As I continue to lament the lack of high-quality Chinese food in Seattle, two new Asian-inspired restaurants recently opened in the “hip” and “happening” places known as South Lake Union and Bellevue Square. I was recently invited to both Kigo Kitchen (Seattle) and Kaisho (Bellevue), and am here to share initial impressions. The two restaurants present a study in contrasts.
Kigo Kitchen feels like a cafeteria on the Amazon campus, whereas Kaisho feels more grown-up and sophisticated. Kigo has counter service and an open kitchen, whereas Kaisho strives for attentive service and has a closed kitchen. Kigo uses paper bowls and disposable chopsticks, whereas Kaisho has elegant plateware and utensils. Kigo is “Asian meets Western,” whereas Kaisho is “where Japanese tradition and technique intersect with American inventiveness and genuine hospitality.” (There’s a lot of lingo in their mission statement, and I can’t help but wonder whether Japanese hospitality would be a better goal.) Kigo is simple, whereas Kaisho is complex. Kigo is relatively inexpensive, whereas Kaisho is relatively expensive. And while you can get Yo-Ho beer at Kigo, Kaisho serves cocktails and champagne sake.
I’m confused about Kaisho’s name and claim to be a Japanese fusion restaurant. While there’s a general Asian feel to the décor, the Japaneseness feels forced in places like the menu, which is divided into sections with Japanese names (“Amai” makes sense for sweets, but “Umami” doesn’t fit for “large plates”) and sells wine by the “aji” (taste) and “botoru” (bottle). Situated in the old Boom Noodle location (and under same ownership), Kaisho touts leader Jeffrey Lunak as the “former protégé of ‘Iron Chef’ Morimoto,” but I don’t get a sense that he’s really involved in the kitchen. On site is chef de cuisine Kalen Schramke (former resident of Hawaii and recently at Rover’s), who uses French technique in so many of the dishes.
Very few of those dishes are Japanese. In the Umami section, the two fish dishes (broiled steelhead and grilled daurade with calamari) come with Japanese ingredients like braised daikon, edamame tofu puree, and miso sesame puree, but the other plates are a bao burger with kimchi (Chinese/Korean), Hong Kong style pork shank with crispy noodles, and Thai red curry noodle soup. Meanwhile, in the Wakemae (somewhat archaic for “things built to share”) section, while the garlic steak has miso-creamed kale and garlic soy, the other dishes are a whole fried fish, Kaisho noodles, and Thai fried chicken with kimchi waffles—all with Asian flavors, but not Japanese.
I sampled a lot of Kaisho’s food. Perhaps best was the Thai-style grilled skewer with pork belly (bravo for being fatty), octopus (bravo for being chewy), and calamari (bravo for serving tentacles), though it’s quite costly at $15. Thai chicken and waffles (with kimchi powder in the waffles) were playful, as it was fun to mix and match the coconut butter, five spice maple syrup, and spicy sauce, but I wanted the chicken and waffles to both be more crispy. The bao burger (with braised pork belly) was an interesting concept but unwieldy to eat, with the Wagyu beef overcooked. The smoked brisket in the gyoza had excellent flavor, but the spicy dipping sauce overpowered the kimchi inside the dumpling. The whole fried fish was perfectly cooked but underseasoned (as were the two vegetables I tried)—though the charred lemon and spicy ginger sauce helped make up for any deficiency of flavor. Interesting food, but there were some balance and execution issues which will hopefully get ironed out.
In contrast to Kaisho, Kigo Kitchen has a limited menu. Aside from some chips, there are noodle and rice bowls. It’s a Mongolian grill-like concept, in which you pick your ingredients or select one of the predetermined “chef’s choice” bowls. For the base, the yakisoba noodles are a slightly mushy choice, and while some like the “healthier” brown rice (or even Asian greens to eliminate carbs), I recommend white rice. Proteins are roasted chicken (my favorite), spiced pork, pepper steak, baked tofu, and edamame—and then you can add all or part of the Kigo mix of vegetables: Nappa cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, snow peas, celery, and onions.
Sauce choices are Kigo-Yaki (“Seattle-style—a little sweet”), garlic lemongrass (which I believe would go well with rice noodles, if Kigo had them), peanut hoison, coconut curry, pineapple tamarind, and chili citrus (“kickin’ with orange, ginger, and soy”). As a heat-seeker, I customized a bowl and chose the chili citrus sauce with beef and all the veggies over white rice. (To add more spice, I then asked for Kigo’s tasty “fire sauce,” made with wasabi and roasted chilis.) My partner selected the chef’s choice Kigo Classic, which is Kigo-Yaki with chicken on white rice (with all the vegetables).
Order placed, the ingredients go back to the wok station for quick cooking. In a matter of minutes, the bowls are read for pick-up. Verdict: Not bad, and certainly better than expected. The portion size is decent for under $10 per bowl, the ingredients seem fresh, and there’s even a default level of spice that I don’t get at many other places.
But is the food at Kigo, or Kaisho, good enough to warrant a return? Is this Asian-inspired food inspiring? For me, the answer is probably “no” to both questions, as it would likely be for any Asian food purist.
So who will go to these places? I believe its Asian-Americans who are more American than Asian, along with Westerners who like the idea of eating Asian food but don’t want a setting or food that’s too foreign or otherwise intimidating. Kigo Kitchen is quick and convenient (with young workers and an energetic vibe), and seems to appeal to Amazon workers who want a quick bowl to bring back to their computers for lunch, or even dinner. As Kaisho opened just last weekend (with lunch service starting today) it’s too soon to know if it will have similar appeal for the nearby Microsoft workers, and how much mall traffic it will catch throughout the day. If you catch me hungry at Bellevue Square, it’s a good bet that I’m heading a few blocks away to Bamboo Garden, where I’ll order off the “walk on the wild side” menu to eat my favorite dish, called The Other Parts of a Pig—with pork intestines, pig blood cubes, tofu chunks, basil, and pickled cabbage in a tangy broth. Now that’s inspiring Asian food!
I’m going to miss Jay’s perceptive, detailed write-ups on sunbreakmagazine.com!
Thank you, sir. Hopefully The Sunbreak will rise again. Meanwhile, readers can keep up with me at Gastrolust.com!