Having an great lunch at a popup by @restaurantkabi, where Shohei Yasuda (owner chef) and Kentaro Emoto (owner sommelier) have given the lunch menu over to a group of young cooks: Chef Masaki Tai, 23 (ex #Shokuninkan, a soba noodle place) while all the others chefs with him are from 23-25; while in the evening chef Atsuki Kuroda (ex sous at @Maaemo Norway) to test-bed a new menu for a new restaurant opening in February 2020. All this I’m told by sommelier Sumiya Omori (a pizza cook turned wine man ex Melbourne’s @lazerpig @fratelliparadiso)
Sourdough bread made in-house: great texture though flavour could do with more acidity and guts (and less flour on the crust, but that’s more a pet niggle of mine).
Started with Carrot, Apple, Coriander: a salad of okra, coriander, rocket, mizuna, peppers, roasted apple and carrot, with a dressing of warm coconut milk simmered with bay leaf and fig leaf oil, kale powder. All vegetables from friends farm in Shizuoka.
Sanma, Tomato, Tsurumurasaki: Tomato and muscle broth with crushed potato, chive flowers and buds, fresh dill, tsurumurasaki leaves, beer battered and fried Japanese swordfish (sanma), grilled fresh green pepper.
Harami, Pine, Pumpkin: charcoal grilled skirt steak (harami) with fermented mushroom broth and basil leaves, with smoking pine on top, alongside Japanese pumpkin, and an egg white and rice vinegar mayonnaise.
Sansho, Persimmon: a dessert of persimmon & mint gel, brown butter mousse, with fried sansho chips and roasted cubes of sansho, toasted coconut, brown butter “crumble” and cocoa nibs, and mascarpone ice cream.
Dazzling!
