Kitcho Arashiyama

[Bu Pun Su]

My love for Japanese kaiseki (the highest form of culinary art in Japan) is very close to my passion for French cuisine (more to the nouvelle than the old haute). Talking about the ‘ultimate’ kaiseki restaurants, it’s almost certain that people are bound to mention the name Kitcho. A legendary Chef (and businessman) Teichi Yuki found Koraibashi Kitcho in 1930; this place, until now, is like a private club for the rich and famous. There are plenty of Kitcho restaurants in Japan at this moment that is open to the public. Among these places, the most famous one is no doubt: Kitcho Arashiyama located in the west side of Kyoto. Kunio Tokuoka, the grandson of Kitcho’s founder, became the executive chef-owner of his flagship restaurant in 1995. Under his leadership, Kyoto Kitcho has positioned itself as arguably the most luxurious and best kaiseki ryotei in the world. This place was sort of my dream restaurant when coming to Japan last November and it’s rightly so. The restaurant provided an unforgettable experience and was almost perfect in every sense. Actually it’s not the first time I tried Tokuoka-san’s cooking – a couple of years earlier, I had a chance to have dinner at his Singapore branch before closing for good. It was a decent meal, easily the island’s best kaiseki place but they charged an exorbitant price that’s not directly proportional to what the diners would get.

I was still convinced that dining at Kitcho Arashiyama would be totally a different experience than eating at Tokuoka’s modern restaurant in Singapore. I had a meal at Genyana Hamadaya 6 years ago, so I knew exactly how awesome it could be to savor a meal at Japan refined ryotei. We went for lunch at Kitcho. I thought it would be nice after eating a great meal and burn some calories in the afternoon by exploring the Arashiyama area, in particular in search of the “perfect” spot to enjoy the falling (momiji) leaves. The grandeur of Kyoto Kitcho can be seen even from its big entrance gate. It’s very uncommon to have a restaurant this size merely to accommodate guests in their ‘only’ 6-7 private rooms. But, exclusivity was something you would get when dining here. Upon entering the restaurant, a few friendly kimono-clad ladies greeted and then escorted us to our private tatami room. We’re pleased to be seated at a huge private room in which 7-8 guests can easily fit in here. About half of our room’s total perimeter was surrounded by magnificent Japanese garden. Overall, it’s really a pleasant and fabulous “dining room” – I could not think of a better one in Japan.

Regardless of the Kitcho Arashiyama luxurious surroundings, the main star was still the food. We began our meal with an excellent quality of karasumi with gold leaf as well as refreshing & crunchy combination of veggie, fruit and steamed chicken to whet our appetite. This was followed by an excellent soup of smooth silky grilled tofu with sweet & tender snow crab on top of it; the dashi was umami. Like Ishikawa, Kyoto Kitcho served 2 sequences of sashimi dishes. The 1st one was a white fish (the first time I ate this Kue); the Kelp’s (served with iwatake and wasabi) quality was stunning with sophisticated flavor. The 2nd round of serving was succulent seared Ise ebi and tender Ika. Then come one of the main highlight for our lunch: lightly cooked snow crab legs with their shells still intact. The zuwai-gani (a good source of low fat protein) was succulent and tasty; we had the option to heat up the crab on cooking pot to make the crab sweeter. There was also kani miso that’s richer than the crab meat. To make it more interesting, you could dip the crab in the yuzu sauce. I ate lots of zuwai gani in this trip and didn’t seem to ever get enough of it

The dish that I look forward the most in Kitcho Arashiyama was its Hassun, assorted delicacies from the mountain & sea showcasing the food’s seasonality. Tokuoka-san believes that hassun has to be artistic (and delicious). The dish was elaborately decorated and indeed beautiful, from both me and my spouse’s vantage point – just see the picture yourself from the link below. The kitchen prepared 7 different kinds of items and among them, the outstanding stuffs were: The Ikura was of stunning quality, Shirako with jelly and veggie was very good, the beef tongue was smooth and delicious, the other 4 were fine. I ate plenty of terrific grilled fish during my trip, but the one I had here (and at Matsukawa) was the most flavorful. The outstanding butterfish, served with chestnut and deep fried turnip, was fresh and carefully seasoned. After yakimono, come the mushimono – usually my least favorite part in kaiseki sequences. I had simmered taro that well absorbed the soup’s flavor; it’s accompanied by decent shiitake mushroom and kujyo leek.

The Gohan at Kyoto Kitcho was extraordinary. We were served 2 kinds of rice: the “brown” rice was cooked with matsutake producing pine mushroom distinct aroma. Moreover, we had 2 pieces of tender and tasty local beef with the rice. After this, we also sampled a bowl of new harvested koshikari rice from Niigata - pure, fluffy and having top grain quality. The tsukemono was also carefully selected; we had turnip mixed with bonito flakes, Mibuna leaves mixed with sesame and Hinona turnip. This place ‘famous’ dessert was simple assorted fruits. I had to admit that the fruits were really amazing; I don’t usually appreciate this kind of dessert in which the chefs pretty much doing ‘nothing’. However, it changed now - they sourced each fruit so that each kind that I ate was probably the best kind I’ve ever had: the peeled grape was a big and flavorful, the musk melon was moist and sweet, the pear was crisp and sweet; the kaki was watery and tender. Lastly, the rice cake with adzuki bean wagashi to accompany the bitter matcha was alright. The omakase was exquisite throghout; the Chef and his team put a tremendous amount of effort for every single dish. Great job!

The Kitcho’s front of the house was also doing fantastic job. The service was impeccable, pretty much faultless. Our room attendant was professional, courteous, friendly and knowledgeable. Before leaving the restaurant, we also met the ryotei’s Okami; she’s none other than Chef Tokuoka’s wife. Along with our waitress and the Okami’s son, she escorted us on the way out - a great display of Japanese omotenashi. Having a meal at Kitcho Arashiyama was a unique and memorable experience. I doubt it can be replicated at other places or even its own branches. It’s not cheap for sure, but you got the entire package: luxurious surrounding, immaculate hospitality, top quality produce, flavorful dishes etc. The food was generally very enjoyable, even for someone who’s probably still quite novel in the kaiseki world – many items would be very friendly to your palate. Tokuoka-san’s cooking was dynamic (it keeps evolving); he’s an open-minded gentleman who’s not afraid to try new techniques and sometimes even using non-Japanese ingredients. Overall, it’s an etheral meal and I gladly bestow this place almost 97 pts (definitely worth 3-star Michelin). Personally, I think that Matsukawa had slightly better food, but Kyoto Kitcho’s service and setting were at another level. This ryotei is (somehow) like the Japanese version of Ducasse Monaco/Paris establishments for the reasons already mentioned above.

For more detailed reviews, please check: http://zhangyuqisfoodjourneys.blogspot.com/2014/01/kyoto-kitcho-kunio-tokuoka.html

For dishes' pictures only, check: https://picasaweb.google.com/118237905546308956881/KitchoArashiyamaKyotoJapan#