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pax_athenaSo uhm, I have a backlog of a few "starry" restaurants? Two Michelin-star-rated ones and one recommended, to be exact. But if I wait until I work my way through them, I will never post anything. So you get my latest adventure instead of the chronologically next one :) My restaurants-buddy and I decided that given how I am leaving soon, we need to try to get to a few places we absolutely wanted to visit - she stays in Amsterdam but suffers from the same problem I usually do, namely a lack of (local) people who would be interested in investing a lot into food.
The Teppanyaki Restaurant Sazanka is in hotel Okura. And honestly, a few years ago I would be impressed by the entrance but by now my approach is that they are there to make me feel well and welcome, no matter me wearing a jacket that costs less than the surcharge for Wagyu beef (but we'll come to that).
In Sazanka, your food is made just in front of you on a hot plate - not quiet by your personal chef, but close to. Our table seated a total of 7 people - some other tables were larger, but not by much and I am rather sure that those were groups that belonged together. I was kind of sad that conversation did not happen[*], but it was also not the same set up as Boston's Stir (which does master classes where everyone gets the same and the very idea is to discuss the food and the wine and the pairings).
Here is our amazing chef (I asked permission to take the photos):
Not every dish involved fire, but hey, those were the most spectacular photos! Some of the most spectacular things done was however the perfect flipping of the fish and the whole choreography of the cooking. I did not get to thank her in the end (by the time we finished with the desert we were, once again, among the last people in the restaurant), but I do hope that I adequately expressed how amazing the food was during the meal.
(click for a larger version)
We knew what we would be getting in terms of the menu (namely the above, the seasonal menu, the most extensive of the three menus on offer - they also had a lot of a la carte dishes), but still let them explain it to us. One cool thing about J. is that she and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to these restaurant visits: if we are already here and spending the money, we can as well go full way. We did some time discussing whether wine or sake and decided for sake in the end, on the reasons it being a more unique experience. I'm not sure what the wine pairing would have been like (certainly good, I don't doubt that), but the sake one definitely changed my outlook on what sake can be. I still don't think I'll order some just for myself (except perhaps asking for a recommendation in a really good Japanese place, something that would go well with the food there?), but I know that it can be as interesting as wine and is definitely not the awful cloudy-white stuff I imagined before!
We also went with a aperitif to start things off. Not sure if this was a good idea - it was yummy, but 6 glassed of sake, even half-pours of sake are a lot and I started to really, really feel the alcohol early during the dinner. Well, lesson learned for the next time I order a full pairing!
Amuse bouche.
First sake and first course. Such a wonderful, soft start into the meal. It set the tone for the whole evening: this was less about surprising flavour combinations or interesting textures and more about perfectly cooked ingredients, especially fish and meat. Now that I think about this was the most meat-heavy of all high end restaurant visits I've experience so far. (Partly also because I am usually most interested in the local-and-seasonal variety of cousine which tend to be heavy on vegetables.)
We also once again had a very nice sommelier who (especially once we clearly said what we know nothing about sake and are very eager to learn) explained things in great detail and with a lot of enthusiasm. This is always a major plus point. I always want to learn more about the my food and drinks!
Second sake and second course. That white miso sauce! That perfectly cooked with with the perfectly crispy ebi skin. You may not be able to see it, but the fish is actually cut in individual, perfectly portioned pieces so you can easily pick them up with the chop sticks and move them into your mouth.
Third sake and third course. The meat would just melt in your mouth and so did the duck liver filling. And the sweetish sauce harmonized perfectly with it. My only complains about the sauces was the lack of bread - there always were a few drops left on the plate in the end and not way of getting it into one's mouth with the chop sticks (and well, licking I would not dare although I was very much tempted!).
We were explained what the veggie was (not the radishes, the other one), but I don't remember. Something special to Japan.
(Foie Gras is something I will usually not order and I am hesitant about duck liver because I've read too many articles about how things that are not officially labelled foie grad end up being produced through force feeding. But when it's on a menu ... Here I am hoping that I did not misjudge that if it were foie gras, they would put it as such on the menu or check their sources otherwise ...)
Fourth sake (a rose one made from black rice!) and fourth course. I do love lamp and this was the most incredibly soft lamb I ever had. Wow. That meat, that meat! And once again an amazing sauce on the side that was hard to get from the plate XD
Fifth sake and fifth course. Yes, we went with the Wagyu Beef filet option. Folks - I wanted to tell you it's not worth the money. I really wanted to. But the thing is: it is. I do generally not like fatty beef - this is not about the fat, I love bacon and dream of the chance to finally again get my hands on a piece of proper salo (to be then eaten in thin slices on dark bread), this is about fatty beef. But this, oh this ... It melts and it tastes and ... It's just the best piece of meat I had in my life a place that the lamb (and I love, love lamb) from the fourth course held for about half an hour or so.
And once again the dish is very simple: meet, carrots, carrot greens, this time even without fancy miso.
Final half-course - it kind of belonged to five, with the same sake, but came after the beef. I have to admit that I haven't tried onigiri before (I know, bad fan of Japanese cuisine!), but gosh, was this one perfect. It's rice, but every corn was the perfect texture and harmonized wonderfully with the broth and the other stuff. And like the starting broth, this was a very soft, quiet dish, perfect to calm down after the wagyu fillet before.
Dessert yuzu sake and dessert.
I did not expect green tea and strawberries to harmonize so well. Wow! I was less a fan of the manju, but this may have been just me. And oh, this dessert sake. So good! I love citrus fruit in general and this one was really special.
Cookies! J. asked for a coffee - not sure whether we would have gotten them otherwise. Very, very good, although I am not sure how Japanese they are.
Overall: very much recommended. Though perhaps not as one of the first of your high end dining places - of the (admittedly few - but hey, I'm young! - I tried) that still would be either Essigbrätlein in Nuremberg (lunch/dinner) or the Vermeer in Amsterdam, both do the "regional & seasonal incredible stuff out of ingredient you would not usually consider high end" approach. A word of warning about Sazanka, though - I've read online that they actually charge for water which would be a major wtf?, but I honestly haven't checked the bill and given the fact that we only had half-pours of the alcohol and the aperitif and the coffee I can't say whether we paid for it or not. In any case it was more than worth it.
[*] We did exchange some words with the somewhat older guy who did sit next to me: he literally just popped in for a quick meal, though. He seems to be a regular - I would have liked to hear more about the restaurant from him, but at least he commented how we had the luck to have the best chef on our table (and did indeed talk to the chef, so it seemed he indeed knew her). And then there were the two guys - they asked whether this was our first time to a Michelin restaurant (well, uhm ...) but this seemed an OK conversation started. So I said "no, we actually do this as a hobby" - "oh, we too" (they seemed to want to visit all the ones in the Netherlands within the next four years) - "so which one did you like best?" - I mean, this seemed like the best question to start a conversation? I mean here I am, giving you an opening to exchange about the amazing experience we have. So they gestured to their plate but then proceeded lecturing us about how Sazanka was only one of the three Michelin-rated restaurants in the hotel. And they haven't even been to the other two. I mean - I just told you we do this as a hobby? Do you really think I don't know what the other two restaurants are? Why not tell me about that other place you loved that you would like to recommend? Why instead try lecturing us? Anyway, byyyyyeeee stupid Dutch guys. Here goes your chance to hear stories about Chicago's Alinea.
The Teppanyaki Restaurant Sazanka is in hotel Okura. And honestly, a few years ago I would be impressed by the entrance but by now my approach is that they are there to make me feel well and welcome, no matter me wearing a jacket that costs less than the surcharge for Wagyu beef (but we'll come to that).
In Sazanka, your food is made just in front of you on a hot plate - not quiet by your personal chef, but close to. Our table seated a total of 7 people - some other tables were larger, but not by much and I am rather sure that those were groups that belonged together. I was kind of sad that conversation did not happen[*], but it was also not the same set up as Boston's Stir (which does master classes where everyone gets the same and the very idea is to discuss the food and the wine and the pairings).
Here is our amazing chef (I asked permission to take the photos):
Not every dish involved fire, but hey, those were the most spectacular photos! Some of the most spectacular things done was however the perfect flipping of the fish and the whole choreography of the cooking. I did not get to thank her in the end (by the time we finished with the desert we were, once again, among the last people in the restaurant), but I do hope that I adequately expressed how amazing the food was during the meal.
(click for a larger version)
We knew what we would be getting in terms of the menu (namely the above, the seasonal menu, the most extensive of the three menus on offer - they also had a lot of a la carte dishes), but still let them explain it to us. One cool thing about J. is that she and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to these restaurant visits: if we are already here and spending the money, we can as well go full way. We did some time discussing whether wine or sake and decided for sake in the end, on the reasons it being a more unique experience. I'm not sure what the wine pairing would have been like (certainly good, I don't doubt that), but the sake one definitely changed my outlook on what sake can be. I still don't think I'll order some just for myself (except perhaps asking for a recommendation in a really good Japanese place, something that would go well with the food there?), but I know that it can be as interesting as wine and is definitely not the awful cloudy-white stuff I imagined before!
We also went with a aperitif to start things off. Not sure if this was a good idea - it was yummy, but 6 glassed of sake, even half-pours of sake are a lot and I started to really, really feel the alcohol early during the dinner. Well, lesson learned for the next time I order a full pairing!
Amuse bouche.
First sake and first course. Such a wonderful, soft start into the meal. It set the tone for the whole evening: this was less about surprising flavour combinations or interesting textures and more about perfectly cooked ingredients, especially fish and meat. Now that I think about this was the most meat-heavy of all high end restaurant visits I've experience so far. (Partly also because I am usually most interested in the local-and-seasonal variety of cousine which tend to be heavy on vegetables.)
We also once again had a very nice sommelier who (especially once we clearly said what we know nothing about sake and are very eager to learn) explained things in great detail and with a lot of enthusiasm. This is always a major plus point. I always want to learn more about the my food and drinks!
Second sake and second course. That white miso sauce! That perfectly cooked with with the perfectly crispy ebi skin. You may not be able to see it, but the fish is actually cut in individual, perfectly portioned pieces so you can easily pick them up with the chop sticks and move them into your mouth.
Third sake and third course. The meat would just melt in your mouth and so did the duck liver filling. And the sweetish sauce harmonized perfectly with it. My only complains about the sauces was the lack of bread - there always were a few drops left on the plate in the end and not way of getting it into one's mouth with the chop sticks (and well, licking I would not dare although I was very much tempted!).
We were explained what the veggie was (not the radishes, the other one), but I don't remember. Something special to Japan.
(Foie Gras is something I will usually not order and I am hesitant about duck liver because I've read too many articles about how things that are not officially labelled foie grad end up being produced through force feeding. But when it's on a menu ... Here I am hoping that I did not misjudge that if it were foie gras, they would put it as such on the menu or check their sources otherwise ...)
Fourth sake (a rose one made from black rice!) and fourth course. I do love lamp and this was the most incredibly soft lamb I ever had. Wow. That meat, that meat! And once again an amazing sauce on the side that was hard to get from the plate XD
Fifth sake and fifth course. Yes, we went with the Wagyu Beef filet option. Folks - I wanted to tell you it's not worth the money. I really wanted to. But the thing is: it is. I do generally not like fatty beef - this is not about the fat, I love bacon and dream of the chance to finally again get my hands on a piece of proper salo (to be then eaten in thin slices on dark bread), this is about fatty beef. But this, oh this ... It melts and it tastes and ... It's just the best piece of meat I had in my life a place that the lamb (and I love, love lamb) from the fourth course held for about half an hour or so.
And once again the dish is very simple: meet, carrots, carrot greens, this time even without fancy miso.
Final half-course - it kind of belonged to five, with the same sake, but came after the beef. I have to admit that I haven't tried onigiri before (I know, bad fan of Japanese cuisine!), but gosh, was this one perfect. It's rice, but every corn was the perfect texture and harmonized wonderfully with the broth and the other stuff. And like the starting broth, this was a very soft, quiet dish, perfect to calm down after the wagyu fillet before.
Dessert yuzu sake and dessert.
I did not expect green tea and strawberries to harmonize so well. Wow! I was less a fan of the manju, but this may have been just me. And oh, this dessert sake. So good! I love citrus fruit in general and this one was really special.
Cookies! J. asked for a coffee - not sure whether we would have gotten them otherwise. Very, very good, although I am not sure how Japanese they are.
Overall: very much recommended. Though perhaps not as one of the first of your high end dining places - of the (admittedly few - but hey, I'm young! - I tried) that still would be either Essigbrätlein in Nuremberg (lunch/dinner) or the Vermeer in Amsterdam, both do the "regional & seasonal incredible stuff out of ingredient you would not usually consider high end" approach. A word of warning about Sazanka, though - I've read online that they actually charge for water which would be a major wtf?, but I honestly haven't checked the bill and given the fact that we only had half-pours of the alcohol and the aperitif and the coffee I can't say whether we paid for it or not. In any case it was more than worth it.
[*] We did exchange some words with the somewhat older guy who did sit next to me: he literally just popped in for a quick meal, though. He seems to be a regular - I would have liked to hear more about the restaurant from him, but at least he commented how we had the luck to have the best chef on our table (and did indeed talk to the chef, so it seemed he indeed knew her). And then there were the two guys - they asked whether this was our first time to a Michelin restaurant (well, uhm ...) but this seemed an OK conversation started. So I said "no, we actually do this as a hobby" - "oh, we too" (they seemed to want to visit all the ones in the Netherlands within the next four years) - "so which one did you like best?" - I mean, this seemed like the best question to start a conversation? I mean here I am, giving you an opening to exchange about the amazing experience we have. So they gestured to their plate but then proceeded lecturing us about how Sazanka was only one of the three Michelin-rated restaurants in the hotel. And they haven't even been to the other two. I mean - I just told you we do this as a hobby? Do you really think I don't know what the other two restaurants are? Why not tell me about that other place you loved that you would like to recommend? Why instead try lecturing us? Anyway, byyyyyeeee stupid Dutch guys. Here goes your chance to hear stories about Chicago's Alinea.
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