42533 Tue Jan 03 19:03:17 -0800 2006 2 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 206292 My husband and I celebrated New Year’s Eve with a kaiseki dinner at the wonderful Kaygetsu Japanese restaurant in Menlo Park. This was our fourth visit. Although anything at Kaygetsu is great, I feel that you get the most for your money by having one of the prix-fixe courses. This year a special kaiseki was offered on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Price was $98 per person. Additional sake pairing (my husband did this, while I decided to be the designated driver) was $35. I didn’t take any notes but here is what we had based on the written menu and in this order. Presentation, of course, was gorgeous: Sakizuke (Starter) – Braised duck, shrimp, shimeji mushroom and chestnut mixed with tofu sauce; salmon and kabura turnip in vinegar sauce. Suimono (Clear soup) – Tai snapper, wakame, ugo seaweed, yuzu citrus. Tsukuri – Sashimi assortment Yakimono (Grilled dish) – Alaskan king grab, grilled with sea urchin/miso sauce served with grilled shiitake mushroom and spinach. Taki Awase (Slow-cooked dish) – Kobe beef cooked with red wine, beets, Japanese potato, and pearl onions. Gohan Mono (Rice dish) – Assorted sushi. Miso Soup House-Made Original Dessert – Gelatin covered seasonal berries with anglaise sauce. I'm convinced that Kaygetsu serves the most authentic Japanese food in the Bay Area. Link: http://www.kaygetsu.com/ Tue Jan 03 19:03:17 -0800 2006 0 Wendy-san 1 206302 That sounds absolutely decadent! Thanks for the report. What part of the tai was used in the suimono? Head/cheek or body? I take it that Toshi-san is still handling sushi/sashimi there? Tue Jan 03 19:18:24 -0800 2006 206292 0 KK 2 206320 Sorry, I don't know which part of the tai it was. :-( Yes, it seemed to be Toshi-san at the sushi bar. Kaiseki chefs credited on the menu are: Shinichi Aoki and Katsuhiro Yamasaki. There are no details on their backgrounds or qualifications. Tue Jan 03 20:37:25 -0800 2006 206302 0 Wendy-san