春 SpringKō 1 to 18 · August to November
The spring menu.
Fourteen courses, rewritten every five days. What follows is tonight's, in five acts.
$295 a head14 courses5.30pm and 8.30pmSake pairing $140
How the menu follows the kō
Eighteen kō make a season. Fourteen of them get a course.
The line is this season laid flat. Today sits under the dot. Take any kō to read what it brings to the counter.
名残Nagori leaving旬Shun in season now走りHashiri just arrived
Act I · Opening
Two plates, set down together.
The sakizuke sets the season's first note. The hassun follows it with eight or nine small things from the same five days.
01 · Sakizuke 先付
Tasmanian sea urchin, bluefin, toasted nori
Kō 2 · Warblers sing in the hills
名残 nagori, leaving
02 · Hassun 八寸
Broad bean, nanohana, whiting roll, cured yolk, sweet potato
Kō 5 · Mist starts to linger
名残 nagori, leaving
Act II · Clear and raw
The bowl, then the knife.
03
Owan 椀物
Snapper shinjō in clear dashi, young carrot, kinome
Kō 6
04
Otsukuri 造り
Greenlip abalone, shiso, fresh wasabi
Kō 7
Act III · Fire
One fish, over binchōtan.
White charcoal, no smoke, 900 degrees at the surface. The fifth course is the only one that meets fire.
05
Yakimono 焼物
Sawara over binchōtan, sudachi
Kō 9
Act IV · Six pieces
The nigiri run, straight to your hand.
Six pieces, one after another, each set down in front of you. Rice at body temperature, brushed and seasoned at the counter.
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I
Ocean trout, Macquarie Harbour
Kō 9
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II
Spencer Gulf king prawn, just warm
Kō 10
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III
Bluefin akami, soy-marinated
Kō 11
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IV
Snapper, skin torched, sea urchin
Kō 13
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V
Kingfish belly, brushed with nikiri
Kō 15
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VI
Trout roe and urchin, hand-rolled
Kō 16
Act V · Close
Egg, buckwheat, and something cold.
12
Tamago 玉子
Tamago with prawn and mountain yam
13
Soba 蕎麦
Cold soba, Tasmanian buckwheat, spring onion
14
Mizugashi 水菓子
Milk kanten, loquat, salted sakura
Just arrived: Kō 18, peonies bloom.
The seventy-two kō
Dated for Melbourne.
The names are the traditional Japanese ones. We set them to our half of the year, so while Melbourne is in Kō 9, Tokyo is in Kō 45, Swallows leave.
春SpringKō 1 to 18 · August to November
- 01東風解凍East wind melts the ice7–11 Aug
- 02黄鶯睍睆Warblers sing in the hills12–16 Aug
- 03魚上氷Fish rise from the ice17–22 Aug
- 04土脉潤起Rain moistens the soil23–27 Aug
- 05霞始靆Mist starts to linger28 Aug–1 Sep
- 06草木萌動Grass sprouts, trees bud2–6 Sep
- 07蟄虫啓戸Hibernating insects surface7–11 Sep
- 08桃始笑First peach blossoms12–16 Sep
- 09菜虫化蝶Caterpillars become butterflies17–22 Sep
- 10雀始巣Sparrows start to nest23–27 Sep
- 11桜始開First cherry blossoms28 Sep–2 Oct
- 12雷乃発声Distant thunder3–7 Oct
- 13玄鳥至Swallows return8–12 Oct
- 14鴻雁北Wild geese fly north13–17 Oct
- 15虹始見First rainbows18–22 Oct
- 16葭始生First reeds sprout23–27 Oct
- 17霜止出苗Last frost, rice seedlings grow28 Oct–1 Nov
- 18牡丹華Peonies bloom2–6 Nov
夏SummerKō 19 to 36 · November to February
- 19蛙始鳴Frogs start singing7–11 Nov
- 20蚯蚓出Worms surface12–16 Nov
- 21竹笋生Bamboo shoots sprout17–21 Nov
- 22蚕起食桑Silkworms feast on mulberry22–26 Nov
- 23紅花栄Safflowers bloom27 Nov–1 Dec
- 24麦秋至Wheat ripens2–6 Dec
- 25蟷螂生Mantises hatch7–11 Dec
- 26腐草為蛍Rotten grass becomes fireflies12–15 Dec
- 27梅子黄Plums turn yellow16–20 Dec
- 28乃東枯Self-heal withers21–25 Dec
- 29菖蒲華Irises bloom26–30 Dec
- 30半夏生Crow-dipper sprouts31 Dec–4 Jan
- 31温風至Warm winds blow5–9 Jan
- 32蓮始開First lotus blossoms10–14 Jan
- 33鷹乃学習Hawks learn to fly15–19 Jan
- 34桐始結花Paulownia sets seed20–24 Jan
- 35土潤溽暑Earth damp, air humid25–29 Jan
- 36大雨時行Great rains sometimes fall30 Jan–3 Feb
秋AutumnKō 37 to 54 · February to May
- 37涼風至Cool winds blow4–8 Feb
- 38寒蝉鳴Evening cicadas sing9–13 Feb
- 39蒙霧升降Thick fog descends14–18 Feb
- 40綿柎開Cotton flowers bloom19–23 Feb
- 41天地始粛Heat starts to die down24–28 Feb
- 42禾乃登Rice ripens1–5 Mar
- 43草露白Dew glistens white on grass6–10 Mar
- 44鶺鴒鳴Wagtails sing11–15 Mar
- 45玄鳥去Swallows leave16–20 Mar
- 46雷乃収声Thunder ceases21–25 Mar
- 47蟄虫坏戸Insects hole up underground26–30 Mar
- 48水始涸Farmers drain the fields31 Mar–4 Apr
- 49鴻雁来Wild geese return5–9 Apr
- 50菊花開Chrysanthemums bloom10–14 Apr
- 51蟋蟀在戸Crickets at the door15–19 Apr
- 52霜始降First frost20–24 Apr
- 53霎時施Light rains sometimes fall25–29 Apr
- 54楓蔦黄Maples and ivy turn yellow30 Apr–4 May
冬WinterKō 55 to 72 · May to August
- 55山茶始開Camellias bloom5–9 May
- 56地始凍Land starts to freeze10–14 May
- 57金盞香Daffodils bloom15–20 May
- 58虹蔵不見Rainbows hide21–25 May
- 59朔風払葉North wind strips the leaves26–30 May
- 60橘始黄Tachibana citrus turns yellow31 May–5 Jun
- 61閉塞成冬Cold sets in, winter begins6–10 Jun
- 62熊蟄穴Bears start hibernating11–15 Jun
- 63鱖魚群Salmon gather and swim upstream16–20 Jun
- 64乃東生Self-heal sprouts21–25 Jun
- 65麋角解Deer shed their antlers26 Jun–1 Jul
- 66雪下出麦Wheat sprouts under snow2–6 Jul
- 67芹乃栄Parsley flourishes7–11 Jul
- 68水泉動Springs thaw12–16 Jul
- 69雉始雊Pheasants start to call17–22 Jul
- 70款冬華Butterburs bud23–27 Jul
- 71水沢腹堅Ice thickens on the streams28 Jul–1 Aug
- 72鶏始乳Hens start laying eggs2–6 Aug
Reservations
November opens Thursday 1 October.
Bookings open at 10am on the 1st of each month, for the month after. October is full; the waitlist is open.
9days to go