Hajime (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★★★

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Hajime (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★★★

To be honest, we didn't exactly get on the right foot with Restaurant Hajime. We tried to reserve our tables through email but only to learn that they accept reservations by phone exclusively. Okay, so we tried to call long distance...but their booking service was available on selective weekdays only and at very specific hours (I think 1:30pm-3:30pm). We called more than 20-30 times and almost decided to give up. However, our persistence finally paid off and got ourselves a table at last.

Hajime was located in the relatively little known Higobashi district. Tucked away in the corner of an alley next to the Higobashi post office, it looks like yet another contemporary French restaurant rather than a 3-star michelin establishment.

We were warmly greeted by the host and restaurant manager at the door and quickly learned that they have a dress code (jacket and leather shoes). Oops, we were not informed during our reservation but no worries as they were fully prepared already. Got me a nice black jacket and even my size of shoes!

The restaurant was not big and the crowd was very quiet. We quickly ordered the 8-course tasting menu as it was getting a bit late into the afternoon. That was a fantastic decision. All the dishes were very innovative and we especially loved the vegetable dish which was simply a work of art. Perfect presentation and great taste. All in all, we spent 3 hours enjoying this lunch and we enjoyed every moment of it.

When we were about to leave, chef Hajime and his crew were already waiting at the door to greet us with open arms. That was classy.

We've been to quite a few 3-star michelin restaurants around the world and honestly, many of those really did not make an impression on us but this one surely did. The food was sensitional and their service was absolutely flawless. They truly deserve every single star.