Hyotei - Kyoto Kaiseki

[jhm]

In case anyone is interested what a Japanese kaiseki meal looks like in a Kyoto restaurant (compared to what is served on SQ F), I thought I'd post the pictures of the dinner phaleesy and I had last month at Hyotei, a 300-year old restaurant, where the diners all sit in individual houses around a beautiful garden.

(All photos taken by phaleesy - I was too busy eating...)

The restaurant's logo



Sakizuke: appetiser
Boiled matsutake mushrooms, sugukina greens and motte chrysanthemum



Salmon caviar, garasa shrimp and jellyfish pickled in flavoured liqueur



Mukozuke: cold dish
Thinly sliced Akashi sea bream sashimi with Tosa soy sauce
Chrysanthemum flowers, kurokawa mushrooms and wasabi horseradish



Nimono-***: simmered dish
Kudzu starch covered pike conger, matsutake mushrooms, young mizuna greens and yuzu citrus



Hassun: morsels from the mountains and the sea
Hyotei tamago (soft boiled egg)
Grilled kamasu barracuda sushi
Hajikami (pickled ginger shoot)
Grilled prawns
Grilled scallops with sea urchin
Sweet boiled chestnut and roasted gingko nuts skewered with pine needles



Mushimono: steamed dish
Sekihan (rice cooked with azuki red beans) and tilefish topped with tsumami yuba (soy milk skin),
Hishi crab, shimeji mushrooms, chestnuts and garland chrysanthemum with kudzu starch sauce
Deep-fried rice powder covered matsutake mushrooms, dissolved wasabi

[jhm]

Takiawase: braised dish
Small turnip, braised conger eel,
Snow peas thinly cut like needles, sprinkled yuzu citrus



Yakimono: broiled/grilled dish
Salt broiled ayu (sweet fish) with roe, grilled matsutake mushrooms
Pickled lotus root served with sweet soy-sauce-based sauce



Akadashi: miso soup made with akadashi miso
Nanzenji-nama-fu (raw wheat gluten cake), hanabira mushrooms, powdered
sansho pepper

Gohan: rice
Rice cooked with matsutake mushrooms

Kohnomono: pickles
Takuan (pickled Japanese radish), shibazuke (red pickled cucumber), enoki
mushrooms with baby fish



Mizumomno: dessert
Fig compote topped with pomegranate jelly



Matcha (green tea) and a Japanese sweet



One of the two waitresses



The menu which I asked for the next day and which the restaurant very kindly wrote out for me

[StarG]

Wow. Everything looks fresh and yummy.
Thanks for sharing, jhm.

[milehighj]

looks delicious! thanks for posting.

[Jubilee777]

Impressive!

How much did that cost you ?

[QSG]

It is always surprising to see what others think of Japanese kaiseki.....I am glad you enjoyed it !

[KeithMEL]

I didn't know one of the meals I ate in Japan this year was a Kaiseki until I saw this. The menu was totally in Japanese and my parents and I did the whole picture pointing thing. I kept telling people that I had a 'Japanese degustation.' It was yum!

At least now I know I've eaten Keiseki.

[WSSS]

Food looks very appetising, makes me want to have a Kaiseki meal. Thanks for sharing.

[HUGE AL]

OUTSTANDING POST!

[jhm]

Thanks for the comments!

How much did that cost you ?

The restaurant is about 10 minutes walk from the Westin Miyako Kyoto where we were staying and so we made the dinner reservation through them.

I was told by the concierge that there's a choice of menus costing JPY 27,000, 32,000, 37,500, 44,000, 49,000 and 65,000 per person but all that they could tell me was "the difference of price is just a quality"!

So we went for the last one (with 2 days notice of cancellation required as the restaurant have to prepare ingredients etc) and went to the meal without any clue about what we were going to eat.

I was a bit surprised to find that there was no menu (not even in Japanese). I wanted a souvenir which I could later arrange to have translated into English and find out what on earth we ate! I asked through the hotel and the restaurant very kindly prepared one for me.

[Lobster]

Thanks for posting this - Very useful for me even if only to let me know to keep well clear of it - far too fishy for my liking.

[jjpb3]

jhm, awesome report. Hmmm, first that trip to France, now to Japan. What's next on the culinary tour?

phaleesy has a flair for photography, doesn't she? Please thank her for us.

[9V-JKL]

Another wonderful restaurant TR jhm

I've got to tag along with you one of these days on these culinary tour

[QSG]

65,000 per person

65,000 Yen is what the average person gets on their government pension per month. I have stayed at ryokan that were that much pp/pn but that included 2 meals/room/hotspring...........

[jhm]

Although I do somewhat enjoy Kaiseki ryouri I am just as comfortable going for day trip and just using the bath and having a nice lunch/snacks along the way....... (simple pleasures)!

Exactly the same sentiments which phaleesy and I have! Whilst kaiseki was an interesting experience to try and definitely a feast for the eyes, it was far too delicate and bland for our uneducated tastebuds! We enjoyed much more everyday stuff like okonomiyaki, slurping big steaming bowls of ramen, katsudon, yakitori and sake in a bar etc.