Motoi

 Each time I visit Motoi I love it just that little bit more. Chef Motoi Maeda and his wife run this special occasion restaurant with spectacular food and service in a stylishly refurbed, traditional Japanese home in Kyoto city. There is a private room in the adjacent kura (storage house) if that floats your boat but  utilising it, at a price, would mean being disconnected from the atmosphere of the gorgeous main dining room.

The food features some really interesting produce from around Japan (and sometimes elsewhere) cooked with great skill and creativity. Dishes are influenced from all parts of the globe but there’s a strong French and Japanese thread. The wine list is fairly comprehensive and international. Here’s  a peek at what you might expect (this meal was enjoyed during winter).

cream puff of jerusalem artichoke with a glass of bubbles

beet soup, tartare of horsemeat, caviar

baked pork back ribs Cantonese

 soft shell turtle pie

 roasted duck foie gras, fruit and nuts

grilled Owase scampi, crustacean sauce, confit lemon

flounder, turnip, yuzu

 Jersey beef from Hokkaido

dessert 1 spice sorbet and ginger granita

dessert 2  small dessert of pear

dessert 3 a bar of chocolate in the night sky and parfait of moon

and a few wee treats with coffee or herbal tea.

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