Hotel Vischio Kyoto (1): Where Business Meets Leisure

Japan Travel Blog

Tokushima - Kyoto - Tokyo

21~28 June 2019

by Tong, CEO WASABI Creation

Hotel Vischio Kyoto (2): Where Business Meets Leisure

Ohayou gozaimasu!

Time to get some breakfast.

Famous for their delectable breakfast menu, Hotel Vischio Kyoto’s morning menu is a fusion between western and Japanese cuisine, thanks to the Executive Chef’s culinary background in French cuisine.

Same hotel but different dishes offered daily.

Photo on the top is for first day, the other on the left is for second day.

The food is piled up unceremoniously as I was too hungry to care about how it looked.

After breakfast, I went around to explore the rest of the restaurant.

Besides the usual coffee, tea fanatics will be pleased to see the wide selection of tea bags available.

There are also lots of cold fruit juices to choose from.

As greens and salad are almost always a must for meals in Japan, fresh vegetables like broccoli, carrots and avocado lined the bar, along with their unhealthy distant relative, potato salad. There were also mini burgers and cheese, which were surprisingly delicious.

Lined side by side were Spanish egg (left) and tofu siew mai (right). Truly the epitome of fusion between east and west.

Tomato based pasta with pesto (left) and gratin (right). Not something I will necessarily choose for a morning’s meal but they do look pretty appetising! Just too heavy for my Asian palate.

Crispy bite-sized goodness: croquettes, or more commonly known as korokke in Japan. Unlike its French cousin, croquettes in Japan are made mainly with potatoes instead of meat.

Roast beef done to medium-rare perfection, just the way I like it.

Meat’s galore! A heaven for meat lovers.

Baskets and baskets of bread. I have a soft spot for croissants as it always remind me of my student exchange days in France.

Why use a ceramic bowl when you can have a multi-purpose bread bowl?

Cooking stations have always been my favourite part of buffets, especially omelette stations where you can add your preferred topping. For Hotel Vischio Kyoto, the soup station allows you to have your bowl and eat it too: these bread bowls can be filled with cream mushroom soup.

Soft serve ice cream – what’s more exciting than the ice cream itself is perhaps the fact that you get to twirl the creamy treat yourself.

A familiar brand is spotted at the soup bar, Maggi. Reminded me of my army days when we had Maggi noodles in our combat ration when I was in the army.

Here we are at the washoku station, an entire area dedicated to Japanese cuisine and more specifically, Japanese breakfast. Not surprisingly, considering that we are in Kyoto, the ancient capital and cultural hub of Japan.

The two unassuming black machine dispenses pearly white Japanese rice, a staple in a traditional Japanese breakfast. To accompany that, there are an assortment of side dishes like dried nori (seaweed), Japanese plums and more.

More dishes to go with rice like tsukemono (pickles) and nimono (stewed food), all staple food in a typical Japanese breakfast.

The place that eggs occupy in Japanese cuisine is unique, and here are just some of the many ways eggs are prepared. Tamagoyaki (left: Japanese rolled omelette) is a slightly sweetened rolled omelette that is made by rolling together thin layers of seasoned eggs in a frying pan. Ajitsuke-tamago (right: soft-boiled egg marinated in soy and mirin) is a seasoned boiled egg with a soft yellow yolk, commonly found in ramen.

Vegetable dishes are also aplenty, prepared in the Japanese style, letting the natural sweetness of the vegetable enhance by the freshness of the produce.

Yet another indispensable dish in Japanes cuisine, where fish (left) is perhaps eaten more often than meat. On the other hand, konnyaku is a rubbery, jelly-like and somewhat flavourless food found in Japanese dishes. As it is almost zero-calorie with no sugar, no fat and no protein, many regard it as a healthy food.

Chirashi sushi (left): the word “chirashi” means scattered, so it is literally a big bowl of rice topped with fish, vegetables, egg, slamon roe, edamame and more.

Mitarashi dango (right): a popular street food in Japan, it is soft grilled mochi covered in a sweet soy sauce. Sounds weird but the sweet and salty combination makes for a delicious treat.

The counter tops were adorned with these Japanese craft displays – as with Japanese sensibility and aesthetic, minimalism and simplicity conveys elegance.