Myojaku (Tokyo) - Single Table Experience

TheSingleTable

May 18

2 min read

Myojaku was promoted to three stars in the most recent guide, so I was curious as to how this restaurant was elevated.

What I found was a deep respect and reverence to ingredients, and focused cooking along with some technical feats.

As you can see from the photo below, the dining room, with its beige and cream colors is rather stark, save for the branch showing its sign of life.

The counter was hushed throughout the meal, perhaps as a nod to cultural heritage. As the only westerner in residence that evening, the restraint of the diners made it a touch uncomfortable at times. Although, I did my best to communicate with Chef Hidetoshi Nakamura and his assistant about food and technique.

There are a few dishes I'd like to focus on, the first being the opening daikon simmered in sea salt.

Chef's ethos is based on water and the salinity and nutrients it provides. Most of it is brought in from a deep spring in Kyoto.

Note, the daikon dish didn't taste "salty" by any means. Instead, it made a radish taste like.... a pumped up radish. We were put on notice about Chef's approach to the experience.

Now, when talking about salt, one of the more interesting preparations was an "octopus salt" using some molecular technique. This really aided the sashimi, although I learned quickly to use restraint as a little of the "salt" went a long way on the palate.

The "silk roll" is a paper-thin egg white used to nestle round greeneye, bones and all, in to place. The wrapper is silky smooth before you get to the crunch of the fish.

Fried mochi hardly needed paper underneath. Not a hint of oil draining from it. Perfectly luscious and decedent.

The soba was as you'd expect at a restaurant of this quality. More importantly, I appreciated the temperature of the noodle. So often it comes out of balance.

The grouper was succulent, infusing the flavour of the charcoal grill. The minimalist approach here works. It doesn't need a pour over.

The sakura joyo was the only sweet treat of the evening, as you'd expect in this sort of meal, but it was so pungent with cherry blossom, you couldn't help but smile, even if the dining room was subdued.

While this is not the typical meal I go for, it's always good to expand your horizons and stretch boundaries. I saw some very fascinating and inventive techniques, and enjoyed some flavour combinations that were new to me. Not everything has to be an umami bomb in dining. There's a significant place for harmonious, thoughtful cooking based on a modernization of a centuries old concept of kaiseki.