{"id":441,"date":"2015-05-21T12:21:22","date_gmt":"2015-05-21T04:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/?p=441"},"modified":"2019-02-03T17:44:33","modified_gmt":"2019-02-03T09:44:33","slug":"kitcho-arashiyama-go-for-the-experience-not-just-the-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/2015\/05\/21\/kitcho-arashiyama-go-for-the-experience-not-just-the-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyoto’s Kitcho Arashiyama – Go for the Experience Not Just the Food"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michelin 3-starred Kitcho Arashiyama is known as a temple of Kyoto Kaiseki cuisine that comes with a high price. Reviews thus, are often mixed. Having now been there in winter and summer, I say that it\u2019s worth trying at least once because of the complete experience it offers. However, if you\u2019re just going for the food, you can get as fulfilling a Kaiseki experience elsewhere for a lot less financial pain.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Entrance to Kitcho<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019m a sucker for Japanese ceramics, so to see the antiques that Kitcho serves its food on is an additional treat. Also, I would say I have an adventurous palate – which helps when faced with fish sperm and crab gunk. If you get queasy at the thought, Kyoto Kaiseki may not be for you no matter the restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Beautiful ceramics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you do decide to go, you could contain your cost and culture shock by letting Kitcho know in advance –\u00a0I would recommend advising them on your budget and any dietary preferences. However, boundaries should be realistic. I think you may still need to assume a minimum budget of JPY45,000 to JPY60,000 per person (best to check with Kitcho) and most types of seafood.<\/p>\n

There were 10-11 courses, largely seafood based, in both the winter and summer menus. In Kaiseki tradition, the food follows a distinct order, often starting with a cold dish, then\u00a0sashimi, moving onto the cooked items and ending with beef and rice and then dessert. The summer menu featured the Ayu fish and fresh white asparagus while the winter menu had snow crab. The dishes are seasonal, which is the cornerstone of Kyoto Kaiseki cuisine. Actually, the high cost of a Kaiseki meal in Kitcho is also due to its fine ingredients. This is after all\u00a0Japan,\u00a0where a melon from a prized grower could cost more than\u00a0USD100.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho's<\/a>
Part of the restaurant’s garden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I first came here in winter 2012, strolling in 30 minutes earlier than the time\u00a0I had reserved because we were cold and wet and very tired from walking around temples and gardens in Arashiyama the whole day (we were staying in central Kyoto and didn\u2019t want to go to and fro). The staff couldn\u2019t be more accommodating, seating us immediately and starting our meal early. We probably looked a whole lot shabbier than their usual clientele (we were in jeans and sneakers) but as guests dine in individual rooms, there was little risk we\u2019d offend anyone else.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Our private dining room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We were wowed instantly. The size of our dining room for four of us was at least 200 sq. ft. And while we sat on tatami mats, the cushions we were on had proper back rests – like a legless chair. Just as well, the meal took\u00a0two hours. I was in a different room in summer 2014, slightly smaller as there were just two of us but just as nice. I would love to round out my experience by trying the Spring and Autumn menus as well – any willing sponsor?<\/p>\n

Reservations are a must. Contact Kitcho Arashiyama:\u00a0http:\/\/www.kitcho.com\/kyoto\/shoplist_en\/arashiyama\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Our Winter Meal:<\/b><\/p>\n

We started with an appetiser of tilefish and vegetables, followed by a snow crab and tofu soup and two rounds of sashimi (all not pictured here). Our servers then brought in snow crab, which had been grilled but they separated out the flesh for us so we wouldn’t have to do it. This was done in the room with the crab kept on traditional individual burners so that the flesh would not go cold.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Our server prepares our snow crab<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The crab is presented to us with the innards inside the hollowed out yuzu.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Crab innards, are inside the yuzu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next came a shared course of assorted “delicacies”. This is seen in the feature picture\u00a0for this article which my co-foodie Gavin Wong photographed.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho's<\/a>
Fish and egg cake, one of the features in a course comprising of an assortment of delicacies<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next came the grilled course consisting of butterfish that was accompanied by stuffed lotus root.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho's<\/a>
Grilled butterfish with lotus root<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We then had a simmered dish – not pictured here – that consisted of daikon (Japanese radish), taro and spinach in a miso sauce. The final round of dishes is essentially rice with grilled beef. The beef is, of course, Japanese and for this evening I think it was Matsusaka-ushi. The white rice may look\u00a0like any other Japanese white rice\u00a0but it was really good. According to our server, Kitcho holds an annual competition to select the best rice to be served in its restaurant.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Grilled beef served with pickles for the rice<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The meal then ends with dessert.\u00a0For this evening, it was fresh melon and strawberries. There was a cream based basil sauce that accompanied the fruits, which my dinner partners drank – it was that good.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Fresh fruits from the best farms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our Summer Meal<\/strong><\/p>\n

The summer menu is presented on a\u00a0 number of glass ware as opposed to ceramics – to imbue a visual coolness against the summer heat. We started with a cold watershield, lily bud and seafood appetiser in a light vinaigrette.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Cold dish of watershield, lily buds and seafood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We then had a Kyoto summer specialty – pike conger eel – which Kitcho served in a clear broth on this particular day. Unfortunately my photo didn’t turn out well so it’s not pictured here. In keeping with the Kaiseki tradition, sashimi then follows the soup course (similar to our winter meal).<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Part of our sashimi course – delicious otoro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Where we had snow crab in winter, for summer we had white asparagus. This was grilled at our table.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Grilling the straightest white asparagus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After this came our course of delicacies, which included one of my favourites, uni (sea urchin), as well as prawns and abalone. Kitcho lays out the various delicacies on lotus leaves and crushed ice.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Delicacies are served in spoons, crystal glasses and in the orange buds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nothing is wasted – the head of our prawn is deep fried to a crispy snack.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Fried prawn heads<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next came another Kyoto summer specialty – the Ayu (sweetish). The Ayu was served both grilled and fried.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Grilled Ayu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Kticho<\/a>
Another view of the salt-grilled Ayu<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the fish, came the\u00a0simmered dish which in this case was tofu and vegetables. The bowl it was served in was stunning – \u00a0a rich minty apple green with a chrysanthemum motif in a light silvery-gold.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Tofu and vegetables in an amazing bowl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As with the winter meal, we then ended with grilled beef and rice However, in this case, we were offered two types of rice – plain white – or one cooked with dashi and served with baby sardines and finely chopped perilla leaves.<\/p>\n

\"Kticho<\/a>
Grilled beef to accompany the rice<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sesame seeds, perilla leaves along with pickles (not pictured) to accompany our rice.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
Sesame seeds and perilla leaves<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Kitcho<\/a>
You got to eat the carbs here!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Finally the dessert is warabimochi – one of my favourites. Traditionally made from bracken starch, warabimochi has the texture\/consistency of a cross between mochi and jello. It\u2019s a popular summer dessert.<\/p>\n

\"Kitcho<\/a>
My favourite dessert – warabimochi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michelin 3-starred Kitcho Arashiyama is known as a temple of Kyoto Kaiseki cuisine that comes with a high price. Reviews thus, are often mixed. Having now been there in winter and summer, I say that it\u2019s worth trying at least once because of the complete experience it offers. However, if you\u2019re just going for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":442,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,21,135,104],"tags":[43,58,73,37,40,50],"class_list":["post-441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asiapac","category-japan-asiapac","category-japan-kyoto","category-michelinstar","tag-featured","tag-japan","tag-kyoto","tag-michelin_star","tag-seafood","tag-sushi","latest_post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3947,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441\/revisions\/3947"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gazeandgraze.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}