It's not always just about the food. Flavour is everything. Ingredient quality goes without saying. But it's also all to do with presentation – and the vessels that are used to serve each dish.
Such as this exquisite owan bowl from Kyoto. The design reflects the season, with motifs of uguisu (warblers) amid late-winter ume buds. Because it is made of urushi (lacquerware), it holds in the heat superbly.
Inside it held a dashi broth, delicate and profound, bathing a substantial kani-shinjo – basically a ball of crab meat. it was fragrant with yuzu peel, contrasting vividly with the brilliant green of a tiny baby kabu turnip.
It was an outstanding dish: beautiful; delectable of course; and also warming and energising.
But what made it even more special was this bowl.
