N/naka UPDATE - Los Angeles

 

It's the 10th anniversary of LA's most mesmerizing restaurant, commemorated by a Kaiseki Jubako most enchanting.

A bed of rice cradles a cache of jewels: ruby swirls of tuna, shiny slicks of salmon, pearly scallops in shimmering white. A buttery toro and what I believe is amberjack peek behind a leaflet of wasabi.

There's genuine gasp of delight as the second box is unveiled. Bright little bits dance around an eyeful of uni. A spiked fortress cradles a delicate roe shielded by a snow crab sclera. To the left, a Chawanmushi brims with ikura brine, a fishy flavor most surprising. A liver full of fat succumbs to a scarlet strawberry further south.

To the right is a variety of vegetables, served in simplicity to maximize their majesty. A simple spear of broccoli or a cut carrot flower may sit in modest obscurity, but its flavor is coaxed out in a way that the vegetable bares its soul. Go lower to get higher with the buttery bliss of branzino.

Take a breath between your bites of branzino before moving up to the softly seared wagyu that spreads across a soy-butter rice. Savor a simple shrimp, a most succulent surf to the turf, and let the stewed abalone leave you seduced and stunned.

Even the Lobster Miso Soup is a memory in the making, rich and almost creamy with soft grits of miso and broth of sweet lobster. 

Spring for the sake if you so choose, a single tasting can be split to share. The Manzairoku is crisp and clear, a waterfall sipped with sushi. The Chogetsu lasts a little longer, more acid to amplify your heavier morsels and meats. 

Dessert is not an afterthought - the Sakura Panna Cotta has florals that sweep you away. 

Matcha Cake costs extra, a powdery mix of bittersweet. An acquired taste, easy to acquire. 

Opinions may differ, taste buds may diverge, and critics will split hairs, but not a single person will decry N/naka. Its story is seducing, its menu is captivating, its cuisine is a revolution. 

Gion Hatanaka - Kyoto, Japan

Kaiseki is quite the cuisine. A clever combination of veggies, meat, and fish; an aesthetic marvel; and unbelievably complicated.

My research yielded a Japanese Food Philosophy that is clearly not for amateurs. The idea of trying to include 5 colors, 5 tastes, 5 cooking methods, and 5 senses in every meal hurts my brain.

In every meal, the chef to incorporate the following:

Go shiki (5 colors) - red, yellow, green, black, white

Go mi (5 tastes) - salty, sour, sweet, bitter, spicy

Go ho (5 cooking methods) - simmering, boiling, steaming, frying, sauteeing, pickling, etc

Go kan (5 senses) - taste, sight, sound, smell, texture

At Gion Hatanaka, all these things could probably be found in just the two-tiered box of appetizers.

First, the smaller tier, a soothing starter of Snapper Sushi and Salmon Sushi. The sushi is Kyoto style, fish pressed atop a roll of vinegar rice. A tiny Tomato Compote is sugar-sweetened and ripe, and cleanses the palate for the larger tier.

There's a combination of savory, salty, meaty, and sweet all in one little box. Rolled Egg is fluffy and light, Boiled Prawn is sweet simplicity - just don't neglect the head. A thin green Seaweed houses tiny grains of herring roe, almost as cute as the squishy balls of Fried Taro. A tiny porcelain caddy hides a Boiled Lotus Stalk with Sesame, which finishes light and a tiny bit bitter. A chunk of Grilled Eel is unexpectedly savory-sauced, and a tentacle of Boiled Octopus is tender and fragrant. Grilled Duck is a gamey, meaty contrast to all the seafood and plants, like a sandwich next to the savory Grilled Gluten Cake. For a direct comparison, the stretchy Gluten Cake in Bamboo Leaf is just perfect. It is the most memorable bland thing I've ever tried.

The next course features expertly-filleted Hamo Pike Conger and a tube of fresh Tuna in tofu skin, made for dipping with wasabi and ponzu.

Sea Eel glides on a bed of eggplant. The so-called "starchy sauce" coats it like a soft glove, a flavor like an eel sauce lite.

The Tempura is impossibly crisp and light as usual, a sampling of shrimp, fish, shiitake, and green pepper.

A light Soup makes the remainder of the meal just a little less overwhelming, an easy slurp with viscous sesame tofu and a hint of fish. The water shield is a new vegetable for me, neutral with the texture of fuzzy pulp. The side of pickles goes with the steamed rice.

Even the Steamed Rice is exceptional, cohesive grains interspersed with slivers of red snapper and a hint of ginger.

Dessert is minimalist, melty Melon in a cold, scintillate syrup.

The kaiseki meal is a classic, the glamour of old Japan in edible form. A feast of the palate is accompanied by a feast for the eyes - dinner with a singing geiko and a dancing maiko, all an unforgettable presentation by Gion Hatanaka.