Ankyu: The Restaurant that Rejected 3 Michelin Stars

Hi Guys! Today I will review Ankyu, a restaurant in Kyoto that as you read on the header, rejected 3 Michelin stars. Actually I found this restaurant by chance.... As now it is not even listed on the Michelin list...! And it's only a 7-seater so it's pretty small.

During our gastronomic trip we went to kaiseki (懐石), or Japanese fine dining, restaurants everyday, and this was our most favourite restaurant although it doesn't have 3 Michelin stars. So, I conclude that Michelin stars doesn't mean everything.

 Eggplant with some kind of sauce. I didn't take note of the name but I still remember the taste. Cold eggplant with some kind of peanut sauce... Very light and a great start to our dinner.

 Young chef cutting the saba.

 Saba with gingko nuts

This is Ankyu's specialty dish. Saba is such a common fish but the way they serve it just makes it on a whole new different level. Notice that my sushi is cut into two. That's because I am a woman and it makes it easier to eat!

Oh and anyway, sushi is supposed to be eaten with the wasabi smeared on the fish, not mixed in the soy sauce.

 Hamaguri clam soup

So usually I don't eat clam but after finishing this I learnt that I can eat clam. The story is that I hate to eat many stuffs.

 Of course we need sake with our Japanese food.

 Generous serving of kani. Truly delicious...!

 2nd serving of sake.

 Young chef cutting tuna.

 Young toro

Toro is usually fattening but since this toro is young, it is not so fattening. I can say that it is the best toro that I ever had...

 Blackthroat seaperch (nodoguro)

New type of fish! Skin is crispy yet the meat is so tender...

 More sake

 Uni with yuba

Yuba is tofu skin, and this dish is so beautiful......! And the freshly grated wasabi really compliments the uni really well. I want it again ...!

 Red horsehead (amadai)

 The skin is really crunchy! And the thick soup was really tasteful... I don't mind having more of it...

 Abalone

At Fujiya, I couldn't finish the abalone but at this restaurant I did! Makes me wonder why these kaiseki restaurants lets me eat what I usually don't eat.

 Rice and salmon

Usually salmon is farmed so it is not very healthy. So I guess this dish was my least favourite in the menu.

 Pickles to go with the rice

Sliced ripe persimmon for dessert

My verdict for Ankyu is that it deserves 3 Michelin stars. I think they rejected it due to tax? I mean, we had to pay with cash there...! And the total bill is more than 5man yen for 2 people so you have to be careful with the cash! Haha.

So, the meal was really simple yet pleasing to the taste glands. I guess the secret lies behind the great ingredients that they use such as the young toro. I will certainly go back next time...

3 Michelin Star Restaurant: Wa Yamamura Review

Hi Guys! So, my food adventure is really exciting, isn't it? That's why you are back. LOL

This time the review is for Wa Yamamura (和やまむら) located in Nara, Japan. This restaurant's pretty amazing as it's the only 3 star restaurant in Nara. OK there are three 2 star restaurants there but being the only 3 star restaurant makes it kinda popular, and hence difficult to get a booking.

Here are the pictures taken by yours truly (not that I'm a pro or what).

 Appetiser: Crab, okra, udo with lemon vinegar

So pretty like a peacock. Truly unique dish with the pureed okra........!

 Soup: Abalone dumplings, white jews ear in Japanese dashi soup

Again, I am not a fan of abalone but I finished this..... As it doesn't have liver sauce like the one in Fujiya, another 3 star restaurant in Japan (read on my blog post, Fujiya).

 Fried scorpion fish

So... an alive scorpion fish looks like this

(Source: Wikipedia)
かわいいでしょう？
Isn't it cute?!!!!!!! But delicious as....

Dip it in the sauce or salt. I don't really like salt so I didn't have my fish with anything... Anyway you can also eat the bones! Having this fish is totally a whole new experience for me. It was also a first even for my partner who is a much more experienced gastronomist than me! Haha

 Sashimi: Fatty tuna, squid, flat fish, shrimp

Fresh sashimi on ice.....! For this restaurant, their presentation is truly world-class.

 Zoomed in picture just for your eyes to see.

 Hassun 八寸
This is the main dish which is breathtakingly beautiful.

 Hassun:

• Sesame tofu (sea urchin)
• Raw fish and vegetables seasoned in vinegar with persimmon
• Prawn
• Hand-rolled sushi
• Shellfish grilled with egg
• Grilled tofu with nuts
• "Asatsuki" with vinegared miso dressing
• Fried gingko nuts, apios
• Soft codroe in Japanese vinegar
• Radish with dried mullet roe
• Burdock rolled with sea eel

A lot of description but it's so beautiful. The only drawback is that they have the codroe again, or shirako, which I don't eat. Here's the Wikipedia link for shirako's description.

 It's so magnificent that it deserves another picture LOL.

 My love for uni is .....

 Grilled dish:

• Tile fish
• Mochi made of gingko nut

Again, another type of fish that I didn't know. You know what, after all these kaiseki experience, I learn a lot of fish's names in Japanese. So, eating helps to improve Japanese. Thank god hahaha

(Source: Google)

That's how tile fish looks like... OK...

 Cold dish:

• Crab, mizuna
• Yam with lemon vinegar
• Japanese scallop
• "Kinjiso"金時草
• Shimeji mushroom with kabosu jelly

Another dish which is mesmerising to the eyes.

 Jelly jelly wobbly....

 I just love kani (crab).

 Steamed bowl:

• Turnip
• Taro
• Pumpkin cake
• Spinach

By this time I was full as.... But still could eat as this is 3 Michelin stars haha

 Rice: Rice wrapped in yuba

Yuba is tofu skin. OK by reading this blog you can learn more about food in Japanese....!

 Pickles to eat with the rice.

 And some tea on the right! OK I had sake that time and although this was for lunch I was a little bit tipsy. The waitress then gave me some tea. So thoughtful of them...!

 Rice: Young sardines and and Japanese pepper boiled in soy sauce on white rice

We were greedy so we wanted to taste both of their rice. OK FYI in kaiseki restaurants they always end with rice (before dessert).

 Cute little sardines

 Dessert: Persimmon, melon, grape jelly

Another pretty one to boot but desserts have to always be pretty.

 Simple but nice.

In the end, the chef wrote the date and thank you on the menu for us to take home! I love it as it gives a personal touch to the diners.

Anyway my review is that Wa Yamamura is truly a world-class restaurant and I will go back again for sure. Maybe in a different season to try out its new creation. Oh and on a side note, it's really affordable. Less than 10k yen for lunch (all that food up there excluding the sake). Such a good deal, isn't it?

I'm actually going back to Nara in a few days' time but I wasn't able to get a booking as I was unfortunately too late. However, I'm going to another highly rated kaiseki restaurant which I will blog pretty soon.

3 Michelin Star Restaurant: Fujiya 1935 Review

Hi guys! I went to a 3 Michelin Star restaurant called Fujiya 1935 in Osaka. There are just four 3 Michelin Star restaurants there and I was fortunate enough to try it ❣ 

Fujiya 1935 is a fusion Italian and Japanese restaurant so they have some innovative dishes.

Without further ado, here are the pictures as a picture speaks a thousand words...!

 This is the menu. Some Michelin restaurants give menus and others don't. I think them giving the menu adds an extra touch as we can bring it back as a souvenir!

Furthermore, as I don't eat meat and many kinds of seafood they changed some dishes for me!

Kelp grouper and shimonita leek.

Fish tastes pretty mild but the broth was clear and good! Feels really healthy.

 Soft cod roe and burdock and autumn truffle.

OK, so this is the first time I tried "shirako", or in Chinese 白子. It means fish sperm lol and it's not according to my tastes so I gave it to my friend. I feel bad as he then had 2 portions of shirako
(」゜ロ゜)」

 Butter and lard... Lard is too fattening...

 Similar to other Italian restaurants they serve bread... Not normal white bread of course.

 Spaghetti, dried mullet roe sauce.

Usually I don't like spaghetti but this serving is small (of course as this menu is a 12 course menu) so it was okay.

 Lotus root, ginkgo nuts, mukago.

I would say that this is one of my favourite dishes (except for the dessert as I am the Dessert Queen..). It's very artistic and it's the first time I have had something like that. Anyway, this whole plate is a work of art, its just that my photo doesn't do justice.

 In close up.

 Sandwich of shiitake mushrooms.

Pretty nice but my photo is not.

 Abalone from Hokkaido, sweet cabbage.

Again, usually I dont have abalone, especially those chinese ones shaped like an ingot. You know what I mean, right? But I could eat 1/3 of this. The sauce is liver sauce so it's not my favourite.

 Capellini of watermelon radish.

Another pasta?!

Scallop.

Very pleased with this dish... Especially with the chestnut and chesnut sauce. And the generous serving.

 Comice sherbet.

Refreshing sherbet after all the savoury food.

Our wine. Mind you although we are in Japan we had wine as this is a fusion Italian restaurant.

Smoke box.

What's next??? A box??? OK I don't have the photo but when I opened the box there was smoke inside... Felt like I was Urashima Taro just back from the sea.... Haha

 Chestnut pudding, coffee jelly of rum flavour.

I just love chestnut so this is my favourite dessert.

 And this coffee rum jelly is out of the world.

 Donut of roasted green tea and honey, and jelly of mosto. Mosto is a kind of grape... Can you imagine how it tastes like? Sour and not too sweet and goes along really well with the doughnut. Yums!

 Herbal tea. Just after the 12 courses I need herbal tea for my erm, digestion? Haha.

 Pretty sugar although I didn't use any.

 Finishing this post with my stay at St. Regis (although its in Osaka not Dubai LOL). On the way back, it was raining and we had the St. Regis umbrella on. Was about to go on the wrong way but the chef told us that St. Regis was the other way. They are very nice!

OK, so my review is that this restaurant is pretty innovative but just lacking in one thing. It's a fusion Japanese and Italian restaurant but I see limited fusion of Japanese and Italian in 1 dish. In Fujiya, some dishes are just plain Japanese (shirako) and others are just plain Italian (2 pastas). But overall it was a unique dining experience for me! And it was my first visit to a 3 star restaurant so now my standards of food have definitely increased.

Thanks for visiting...!