The last time we participated In Hiroshi's Kaiseki dinner was well over a year ago. Mainly because it's held on a Monday or Tuesday when it's nearly impossible for the Mrs and myself to get out of work on time. But Ashley convinced us that the menu looked great at a previous visit to Vino so we gave in and made reservations for two. I brought a bottle of 1989 Schonborn Nussbrunen Riesling with me for the Mrs (and also for the lobster course) and I also had the meal with Chuck's wine pairings - too much wine is usally a good thing. Of course, the Mrs requested a plate of the rice crackers with pepperoncini aioli.
We then started with the Grilled Asparagus with taki karaage on miso sauce with chili "air". I always liked re-fried tako and think it's one of the mostly unknown delights. Just toss leftover tako poke with rice flour and pan fry. This version was so tender, you didn't need teeth to indulge and Chuck's medium dry Gysler Sylvaner was a perfect pairing even with the grilled asparagus.
We then moved on to the Oio Dumplings with fish caught by Chef Iha served with a spiced "pho" broth with fresh herbs. Tender morsels of fish cake with a five-spice infused broth!
Next up was the Crispy Skin Island Mackeral or Akule with sugar peas and hearts of palm with a lime butter sauce. I normally just pan fry akule and have it with shoyu and rice so this was a nice twist on home cooking and the Birichino Malvasia Bianco had enough body for the oily fleshed fish.
The 4th course was Butter Poached Kona Lobster on cauliflower puree with forbidden black rice. nate wasn't kidding when he said the tails were like large shrimp... about 16 to 20 size but it was nice and rich none-the-less though I think my aged Riesling paired better than the Domaine Skouras "Zoe".
Following the shellfish was Shichimi Seared Ahi with a pancetta and apple stuffed squash blossom and it was paired with a Henri Fessy Morgon beaujolais. While the ahi was great, I don't think the beaujolais added anything to the dish.
The next course was a Seared Island Snapper on tomato yuzu jus with a konbu musubi. The snapper skin was nice and crispy but the tomato jus dominated the other flavors and the konbu clashed with the Hugl Gruner Veltliner that was paired with the dish.
Rounding out the third of the meal was the Kulana Beef "Donburi" almost like a teri beef loco moco with brown rice on the bottom and a sunny side quail egg on top. The CF medium dry Riesling held up to the sweet teri beef flavors while the acid cleansed the palate between bites.
The last savory was Chazuke with an ume musubi top with flaked grilled kampachi surrounded by a luxurious truffled green tea. I could have had a saimin sized bowl of this! Good enough to tip the bowl to get every drop of the broth.
Dessert was a Honey Macadamia Nut Bavarois-Chocolate Cake. Almost like a twist on the classic tiramisu but a tad bit sweeter. But still easy to finish even after 8 courses. And that toffee tuile in the cake... SO GOOD, we told one of the managers that Hiroshi should offer a plate full of tuiles with chocolate dipping sauce and a regular dessert!
So the Kaiseki dinners are just as good as I remember them. Of course, they're only offered once a quarter so you do have to keep your eye open in the Hiroshi e-mail newsletters and who knows? We may attempt to get home on time another 12 Tuesdays from now...
Comments