The beauty of an omakase (roughly translated to "I'll leave it up to you" in Japenese) is each place has their thing. The intimate chef-to-diner eateries may focus on the absolute best yakitori, like at Chaco Bar, or a total focus on tuna in all its crimson forms à la Bay Nine Omakase. Or, in the case of Haco, a tiny 12-seater in a concrete cube, it's tempura. Crisp blonde batter of rice flour, ice cubes and soda water creates a lighter than air shell that coats an unending selection of vegetables, seafood and even foie gras.
The chef's selection set menu of 20 courses may sound like a gastronomic misstep, particularly given that every course is deep-fried, however you'll do well to overcome this mental hurdle and trust in head chef Kensuke Yada's process. Variety is the key to success for any omakase, but particularly when frying is involved. A delicate balance of around 10 battered courses is followed by five tempura dishes, and finally five kushi-age (crumbed then fried) courses. This variation on technique is the secret to endurance.
Start with a salty fried lotus root with hand picked crab and dashi jelly, served within the crab shell before an art-meets-food portion of fried soft-yolked quails egg with pops of caviar and you'll see just how diverse a menu of almost entirely deep-fried food can be.
Part cookery, part showmanship, the chefs at Haco blend their crafts to put on a very special spectacle for the lucky diners who manage to score a seat at the coveted bar. At a cool $210 per person, the marathon dining experience takes close to three hours and is time to reflect and appreciate the incredible and intricate art of omakase.