割烹懐石の高山

So happy to see S and T well and in the pink of health after getting through a long flight and serving out their quarantine with a negative COVID-19 swab test. We had a celebratory lunch at Takayama (高山). Chef Taro Takayama's restaurant only serve kappo-style omakase (割烹、懐石料理), which is fine by me. Nowadays, I prefer that over sushi and sashimi since my favorite Sushi Hashida has sadly shuttered with no concrete plans for a new restaurant in the near future. 

The nine-course lunch began with two appetizers of cold somen and uni, and a piping hot grilled abalone. It included a signature foie gras monaka (フォワグラ最中), which is described as 'foie gras ice cream sandwich wafer with candied yuzu'. I'm not a fan of either savory or sweet monaka (or any type of wagashi), and not into foie gras. Requested the kitchen to skip mine, and also to skip the prawns, if any. The replacement for the foie gras monaka came in the form of an unagi monaka. Hahahah. Okay then. 

Kappo restaurants do offer sashimi, but a limited selection, which will be the fresh fish that their chefs are better at curing and treating. The otsukuri (御造り) today were sea bream, otoro and salmon. Hmmm... next time I'll swop out the tuna too. Hurhurhur. They served a palate cleanser of fish bunched in a shiso leaf deep fried in a spring roll, and a fried egg plant.  

The main of grilled Kagoshima wagyu beef was frankly beautiful. As much as I can't quite appreciate wagyu (this is likely Grade 4, but I can't tell), I can appreciate the effort to raise the meat to taste this way, and the kitchen's treatment of it. The menu stated oshokuji (御食事/お食事) as a 'seasonal donabe rice'. I took that to mean 'second main', or rather carbs. Whatever it is, I always welcome tasty rice that has been cooked in a donabe. Slurrrrp. The donabe rice served was steamed with Hokkaido corn. Very sweet. Nice. If you prefer fish, that is usually served at dinner. 

 

Dessert arrived in a bowl and on a plate — a passionfruit mousse and a set of matcha and hojicha financiers. Imho, Takayama is perfectly suited for a nice lunch in terms of ambience and menu selections + prices; I'm iffy about dinner. Right now, the evening menu doesn't impress me. The menu has to be vastly different and improved upon to convince me to part with S$250++ and more (for sake) per person at dinner. 

It was a lovely lunch, much treasured in these unprecedented times. Yes I have to use this term because who would travel for leisure now. (Rhetorical, because I know idiots who do.) It's a huge risk they have taken — two flights, many humans and such. S and T aren't in Singapore for fun. They have things to do, and T has national service duties to fulfill. I won't exactly use 'welcome home' because that's too loose a definition and not quite exact. Welcome in for a bit then, S and T. 🖤