Again, the philosophy behind Kadowaki’s cooking is “a meal to remember.” Each dish he creates is unique and extraordinary with flavors or styles you can’t find elsewhere. He has this incredible ability to reimagine the potential of each ingredient, his long-time fans say. His only wish is to create a moving moment for every guest through food.

“Just like how the first ten minutes of a movie is the most important, the first dish of a meal is crucial,” he says as he prepares the opening of the seven course dinner. “It sets the tone and expectation for the entire evening.” Served in a beautiful square glass dish with golden rims is a seasonal appetizer of white taro stem, sponge gourd and swordtip squid, dressed in creamy sesame dressing. Sprinkled with roasted sesame and homemade karasumi, salting mullet roe, the aroma and texture are simply amazing. Roasted Manganji chili peppers add a nice kick.

You may be shocked by the way Kadowaki cooks shark fins. The seafood delicacy typically used in Chinese soups, is transformed into a tempura-like deep fry. First cooked delicately in Japanese dashi broth for over 6 hours and then fried with egg white batter, the slices are packed with umami and texture. Sprinkle Okinawa seaweed salt spiced up with Sichuan pepper powder for accent.

The ultimate must have is the truffle rice. It all began about 16 or 17 years ago when a regular guest asked the chef if he could come up with a new rice dish that was not the typical matsutake mushroom, but just as aromatic. He took on the challenge and spotted a basket of truffles that were sitting on the counter that was to be used for another dish. Just like that, the top signature dish was born. Cooked in an akaraku donabe pot, made by Ippentoh Nakagawa, the koshihikari rice is infused with sake, bonito flake dashi and a heap of sliced truffles. The moment you lift the lid, aromatic vapor fills up the room.

Sashimi becomes a whole new experience. The day’s catch, snapper from Aomori Prefecture, is accompanied with a parade of sauces and condiments, including two vinaigrette sauces, one flavored with salt and the other with fish liver, sliced Myoga ginger, light blue leeks, Chinese yam and fresh green seaweed. When he has slices of truffles or matsutake mushroom as condiments, he rests the fish for a day for a milder flavor.

Grilled smelt, a classic summer fish from Biwa Lake, is grilled to perfection and served with white milt. The 7-8cm size is an ideal catch for great sweetness and flavor. Steamed egg custard with crab is smooth and silky. The warm custard is topped with squid ink sorbet and cream shrimp miso, the contrast in flavor and temperature is simply magnificent.

INGREDIENTS
About half of the ingredients come from Tsukiji market while the rest from Kyoto. Kadowaki has over four decades of experience working with vendors. He also loves the quality and variety of local Kyoto vegetables. The signature rice dish offers the best assortment of seasonal truffles including summer truffles, white truffles and black truffles.

The drinks menu is equally sophisticated with a selected collection of Champagne, wine and sake. The Champagne list along has eight different vintages. The sake picks include major breweries as well as boutique makers.