French fine dining establishment Épure welcomed Chef Yusuke Takada from two Michelin star La Cime for a special pop-up event last weekend. For three nights, the Osaka-based chef devised an eight-course extravaganza designed to challenge preconceptions of French-Japanese cuisine.

Where most high-end restaurants plate dishes to show off whatever delicacy is on offer, Chef Takada’s creative offerings were more akin to a game of culinary hide-and-seek.

His Sea Urchin, Crab, Kobucha, Yuba was a prime example. Much like an iceberg, the layers of crab and yuba (tofu skin) were submerged under a kombucha-flavoured foam leaving just the sea urchin to peak through the top. The complexity of this multilayered appetiser was only revealed with the first bite.

Ditto the La Royale Oyster, Endive, Mojama, covered in a coating of surprisingly subtle goat cheese and walnut shavings, the Crevettes, a reinterpretation of prawn sushi using glutinous rice and hidden under a layer of amaranth leaves, and the beautifully plated Blue Lobster, cocooned in purple lettuce leaves and served with kumquats and squash.   

The main fish and meat courses were a more straightforward affair. The former was an Amadai fish steak topped with cockles and Jerusalem artichoke slices. The latter featured perfectly marbled melt-in-your-mouth A3 Kagoshima Wagyu Beef accompanied by taro and bresaola.

But lest anyone’s taste buds got too comfortable with conventional flavours, Chef Takada whipped up some truly eyebrow-raising desserts. The milder of the two was a blue cheese and caramel blend sandwiched by succulent pear slices. But the true stunner was the rather dubiously named Chestnut, Beer, Malt, featuring Guiness beer and malt whipped to a custard-like consistency paired with a whole chocolate-covered chestnut.

Chef Yusuke Takada showcased his legendary skills and creative culinary genius with his Épure tasting menu. Each course had hidden depths, both literally and figuratively, and featured non-traditional interplay of textures and flavours designed to challenge diners’ preconceived notions on French-Japanese cuisine. It comes as no surprise, then, that the three-day event at Épure sold out two months in advance.

Text: Tenzing Thondup