“Kaiseki in Japanese means ‘stone in bosom,’” explained Yoichi Ueno, the owner of Kubo’s Sushi Bar, as he opened his suit jacket and held his fist in front of his stomach. “The word comes from an old practice where the zen monks would put stones in their robes to keep them from hunger.”

Ueno was introducing the concept of kaiseki to a group of eight guests — most of us unfamiliar with the concept of kaiseki — for a recent  nine-course tasting dinner. The origin of the word, which these days refers to a multi-course dinner made with seasonal ingredients and beautiful plating, eventually evolved to mean “cuisine for a get-together,” but anyone who is Japanese knows that it’s not quite that simple.

Kaiseki in Japan is the equivalent to French haute cuisine. It represents the finest form of Japanese culinary art, requires culinary skill and creativity to put together, and is traditionally very expensive. Unlike the omakase format of dining at a sushi bar, which relies on the chef to use the best of what is available at that moment, kaiseki is a planned dining event that requires advance acquisition of specialty ingredients. According to Sushi Club of Houston’s Carl Rosa, it hasn’t been available anywhere in Houston — until now.

This evening, our small party was ushered into a private room to the left of Kubo’s main entrance. Ueno was at the door to greet us, and within minutes of being seated our server came by with shot glasses of cloudy, unfiltered nigori sake as an aperitif.

The sweet, mild sake complemented our first-course sakizuki perfectly. A cold appetizer of delicate corn-infused “flan” topped with fresh uni (sea urchin) and seaweed (photo at top) in a cold broth, the flavors were mild and subtle, yet stunning. Creamy and sweet, the corn flan mixed with the oceanic brininess of the delicate sea urchin for a remarkably complex marriage of flavors.

The courses that followed included a nimono-wan (soup cup) of edamame and shinzo steamed fish-cake soup, mukozuke (sashimi) platter of fish of the season, shinogi (seasonal dish) of hiyamugi noodles and mountain potato, yakimono (grilled dish) of kinmedai fish and lobster with mango sauce, hashi yasume (rest for chopsticks) kabocha potage with garlic toast, shiizakana (small dish) of ribeye steak with grated daikon and ponzu, sushi selection of nigiri and rolls, and mizumono (dessert) of vanilla ice cream with green tea sauce, grapefruit jelly and raspberry.

The standout courses of the night were the ones you won’t find at your average Japanese restaurant. The steamed fish cake was like a huge bulbous dumpling, spongy and and soft in texture, with a light umami component and aromatic, viscous broth. The shinogi noodle (photo at left) was my favorite course of the night. A cold, chewy noodle nestled in a white and blue porcelain bowl — topped with puree of mountain potato shaped to look like an egg white — with a quail egg yolk in the middle. The moutain potato was like a thickened, condensed glutinous batter, and the idea was to mix everything together and then slurp the noodles up — absolutely delightful.

Likewise, the “rest for chopsticks” dish, the hashi yasume, forced us to put our chopsticks down and use a soup spoon to ladle the ultra smooth potage of kabocha slurp by slurp. A small round of crispy garlic toast had our entire table clamoring for it to be added to the regular menu.

The artful presentation of each course was also a pleasure, the sashimi course a standout for the colorful arrangement of square and round plates against cuts of bonito, whitefish and salmon.

Our meal was one of the first kaiseki served at Kubo’s, but it most certainly won’t be the last.  A nine-course kaiseki similar to the meal described here will run about $120 per person, will require reservations at least one week in advance, and is limited to party of eight or fewer. Executive chef Eigo Yamaguchi, who came to Houston via Kyoto, will personally plan and prepare the entire traditional dining ritual.

KUBO’S, 2414 University (at Morningside) 713-528-7878 kubos-sushi.net