Our host is the 2-star Michelin Chef: Kenichi Hashimoto, a very humorous
and humble man. We were greeted by Mrs Hashimoto dressed in kimono at
the wooden craved entrance, entering a Japanese garden, a small pathway
under a canopy of beautiful pastel pink cherry tree in full bloom,
leading us to the doorstep of the restaurant. There's a big hand-crafted
communal table in the centre, wooden racks on the wall and we were
seated at the counter bar, facing the open kitchen.
The mistress - Mrs Hashimoto made sure that all details are met, food were served in perfect order and has provided us with outstanding service. (She speaks excellent English.) We've been exchanging our travel and gastronomy experiences with the hosts. They are big fans of travel and gastronomy too!
After going to the toilet, I told them that the toilet is beautiful, it's the traditional Japanese toilet that's hard to find elsewhere. And that's when we discovered an interesting story behind this beautiful Japanese house - Mr Kenichi Hashimoto, the chef himself, were involved in the construction of this house/restaurant while Mrs Hashimoto was the mastermind of the entire building's exterior and interior design. It's a traditional house/land passed down through generations. Almost everything in this restaurant were customized and made from the finest quality of wood - from the communal table, the toilet (with a very rare wooden lock), the counter table, to the flooring. A 2-star Michelin chef and a carpenter, he's indeed an artist
The set menu (kaiseki) were prepared passionately and presented elegantly, one can really taste the effort and passion from each course. We reckon the counter has the best seats as you get to see the chefs working their magic whilst also having the chance to interact with the main man himself!
Appetizer
Very fresh sashimi. Sadly I can't remember all the fishes but they were all good!
Glutinous rice and soup. The soup is very thick and the rice is very soft and fragrant.
The fish was grilled in the most traditional way, with charcoal. And the chef has been grilling it since we arrived at the restaurant. He was grilling it with full effort, controlling the fire and heat from the charcoal with a traditional fan.
Here comes the Kansai-style tempura again. Lightly battered tempuras with fine salt as the only condiment. There's a piece of butterburr here as well - the seasonal item apparently
All course meal with be served with a bowl of rice at the end of the course. This is the sakura rice (yeah the chef got the flowers from the garden!), it's hard to tell how sakura tastes like but perhaps like other flowers, sakura does have its own taste, very subtle however unique and remarkable.
This has to be my favourite! 2 types of home-made sorbet, the green one I can't recall but it's very refreshing and it tastes like lime (maybe it's really lime haha) and sakura sorbet. The sakura sorbet is kinda out of the world, don't think I can get it elsewhere... It's creamy, smooth and soft in texture, the flavour simply makes you go oh-la-la! The bowl next to the sorbets is a traditional Japanese dessert, with mochi. The sauce tastes very much like non-gassy Coca Cola haha. Not really my cuppa tea though.
Look at the beautiful pink blossoms! <3
That's Mr Kenichi Hashimoto and Mrs Hashimoto
The last glimpse of this beautiful restaurant.
Mrs Hashimoto drew out a map for us to walk to the nearest bus-stop. She was standing right in front of this wooden craved entrance, waving goodbye to us. The alley that we were walking to was about 100m long, she was bowing and whenever I turned back, she's still there waving to us and then she bowed again. I turned back a couple of times actually, and she's not gone yet! T_T It was only after the turning, that I guess she only left after we were not in her eyesight anymore. Feeling so much love from this fantastic meal <3
Outstanding hospitality, their gestures make me miss them so much! That I revisit just to see their faces...
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