We do enjoy being guinea pigs when restaurants
want to try out a new menu or idea. This week, we were invited to Kyoto Garden to sample the new Menu for two people, which they are launching soon.
There are not many authentic Japanese
restaurants in Cape Town. Kyoto Garden is very good. It is at 11 Kloof Nek
Road, opposite Miller's Thumb
The bar, the sushi station with
the sushi chef and the kitchen in the background. They have a good selection of
Japanese beer, sake and whiskies as well as a good local wine list. Lynne
enjoyed a glass of Steenberg Chardonnay and John a glass of Vrede and Lust
Chenin with our meal. Both are wooded
First course was a nicely
seasoned tuna tartare topped with spring onion; it is an amuse size and a palate
delighter. The soy sauce dressing has a very light touch of wasabi, which adds a delicate accent to the umami of the soy, but avoids the typical wasabi heat. You get one each
Next was a shared dish of
briefly seared salmon slices on a seaweed and baby spinach leave salad, with
enoki and other blanched mushrooms, spring onion and wasabi. It comes with a
rich sauce tasting of miso and soy with wasabi. You can use the sauce to dip or
you can pour it over the salad.
Then you share a selection of
sushi, nigiri and sashimi. All are delicious; the tuna was exceptionally fresh
and pink, almost translucent. The platter comes with shaved daikon radish,
wasabi and pickled ginger. The white fish is very fresh Cape salmon
The restaurant sometimes
imports fresh wasabi root from Japan or Canada and we were lucky enough to be
given some to taste and to grate on the authentic shark skin grater. Yes, that
is real raspy shark skin. The wasabi was not as hot as we expected and quite creamy in
taste. We liked it
Eating sushi at the bar
The restaurant is very light
and airy, the decor simply, elegantly Japanese
Next a plate of mixed vegetable
tempura to share. It is light, crisp and fresh, just the way is should be. It
is accompanied by more daikon, a slice of lemon to squeeze and a dipping sauce.
We found cauliflower, a bean, broccoli, yellow pepper, lotus root, sweet
potato, aubergine and a basil leaf in the stack. The aubergine was soft and
sweet inside its crisp coating, the sweet potato and the lotus root were both
very special
Then a bowl each of Ramin
noodles with prawns, leeks and green beans. Nice miso stock with the soup
The meal will finish with a
dessert. We were given two to sample, a delicious fresh and creamy ginger ice
cream accompanied by crisp Japanese wafer biscuits. And a sesame seed ice-cream,
unusual but very good
We have not seen the menu yet and believe the price
is going to be R780 for two, plus wine
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
