Hotel Be-zen shimanouchi

The owner-chef teases out subtle flavours with a versatile sensibility and technique honed in Kyoto. He takes particular care when blending his dashi. Prepared with a light flavour, it draws out the character of each ingredient. Flavours of other ingredients transfer to the dashi in wanmono, steamed items and takiawase, lending depth to their taste. Preparations are simple, yet unseen tweaks make each item unique. Admire antique serving-ware and vessels fashioned by modern artists as you savour the tastes of the season.

Hanging in the kitchen is a framed calligraphy motto bearing the phrase ‘Hakuraku no ikko’ -a reference to distinguishing true quality. It reflects the chef’s wish to keep improving so as to earn the respect of his diners. For the chefs, the plain wood counter is the stage on which they perform as one cohesive unit. Food and dishware captivate with seasonal combinations. The hassun is especially attention-grabbing: beauty sculpted from the bounty of land and sea, where both rich and light coexist. Guests here are welcomed with carefully prepared dishes.

Yugen means ‘mysterious profundity’, grace whose depths can never be plumbed. It connotes the depths of Japanese cuisine, a product of constant refinement through the ages. Keisuke Mifune puts on display the skills and instincts he honed at a ryotei. He pays attention to combinations of ingredients and dishware, expressing the changing of the seasons through his menu. A Fukuoka native, the chef furnishes the bounty of Kyushu in the form of seafood from the Genkai Sea and the Goto Islands.

The stately tea-house interior and Japanese-style painting of the spray from a waterfall enfold guests in an atmosphere of tranquillity. Proclaiming a no-nonsense approach to sushi, the two chefs restrict seasoning and other preparations to the bare minimum. They add no sugar to the sushi rice, the better to draw out the natural sweetness of fish and rice. Tuna is marinated in soy sauce only briefly; conger eel dressed in sauce that is only slightly sweet. As they form sushi by hand, both chefs focus on the basics of rice, wasabi, vinegar and fish.

Dreaming up cuisine that matches the food to the guest is the mission of this Naniwa kappo. The menu’s called ‘Yuno’s omakase’ proclaiming a free-and-easy approach that strays from the norms of Japanese cuisine. Sashimi assortments are paired with onion dipping sauce or condiments; grilled items are dressed with vegetable sauces. Fishbone broth used in hot-pot fare attests to the restaurant’s spirit of wasting nothing. Come to enjoy the chef’s playful spirit and flavours of Osaka expressed through quality ingredients.

Out of childhood experiences and the landscapes of rural valleys, the chef creates cuisine that reverberates in all five senses. The spectacle of colourful arrangements, the sound and texture of each bite, the aroma, and of course the taste all harmonise and sizzle as one course follows another. The couple who run the kitchen deliver an illustrated message to the table as a sign of the season.

A tonkatsu restaurant supervised by tempura emporium Shunsaiten Tsuchiya. Brand-name pork loin and fillet cuts are stocked, and a mixed serving of both cuts is popular. Pink slices of pork deep-fried at relatively cool temperatures reveal the tonkatsu artisan’s consummate skill. ‘Minato’ means ‘port’, and indeed the house is not far from the city’s wharfs – and ports represent commercial prosperity. As befits a restaurant in Osaka, which rose to prominence as a commercial hub, this eatery preaches the message of tonkatsu to guests from throughout Japan and the world.