I have eaten in countless Japanese restaurants; and there are only three of them that I like so far namely: Sugi, SenyRyu, and Kikufuji… One April Saturday, I decided to try Kai. Before I even got to see the menu, I felt that I was starting to fall in love with the place. Kai has this general feeling of making you want to relax and enjoy the wonders of gastronomy. Apart from its interiors, its unique table setting (down to the chopstick rest), is every bit as unique. I could only hope that the food would be as interesting…
Now, I am going to take a little bit of a detour…
They say that life is full of surprises. Like life, I always believed that exploring food is like an adventure. In this world, we have people who think like shapes…. We have the squares---the conventional type, or people who would never be caught dead trying something new or different on the menu---people who are akin to the phrase "the usual". Closely related to the squares, we have the circles. These are the ones who traditionally eat in the same place as if there was no other restaurant in existence. And we have the splats (if it is indeed considered a shape). Splats as we know are forms created by liquid. If you notice, not all splats are the same. Thus, I have decided to baptize the breed of epicurious, adventure-seeking, food "passionatas", The Splats. As passionate as I am about food and cooking, I have always had this habit of trying to order everything that sounds good on the menu. One of the many symptoms of a Splat is that Splats love to imagine... only to be disappointed sometimes. As much as I love Sugi, SenyRyu, Tsukiji, and Kikufuji, everything on their menu looks like a brood of siblings and cousins to me.
Once I was comfortably seated, the friendly waitress handed me the menu. Although I saw the occasional cousin here and there, it was a delight to see several "queers". In the fashion world, queers are the trend-setters----very unlike the boring squares and circles. Four dishes that caught my sight (and my forever grumbling stomach that was beginning to sound like a quartet playing a symphony as my eyes feasted on the words)---Dynamite (Wasabi Oysters with a peculiar sauce I cannot recall), Age Dashi Nasu (Tofu and eggplant with Foie Gras), Beef Ishiyaki, and the desserts... I just couldn't seem to make up my mind. Decisions decisions... The drinks are just as interesting as the food. Worth trying is their lychee concoction and green apple and lime shake.
In a restaurant, the servers are just as important as the food and the ambience. As a whole, I would give the staff gold medals for being very friendly and attentive. The ambience deserves five stars. And the food? I have not even begun to describe it yet but my cynical palate was already delighting in the flavors. I was never an oyster eater; but the moment I placed a "Dynamite" in my mouth, my stomach (which used to have a limited seating capacity I must say) was battling with my sense of vision already. Whether there is any truth to oysters being aphrodisiacs, this dish is an aphrodisiac in itself---it makes you fall in love with the wonders of the culinary world. Although I did not taste the wasabi in it, the sauce was simply amazing. This dish is as explosive as the name itself. For this dish, I give a rating of four spoons. Then came my Age Dashi Nasu… I have always loved the Age Dashi Tofu in Sugi and SenRyu; but when I tasted Kai’s Age Dashi Nasu with Foie Gras, I discovered a new love affair. What could be better than my favorite dish (Foie Gras) combined with one of my favorite Japanese starters (Age Dashi Tofu)----a marriage of flavors that is as perfect as two persons who have found the perfect love. I give this dish five spoons. As soon as I finished the last Nasu, the server came with my Beef Ishiyaki. Atop a small flaming pot was a heavy round black stone on which I was to cook paper thin slices of Japanese Kobe Beef… yes, by myself. Oh, don’t you just love that? I was delighted! With the beef come three dipping sauces to choose from. Choices choices choices… I loved all three equally. Because of the experience and the quality of the meat, I give this dish four and a half spoons. Do I even have room for dessert? Oh yes… the moment I laid my eyes on them, my mouth started to water. Beneath four little scoops of ice-cream, were sweet bananas infused with the heavenly flavors of chocolate and caramel, rolled maki-style, with a crisp outer coating. An artwork in itself… this dish definitely deserves five spoons. My fellow splats, I highly recommend these four dishes.
I can almost taste and smell them as I write…
I have found a new love…
Japanese cuisine can just be as amorous as a match made in heaven after all…
Arigato Kai for a wonderful experience, and to my friends, Bon appetit! I am off to seek another adventure. Till next time…
POST SCRIPT…
More to come from The Adventures of an Epicurious Splat by Monica Figueroa
