A traditional experience dining at Hyotei *3 Michelin Stars*

It's not a place that's easy to locate judging fr Google Earth. Since we knew it, we hopped into our reliable taxi with address of the restaurant in Japanese for easy reference.

As always The Ritz-Carlton was so ever efficient and have already informed the driver where we were bound for. Second Shift Mr. Handsome-boy doorman handed me 2 flat sachet the size of my palm. Monkey looked at him puzzled.

Mr. Handsome-boy doorman: "It's going to be a cold night ma'am. Looks like it will snow."

then it just rang in my head, oh these were heatpack for me to hold or to plaster onto my body. Japanese invention for the ease of life. I discovered heatpacks about 9 years ago, when my skinny ex-colleague have heatpacks plastered onto her stomach and her back to warm herself during our work trip in Switzerland.

Such thoughtful and excellent service from The Rizt-Carlton :)))) and bcoz I have pockets of fats around my body especially my organs, Monkey is not afraid of cold *more so of heat* gosh!!!

When we arrived, at Hyotei, elegant lady in kimono greeted us and it seems they already knew who we were bcoz she ushered us immediately to our tea room. Prollie we have our names plastered onto our foreheads.

Our winter clothings, gloves, scarves and shoes were removed by the lady and she sat us down inside a tiny room. JS was asking if this is the tea room for tea ceremony...oh I have no idea, it's also my first time here....but the horror of being seated on the floor just made JS cried before dinner was even served.

our first course of appetizer was served on this table tray with legs.
JS: "We are eating here in this tatami  room on the floor??"
:"(( sniff sniff.

sorry lar JS, it seems that every guests have their own private room here facing the zen garden but it's too cold to even open the sliding doors. Our room attendant even brought in a heater for us. U can see it from the above pic.

delicate tempura of white baits tied with nori seaweed and the green one was the center of some sort of flowers like sunflowers. It has a beautiful aroma and taste of tea mixed with garland chrysanthemum.

On its side was fresh local Kyoto greens with toufu skin in homemade miso sauce. Kyoto ppl are very proud of their local produce and insist on only using nothing else but produce from their very own area.

fresh sashimi of the day with such cute and queer pickled vegetables/fruits that I've never seen. It has a slight sourness with length. Have no idea wat it was, but nothing strong like capers...just delicate with a bit of a crunch. It was very good.

Monkey and her Faure le Page sling bag :)))) an aristocrat gun bag maker since 1717.
To dine in 400 years old Hyotei, one must respect with dress code and accessories. I know I am terrible dramatic all the time, but that's me. Roll all the eyes that you have.

the winelist was surprisingly good and JS ordered this baby for us to share. Trust me, in the end it wasn't enuff coz it was so so luscious. I guess our appetite for wines have grown so much thanks to a certain Doctor who's also an epicurean whom trained both of us to drink like him. That works to around 600 bottles a year per person. We are getting there and dare not keep track of consumptions via a certain apps that's highly recommended by a certain Si Fu.

Now that I've joined the dark side in the wines and spirits and champagnes industry, I seriously dare not keep track of my consumptions and instead focus on appreciation and enjoyment. Appreciation Grows isn't it?

Next we were served a looked-simple-but-not-so-simple white miso soup

Oh Japanese also celebrates the arrival of the Sheep Sheep year???

Hobbits esp Sheep Sheep so eppy bcoz all of them got to go to Japan with us. I have to concur it is easier to lug the hobbits around rather than JS's video equipments. He has a special bag to check them in...and this have yet to include a special case for his Drone Camera - which he has chucked aside now after playing with it for a week.

The soup was so delicate and beautiful, with my favourite vege - nanohana and a piece of bamboo heart embossed with the logo of a Sheep. By the way, Jaya Grocer is now selling nanohana and japanese fresh vege flown in all the way from different prefecture of Japan.

Next dish would be the highlight and speciality of Hyotei - which was also awarded 3 Michelin Stars, the maximum any establishment could achieve. On the wooden platter we have steamed egg custard, pickled vegetables stems, sea urchin lightly toasted with specks of sea salt on top, toufu and yams, the bundle of rice were popped up over open fire, it's almost like eating pop corns...yummmss..but the main star of this dish were the 2 beautiful sunshine starring back at you...Yes their secret recipe eggs.

Look at the proportion of yolk versus white. It was cooked to their 400 years old recipe whereby the yolk remains in the center, Soft velvety stickie and creamie....while the white was custardy beautiful and unadultered...clean and perfect white.

Told ya it was custardy creamie....oh yumms no salt were needed for the flavours of the eggs was amazing!!!! I want these now for breakfast!!!

OMG is this wat it is again??? GAH!!!!
Fish sperm~~~~~ with local lotus roots. In Japan, it is a delicacy.
-_-"
JS was luffing at Monkey

The tatami room that we had which was about 400 years old. As u can see Monkey was the only obedient one here, seated like a lady throughout her beautiful kaiseki dinner...*okie I lied....about the lady-like part*

While JS was bz scruffing around the room, adjusting his feets, his calves, his knees and aiya aiya here n there. He was whining why didn't we ask for a "modern" room.

My honey boo, we can alwiz dine in a normal modern room anywhere anytime around Planet Earth but when u are Hyotei u must do it the cultural way hahahah. It was really an experience for us.

I kenot believe how beautiful and simple this was, the flavours complement each other so well. Steamed japanaese clams on top of braised daikon and japanese leeks....with some ponzu zest.

grilled fish with perfect pure white pickled japanese leeks!!! The fish was so so rich and fat but it was all good Omega fats :)))

Crabs!!! with its roe on the side....if all crab dishes were prepared this way all the time, I won't mind eating them :)))) even the legs were cut to a perfect angle with openings for easy access to its sweet flesh.

As u can see, Mr. JS was bz walking around our lil "cottage" with a connecting room..while Monkey was so into her food...yumm yummm yummmssss

Clear broth with fresh bamboo shoots and kyoto toufu. Kyoto makes one of the best toufu products esp the toufu skin called yuba :)))

Every dish was served in order, with proper care and manner. 2 ladies will alwiz come in and announce that they are here before stepping into our cottage. Then they knelt down and bowed with grace before serving our food then sharing with us on its content, cooking methods and instruction of consumptions.

the must have yummy white baits which were cooked with sake, homemade pickles which u can't get nor buy!!!

all to be consumed with a bowl of beautiful steamed white rice. AAAAaaaaAAAA I'm a happy gal :)))

mini creme puffs which was so well executed and local seasonal fruits. U'll be surprised at how delicious were japanese creme puffs...anywhere u can find in Japan. It's light and crispy on the outside, with a certain doughy-ness....but the bomb is usually the creme...it has to be the milk!!!

traditional handmade japanese desserts....served with a red tea first which they called the hoji-cha

and finally a hand-whisked green tea prepared on the spot for us to enjoy...by now we should be already accustomed to the rulles and etiquettes of any traditional japanese tea ceremony.

curious Monkey then slided the door to have a sneak peek of the zen garden outside. aaaaaahhhhhh it's so cold!!!! it's winter for goodness sake!!! It would be so nice to have dinner here during spring/summer/autumn when it's not too cold...and a beautiful view outside...coz usually all the doors will be removed for diners to enjoy the view.

"JS look!!! I'm so tall!!!! almost touching the ceiling!!!"
JS -_-"
"quickly dress up. it's very cold outside!!!"

Hyotei really managed to maintain its building to the state until today. Good job!!!

Once we stepped out it's the area where we left our shoes. As usual, all were prepared and our room attendant was patiently waiting for us. :)))

Monkey must must must have a pic with the elegant ladies!!!!
and I gotta behaved with palms faced down...and seated in such manner. So unusual and unlike me...hehehehehe.

No taxi for us....we would like to walk off those calories in the winter chill and enjoy the beautiful historical lanes along the streets of Kyoto. And made pit-stops at an Artisanal Sake shop wahahahahaha.

Such a beautiful experience, if you can't get reservations for dinner, do try their much more simple bento box lunch and they even have breakfast with rice porridge - with their famous eggs of coz :)))

For more information:
Hyotei,
25 Kusagawa-cho, Nanzenji,
Sakyo-kyu,
Kyoto.
Tel: 075 771 4116
http://hyotei.co.jp/en/

Kaiseki dinner at Beniya Mukayu, Yamashiro

Kobako female snow crab with jellyfied sauce and a lot of eggs :)))) Notice the pieces of flesh fr its legs all dissected and presented back nicely onto the this single shell? It was orgasmic-ly yummy, if there's such word to describe it.

Layers and layers of meat and eggs and roe were stacked beautifully here. We were so amazed by the culinary skills and freshness of the ingredients here. After all it's winter, and crabs are at its peak season and in abundance.

a cute hand drawn and hand written menu for us - since we were the only non-japanese I guess they needed to re-write a simple menu for our understanding.

When all the flesh and eggs were gladly dancing in our tummy, theres another bomb. Hahaha I didn't know female crab has got nothing else but roes in its body.

JS selected a bottle of white to pair with our crab dinner. No complains for Monkey as long as there's alcohols. :))))

Some ryokans serve dinner at your own room but having it at a common hall or dining room isn't uncommon either. Here all the guests were seen wearing the same yukata with an additional over-coat due to the winter chill.

Mischievous JS inverted the female crab shell so she's looking back at him angrily!!! You ate my legs and all my eggs!!! >.<

ohhh madam crab, u were some awesomely delectable!!!!

Next was a consommé of vegetable soup with a lotus root bun. The roots were grated finely to almost powder form before being prepared this way. The soup was so so clear. This is another style of kaga cooking focusing on their local vegetables and produce. 

Next course was served in a long and raw looking granite slab. Beautifully decadent pieces of food laid in a very zen style. Remember we feast first with our eyes? 

According to our South American room attendant, everything is edible except the pine tree sticks that's holding the ginkgo. Hahahaha

Let us bring you through pieces by pieces. Here we have the japanese green herbs, sweet aubergine/eggplant that has been slightly fried, roasted ginkgo on pine tree sticks with such beautiful nutty aromas, lotus root chips.

continuing on were sushis fr fishes of the season. all prepared in beautiful bites size. A piece of sweet japanese potato from this region.

They were too pretty to be eaten, instead both of us were admiring it. The handiwork and craftsmanship of chefs at Beniya Mukayu. :)))

This is very very localized delicacy. Karasumi sandwiched in between crunchy turnip, such a good balance of savoriness of the karasumi *mullet roe* and the sourness of the pickled turnip which give a really delightful crunch. 

Next were slices of sashimi of the season - Buri the amazing seasonal fish from Ishikawa and aka-ika also known as the red flying squid famous for its creamy texture, also from this region.

Next were 2 pieces of sushi of Maguro Tuna and Shiroebi shrimp.

Oh my...the tuna....was so fatty and juicy. Melts in the mouth effortlessly with such luscious taste. The rice complement the beautiful sea produce. While the shrimps may looked colorless, it was power packed with sweetness of the sea with a delightful flavor of crustaceans. 

Just check out the marbling of the tuna.....oh my...too good...Now where can I eat this again??? JS, we need to go back to Japan soon!!!!

Our main course arrived in a box, still steaming hot. When the lid was unveiled, the smell was so sweet. It just start our stomachs rumbling again~~~~

Oh mg gawd~~~~ the amazing Snow Crab!!!! 

The crab is named as such bcoz it's only found in northern regions and countries that have got a lot of snow. Other common names that refer to this same crabs are Spider Crab and Queen Crab.

My eyes were transfixed to its single shell fully loaded with roe.....holy shit!!!

The legs were beautifully prepared for easy consumption. This crab was lightly steamed to maintain its sweetness and texture. 

While the flesh from its body has been extracted out, presented on a separate plate. We were taught to consume it either separately or mix them up with the roe. I guess either way it has to go into our tummy hehehehehe.

Oh I can't describe in words the creaminess and richness in it. It has got a good grip on the tongue, almost like a chambertin wine :)))

how could something prepared just be steaming be this awesomely amazing good?? 

JS quickly transferred my portion of snow crab onto my plate. I guess he's afraid that he would consume my portion if it's not being separated right from the beginning. Hahahahaha.

Notice how the shell has been cut/saw out for easy consumption? Aesthetically it looked beautiful too this way. Japanese really thought of everything when it comes to way of living/eating etc.

As JS was bz doin dermarcation on the crab legs, I was more focused on this one. Wahahahaha. Don't worry no one was harm in the war of fighting for whooping share of the snow crabs. 

The beautiful vase for us to dispose the shells. Monkey was bz clipping JS's nose and lips with them instead. Yeah when I'm having so much fun, my table manners seems to be gone.

Just as we thought the snow crab was the bomb and highlights of the dinner...out came a piece of grilled Nodoguro fish. Oh my....the number one and most sought after fish in Japan, the black throat perch fish!!!! We were so lucky to have Nodoguro every meal everyday in Ishikawa :))))

a beautiful saucer of sea salt was presented on our table...and we thought dinner was already over. There's more food???

According to the Kaga cuisine kaiseki's order of servings, the last meal would be a hotpot, usually a duck hotpot but bcoz of Mr. JS the no chicken no duck rulings applied, chefs replaced with something else. Monkey actually didn't mind the duck at all but for JS I will give it a miss and play/eat along.

When it arrived.....-_-" can I change it to duck seriously?
Cod fish sperms.....why do I have to eat so many of these here? Chef was very generous and served me the portion so huge it's as big as a real monkey brain. Don't you think it looked like brains? So you just eat them with sea salt. 

Finally the last of the last were usually rice, soup and pickles. Here we have a rather delicious soup with egg yolks and japanese herbs. I gobbled down the whole bowl despite protesting that my tummy is gonna explode.

So so so delicious. :)))) comfort food :)))

Homemade pickles. Always my favorite :)))) We never seem to be able to buy good quality pickles here in Msia. 

Dessert was simple and zen - homemade ice cream served in thin rice waffle.
It looked simple but the taste was pretty complex. It has a slightly sea salt savoriness innit.

It has to be cows here that gave dairy products in Japan such fantastic quality. Anything to do with dairies are amazingly excellent. When I analyzed the size of this dessert, it's actually a huge scoop being sandwiched in here!!!

The other guests finished their dinner much earlier and headed to the hot bath...while Monkey and JS were still yakking away, discussing much on Kaga cuisine. It's so unique in its own way, seasonally and geographically. 

Dinner fit for kings!!!!
usually dinner, breakfast, room, pick-up transfer service were all incorporated into your stay. That includes taxes on bathing *hot spring*. Oh well of coz exclude any ala carte and alcohols that you order. 

When we arrived back in our room, there was a beautiful basket with more handmade sushis waiting for us. Just in case we get hungry again. Gah!!!

and Monkey dipped herself into the really hot spring bath looking up the starry sky, discussing more on Ishikawa and Kaga Cuisine while JS was happier splashing water instead. Woi!!! who's the kiddo now?

True enough, after each hot bath dip, one tends to get hungry. Hahahaha The water here are alkaline and are said to be good for rheumatism. We had a very beautiful experience here at Beniya Mukayu and would highly recommend it :)))

The focus on the local cuisine and execution of the each dish never fails to delight us. There seems to be layers of texture and flavours on every morsel of food. Though most of the creation may looked simple, trust me it's not easy to execute, instead a lot of thoughts were put in it.

For more info:
http://mukayu.com/english/