At least 25 people have decided that it’s worth several hundred dollars for a single dinner if it’s prepared by renowned chef Kunio Tokuoka in the Japanese kaiseki tradition at 53 by the Sea.
Guests at the March 16 dinner will receive a full-immersion experience along with the classic multicourse meal, designed with artistry and using seasonal ingredients.
For the occasion, the oceanside Kakaako restaurant will be transformed with a Japanese garden, handcrafted lanterns, ikebana flowers and a custom washi paper light fixture made by renowned Japanese artist Eriko Horiki.
The dinner is limited to 50 total guests, and the second seating for 25 at 8 p.m. is already sold out at $900 a head.
The special dinner culminates three “Taste of Kyoto” events at 53 by the Sea, presented for the second year by Tokuoka. The chef has won a total of six Michelin stars for his three Japan restaurants, including the flagship Kyoto Kitcho Arashiyama, often heralded as the epitome of kaiseki dining.
Tokuoka explains his philosophy on the Kyoto Kitcho website: “An encounter by guests and a restaurant is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Plenty of meticulous preparations are essential to address all elements of cuisine: dishes, seasonal arrangement, place, setting and services.”
For the local event, specialty plate ware — literally works of art, some thousands of years old — is being hand-carried from Kyoto, and chopsticks made of a specific cedar wood are being brought in. Restaurant staff will don luxury kimono flown in from Japan and formal happi coats especially made for the event.
The Kyoto series:
>> “Shokado Lunch Course”: 11:30 a.m. March 13, $185. The traditional “bento box” is elevated to an art form.
>> “Evening Extraordinaire”: 6 p.m March 15, $615. Tokuoka will work with local chefs Alan Wong and Chris Kajioka of Senia, and master sommelier Patrick Okubo on a dinner honoring the 150th anniversary of Gannenmono — the first organized group of 148 Japanese immigrants, who arrived in Hawaii in 1868.
>> “Kyoto Kitcho Experience”: 8 p.m. March 16 ($800), includes sake pairing. A second seating ($900) is sold out.
Call 536-5353 or visit 53bythesea.com/TOK.
