One of many best Japanese eating places within the Netherlands is tucked away in a nook of a Japanese fish manufacturing unit, situated within the industrial harbor space of IJmuiden—basically Amsterdam’s port. The restaurant is known as Hokkai Kitchen, and each it and the manufacturing unit share a brand that includes a horse mackerel, recognized in Japanese as aji.
Contained in the restaurant, delicate Japanese decorations have been added, but it’s nonetheless clear you’re within the nook of a fish manufacturing unit. This distinction creates an enchanting ambiance—the place the understated simplicity of the setting and the dishes is fantastically balanced by the distinctive high quality of the meals and repair. The restaurant provides a 5 course chef’s menu (omakase is the Japanese phrase for that) for 100 euros in addition to à la carte—principally sushi. The sake pairing with the omakase is 60 euros for five glasses.
To not point out the distinctive high quality of the sake pairing, curated by Menno Tol—the one Grasp Sake Sommelier within the Netherlands. Hailing from Volendam, his surname alone would give that away to most Dutch individuals. On one hand, it makes good sense that he works right here, given Volendam’s deep-rooted fishing heritage. However, it’s not precisely what you’d anticipate from somebody from Volendam, which provides a pleasant twist to his story.
I had the pleasure of assembly Menno and experiencing his outstanding experience in sake and meals pairing throughout his time on the Michelin-starred Yamazato restaurant within the Okura Lodge in Amsterdam (learn extra about that right here). Sadly, he wasn’t current at Hokkai Kitchen throughout our go to, however Rosanna stepped in admirably and ensured the sake expertise was nonetheless top-notch.
Hokkai Kitchen is extremely well-liked, so reservations should be made weeks prematurely. Once we arrived, our desk wasn’t fairly prepared but. Whereas we waited, we have been supplied a small deal with: a pattern of crispy seaweed on rice. A easy gesture, however a really tasty one—and a promising begin to the night.
As soon as we have been seated, Rosanna got here to our desk with a heat welcome and handed alongside Menno’s regards. As a particular gesture, she poured us a glowing sake—Izumibashi—courtesy of Menno. This sake is made glowing by way of a second fermentation within the bottle, with the yeast left in, giving it a cloudy look after Rosanna gently shook it earlier than serving. The flavour was fantastically fruity and well-balanced, with notes of lychee, complemented by a creamy texture and a clear, comfortable end. It was a pleasant and refreshing begin to the night.
The amuse bouche of mackerel tempura was served with this, a really good pairing.
Along with the omakase, we ordered a particular dish: Dutch salted herring, evenly smoked and served with seaweed and pickled daikon. The herring had a fragile, creamy taste and was extremely tender—a sublime twist on a conventional Dutch ingredient. The richness of the fish was fantastically offset by the crunch of the seaweed and the tangy brightness of the pickles.
The sake served with the herring was Tatsu Orange Label No. 3, a yamahai-type sake—naturally brewed utilizing ambient lactic acid and aged for 3 years. This model offers the sake a wealthy, complicated character with pronounced umami. It had a particular aroma harking back to aged cheese, which could sound shocking however labored fantastically with the evenly smoked Dutch herring.
Rosanna defined that one of many key elements distinguishing several types of sake is the diploma to which the rice grains are polished. She confirmed us samples of rice with various sharpening ranges: one the place 45% of the grain had been eliminated, leading to a sake that’s elegant and fruity, and one other the place solely 10% had been polished away, producing a heartier, extra strong taste profile. On the whole, the extra the rice is polished, the extra refined and delicate the sake turns into.
Subsequent got here the sashimi cocktail, the chef’s signature dish. It featured an beautiful choice of tuna, salmon, and hamachi, served with a soy-based sauce, a chiffonade of shiso leaf, and a placing addition: an egg yolk that had been flash-frozen to -80°C (-112°F). This system gave the yolk an exceptionally creamy texture, including richness to the dish. The fish was extremely recent and tender, and the mix of flavors and textures made this course really excellent.
The sake paired with the sashimi was the Funashibori Junmai Hiire Orange no Tenmei, brewed by Akebono Shuzo in Fukushima. This junmai-style sake had a crisp taste and delicate citrus-like aroma and was a superb pairing.
The subsequent sake was the Honjozo Muroka Namagenshu by the Noguchi Naohiko Sake Sake Institute, comprised of rice polished to 60% and aged for over 18 months. It had a crisp taste and aroma, and had been chosen to chop by way of the richness of the grilled fish within the subsequent course.
The yakimono course featured three varieties of grilled fish: horse mackerel, common mackerel, and black cod marinated in miso. The horse mackerel was served in a conventional model as a complete fish, which added authenticity but additionally made it a bit difficult to eat as a result of many small bones. The black cod with miso—a well known and beloved mixture—was executed fantastically, with the wealthy, buttery texture of the cod complementing the sweet-savory miso marinade. Whereas the fish was well-prepared, this course was in all probability our least favourite of the meal, maybe as a result of it lacked the finesse and shock of the sooner dishes.
The subsequent sake was the Kanadel Pizzicato Sake by Manotsuru. This sake was barely glowing on account of a mild secondary fermentation—therefore the identify “Pizzicato.”
This was an excellent pairing for the trio of nigiri: sea bass, squid, and Dutch salted herring. The nigiri was wonderful. The rice was served lukewarm and had a pleasantly agency texture—what I’d describe as al dente. It was solely evenly seasoned with sushi vinegar, permitting the flavour of the fish to shine. The rice base was loosely packed, holding collectively simply sufficient with out being compressed, giving the sushi a fragile, ethereal really feel. Dutch salted herring is, after all, not a conventional sushi ingredient. Whereas unconventional, it was seamlessly built-in into the menu, exhibiting how Japanese culinary strategies can adapt to regional specialties with out compromising on high quality or concord.
The subsequent sake was merely known as Jam, made by Haccoba—a craft sake brewery in Fukushima. It’s brewed from rice polished by solely 10–12%, and consists of elderflower as an added ingredient. This provides it a muscat-like aroma, with a candy and bitter taste profile from the mix of yellow and white malted rice. Rosanna defined that in Japan, it’s solely legally permitted to start out a sake brewery in a constructing that has traditionally been a sake brewery. In consequence, youthful brewers typically flip to crafting experimental kinds of sake utilizing non-traditional substances. Due to these additions, Jam isn’t formally categorized as sake.
It was a well-chosen pairing for the snow crab temaki with salmon roe. The freshly made pickled ginger and wasabi—a lot extra vibrant than the pre-packaged variations—made all of the distinction.
The subsequent sake made its pairing intentions clear from the beginning—it featured an image of a tuna on the label. This was Komaizumi Maguro Ginjo-shu, a sake particularly designed to enhance tuna dishes. Brewed from rice polished to 60%, it has a taste profile wealthy in umami with a clear, dry end.
And so this was the right pairing for the subsequent course: 5 several types of tuna nigiri. These included lean tuna, medium-fatty tuna, fatty tuna, soy-marinated tuna, and tuna tartare. Each bit showcased a unique texture and taste profile of tuna, and the sake’s robust umami character with its dry end complemented the richness and selection fantastically.
A few of the sakes have been served in glasses resembling small wine glasses, whereas others got here in conventional ceramic cups, typically accompanied by fantastically crafted serving vessels for top-ups. In Japan, it’s thought-about rude to pour sake for your self—so we took turns serving one another. The selection of glassware additionally subtly mirrored the character of every sake: extra fragrant or delicate sakes have been served in stemmed glasses to boost the nostril, whereas richer, extra conventional kinds have been poured into ceramic cups to emphasise texture.
This marked the top of the omakase, however we determined so as to add an additional course: wagyu beef. To accompany it, Rosanna introduced out Takehanoyuki, a Tokubetsu Junmai-shu sake. Constructed from rice polished to 60%, its standout function was that it had been aged in barrels, giving it a clean, nutty character with wealthy umami and a creamy texture.
The wagyu was served as nigiri, which was completed by the chef table-side, by charring the wagyu with a purple scorching piece of charcoal. This produced a pleasant smoky taste, which was enhanced by a teriyaki-like sauce that was subsequently brushed on prime of the wagyu. It was served in your hand on a sheet of nori and a dollop of recent wasabi on prime.
The wagyu was served as nigiri, and completed table-side by the chef. A red-hot piece of charcoal was used to evenly char the meat, releasing a smoky aroma that immediately elevated the dish. A teriyaki-like sauce was then brushed over the wagyu, including a sweet-savory glaze that complemented the meat’s richness. The nigiri was offered straight on the hand, laid on a crisp sheet of nori with a small dollop of freshly grated wasabi on prime.
To complete, I ordered the chef’s dessert—curious to see how Japanese delicacies, which isn’t sometimes recognized for its sweets, would strategy it. The custard was a bit bland and understated, however the nashi pear marinated in yuzu juice, topped with a chiffonade of shiso leaf, was very good.
We had a beautiful dinner at Hokkai Kitchen. Foodwise it’s principally a sushi restaurant, as a result of the sushi (and sashimi!) dishes is the place the kitchen shines. Complementing the meals is a powerful choice of sake, expertly curated by educated sommeliers who’re completely happy to information you thru pairings that elevate your entire expertise. The attentive, pleasant, and educated service is one other spotlight, extra akin to what you’d anticipate at a superb eating restaurant than within the nook of a fish manufacturing unit. Costs are surprisingly cheap given the caliber of the meals and repair, which explains why reservations are important and sometimes should be made properly prematurely. I’m already trying ahead to my subsequent go to—the one draw back is that I’ll have to discover a designated driver, as IJmuiden doesn’t have a practice station. Or come by boat once more, because the restaurant is inside strolling distance from the IJmuiden marina.
