Vince’s birthday treat to me this past Tuesday was at a one Michelin star restaurant called Kato that he has heard a podcaster talked about on one of his favorite podcasts called Air Jordan. The podcaster’s name is Max Shapiro, who Vince actually spotted walking into the restaurant while we were leaving. He was in awe and shock but the guy didn’t even notice him lol. His two friends did notice that Vince was fanboying after Max. The restaurant serves an omakase style multicourse meal. Unfortunately, Vince was unable to nab a restaurant on my birthday. His plan was to leave early to arrive right at opening time and grab a seat at the bar. According to the podcaster, you can order a la crate bites at the bar. That was his plan.
Well unfortunately, we approved on the week that they stopped doing a la carte menu at the bar so that they can focus on their fine dining prix fixe course menu. They only offered two bites so I had only two bites for my birthday haha. Fortunately, one of the bites they offered was the one item I wanted to try!
Milk Punch. Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac, Elijah Craig Bourbon and El Dorado 12yr rum, clarified with brown butter, boniato yam, five spice and pineapple. From the menu, I ordered the milk punch. It doesn’t look pretty or sweet but it tasted delicious! It was definitely my kind of drink. It sounded like there is a lot of alcohol in it but I actually didn’t even get buzzed from it!
Bamboo. Mukai Shuzu Ine Mankai red rice sake, oka kura bermutto vermouth and Laurent cazottes tomato brandy stirred with kombu and white soy. This was Vince’s drink. It tasted gross to me but he was very impressed with his drink. I’m sure if he blogged about cocktails, he can give more flavor points. The bartender best described it was an umami spin on a martini without any of the traditional martini ingredients.
Sparkling and still water is complimentary. The bartender informed us this after I emphasized that I wanted tap water. I hate being tricked to pay for water and I’m impressed they’re both complimentary here! What a plus!
Sea Urchin Donut. Iberico Ham, Brown Butter. Oh this little one biter was a delicious mouthful. The donut skin was very thin and light and it was overwhelmingly full of sea urchin inside. It almost tasted like melted cheese in terms of texture and taste. There was a light saltiness of the sea. The iberico ham was a nice added touch. It was just good! I was worried it’ll be too salty but it was just right. We actually got two more after we finished our bread and butter too!! So we had two each, $20 a pop.
Milk bread with butter and Sturgeon caviar roe. For $75, Vince ordered a whole container of caviar to eat with the bread and butter. I was so surprised. At first I thought it was because he felt bad he couldn’t treat me to more than two bites for my birthday dinner, but the real reason was because the podcaster guy highly recommended the caviar to spread on top. It added an extra salty component that was flavored with the ocean. It also added a nice textural component. The milk bread itself was very light and soft.
Between the Sheets. Appleton 8yr rum and capurro quebranta pisco served on shaved ice with yuja-cheong, lime and sake kasu cream. His last drink was an interesting watch in terms of the bartender making it and serving it to us. It tasted tolerable. I was intrigued that it was like a soft shaved ice kind of drink. The spoon was also a straw. Vince describes it like a creamy punch??
Afterwards, we walked about the 777 building and looked inside many shop windows. They were all closed by then but looked promising in terms of window shopping. A lot of ceramic, clothing, and chinaware shops.
Then we decided to stop by Yunomi Handroll for a few more bites to end the night. I got the blue crab and scallop rolls. Vince ate four rolls of salmon, albacore, tuna and shrimp tempura.
So our future plan is I am going to stalk this restaurant to nab a resreaction for HIS birthday so that we may finally try the full meal.
Pro points: the building offers free two hour parking that is in a structure. Restaurant also validates to make more hours cheaper.
