Restaurant Taiko: VEGAN HANAMI OMAKASE

Restaurant Taiko has been on my Amsterdam wishlist for quite a while and last week I finally got to visit this beautiful restaurant of the Conservatorium Hotel. I was invited to try the brand new VEGAN HANAMI OMAKASE menu. This 9-course menu is 100% vegan and inspired by exotic flavours and textures of the far East. A unique taste of Japanese spring, with the famous cherry blossom. Vegan boring? Chef Schilo van Coevorden creates a gastonomic food fest!

Restaurant TaikoRestaurant Taiko, Conservatorium Hotel, Amsterdam

Course after course we are treated to pieces of culinary art. We start the evening with 3 fresh dishes: ‘Sakura Spring Fruits’ with kohlrabi and rhubarb, smoked soba noodles with frozen raspberry and a fresh strawberry sashimi with myoga and long pepper.

Restaurant TaikoRestaurant Taiko

Course number 2 is a Carrot Tartare with fresh wasabi. So beautiful! We also try the Kimchi Kalian with paksoi and rolled in cucumber. I am a big fan of kimchi!

Restaurant Taiko

Course number 3 is one of the highlights of the evening for me. It is a ‘Seaweed Pizza’, with soy moromi, sea kale and a divine algae emulsion! The second dish is sea kale with algae emulsion and potato. I would love to take some of this algae emulsion home with me…

Restaurant TaikoRestaurant TaikoRestaurant Taiko, Conservatorium Hotel, Amsterdam

But the absolute bombshell of the night is course number 4: the Tom Ka Yen. This cold avocado soup with green curry, black garlic, cashew, sesame and green curry ice cream, tastes like Thailand. So full of flavour! The Baked Bao Bun filled with caramelised black garlic, onion and soy bean sprout salsa is delicious too.

Course number 5: Dutch asparagus with sesame and turnip, served with ‘Asparagus Gunkan’, served like sushi. This dish is not my favorite of the menu and does not have the taste explosion that the previous course had, but it looks impressive!

Restaurant Taiko

Course number 6: roasted cauliflower with soy, hazelnut miso, rolled in Hoba leave.The combination of cauliflower and hazelnut is always a winner.

Course number 7 is a masterpiece. The 3 dishes are all served in a different way. The ‘Silken Tofu’ has 3 different layers that are prepared at the table. The tofu is served with bouillon with morel & kombu and moromi roasted leak. In the middle of the table we see a giant mushroom tower with grilled shitake and dried mushrooms. Spectacular! We also try the Szechuan aubergine. The aubergine is prepared with flour, is deep-fried and dipped in Szechuan sauce. This course could have been a bit more daring for me. I am not a big fan of tofu and I need a lot of flavour to bring balance to a tofu dish, otherwise the taste is a bit flat.

Restaurant TaikoRestaurant Taiko, Conservatorium Hotel, Amsterdam

Course number 8: a stunning and delicious Waterdrop Cake with almond milk and Sakura mochi! I looooooove mochi! In Amsterdam we don’t find mochi on a menu a lot, so I enjoyed every little bite I took!

Restaurant TaikoRestaurant TaikoRestaurant Taiko, Conservatorium Hotel, Amsterdam

Course number 9 is another highlight of the evening. The chocolate cherry blossom is almost too pretty to eat. A true piece of art! This dessert is made with dark chocolate, cream, cherry gel, luxardo cherries and chocolate crumble…Yummm! Heaven on a plate! I love all the different textures, the sweet and the sour and that chocolate…

Restaurant Taiko

The creativity of the dishes and the flavours at restaurant Taiko is so exiting! This dinner is an experience and proves that vegan food is not boring AT ALL. You can try the VEGAN HANAMI OMAKASE menu untill the end of July for the price of €85. If you want to have some meat or fish with your maincourse, you can order this for €20 extra. Bon appetit!

Restaurant TaikoRestaurant Taiko, Conservatorium Hotel, Amsterdam

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