Word: yuki
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Kitcho is more like a private club than a restaurant. For three generations, the Yuki family has been serving exquisite food to the social and literary élite. It doesn't open its doors to just anyone with a fistful of yen and a taste for adventure. Naturally, our request for a table at the main restaurant was declined. A Kitcho meal is a limited edition not to be squandered on walk-ins. We were politely directed instead to one of Kitcho's licensed branches. These Kitcho-brand outposts, located in posh hotels in major cities, are practical for novices...
...admired our surroundings, the proprietress, or okami-san, came in to keep us company during the meal. For all her aristocratic bearing, Mrs. Hiroko Yuki turned out to be the soul of Kitcho's omotenashi hospitality. Her warmth instantly turned the cavernous banquet hall into an intimate and lively dinner party. We forgot to be self-conscious about having a stranger watch us eat, and soon we were chatting about everything from climbing Mount Fuji to collecting ceramics. We were eating from heirloom Baccarat crystal dishes in traditional Japanese shapes...
...addition to presenting the museum-quality pieces on the table, Mrs. Yuki directed the feast as three waitresses served course after course with chilled sake specially brewed for the house. Like a symphony, kaiseki tempo alternates between big movements and adagio interludes. The meal follows a single seasonal theme, but each course features a different cooking method. The overture was mushiawabi--steamed abalone--a luxurious opening. A subdued salad of zuiki, or taro stems, seemed to say that opulence must avoid ostentation. The clear soup arrived, an important kaiseki moment. When we lifted the lacquer lids, an aromatic tsunami swept...
...time we came to the roasted oysters dengaku, Mrs. Yuki was discussing my husband's luxury business. In kaiseki, the first half-dozen courses are just nibbles to go with sake; the real meal is rice. In fact, the Japanese words for "meal" and "rice" are the same, gohan. That night's main event was another matsutake masterpiece, which the okami-san herself dished from the old-fashioned pot. The final bowl of shaved ice and matcha-tea syrup combined a clever reference to the tea ceremony with a last, nostalgic taste of summer...
...reluctantly said goodbye, I remembered the Zen mantra ichigo ichie, meaning "one chance, one meeting." In kaiseki, it is the mandate to treat each moment as precious, never to be repeated. At the door, Mrs. Yuki said she hoped to see us again. No matter how often we do, I know each encounter will be the meal of a lifetime...