I was lucky enough to grab a seat for one at Florilege in Azubudai Hills recently. This was absolutely an unforgettable meal, it’s no exaggeration that I found myself impressed by components of every dish! Florilege has an emphasis on using seasonal and high quality ingredients inspired by Japan’s diverse biomes. Meat is not the main draw of a dish and that really came through in my experience. It felt intentional to include the meat as a fundamental part of the dish but not with flare or pamper! By nature the meal is always changing, but here is a look at what I had for my dinner.

To start the meal, I was told there is no traditional cocktail list and that I could just describe a cocktail. I wanted to get a reservation to Bar Bennfidditch for a similar expierence, but I struck out as it seems as hard as getting a table at Tatiana 🙄. This was really exciting as I am pretty simple when it comes to cocktails so I don’t think I order the most complex drinks. When the bartender came back with a Strawberry infused rum with fresh toasted Paprika I was floored by how great it smelled! I nursed that one cocktail for nearly an hour because it was so good I couldn’t let it go.

Course 1: Radish & Onion

I love that the meal begins similar to many I’ve had in Japan, with Radish and Onion! It’s simple, but clever and really funny to repackage what usually is shredded radish and sliced onion. The onion soup was lighter, but the Japanese butter balanced out the sharpness of the onion. The radish pop was chewy and mochi like, but the fried exterior’s sweetness reminded me so much of Pronto Pups.

Course 2: Udo

This dish had a savory and neutral ice cream with fish and vegetables sprinkled on top and below. I really loved the use of the minimal colors on this one as the bright fresh tones really popped since 80% of the dish is white. There was radish that was blanched under the cream which was my favorite part of the dish as it was so crunchy and springy.

Course 3: Ayu

The waiter couldn’t stop but crack a cheeky smile when describing this dish as a mountain made of mountain - which to be fair is funny in a corny way. There was fish and egg in the middle of this mound of bright green, but what was really interesting to me was that the smoked watercress that lined the mountain. I tasted more umami from the watercress than the traditional “meaty” ingredients and found myself enjoying that part the most!

Course 4: Bamboo

Although it was named the bamboo course, this dish felt like every single ingredient worked for a team effort! The fried burdock on one side with the lightly seared tuna on the other were visually sticking out right away, but it didn’t detract from the others. I almost needed the sharp thin citrus and the mellow flavors of the greens with the bamboo to pair with them. To me, I thought that this was a prime showing of a dish where all components are contributing equally.

Bread:

Japanese milk bread is something I can’t wrap my head around. As someone who backs a minimal amount, I don’t get how it can be so much better than the dry stuff I find at the grocery store. It’s a blissful ignorance and I am okay with just enjoying ripping it apart everything I get it. The soy butter that came with the bread tasted just like the real thing and I definitely got seconds because it was so damn good.

Course 5: Morille

I swear I’ve seen Morille Mushroom on 5 different tasting menus this year and it definitely is cool, but every single time it’s been stuffed and served in the center. I do love how it tastes and I do think the mushrooms chew and char fits well. The ginger and potato sauce are really needed here as the tuna stuffing inside the mushroom was STRONG. I just have a feeling I’ll see a stuffed Morille many more times this year and wonder if it’s a fine dining trend?

Course 6: Scallop

This dish was so white it made me laugh a bit when I saw it come out. It was just so white (although there was a hidden black seaweed paste under the foam that really brought the whole dish together). I’m a hoe for scallops so a dish that has a beignet stuff with scallops with scallop crème could never do wrong by me. The flavor of the whole dish was on point, but the scallop did mush with the bread a bit inside which was not expected.

Course 7: To Balance

Chef brought out a whole ass fowl and put it in front of me and I had to think there was no way I was getting anything more than just a cut of that. I was right, but the moment where I panicked that I may be forced to eat a whole bird in front of everyone got me engaged. I know I kept mentioning that vegetables are the highlight, but damn this plate shows how far really well treated and locally raised meat can go. The deep fried pastry(?) that came out also had deep fried sakura seeds in there!

Course 8: Rice

This dish was described as a layer of rice crisp, with room temp rice cream and stuffed around rice ice cream. A weird fact about me is that I don’t even like rice that much, but this was one of the easiest to eat I’ve had. It follows the classic Asian rule of “not too sweet” while playing with different textures and temperatures.

Course 9: Strawberry

For the second dessert we got little balanced strawberry ice creams on top of the fruit itself. This reminded me of a video I saw recently talking about $28 strawberries and I really hope these weren’t those because it’s a step too dystopian for me.

The Rose!

I may have forgotten that I ordered a supplemental 1000 Yen Florilege rose when I booked my meal because I didn’t even know what it meant when I clicked on it. I was so surprised when this half translucent rose was brought out. I was the first one to get my rose so everyone in the restaurant thought I was the VIP for a minute which was equally embarrassing and cool. The rose is constructed of thin beef slices that are deep fried and then taken out and bent into shape. This sounds absolutely painful since it’s around 180 degrees while the chef is working with it and made me feel bad for enjoying the art so much.

Dessert 3 & Coffee:

As the last little bites of the meal, we got a mango jelly, candied tangerine, Madeline and a gooey sugar block to pair with drinks. I got a nice warm latte that was really fun to dip the sugar and madeleine into. This was the perfect way to end the evening as it gave some time to decompress from the massive meal I had just had.

I feel like it can be disillusioning to eat fancy food too often, because I don’t want to end up like a snobby rich person who treats a 3 digit meal normally. There’s a balance to consumption and indulgence and it can be difficult to navigate at times. That’s why it’s nice when an experience feels special without being pretentious. I do feel very lucky to have been able to experience this meal with a team that is passionate and intentional about what they create. What you get for the price is really worth it in my opinion and I will be recommending this to any of my friends traveling here for a long time 🫰🏼