DONABE Tasting Dinner at Otium

I had another fantastic night at Otium in Downtown LA!
I had friends visiting LA from Japan, and it was their first time to come to LA, so I really wanted them to experience Otium.

Chef Tim created a special tasting course menu including multiple donabe dishes for us!


Beautiful cured salmon dish, followed by chawanmushi, topped with uni, caviar, and ikura. I loved the nuance of vinegar in the sauce for chawanmushi. So unique and delicate.


First donabe course was buri kama (collard of grown-up yellowtail), grilled, then smoked in donabe smoker, Ibushi Gin. The skin was perfectly crisp, and the meat was so delicate and juicy with a nice oily texture. With every bite, the aroma of smoke delighted my palate. Beautiful.


The rice course was made with double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san". It was black cod with very light potato sauce and charred spring onion, dusted seaweed, etc.


The rice was Mori-san's short grain rice from Uruguay. What a unique combination of flavors and it was so delicious. My friends are from Niigata, the premium rice growing region of Japan, so they are true rice snobs. And, they were raving about how the rice was cooked perfectly in Kamado-san by Chef!


Here comes donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe"! Chef Tim slowly steam-roasted a whole chicken for almost 2 hours in the donabe. There was generous amount of shaved black truffles stuffed under the thin skin. Under the chicken was a variety of California vegetables including colorful carrots, potatoes, savoy cabbage, etc. with the jus.


The chicken was carved so skillfully tableside by Christian. The dish was outstanding. The chicken was so tender and packed with umami flavors. The aroma of the truffles were so elegant. Wow, I was really happy.


Dessert was donabe s'more, made in donabe smoker, Ibushi Gin. So pretty.


Because I just returned from Australia, I ordered 2011 de iuliis, Shiraz (Hunter Valey, NSW) for the main course. It was not a overpowering big red but rather elegant and worked wonderfully with the chicken.

My friends were really blown away by the whole dinner. I want to thank chef Tim and the team for the amazing night!

Happy donabe life.

Chef's Table Dinner at Otium

Donabe feast! (Photo by Asami)

I've been so busy past weeks but I can finally post this report about the amazing dinner I had last last month.

My husband, Jason, was back home from Hawaii for 12 days during the holiday season. He was going to leave again for Australia for a couple of month in January. So, during his short stay back in LA, we just wanted to stay in the city and enjoy home cooking and local dining.

Our friends, Asami & Steve, were also back in LA for a short time (they live in Nagoya, Japan now), so we got together to have dinner at Otium, in Downtown LA. I was so excited to taste Chef Timothy Hollingsworth's special dishes again.


We were seated at the chef's table right by the open kitchen, and the special night began.


Butternut Squash/ Ricotta/ Coffee/ Pepitas
Little Gem Lettuce/ Bottarga Vinaigrette
Great beginnings.


Polenta/ Black Truffle/ Hen Egg
Rich, savory, and beautiful texture.


Prawn/ Eggplant/ Pineapple/ Green Curry
This was my first time to taste a dish made with donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe", by the chef! On top of the grate was grilled and steamed prawns and pineapple, and once the grate was removed, in the bottom was muscles in green curry. How creative the dish was! And it was so spicy and delicious.


Hamachi/ Rice/ Bok Choy/ Caramelized Garlic
The rice was cooked in double-lid donabe rice cooker, "Kamado-san"over charcoal grill. Hamachi kama was nicely fatty and so flavorful.


Somoked Duck/ Turnip/ Pear/ Hazelnut
Yes, this dish was made in donabe smoker, Ibushi Gin! The aroma when the lid was removed was gorgeous. The meat was perfectly cooked and smoky.


Persimmon Pudding/ Ricotta/ Pistachio/ Truffle
Yes, with white truffles shaved over the persimmon. I thought I was already so full, but the dessert was too good to resist.

We had an incredible time together over amazing dishes and wine. I love Otium so much and it was an unforgettable dinner.

Happy donabe life.

DONABE Private Dinner Party at Otium in Downtown LA

Chefs in action - Getting ready the donate-smoked beef brisket dish

It felt like I was waiting for this for a long time, and it finally happened. Last Sunday, I hosted a private dinner party to celebrate my DONABE Cookbook at Otium in Downtown LA.


Otium has just soft-opened last week and started serving lunch. But, it’s dinner service won’t start until a few weeks from now. Chef Tim Hollingsworth and his team opened the restaurant just for my party on the night. Yes, the night was exclusive to us…can you believe it?!


They set up one long table for us in the center of the dining room with the display of the book copies on one side. I was getting so excited and waited for my guests to arrive. At around 6, most guests were here.


The magical night started with Champagne and canapé reception.  We had…

NV Fleury , 'Fleur de l'Europe," Brut, Champagne

Gougère


Pork & Chorizo


The Champagne was by a natural producer I like and this is made of 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay. It’s so delicate and has the nice roundness from Pinot Noir. It was really great with both Gougère and crispy pig skin canapés. There were more than 20 of us, me and all my friends, and we were already having a great time.


After a while, it was time for us to sit down at the table. It was the beginning of the epic dinner...

These are two kinds of wines we served during dinner. They are both artisan organic producers. Really beautiful wines.

2013 Ovum - "Memorista" Riesling (Oregon)

2013 Henry Marionnet – Gamay (Touraine, Loire Valley, France)

We also had various special wines brought by some of the guests and also myself.


Hamachi - Nori - Avocado - Sweet & Sour Tomatoes

Snapper - Sea Urchin - Truffle - Hazelnut

Oyster - Shallot Mignonette - Horseradish



Everybody was already at the height of excitement.


The arrival of the donabe rice course, made in double-lid donabe rice cooker, “Kamado-san”!

Abalone - Chestnut Rice. Once the lid was removed, a special soy-based sauce with yuzu-ginger flavor was poured over and the rice was quickly fluffed.


Unbelievable dish. When I had a chat with Tim a couple of weeks before the dinner, he asked me if there was any specific rice dish I wanted him to make. I didn't want to influence his mind with my existing idea of my familiar dishes, so I said I was open to ANY idea he had and wanted him to make anything he wanted. When I saw and tasted this dish, I felt, this was exactly why I said it, because this dish was beyond anybody’s imagination and it was nothing but the expression of the chef’s true talent. Everybody including Mori-san who cultivated this rice in Uruguay was blown away by this beautiful dish.


We all felt like the luckiest people on earth, having this dinner.


Otium Garden Salad - Fresh Herbs

Scallop - Bone Marrow Vinaigrette - Celeriac - Celery 
Duck - Pear - Chocolate - Turnip - Onions



Every dish and every detail…the level of sophisticateon was above and beyond.


I invaded the kitchen to witness the special moments. Chefs in action.


And, the chefs were getting ready a dish with the donabe smoker, “Ibushi Gin”!


Smoky reveal time!


Smoked Brisket - Everything Bagel Topping
Potato - Carrots - Onions - Brussels

Creamy Mashed Potato
When the lid was removed the aroma of the savory meat and smoke was gently released. Wow, the beef was so tender and flavorful with the perfect smoky flavor.


Dessert time.
S'mores

Banana Cream Grand Macaron


EVERYTHING was beyond incredible.

The dinner was filled with all the happy positive energy of everybody. I just didn’t want the night to end…it was so incredible that this dinner will be unforgettable for my life.


I can’t thank Tim and his most talented team enough for making this happen with the amazing dinner and top class “omotenashi” hospitality. The experience they gave us made us treasure the moments we share and made us fell Life is Great!

(There are some photos taken by my friends in this post but I can't remember which ones were from whom, so thank you, my friends!)