The meal is split between the levels of the refurbished venue which is a first for me and a very nice way of doing things I thought.  It is also a clever move to regulate table turnover and courses for each sitting and table as well as being good variation for the diner (new setting, leg stretch and interest levels etc).  The canapés are served in the ground floor open kitchen area where there is also a presentation of all of the ingredients sourced and used and each table is invited to the counter in turn to have an in depth explanation of each one and where it comes from.  There is significant care and attention in this operation and was lovely to have laid on at the start of this meal.  The mains and savouries including pre-desserts are served on the first floor dining room and the coffees and petit fours are served in the second (or top) floor of the venue that resembled a lovely lounge area laden with fine whiskeys and liqueurs.
Canapés in The Kitchen
Initial canapés included a Choux de Bourgogne – gougere with three cheeses (perfect light outer coating and pleasant cheeses); ‘Ráraka’ Kalix Löjrom which was a potato rosti with crème fraiche, brandaide pickled shallots, chive and vendence roe from Sweden – this was absolutely stunning and with the lightest of crunches.  Croustade crustacean, fennel & artichoke was a delectably light croustade with artichoke purée, lobster, fennel, tarragon leaves and bronze fennel.  This was stunning with warm lobster in the thinnest pastry case ever had and a lovely, complemented by a perfectly gentle kick of wasabi – a knock out and world class canapé.
Truffle scrambled egg, yuba was scrambled egg with maple syrup and butter with truffle from Australia winter truffles, held within a soy bean ‘skin’ or, extremely thin tartlet like case.  This was very light and with deep flavour coming through.  The final canapé was Gunkan foie gras, unagi, sakura – brioche with goose foie gras, apple balls marinated in hibiscus, unagi with sweet wine and oxalis flowers.   great combo
Mains in The Dining Room
When invited upstairs to the dining room, I was escorted to my table overlooking a charming terrace garden.  First to be served was crudo (raw fish dish): Saba, radish oroshi, fermented strawberry & coffee – chutoro from Crudo tuna served with Saba (a form of grape), radish oroshi, fermented strawberry & coffee with chutoro (fattiest kind of tuna from the belly) tartare.  This was simply gorgeous and a brilliant combination of fat and sweetness.
Chawanmushi, engawa , coriander, white asparagus was next.  This was essentially an egg-based custard, engawa (skat of flounder) coriander, white asparagus broth, gin, lemon juice and coriander and citrus leaf oil – a complex combination but with very pleasant umami.  Hirame (flounder from north Japan) came with teardrop peas, wasabi & ginger yoghurt, whey dashi, Thai basil oil and Thai basil flowers.  This for me was absolutely outstanding and the dish of the meal. It was fragrant, aromatic, light and in beautiful harmony with the earthy peas combining with the gentle wasabi and Thai basil.
Onion, toasted almonds & liquorice powder and cream, almond foam made with milk from Haikado (very fatty milk from finest cows on the planet) was next and this came dangerously close to being as good as the previous dish.  Two absolute knock out sensations one after the other is rare and I was forgiving the bill more and more with each mouthful.  Next up was flatfish from Kinki (region in Honshu, the southern island of Japan) was served with an all-time favourite sauce of mine – vin Jaune (creamed sauce made with dessert wine), walnut and Zén Réserve caviar.  This had different levels of salt, and fat in each bite and the combination of textures here was interesting.
A selection box of beautiful knives from Morakniv were displayed and I was given the choice of which one to use for my game.  Guinea fowl, mitsuba (parsley) & mustard emulsion, sudachi kosho (fermented paste of Sudachi type of citrus) was served next.  The guinea fowl was decorated with an emulsion of Japanese parsley and mustard spray of Sakura flowers in vinegar with chanterelles which was a magical combination of everything.  Utterly succulent game with a gentle kick of mustard, again judged to perfection served with Hokkaido asparagus for textural crunch.  Colour, texture, protein, fat and low carbohydrate – it was close to a perfect dish as any.  French toast “Grande Tradition 2008” with Balsamic vinegar, parmesan custard, Manjima West Oz truffles was next in the form of a ‘bite’ and this was absolutely superb.
Finally, a pre-dessert of sorbet made of yuzu, konatsu (citrus fruit), Buntan (family of grapefruit) & saffron, kokuto (Okinawa black sugar) aspic (jelly) and Kinome plant leaves.  This was an incredibly smooth sorbet but quite bitter and had wood-like notes which sadly didn’t work hugely for me as a combination as pretty as it was. Momo (Japanese peaches), from Yamanashi near mainland are the highest grade of peach (Daitaro) which came with pêche, elderflower, peach sorbet, star anise cream, 3 peppers, arctic raspberry, rhubarb root oil and crystallised roses meringue sticks seasoned with three types of pepper (roast, long and black – all from different parts of world in Asia and Africa). These were extraordinary peaches in an extraordinary consommé and the beauty and power of this simple offering was worth the long process of being at that table for that offering.
Coffee and petit fours in the Living Room
The final part was served on the upper most level where the first to be served was Muskmelon & Manzanilla sherry gel, Miyazaki mango with coconut rum and vanilla, Shine muscat grape from Japan and grapes infused in verjus, rose, seasoned with house gin and honey vinegar.  Again, one cannot fault the power of these ingredients and as is customary at the end of a Japanese meal, the finest fruit is seen as a delicacy and privilege.  Coffee was from a Singaporean company called Papa Palheta and served with with Hokaido milk.  Along with this came a ‘Waffle party’: Swedish waffles from woodruff cloudberry jam, tonka and almond cream, sea buckthorn and brunost caramelised brown goats cheese (akin to Norwegian Gjetost which I had much of growing up).  The final Western petit fours were Sicilian pistachio macaron, blood miso and matcha with fleur de sel (French salt flake) – all of which were as well made as they can with the simple pistachio actually being the favourite.
If that was hard to read for the detail, spare a thought for how much goes in to that meal and one can understand more regarding the experience and the usual question I receive which is, “Was it worth it?”.  Emphatically yes is my answer to this experience and I would happily save up and go again.  A genuine 3 Michelin starred experience and somewhere you are going to get sheer quality.
Food Grade: 96%

A quick word on the restaurant itself: the staff were clearly all well drilled and knowedgable and this is a classy set up.  The hospitality was genuine and the staff were extremely attentive to requests.  Water was topped up at just the right moments (only when needed) and the intimate chef’s dining table overlooking the kitchen seemed a wonderful option to have amongst at least three other, larger private dining rooms scattered in the upper levels of the restaurnat.  The cellar was equally impressive with pebbles from France having been flown in especially to adorn the floor of the cellar to prevent breakages of bottles should they fall – a rather lovely touch!

The home made sourdough was wheeled to the table to be sliced fresh from the oven and was worthy of the ceremony as very good sour dough and even more wonderful butter from the Loire Valley. The ‘normal’ breads that were offered as part of a selection included bacon & mustard (gorgeous), fig and rum, raisin and Comte cheese buckwheat baguettes.  This was followed by the first of three amuse bouches which started with their signature cold, thin spaghetti with caviar, crystal flower & sisho.  Next a confit tomato from the Loire Valley was served on a crispy puff pastry with olive oil and parsley.  The absolute star of this was the delectably warm and thin pastry, whilst the succulent tomato was slightly subdued in flavour in comparison.  The third and final amuse bouche was a magnificent lobster jelly with crystal Kaluga caviar, cream of cauliflower, parsley purée.  This was very good.

My starter was a Parisian style egg Mimosa with caviar & savoury coulis. In essence, a French Maren egg sourced from West France had its yolk removed and filled with caviar, and the yolk turned into a mimosa emulsion on top. The dish was served with French dressing, parsley purée, mussel jus and red wine vinegar. It was all perfectly seasoned and a lovely dish, rich and all working very well together.

The main I opted for was the duck. A roasted Challans duck breast from Vendée (North Bordeaux) was accompanied by balsamic vinegar glazed turnips and served with Burlap cherries from Lyon. The duck was utterly tender and melted in the mouth and the reduction jus was served with the fat from the duck, gained via the same canard a la press method was indulgent and complimentary to the duck (sous vide and then pan-fried).  The huge Burlat cherries had much more texture and were a brilliant choice as are far less acidic than normal cherries or any cherry one might find anywhere in the UK and a pleasant change from orange to go with duck.

Pre-desserts of ice cream were proudly showcased (and rightly so as it turned out) and of the options, I chose pineapple sorbet (beautifully refreshing and exotic), pistachio ice cream (wonderfully creamy and nutty) and coffee ice creams that had very strong coffee flavour.  These were not your average icecreams and were at the highest of tiers one can go for a simple ice cream. 

Of the dessert options on the a la carte choices, it was clearly the Rum Baba all the way to go for.  There are several places that do this dessert particularly well, most notably Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester, but I did like the way this came with a choice of rums to select for the important ‘dousing’.  The Baba itself was infused in aged rum, Agricole & citrus, accompanied by a lightly whipped crème Fleurette which was frankly sensational. The glaze on the baba was a triumph in itself and the additional flavours were superb, with these latter factors being why I think this is fractionally superior than that from Ducasse, meaning therefore until I find another that pips this one (unlikely), this is the best Rum Baba in the world.

Petit fours came in several flavours: raspberry tart, canalle, hazelnut chocolate truffle and served with Nespresso coffee which was surprising for a 3 Michelin starred restaurant to be using such a bog standard coffee.  I understand the logic of consistency for service, but if it is to be a household coffee, I would say the bill would merit a superior kind of coffee to offer.

That’s a minor dent in the proceedings though.  The whole meal was expertly executed and a pleasure to have.  I thought the staff were extremely good and I would recommend this restaurant to anyone for a romantic or special occasion accordingly.

Food Grade: 90%

In 2020 the Michelin guide pronounced three 3 Michelin starred restaurants within Osaka (Hajime, Taian and Kashiwaya).  Koryu now slips into the 2 Michelin starred family of which, there are an impressive 15 restaurants of this category in Osaka alone.  This restaurant is run by head chef Shintaro Matsuo who was friendly but could not engage too much with diners owing to the language barrier.  What was a nice touch was his staff members running around the restaurant showing pictures of the fish and produce all were eating on an iPad and explaining where possible.

Before all diners received their appetisers, several large shrimps heads were placed on a grill to gently cook the brains.  Bonito with aubergine and roe sauce was our first bite (the same menu given to all diners at the same time) and this was a pleasurable snack.  Tofu with pinko nuts had a lovely paste with it all.   

The sashimi platter was beautifully presented and included yellowfin with egg yolk, herring, squid with plum sauce, beef noodle, snapper and shrimp and purified saltwater.  The squid was lovely with plum sauce but texturally was quite hard and not as massaged as it was in Mizai (bit hard in comparison) by a long shot.  The tuna with slow-cooked egg yolk, wasabi and soy was one of the rare stunning moments of this though.

The soup contained grouper and matsutake mushrooms (very chewy but with a strong mushroom aroma).  The grouper was juicy and fragrant.   Crab with vinegar jelly, shiitake mushroom and berries was wonderful – a light sweetness to the jelly with beautifully smoked mushroom and very well done.   

Kiki fish (from the gold family with huge eyes) and sea urchin was a disaster.  The skin which you are supposed to eat had the texture of hard cartilage, the fish itself and stock were only traceable and the butternut squash was hardly noticeable. Perhaps this is a Japanese delicacy but I could see another couple of diners shrug away from their serving and not say anything at this dish – really and truly this was not my thing at all and I struggle to see why this would be enjoyable eating for anyone.

Salmon roe with yuzu sorbet and chrysanthemum just didn’t really work very well for me. The slimy texture of the cold roe and cold of the sorbet dish seemed an entirely odd combination.  The shrimp brains that we were invited to suck out of the head were salty and had a reasonable aroma of crustacean.  Slow-cooked Miyazaki beef (from the fabled black wagyu) with fig and soy sauce was as lovely as one can expect.  Porridge and snapper and pickles and Japanese hot tea was regrettably not as memorable regrettably.

Pear flavoured with rum with honey foam, grape and chestnut paste was a lovely collection of fresh fruit to have and strangely the dish was enhanced by the chestnut paste owing to the fruit being not quite at the explosive levels that can be found at say, Kondo, Kitcho or Nanchome Kyoboshi.

So sadly this was not the experience I was hoping for, but the service was very hospitable.  As a diner, you only had to gain eye contact with any of the floor staff and they would practically run over for you in complete concern.  Something that is not really the norm in the UK for example.

A pleasant experience with some very good produce for an authentic Japanese meal, but not one of the best.

The ethos of the menu at Hajime follows a set, seasonal pattern.  As it was Autumn, my meal was broken down into the ‘Mori’ (from the forest),  the ‘Seimei’ (life), ‘Kawa’ (from the river), ‘Umi’ (from the sea), ‘Hakai to Douka’ (destruction and assimilation), ‘Kibou’ (hope) consisting of ‘dew’, ‘mother earth’ and ‘wildflower’ components, finishing off with ‘Ai’ (love) displayed in the red colours of the dessert.

Therefore the meal began with something from the forest and this appetiser was a show stopper right up front which essentially ‘soup within soup’.  A perfectly clear consommé of matsutake mushroom held what looked like a button mushroom head at the bottom.  Floral notes came out of the glass on sipping and after sipping this fragrant mushroom ‘tea’, I let the mushroom head plump into the mouth to reveal that this was actually a sphere of creamed mushroom soup, held together with a thin gelatine (perhaps aga-agar although I could not establish this for certain) – this film had just enough strength to hold it together, rather like an egg yolk and on closing the mouth it gently burst open to mix the creamed matsutake with its surrounding consomme.  The glass incidentally was decorated with alone, Autumnal leaf taken from treas that surrounded where the mushrooms had come from.  Very, very clever and genuinely perfect as a mushroom soup opener in powerhouse house simplicity. Rarely do you get such a superb opener of wonder at restaurants like this.    

The ‘Seimei’ (life) dish was brown spotted grouper with herring roe, eel and watercress in a very appetising doughnut were follow up snacks to be had before the meal which were very good as was the intensely delicate rice paper with hata (Japanese white fish), black olive shavings and herb oil.  The fish itself was unbelievably sweet and another lovely, new ingredient to try.  

Salmon from Naggan (north Japan) was the choice for the dish emanating from the river (Kawa) and came with salmon roe, hatcho miso (100% soya beans and no wheat or grain used creating a lovely richness), tomato and sorrel, miso (green blobs) and including a clever candy in shape of salmon on top.  This was very light and pleasing, although the salmon itself was fairly neutral in flavour surprisingly.  It was mainly exceedingly soft with beautiful decoration that worked quite well together as flavours and an impressive design of all elements of the dish looking like running water and waves.

Freshwater prawn was next, served against a hot stone on the plate with uncured ham, quail’s egg, mantis shrimp and the ‘Umi’ (from the sea) was suppon, an extravagant delicacy of Chinese softshell turtle inside a ravioli with mushroom sauce. Another expertly crafted dish but a little hard to know where to start. The real moments on the dish were the ravioli with suppon which had the strongest sense of umami I think I have ever had and the utter sweetness of the prawn.  Another, new life moment in food.  The dish also came with foie gras, Asian hazel, pumpkin, black pepper and thin layer of candy on top. Lovely biscuit but foie gras could have had a touch more seasoning as was a little too subtle. 

A very cleansing interlude of pine sorbet representing the ‘dew’ was served prior to the main event and this was another first – pine in sorbet – and this worked very well I thought.  The main course itself was Taoshita beef, served with offerings from from ‘mother earth’ such as squash, beetroot, parsnip, fresh cheese, olive oil, apricot, chrysanthemum, turnip and fig all on a matcha sauce.  Phhew, quite a few things to note on that one(!).  Homemade bread also came on the side in a break from the norma to help mop up the exquisite sauces and jus, but it was the matcha that was probably most surprising and lovely addition.  I was a little worried about this at the beginning as I suspected this would be a bridge too far, but it really gave a lovely tang to the beef and was a refreshing combination and lovely alternative way to having beef.  Relief and pleasure in one(!).  

Nitro cheese was then served in a way that made you breath out nitrogen vapour (as does when having virtually anything ‘cooked’ in liquid nitrogen) and this was served with crisp filo pastry, olive oil, biscuit sabre and chrysanthemum syrup from ‘wildflowers’ as a final and gorgeously sweet component.  This was an utterly outstanding dish of intense cheese flavour complimentary sweetness with cold and crisp for additional sensations.  

To finish, a ‘love’ (Ai) dessert of strawberries and raspberries, strawberry ice cream and sablé biscuit had a hot couli poured into the ice cream shell.  This was very well done and not too sweet at the same time however it was the petit fours that I thought took the crown for sweets in an unusual twist.  Among the offerings were candy floss, chestnut cherry, apple tart, popcorn panna cotta, (salted popcorn was genius on top), mascarpone tart, deconstructed chocolate macaron and an incredible apple sphere.  Although I have not had the fabled apple dessert at 2 Michelin starred Bord’Eau in Amsterdam, this was in some ways even more impressive as a miniature replica version (I do not know who designed it first).  This is one of the most impressively done sweets. let alone petit fours collections I have had full stop and this, combined with how light the sugar sphere was and the beautifully prepared apple was almost heart-stopping.

I hope this expands on why this restaurant gets such a high grade from me and anything less than 97% is unbefitting for the quality of this meal.