JPN: Yufuin Kotobuki Hananosho (由布院 壽花之庄) [Dinner]

Kaiseki: feast for the eyes and belly!

One of the things that my I was really looking forward to during the trip was the stay at one of the Japanese style rooms with private open-air hot spring bath at Yufuin Kotobuki Hananosho (3*) in Yufuin, Japan. Let's delve into the kaiseki (Japanese multi-course haute cuisine) dinner included in the half board plan.

Kaiseki Dinner

Taste: 8.5/10

When checking in, my BFFs and I chose to have our dinner at 6.30pm. Pika's advice: Take note that, in general, the last time slot for dinner is 7.00pm. Another slot may be made available at 7.30pm for guests who arrive late.

Appetisers

I was wondering where to start, but eventually decided to first have the small bowl of seaweed and finely shredded eggs mixed with a bit of sauce that tasted nutty. After that, I moved on to the pretty refreshing vinegared dish of crab claw, spotted sardine and okiuto, a kind of seaweed jelly. The most interesting find on the biggest plate was the sweet and savoury stuff placed near the maple leaf, which I thought to be made of mashed chestnuts and cheese. I also enjoyed the glazed shrimp and that particular roe served with grated radish.

Sashimi

Slices of raw tuna, sea bream and squid were beautifully presented on a ceramic dish with flower motif. On top of being perfectly fresh, they were naturally sweet, especially the squid.

Wagyu

I savoured the tender slices of locally raised beef that were placed on a heated ceramic plate, which allowed me to cook them to my liking. They came with a selection of colourful vegetables.

Yosenabe

The hot pot dish was heart-warming with quite a generous amount of chewy glass noodles that went down the throat easily. While the prawn wasn't that succulent, it was adequately sweet.

Gratin

The tomato-based gratin came to the table halfway through the dinner. Underneath the browned crust was a piece of delectably succulent fish. I felt that a bit more sugar would enhance the flavours further.

Fried Dish

It was interesting to know that the lightly battered ball was actually grated lotus roots encased in a soft wheat dough. Accompanied by maitake (lit. hen-of-the-wood) mushroom, it tasted pleasant.

Soup & Pickles

The clear soup had a clean sweetness, just what I needed after having so many different dishes. I'm not sure if you could've guessed that the somewhat round ingredient was actually the soft roe of a squid, which had a truly light and airy texture. The pickles were supposed to be good accompaniments to a bowl of rice, but I didn't request for the latter at all.

Dessert & Tea

At the end of the meal, I had such a luscious slice of Japanese melon. Its sweetness was just out-of-this-world, and I keep thinking about it as I'm typing this. Besides that, I also had an addictively sweet chestnut topped with whipped cream and a small cube of buttery cake. I eventually washed everything down with roasted green tea.

Melon's Rating

Taste: 8.5/10

Ambience: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Overall: 8/10

Thank you very much for the awesome dinner!

Yufuin Kotobuki Hananosho

(由布院 壽花之庄)

2900-5 Yufuincho Kawakami

Yufu, Oita

Japan

(Daily: 6.00pm - 9.00pm)

*No separate price given as dinner set is included in the room price.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)