With Japan already a cultural hot pot of amazing quisine it's no surprise that Traumerei in Hakuba is tantalising tastebuds and has been doing so for years.
Carefully selected and mostly locally grown this French cuisine is prepared by a Michelin Star chef. What is that you say? The Michelin star is awarded to a restaurant the credit for it goes to the chef in charge of the kitchen. ... Two stars means the food is good enough to take a detour for and three stars means the restaurant serves such excellent food that it deserves a special visit.
The menu and kitchen staff are all advised by Michelin Star holding Grand Chef Patrick Pages. As the owner-chef of "Chantoiseau" he counts such notable figures as President Francois Mitterrand as fans of his food, and as a Master Sommelier and former president of the Languedoc Sommeliers association his knowledge and expertise in wine is awe inspiring.
The finest crockery, cutlery, crystal, glassware and impeccable service set the stage for a gastronomic experience. Being seasonally sourced the menu does alter, at the time of this article the menu was
Choice of:
Salmon with homegrown organic green salad, Tomato variation.
Home smoked duck with Hakuba goats cheese and fig and balsamic vinegar sauce.
Shizuoka octopus sashimi and celery served with couscous and homemade Herb de Provence crust.
Next up you'll get a choice of Poiret of Madaka with summer vegetables and porcini sauce or fresh lobster poiret with 2 sauces.
Next you need to make a decision between Poiret of Wagyu fillet with eshalot sauce.
Spanish Iberico pork with rosemary scented lentil salad.
Quail and eggplant gallette sauce Anicoise.
Hopefully there is still room for the last choice ranite of Prune liqueur or Coconut blancmange with a peach soup, both served with Espresso coffee.
It may seem strange to many of us but a chef claiming to pair wines with food has not done so in this instance, wine choices being by the bottle it is challenging to do yourself.
Wines are predominantly French and start at 5,900 yen or $71 Aus.
The set menu starts at 8,000 yen and runs through to 12,000 yen. ( $96- $145 Aus)
Located near Powder Temple on the road to Echo Land spoil that special someone next time your in Hakuba.