Opened in 2013, L’oiseau par Matsunaga is a small French restaurant located in a quiet residential area of Hakodate, Hokkaido. The restaurant awarded one Michelin star in the newly released Hokkaido Michelin Guide 2017.
Headed by chef Kazuyuki Matsunaga, L’oiseau par Matsunaga offers contemporary French cuisine using seasonal, locally grown ingredients. Japanese-born chef Matsunaga began his culinary career in Japan. He then moved to France to further develop his skills through working in several Michelin-starred restaurants for 6 years. In 2013, he moved back to Japan and opened his first restaurant L’oiseau par Matsunaga.
L’oiseau par Matsunaga serves various tasting menus for lunch (priced from ¥2,800~) and dinner (priced from ¥7,200~), with optional wine pairings.
We selected the special Chef Tasting Menu l’oiseau that features the finest seasonal ingredients from Japan and France, priced at ¥15,000 per person. (Menu l’oiseau requires a reservation 2 days in advance.)
Our meal started with a series of amuse bouche highlighting a variety of fresh caught seafood from Hokkaido.
Homemade breads were served after the amuse bouche. The bread was impressively delicious.
Our first course was local, wild-caught smoked fish. The fish was lightly smoked to highlight its natural flavor.
Followed by the foie gras and purple yam, my favorite dish of the night. The foie gras with crispy exterior and rich creamy interior just melted in my mouth.
Next came the dish of Homarus (a genus of lobsters). The lobster was simply perfect – juicy, tender and flavorful.
The meat course of the night. The presentation was absolutely beautiful.
At last a series of dessert courses were served. The fruit jello with Pop Rocks was the most impressive dish of the night.
Overall, we enjoyed our meal at L’oiseau par Matsunaga. We appreciated the consistency, balance of flavors and deliciousness. The restaurant wasn’t Michelin-starred when we visited in 2016 but I thought it was just as good. I am glad that L’oiseau par Matsunaga awarded one Michelin star in the Michelin Guide to Hokkaido 2017. Absolutely well deserved!
Visited: Dinner | Nov 25, 2016
L’oiseau par Matsunaga
4-5 Kashiwagi-cho,Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan 042-0942
Phone: +81 0138-84-1858
Hours: Lunch Mon, Thu-Sun 12:00pm-3:00pm; Dinner Wed-Sun 6:00pm-11:00pm
http://www.r-loiseau.com/index.html
Price: Chef’s Tasting Menu – (Lunch) Menu plume ¥2,800– Menu mon favoir ¥3,500– Menu harmonie ¥4,800– Menu terroir ¥6,000; (Dinner) Menu terroir ¥7,200– Menu saison ¥9,500– Menu l’oiseau ¥15,000 | Tax Excluded (as of Nov 2016)
