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| Gyu+ |
Hisashi was speaking with a lady who looked very important when I arrived for my 3pm apointment to interview him, so I thought it best not to disturb.
"Alcohol supplier?" I asked Hisashi's vivacious wife, Ioanna, gesturing towards the female guest.
"Insurance agent," Ionna replied. "The wall behind the bar collapsed recently. The snow was too heavy."
The wall behind Gyu+ was made of glass, which gave the impression that the bartenders - in this case, the husband-wife tandem of Hisashi and Ioanna - created drinks against a dramatically panoramic winter backdrop.
We had visited Gyu+ the night before upon the instruction of a friend of Peter's, who has been to Niseko a number of times. "Go to the fridge door bar," she said. "It's the best bar in Niseko."
I confess, now: I'm a bar snob. I'm a few drinks short of being clinically alcoholic. I inherited my love for cocktails from my mentor, the legendary impresario Colette Koo. I began a colourful career in nightlife at FINDS. I co-wrote with my insanely talented friend Antonio Lai an award-winning book on molecular mixology. The words "fridge door bar" made me cringe, mostly because it reminded me of the tacky Balalaika in Hong Kong, where guests would be made to wear nasty fur coats inside a sub-zero vodka room to drink nasty vodka. And so I kept my expectations fairly managed as we sought to find Niseko's "fridge door bar."
Was I in for a pleasant surprise.
Walking into the entrance, which is made of - what else? - a fridge door, made me feel like a precious slab of meat on a big night out. I wanted to Chill, Thaw and Immediately Enjoy.
"Gyu" is Japanese for cow. It's half of the word that makes up the name of the world's most expensive beef, wagyu. "Gyu" is also an all-purpose verb for various familiar expressions of affection, such as squeeze, embrace or hug. Gyu+ a.k.a. "fridge door bar" successfully takes these two ideas to produce an unassumingly stylish hangout where, say, the eponymous bovines may enjoy a lifestyle of highly prescribed diet and treatment. The space is warm, welcoming and cozy. The design elements give the impression of having been collected over time. The business cards and menus are handmade. The cocktails are exquisitely complex.
"Alcohol supplier?" I asked Hisashi's vivacious wife, Ioanna, gesturing towards the female guest.
"Insurance agent," Ionna replied. "The wall behind the bar collapsed recently. The snow was too heavy."
The wall behind Gyu+ was made of glass, which gave the impression that the bartenders - in this case, the husband-wife tandem of Hisashi and Ioanna - created drinks against a dramatically panoramic winter backdrop.
We had visited Gyu+ the night before upon the instruction of a friend of Peter's, who has been to Niseko a number of times. "Go to the fridge door bar," she said. "It's the best bar in Niseko."
I confess, now: I'm a bar snob. I'm a few drinks short of being clinically alcoholic. I inherited my love for cocktails from my mentor, the legendary impresario Colette Koo. I began a colourful career in nightlife at FINDS. I co-wrote with my insanely talented friend Antonio Lai an award-winning book on molecular mixology. The words "fridge door bar" made me cringe, mostly because it reminded me of the tacky Balalaika in Hong Kong, where guests would be made to wear nasty fur coats inside a sub-zero vodka room to drink nasty vodka. And so I kept my expectations fairly managed as we sought to find Niseko's "fridge door bar."
Was I in for a pleasant surprise.
Walking into the entrance, which is made of - what else? - a fridge door, made me feel like a precious slab of meat on a big night out. I wanted to Chill, Thaw and Immediately Enjoy.
"Gyu" is Japanese for cow. It's half of the word that makes up the name of the world's most expensive beef, wagyu. "Gyu" is also an all-purpose verb for various familiar expressions of affection, such as squeeze, embrace or hug. Gyu+ a.k.a. "fridge door bar" successfully takes these two ideas to produce an unassumingly stylish hangout where, say, the eponymous bovines may enjoy a lifestyle of highly prescribed diet and treatment. The space is warm, welcoming and cozy. The design elements give the impression of having been collected over time. The business cards and menus are handmade. The cocktails are exquisitely complex.
Gyu+ has been around for 13 years, Ionna tells me. Hisashi Watanabe, a former ski instructor, built a house from a modest inheritance from his father, Ken Watanabe (no relation to the actor). But soon strapped for cash, the 24-year-old decided to turn the ground floor of his house into a bar.
On her first season in Niseko, Canadian-born Ionna Morelli (who is of mixed Italian-Serbian-Greek heritage and speaks four languages) came to work for a building company. After two weeks of having met Hisashi, they got married.
"Was it love-at-first-sight?" I teased.
Ionna nodded slightly, then turned her head away. "I'm blushing!"
"Was it love-at-first-sight?" I teased.
Ionna nodded slightly, then turned her head away. "I'm blushing!"
Theirs was a match made in bohemian snow heaven. Hisashi and Ionna have been running Gyu+ together for six years now. They also started Pelican Burger in Kutchan town, which they open when Niseko's high tourist season winds down. They travel the world during the slow months of April, May and November. "We want to go to Brazil next," Ionna shares.
As we're chatting, Hisashi slices and pounds and shakes and pours away to create three of Gyu+'s signature cocktails for me.
JAPANESE OLD FASHIONED. Taketsuru 17 Years, Orange Bitters, Orange Twist. Y1500
The H Factor: Love the single, ginormous ice ball. It allows the whiskey to gently loosen up and reveal is sweet, smoky, spicy layers
The H Factor: Love the single, ginormous ice ball. It allows the whiskey to gently loosen up and reveal is sweet, smoky, spicy layers
7 SPICES HOT WINE. Wine, Spices, Honey, Dragon Eye. Y600
( The H Factor: Slightly sweet, delightfully herbaceous, fragrant and complex. Plus, that basket is irresistible
( The H Factor: Slightly sweet, delightfully herbaceous, fragrant and complex. Plus, that basket is irresistible
UME MOJITO. Uguis Plum Liqueur, Fresh Mint, Fresh Lime, Soda, Crushed Ice. Y1000
The H Factor: Totally yum, bright and refreshing, super-easy to drink. The plum liqueur adds a welcome layer of sweet n' sourness that makes this amore intriguing drink than your run-of-the-mill mojito
I couldn't wait to sample every cocktail after I had finished taking photos. Each was delicious. I had to remind myself to sip daintily and not to get too trashy; after all, I was on an assignment. Meanwhile, Ionna kept up a lively stream of anecdotes.
"Hisashi doesn't like saying it," Ionna intimated, "but he has been written about twice in the New York Times."
I whistled in admiration as I struggled to set my Canon's self-timer. No way was I gonna leave Gyu+ without a souvenir photo of this too-cool-for-school couple. Hisashi and Ioanna are so cool, they don't even have hired help. They do everything themselves.
"What's your contribution to the menu?" I asked Ioanna. "Have any of your cocktails made it onto the list?"
"None," she replied brightly. "I'm just in-charge of the Cocktail of the Day. Today, it's Espresso Martini. I just take the recipes from this book," she said, opening a large, heavy volume to a drawing of a gloriously naked geisha.
I, self-proclaimed bar snob, am a Gyu+ believer.
Best bar in Niseko?
Indeed.
But not just.
Probably amongst the best in the world.
