ESORA

A Culinary Celebration of Winter’s Rich Produce

Inspired by nature and rooted in ‘shun’ - the exact moment an ingredient is at its peak flavour, Esora serves modern Japanese Kappo cuisine inspired by the organic beauty and purity of the finest seasonal produce. Helmed by Head Chef Araki, and supported by Sous Chef Nishio, the pair create an exquisite balance and harmony of flavours through the application of modern techniques to Japanese tradition.

The onset of winter brings with it a bounty of seasonal ingredients, the chill of the oceans brings with it seafood of higher fat content, making buri, fugu, ankimo (monkfish liver), Matsuba-gani (snow crabs) and uni an undeniable delight.

Root vegetables such as gobo, daikon and potatoes help keep the body warm in the cold, while leafy vegetables like winter chijimi horenso (snow spinach) and Shimonita negi (bunching onions) are especially sweet when grown in the harsh temperatures; while seasonal fruits of apple and mandarins are ripe for the picking this time of year. 

Popular during the winter are hotpots, stews, oden, sukiyaki and shabu shabu. Filling, hearty and warm, these dishes are culinary lamp posts of the season to the Japanese.

To celebrate the best of the Japanese winter harvest, Esora presents a seasonal menu of 10 exquisite courses with flavours painted with an acute micro-seasonal palette.

Beginnning with a Konbu dashi, which Chef Araki accents with an ingredient of choice to mark the commencement of each season. This winter, the dashi features the Kyoto winter burdock’s sweet and earthy flavour prepared two ways – grilled and dehydrated - before being simmered in a konbu, yielding a dashi that is rich, nuanced and bold.