Hakuunsou in Hakone

While researching on ryokans in Japan, I came across a quaint little traditional ryokan deep in the mountains of Hakone called Hakuunsou. It was tiny, not situated in one of the more popular tourist towns in Hakone, and had a little river running beside it. Sounded like the perfect getaway for a night out of Tokyo.

Of course, my second reason for staying in a ryokan had always been about the food, the exquisite kaiseki cuisine presentation that unfolds ceremoniously over dinner in the tatami bedroom. The reviews about the food at Hakuunsou were all very positive, so I made the travel arrangements with the help of the Hyatt concierge, and left for Hakone.

After arriving in the town of Yugawara, I caught the local taxi to Hakuunsou. It was already dark by the time we arrived, and it was only 4:45PM in the afternoon. After checking in, I was ushered to the room, where the staff proceeded to give a detailed overview of the room, facilities, the do's and don'ts of staying in a ryokan, and finally requesting for the preferred time of my dinner.

Dinner 

Since this is a food blog, I'll keep the details to both the dinner and breakfast services. Both were equally elaborate, showcased the seasonal ingredients, yet were very different in terms of taste and presentation. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Breakfast

Details of Hakuunsou can be found at www.ryokancollection.com.

Hot oil heaven

I had been doing my research into tempura restaurants in Tokyo recently, and was fortunate enough to get a lunch reservation for this Tuesday at one of the best tempura restaurants in Tokyo - Mikawa. We had time for a nice long lunch before catching the train to Hakone that day, so a tempura set lunch was the perfect fit.

Since we were staying in Roppongi, I decided to make the reservation at the Roppongi Hills branch of Mikawa. Chef Saotome-san's wife runs this tiny joint with no name and a crew of three. So reservations had to be made almost two weeks in advance to get a table by the counter.

The restaurant can be a bit tricky to locate, but with the help of my iPhone 4's GPS, I was able to pinpoint the exact location very quickly as I walked towards Roppongi Hills. There was no signboard outside the restaurant, save for a very beautiful and distinctive golden mural of swallows in mid flight over a field of irises. In the center of the mural was a tiny Japanese sliding door, and when pulled back slowly, beckons one into the gastronomic realm of top notch tempura cuisine, accompanied by the sounds of greetings from the staff awaiting your arrival.

In this tiny but elegant restaurant, there were only eight counter seats, plus 2 small tables on the side with seating for four person each. The brightly lit yet intimate setting that put us at ease as the scent of freshly prepared tempura wafted through the tiny restaurants and set our stomachs growling.

Mikawa serves Edomae style tempura, classic fresh seafood and vegetables from the local area served during the Edo era, freshly caught and prepared just hours before cooking. The set lunch was 9000yen per person, which was to include various courses of seafood, a vegetable dish, miso soup and dessert. I ordered a beer and sat back to watch the young chef do his magic.

There were about eight courses for lunch, each piece freshly prepared, fried and served piping hot in front of each patron. The shrimps were still twitching when the chef started peeling off their shells and dipping them in flour. These were the sweetest tempura shrimps I had ever eaten.

The conger eel was placed in front of my serving plate, and with a fast crack of his steel chopsticks, the chef broke the eel into two crispy pieces in a flash, while steam wafted slowly from the exposed meat. I wished I had caught that on camera.

Another amazing course was the squid, so fresh that it almost melted in my mouth like soft butter as I sank my teeth into it. Tastewise, there was no mistaking the freshness of ingredients as I bit into each piece of seafood. The food was so delicious I did not use any of the seasonings on my serving plate. It was just pure finger lickin' good.

As I paid up and walked out the door, the images of those fried morsels on my plate kept flashing through my mind, as I tried to recapture those tiny little moments when I discovered each delicious piece of seafood and lingered over every next bite. Mikawa's meticulously executed lunch presentation truly elevated frying to an art form. I could have gone back for dinner that very same night, but we had a train to catch.

Mikawa is at: Roppongi Hills Residence B, 6-12-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Tel: (03) 3423 8100. The original location in Kayabacho is still run by Saotome-san himself. Reservations essential.

Tofu kaiseki under the shadow of the Tokyo Tower

For lunch today, I decided to book a room at Shiba Tofu-ya Ukai, a quaint Japanese restaurant with a magnificent traditional Japanese garden in the middle. As this week was still early winter, the Japanese maple trees in the garden were still bright red and golden, and the fall colors were still on display throughout the garden grounds and around the pond. 

We passed the gift shop selling all things tofu, and walked into the main entrance of the restaurant. The main lobby was beautiful, an old structure with dark wooden beams across the ceiling and dark wood floors. To one side were three rooms for tea ceremonies, one even had a pot boiling over the charcoal stove.

Our waitress, clad in kimono and speaking fluent English, led us down the winding corridors into a different wing of the restaurant, past small garden displays and to our private dining room. The room was large enough for four patrons, with a full view of the garden. In the summer time, the glass door could be kept open to allow the patrons to enjoy the fresh air and take in the serene landscape before their eyes.

Not feeling to hungry, we ordered the lighter of the two set meals, the Take course, at 5500yen per person.
Our waitress returned shortly with copies of the menu in English, and then set the table for our lunch. And so our gastronomic adventure began.

The lunch menu consisted of tofu prepared in different ways, each course a tasty delight in itself. The standout was the cooked silken tofu in seasoned tofu milk. The tofu milk broth was full of flavor and tasted as good as some of the best pork tonkatsu ramen broth I've had the pleasure of trying. Simply amazing. 

So, now I've found two very good tofu restaurants in Tokyo, Goemon for a cold winter's night feasting over a hot pot, and Tofu-ya Ukai for some extravagant kaiseki dining in the midst of one of the most beautiful traditional gardens in the city. And just hidden away under the Tokyo Tower, no less.

Matsukan in Roppongi Hills

First night in town, and I just couldn't wait to eat a very good local meal. Since it was Sunday night, most of the well known sushi restaurants were closed because the market was not open that day, so I had to consult the Grand Hyatt concierge for some recommendations.

The concierge personally recommended Matsukan, which she said was excellent for sushi, and not too pricey as well.

A brisk fifteen minute walk down Roppongi Hills later, we were standing outside a tiny little restaurant with a blue cloth banner covering the entrance. There was no English name displayed in front of the restaurant, but I was able to make out the Japanese characters for the restaurant.

The hotel had reserved counter seats for us, and we squeezed into the last 2 seats there. The counter, like most sushi counters, were manned by the head chef and a team of younger chefs, each serving a group of patrons. I requested for the sushi omakase set, and kicked back and waited for the action to begin.

First up was the cold Hokkaido snow crab, cut into quarters, and served with ponzu sauce on the side.

The the fresh oyster dish came quickly after, and served with a thin lemon wedge. The oyster was very fresh, and I wished they had given us more than one piece per person. While I was still lingering over the thoughts of oysters, the fish roe dish over citrus sauce was brought before us.

The fish roe tasted like steamed delicate foie gras. Really yummy. Next came the fried baby fish and sardine. This was also very well prepared and seasoned lightly with salt.

As we proceeded into the sushi section of the meal, out came the horse mackerel, then squid, followed by ark shell, abalone, seared toro, anago (sea eel), and a bowl of miso soup. The seared toro was so good that when the chef asked if we were full, I said we were almost there, but wanted a round of the toro again. This time, he gave us a more generous slice of the wonderfully layered meat. That, to me, was the dessert.