MY DAY IN KYOTO

I've been through Kyoto a dozen times, so nothing is new.  However, the Osaka St. Regis thought that I should have lunch at Gion Okumura, so I found my way to the former Imperial capital, home to 1.5 million.  Osaka has 2.7 million people.  Kyoto was spared in World War II because it is the cultural center of Japan.  There are 37 universities, with Kyoto University #2 to Tokyo University, and #25 in the world.  There are 17 UN World Heritage sites in this city.

Okumura is hard to find, but I succeeded almost by accident.  The staff is Japanese, the decor Japanese, and menu in Japanese.  I was seated on the floor for a room that can comfortably hold ten.  But Okumura is a French restaurant, fused within Kyoto kaiseki.  This is the style that influenced El Bulli, Robuchon and French Laundry.  Watch a video clip by clicking here.

The background music was electronic jazz.  Communication was challenging.

I started with a Kir Royale:

Mai poured a Les Doubes Bordeaux:

Unfortunately, it had the odor of having been opened a week ago, so I instead got half a bottle of 2006 Chateau Gloria Saint-Jean Bordeaux, here with a foie gras and mushroom salad :

Sorry, but the best I can do is guess at what I was eating.  The garlic roll was wonderful.  Here is a micro squid on some kind of mousse:

Then a medley of quiche, BBQ fish, bamboo shoots (takenoko), squid and vegetables.  As I said, I'm sticking to the basics:

There definitely is artistry to the presentation.  So far, I was disappointed, as the dishes seemed stale.  The next course was some kind of fish soup with takenoko and wakame (seaweed):

The broth was excellent.  Next came some marinated halibut with veggies and orange pieces:

This was the first cold dish that I actually liked.  A fried salmon in vegetable broth, topped with french fried carrot strips:

The cold sea urchin, beans and a lot more was enjoyable, which is saying something because I generally avoid sea urchin:

The beef with curry rice could have been the highlight of the meal.  I asked, but they never got back to me on what type of beef this was:

I was shown an array of desserts and was told to select as many as I wanted (the more you pick, the smaller the portion):  

Curiously enough, I was not stuffed at the end, possibly because the lunch lasted two and a half hours.  If you need to ask, you can't afford this extravaganza.  However, one night at the St. Regis would be roughly equivalent.  Goodbye from the staff:

I would rank this meal below my Sao Paulo and Lima experiences last Fall, but excellent, nevertheless.  I still have Kitcho and Ryugin coming up this week.

As it was close to Okumura's, I walked through Yasaka Shrine, and here is the obligatory torii found entering a Shinto shrine:

I also walked to the Nijo Castle, then realized I had already been there, so chose not to spend $7 to get bored again.  I returned to an Osaka sunset:

My evening ended with an Italian dinner at La Veduta in the St. Regis.  I was surprised that the staff was very accommodating, allowing me the liberty of ordering something not on the menu:  spaghetti Agli'e Olio, and enhanced with five basil leaves and a slice of onion.  A side order of balsamic spinach with a glass of beer made for a fine combination:

The best part of all was the singing of Misa Yoshikawa, who entertained the diners with classical and operatic Italian favorites:

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