I like going to Japan, just like most HK people, and one thing I continuously look forward is to enjoy the kaiseki meals staying in the ryokan, with the wide range of food and dishes, both hot and cold, featuring seasonal ingredients and lots of artistic presentations. Back in HK, besides sushi, I also love to visit kappou, and Nagamoto is the one I go most often.
Located on 8/F of 18 On Lan Street, the staff warmly greets us when we step out from the elevator. Some can call us by name as we have been here a few times, and one as recently as a couple of weeks before. Seated at the end of the L-shaped counter, and after waiting a bit for other customers to arrive, the dinner then starts.
After enjoying the special Zuwai-Gani Dinner early in the month, this time they are featuring back the December Shun Menu 師走の献立 ($2,680 each). I have a bottle of Jikon 而今 特別純米 無濾過生酒 ($2,080). The sake has a nice rich rice fragrance, the sweetness on the palate is well-balanced from its acidity. Very pleasant and easy to match with food.
Soon the appetizer 先付 is served, featuring Kobako-Gani 香箱蟹外子餡掛け. With the shell and claw of the female snow crab as decoration, the chef has meticulously removed the crab meat, with some seasonal shungiku, celery and ginger on top, and pour a vinegar mixed with crab roes. The delicate taste of crab meat, the poppy and savoury crab roes, and the refreshing acidity of the vinegar, offers a great combination of flavours. A fantastic start.
While we enjoy the crab, Chef Nagamoto prepares dashi, shaving bonito flakes and putting them into boiling water briefly to extract umami flavours. The dashi is then used for clear soup 煮物椀, featuring Seasonal Nodoguro Grilled with Sake and Salt, as well as Yodo-Daikon 旬魚酒塩焼 淀大根. Upon opening the lid there is a nice yuzu fragrance from the peel. The bluefish has rich fish oil, tender and full of flavours. The crown daisy, carrot and turnip not only give variation in colour and texture, but it is also healthy and wholesome.
The sashimi on the day 本日のお造り includes a wide assortment of fresh and delicious seafood. Hirame has a nice bite with mild and delicate flavours, together with a small piece of prized engawa. Hotategai has been lightly seared and paired with ginger to highlight its sweetness. Aori-Ika has wonderful tenderness, rich in umami and sweetness. Uni is sweet and high quality, while Akami and Toro demonstrates the smooth texture and the delicious rich fish oil of the tuna accordingly. Apart from wasabi and shiso, there are some touches of beauty like red radish to make the whole experience both great in taste and visual.
Finishing the sashimi, we can see the artworks on the plates. In fact, these are modeled after Karuta 歌留多, the traditional Japanese card game, featuring poems, paintings, and proverbs, and the players are to quickly matching cards. The team tells us this set of plates are only used for December, and we applaud the effort to weave in and highlight their culture in the whole dining experience.
Then comes 御凌ぎ, traditionally a Small Dish serving in the middle of a kaiseki meal. 煮穴子飯蒸し has the conger eel grilled with the soy sauce to a nice golden brown colour but not having any burnt marks, on top of steamed glutinous rice which absorbs the oil from the eel for a fantastic taste, plus a bit of Japanese pepper, sansho, to season for its unique fragrance and special prickling.
Hassun 八寸 is always an important element in kaiseki, to showcase the seasonal ingredients. 七福菜盛り あんかけ is a stew in thick dashi sauce comprising seven ingredients with ‘luck’ in the name, including pumpkin, lotus root, carrot, gingko, agar, green beans, sea cucumber. 鮟肝 金柑卸し 甲南漬 has the delicious monkfish liver paired with iconic narazuke, and some mashed radish with kumquat dressings, with good balance. いくら卸し 出汁巻玉子 is chef’s signature tamagoyaki, very delicious with the umami dashi flavours combined well with the egg, plus some ikura and mashed radish as complement.
The Deep-Fried Dish 揚物 has 雲子天婦羅 海老芋 子持昆布. The batter of all the tempura is thin, not feeling oily. The large piece of cod milt has creamy texture, without any weird taste, to go with the dipping sauce. Ebi-imo is a specialty taro from Kyoto, having a curved shape and strips on the skin like prawn, with a wonderful soft texture. On the skewer is komochi kombu, crunchy herring roes sticking to kelp, which has been breaded to deep-fry. Another piece not on menu is Yukishita, an herbal plant which has medicinal properties to remove the greasy mouthfeel.
Coming to Special Course 進肴, featuring 松葉蟹 キャビア 聖護院蕪酢漬. Using sliced, vinegar-marinated Kyoto turnip, the chef has wrapped the snow crab leg meat inside. On top there are some prized caviar, shiso flowers, and vinegar jelly, making a very harmonious dish that can highlight the delicate taste of crab, and having good acidity to freshen the palate for the main course.
Main Course 鉢物 is Wagyu Shabu-Shabu 和牛しゃぶ吹雪餡かけ. Seeing the beautiful A5 Miyagi wagyu beef thinly sliced, with a nice spread of the ‘snowflakes’ fat is already mouth-watering. Cooking it in shabu shabu, it is paired with Japanese leek and mizuna, or Japanese mustard greens, together with a thick clear sauce made from turnip. With a bit of wasabi as condiment, the beef is surreal in taste, matching well with the vegetables and not feeling any fattiness at all.
Rice 食事 features 鰤大根釜飯 漬物 味噌汁, with the rice cooked in traditional clay pot, highlighting the seasonal buri, or yellowtail, which signifies advancement in Japan culture. The rice is very fragrant, with some crisps, and included sesame and pickled daikon mixing. Together with miso soup and pickles, it is so good that I cannot help but finish four bowls in one go.
Dessert 甘味と抹茶 is 季節の果物 和菓子. With some seasonal fruit including pear, blueberry, mandarin orange, and grapefruit, coupled with champagne jelly. The other one is the traditional Japanese wagashi. The chef takes a lot of effort to pound and knead the rice paste, rolling it to a thin sheet to wrap a sweet strawberry and red bean paste, before dusting it with icing sugar. Finishing all we are served the matcha, in the traditional manner, to complete a great meal with satisfaction and content.
Service is very good, and the staff are very friendly, eager to chat with us, explaining the dishes, and because we are regular now, they are relaxed and happy to have casual conversations. The bill on the night is $8,184. With their high-quality food and overall fantastic experience, I would rate this restaurant an Excellent 88 points. Must try.
沒有留言:
張貼留言