Appare

What do you think of, do you think of the number 5? Perhaps our five fingers, toes or senses? Do you think of 5 as the number of love or the five points of the pentagram? In many areas of life and science, 5 stands for balance and harmony. This also applies to Japan's traditional washoku cuisine at Appare. You can enjoy it in this Japanese gourmet restaurant - combined with modern influences in the sense of a cross-over.

Head chef Hiroyuki Watanabe serves his guests authentic, sophisticated Japanese cuisine with a great deal of imagination, always aiming to create something new from the traditional and thus create his very own style. Born in Tokyo, the head chef at Appare was head chef at Daitokai for a long time and has been working in the catering industry for more than 30 years.

5-course menu at Appare

The evening menu at Appare includes numerous dishes that you can put together to create a 5-course menu - the 5 comes into play here too - consisting of a greeting from the kitchen, starter, main course and dessert. There are several lunch menus to choose from. You can also enjoy a sashimi or tempura lunch here if you order in advance. Whichever meal time you prefer, you always have the choice between dishes with fish or meat as well as vegetarian dishes. 

The 5 principle of washoku

The 5 is the key number in washoku and stands for five flavours - salty, sweet, spicy, bitter and sour - and five preparation methods - cooked, raw, fried, simmered, simmered, raw and sour. cooked or simmered, raw, deep-fried, grilled or roasted and steamed, five senses - texture, look, sound, taste, smell - and five colours - white, red, yellow, green and black - which should be addressed or represented. A little bit of everything, together they form a harmonious whole. The best way to find out to what extent the 5-colour principle is represented in Mr Watanabe's washoku cuisine is to taste it yourself. By the way: the name Appare refers to the exclamation of the same name that the Japanese use to express their enthusiasm. So you can be curious.

Japanese cuisine and washoku: what exactly is it?

Washoku cuisine is considered traditional Japanese cuisine. The word "wa" stands for harmony and "shoku" for food. Washoku can therefore be translated as Japanese cuisine, Japanese food compared to Western food or the cuisine of harmony.

By the way: harmony, balance and equilibrium play an important role in Japanese culture as a whole. Washoku as a traditional culinary art, as it is also served in Appare with modern influences, therefore not only includes balanced variety in taste, but also in the preparation, nutrients, vitamins and colours of the food.

Seasonality, quality of the ingredients and preparation also play just as important a role as the aesthetic presentation of the food, e.g. that the colour of the season is also reflected in the dishes or in the ceramic or lacquer dishes served. Flavour, content and appearance go hand in hand in washoku. 

For Japan as an island, seafood and fish naturally play a major role. Japanese cuisine is similar to that of other East Asian countries, but uses oils and spices far more sparingly. This benefits the flavour of fresh ingredients as well as health. The higher life expectancy of the Japanese population is attributed not least to such food and its preparation. 

Since 2013, washoku has been ennobled by UNESCO as an intangible world cultural heritage. Only French national cuisine has achieved this honour to date. Washoku cuisine originated in the Edo period, when the Tokugawa shoguns ruled - between 1603 and 1868. 

From the interior: the Appare from the inside

The typical Japanese restraint and discretion can be expected from both the exterior and the interior design, with simple elegance accompanying you - because understatement is part of the concept of excellence in food and service here. Accordingly, the Appare here is a unified whole.