I'm traveling again. My friend was going to New York on business, and she generously invited me to come along. So, I came to New York on Sunday afternoon. It's been such a long time since I was here last time, so I was very excited!
I met my friend at JFK airport and we took a cab together to Manhattan. The weather in NYC was so nice on Sunday afternoon. It was, in fact, warmer than in LA. We checked in at The London NYC. Our room was so nice.
After unpacking in the room, we were ready for fun. We had aperitif at the hotel bar, then took a subway to East Village. We had a reservation at Kajitsu (嘉日), which is an authentic Kyoto-style shojin (Buddhist-style vegan) restaurant. I was so looking forward to this dinner, and as soon as we entered the restaurant, it felt like I was in a restaurant in Kyoto. It's a small restaurant with the beautiful counter. We luckily got seats in the counter right across from the chef.
They offer two course menus, so we chose the bigger 8-course menu, "Hana". We also ordered different kinds of sake (they have a nice sake list) through the dinner.
Taro Dumplings with Black Daikon. Clear Soup with Tofu Chrysanthemum, Lobster Mushroom and Chrysanthemum Pedals. Very seasonal "moon watching" dish (of September). Very elegant and I was in love with the every part of both dishes.
Matsutake Mushroom and Spinach Ohitashi, Panko Fried Matsutake Mushroom, Heats of Palm, Wasabi, Pink Pepper, Truffle Oil. House-made Soba with Hoji-Cha Leaves, Dipping Sauce, Umeboshi, Shiso, Sesame Seeds. Matsutake was so aromatic and cooked to perfection. Handmade soba was so delicate. We were suggested to dip the noodles in the seasoned salt for the first bite so that we could really taste the pure flavor of the freshly made noodles. Incredible.
Simmered Late Summer Vegetables - Egg Plant, Purple Broccoli, Orange Bell Pepper, Tomato, Zucchini, Bok Choy, Edamame, Yuba. Corn Nama-Fu with Sweet Corn Miso Sauce, Green Fig Tempura with Sesame Cream. How gorgeous the presentation was! Each vegetable was prepared separately according for the different length of time and at different temperatures. According to the chef, egg plant was first deep-fried at a high temperature and cooled down, then it was deep-fried again at a lower temperature and simmered in broth. That's real "chef" work. It was so delicious that I thought I wanted to eat this dish every day. The "nama-fu" (wheat gluten) was amazing, too. Nama-fu is one of the important ingredients in the shojin cuisin, and in fact, Kajitsu is owned by a very famous and historical nama-fu maker, Fuuka (麩嘉) in Kyoto.
Steamed Brown Rice with Julienne Nagaimo and Brown Rice Crisp. Brown rice crisp was so great with the rice and nagaimo (moutain yam). The dish was also served with the house-made pickles.
Before the dessert, the chef also served us another very special dish. It was Miso-marinated Goma-tofu with the Shaved Black Truffles, served with cold sake. The chef explained that he made the very firm-style goma-tofu (paste of sesame, arrowroot starch, sake, etc.) first, then it was marinated in the miso for 3 months. After 2 months, the very firm paste started to become softer and eventually became very creamy. The flavor was so elegantly deep and the pairing with the cold sake was just incredible.
"Ohagi" Sweet Rice Ball with Azuki Bean Paste - Nuts-infused Rice Milk, Cocoa Nibs. The chef explained that he was inspired by dulce de leche to make this sweet rice ball. The sweet rice was cooked in the almond milk, so it had the nice rich flavor.
Match Tea Served with Candies by Kyoto Suetomi. The chef's matcha service was so elegant. I was in heaven.
The dinner was so unbelievable...Chef Masato Nishihara is a real talent. He was so gracious, too. He is only 32 years old with the 10-year experience in Kyoto Kitcho's kitchen, and after leaving Kitcho, he was an executive chef at a soba kaiseki restaurant in Karuizawa, Nagano. Kitcho is one of the most highly respected kaiseki restaurants in Japan. The entire dinner was just like what you would experience at a nice shojin kaiseki restaurant in Kyoto. It was a real treat and so satisfying...each dish was not only so detail-oriented and beautifully presented, but also the flavor was so complex and complete.
I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who loves seriously good food.
