
The secret story behind the opening of the new Yamashina Chinese restaurant [E...
August 14, 2024 open
Although located in the city near Karasuma Oike, this modern building with a courtyard has a quiet atmosphere. The walls and ceiling are white, and the restaurant is warmly decorated with furniture made of solid materials. The "shiro" in the name of the restaurant is not just a color, but also a blank space to highlight the ingredients and to express what I value in cooking," says the owner, Mr. Takenaka.
Born and raised in Hamada City, Shimane Prefecture, Takenaka first became interested in becoming a chef when he was a university student. He says, "I was at a restaurant where I was working part-time, and I was fascinated by how cool it was to be a chef. After graduation, I worked as an office worker, but I couldn't give up on my dream of becoming a chef, so I entered the industry at the age of 24. He trained as a chef at an Italian restaurant, and at the age of 30, he became an independent chef. Mia Paese, which he opened in his hometown of Hamada, became so popular that people came from far and wide to visit. Still, he closed the restaurant in May of this year and moved to Kyoto to "aim for a higher rank," and opened this restaurant as a new challenge.
All dishes are examples of the 18,000 yen omakase course. The "giant eel fritters" wrapped in thin prosciutto ham has been a staple dish at the previous restaurant. The giant conger eel landed at Ota Port in Shimane is fatty and soft on the bone, making it an excellent dish!
The menu features only an omakase course of about 10 dishes. The main ingredients include fresh seafood from Shimane, such as giant sea eel and amadai, and flavorful, healthy, sustainable wagyu beef from Nariyutoyo Farm. The vegetables are sourced from Ohara, and groundwater is used for cooking.
The cold pasta Siciliana is composed of familiar Sicilian ingredients such as marinated shrimp, mini tomatoes, and anchovies. Other handmade pastas are also available.
Grilled amadai scales, made with amadai caught alone in Shimane, Japan. Round roasted eggplant is accented with miso paste. The sauce made with fish broth and sake lees is mild.
Innovative cuisine that goes beyond the boundaries of Italian cuisine and draws out the best of the ingredients stimulates the five senses. Tea and wine pairings with locally purchased Taiwanese teas are also recommended.
Takenaka says, "I hope this restaurant will be a place where people can relax and enjoy the food, not the kind of place you would visit in a suit and tie. One of the charms of the restaurant is the live atmosphere of the fully open kitchen. The warm hospitality of the staff, all of whom hail from Hamada, is sure to put your mind at ease.
The owner, Atsushi Takenaka, was born in Hamada City, Shimane Prefecture. He became a chef at the age of 24, opened Mia Paese at the age of 30, and moved to Kyoto this year.
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