Dined on December 24, 2015
- Overall 5
- Food 5
- Service 5
- Ambience 5
We went to Azabu-Hannari for their special Christmas Eve Dinner.
We had:
- Sakiduke: Steamed Blowfish Milt & Wild Duck
- Zensai: Castella, Jellied Fish, Dried Mullet Roe, Fried Shrimp, Red, and White steamed fish paste and Salmon incus winding with liver sauce
- Owan: Kasujiru, seabream, carrot and spinach
- Sashimi: Tuna, Broiled blow fish and thread sail fillet fish
- Yakimono: Sendai Beef
- Nimono: Furofuki Turnip with citron miso sauce
- Shokuji: Soft shelled turtle hodge podge
- Kanmi: Strawberry Jelly, Orange, and Pear
The dinner was magnificent, Chef Kenichi keeps us entertained and explained a lot about the food and the ingredients. The blow fish was superb, cooked perfectly, seared and firm but still fresh in the middle, sashimi like.
The Kasujiru has a thick broth and has a robust flavor.
Furofuki turnip and miso sauce deliver a new level of a palate that I've never tasted before.
For us the highlight was the Sendai Beef, Chef Kenichi seared the beef over charcoal to give the smokey flavor while he also prepared a hot cast iron plate to serve the beef. It was cooked medium rare to my liking and the seared cast iron added extra crispiness to the beef. It was soft and melt in your mouth beef. Bar none, the best beef I've ever tasted.
During this dinner, I got the first taste of real wasabi. Coming from the US, I've never tasted a real wasabi. Amazingly it's not as pungent than the fake one, it even have some sweetness in it.
Besides great flavor, Chef Kenichi also delivers his food in a superior presentation.
Our dinner was closed with his Beautiful Strawberry Jelly pearl, topped with gold flakes.
I highly recommend this restaurant for a special occasion and if you want to adventure to the land of unique flavor and perfections.