 |
| Clockwize from top left - yuzu kuzu ( Japanese citrus flavoured starch "jelly") with uni ( sea urchin), Nameko mushrooms in kuro goma (black sesame) cream, monkfish liver with ground mountain yam, beansprouts and jellyfish with kimizu (egg yolk vinegar dressing) and in the centre - duck and kabura (turnip) sushi with kuwai ( arrowhead) chips |
 |
| Sashimi of Maguro (tuna), Kampachi (amberjack) and Amai Ebi (sweet prawns) |
 |
| Kani Manju ( dumpling made from white fish with crab in the centre) in a dashi broth thickened with kuzu. The little white specks are tofu - made to look like snow, perfect for a winter's kaiseki |
 |
| Daikon, koimo (taro/potato) and broccoli with a chunky mugi (barley) miso flavoured with yuzu |
 |
| Tempura of Anago ( conger eel), tai (sea bream), nasu (eggplant), renkon (lotus), prawns and satsumaimo (sweet potato) with moshio - a delicious salt from Okinawa made from burning seaweed apparently.. |
 |
| Gomoku meshi - a mixture of rice and other ingredients, in this case Anago and mistuba forming the base flavours. The okoge "burnt rice" is the crust that cooks onto the base and the best bit! |
 |
| Konomono/Tsukemono - divine pickles of daikon, daikon greens and narazuke (daikon pickled with sake lees) |
 |
| Chef's "original dessert" - tapioca in coconut milk with anko ( sweet red beans), vanilla ice cream and kuromitsu ( black sugar syrup) - this simple dessert was absolutely sensational with the sencha ( green tea) it was served with - who would have guessed that the coconut could be a friend to Sencha? |
  |
The waitstaff couldn't have been more gorgeous, the decor on the other hand... aw c'mon its Christmas Lawson - and red carnations and glitzy gold wrapped twigs are all the rage....
