He Ate, She Ate: September 2010

I am in HK for the weekend and living life as a complete tai-tai. Of course I had to meet my friend who is the authority on venues for power breakfasts and tai-tai high teas. He was the one who introduced me to breakfast at Mandarin Oriental's intimate Cafe Causette.

Today, he arranged for a table at Cafe Grey located on the 49th floor of one of the nicest new boutique hotels, The Upper House. The Hotel sits above the JW Marriott at Pacific Place. It used to be the Atrium serviced apartments but it has been transformed by local designer Andre Fu into a beautiful modern Asian offering with all the latest gadgets and amenities (except a pool).

There are two choices for the tea set and I opted for the simpler option which meant raspberry scones, salmon rolls on pumpernickel squares and a choice of beverage (Earl Grey Tea). The more elaborate set included a selection of finger sandwiches.

We had a small table at the lounge area which meant that nobody else was there as it was too early for drinks. Through the duration of our tea, I was treated to a magnificent view of the HK Harbor and Kowloon as we chatted. It was a real treat that all self-respecting ladies of leisure should absolutely indulge in.

Ah, food, glorious food! I'm talking about Kyoto-style kaiseki dinners fit for an emperor. A friend of mine told me that the owner of Sushi Oyama had opened a new kaiseki restaurant in Shanghai recently, and since I had no plans this Saturday night, I thought it would be the perfect indulgence for the weekend.

I arrived at Kappo Yu's doorstep by taxi, the entrance stood out uncharacteristically from the rest of the neighborhood's facade with its Japanese lanterns, wooden sliding door and bamboo trees lining both sides of the entrance. It reminded me of the quaint little Japanese restaurants I visited when I was in Kyoto. Expectations were high, and I kept my fingers crossed as I walked through the entrance.

I found myself in a tiny restaurant, with a counter that accommodated no more than 10 patrons at a time. There were two other private rooms to the right, and both seemed occupied already. The waitress greeted me politely in Japanese and led me to the sole empty chair at the main counter. I was glad I had made a reservation earlier.

Since this was a kaiseki restaurant, there was only one fixed priced tasting menu for the evening. I requested for a copy of the menu, which the waitress brought, and explained to me the slight changes that they had made for the evening's presentation based on the availability of fresh ingredients that day.

And so it began. First up was the amuse bouche of asparagus brulee with uni and sweet soy sauce. Next, fresh octopus with yam strips. Third, the botan shrimp and sesame tofu tempura. The sesame tofu tempura was especially delicious with a nice roasted sesame flavor.

Fourth, a Japanese salad of Ryukyu style horse mackerel with daikon radish sprouts. The fifth and one of my favorite courses was sashimi, fresh tuna and mackerel pike flown in daily from Japan. The tuna was of a very high grade, something that I've rarely come across in most sushi restaurants anywhere.

The sixth dish was broiled black cod with broth. This was a little overcooked, but very well marinated. Next up was a soup, creamy cauliflower cold soup with yuku jelly. Excellent! My eighth dish was toro steak with foie gras teriyaki mustard sauce. The toro was lightly seared on the outside and still raw in the center, and the earthy sauce with chunks of foie gras complimented the toro perfectly.

Next up was cold Inaniwa udon, served in a chilled bowl of ponzu sauce, and was very refreshing. And the final tenth dish was abalone rice mixed with abalone liver, with juicy morsels of fresh abalone, accompanied by a miso soup.

The quality of the meal presentation was exceptional, I was so impressed with almost all the dishes, that I dare say this meal came very close to my experience at Kikunoi in Kyoto. No easy feat to accomplish for a new restaurant barely months old. I also learned that the menu changed every two weeks or so, based on the seasonal ingredients available each week. I thanked the chef, Terada-san and walked out feeling a very happy man. One of the waitresses accompanied me to the street corner and thanked me again for coming. I think I'll be back.