Second visit to Den, booking the spot was much easier this time around. This time brought my friend along and sat table instead of at the counter.
We arrived at 7:30pm and things were pretty lively already, there were a bunch diners from Brazil and San Francisco there, with a few local regulars. The Den team recently did a collaboration event in Brazil and chef Hasegawa had come back with new ideas inspired from his trip. The diners from Brazil actually visited the collaboration dinner which was interesting to hear about. The meal lasted just under 2.5 hours but time flew by. The course was about ¥26,000, I had quite a few varities of teas recommended by the team as well and they were all very enjoyable
Like my first visit, it was like visiting Chef Hasegawa’s house for a meal. Warm and inviting, atmosphere was great and its just an all around great time. Shoutout to Noriko for always being accomodating, cannot give enough praise to her and the team.
One thing to note is that they wouldn’t serve me a dish I’ve had before, so a few times there were variations between me and my friend’s dishes. Only exception is the salad which is served to each guest every visit.
Miso marinated fois gras monaka with black figs and smoked daikon radish – fois gras still has nice texture, the figs and daikon surprisingly very pleasant combination. Strong umami with a bit of sweetness, pretty enjoyabel start.
Cashew tofu topped with bean paste and cashew zest – tofu made with kudzu inspired by recent trip to Brazil. Tofu chewy texture was delightful, the cashew buttery and sweet flavour was an excellent match to the paste.
DFC with sticky rice, maitake mushroom and mitsuba – piping hot when served, meat is juicy and the filing is delightful too. Nicely balanced composition and great showcase of autumn ingredients
Hamachi sashimi with seaweed and vinegar – i loved the seaweed sauce the first time and it was still amazing. The hamachi was aged over a few days and tasted very nice
Grilled Sawara in grated daikon paste and fried ebi imo – sawara nicely cooked, loved the daikon texture with fish. The fried ebi imo seasoning was delightful, almost like fried chicken. I thoroughly enjored this dish, i would say my favourite of the evening
Den Salad – as good as I remember it, could eat it everyday.
Duck, turnip and shungiku in bonita broth – rich and warm, duck had great umami flavour. Duck meat was tender and sof
Shirasu donabe – Chef Hasegawa’s favourite topping, there was plenty of shirasu. The shirasu had a bit of crunchiness and great briney flavour. Of course had seconds with okoge
Cream cheese mousse, pear, mouscat grape, and hojicha jelly – my friend received osmanthus jelly while they switched to tea jelly because they knew I loved drinking tea. Refreshing and delicious, nice way to end the meal
Easiy better meal than my first visit, and all around fun experience. While not the most delicious meal I’ve had this trip, definitely one of my more memorable ones. Already planning my another visit as I cant wait to come back
by misnopeo
2 Comments
These photos present an interesting comparison to the usual glamor shots I see of Den’s food. It’s like someone turned a Michelin filter off.
I’m curious is that typical, they don’t serve you same dishes if you’ve visited before?
When I visited last month we were sat next to a Brazilian couple and Noriko was talking about recent trips and collaborations they had done.