aqua kyoto honoured to welcome Iwahashi-san

Posted on August 5, 2014

On Monday 4th August we were honoured to welcome Iwahashi Tastuya, Aqua Restaurant Group’s executive head chef for Japanese cuisine, to aqua kyoto to prepare a very special dinner for invited guests. Iwahashi-san is responsible for the award-winning Japanese food in Aqua’s five Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong – aqua tokyo, Armani/aqua​ and three Shiro sites.

Iwahashi-san partnered with aqua kyoto head chef Paul Greening to create a banquet menu of twelve dishes, some drawn from their own menus and some created especially for the occasion. Iwahashi-san’s masterful sashimi and sushi platter and melting Grade 11 Kobe beef were perfectly complemented by Paul’s sea grape and grilled scallops and signature crab salad with tomato dashi bubble.

The meal concluded with two desserts, a chocolate and passionfruit dome with ginger ice-cream and Paul’s stunning new signature dessert – Fuji apple with crème fraîche ice-cream, a blown-sugar apple filled with apple mousse and a caramel ‘core’.

For both chefs it was an opportunity to observe the other’s technique and style; both share a deep-rooted respect for the traditions of Japanese cuisine while bringing to it a modern, innovative approach. Asked about his experience, Iwahashi-san said with typical modesty, “I have learnt a lot from Paul, he is truly creative” – a sentiment warmly reciprocated!