Ryozanpaku 京·百万遍 梁山泊

One of our favorite restaurants in Kyoto is Ryozanpaku (梁山泊).  

I was intrigued when I read about Ryozanpaku in magazines years ago.  The name suggested a Chinese restaurant for Ryozanpaku was where the characters of Shuihu Zhuan (水滸伝, one of China's Four Great Classic Novels, commonly known in English as "The Water Margin" or "All Men Are Brothers") lived.  I was surprised that the food was Kyo-ryori (京料理), the elegant Kyoto-style kaiseki cuisine. 

Owner/chef Hashimoto Kenichi-san (橋本憲一さん), with his desire for his guests to eat and drink with great pleasure and abandon, named his restaurant Ryozanpaku as the characters in the novel lived a lifestyle of “eat, drink and be merry” with “big bowls of wine and big plates of meat (大杯酒, 大塊肉)”. 

Every morning Hashimoto-san goes to the Kyoto Wholesale Market (Kyoto’s counterpart of Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market) for the best seasonal fish and vegetables that his kitchen turns into impeccable dishes.

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Ryozanpaku is in an extraordinary traditional Japanese house.  One walks through the wooden gate along a stone path in the small garden to its front door.  Immediately one is greeted by the kimono-clad Okami (女將, the Mistress of the restaurant) with a smile.  Beyond the foyer is the large front room with an exquisite hand-crafted oversized square wood table.  On the right is the open kitchen with a counter for customers.  Hanging above the counter is a long hand-written menu.  On the left are cabinets with displays, and the steps to an elevated level of zashiki (tatami rooms).  The floor of the front room is laid with flat stones and the ceiling is covered with latticed woodwork.  The tatami rooms are spacious and tastefully decorated in the traditional manner, each with tokonoma (alcove) that displays an ikebana arrangement and a scroll of painting.    At day time one can enjoy a lavish view of the garden. 

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 Here are some examples of the food we had at Ryozanpaku.

Sakizuke (先附) – Appetizers of chaburinamako (茶ぶり生子, sea cucumber shaken in tea),

 takenoko (筍 木芽和, bamboo shoot), kazunoko (数の子, herring roe)

 Osuimono (お吸いキの) – Clear soup with ebi, tofu and nama yuba maki

 Mukozuke (向附) -- sashimi (お造り) of sea trout, saroyi (針魚), kawahagi (皮剥),  

okoze (虎魚,scorpion fish), mongou ika (紋甲いか, cuttlefish);

Condiments of matcha-shio (salt with green tea powder, kimo sauce, and soy sauce

 Takimono (焚物) – Seasonal Kyoto yasai

Buri saikyouyaki (冰見鰤 西京燒, Kyoto style grilled Japanese amberjack),  

バナナ梅干わさびクリ一ム和 (banana and dried ume in wasabi cream), 

karasumi daikon (唐墨大根, dried fish roe on radish), 豆腐ス乇一ク (smoked tofu on mandarin), 

goma kon’nyaku (胡麻蒟蒻, sesame “devil’s tongue” jelly), namasu (膾, carrot and radish in vinegar)

 Yakimono (燒物) -- Awabi in kimo sauce (燒あわび)

 Gohan (御飯) – Green shiso gohan

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Ryozanpaku offers a large selection of sake as well as Champagne and Burgundy wines.  We had our first sparkling sake there a few years ago.  It was specially brewed by a sake toji (brew master) for Hashimoto-san.  Rice wine obviously could not produce bubbles like Champagne.  Nevertheless the fizzes were very pleasant.  Hashimoto-san also stocks Japanese whiskeys at the restaurant.  One evening, he paired our dinner with whiskey – Hakushu 12-y.o., Hibiki 17-y.o., and a special Hitomi 19-y.o. (a single cask of vintage 1991 by Yamazaki Distillery).   At another sumptuous meal, he shared with us a bottle of Jadot 2009 Beaune 1er Cru “150^th Anniversary Cuvee”.

    

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 Hashimoto-san is an exceptional chef, a gourmet of Japanese, Asian and European cuisines, and a connoisseur of fine Burgundies and whiskeys.  The Okami, elegant Mrs. and cheerful Miss Hashimoto, are most gracious and hospitable.  They ensure that every detail of the meal is properly attended to from the time of the guests’ arrival to their departure.  We have always enjoyed ourselves at Ryozanpaku whether we ate at the counter or in the tatami rooms.  Always the warm welcome, excellent food and drinks, impeccable service and lovely ambience; what more can we ask?

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In recent years, a number of eateries named “Ryozanpaku” have popped up in Japan, Hong Kong and the U.S.  They have nothing to do with our all-time favorite, the one and only Michelin 2-star Ryozanpaku in the Hyakumanben area of Kyoto (京·百万遍).  

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Restaurant website: 京·百万遍   梁山泊 www.ryozanpaku.net

Address: 5 Izumidono-cho Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 京都市 左京区 吉田泉殿町5