Hanasaki is an absolutely beautiful place. Every corner here, filled with traditional Japanese aesthetics, takes my breath away. It feels like travelling back in time when walking through the hallway with stone pathway illuminated by Japanese lanterns on the floor. The corridor, furnished with bamboos, stone lamps, wooden floor and walls, feels like a corridor of a classy Japanese hall.
The private Japanese dining room, aka washitsu, makes me silently squeak in delight upon entering it through the traditional fusuma door. The room has a large window that looks into the absolutely beautiful Japanese zen garden outside. It’s a serene, soothing, unique Japanese experience to sit at the low dining table, on the tatami mat and look at the meticulously and artistically crafted Japanese garden.
We have Kaiseki dinner set meal where we get to try dishes prepared via different types of Japanese traditional cooking methods. The food is good and tasty.
The service is awesome too. The experience here is one-of-a-kind and definitely worth a special trip to here.
The Quintet of Appetisers
Deep Fried Shiromi served cold with pickles tastes very refreshing. A good start.
Cream cheese with sweet potato is sweet and slightly crumbly. I like the unique texture.
Ebi is briny sweet and nice.
First bowl of vegetables is appetite whetting, with a hint of zest.
Second bowl of vegetables is very tasty.
Chawamushi here surprises me, in a good way, just when I thought I wouldn’t be surprised by a chawamushi. Served cold, the silky smooth egg custard has a bit of vegetable short fibers added for firmer texture that goes well with the ikura.
Fresh sashimi of Tai, Maguro, Shima Aji and Hokkigai. Hokkigai is my favourite due to its crunchy texture and milky briny sweetness.
Suimono of Soup Yuzu with Crab Cake and Fish Cake tastes so refreshing and full of clear umami. The crab cake is oh-so-good, it’s like it’s made up of 90% crab and 10% flour. The light briny sweetness condensed into a cake is out of this world. Every bite, where fine strands of crab meat is packed with the goodness of soup, of this makes me go, “Wow! Definitely my favourite dish of the night.
Yakimono features kinmedai that is very well-prepared to yield firm, slightly creamy flesh. It goes very well with the savoury togarashi.
Crunchy sweet potato chips.
Minced chicken is okay.
Interesting kelp rolled with fish cake.
Nimono, aka simmered dish, is light yet full of subtle flavours and different textures. The salmon is surprisingly good and the tofu-like item is firm with a slight bit of chewiness, I love it. The daikon is refreshing, this a perfect addition to this dish.
Nice miso soup.
Kamameshi showcases starchy, fluffy rice packed with briny sweetness and goodies.
I like the pickles that refreshes the palates, especially burdock pickles.
Lemon cake and fruits. Actually the lemon part is really from the piece of candied lemon placed onto of the cake. It’s still nice though.
Thoughts: Fantastic traditional Japanese setting and Good traditional Kaiseki
Japan, 〒605-0074 Kyoto, Higashiyama Ward, 祇園町南側570−17
