信州の食材を使った「水のジビエ」☆ : Breston Court Yukawatan

I wanted to try the dishes created by a chef who believes that "nature is the textbook," so I visited Yukawatan in Karuizawa (＾-＾).

I initially thought it was located within the Breston Court hotel, but upon arrival, I found it was a separate house restaurant a little distance away, surrounded by beautiful greenery!

The view outside the glass walls seems perfect for lunch, but currently, they are not serving lunch.

Dinner is available only as a course for JPY 18,000.

● Six Stones (from left):
- Ito's brandade, wrapped in potato and breadcrumbs.
- Mushroom potage sealed with a thin jelly.
- Wild boar chorizo wrapped in red daikon.
- Cherry salmon canape with tomato and fresh herbs.
- Beef stew with potato puree and tuile.
- Caramelized pear with foie gras.

We started with the specialty, "Six Stones."
This amuse-bouche includes ingredients for appetizers, fish dishes, meat courses, and dessert, creating a flow for the course you’ll be enjoying today.

The temperature of the stones is changed to match each dish.

The delicious highlights were the beef stew and foie gras.

● River Shrimp and Carp:
- Lake Nojiri river shrimp bisque with shichimi flambé.
- Carp milt, smoked carp, Japanese pear, and carp consomme jelly.

The bisque was rich with plenty of milt inside, a lot more filling than it appears at first glance.
I personally found the river shrimp bisque a bit too strong in flavor.

● Ito:
- Ito soaked in brine, without smoking, served with Japanese radish, pickled beets, grapefruit, and quince sauce.

Known as a mythical fish, they use farmed Ito here.
It had no odor at all and was delicious raw.

● Mushrooms:
- Mushroom fricassee, wood pigeon ravioli, aged garlic tuile.

The chewy ravioli is stuffed with strongly flavored wood pigeon.
The plentiful mushrooms had a slight earthiness in taste.
The aged garlic tuile was crispy and served as a great accent.

● Wild Boar:
- Wild boar boudin noir, root celery, chestnut mousse, wild boar consomme.

The consomme was poured in front of me to finish the dish.
While the combination of chestnut mousse and root celery was delightful, the wild boar consomme had a slightly peculiar flavor. Some may like it (^_^).

● Sakura Salmon:
- Pan-fried sakura salmon with beets and vinaigrette sauce.

I was served just the best parts of a whole sakura salmon.
It was moist and juicy, with a gentle flavor offered by the beet sauce.

● Beef:
- Fillet of short-horned beef from Sugadaira Highlands, 30-day aged roast, red wine and spice sauce, topped with puree of green onions, burdock, kale, and potatoes.

Delicious~ (＾-＾) The fillet had rich flavors despite being red meat and was incredibly tender.
The red wine and spice sauce was also flavorful without being heavy.

● House-made baguette, whole grain bread, cheese and tofu cream:

The crusty bread was wonderfully fragrant!
The cheese and tofu cream, while lighter than butter, is unnecessary since the bread itself is so tasty.

● Mountain Cheese:
- Bacchus cheese, yuzu citrus cake, croutons.

I’m not a fan of blue cheese, so I switched it for a milder fromage.
The scent of yuzu was refreshing.

● Apples:
- Apple jelly, Calvados ice cream, apple compote, green apple mousse, meringue.

A refreshing and light apple dessert, each item is deliciously light!

The meringue was fluffy and crispy, of particularly high quality.

● Chestnut / Pear:
- Ice cream made from wild grapes, fruit pastes, chestnut cream from Obuse, meringue, and sweetened chestnuts.

The wild grape flavor was subtle and the chestnut cream tasted gentle.

● Forest Sweets:
- Inside a birdhouse-style box, there were plenty of treats! This is so cute (＠＾▽＾＠)

Items that can be taken home can be packed in a box.
There were about 11 types!

● Coffee:

The wonderful atmosphere was matched by attentive yet friendly service, creating a truly comfortable dining experience.

Enjoying local ingredients in Karuizawa offered a luxurious moment!