SUMIKA 炭火 at OND Hotel (Takeo, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

We decided to keep things simple by dining at the hotel tonight. Located on the ground floor of OND Hotel, SUMIKA (炭火) specializes in sumiyaki (炭火焼), a traditional cooking technique that utilizes charcoal especially binchotan (備長炭) to create unique smoky notes in the charred dishes.

Instead of sitting at the bar, we were given a table at the corner (perhaps because of little nugget) to enjoy our meal.

Dinner started off with a small nibble, a Japanese rice cracker topped with pickled onion and mackerel. Unfortunately, the cracker was a little too hard for my liking.

Our first starter tonight was lightly cooked fatty tuna served with burdock tempura and burdock slaw, nicely complemented by a sauce that tasted very much like balsamic vinegar. Not bad. 

Next up, pan-fried foie gras, perfectly paired with Jerusalem artichoke chips and artichoke purée. It was incredibly succulent, although the portion could have been a little more generous.

Beef and shiitake mushrooms wrapped in layers of cabbage, were all tied together nicely with a flavorful vegetable gravy.

While I thought the beef could have been a touch more tender, the savory sauce made it a pretty solid dish.

The fish course was beautifully cooked herb-crusted Genkai yellowtail fish, paired with a zesty yuzu butter sauce. The buttery sauce and turnip did well to add wonderful textures to the dish.

And the moment we were all eagerly anticipating, the meat course — a duo of beef and duck from Saga. 

True to its reputation, the wagyu was perfectly chargrilled, brimming with deep flavors and a melt-in-your-mouth texture. The grilled duck, stuffed with chopped liver, was slightly less impressive. In particular, I thought the flesh and skin could have benefited from a bit more char for a crispier finish.

A small pasta dish rounded out the savory portion of the meal. The penne pasta topped with bok choy, was unfortunately a little under-seasoned. 🥬

Dessert was matcha panna cotta and dried persimmon ice-cream that was creamy enough but tasted more like sweet potato to some of us. 🍠 

Well, it was a meal with its hits and misses but at the end of the day, who cares as long as we got to enjoy a cozy Christmas Eve dinner right in the comfort of our hotel!

Food Rating: 6.4/10

Price: ￥￥￥￥

Address: 18091 Nagashima, Takeocho Oaza Takeo, Takeo, Saga, 843-0021, Japan

Tel: +81 (0)954-27-8588

Website: https://www.ondhotel.jp/eat/

Opening Hours: 5:30pm - 9:45pm daily