Kai: A gathering of inspired chefs

Kai was the only Euro-Japanese restaurant in town when it opened in 2003 in Greenbelt 2, Makati. And it still is – with five young Filipino chefs from the Culinary Institute of America and the New York Restaurant School inspired by the great Nobu Matsuhisa collaborating in the kitchen.

But what they’ve done is far from just buying the Nobu cookbook at a bookstore. Manning the stove is chef Gilbert Pangilinan, while chef Ricky Estrellado is actually there in spirit, and ink, on menu paper, for he is executive chef of Nobu New York now. Together with the other chefs of this kai (which is the Japanese word for "gathering") like Rex Soriano, Pierre Angeli Dee, and Mike Yap, they contemplate ingredients and create the combinations of various food textures, flavors, and elements.

Kai is not just a modern fusion restaurant. It’s one thing to discover how creative a restaurant is, but what will sustain it is how good it really is with the basics. Almost everything in the realm of food has been invented. Much more so in Japanese cuisine, which has limited ingredients, and many of which are best eaten raw. Any restaurant that can offer you really good classic and modern alternatives without the fusion confusion is a marvel.

Much of Manila’s perceptions may have been a little skewed when it comes to Kai. Yes, even in the absence of a refrigerated glass case in a dining room, you can have the freshest sashimi and sushi. A Mixed Nigiri Sushi Sampler (P480) comes in a long narrow ceramic dish with five varieties of sushi, which usually include sea urchin, salmon, tuna, mackerel and salay-salay. The Special Sashimi Sampler is a huge glass bowl of hefty slices of the freshest airflown Norwegian salmon, sweet shrimp, sea urchin, mackerel, big eye and yellowfin tuna artfully heaped on ice.

One darling of a dish is the hamachi kabutoni, which is the head and collar of imported yellow tail tuna braised in a sweet salty soya rice wine sauce with daikon radish, tofu and ginger. And it’s definitely nothing like local tuna panga. Yellowtail tuna has light meat unlike regular tuna. When it’s cooked this way the meat stays moist and tender, and the only problem you’ll face is who gets to scoop up the succulent eyes and the prized brain. If you are hooked on a low-carb diet, you can opt for the broiled salted hama kama, which is just the collar of the yellowtail tuna – it will have more meat, and it’s not too sweet.

There is another braised dish called the buta kakuni (P290). It’s a Rubik cube-sized piece of pork belly (liempo) simmered for a mighty long time in a blend of soya and mirin. The result is a caramelized glazed piece of succulent pork you can eat with a spoon. It sits over a piece of rice cake flavored with saffron.

Kai has whole new Donburi Lunch Specials in big brawny servings. The unagi is served with seasoned white rice pressed into a flower shape with strips of snowpeas, eggs and cucumbers in between. Succulent and perfectly basted with a dark sweet teriyaki glaze, four barbecued eel fillets are stacked above it. The mixed seafood is a sautéed blend of baby scallops, prawns, salmon, asparagus, oyster and shiitake mushrooms with a very interesting coconut wasabi sauce that lends its rich buttery mouthfeel. It‘s served in a huge wide bowl over steamed Japanese rice.

The chirashi donburi is a slew of fresh seasonal fish slices like salmon, mackerel, tuna, hamachi and sea urchin, rolled tamago (egg) and crisp fried soft shell crab over vinegared rice. breaded US black Angus ribeye, chicken, pork tenderloin and jumbo prawns are served with katsu sauce, egg, nori seaweed, onions and bonito.

Of course, vegetarians are not left out. Sauteed Tofu (P280) with oyster and shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, and that special coconut wasabi sauce is also available. All donburi choices are served with Kai’s special miso soup with clams and tofu.

Sukiyaki or shabu-shabu at Kai seems shocking even, like it was a crime to include it on the menu on grounds of being too blasé an entrée. You’ll have to cook it yourself, over a small pyre for a neo-cauldron made of magic paper straight from Japan, of course! If you are an Iron Chef fan, it’s the same paper the great chef Joel Robuchon was so fascinated with during the French Battle in the castle. It doesn’t burn! You just have to choose which beef to have with your vegetables. Will it be Kobe, Wagyu or US black Angus beef?

You can also have these beef choices if you order the beef ishiyaki – Kobe Wagyu, or US black Angus beef. It’s another "cook your own entrée" type dish, but this time, they give you hot stones for cooking and several sauces to dip the meat into, and a side plate of sautéed vegetables.

And just when you might be in the mood for something different, a Lychee Sake Tini P180) will float your boat in that direction while you pop a few steamed edamame, or soy been pods (P80). You could be wading in an icy pool of sampaguita scented granite with raw Japanese oysters and apples (P240), or popping wasabi oysters tempura (p195) served with balsamic dynamite! Try the salmon belly tempura roll (P240), it’s a fine twist on a familiar dish, wrapped with nori, fried crisp and served with sweet ponzu. Then follow it with grilled rack of lamb with sautéed edamame and Japanese corn served with red miso and mustard sauce, or maybe pan roasted duck magret with foie gras served with chestnuts and a tangy rhubarb yamamomo sauce.

If you are craving for something familiar, just turn the pages of your menu and you will definitely find something that hits that spot.

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Kai is located at Greenbelt 2, Ayala Center Makati. For reservations, call 757-5209 or 757-5210.