Jiki Miyazawa じきみやざわ

As is common in Japan the restaurant is named after its proprietor - and according to a Japanese Foodie friend Jiki Miyazawa is one of Kyoto's finest young chef's. (the link is in Japanese but the map shows you it is two blocks east of Daimaru and about half a block north. It is on the east side of the street)

The photos of this meal are from the vault I'm afraid - I ate here almost 18 months ago when my oldest friend (and sista!) Vanessa came to visit.  Here she is in the restaurant entrance - playing tourist ...

We were first offered our choice of beautiful sake cups. People travel across Japan to dine off the dinnerware - many of them extremely valuable antiques....

Seasonal starter of tiny firefly squid - smaller than a broadbean!

Fresh wakame - "scratched up" which makes it more porous and slightly... er slimy. It is served in the dashi it was cooked in with some bamboo shoots and garnished with kinome - the leave of the sansho (pepper) plant

My nemisis - namako shiokara - the fermented (raw) guts of the seaslug, on rice, hiding under a sakura leaf

Chef preparing a beautiful sashimi dish with a very soft variety of uni (sea urchin) and a sweet soy dressing

On of the most divine renditions of goma dofu (sesame tofu) - grilled and served with a sesame dressing (yaki goma dofu)

Kinome yaki sakana  - Grilled fish with kinome

This Akagai (red ark shell clam) was slammed down, live, onto the bench  - where it tried to slink away before being quickly sliced into submission

With fine shreds of udo and slices of raw okra it was a particularly refreshing, elegant dish - if somewhat brutal...

Grilled anago (conger eel)  in thickened dashi

rice and pickles

custard apple

Sakura monaka  - a cherry blossom shaped wafer filled with cherry blossom flavoured anko (red bean paste) - it is being warmed in the background above

Chef preparing Matcha ( whisked, powdered green tea) for serving with the Sakura sweet.