Akasaka Kikunoi - Kaiseki in Tokyo, May 26, 2023

Akasaka Kikunoi, a two star Michelin, is an offshoot of a famous Kyoto Kaiseki restaurant of the same name. Preparing this blog entry, I found an interview with the chef owner, Yoshihiiro Murata, who it turns out is the world’s only 7 star Michelin chef (!) - 3 stars for the Kyoto and 2 stars each for the two Tokyo locations. I guess I should have done even more research, but I picked it from a list of Kaiseki restaurants, liked the description and we lucked into getting a reservation for our last Friday night in Tokyo. I am stunned to have eaten at such an establishment. It merits is reputation.I believe that food it not just entertainment and Chef Murata creates wonder for the palate and the eyes. See the interview here. We took the “B” menu.

A discreet sign on a side street points the way to the courtyard.

The chefs counter seating was full, Friday night at 630pm

A large glass window behind the chefs counter looked out on the courtyard.

The menu was waiting at our seats, in English, accurately translated. The chef later said we should come back since the menu changes monthly.

The sake menu was minimalist, and no one was able to consul, so I went from less to more refined rice milling - junmai, daigingo, then two different junmai daigingo. The Jikon was solid, not overpowering but flavorful, well matched with the first courses. Chef counseled the Higan for the sashimi course. I gambled that the Kikunoi would be good and I was not wrong. The Dassai was the last bottle, and totally unlike other junmai daigingo, it was powerful and refined. I finished with a Hibiki Harmony (a japanese whisky very much in a Scottish Highlands/Macallan style). Beer and some European wines were available (most people were drinking beer, if anything. One pair were drinking soda pop……

Detail detail detail.When I think of Japan, that is what I think of first - attention to detail. The design was on the sake cup and even the paper band holder for the chopsticks. The design was on every chefs breast and then napkins….Dominique figured out later it was a Chrysanthemum, which a Chinese friend said the characters in the name resembled….I found a blog interview (link above) where Chef Murata said it means “chrysanthemum in the well”. The design was on the sake cup and even the paper band holder for the chopsticks.

The sake came in chilled metal carafe’s modeled on a large bamboo shoot.

Sakizuke - Japanese yam jellied with agar, octopus, shiso(perilla) spikes, wasabi jelly. Probably the best cooked octopus I have ever had in Korea or Japan (or Britany or USA). Agar features extensively in various japanese menus both savory, sauce and dessert/sweet.

Hassun - Assortment of appetizers: Tai (red sea bream) roe terrine, jade greenish eggplant served cool, egg yolk pickled in white miso, flowering cucumber, green onion rolled with marinated cutlass, edamame, taro potato, grilled shrimp with shrimp miso, green manganji pepper and clam with ginger. Presented with the cage for some presentation drama. The miso cured yolk we saved for last (Dominique noticed all the japanese diners saved it for last - good idea, it was a bomb of flavors and rich gooey egg yolk). The tai roe squares were delicious, not strong like salmon and not just salty like tobiko. But the star was the….cucumber flower! What a little marvel of flavor.

Mukouzuke (First) - The covered boat with vine contained a sashimi of shimaaji (yellow jack) and tai (red sea bream), pickled yellow Chinese chive, curled carrots, wasabi. Red seam bream (tai) featured all through the night.

Mukouzuke (Second) - Sashimi of blanched hamo (pike conger), plum soy sauce. We watched chef pretty much all night use that large heavy knife to prep the conger. He removed the spinal column, then went quickly across the fish to crush the tiny bones, all without piercing the skin, except at regular intervals to separate the pieces. Then they are placed in a steamer basket and the skin held in the boiling blanching liquid where the skin curls to make the form presented. What elegance and economy, using what is considered inedible (too many tiny bones), very like the “poor cuisine” of the Italians (cucina povera). The photo is lousy since we were told to not photograph the chefs faces so I was trying to be respectful and still get a image…..

Futamono - Anago (conger eel) tofu with jellied sauce of leaf buds, winter melon, miso powder, Japanese pepper. The wafer we are not clear what it was but you were supposed to soak it in the broth of the Anago tofu and winter melon. The Anago tofu was unlink anything we have ever seen - the tofu was fused with the conger, see the dark stripes between the white? That is the skin of the conger.

Yakimono - Salted grilled ayu(sweet fish), waterpepper vinegar. The four fish was the portion for two people. Earlier in the evening, they walked past diners and showed the fish jumping in the basket, a bit of showmanship.) (and notice the emblem on the sleeve of the sous chef). I ate my first one head to tail, sweet, no bitterness (the gills were removed and the head expertly cleaned to leave the sweet parts). I decided to the eat my second one tail to head. Yes, I left the skewer but I didn’t want too……

Naka-choku (First) - Junsai(water shield), cucumber, tomato, shiso(perilla) spikes. An ingenious palate cleanser, downed in a shot (sorry my iPhone focused improperly on the first picture). I did eat the maple leaf. Not recommended.

Naka-choku (Second) - Soft-shelled turtle steamed egg custard, prawn, green onions, ginger, macadamia nuts. A very sophisticated take on a favorite of mine, chawanmushi. The egg was creamy and custardy, covered in the agar holding the prawn other ingredients. I think the agar jelly helps control the heat distribution for the perfect custard, cream texture. The turtle egg was quite different than a chicken egg, more animal less yolky. Funky/gamey, just a bit? I liked it.

Shiizakana ~Simmered abalone with green seaweed, eggplant, green beans. The green seaweed broth was the best part (seriously, it was excellent). The abalone, while extremely generous (four to five large pieces), is not tasty in Asia (we have had it in Korea and in Japan). Dominique remembers tasty abalone in Brittany…but it has been functionally extinct for culinary purposes for many years….

Gohan & Tome-wan - Steamed Rice with Tai (red sea bream), leaf buds. New onion soup, Manganji pepper, baby onions, seven spice powder. The red bowl contained the New onion soup and was placed on the tray with some small pickles. The a sous-chef came out with the clay pot contained the whole fish cooked in the rice. He spent many minutes dissecting the fish, removing bones and fins (I still found one) and distributing the contents evenly in the rice. The rice by itself was superb (I really need to learn to cook rice properly) but the tai (the final presentation) was delicious, flavorful, fishlike but not fishy. I had seconds, and other people were taking theirs home in to go bags! I don’t think I could have got that bag through airport security - were returning home to Boston the next day :-( Sad Paul.

Mizumono - Brown sugar ice cream with smashed bean paste, agar-agar, strawberry, cherry, rice flour dumpling. I either hate desserts or dislike them for being too sweet. Not the ones we had in Japan. This was an elegant way to finish the meal (with a Hibiki Harmony of course!)

On the way to the bathroom I spotted a shelf of books…..I didn’t realized until I researched later just how renowned Chef Murata and the Kikunoi restaurants are and what they mean to the preservation, transmission and adaptation to Kaiseki. This counts as our fifth Kaiseki meal - twice in Kyoto’s “传辰” (on Google and Apple, it shown as Restaurant Kaishin - which we found by pure chance next to our hotel in 2017) and twice at Boston’s Kamakura with Chef Youji Iwakura. We bought the book upon returning home.