Inside the hokkAsia Four Hands Dinner at Setsu Niseko

Powderlife was privileged to attend a special gourmet dining event at Setsu Niseko as part of the hokkAsia gastronomy series this week.

hokkAsia is a two-week event (February 24 to March 10) welcoming chefs from across Asia to take over the kitchen of Setsu’s premier in-house dining restaurant Méli Mélo. The event aims to merge the culinary cultures of Hokkaido and Asia and inspire chefs to create collaborative new dishes and dining experiences.

On March 1 & 2, two Michelin-pedigree chefs – Hironori Sato of Méli Mélo and Masahiko Kawano from Chaleur in Singapore – collaborated for a special Four Hands Dinner.

Powderlife attended on March 2, enjoying a colourful and creative 8-course French fusion meal featuring various produce from land and sea.

The DNA of the meal also illustrated the variety of versatility of Hokkaido’s produce – the eight courses alternated between plant, meat and seafood-based dishes, all sourced from speciality regions around Niseko and across the island.

One fish on the menu had to be swapped out at the last minute due to strong winds not allowing the day’s catch to be landed, highlighting the freshness and curation of the meal.

The chefs and their multitude of kitchen hands working side-by-side in the open kitchen in view of our table added an element of interactivity to the atmosphere and experience.

Rather than having one waiter, courses were brought to our table by several different wait and kitchen staff, including one course by chef Kawano (pictured above). Each person explained the ingredients and preparation involved with each dish, adding depth, meaning and perhaps even flavour to the meal.

Highlights for us were the “Scene of Winter” squid, onion and egg entrée; a miniature duck-breast ramen, with broth we were told was prepared for 10 hours; Tokachi (Central Hokkaido) wagyu beef encased in pastry; and we have to mention the absolutely exquisite dessert – a duet of kumquat in white wine, alongside strawberries served with ice cream and almond flakes adding an exclamation mark to the meal.

The current hokkAsia series runs until March 10 this winter, and is expected to return next winter – contact Setsu Niseko for details.

Still to Come – Chef Lee and Soh

The second chapter features a Six Hands Dinner with Chef Lee and Soh from Malaysia’s Eat and Cook (ranked #79 in Asia’s Best Restaurants) working with Chef Sato – see menu here.

Dates: 7 & 8 March (Thursday & Friday)
Dinner Seatings: 5pm, 6pm & 7pm
Limited to 20 covers per seating
Menu: 30,000 yen (inc. tax and service)
Location: méli mélo -Yuki No Koe-

Host Chef – Chef Sato Hironori – méli mélo, Sapporo

Chef Sato has been highly conscious about food since childhood, and naturally decided to become a chef. After graduating, he moved to France. After returning to Japan, he worked at a restaurant in Sapporo. In 2013, at the age of 33, he opened méli mélo in Odori, Sapporo.

Chef Sato combines French techniques and Japanese sensibilities into a single dish to express a variety of textures, aromas, and flavours. The restaurant received a one-star award in 2017 for its highly creative cuisine, in which the ingredients melt together the moment you put it in your mouth, allowing you to see the stories and scenes of the ingredients.

Guest Chefs – Chef Lee and Chef Yong – Eat and Cook, Kuala Lumpur

Born in Perak district of Malaysia, Chef Lee’s childhood years were spent in enjoyment standing next to his grandmother in the kitchen, prepping and cooking together. Raised in the peaceful town of Taiping known for its kopitiam food culture, Chef Yong decided to follow in his cousin’s footsteps and joined Berjaya University where he met Lee.

After graduating these two young accomplished chefs took a leap of faith during Covid and opened their first iteration of Eat and Cook in 2020 in a nearly-abandoned shopping mall. The restaurant quickly became hugely popular, despite only seating less than 10 patrons a night. After moving to their new location, a year later, Eat and Cook made it onto Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021 extended list (which features restaurants ranked 51 to 100), initially landing at a respectable No. 81 and now ranked #79. Their innovative menu focused on Malaysian ingredients changes every three to four months to introduce a new chapter. Each new chapter reveals the characteristics of that season.

You might also be interested in…

• méli mélo -Yuki No Koe- presents “hokkAsia”
• Setsu to Introduce More Michelin Cachet To Niseko
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