Kyoto Hostel family room / Vacation STAY 8181

One of Miyawaki’s strengths is the menu’s deft sense of rhythm—white fish tsukuri served with salted kombu, for example, or fruit and yuba made into a smooth surinagashi soup. The use of Kagawa wagyu reflects the chef’s wish to support his home region, featuring in heartier dishes such as charcoal-grilled wagyu and cutlets. The generous number of dishes is another pleasure, and the easy banter between the couple helps put guests at ease. Guests leave feeling both full and content.

After learning the basics at a ryotei, the chef worked at a kappo, where he discovered how to make dining fun. What he finds compelling about being a chef, he says, is that while the food itself is consumed at once and disappears, the occasion lingers in the memory. His ingenuity comes to the fore in Kyoto cuisine rich in dashi and vegetables. Side dishes such as boiled vegetables and ground soup, skilfully served both cold and warm, make for a treat that is simple yet impressive. Rice cooked in clay pots joins items such as preserves simmered in sweetened soy sauce, dried mullet roe and peppe

Countertop French dining in a merchant’s house with a brick oven. The classic cuisine here is interlaced with woodfire cooking learned in Spain. Shiitake mushroom and shrimp wrapped in pie pastry is a feature menu item. Sauce is thoroughly reduced over the fire, wreathed in smoke from the embers. ‘Ima’ means ‘now’, inviting you to live in the moment. Every dish is imbued with the magic of wood smoke; all focus trained on the moment when the flavour of the ingredients leaps out.

An amiable couple from Nagasaki run this restaurant. The husband, an admirer of Kyoto cuisine, left his family’s kappo restaurant to gain experience in Kyoto. As he studied ways to present food, he fell in love with the bounty of ingredients available and decided to go independent. His habit is to visit producing regions, securing fresh ingredients in season, such as picking wild edible plants and mushrooms in Miyama and angling for sweetfish in Shiga. Under the tutelage of a potter, he makes his own ceramics, on which the couple serve their culinary creations.

Omakase dishes reflect the turning of the seasons; hassun platters convey the month’s events and customs. Dedicated to fresh-from-the-kitchen deliciousness, white rice is served the moment it’s cooked. A generous assortment of accompaniments, such as dried mullet roe, dried baby sardines with pickled plum and savoury seaweed paste, brings joy. ‘Yui’ is short for ‘yuiitsu-muni’, or ‘one and only’. Unique cuisine and unmatched décor captivate diners.

The first feature to catch your eye in the tasteful tea-house style interior is the lacquer counter, which the chef polished and coated himself. ‘Kentan’ means ‘the deep pursuit of self-improvement’. The seasonal interior decoration, serving ware and cuisine combine harmoniously to celebrate the history and food culture of Kyoto. Modern cooking techniques are also adopted here, such as grilling over low flame. A place to appreciate Japanese cuisine in a broader context.

Generous portions give satisfaction, while ingenious ingredient combinations make simple presentations all the more impressive. To learn about fish, the chef spent time working at a fishmonger’s. Fish is prepared simply—freshly sliced, grilled or deep-fried—yet with clever twists as befits a connoisseur. The meal concludes with white Omi rice grown by the chef’s uncle in Hira, served steaming in Shigaraki clay pots. With his friendly demeanour, the chef is often seen deep in conversation with guests.