Delights of Chugoku (2): Birthday kaiseki dinner at Nakashima (季節料理 なかしま), Hiroshima

After a whole day of sightseeing in Hiroshima, we headed for what would be one of our gastronomic highlights for this trip: a full kaiseki at the only 3-starred restaurant in Hiroshima Prefecture, Nakashima. Located on the northern edge of the city, close to the end station of one of the tram lines, we made our way there with great excitement. It had actually been my birthday yesterday so this was another reason for the indulgence! :)

We were surprised upon arrival how nondescript the whole set-up was; the neighbourhood itself looked pretty working-class, and it was quite dark in the network of narrow streets in which Nakashima is located. If not for a combination of Google Maps and me spotting unusually bright lights and the noren at a junction, we would have completely missed it. Even the words 'Nakashima' on the top right hand corner, though illuminated, are discreetly obscured by a tall plant. This was proof that the best Japanese restaurants are often nestled in the most unlikely of places!

I should however first tell my readers what a lovely experience I had booking this table before leaving for Japan. I had read that the restaurant is small and tends to fill up quickly, and having found out about it from the Michelin Guide barely a week before departure I could only hope that there was still space for us. I tried to look for a website with online reservations or at least an email address, to no avail. Getting the hotel to help when I arrived in Fukuoka would be too late, I figured.

The only option left, then, was to call the restaurant, which made me quite nervous considering that I had had only 4 months of Japanese lessons prior to this trip. As it turned out, my worries were completely unfounded; the chef's wife who picked up the phone was so incredibly nice and patient, and despite my limited Japanese and her even more limited English I managed to get my booking request through. Major achievement for me personally, and I already felt so welcome before boarding the plane! True service begins the moment you pick up the phone to take a reservation, and as I write this I am recalling my unpleasant initial encounters with the reservations people at similarly 3-starred restaurants such as The Fat Duck in England or Osteria Francescana in Italy; they would do well to learn from the lady boss of Nakashima.

We were struck by the beautiful pieces of artwork as we walked in; as Nakashima-san's wife would tell us later, most of these were drawn or painted by her father-in-law living in Sendai. I suppose this artistic gene flows in Nakashima-san's family; Japanese gastronomy at this level is no less of an art form too!

Two private rooms are available for bigger parties, though I'd prefer being at the counter anytime watching the action in the kitchen and interacting with Nakashima-san and his wife; therein lies a large part of the gastronomic experience.

As with small couple-run establishments in Japan, the atmosphere is cosy and intimate, very different from their opulent kaiseki counterparts in Kyoto such as Kikunoi or Kitcho. We sat by the tiny open kitchen and counted only 4 people - one apprentice, one waitress, and Nakashima-san and his wife - working in the restaurant.

Counter setting

Exquisite chopstick stand

Menu for the evening, handwritten by Nakashima-san.

And this is what we totally weren't expecting: a rough English translation to make it easier for foreigners. They even apologised for their 'poor English'! This was true omotenashi (Japanese hospitality) at the highest level. Full marks for effort!

The lovely touches didn't stop there. When Nakashima-san's wife asked how we found out about them, I replied that I had been looking for a special place during the trip in which to celebrate my birthday. For that, she asked immediately if she could offer us some complimentary sake or juice to start. We requested for juice, and she replied, 'Ah, do you like yuzu?' (Does she read minds or something?!) So there - a large complimentary glass of fresh yuzu juice (and you know how costly this citrus fruit is...) - very kind of them! Totally loving this place already and we hadn't even started the dinner!

When I made the reservation, I had requested for the 12,000 yen set. Nakashima offers three kaiseki options at 8,000, 10,000 and 12,000 yen (before 5% tax) - the lowest prices you'll ever encounter in a 3-star in Japan (or indeed even in the world, if you ask me). No reason to hold back in this case then!

First course: はまぐりとしいたけ酒蒸し steamed hamaguri clam and shiitake mushroom, in a clear dashi broth. The hamaguri came from the Ariake Sea while the shiitake was wild-sourced from Kumamoto Prefecture.

This soup came in a very nice bowl with an auspicious tsuru (Japanese crane) symbol.

A revelation from the beginning! A good dashi stock forms the basis of much Japanese cooking, and this incredibly clear and colourless soup (a testament to its quality) possessed an astonishing umami and earthiness. The clam and mushroom were equally delightful with their firm juicy bite, and fresh and deep flavours. However, the truly inspired touch, like a jewel to the crown, came in the form of a small piece of yuzu rind in the middle; this alone was sufficient to perfume the entire bowl of soup with a subtle zesty aroma. This course was certainly fit for the gods!

Before the second course, our enthusiastic hostess showed us the wasabi (from Yoshiwa in Hiroshima Prefecture) that is used in the restaurant. I don't think I'll ever see a bigger fresh wasabi root in this life! Wasabi is notoriously difficult to cultivate and loses its flavour quickly once it is cut open for grating. It is also extremely expensive, so for any restaurant to keep and use such enormous specimens is nothing short of impressive - quite clearly the quality of the ingredients offered to customers is much more of a priority than their cost price, at least in this case.

Second course: 瀬戸内産平目・よこわまぐろ・福岡産鰆焼霜・大とり貝 sashimi of halibut, baby bluefin tuna, Spanish mackerel and torigai clam. The halibut and clam came from the Seto Inland Sea, the tuna from the Sea of Japan, and the Spanish mackerel from Fukuoka Prefecture.

This sashimi was served in an elegant crystal container with a frosted glass lid, presumably to accentuate the natural colours and apparent freshness of the seafood.

The seafood was all extremely fresh, and two of the fishes stood out here. The baby bluefin tuna, known as yokowa in Japan, had a more delicate taste and tender texture as compared to fully matured tuna. More interestingly, the Spanish mackerel, known as sawara in Japan and considered the best of its kind (especially now that it is in season), was flash-grilled just on the skin to produce a somewhat uneven and frosted look, whilst maintaining a completely raw flesh. Apparently, this is a common method of preparing Spanish mackerel sashimi, known as yakishimo (lit. 'burnt frost'), which is supposed to enhance the natural oily flavours of the fish - and it worked! The two slices here were delightfully firm and succulent in texture and equally rich in taste.

Somewhat unusual garnishes included baby chive, oroshi (grated radish - hidden under the shiso leaf), lily bulb and carrot. The wasabi was of course unparalleled in its clean and delicately piquant taste. I cannot tolerate the cheap fakes mixed with piercingly spicy horseradish or mustard as they completely drown out the taste of whatever fish they accompany, but I can attest to the subtlety and elegance of real fresh wasabi, and I even thought that it had a mildly sweet aftertaste!

The attention to detail doesn't stop here; Nakashima-san's wife proudly informed us when serving the sashimi that even the soy sauce was an original concoction by her husband. Soy sauce made by the Kazuko family of Mukaihara town in northern Hiroshima Prefecture is boiled in-house with plenty of bonito flakes (a similar process to making dashi, minus the kelp) to produce a sauce with an even deeper umami. Indeed, to date this was the most exceptional soy sauce I've had the fortune to taste; its flavour was remarkably warm and subtle, with delightfully smoky and sweet notes. I couldn't resist asking for more wasabi and soy sauce, which our lovely hostess immediately obliged.

(By the way, a lot of foreigners do it wrong when having sushi/sashimi - you are not supposed to mix copious amounts of wasabi into soy sauce to make a gooey paste with which you slather your raw fish. Instead, put a small amount of wasabi on the fish, dip - not drown - it in soy sauce, and enjoy its natural flavour. For the sake of not spoiling perfectly good fish and not disgusting the chef, please learn the proper way to eat your raw fish. I have no idea from where this cardinal sin originated - I mean, can people really taste the fish beneath all that wasabi, especially the fake spicy ones?)

Third course: 鯛の桜蒸し sakura-steamed sea bream in a delicate fish stock. The sea bream was caught in the Oshima district, in southeastern Yamaguchi Prefecture.

This was offered as a 'dish of spring', which was entirely apt considering that we are currently in the transitional period between late winter and early spring. The colourful bowl used for this course was a delightful and cheery precursor of the upcoming season.

Close-up of the interior.

We were advised to eat this in one single mouthful. Sakura (cherry blossom)-infused glutinous rice was encased in a roll of sea bream, then wrapped onigiri-style in a sakura leaf, topped with wasabi, nori (dried seasoned seaweed), and a salted sakura flower, and finally surrounded by a pool of slightly viscous fish broth (not due to thickeners such as cornstarch, but the result of reducing an already concentrated dashi stock). An amazing explosion of flavours and textures ensued as I sunk my teeth into the various layers of this heavenly morsel. The sweet aroma of sakura was unmistakably present for as long as this dish lasted. This was arguably the most sophisticated course of the evening, which was a bit of a shame as it was gone all too soon!

Fourth course: 蒸穴子 steamed anago (conger eel), a very popular local fish in Hiroshima.

Similar to the sashimi course, this was served in an elegant frosted glass bowl, which effectively enhanced the overall look of the fish that it contained.

Of course, this wasn't just any steamed fish; in fact the anago had been chargrilled on the skin prior to steaming, which produced a flesh that was plump and moist, with a lovely caramelised edge. Its slightly fatty and melt-in-the-mouth texture was unlike any anago I've ever tried. A small dollop of wasabi was all that was needed to heighten its delicate flavour. It was somewhat unusual to me to include wasabi in dishes like these, but I certainly wasn't complaining here!

Fifth course: 渡り蟹・三杯酢 steamed Watari crab with homemade 'sanbaizu' vinegared sauce. The crab was sourced from the Seto Inland Sea.

This bluish-green crab is in season from January to April, and the amount of succulent flesh and creamy bright-orange roe in that small body was beyond belief. The incredibly sweet flesh and roe went hand-in-hand with the vinegared sauce, which was made using equal parts vinegar, soy sauce and mirin for the perfect balance between tartness and savoury depth. Only one problem - we struggled with this for nearly 30 minutes! The flesh in the pincers and legs were particularly difficult to reach, and as with all crab dishes served au naturel there is always the fear that you will hurt yourself unwittingly either with the crab skewer or the sharp edges in the shell. Seeing that we were not used to eating like this, Nakashima-san offered to help in scraping out the final bits for us, which you see on that small plate - yes we thought we'd eaten most of it and then there was still this much!

Sixth course: 新筍と本みる貝添え sashimi of mirugai clam, with blanched new season's bamboo shoots marinated in a homemade kinome miso sauce. The clam came from the Seto Inland Sea while the fresh bamboo shoots were wild-sourced from Kagoshima Prefecture.

Another course heralding the spring season. One of my favourite herbs in Japanese cuisine, young shoots from the Japanese pricklyash shrub (known as kinome in Japan) were blended with miso, in a manner akin to making pesto. Blanched and diced new season's bamboo shoots (another favourite of mine!) were then tossed in this paste. Apparently, this is a very common Japanese way of preparing bamboo shoots during their limited season, though I was unaware of it till now. The earthy sweetness and crunchiness of fresh bamboo shoots, combined with the intense and unique fragrance of kinome (best described as minty, peppery and citrusy), and the deep umami of miso, is something that needs to be tried to be believed. The clam sashimi, rather more delicate in taste and chewy in texture by comparison, was very fresh too, but despite being in the foreground, it was clear which called the shots in this dish.

Seventh course: とらふぐの唐揚げ deep-fried fugu (puffer fish) ribs, sourced from Kaminoseki town in southeastern Yamaguchi Prefecture.

This was a lovely reminder of the ending winter. The fried fugu ribs had a firm meaty texture underneath a feather-light and crisp batter. Its delicate taste was effectively enhanced by the sea salt dip, which was made by grinding three different salts to a fine powder. Just like the soy sauce for the earlier sashimi course, this salt had such an exceptionally deep flavour! The accompanying shishito pepper, also lightly battered and fried, delivered a pleasantly sweet taste and spicy kick whilst retaining a crisp and juicy bite.

Eighth course: たいらぎ貝・土佐ジェレ sashimi of tairagi (fan shell), dressed with homemade Tosa vinegar jelly. The tairagi came from Kagawa Prefecture, on the northeastern corner of the Shikoku region.

Tairagi, a large shellfish found throughout Japan south of northern Honshu, is usually in season during the winter months, so we were just in time for it. The adductor muscle is most commonly eaten as sashimi. This course was a most exquisite palate-cleanser. The shiso leaf and flower garnishes were not only pretty, but also contributed a sweet minty aroma to complement the delicate sweetness of the shellfish. The latter actually felt quite similar to scallop, somewhat firmer in texture but not quite as chewy as the earlier mirugai clam. However, I was most impressed by the jellied cubes of Tosa vinegar, made with dashi, mirin, Japanese rice vinegar, soy sauce, kelp and shaved bonito flakes. The vinegar's name refers to a former province that lay in today's Kochi Prefecture in the Shikoku region, where bonito fishing has had a long history. The bonito's smokiness and umami, combined with the tartness of vinegar, both highlighted the freshness of the shellfish and deepened its subtle flavour. Finally, the proximity of the sources of both major ingredients was not lost upon me; this was probably as keenly local as one could get when designing a dish.

In hindsight, I noticed how much raw fish and shellfish there had been in this meal. In the hands of lesser chefs, multiple sashimi courses might have become rather predictable, but here I loved how every course had been conceptualised with different accompaniments to showcase the characteristics of the seafood involved.

Ninth course: タラ白子茶碗蒸し cod milt chawanmushi (steamed egg custard). The fresh cod milt was sourced from Hokkaido.

A deluxe version of this typical Japanese side dish, made with eggs, dashi stock and cod milt (known as shirako in Japan), and topped with spicy grated radish (oroshi), chopped scallions, and a dash of citrus vinegar sauce (ponzu). This was very tasty and aromatic, with an unusual sharpness and spiciness that was the perfect foil for the intense and unique flavour of shirako. Considered a winter delicacy in Japan, popularly but not exclusively derived from cod, shirako is admittedly a bit of an acquired taste even for the Japanese, especially due to the image it conjures up in the minds of the uninitiated. Being the unreserved Japanese food lover that I was, I lapped up every bit of that buttery and musky goodness generously scattered within the custard. (Enjoy with an open mind! Simply burst the shirako's fragile membranes in your mouth and let the oozing creaminess send you to cloud nine.)

Tenth course: 菜かゆ・香物 vegetable porridge with pickles.

Chef Tetsuo Nakashima 中島徹夫

Pickles in the background: daikon marinated in yuzu (very
crunchy and aromatic!) and sweet marinated kelp.

This elegant bowl contained rice porridge in a viscous kelp dashi stock, with pieces of turnip (kabu) and chive, topped with thin slices of botargo (salted and dried mullet roe known as karasumi, and considered one of the three greatest chinmi delicacies in Japan). This last savoury dish not only signalled the impending end of the dinner but also allowed it to come full circle, remembering how we had started this amazing culinary journey with a seemingly plain dashi soup as well. Even now, I was astonished by how such a simple porridge could possess such deep flavour, just by the quality of the dashi stock in which it was cooked. The add-ons were nice - turnips and chives provided a nice crunch and further aromas, while the 2 pieces of botargo were a luxurious touch befitting of a top restaurant - but the dashi stock was what I will remember for a very long time. The rice itself was excellent too, retaining a good form and bite despite soaking in the stock.

Eleventh course (dessert): 酒かすプリン sake lees pudding with strawberry.

This elegant crystal cup came with a beautiful calligraphic inscription 花筏 (lit. 'flower raft') by Nakashima-san's father. A lovely poetic touch on top of the extraordinary gastronomic experience we were already having.

The fresh bittersweet taste and rich custard-like texture of this pudding were exquisite, finishing this dinner on a luxurious yet very clean note. And of course, the sweet and juicy strawberry topping was incomparable.

There was more to come actually: after the meal Nakashima-san's wife came to us with a set of postcards each, saying that it was a parting gift for us. Handmade by her father-in-law as well, these beautiful drawings of sakura and traditional Japanese dolls were both seasonally and culturally apt - Hinamatsuri 雛祭り or Doll's Day took place exactly 2 weeks ago, and sakura is expected to bloom in about 2 weeks. This sheer attention to detail to the very end was as heartwarming as it was astounding.

Peek into the private rooms...

Nakashima-san is a man of few words but he does his job of cooking incredibly well, with a keen sense of seasonality, locality, tableware and presentation (all important components of the whole kaiseki package). This was unpretentious, inspired and meticulous cooking allowing the very best of seasonal produce to speak for themselves, and his pride in them was evident from the detailed description of the provenance of his ingredients on the Japanese menu. However, despite having achieved so much, he remains extremely humble; when I praised his cooking in the same breath as his 3-starred peers in Kyoto, he seemed slightly embarrassed, and kept saying, 'no, no, not yet!' with typical Japanese modesty.

His wife, by contrast, was rather more outgoing, and her attention to service details was equally impressive. Our teacups were never less than half-full, and every two or three courses we would be provided with hot towels to freshen up. She also periodically brought out a culinary dictionary of Japanese ingredients (in English) to illustrate what we were eating - I should have asked her where I might buy it! She displayed a genuine friendliness and warmth from my initial phone call from Singapore right up to the end of our visit. I think they make such a great team!

The only catch: this restaurant really has no web presence or email whatsoever, and you'll have to speak at least a smattering of Japanese, or get someone who does, in order to get your reservation request through. The hostess jokingly described herself and her husband as 'analogue' folk when I asked her for an email address to send pictures and a link to my blog - which surprised both of us as they couldn't have been more than 40 years old! But perhaps it is a blessing in disguise sometimes to not be so connected...

While Nakashima does not possess all the bells and whistles of its Kyoto counterparts, it is also a lot cheaper for the same quality of food and service, and I would be back in a heartbeat if I ever visited Hiroshima again!

Address in kanji: 広島県広島市中区東白島町10-4 TOHAKU ビル
Tel.: (81) 82-225-3977

Open daily 6 - 11 pm except Sundays (however if Monday is a national holiday then it opens on Sunday and closes on Monday), and over the New Year period.