more private rooms than back up in Tokyo. Then a good start for a wet, cold evening – soup.

Tho I was getting weary of crab on this trip, this was a delicious start. A good combination of spinach, crab and nut tofu here. Nice warming start. Then we have some saba (mackerel).

Fun presentation, delicious fish. The daikon-persimmon “sandwiches” were cute and delicious as a side here too. So far so good. Chef Yasuo Kida was in good form, clearly showing a bit more flare than most other kaiseki chefs. He’s bantering with some of the customers and enjoying some wine with them. Fun night coming I think. Then something comes from the charcoal grill…mochi!

I’m never a fan of mochi since I’m always worried about choking on these things, but this was filled with karasumi (bottarga). Lovely juxtaposition here. I enjoyed a bit more sake with this dish…

And enjoyed…and enjoyed…ordered another…and enjoyed. This was what I was alluding to earlier, being grouped with the rest of the counter diners caused a massive delay. Two major factors here. First, clearly a VIP group had come in, and Chef was busy going to the back room to chat with them. Second, his main assistant had made the crucial decision to mis-group me, and that caused a half-hour gap between dishes…

I’m sorry, but that is just not good for a kappo kaiseki experience. That really, really soured me on this evening very quickly. I nursed my drinks and I think at some point their realised they messed up, so they tried to serve me first. The next dish — eventually — was amadai (tilefish) soup.

Sadly, the wait was for nothing, as the broth was really weak. What is with the poor dashi these days? Everyone’s taste buds messed up at year’s end? The fish was nice, but ruined by the poor broth. Sigh… Then it took awhile to put the large dish together…

A good selection of stuff, finally! The sashimi selection, of tzuke akami (marinated lean tuna) and buri (wild yellowtail) was quite nice. The crab was also delicious, with generous amounts of roe. The namako (sea cucumber) was a surprise and really good. And finally, the fugu with shirako was a total miss, drowning in ponzu.

At this point the entire service has collapsed. Chef has completely disappeared to the back room and we can hear him having a blast with the VIPs back there. The kitchen team is now dealing with chaos being a man short, to deal with not just the impatient kappo diners but all the back room folks too. They were busy working on some live crabs…

Then some lame karasumi and whitebait came out…so lame I forgot to take a photo. It’s just trying to make us drink and order more sake — with the stupidly long wait.

I’m not fond of watching them torture a poor crab, as they removed limb after limb, and the poor crab is moving the empty socket to see what he has left, and his mouth is hanging open…yet another of the crab is trying to fight off the chef with his final leg… This is NOT the type of dinner entertainment I like.

Then eventually the first crab dish, the leg, comes out…

It took ALMOST ONE HOUR between the large dish and the crab, and that is completely unacceptable — especially if we hear Chef Kida laughing with other customers… The crab itself was wasted. I saw how they did this dish. They took all the lovely coral and tomally and heaped it into the dashi and cooked the crab in it. All of it almost wasted, and did nothing for the crab flesh… It was ridiculously boring…

The second dish, the claw, was not much better. This seems to be a waste of some good ingredients… And at this point, the single lady diner next to me is starting to show clear signs of inebriation. She’s loud, increasingly incoherent, and drinking twice as fast as anyone else. Oh, extra entertainment…

Then a surprise, Chef Kida reappears! Oh, just so he can wok fry the rice with a lot of crab. He’s doing it like if he’s got a TV camera on him, and it’s done and he’s made a mess, and he walks straight off to the back room to rejoin the VIPs again. So unprofessional…

The fried rice was quite good, but only one small bowl? Then we were presented with a dish somewhere between porridge and risotto…

A bit of truffle on it, but it didn’t do that much for me. At this point I was asked if I wanted more fried rice or porridge, and I went with the former. By now I was almost wishing this meal was over, as we were about 2.5 hours into a trying evening mostly of waiting around… Then an odd item…

Saba (mackerel)…is this a snack? Lol, quite a nice roll. Is this dessert? Apparently not…

A good strawberry and pear dessert here. At this point Chef Kida re-emerges to cook another set of fried rice, and goodness there was rice flying everywhere…a total mess. It’s borderline comedic at this stage… The fact this meal was starting to approach 3 hours is not what I planned, since I need to still run back to Osaka.

So I took my leave quickly, trying to escape the now completely soused lady that tried to solicit my opinions on the porridge vs fried rice debate (she was still asking for more food…and drink), and I headed out before another prolonged wait. Chef Kida actually came out to wish me well, surprising considering how most of his attention was paid to his VIP back-room guests. Sadly, not professional at all.

Compared to today’s excellent lunch at Rikichi, this was not worth it. I’d recommend Rikichi over Gion Kida any day. The food here was mediocre, with some poor dishes (tho some excellent moments), but it’s the chaotic kitchen and unprofessionalism here that makes me not wishing to recommend this place. However, nothing was as bad as last night’s rudeness at Koryu, but this really was a wasted evening.

Oh well, now for the crowded ride back to Osaka, even at this hour…

Gion Kida [祇園 きだ]
570-192 Giommachi-minamigawa, Higashiyama-ku
Kyoto, Japan

Review: Rikichi

6 December 2018

I woke up with a slight hangover the next morning, but the headache was from shaking my head so much over that disastrous dinner at that joke of a 3-Michelin restaurant Koryu. If any place has put me off trusting Japanese chefs, it’s that place. In any case, I had an extremely busy day today as I head off to Kyoto.

Sadly, Kyoto has turned into a gigantic tourist trap, and they are also cashing in on the tourist invasion. There is certainly charm with all the traditional stuff everywhere, but it’s hilarious to see groups of Chinese tourists wearing kimonos walking around town during a massive downpour. Oh yeah, it’s coming down hard…

Eventually I take my refuge for lunch in the Gion district at an old-school kaiseki place called Rikichi. I was the first one there at this early hour (they open at 11.30 unlike most places), and it’s just me and Chef Shiuchi Hiraoka, who is a truly jolly soul. My goodness, within seconds the comparison to last night’s rudeness at Koryo was so evident, as the jovial, talkative Chef Hiraoka made me feel at home in his old-school eatery.

I relaxed as he got to work, sneaking in some broken chatter as we went along. We soon began with the big plate, and it’s got plenty of treats on it…

We got all sorts of goodies, from shirako to gingko, from potato to tofu skin. The fish fin was especially delicious. All this worked well with the sake, an excellent start! Enjoyed chatting with Chef Hiraoka and in our broken languages we managed to talk a little about where I’ve eaten in Japan and back in the US. Then we have a miso soup.

A very humble dish with a tofu roll, but nice and flavourful. More than that really sub-standard broth yesterday at Koryu that’s for sure. Then we have the sashimi of the day…

It’s actually karei (flounder), which was extremely delicious. A generous portion, I enjoy the texture from the size of the slices. Worked really well. Then we have the chawanmushi dish…

A nice one, with hamaguri (clam). It’s mild, but good. At this point Chef Hiraoka brings out an old Japan Times article and tells me about his previous career — as a bowling champion. So cool. Then he showed me why he stopped — a broken finger that never set right. So glad he embarked on this *other* career tho! Next up, grilled sawara (Spanish mackerel).

Lovely stuff, works so well with miso. A simple yet excellent dish, grilled to perfection as to not lose the richness of the fish but to bring it all out. Excellent. I later read that for many years Chef Hiraoka had rejected Michelin’s desire to give him a star, but had relented more recently. This lunch has already blown away every Michelin meal I’ve had in Osaka this trip, and he’s earned his 1 star for sure — even if the restaurant is very old school and lacks some basic facilities; for one, the restroom is clearly from an earlier era!

The banter continued and we talked about Japanese food in the US when he brought out the daikon dish, explaining that this is daikon season and Kyoto is the centre of it.

Excellent quality, the best daikon I’ve had all trip, not surprisingly since we’re in Kyoto. Texture is perfect, no fibres whatsoever, but solid with no mushiness. The daikon speaks for itself here, with the other items as minor supporting acts. No need a heap of herby miso like last night… Then we have a big item, especially for lunch…

A braised karei…oh this is so good. Lovely flavour, in a soy-mirin based sauce, and the flesh remains strong yet juicy. Cooked perfectly, and I really enjoyed devouring this fish. This meal is far, far superior to last night, and I was still shaking my head at last night’s rip-off incompetence. This is how a good kaiseki meal should be!

I eventually finished the extremely tasty fish, as flounder is always one of my favourites. Then with a bit more sake, then next item arrived…

Some nigiri of hirame (olive flounder), which was actually quite voluminous with the rice, but tasty. There’s also some pickle vegetable rolls, which was a great palate cleanser — but huge. I was getting quite full here, but with a long afternoon of hiking in a downpour, I need the energy. Next up was the fried dish…

A piece of delicious fried burdock is underneath this starchy base, with shredded tofu skin and shiitake mushrooms. Lovely aroma, worked perfectly. Simple yet delicious. Another winner! Then the conclusion is reached when the rice is presented…

Lovely crab rice, delicious and a perfect way to finish this lunch. Oh, oops, the dessert!

A nice black bean ice dessert, lovely and sweet. What a good lunch! And goodness, it’s a fraction of the price of last night’s calamity! I could have eaten this lunch 4 times for what I paid last night and still have a few thousand in change! What a delicious bargain!

I thanked Chef Hiraoka as I headed into the ugly weather…it was pouring down worse than before. Luckily I’ll be fuelled on by this excellent lunch. Now this is the type of kaiseki meals I love…top quality ingredients, skillful cooking, and a friendly chef-proprietor. A 101% difference from last night’s Michelin-fuelled joke.

Highly recommended!

Rikichi [梨吉]
95 Sueyoshicho, Higashiyama-ku
Kyoto, Japan

The WORST Possible 3-Star Michelin Experience (Review: Koryu)

5 December 2018

I had a horrible hangover as I headed out of Osaka to visit a place I’ve wanted to go for a long, long time — Okunoshima. Or as most people call it, Rabbit Island. It was not a clear trek there, especially with part of the rail journey replaced by bus due to all the damage caused by the autumn storms. I made it there eventually and had a wonderful time playing with the bunnies…

Lucky I brought food from the mainland, and they were more than happy to enjoy plenty of pellets, with a little bit of carrots and banana. I also had a nice dinner as I stayed over at the island’s only inn, a traditional all-inclusive place with an excellent dinner buffet; only thing additional I had to pay for was for beer.

A good rest, but out early in the morning to play with the bunnies again. This is so much fun, and since many of the day visitors are not around, you get much more time with the bunnies. And they are hungry again, thank goodness I brought enough food. But inevitably even that runs out, as these guys are hungry, and due to the rail mess, I had to leave mid-morning for the mainland…

I headed back towards Osaka, which took 1 bus and 4 trains, which was surprisingly smooth. I had a few lunch targets but I had arrived back a tad late for them; one of them had run out of food. So I dropped into a place called Hamajima for a quick lunch — and the chirashi was quite delicious.

I returned to my usual hotel and did some unpacking and cleaning up. I had spilled bunny pellets all over my bag and it got on some of my clothes, so had to deal with that before I get nailed at customs when I get home… That took most of the afternoon, but my dinner tonight was very late, so I had some time to chill and stroll around.

Dinner tonight is at Koryu, a 3-Michelin kaiseki place just steps away from my hotel. Surprisingly it’s the first (and last) 3-star meal of the year. I wasn’t too crazy about their booking policy, ghettoing all the foreigners at the unpleasant late 9pm dining slot. But I’ve read good reviews about this place so went with it. I should have trusted my instincts…

First of all, it was half-empty, and they scattered the diners on 3 corners of the large, wrap-around dining counter. Chef looked like he could not be bothered, as everything was done by his apprentices. First up was a lobster and daikon dish in a herby miso.

Hmmm, not bad, the sauce worked pretty good with the lobster and daikon, though it felt a little like a flavour mask. Again, when you have good daikon, why dress it up like this unnecessarily? In any case, not a bad start. Next up, shirako.

Sadly the shirako was not very good, grilled poorly, with the skin almost wrinkling off; the contents were lukewarm. The crab roe was nice, but it didn’t save the shirako. Sloppy execution for a 3-Michelin place.

Again, I noticed Chef could not be bothered to do anything. Is this deliberate, a metaphorical middle finger to the foreigners? They were a little worried because I was the only foreigner who was speaking only Japanese to them at this point, but that didn’t get Chef to have any care. He just stood around and lifted a mild finger at a group sitting at the front area… I was already having bad feelings about this dinner…

Next up was a big set of various goodies. The kawahagi (thread-sail filefish) in ponzu with its liver was pretty good, the tuna set with the egg excellent. The tai (red sea bream) was okay but the lobster was messy as it’s got shell fragments everywhere…really? If anything, this is the sloppiest 3-Michelin kitchen I’ve ever seen, this is really poor. The grilled nodoguro (black-throat perch), usually my favourite fish, was so mediocre I cringed. Then the maki (roll) was okay, went down well with the special sake.

Hmmm…the whole thing looks impressive, but compared to many of the selections I’ve had at kaiseki places all around Japan, this is nothing very special. In fact, it hardly compares with the other 3-Michelin place I’ve been to in the region, the fabulous Wayamamura in nearby Nara. So far, especially with the sloppiness and the aloofness of the Chef, I’m not sold on this place at all. Then we have a crab and pumpkin soup…

Hmmm…the dashi was pretty weak to be honest. It’s December and we’re still on pumpkin? But the crab was nice, though I wonder why the other diners got kamasu (barracuda) instead. I smelled it grilling and was so eager to have it. I’m actually getting a bit sick of crab, as it’s just everywhere… But the weak broth is unforgivable… I’m starting to seriously sour on this dinner… Next up, daikon.

Finally letting the daikon speak for itself, unlike the first dish. Very good piece, topped with a coral miso sauce. What annoyed me is that in the coral sauce there were again hard cartilage fragments…how can this kitchen be so sloppy? There is absolutely no quality control by this chef, and he runs a 3-Michelin kitchen. What a joke. This is unprofessional to say the least. Then next up, grilled lobster…

Again? Why are people getting different items with far more variety? I am so sick of this. I think I got taken by this place, and a hotel concierge that didn’t communicate the menu correctly to me… The lobster was actually very boring, of rather poor quality. I saw them sauce this as they grilled it, and I was not impressed at all. I’ve had better lobster grilled at a corner shop in Culver City…

This is a clusterfuck even worse than Le Chantecler in Nice. This is by far the WORST 3-Michelin place I’ve ever been to. I was already earning to get out of this place. And I feel like I’m being trolled as other diners got Miyazaki beef when I got this shit low-quality lobster. Come on…

Next up was some roe and coral jelly combination. This was excellent, but my heart was way gone from this dinner already and was counting down the dishes to get the frick out of this place. Then more damn lobster!

Again, not of good quality, really nothing tasty about this. It’s about a step up from Red Lobster frankly. I’m so sick of this dinner…and so glad it’s over! How do I know? The soup noodle dish came out…

Absolutely not memorable. Poor quality once again, horrific cooking. Then dessert, which looks like they just lobbed it onto a plate…

I ate it robotically and just called for the bill. And when it arrived my eyes nearly came out of their socket…

¥53,000?! WHAT?! How did that happen? So I insisted on seeing the itemised bill and I was shocked to see it. When I told them omakase for the sake, I did NOT expect them to rip me off like that. Utterly shocked to the core. I stood there, glared at the Chef, who refused to look me in the eye. What a shameful act.

I was livid as I walked out of there. This is clearly a rip-off joint, with a Michelin license to steal from people. They should be ashamed of themselves, and this place discredits Michelin in Japan completely. I will never use the Michelin guide as a research tool in the future for Japan. This is a joke, a stupidly expensive joke.

Stay away, unless you like to be taken advantage of and treated poorly. SHAMEFUL. Worst evening of fine dining IN MY LIFE.

Koryu [弧柳]
1-5-1 Dojima, Kita-ku
Osaka, Japan

* I ended up back at my Osaka “local” Tayutayu for a nitecap to unwind and to blow off some steam. Another good night with way, way too much shochu…and shit, it was a bare fraction of the cost of earlier…

** Later I was told there were some lacklustre apologies from both the restaurant and the concierge team on the lack of communications over the menu options. Of course nothing on the rip-off aspect of this. Just stay away from this place, it’s borderline FRAUD. SHAMEFUL.

Review: Nishitemma Nakamura

3 December 2018

After a long day running around all parts of Osaka, I was tired. I also had a modest but good hakozushi lunch at Yoshino Sushi, so I was hungry. I was looking forward to my kaiseki dinner tonight at Nishitenma Nakamura.

The very interesting thing about this 1-Michelin kaiseki place is that the chef is female. Turns out the entire staff is female, which is an excellent change for one thing. I relaxed at the counter and left my food and sake choices to the kitchen. Chef Akemi Nakamura mostly stayed in the back kitchen, as the kappo was a service counter with little food prep going on. I wonder if that was a conscious choice made by a rare female kaiseki chef…

In any case, the sake was poured and things started moving with the first course, and of course I start puzzled…

Sure it’s daikon season, but this was, well… Hard to eat, that’s one thing. It’s cute, though the diakon is stewed under the decapitated top. Interesting presentation, but was hard to eat and not make a mess of things. I wish they would have cooked the daikon in something that’s not acidic tho… Then next up is some buri (wild yellowtail).

Again, an interesting presentation, nice large portion. I like this, almost a roll-it-yourself with the grated daikon. Very tasty. I like the outside-the-box thinking here, though it sometimes misses like the first dish.

But the one thing I noticed is that things are at a rather slow pace here. Is that deliberate, or is it because they have too many private rooms occupied? The service was extremely slow, and the pace of the detached, behind-the-wall kitchen is also on the slow side. Next up, we again have the seasonal crab featured…

Sadly, this is when the service slowness hurts, as the soup was lukewarm, which is rather unforgivable for a soup dish in Japan. Plus the server forgot the spoon, as this is impossible to eat without or would require the consuming of the entire item in one bite at risk of it all coming apart and dissolving… The crab was not cooked evenly, and the cabbage was a fibrous mess. Outside the box perhaps, but frankly this was a total mess — exacerbated by the slowness of service.

I so wanted tonight to be good, to show that a female chef/team can do easily as well as anyone. But so far it’s not going well at all. Let’s see if the big dish can repair that trend…

You got a lot of stuff here, but again lacking in consistency. The cheese was an interesting twist but the duck ham was really weak. The gingko was ruined by the stuff that set upon it, and you got some boring ankimo (monkfish liver). The baby potatoes were not bad, but the sesame-crusted sweet potato was the best of this dish. Sigh, again somewhat weak…

At this point I was also getting a real bad headache as the guy next to me has a very blingy watch, and the unfortunate position of the lights above means I am constantly getting blinded whenever he moves his arm. This night is getting rather trying… Next up is some katsuo (bonito) roe.

Not bad at all, slightly fermented, a great drinking snack…problem is my sake is empty and the server is nowhere to be found. Had to wait for awhile to get some booze to enjoy this. The problems are compounding, and that really saddens me as I can’t see this night repairing itself now. Plus my head is really pounding thanks to that spotlight… Then some shirako (milt).

Now this worked really well, with a bit of a porridge thing. The shirako was better than last night for sure, this may be the best cooked dish of the night so far. I was hoping this continued but it sure didn’t with the fugu…

It took nearly half an hour for this to come out, and geez… It was overcooked AND cold. How do you manage this unless both front and back of house both failed? Sigh, this is so disappointing. Perhaps they were overly busy and understaffed on a Monday, but that’s something a high-quality Michelin-starred place should be able to do. Sigh…

At this point I almost contemplated abandoning this meal. It’s slow and poor. I stayed out of respect, as walking out in Japan would be a 1000x harsher a message than elsewhere. At least I know we’re near the end, as Chef Nakamura finally makes an appearance to show me the rice. Then the set is presented…

Pretty good, cooked with lotus root, but I’m already so done here… This is so disappointing. At least one good thing — the man with the blingy watch has left, so at least the headache is dissipating. Then the dessert…

Some pear and strawberry, a clean and good end frankly. But that doesn’t repair what has been a poor night, much of it due to their own making. Again, I so wanted tonight to be good, I wanted to cheer this place on, but frankly this was totally disappointing — both the cooking and especially the service.

I headed out shaking my head. Sadly I cannot recommend this place at all…

Nishitemma Nakamura [西天満 中村]
4-5-25 Nishitenma, Kita-ku
Osaka, Japan

* Later that night I headed to my “local” in Osaka, Tayutayu, and enjoyed quite a nice but unexpectedly long nitecap, and I’m gonna pay for it tomorrow…

Review: Yoshino Sushi

3 December 2018

I woke up early enough for my first full day in Osaka, which is good as it promises to be extremely busy. Need to get a lot of stuff done, so I was out the door early. Lots of running around, going to various parts of town, with some unpredictable timing issues such as queueing for complicated train itineraries. Last night’s not-so-fulfilling dinner at Sui didn’t really keep me going, so I headed to lunch early at Yoshino Sushi.

I had wanted to visit the venerable shop, opened in 1841, since my previous visit but it didn’t work out timing-wise. But today I made it and was early (they open early) so it was empty. And they offered a few sets at lunch, and I went with one of them.

Yoshino Sushi is one of the few old-school shops that still make hakozushi (pressed sushi), a local specialty. Beautiful for presentation, especially in one of their specialty boxes. But when brought to me at the counter, it was as beautiful as tasty…

Lovely selection, from unagi (eel) to saba (mackerel) to a ebi-tamago (shrimp-egg) combination. A solid 9 pieces for lunch.

I could have had more, and thought about it, but I had a lot of running around to do so don’t want to get too stuffed. Thought about taking some away with me, but I had a big dinner planned and probably some izakaya visiting tonight, so don’t want to overdo it.

I thanked the friendly elderly couple and headed out. I hope Yoshino survives in this modern world, where traditions such as hakozushi seem to be disappearing quickly. I hear several other venerable, multi-generational shops have closed in recent years, so I sincerely hope Yoshino remains to keep the tradition alive.

Definitely worth a visit — even if it’s just to do a takeaway box. Go to the website, those boxes are beautiful…and delicious!

Yoshino Sushi [吉野鯗]
3-4-14 Awajimachi, Chuo-ku
Osaka, Japan

Review: Sui

2 December 2018

I had little planned after arriving in Osaka, but was very glad for that nice kushiage lunch at Shunkashuto. I did some unpacking and a bit of logistical planning, as I have an extremely busy few days coming up. So today is the only day to really take it easy.

Strolled around and enjoyed the crisp air. Finally it’s cooling down in Japan, but it’s nowhere like the nice cold air of Seoul. I eventually headed out to dinner, looking forward to a nice kappo kaiseki dinner at Sui in the busy entertainment Shinsaibashi district.

The 1-Michelin kaiseki restaurant again isn’t on too many radars, but it looked quite good and I happily chose it — plus it was open on a Sunday evening. I arrived and relaxed, and they showed me what will feature prominently later…

Oh yeah, it’s crab season. Then soon, with sake poured, we have the first course, a chawanmushi.

Hmmm, this was a bit inconsistent, a rare thing to see in a top kaiseki place. The starchy broth didn’t do much at all, and the whole thing was a bit meh to be honest. A rare bad start. Then we have fried taro…

Starts off rather bland, but after a little, especially with the salt, it grows on you. Not a great dish, but better than I thought. A bit odd so far. Then next up, the soup.

Again, I’m surprised. The tai (red sea bream) seems overcooked. The kitchen actually looks a little chaotic, which again is rare for a kappo kaiseki. The dashi is nice, but it’s sloppy work. Definitely not as good as any of the Tokyo places with the same dish. Then, with me drinking a little quicker than usual, we have the sashimi set.

The buri (yellowtail) was excellent, but the seared katsuo (bonito) was so-so.

The fugu was quite good, especially the julienned portion; however, this may be the worst ankimo (monkfish liver) I’ve had in years. I’m starting to get worried now, as this may be the most inconsistent kaiseki place I’ve ever been to…

But then I see the earlier crab in question being worked on, and soon they appear…

The leg is quite excellent, the tomally sauce is quite fantastic tho. I tried to scoop up most of it as it was just delicious. Then they bring out a fried claw…

Not bad, I wish they didn’t clear the tomally sauce before they brought this… But a nice bit of seasonal crab for sure. Next up grilled kamasu (barracuda).

This was excellent, best dish so far tonight. Finally on track! Excellent quality fish, nice and flavourful. The shiitake was quite nice too. I feel so much better now. More sake, but this time celebratory for the uptick in quality. But still the kitchen looks so chaotic, and chef seems to have trouble trying to balance out when items come out for me and the couple sitting next to me. In any case, next up is shirako (milt).

Not bad, though it seems to be overgrilled and burnt at points. Again shows the kitchen chaos a bit here. It’s also too busy, taking away from the natural goodness of the shirako. I’m starting to worry again… Next up oyster and daikon.

Pretty good dish here. It’s daikon season in Kyoto, so they are prominently featured. Works well with the slighly pickled oysters. Good dish. Then we have the beef, which I hope isn’t overcooked…

Well, it certainly isn’t, but I’m not a fan of this in the broth presentation. The broth is very tasty, but I just don’t like my beef dunked in it. The beef is fabulous, and it all worked okay, but this could have been such a better dish if kept just a little separated…

I surprisingly ordered one more sake as we are running a bit long now, this dinner now running over 2 hours before the rice course is presented…

Nice, delicious rice with more crab, and a healthy portion of ikura to add to it. A pretty good end to an inconsistent evening. Then a nice dessert…

The sesame ice cream here is excellent, although still somewhat frozen — a great example of a chaotic and inconsistent kitchen. The persimmon and walnut side is quite tasty too. And with that, we’re done…

I can’t say this was one of the best, or really good kaiseki experiences. Friendly folks, but it seems a bit chaotic — which led to some surprising kitchen mistakes. Really odd for a Michelin-starred, well-regarded kaiseki place to have such faults. I can’t really recommend this, was okay enough, especially for a Sunday evening, but overall could have done so much better elsehwere…

Sui [翠]
2-8-23 Higashi-shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku
Osaka, Japan

Review: Shunkashuto

2 December 2018

I left Seoul via Gimpo Airport early in the morning, arriving at the now-somewhat-repaired Kansai Airport late morning. The storm damage is still very visible, especially in an immigration hall that looked like it was hastily repaired. In any case, a long coach ride later I was back in Osaka. Will be in Kansai for most of the week.

I was early to check into my hotel, the excellent ANA Crowne Plaza (which has a wonderful concierge team to help with bookings!), so I popped into one of the hotel restaurants for lunch. I usually wouldn’t eat at a hotel, but it being Sunday lunch the pickings in the business-heavy area was rather low. I headed to Shunkashuto, the kushiage specialty restaurant on the first floor.

Usually I am not a great fan of kushiage as I tend to get burned by the hot fried items, but today I was happy to go with it. They have a set lunch course and I happily went with it, sake flowing once again. Oh, so good to be back in Japan. The opening set soon arrives…

A nice combination here. The sashimi was a rather good selection of surprisingly tasti tai (red sea bream), torigai (cockle), and the lesser-seen tachiuo (scabbard fish). You also have a baby clam and spinach salad in a mustard dressing, and then a steamed egg custard in seaweed sauce. Not bad at all!

I enjoyed all that, and more sake, as the frying starts now…. They presented some sauce but also a delicious selection of radishes and vegetables to nibble on…

Oh these were so good, amazing quality. This is one of the reasons I love eating vegetables in Japan!

The first pair was mixed, from the nice kurumaebi (prawn) to the hard-to-eat sesame curd that I didn’t want to choke on…

Then we have a contrast in why kushiage doesn’t always work, from the overly-breaded beef that would have been great on its own to the awesome takoyaki (octopus ball) that is so nice fried. That’s almost why I don’t like kushiage, as some stuff works so well breaded and fried, and some work far better without it. Perfect example here.

Then we have an amazing huge asparagus that’s almost a foot long. Amazing texture, no fibrous bits at all, just lovely flavours. And then some pork tenderloin, which was fabulous.

Then we have a nice scallop, then an excellent marinated and meat-stuffed shiitake…

Wow, a croquette of crab innards…ridiculously good. Then minced lotus root…

Then finally some delicious kisu (whitefish) and the closer? A truffle cream croquette. A rather nice series of items for sure. At this point they bring out a menu for additional orders, and I placed a few, and they got back to frying…and I got another order of those addictive radishes…

The frying commences, and I enjoy more sake, then they start to appear.

Another takoyaki, which is one of the best kushiage items ever. Then also another of the stuffed marinated shiitake, which was just delicious.

Then the next pair starts with one I didn’t get earlier, seaweed and herring roe with uni. Oh my this is stupid good, amazing flavour that beats the pain I feel from it burning my tongue… And one more of the crab innard…again, my tongue is burning but it’s so ridiculously good…

Then I close with one more of the crazy good asparagus…so good. At this point I was done, so they bring out the last item. I had forgotten! But of course there’s a rice set…

I was full but happily finished this before the dessert…

A delicious sweet jelly treat closed off this excellent lunch. Some very excellent items throughout the meal, from the shiitake to the asparagus, to the herring roe to the crab innards. I think those worked far better than the meat, especially the beef. But it was excellent for sure.

Oh, I’m so happy to be back in Japan!

Shunkashuto [春夏秋冬]
ANA Crowne Plaza
1-3-1 Dojimahama, 2F, Kita-ku
Osaka, Japan

Review #2: Poom

1 December 2018

Hangover isn’t really the word here for this Saturday… I regained my senses probably midday, having not come back until probably 3am or so having consumed way, way too much whisky last night and morning… It wasn’t as crazy as the first time I visited Sangsu-ri, but it was crazy enough…

I barely did anything this day, mostly recovering and lunch was stuff acquired overnight during my drunken stroll around the food tents that I had not consumed before passing out…but were still good. Not the best way to spend my last full day in Seoul, but what can you do…

I spent the afternoon dealing with trip logistics as I was heading back to Japan early tomorrow morning. It’s gonna be a crazy few days in Kansai and I don’t have much time to waste there, so tried to figure out some tight schedules. Dealt with all of it before I headed out to dinner.

I got lazy and took a taxi, which is surprisingly cheap in Seoul by the way. Tonight I head back to Poom, a 1-Michelin eatery that I had really enjoyed during my last trip to Seoul and thought it the best restaurant in the city (way before they got this pay-to-play Michelin “guide”). It’s a very steep and long hike from Seoul Station (which I did last time), and tonight I just didn’t feel like it.

I got there early and they were just getting going, so at first it was just some snacks to start…

Nice, the pine nuts and dried fruit are addictive (as mentioned last time), as I pondered the menu I had chosen the day before (you have to tell them in advance). After a little bit of time, I see them starting to really gear up. My bad, as I thought my booking was at 6pm (it was 6.30pm) and I had arrived even early for that… Then they brought out the first item, oyster.

A delicious oyster that went well with the paired rice wine Yeah, I went with the traditional again, but I know this place so I have faith we won’t end up with a Mingles mess. Good start. Then we have the signature seasonal dish, the hot pot.

I liked this very much last time, and it’s as good today. I love how they write out the name of the restaurant by the food, which includes very tasty items like fish, mushrooms, prawn, cabbage, meatball and so much more. Lovely broth too. An excellent start as always. Then we have the ginseng salad.

Quite a nice dish again, julienned ginseng working well with the persimmon and pinenut powder. Good stuff. Then they poured another traditional wine, this time millet from Jeju, and we have the beef dish.

Excellent quality cold roast beef here, it’s surprisingly juicy despite its appearance. The cold actually worked so well on this item, which surprised me. The side items (ginseng, burdock, pear) were quite nice too. A winner of a dish! And the pairing worked as it was far less intrusive than the ones at Mingles. So far so good!

After a little while we have a clean rice wine poured then with the abalone and beef dish…

I like this dish, some lovely flavours combined like little sandwiches. Tender and tasty, another winner! Then they poured another generous serving of traditional wine, this time wild blueberry, for the striploin.

Oh my this beef is excellent quality, though perhaps a touch overcooked. Really tender and full of flavour, the garlic working very well. Again, you gotta wonder what Michelin was thinking with Mingles… Then next up is the final savoury dish, and today it’s based around pufferfish (fugu in Japanese…).

An excellent set here, some good banchan to go with the main item…

Delicious albeit mild, the banchan added most of the kick for the rice. A relaxing nice end, plus some comped dandelion rice wine. Sublime. Then finally, the dessert…

You have a trio of tasty nibbles, from a fried honey-ginger rice cookie to a maltose glutinous rice sticky candy, as well as the nice pear ice on the side. Both palate-cleansing and delicious. A nice tea follows and another good dinner at Poom concludes.

If you want a solidly good night of dining, give Poom a shot. It’s got a great view, the service is excellent and the food delicious. Again, like Joo-ok the other night, the 1-Michelin place is far more solid than the shaky 2-Michelin Mingles. A good way to end my Korean trip. Very much recommended.

Poom [품]
3F, Daewon-jeongsa B/D, 358-17 Huam-dong, Yongsan-gu
Seoul, South Korea