We were lucky enough to get a room at the Yama no Chaya Onsen in Hakone - which included a Kaiseki dinner, and our own rotenburo (outdoor bath) in our room.
Here is the meal.....
an appetizer of peach sake - this was incredibly smooth & was unlike any other sake we've ever had before. It tasted a lot like peach schnapps from Wild Brumby Distillery in Thredbo & was delicious.
S, J & I getting ready for dinner. The pots at the bottom of the table are to make rice with crab meat at our table - a very clever design. We are wearing our yukata from the onsen.
Saki-hassun course. L to R,
Back - grilled sea cucumber covered with chinese yam, Carrot Tofu with Suizenji seaweed and wasabi, Broccolini mixed with "Karasumi" (dried mullet roe) powder and mayonnaise.
Front - Prawn and egg yolk sushi, Pumpkin sponge cake, croquette (with purple perilla), steamed angler fish liver with basil and miso.
This course was amazing for the"wow" factor, and tasted delicious - I would eat all of this again. Just this course was worth the travel to Hakone.
Wanmori Course
Bonito clear soup with deep fried ebi-imo (shrimp potato), roasted duck, baby daikon radish and yuzu (Japanese citrus). This was a very delicate soup. S especially loved the duck. The daikon was turned beautifully (I saw the opposite of this turnip in Tokyo - the largest and most expensive turnip I've ever seen - for 900 yen - $9.00).
Tsukuri Course
Tuna and Sea bream sashimi. This course was light and delicate - a perfect palate cleanser. It was perfect (I'm a huge fan of sashimi, and this was exquisite).
Onmono Course
Broiled yellowtail with sweetened soy sauce and stewed turnip. Served with mushrooms, soymilk skin and salmon roe.
Yuzu Sherbet (sorbet) - this was a nice break halfway through the meal. I really wish we could get Yuzu more easily in Australia. It isn't the same as lemon or grapefruit, but has a very strong citrus flavour.
Shiizakana course - we were starting to get very full by this stage. This is stewed beef tongue with sleet sauce, with deep fried Japanese spiny lobster. Served with fried tofu, chinese cabbage, millet wheat gluten, red carrot (rather than orange) and asparagus.
Sunomono Course - roasted Mt Fuji Salmon and scallop with plum dressing. Served with potherb (I think they would be called micro herbs in Australia), chinese yam, broccoli and cheery tomato.
Shokuji course - rice with crab
Crab rice, pickles and miso soup.
Mizugashi course - strawberry and chocolate mousse (with mint leaves)
Sawa san our room attendant, whose english was excellent (she spent a semester of her university degree in Sydney!!).
The meal was AMAZING, although quite a lot of food. Given the cost it was a once in a lifetime meal, but we are sooo glad that we had the opportunity to take part in it.
Yama-no-chaya was amazing, and we would highly recommend staying there. You can see more information here
Yama-no-chaya
No comments:
Post a Comment