an artful japanese feast

this past weekend we had an 8 course meal at a restaurant in Kanazawa, and it was, perhaps, the most artful feast of my life. a meal worth writing about.

it made me realize how we don’t get full simply with food, but with everything, all the senses, all the dimensions — form, shape, and tactility of materials (wood, glass, light, dark), temperature, lighting, and of course, the visual experience itself: like being at an edible art museum, but with service.

you touch with the eyes before you touch with the tongue.

and when you feast, you should feast with all the senses. to fully savor. that is what it means to be human. so, allow me to show you.

I.

the alcohol

it begins with umeshu — japanese plum liquer — though I must admit I prefer karen’s homemade umeshu, made with whiskey. but this is the most beautiful glass I have ever seen — the way the light falls on the sparkling amber liquid, placed on a rough wooden coaster and with a little silvery thread underneath. like drinking from a jewel.

we ordered a bottle of sake, which was served to us in a blue tinged cloudy glass jar. we were presented with a plate of little sake glasses, and had the luxury of choosing our own vessel. this sake tasted like a rain cloud got drund, its essence put through a distillery, then bottled for pleasure.

II.

the meal

we played a game where we made up poetic dish names for every course, with accompanying stories.

here are my names.

course 1.

"bird nest under spring tent"

the first course arrived covered by a leaf with droplets of dew. droplets of dew!! it was shocking in the most pleasing way — the initial surprise of looking a leaf as food, admiring it, wondering what’s inside, then uncovering it — the most simply elegant orchestration I’ve ever experienced.

why don’t we look at leaves the way we look at food? why not?

unfortunately, the soup itself was beautiful, but not outstanding in terms of taste — squash soup made from local vegetables, with fish.

course 2.

“sea storm pond catch”

the salt came first. on a tiny ceramic plate, and it looked like the circular debris from a seaside thunderstorm. I am especially fond of exquisite detail paired with the rough, raw, organic look.

then came an assortment of sashimi in a carefully composed arrangement, with plum sauce, creamy shrimp, and very beautiful, delicate water eggplant. I admired its pattern in the light.

course 3.

“frog pillow in lacquer well”

one seafood-y tofu ball served in a clear broth, with a beautiful green fern floating in the surface. reminds me of being a frog (in my past life, of course) looking up from the bottom of a red lacquer well. oh, someone threw in a pillow! this is where I shall lay my head down.

course 4.

“desert dream, rain goddess”

the landscape of this ceramic plate reminded me of the desert — but on it laid the bounty of the sea. thus, I decided that this is what the desert nomads dream about when they pray to the rain goddess — to be served a watery feast. an artful arrangement of things I cannot remember the names of. inside the tent-like bowl is squid.

course 5.

"mermaid's vanity brooch"

it opens up and contains all the oceanic beauty products (natural and organic, of course) she uses to keep herself looking lovely. containing: picked squash and purple potato (?) seaweed at the bottom.

course 6.

"sea cave, seal wife"

I decided that this is comfort food cooked by the seal wife for her fisherman husband. contains: crab meat, tofu glutenous thing, wild mountain vegetables, a cloudy eggy liquid

course 7.

“sea king dreams of snow”

the last two courses were sushi, of course. we were presented with a warm towel and a hot cup of green tea. with cold sushi. the night air was cooler now. this play on temperature made me very excited.

this is what the sea king eats when he tries to imagine what it’s like to be in a world with snow. a simple, understated finish.

course 8.

“the sea king’s brother plots mutiny”

then the sea king brother plots mutiny (in his dream). he wants control of the sea throne. so hence, this fish is almost violently sliced.

course 9.

the palette cleanser

“decoy heart of plum queen”

the last palette cleanser is a traditional, condensed yuzu sweet served with a glass of sake. so, I decided that this is what the plum queens offers her suitors — she intoxicates them with a glass of sake, then gives them her decoy heart (decoy, because it’s made from yuzu, not plum).

in case you were wondering, the entire meal was 14000 yen (~70 usd per person). there were only 6 seats in this restaurant the entire night (partially due to COVID distancing). and I thought to myself: I really respect businesses like this, that are so focused on the art of their craft, that they don’t even try to scale. this is what I think of when I think of “business” — the kind of business I would want to run. afterwards, the chef came out and bowed to us as we left the restaurant. it was one of the only three or four meals I’ve had out in my three months in japan — and totally a feast that will inspire me for a lifetime.