My BFF invited me to an early birthday dinner @ Kajitsu , a vegan Japanese restaurant that specializes in Shojin cuisine.

‘Shojin cuisine refers to a type of vegetarian cooking that originates in Zen Buddhism.
Even though it does not use meat or fish, shojin is regarded as the foundation of all Japanese cuisine, especially kaiseki, the Japanese version of haute cuisine.’

Jess and I indulged in the eight-course ‘Hana’ menu, which started with a spring jelly veggies appetizer (pictured below). The menu wasn’t like anything I’ve ever tasted before: it was even better!  We tasted versatile delicacies such as watermelon turnip and gooseberry (pictured above), and morel mushroom.

The best part of the meal is that it was light and fresh, leaving room for dessert! We ended our courses with matcha and candies (pictured below).

Full HANA menu below:

-Spring Jelly
green bell pepper, mountain yam, okra, kaede-fu, myoga
-Tofu-ball Soup
tofu, gosho-fu, carrot, burdock root, mochi, pumpkin-fu, mitsuba, ginger
-Onion Gratin
with crunchy fried spring vegetables
-Morel Mushroom Sukiyaki
onion, yuba, carrot, celery, white asparagus, spinach, spring roll, gosho-fu, dijon mustard, morel mushroom, wood ear mushroom, avocado
-House Made Soba And Sasamaki Sushi
deep fried tofu, mozuku umeboshi, wasabi leaf
-Seasonal Vegetable With Sesame Cream Sauce
cabbage, red bell pepper, potato, wasabi
-Sizzled Rice Casserole
nappa cabbage, yamakurage, mitsuba, daikon, pine nut
-Yomogi-tofu With Black Sugar Syrup
mugwort, soy milk, sesame puree
-Matcha
with candies by kyoto kagizen

The end.