“Mokushoku” is a new term coined along with the spread of COVID-19 infections to describe eating silently without talking. At Yan Lai Fang, a Sichuan restaurant in Gion, Kyoto, a popular district known for geisha with beautiful scenery and vestiges of the ancient capital, you can enjoy a unique experience of “enjoying mokuhoku with music,” where you enjoy a meal while listening to original music.
Once you are seated, you will receive a menu and a shop card with a QR code from the staff. When your meal arrives, scan the QR code to access the official website. Then, you can enjoy mokushoku while listening to original music, “The Beat of Sichuan!” which was created for “mokushoku with music.”
The chef and musicians who created the music, “EATBEAT!” say “in the music, various sounds from cooking representative Sichuan dishes, including cutting, marinating, and deep-frying, and various sounds of Kyoto, including the murmur of the Kamo-gawa River and footsteps of geisha walking on the stone pavement, are combined. We want you to feel dynamic sounds from speedy Chinese cooking.”
A special meal course, “Yang’s mokushoku course,” including the dishes that were used as the audio source of “The Beat of Sichuan!,” will be served in a limited number from April 15 (Thu) to May 9 (Sun), 2021.
The course includes representative Sichuan dishes, such as “futtoyui” (boiled seasoned fish with hot oil poured on top), “mapo tofu” (tofu in spicy sauce), “two kinds of ebi chili” (shrimp in chili sauce), their signature dish “yodaredori” (chicken in very spicy sauce), and shark fin soup, which will make you really satisfied.
The chief chef, Mr. Keishi Hara, who gained the knowledge and skills of Sichuan cuisine through his training in Chongqing, China, “aims to create the true delights, not just the spiciness,” of Sichuan cuisine, attracting people to “Yan Lai Fang.”
This project became possible through the collaboration between Tomohiro Kaji, a director of TOMODACHI Ltd., as the creative director for branding and the pair of EATBEAT! who create events with a fusion of food and music.
Mr. Kaji, who started this project with the hope of boosting restaurant businesses struggling due to the COVID-19 pandemic, says “I want our customers to enjoy a meal not only with their eyes and tongue but also ears while listening to the music expressing the dynamic of fire for frying and deep-frying Chinese dishes and the sounds of Kyoto.”
The new normal for enjoying a meal with your eyes, tongue, and ears at Yan Lai Fang in the traditional district of Gion was born only because of such a situation we are facing now.
It is a must-visit spot where you can still enjoy eating in the time of the pandemic.
| Access | 3-minute walk from Gion-Shijo Sta. (Keihan), or 6-minute walk from Kyoto-Kawaramachi Sta. (Hankyu) |
| URL | https://yanlaifang.co.jp/ |
