A meal at Sasuga Hanare weaves together two separate, distinct but seamlessly interlinked spaces and experiences. There is the soba workshop on the left (in front of where we were sitting), where the soba craftsman prepares the noodles from scratch, as you look on...
And there is the kitchen proper on the right. This is where the ryoricho, the 'head' chef (not that he has any underlings) prepares the multi-course cuisine. The actual business of cooking is performed out of sight, behind the sliding screens, but the final service is done in plain view — as at any traditional kappo.
One of the elements that weaves those two complementary aspects of the meal together is the sake. There is an admirable selection, not that extensive but featuring some lovely brews — no, we didn't sample them all by any means — and each served with its own individual flagon and choko cups.
[There's also a selection of wine — but only served by the full bottle, and that is far too large a volume to pair with all the courses.]
Anyway, to start off, a dram of Fusoutsuki (junmai ginjo; Shimane)...
...which went just fine with our sakizuke appetiser. Renkon-ae – grated lotus root formed into a dango ball with pureed kyo-kabu turnips, then steamed and served with yurine (lily bulb) and nanohana greens.
We watched as the itamae prepared a fillet of meji-maguro (young tuna, landed in Yamaguchi), carefully skewering it...
He then seared the skin over smouldering straw — the traditional way for preparing tataki (though more commonly done with katsuo skipjack). This was performed out of sight behind the shoji screens but the aroma of the straw smoke perfumed the entire room. Then he returned and sliced the fish up in full view...
While the soba shokunin worked up his dough, our next course was crab...
Zuwaigani (spider crab), the pincer meat served inside the carapace (left); and the roe (right) served on its own; and, in the middle, slices of four different varieties of daikon, served in a superb jelly made with rice vinegar...
Time for our next brew: Kotori no Saezuri (a limited edition junmai ginjo from Shinkame, in Saitama)...
Throughout, both food and drink were served on nice ceramics — this is a hallmark of the Sasuga restaurants, though here even more so than at the other branchess...
These were the bowls that our first soba (the okame soba) was served in.
Next the yaki-mono course: a small slice of perfectly grilled nodoguro (aka akamutsu), served with a slice of sudachi and a folded slice of senmaizuke (pickled Kyo-kabu turnip)...
This was followed by a wonderful tranche of steamed ankimo...
...which called for a fresh brew: this time Mantensei ("Star-filled sky", from Tottori).
After the soba gaki, we were served scallops with soft-cooked ao-daizu (green-tinged soybeans) — which was so good we polished our servings off before taking a photo.
Next up: nicely rare kamo-rosu (duck breast), with seasonal vegetables: a single brussels sprout; half a radish; a beautiful cherry tomato; and a sauce made with egg yolk and karashi mustard...
Followed by a few slices of namako (sea cucumber), firm but soft — the expected crunch coming from the accompanying jinenjo yam, which had been steeped in shoyu.
The last course from the right side of the kitchen was a nabe of kinme with kyo-shungiku (chrysanthemum leaf) and kujo-negi (Kyoto long onion)...
To close: zaru soba; then a small dessert (no photo) and sobacha tea.
It was an outstanding meal.
