Over the past couple of visits to Tokyo we have eaten in the Tateru Yoshino run restaurant at the Park Hotel and the casual Atrium dining area, but had not tried Hanasanshou, the Japanese restaurant.
We did not realise how popular Hanasanshou is. Several of the days we were there it was fully booked and not just with hotel guests. Thankfully, as we were going out one morning, we managed to make a reservation.
Located on the east facing side of the hotel, the room has a main dining area along the window and then to each side of the bar, a curtained area for a more private dining experience. Lots of dark woods are utilized throughout the room with trendy lighting around the bar.
Hanasanshou offered a menu for house guests so we chose to have that. A Kaiseki menu of 8 courses for around A$50. The other menus were also Kaiseki style with the difference between each being the number of courses and price.
First course out was a bowl of boiled taro stem from Kyoto served simply with a bonito and soy sauce. Very light and refreshing.
The appetizer was a plate of seasonal specialties. Fresh thin wheat noodles, sushi of conger eel, Chinese lantern fruit, fruit fed sweet fish salted and dried overnight with boiled octopus, young corn, grilled eggplant with sweet miso sauce.
A clear soup with a steamed pike conger eel dumpling was our third course. Very tasty, even though I am not in to cooked fish that much. Those little bits floating in the soup are seaweed that we have not encountered before.
Tuna sashimi was next, it was meant to be yellowtail but they had run out so they gave us tuna. Any kind of sashimi is alright by me. The wasabi was super fresh and grated just before serving, a taste revelation! The tuna was also super fresh, which isn’t surprising as Tsukiji Market is less than 5 minute drive away.
Next up was our grilled dish of black cod baked in magnolia leaf, accompanied by edamame and ginger shoot. Again super fresh fish, highlighted with the zingy ginger stem. The magnolia leaf was mostly protection during cooking and a garnish as it didn’t flavour the fish in any way.
A simmered pork belly with a thick, almost gelatinous sauce, potato and beans was next. This was delicious and the pork melted in your mouth and was not too fatty. A little dot of Japanese style mustard really went well with the pork.
Second last dish was rice cooked with barracuda and burdock along with miso soup. One of the best miso soups I have had.
Finally seasonal fruit and green tea. Simple but refreshing end to a very flavoursome meal. Bright green Maple leaves seemed to be the garnish of the season. I remember when I went to Tsukiji Market in autumn 2013 that they were selling punnets of maple leaves ranging from red to orange. Seasonal garnishing at its best.
We have now sampled all the food offerings available at the Park Hotel and they are all fantastic. Sometimes hotel dining can be a bit ho hum, but we have enjoyed each meal we have had during our stays at The Park Hotel.
Cooking Across 4 Generations 
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