The chef’s omakase menu is comprised of about a dozen seasonal dishes. Based on traditional foundations, the style is strictly Japanese with the meal starting with small and light appetizers, followed by soups, grilled dishes and a rice dish. The only difference is that at Towa, the meat dishes make up about a third of the courses.

Despite his passion for beef, the soup is still crucial for the kaiseki chef. “The soup is an important dish for me as it allows a moment to come face to face with the guest,” Tsuneyasu says as he stands in front of each guest and hands the warm bowl over with both hands.

The first of the two soups is a beautiful bowl of crab and lily bulb dumplings, yuzu citrus and giant nameko mushrooms. The mix of seasonal aromas is simply divine. The clear base soup is elegant and deep in umami, made using premium kombu and honkarebushi bonito flakes. The second soup is a wintery taste with a dumpling made of fresh scallops. A thin sheet of daikon radish is draped over the white dumpling, making it look like a delicate layer of ice over a pond.

There is also an element of surprise in Towa’s cuisine. The spring rolls are a classic example. The chef comes up with original recipes using unusual ingredients like oxtail and tomatoes. He also has thought of a fun way of serving as he wraps the rolls in front of the guests and hands them right over the counter.

The main dish is a secret katsu recipe that the chef mastered during his days at Kanda. Using Chateaubriand steaks of Hitachi beef from Ibaraki Prefecture, he first slow cooks the meat over charcoal. Then he batters it with very fine bread crumbs and double fries it in hot oil. While hot, he shaves slices of truffles on top and tosses some watercress and dried seaweed for the final touches. Every part of the beef has its own character and should be cooked using different methods and techniques. For example, the root part of the tongue is grilled for close to half an hour over crackling charcoal. Cooked to perfection, the inside is that beautiful juicy pink.

Besides the assortment of beef, he incorporates seasonal delicacies into the menu, like bamboo shoot in the spring and crabs in the winter. As a winter appetizer, plump meats of Seiko snow crabs are packed generously in the shell. The chef prefers larger ones for better texture. There’s no need to add much to it but just lightly drizzle the rich and creamy liver sauce.

The little rice bowl that follows is a beautiful union of the seas and the hills. On top of a warm bed of sushi rice are chunks of soy-marinated bottom flap, a delicious part of the rib area, and ruby-like balls of salmon roe. Dressed with hints of wasabi and yuzu citrus, enjoy the different strands of flavors come together in your mouth.

INGREDIENTS
Kobe, Tajima, Hitachi, Sendai and Nozaki—Tsuneyasu sources from all the top ranches across Japan, and he doesn’t compromise on quality. His philosophy is consistent across other ingredients including fish and vegetables. He particularly likes Matsubagani, mature male snow crab, caught off selected ports like the Oki Islands. The salmon roe needs to be extra large and juicy. He also has found a domestic grower of black truffles, which, compared to imported brands has a more subtle aroma that goes well with Japanese flavors. The rice is a koshihikari grain from Sanjo in Niigata Prefecture, with the vinegar from Fuji and wasabi from Gotemba.

To match the selected ingredients, the selection of sake is equally exclusive. The restaurant stocks about 15-20 vintages including rare finds like Kokuryu Muni, a new brand that became very popular in 2018 for being the first to use French wine maturation techniques in sake making. Some bottles auctioned for as high as 200,000 yen.