Dining Out 4 minutes 10 April 2024

MICHELIN Guide Kyoto Osaka 2024 Inspectors’ Favorite Dishes

Year round, MICHELIN Guide inspectors sample an endless procession of dishes. Once in a while, a dish lands on their tables that is simply unforgettable.

Memorable Dishes Kyoto Osaka Inspectors Editor's Pick

The selection of restaurants for MICHELIN Guide Kyoto Osaka 2024 was announced on 9 April 2024.

We asked several of our inspectors to look back on the year just passed and select, from their many dining experiences in Kyoto and Osaka, the dishes they found especially memorable.

The list the inspectors shared with us was as varied as the Kyoto and Osaka culinary scene they observed. Some were dishes that could only be savoured in a particular season. Others were products of venerable tradition, while still others sprang from the unique experience and sensibility of the chefs who created them.

Sea Urchin

MASHIRO KYOTO

Dinner begins with finger food. The sea urchin on the menu is called ‘sea’. Rice flour pastry is topped with sea urchin mousse, seawater jelly and fresh sea urchin. Pick it up to take a bite and indulge in the rich aroma of the sea.

The Carp’s Commotion

Sojiki Nakahigashi KYOTO

The carp is cut hirazukuri style, the scales are fried, and the skin is parboiled. It pairs deliciously with plants growing wild in the Ohara fields. The ingredient’s flavours are acidic, bitter and sweet, and can be likened to love, expressing sour love, bitter love and sweet love. Brought together into a single dish and named ‘the carp’s commotion.’

Rakuhoku Venison in Port Wine Sauce

la bûche KYOTO

A dish highlighting the natural bounty of Ohara. Venison from local deer hunters is cooked over a wood fire. Hand-picked berries from the mountains are added to the port wine sauce to adjust the sour and sweet elements. This dish reveres both French cuisine and local ingredients.

Par-fried Japanese Spiny Lobster with Egg Yolk Sauce

Ryō-shō KYOTO

A dish inspired by Cardinal-style French cuisine. The Japanese spiny lobster is par-fried to draw out its sweetness, then paired with egg yolk imbued with the aroma of the lobster. Experience gained from French cuisine gives this dish a certain uniqueness.

Simmered Turnip and Chrysanthemum Petal Soup

Yusokuryori Mankamero KYOTO

A wanmono (dishes served in small bowls) inspired by the Chrysanthemum Festival held on September 9. Open the lid of the lacquer bowl to see a beautiful, turnip curved in the shape of a chrysanthemum flower. The generous garnish of chrysanthemum flower petals exudes extravagance.

Spring rolls with Pike Conger and Simmered Burdock

Nijo Minami KYOTO

Spring rolls with simmered burdock wrapped in perilla leaves. Flavoured with salt or sansho vinegar. Simple yet bursting with creativity. Served on a colourful plate crafted by Ogata Kenzan. Still brilliantly modern today, you would never guess these hues came from the Edo period, as they are still brilliantly modern today.

Saury and Turnip Cake Wrapped in Mandarin Pancake

VELROSIER KYOTO

This autumn dish takes a cue from Peking Duck. The Pacific saury is confited and paired with turnip cake and sansho-seasoned liver, with a fried Mandarin pancake topping the layer, all wrapped in another layer of Mandarin pancake. Various ingredients are added to this dish, for a theme of making additions to create synergy. Embodies modern Chinese cuisine.

Fried Pike Conger and Matsutake Mushrooms

Kanamean Nishitomiya KYOTO

Split matsutake mushrooms are wrapped in pike conger, dusted with flour and fried. The colourful persimmon leaf is a nod to autumn’s natural scenery. This dish brings back memories of the fried matsutake mushrooms that the owner always wanted to eat as a child. A refined yet familiar flavour that leaves a lasting impression.

Japanese Spiny Lobster with Sea Urchin

Tokuha Motonari KYOTO

A charbroiled dish that reveals the owner’s mastery of rustic flavours. Japanese spiny lobsters are skewered in a pot and seared, creating a delightful aroma. As the sweetness of the sea urchin and the aroma of the lobster pair perfectly, the Japanese butterbur root foretells the coming of spring.

Tuna Sashimi with Doburoku

Doppo KYOTO

A dish inspired by tuna nigiri sushi. The tuna is thinly sliced and lightly marinated in soy sauce. Doburoku (unrefined sake), with the full sweetness of the rice and a sour flavour from the fermentation process, is used here instead of vinegared rice. Enjoy this playful dish that captures the essence of its inspiration.

Fruit and Vegetable Salad

LE PONT DE CIEL OSAKA

This vibrantly coloured salad features over 20 varieties of fruits and vegetables. An impressive three-dimensional display of raspberry foam and pie crust. Enjoy the delightful changes in texture and flavour as you indulge. This salad successfully carries out an impressive balancing act in both taste and presentation.

Sea Connections

HAJIME OSAKA

The pale blue plate evokes thoughts of the sea. This dish has a sea theme, but also expresses connections to all life on the earth with ingredients from the mountains, forests and rivers. Combining various ingredients such as freshwater prawns, truffles and wild vegetables with the sauce; it tells the story of the earth.

Baked Matsutake Mushrooms

Yugen OSAKA

An appetizer heralding the start of autumn. These finely scored matsutake mushrooms are baked up flavourfully. Notice the detailed work that goes into seasoning with the extracts and grated yuzu peel. The accompanying tempura of Tanba black beans also suit the season perfectly.

Aged Beef Rotir

SINAE OSAKA

Cooked slowly to draw out the essence of the aged beef. With a sauce featuring a convincing fusion of fond and red wine. Caramelised endive. The essence of the ingredients is presented with a sense of simple clarity. Created from a wealth of experience, this dish goes back to the very beginning.

Abalone and Shogoin Daikon Radish Bowl

Taian OSAKA

The thinly sliced daikon radish resembles black ice in this simmered dish perfect for winter. The pairing of abalone and Shogoin Daikon radish showcases the bounty of the mountains and sea. The Wajima lacquerware bowl features an auspicious spinning top pattern. Displays the work and sensibility fostered at this sophisticated Japanese restaurant.

Karasumi and Lime Bavettine

a canto OSAKA

The prized dish of a chef with a talent for pasta. Contrasting aromas fill the air, from the wheat of the home-made bavettine pasta to the sweet herb bread flour. The salty and rich flavour of the karasumi ties together the bitterness and sourness of the lime. For truly masterful pasta, this is the place.

Ebi-imo Mascarpone Spinach

KAHALA OSAKA

This dish brings together ebi-imo a shrimp-shaped taro and mascarpone cheese with a spinach sauce. With the added elegance of luxurious caviar and served on a semi-transparent glass plate, this dish feels like a work of art. This restaurant in Kitashinchi has been creating various innovative dishes for half a century.

Seco Crab Platter

Kashiwaya Osaka Kitashinchi OSAKA

Enjoy this female snow crab dish only briefly available during the crab harvesting season. The legs, outer eggs and inner eggs are seasoned with crab vinegar and crab broth, while the main body can be enjoyed with caviar and sea urchin. This platter includes five selections. Enjoy seeing the crab’s presentation and the array of delights spread across your plate.

Pike Conger and Yolk Vinegar Sauce

Sawada OSAKA

Simple yet brimming with originality. The pike conger is deboned and par-cooked right before your eyes, and seemingly transformed into a peony. With the pike conger broth, the yolk vinegar becomes something truly special.
Making the most of each ingredient creates deeper flavours. Enjoy vibrant counter-style Kappo cooking here.

Chestnut Pudding with Rum-flavoured Coffee Jelly

Fujiya 1935 OSAKA

A distinctively smoky scent in the air evokes thoughts of autumn. This dessert recreates the aroma of burning rice panicles and fallen leaves. Smoke rises as the box opens, revealing smoked chestnuts like marron glacé. In the glass, the chestnut pudding topped with coffee jelly feels somehow nostalgic.