Kaiseki is a traditional Japanese full course meal. We don’t have it very often, only on formal occasions. Recently I had it in a nice Japanese restaurant. You could feel fall in these beautiful seasonal dishes. We celebrated my tea ceremony teacher’s 77th birthday there, and we had a great time. I’d like to share pictures of the elegant meal today.
Sakizuke(先付け)
Sakizuke means appetizer. In this picture you can see a nice appetizer called ”Milfieu of the sea bream with napa cabbage”. On top of the dish is tosazu jelly. It tastes a little bit sweeter than Ponzu.
Wanmono(碗物)
Wanmono means bowl with lid. You can eat soup or cooked vegetable in this elegant bowl. Here you see simple soy sauce soup with Hanpen fish. You could smell a fresh citrus fragrance similar to Yuzu in the bowl. This dish is a sign of early winter.
Mukouzuke(向付け）
Mukouzuke is Sashimi. There was bonito, spanish mackerel, etc. It was nicely decorated! There are many types and names of fish in Japan, but most can not be translated into English. It is a shame, but I would like you to know that there are many types of fish in my country each season.
Hachisakana(鉢肴）
Hachisakana means grilled fish. Pictured here is grilled Spanish mackerel with saikyo miso. Saikyo miso is sweet, and it originates in Kyoto.
Hassunn(八寸）
Hassun is food with sake. We enjoyed this great course in the restaurant. It was really unique dish that looked like a flower arrangement! Amazing! Each person shared food from this big dish.
Shokuji(食事)
Shokuji consists of rice, soup,and pickles. The waitress brought us a big rice pot, and she served the root vegetable rice to each person. The soup was a little bit strange for me. It was Miso soup with Aosa, and squid legs! It was first time I had ever eaten squid in miso soup!
Mizugashi(水菓子）
Mizugashi is dessert. It is common to eat fruit and sweets. But this was a bit of a surprise because it was a salty-sweet dessert. It was called “miso yastuhashi.” This was a challenge for me to eat… It left me with a confusing taste in my mouth.
We really enjoyed Kaiseki there. here is a link of the restaurant. You should visit the restaurant if you come to Ise or Matusaka in Japan!
