Cheltenham’s popular Japanese eatery — and former SGGLA Restaurant of the Year — KIBOU, has unveiled a tasty new initiative showcasing regional food and drink from across the country with its ‘Passport to Japan’ dining experience.
From May until the end of October 2024, the restaurant is focusing on a different district of Japan each month, with a range of food and drink specials representing popular dishes from six respective locations.
The traditional foods of Japan have been developed through centuries of political, economic and social changes — and this unique campaign allows curious diners to understand more about Japanese cuisine, its regional differences and heritage.
Over the course of the culinary journey, diners will experience food from Tokyo, Sapporo, Kyoto, Osaka, Kagoshima and Yokohama, with chefs at each of KIBOU’s restaurants having developed their own range of specials to convey what each region means to them.
June sees KIBOU venture off to Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido — a region famed for its mountains, beer, ramen and abundance of amazing seafood.
Available from Monday 3 June 2024 onwards, there's the chance to try Sapporo-style ramen, featuring pork belly and mince in a signature rich miso broth; Jingisukan rice bowls, KIBOU’s take on this famous Genghis Khan-inspired dish of grilled lamb and vegetables on top of seasoned rice; and Kani Zukushi, a colourful California roll stuffed with succulent snow crab, avocado and mango, topped with fresh salmon.
Plus, as the dairy capital of Japan, Sapporo is also hugely famous for its rich and delicious soft-serve ice cream, with KIBOU presenting a tempting homemade matcha and vanilla ice cream to end your meal.
This is served alongside a Sapporo-inspired cocktail — The Winter Olympics in June — paying homage to the fact that Sapporo was host to the games back in 1972. This drink brings a cosy taste of winter drinking to the height of summer and features Yamazaki Distillers Reserve, Courvoisier, Kirin Ichiban and pineapple.
But that's not all — there’s also the opportunity for a lucky diner to win a 'Feast of Japan' worth up to £300. To enter, guests can either pick up a physical passport in the restaurant to get stamped each time they visit, or log onto the restaurant’s wifi whilst in the venue to obtain a digital stamp. The individual with the most stamps over the campaign period will then be selected as the winner at each KIBOU site.
To find out more about all the locations that KIBOU is
visiting during its Passport to Japan campaign — as well as watch the team's own top
tips of what to do, see and of course eat at each location, or book a table — head to kibou.co.uk/passport-to-japan.
