Spring Kaiseki is here.

Apologies to all who have been waiting for the March Kaiseki report.
I did have it about 3 weeks ago but waited until recently to post the report up.
So, Itadakimasu~~! Enjoy!


Starters: Boiled Rape Blossom mixed with Mustard sauce & Spring Melon
Hit you once, still not enough.
Hit you twice, bow over coz you not tough.
Hit you thrice, very very rough.
Hit you bye-bye, don't cough cough.

At least that was the feeling I got having these two dish, one being an old favourite (rape blossom) and the other (spring melon) will await my research into the archives. The mustard sauce and the rape blossom was an instant uppercut to my tongue. (POW!) While the spring melon feels like a light tap on the tip of the tongue, before being stunned at the back of the tongue when you send it down your gullet, at least there was a hint of lemony-ness from the garnishing (apparently some Japanese mountain leaf, instead of what I assumed was a thai herb). K.O.

























Soup: Clear Broth with Hamaguri Clam
Like la-la's with thick skin, oops, I mean shell.
It's one thing to eat la-la's (since they are small and thin too), these are like me trying to fit in oversized contact lenses onto my eyes. God, so hard to eat, I give up. (Even the chef probably noticed the meat dangling in the shell). No further comments necessary.


































Sashimi: Flambe Octopus & Scallop, Kamachi, Australian Trout, Fish paste with pepper leaf & Sea Bream with Liver Sauce
Everytime Chef Ricky takes over the sashimi selection, I see him try a lot of different things. On top of the leany Australian trout and Kamachi, I was pretty excited about the other items on the plate.

The Sea Bream with Liver Sauce was one of the best combos I have tried so far, even better than the butterflyfish combo last month. Instead of normal taro, Chef Ricky decided to flambe it and it produced a crunchier texture for every bite taken. And last but not least, the 'smelly' fish paste that even the Japanese couldn't handle, garnished with some pepper leaves. YO!!!



























Steamed dishes: Simmered Bamboo Shoot, Seaweed & Sea Bream Roe
There's that leaf again!
Not a lot of sauce this time around, possibly because the seaweed suck most of it dry, hence juicy seaweed (sounds like an oxymoron if you ask me), the bamboo shoot was pretty crunchy in the middle while the sea bream roe had a cured flavour to it and tasted a bit alien to me on my first go (wonder if it was because of the seasonal variation).































Grilled Dish: Grilled Sea Trout, Top Shell & Assorted Vegetables
I spy with my little eye, the return of something small and marinated and shiny on the left side of the plate - Lemongrass' favourite firefly squid has made a comeback onto the menu (about one month earlier than last year).

Basically, the beans and tempuras were satisfactory but almost forgettable, even the teriyaki sea trout almost ran afoul of the combo from the left side the of the plate. Starting with the top shell (or as Chef Tsuchi calls it Su-bo-gai, I am still looking for the correct spelling online without success), the meat was swimming in clarified butter, which coated the slivers of meat in creamy soulfulness. The marinated firefly squid was also lovely, reminding me of last year's introduction of the omakase menu to Lyrical Lemongrass (I posted a photo on her facebook page, just for the memory). The succulent duck breastmeat wrapped around Japanese long bean was reminiscent of the 2006 gourmet festival menu, which I like a lot.





















































Vinegared dish: Marinated Fine Seaweed with Ark Shell
Slurp! The ark shellmeat is definitely more bitey than the top shellmeat earlier.
Slurp! wonder what seaweed is this?
SSSSLLLLUUUURRRRPPPP!!! Aw Heck! down the gullet!!!
Tangily refreshing, and pretty balanced (there was a hit of ginger to balance out the icy breeze going through my mouth) that it got my stomach rumbling again for more food.











































Main course: Nigiri Sushi.
My bad!!!! I finished most of the good stuff before I remembered to take a photo.
Oh well, have fun deciphering the last two pieces of sushi left on my plate. Winner gets to accompany me to another Kaiseki menu. (on your own cost, of course)








Dessert: Gyuchi Mochi and Assorted Fruits
Spring is here and mochi is in flavour. God knows how bland the chinese ones are anyway. After some enquiries (okay, I grilled Chef Tsuchi over a slow roasting interrogation), I discovered that these were not the traditional Japanese mochi that you see them hammering in wooden barrels with mallets. The gyuchi mochi are prepared like pudding, with all the ingredients combined and cooked over heat whilst stirring (and stirring and stirring and stirring). So instead of the rubbery texture, you can something more chewy (enhanced even more by the chilled red bean paste, Chef Ricky and Tsuchi promised me a better one next month, so we will have to wait and see).

Still not a gourmet (and still not getting to paid to write this yet). Feel free to comment.