"Happy Meal": A Night of Delight at Kahala

Having been fortunate enough to sample some, by no means all, so-called fine dining locally and abroad, I find myself increasing tending towards old comforts like barbecue pork rice, which never seems to tire like haute cuisine. Maybe in this age of celebrity chefs, too many “me-too” eateries and menus have surfaced, watering down quality and the “wow” factor.

Then I thought of Kahala, an ~8-seat counter-only restaurant hidden in the heart of Osaka, under the façade of a non-descript wooden door. Three of us spent an evening there with a creative chef who cooks with his heart.

Inside, the 35-year-old restaurant had a well-kept, traditional décor. Dark wood dominated and we sat in front of teppanyaki grills. A decorated glass panel separated a small area for drinks preparation.

We took the second seating of the evening and were served ~10 courses, chef’s choice. Yoshifumi Mori-san was the main man, supported by a female sous chef and a young, friendly male assistant. The food was Japanese-French, my friend who visited before told me.

The first course was a bowl of Chinese “jin hua” ham with okra and aloe followed by a red rice pasta dish with fresh mushroom. A platter of 5 dishes were presented next that consisted of Japanese potatoes topped with cheese and dark chocolate flakes, black coal marinated garlic cloves, whale with peppercorn, fried white Japanese shrimps, and another marinated Japanese fish. I liked the potatoes and garlic very much.

Then a pan-fried shark’s fin garnished with Taiwanese “long vegetable” and noodle squash appeared. To me this was a classic example of Mori-san’s creativity, surprising me with a French-style preparation of an Asian ingredient.

Chef Mori further demonstrated his skills in a bubbling awabi (abalone) fondue composed of gruyere, emmanthal and blue cheese. Even though the dish was seriously heavy, all of us enjoyed it to the last bit including the sticky crunchy piece of hardened cheese at the bottom of the mini stone pot.

To lighten things up, a bowl of egg and mixed and fresh mushrooms soup was served next. By now I was very appreciative of Mori-san’s interplay of ingredients.

For the main course, Chef Yoshifumi prepared Japanese teppanyaki steak for us himself. The innocuous looking beef was actually a mille-feuille version composed of 5 wafer thin layers. This was the piéce de resistance, eaten with a daikon sauce, or a wasabi variety. Both were yummy but I thought the wasabi allowed the beef’s flavour to shine more.

An accompanying black sesame, greens and radish salad thoughtfully neutralized the greasiness of the beef, and allowed me to tackle the ensuing rice with fish flakes.

For dessert, we had a refreshing pear puree then egg white custard with figs and honey, a dream combo. Finally, we capped off the meal with a rich cup of masala tea, Indian candies included.

Japanese-French? We even had Indian tea that tasted authentic. And you know what - Chef Mori has never travelled outside Japan! But ultimately it was Chef Mori’s dedication and humility in his craft that impressed me the most. What a happy meal –expensive, but worthwhile.