Hale vegan in Kyoto

We went to the most amazing lunch at Hale, an organic vegetarian restaurant in the Nishiki market of Kyoto. Nishiki market is a must visit in itself. It is where the chefs shop for special ingredients for their intricate Kyoto cuisine. We met Chiharu, chef-owner, at a tea ceremony class with Fumiko the day before and I wanted to visit her restaurant, especially when Fumiko said it is mostly vegan and focuses on using organic local seasonal ingredients.

Chiharu opened up the restaurant about 10 years ago. It used to be the house of her grandmother, which she transformed into a restaurant with about 12 seats on the first floor. It is well hidden down a thin alleyway in the market and if Fumiko hadn't led us there we may have not found it, and that would have been a shame because it's amazing.

When you enter the restaurant, you immediately feel at home, because after all it is an ancient home with a lot history, and then there is a small beautiful Japanese garden that we were told is common for these type of houses. Chiharu had a dream to open up a restaurant and she has done it, and done it well in my opinion.

We chose from two set menus, both organic vegan, and we ordered potato sochu, beer and a house made ginger grapefruit drink to accompany it. The food when it came out was wonderful, not only in presentation, but with every taste you feel the care and love that went into it, and in that alone, I felt at home and I had found a kindred spirit.

There were so many interesting tastes and textures, from a yuba mushroom rice bowl as the main dish, a beautiful array of local steamed vegetables with dressings, and a variety of accompaniments, including house pickles, chilled soft tofu, marinated and seasoned Kyoto seasonal offerings creatively prepared, fu (wheat gluten), which is another local specialty that has become a favourite of mine next to yuba (bean curd skin), kumquats and smoked tea.

There must have been around 100 touches to each tray and my confirmed carnivore friends shared in the delight of the presentation and offerings. I even transformed my friend Michael to liking tofu after having him try so many versions of artisanal freshly made tofu while in Kyoto. The care and presentation of artisanal tofu is much like cheese in places like Kyoto, in the way that the tofu makers prepare it daily using ancient techniques. I feel it is a shame that the only exposure most North Americans get to tofu is the packages of tofu that are often hard, dry and tasteless, because it can be and is much more than this.

There was only one dessert offering and one that I adore... kakikori, ice shavings. But at Hale, they make a special kakikori with house made syrups. It was a real treat in the way they freshly prepared each one to order, almost like a granite but lighter and flufflier. They had us eat one quickly before it melted and the other one would come out shortly afterwards. We chose umeboshi plum, strawberry, Japanese brown sugar and adzuki, we loved all of them but the last was the group favourite. A fun finish to a meal, and if you know me, I love food that is delicious as well as being playful.

Dessert

If you find yourself in Kyoto, I highly recommend you visit Hale, whether you are vegan or not. Chiharu means sunny weather in Japanese and Hale in Hawaiian means house of the sun. I'm sure your visit will bring sunshine to your heart and palate, and that is the incredible power of food from the heart or kokoro in Japanese.

Me kidding around with the talented chefs of Hale, how strange of me :)