mimetic almond
The things here that look like almonds are ... except that they are various reconstructions of almonds. Some are transparent almond ice, some are a sort of soft paste, and there are a few real almonds just for variety. On the left is some sort of fruit (I thought maybe apricot, but another blog says tangerine); on the right is a sort of tomato ice.
cockles with yuzu
Cockles are little shellfish (raw here, I think); yuzu is a tart Japanese citrus; there's some fennel in the middle.
mushroom-CRU with hazelnut
The three large chunks are some sort of mushroom (not quite sure how they were prepared -- they seemed nearly raw, which one would expect from "CRU", except that the all-capitals spelling suggests that something trickier is going on). The foam is hazelnut and I think the green leaves are cactus.
roses/artichokes
Just very thin artichoke leaves, painstakingly arranged in a rose shape (we saw them doing these during our kitchen tour -- it seemed very tedious). I can't remember what the sauce was -- maybe miso again?
pumpkin and almond sandwich
This looks just like a bocadillo (a little sandwich sold in Spain as a snack). However, the "bread" is made of a pumpkin sponge cake, and the filling is almond paste and shaved white truffles.
sea anemone with te
Three little sea anemones, each topped differently (I think). One definitely has caviar on top; the other two are topped with foam (one is tea, I think). The other three things are little gelatin "ravioli".
pinenut shabu-shabu
Three little transparent packets (gelatin?) filled with various forms of pinenuts. One has solid pinenuts in some sort of broth; the other two have different preparations. Apparently, you're supposed to dip these in the water bowl briefly before eating, but I guess our server wasn't as specific as they come, as some other bloggers were told to dip "for exactly two seconds".
Fresh walnuts
Very young walnuts in a creamy sauce, with some poached(?) endives.
abalone
This was abalone, but with extras. Some strips of abalone alternate with pork fat (lardo?), on top of a bed of mushrooms, and I think the little black "legs" are actually seaweed. The whole thing is arranged to look a little like an abalone.
natural scampi
This was split open in its shell and served on a deep bed of rock salt (somewhat of a problem, because if even one grain of salt sticks to the food, it gets very salty!) The head is replaced by another miso-based cream (if I'm remembering right) and the tail is just perfectly cooked.
parmesan ravioli
Ravioli made of gelatin bags, with a parmesan cheese filling. Served with a little gold pellet, but I've forgotten what's in the pellet.
suckling pig tail
On the left, three little bites of crispy pig skin (very yummy). On the right, I can't remember much about the broth, but I think it had little cubes of tofu and fruit gelatins.
pond
This dish (which might have been a dessert, although I'm not sure whether there is meant to be a sharp transition -- sort of a palate cleanser) was more remarkable for its preparation than its taste. The bowl is shallow but made of very thick glass. I think they must place it upside down in a few millimeters of water, then they freeze the thing solid. So, when served, it's a sheet of thin ice covering an empty space. At the table, they then sprinkle green tea powder and raw sugar on the top, and you crack the ice with your spoon and eat the flavored ice shards.
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