{"id":355,"date":"2013-08-09T14:26:33","date_gmt":"2013-08-09T14:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ipalchemist.com\/blog\/?p=355"},"modified":"2013-09-14T17:39:04","modified_gmt":"2013-09-14T17:39:04","slug":"the-fujiya-hotel-3-kaiseki-dinner-at-kikka-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ipalchemist.com\/blog\/the-fujiya-hotel-3-kaiseki-dinner-at-kikka-so\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fujiya Hotel 3 – Kaiseki Dinner at Kikka-so"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even though the Fujiya is not, as I have said, Western, but rather Western-influenced Japanese, it seems it could not stay even that way for long, and so after WW II it annexed a Japanese-style lodging that became the Kikka-so Inn. \u00a0Apparently the building was originally built as an Imperial villa in 1895 and was used by the Imperial royal family until it was purchased by the Fujiya. \u00a0It must have been very odd in the first half of the 20th century having Japanese royalty staying just metres away from a busy resort hotel that was actively attracting customers from all over Japan and the world. So, having eaten my first night at the flagship restaurant of the hotel which served exquisite French food (of which alas no photos were taken), tonight it was off to the Kikka-so for a Japanese kaiseki dinner. Kaiseki is basically a tasting menu that is reminiscent of nouvelle cuisine because of the simple fact that it inspired it. \u00a0It has very strict rules, however, and the courses follow a set and predictable order. \u00a0The food is highly seasonal, and so if you have a kaiseki dinner at two completely different establishments on consecutive days, you will likely find remarkable similarities in what you receive. I am no expert, but I think that the basic order generally runs something like this (the terms are my own): Pre-appetiser Appetiser Soup (usually clear) Sashimi Grilled dish Steamed dish Fried dish Vinegared dish Rice, miso soup, pickles Dessert (usually fruit and\/or sorbet) But look it up on ‘tinternet if you want to know more. \u00a0(By the way I am not talking about the “kaiseki” which has something to do with the kanji for “stone” and is related to the tea ceremony – as my Japanese teacher always used to say – “different kanji”). I have never before photographed an entire kaiseki meal, but this seemed the perfect chance as I was by myself. \u00a0Also, somewhat unexpectedly, I was in a private room “Sazanka” which was delightful. \u00a0So here is the story in pictures and brief explanation.<\/p>\n

The room “Sazanka” in the Kikka-so Inn<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \"Pre-appetiser\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Pre-appetiser<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0The pre-appetiser contained crab, corn tofu and a small slice of corn, aloe (which I think is the gelatinous material on the top) and balsamic vinegar.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Appetiser\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0Appetiser<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0The appetiser is a plateful of little mouthfuls of gorgeousness. \u00a0At the back, covered in a strip of apple, is a piece of sushi with (apparently) barracuda on the top. \u00a0The maple leaf is just for decoration.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Soup\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Soup<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0The soup is usually clear, but this one was not. \u00a0In the middle is a ball of rice cake containing fish. \u00a0There is a translucent green vegetable that I think is taro stem.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Sashimi\"<\/a>Sashimi<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Sashimi is raw fish (sushi isn’t – it may include raw fish but it is the rice underneath that is characteristically sushi). \u00a0Bottom left is the bowl of soya sauce for dipping. \u00a0Tuna is almost always present, and you can see it there on the right. \u00a0I think the one on the left is called suzuki but I am open to correction. \u00a0And yes that is a slice of radish with the middle cut out that you can see on top. \u00a0Sashimi is almost always served on top of thinly sliced daikon (giant radish) with a shiso leaf on top, which is edible and delicious. \u00a0The green blob is wasabi – Japanese horseradish.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Grilled<\/a><\/p>\n

Grilled dish<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the top was a delicious confection of abalone, cheese and edamame (kind of bean) served in the abalone shell. I was assured that it contained “bonito guts” but this ingredient did not stand out. \u00a0On the left the pink thing is lily bulb coated in plum paste, and the red thing in the middle is a pickled sour plum. \u00a0On the right is aubergine with miso paste.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Stgeamed<\/a><\/p>\n

Steamed dish – covered<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \"Steamed<\/a><\/p>\n

Steamed dish – uncovered<\/strong><\/p>\n

This steamed dish was a cold one. \u00a0It looked so lovely with the pretty paper cover that I photographed it like that, and then close-up with the cover off. \u00a0The fish is called “hamo”, which I think is a kind of eel, and that is a shiitake that you can see. \u00a0The sauce was delicious and contained sesame and other yummies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Fried<\/a><\/p>\n

Fried dish<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0The fried dish was a delight. \u00a0The beans are apparently not edamame but gindan – ginkgo nuts. \u00a0The thing on the top, surprisingly, was a kind of rice cracker. \u00a0At the back was a piece of eel, and underneath are two slices of sweet potato, stuffed with some kind of minced prawn, and then fried.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Vinegared<\/a><\/p>\n

Vinegared dish<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was not a triumph. \u00a0On the top you can see a scallop which was quite nice, and there was a chilli sauce which was interesting, but the whole thing sat in a slimy sauce and the translucent gelatinous thing you can see is konyaku, which is really best left uneaten.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Nearly<\/a><\/p>\n

Nearly the end<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0You know you are nearly at the end of a Japanese meal when they serve the rice, miso soup and pickles. \u00a0This time the miso soup was replaced by a clear soup, unusually, but you can’t see that because I took the photograph with the lid on. \u00a0Today’s pickles featured ginger, aubergine, and melon. \u00a0No, really.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Dessert\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Dessert<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0And then the dessert tray. \u00a0Fruit, green tea, and a lovely ice-cold towel. \u00a0(Did I say I have been sweltering all day? \u00a0NEVER come to Japan in the summer.)<\/p>\n

So that, folks, is a kaiseki meal. \u00a0Gochisou-sama deshita.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even though the Fujiya is not, as I have said, Western, but rather Western-influenced Japanese, it seems it could not …
keep reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,12],"tags":[64,55,63,62],"class_list":["post-355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leisure","category-travel","tag-dinner","tag-fujiya-hotel","tag-kaiseki","tag-kikka-so"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ipalchemist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ipalchemist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ipalchemist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ipalchemist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ipalchemist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.ipalchemist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":379,"href":"https:\/\/www.ipalchemist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355\/revisions\/379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ipalchemist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ipalchemist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ipalchemist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}