Hayato () – Los Angeles, CA

We had the pleasure of dining at Hayato, Chef Brandon Hayato Go’s kaiseki restaurant, last night and absolutely loved both the food and the friendly atmosphere. I’m not deeply familiar with kaiseki but did experience it at Gion Matayoshi last November, and it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite meal formats for both the variety and the focus on preparations that truly highlight each ingredient.

Started off the meal with a welcome sake:

1. spiny lobster, lily bulb, dashi, roe – the dashi was thickened and poured over the lobster, which had been lightly grilled beforehand

2. seki saba, salt & vinegar cured with vinegar sauce, ginger juice, shiso blossom – the saba was seared, and while I generally don’t love raw saba, I really liked this one paired with the vinegar sauce

3. live male snow crab, body meat with kani miso, grilled leg – perfectly cooked live crab needs no notes

4. chrysanthemum greens, herring eggs, udo, kuwai, okinawa sweet potato, dashi – I didn’t realize herrings lay their eggs attached to the kelp, this was overall a fascinating course with the kuwai (starchy, potato-like) and udo (crisp and light), first time having both

5. female snow crab porridge with eggs & roe, rice, kombu – thick porridge with the sweetness of the immature roe and eggs, this was one of the highlights for me

6. sweet potato, clam adductor, salt – the adductor muscle tempura is by far the most unique tempura I’ve had, slightly chewy with a really nice clam flavor

7. turnip, dashi, yuzu – a light dashi soup with a poached turnip, I love turnips so much ever since eating a dashi-poached one at Providence

8. aori ika, bluefin, fresh wasabi – have bad squid lots of times before but this squid was so sweet and soft, reminded me of the creaminess of botan ebi

9. wild california abalone, steaming liquid – steamed 4 hours until tender, had an incredibly meaty, umami flavor

10. grilled kinki, caramelized onion – the kinki was salt cured for a day, and the onion slow roasted for 90 minutes with soy sauce; fish had a crispy skin and rich, fatty meat while the onion was soft and sweet

11. duck, soy sauce, negi, double fried ginkgo, salt – the duck is finished quickly over charcoal, went so well with the crisp negi. I had ginkgo a couple times before and it was usually quite bitter, but the ginkgo here was crisp on the outside, chewy, and only had a light bitterness, very good

12. fresh bamboo – first braised in rice bran, then deep fried in panko, I really enjoyed the texture of the breading with the bamboo, crispy and crunchy

13. shiitake, wild shrimp cake with egg yolk, komatsuna, grated daikon – chef said it’s sleet nabe for winter (mizore nabe), visually looked exactly like icy slush but warm and comforting, the shrimp cake had an incredible flavor and was one of my favorite bites of the night

14. karasumi, rice, cured egg yolk and soy sauce – the grated karasumi had an incredibly cheese-like flavor and consistency once mixed with the rice, and since I’ve only had it in small quantities before, this was really interesting for me

15. buri, rice, miso soup, tsukemono (turnip, cucumber, chrysanthemum, myoga), hojicha – this pot is AYCE and was really delicious, the fish was so tender, and I would’ve inhaled a second bowl if I wasn’t stuffed by this point. I asked my husband if he was having seconds, he said he was full, then chef came by and asked and all his self control went out the window lmao

16. asian pear, sake & sea salt jelly – incredibly refreshing fruit, the pear is crisp and the sweetness paired perfectly with the slight savoriness of the jelly. Imagining this on a hot summer day…

17. muskmelon, sencha – was everything a muskmelon can be, it was ripened to the point where there’s almost no chewing required, one piece is a mouthful of melon juice

18. hot matcha – hand whisked for everyone a bowl at a time, perfect way to finish the meal

So many fine dining meals feel extravagant with caviar and truffles, which is nice, but this meal felt extravagant in an entirely different way with ingredients that you don’t see as much stateside, prepared in ways you definitely don’t see as much here. Experiencing this was like being in Japan again and I’m so grateful for the opportunity.

Chef Brandon talked about his love for the craft and for creating something he’s passionate about, maintaining Japanese food traditions rather than trying to change to please everyone. Unfortunately I don’t drink so my husband is hesitant to buy a whole bottle, and we weren’t familiar enough with etiquette before this meal, but if you’re able to go and would like to show extra support, definitely buy a bottle and share with them 🙂