Hashimoto Restaurant: a Kaiseki Extravaganza.

This meal was selected by special arrangement with myself and chef Masaki Hashimoto, and is not the standard kaiseki meal provided by the restaurant. This meal is the epitome of kaiseki cuisine, made available to a patron, long knowledgeable, to the chef. This meal is a selection of the most exceptional ingredients of the moment, mostly imported, fresh from Japan. 

Junmai-Daiginjo Kin-no-jo (Okunomatsu Sake Brewery). A very special and rare sake with a refined texture and gentle aroma.

Char-broiled icefish (shira-uo) with mountain potato (yama-imo), rapeseed (nano-hana) and red turnip (aka-kubu) with wakame sauce; Japanese white rice topped with rice crackers; saikyo miso soup with millet gluten (awafu) topped with hot mustard (karashi).

Spear squid (yari-ika) had a sweet flavour and was accompanied with yuzu vinegar and shiso.

Red tile fish (amadai) on kombu, accompanied by freshly grated wasabi and topped with deep fried scales of the fish. So delicate and remarkably fresh .The added subtle crunch of the fried scales was a delicate contrast.

Shabu shabu of wild Japanese red sea bream (madai) with kombu, tofu, freshly grated daikon; sashimi; soy sauce and ponzu sauces.

Abalone (awabe) accompanied by its liver, wakame and sudache citrus soy sauce.

Blue fin tuna (hon maguro, chutoro and toro), fresh, not frozen accompanied by teryaki flavoured tuna balls and Japanese green tea flavoured soy sauce (megi).

Sudachi citrus in kuzu starch soup with Japanese tiger prawn (kuruma-ebi), butterbur (fuki) and thinly sliced daikon radish.

Stewed octopus (iidako) with taro potato (sato-imo) with octopus egg gelatin cooked for 2 hours; steamed lilly bulb (yurine) with sour plum sauce; Japanese greens (mizuna) and yuzu.

Grilled shin of bamboo shoot (takenoko) baked with miso and Japanese pepper leaf (kinome) and grilled fava beans (sora-mame).

At this stage of our meal we opened a bottle of Junmai-Daiginjo Sparkling Sake (Okunomatsu Sake Brewery). I have never had the opportunity of enjoying a sparkling sake and the delicate fruit and effervescence were a lovely complement to the following dishes.

A triumphant presentation/tasting of 2 kinds of AAAAA grade wagyu beef, Gunma wagyu and Kagoshima wagyu, accompanied by premium matcha tea sea salt. The Japanese bincho charcoal was there for quickly warming the meat.

Broiled fresh water eel (unagi) with rice cooked with bamboo shoot (takenoko) and Japanese pepper (arima-zansho), accompanied by pickled cucumber, deep fried daikon, cooked burdock and butterbar leaf (fuki) marinated with sour plum sauce.

Sake lees jelly made with agar agar (kanten), sweet red bean and gold leaf and coffee jelly with cream and green plum.

After our meal, we adjourned to a small, quiet room, covered with tatami mattes, for a tea ceremony, a lovely conclusion to an extraordinary Japanese cultural experience.

The small bowl above had our tea ceremony snack.

Another snack, a crispy red "collar", made with adzuki beans surrounded 2 sweet wafer cookies made with daikon.

The tea ceremony.

Josh at Hashimoto: An Extraordinary Seafood Experience

Posted by Josh

Hashimoto
6435 Dixie Rd, Unit 10
905-670-5559

Dessert at Hashimoto

A week ahead, we planned a gastronomic seafood experience. The chef owner, Masaki Hashimoto, on our instruction, had special fish ordered directly from Japan, flown to Toronto, prepared and on our plates within 18 hours. My special request was a mostly sashimi meal. For this kaiseki experience I was joined by David and Sarah Kirkwood, Zara Fischer-Harrison and Sinclair Philip, chef owner of Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island.

We began with the most refined Okunomatsu daiginjo sake.


Stickleback fish, sesame tofu with wasabe and soy sauce. Firm egg yolk bathed in a vinaigrette and lily bud flower. Sakura soba was wrapped around Porgy fish and seaweed nori.


Kochi fish (flathead fish) sashimi with daikon and freshly grated wasabi, served with soy sauce.


Hamo fish (like conger eel) with a sweet ume (plum) sauce.


Sazuki sashimi (ocean trout family) with a thin slice of sudachi citrus, curled carrot with a white miso rice vinegar sauce.

Yari ika (Squid) with soy and ginger sauce, curled daikon a sliced cucumber.

Wild porgy fish (madai) thinly cut red raddish with fresh grated wasabi and soy sauce.

Banfun sea urchin from oita (kyushu) with sasai shellfish with cucumber and the liver of the sasai with fresh grated wasabi.

Soup:
Hamo fish with buttercup squash, suizen nori seaweed and julienne of sudachi citrus. The soup stock was made from the bones of the hamo fish and ground edamame.


Sasai shellfish with its liver and broth with a japanese vegetable called mitsuba.


Petit japanese eggplant, tarot root, ume plum soaked carrot, daikon with an eggplant, soy sauce and minced shrimp broth.


Porgy fish with fried ginger, pickled daikon with squid ink and sesame seeds, and a crane carved from daikon served with carrot dressing and fresh baby corn.


Dessert:
Donut and white peach agar agar jelly with gold leaf.

Grape powder with premium green tea crepe and premium green tea ice cream.